A LITTLE MIX OF EPHEMERA (circa 1993)

Rescued from oblivion during a recent move, I discovered a beloved mixed tape that I made in 1993. For me mixed tapes have always been a valuable road map. They are a concrete and revealing historical document, painting a picture of where I have come from. The exchange of mixed tapes among friends was itself a meaningful form of dialogue. Every song is laden with meaning and encapsulates a moment in time. Despite not actually listening to cassettes often during this fledgling new century, there is no way I could ever throw this out.

I could wax poetic about mixed tapes for along time, though in the spirit of economy (and my desire not to nauseate anyone) I will show some uncharacteristic restraint at this time. What I will do, however, is explore the merits and value of this particular mix. Strangely enough, I gave this tape a name at the time calling it my "Ephemeral" mix. Interesting choice of a title, and I want to test out whether this label applies to the majority of these tracks.

So... without further ado, here is the track listing from this historical document, complete with anecdotes and thoughts as to where these songs fit now within my own private Parthenon of pop adoration;

SIDE A:

Saint Etienne - "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" - Saint Etienne have done better material in later years - lots of playful derivative 60's inspired pop. This Neil Young cover was their first single and first foray into my pop-consciousness. I was quite fond if at the time, this type of interpretation of classic rock was kind of a novelty. This version hasn't aged very well though, which is often the case with dance oriented pop.

Charlatans UK - "Tremelo Song"- To me, the Charlatans never made really good albums, only perhaps a few good stand-out tracks. I was obviously fond of this one at the time, though now most of their material is kind of like ingesting too much aspartame - kind of sweet, artificial and easily forgettable.

My Bloody Valentine - "Soon" - I was working in an HMV store when the "Loveless" album came out, and for fans of indie music at the time (1991) it was like the second coming of Christ. Presently, I don't have the wherewith all to sit through the whole album again. For me it is one of those cases where although I appreciate what Kevin Shields & co. were attempting conceptually, the end product isn't necessarily as gripping for me. I do still like this particular track, and I think it will get a little more air time now. I also remember that their concert almost caused my ears to bleed.

Neneh Cherry - "Buddy" & "Money Love" - I was trying to funk up my mix a little to avoid it being overly homogeneous. Having said that, neither of these two tracks have aged terribly well, and I think I'll put them to rest for a long time. I did, and still do, love Neneh Cherry's cover of Cole Porter's "Got You Under My Skin".

The Waterboys - "The Whole of The Moon" - This was already an older classic, thrown in for good measure. I still love it. Years later I learned that Mike Scott actually wrote this song about Prince.... "I saw the crescent, you saw the whole of the moon".. these lyrics make sense in this context.

The Levellers - "One Way" & "Boatman" - These Celtic-tinged songs celebrating freedom , non-conformity and resistance to the larger social order really captured my imagination. Revisiting them was meaningful and still somewhat inspiring. Boatman is linked thematically to the Waterboys' "Fisherman's Blues", i.e. the open seas as an image of freedom and liberation from the shackles of society.

New Model Army -"Here Comes The War" - This song is even more relevant now than when it first came out. It portrays a society in collapse with it's "stories about serial killers" (only a few years shy of the Internet explosion, the proliferation of celebrity obsessed 24 hour cable news - think of the type stories we have become obsessed with). The environmental & anti-war/imperialist message could have easily been written about Bush and his goons in Washington now. Its a very angry & cathartic listen still, ending with a screaming halt and a call to "put out the lights on the age of reason". Very chilling

SIDE B:

The Lemonheads - "Bit Part" - This song makes me smile. I love Juliana Hatfield's screaming at the beginning. Evan Dando is a bit of an enigma. He has written some fairly insipid tripe, though the odd time there are some great gems like this one that really stand-out. This is a classic slacker anthem, definitely a product of its era. (Note: around the same time I rediscovered this tape, I found a blog from a fellow Vancouverite called "a bit part in your life" - a strange coincidence?)

Sugar - "A Good Idea" - This Pixies inspired track has aged well. I played the hell out of the album "Copper Blue" when it first came out. Bob Mould crafted some well polished power-pop with this project and it was welcomed relief from many of the insipid grunge clones that dominated the airwaves at the time. Although I don't play it often now, I still love this album. It reminds me of that rare giddy feeling one gets when enraptured by a truly great album or piece of art, kind of like getting a key or brief glimpse of the "hidden kingdom:" (to quote Greil Marcus).

Wonderstuff - "Ooh She Said" - This was a b-side I think. The Wonderstuff had their fine moments early on, though they fizzled out creatively towards their end, perhaps dazzled by their own cheekiness. This track is more of a curiosity for me now, rather than a staple. I do like the layered acapella vocals at the end.

Belly - "Gepetto" & "Feed The Tree" - I spent the first half of the 90's with a mad crush on Tanya Donelly (saw her once in concert with Throwing Muses, twice with Belly). These songs remind me of a time when I was guaranteed to love pretty well anything that came out on the 4AD label. These songs are nostalgia laden for me, and I recall pouring over the lyrics to these tracks with my good friend Dave at our local suburban record store. I think we concluded that "feed the tree" was a metaphor for death. I also loved the image of the little hellion in Gepetto who had a penchant for decapitating dolls. Donelly wrote some playful and fun stuff, and these songs hold a special place for me still.

Sugarcubes - "Hit" - this leftover remix from Bjork's former band was just before she embarked on her brilliant solo career. Most of the Sugarcubes material hasn't stood the test of time for me, and the Icelandic attempt at rapping by her former band mate leaves little to be desired on this track. Proceed with caution

PJ Harvey - "Sheela-na-gig" & "Dress" - Still like these tracks. PJ Harvey was a bold and exciting new artist at this time. I have remained an admirer of most of what she has done since then. The low-fi production values lend these tracks to aging well. Both songs are very raw & primal and I admire the level of energy

Suede - "Metal Mickey" - I hoped & prayed at the time that Suede would fill the empty post-Smiths void in my heart. Over time their Ziggy Stardust longings left me unsatisfied, and well, I'd much rather listen to vintage Bowie over their material any day.

The The - "Dogs of Lust" - Matt Johnson & Johnny Marr were a short-lived and wonderful combination. The album "Dusk" was one of my favourites from the 90's, and their concert at the masonic temple in Toronto was awe-inspiring. I think I may spin this album again soon.

Ian McCulloch - "Lover, Lover, Lover" - interesting choice for a Leonard Cohen cover. This version is more of an anthem compared to the original, complete with U2 inspired big guitars throughout. No subtlety here, Ian McCulloch practically shouts out Cohen's pleadings to the heavens. Very catchy and engaging to the end, with a few lines whispered before the last crescendo for good measure. Not my favourite Cohen cover, but definitely in my top 10.

Neneh Cherry & Michael Stipe - "Trout" - a well intentioned diatribe in favor of more sex education as a response to the growing AIDS epidemic. Having said this, Michael Stipe should NEVER attempt to rap again EVER, and I say this affectionately as long time REM fan. This one will not adorn any future mixes I can assure you.

ALSO: for your reading pleasure, here is a piece from Wired magazine - Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore on the power of the mix tape.

I've Been Haiku'd!

Thanks to the folks at "Haiku For You" for turning my crow story into one of their visual haikus (here's the link) . I'd recommend checking out their site. Seems like a fun project really, they take one submitted story a day and turn it into a visual haiku.

Meanwhile... the legend of the crow continues to grow in my house, and my kids will be thrilled to see this visual interpretation of the event. This will only add to the growing tale of a rather aggressive momma crow! All part of my ploy to help my kids (and myself) develop a sense of awe and wonder towards this beautiful world.

A Few Thoughts Re: Nick Hornby's "How To Be Good"

I just finished this book last week, and it was well worth it. Nick Hornby is funny, observant, and in this book he manages to accurately capture the psychological make-up of middle class folks, who in this case are trying to redeem their souls in the wake of leading a comfortable existence. How, with the best of intentions, does one be good when your life force is drained from running endlessly on the hamster wheel that is modern life? A valid question in this age, and Hornby approaches it masterfully.

There are also some poignant observations regarding some of the numbing and sterile aspects of middle-class existence, and the struggle to balance the pursuit of the "good life" with the need to reach beyond our own little cocoons into a larger social responsibility. What shapes our morals in this context when we feel barely afloat ourselves at times?

When one family member in this novel has a dramatic "conversion" to a new paradigm, the other members also have a crisis as they reevaluate everything they have taken for granted up to this point. This works itself out in a playful manner, and as usual Hornby has a keen ability to juxtapose how what goes on within our internal workings and what actually comes out of our mouths are not always congruent.

I did love this book and there are some sublime moments to say the least. Highly recommended...........

I also wanted to post a passage that I love. In this a mother is observing her daughter;

"What has happened to Molly in her first eight years? More or less nothing. We have protected her from the world as best we can. She has been brought up in a loving home, she has two parents, she has never been hungry, and she receives an education that will prepare her for the rest of her life; and yet she is sad, and that sadness is not, when you think about it, inappropriate.... It seems to me now that the plain state of being human is dramatic enough for anyone; you don't need to be a heroin addict or a performance poet to experience extremity. You just have to love someone."

This is a struggle for many parents - you want to protect your kids from hurt, anguish, disappointment, the very things that are a natural consequence of loving another human being and bringing a life into this world. Our ability to hurt others and to let them down is staggering and endless.

This desire to inoculate against sadness is valid and likely comes from a good place, though I often think it can have destructive consequences. Perhaps it is healthier to provide children with a vocabulary to explore sadness, to learn how to give voice and direction to this emotion, rather than suppressing, medicating or denying it as we often do in our culture. Maybe we are unable do this ourselves, and this is where the struggle lies....

Anyways, I have been chewing on this passage for about week, and I think it will stick with me for a while. Thank you Nick for so eloquently capturing the human condition!

BOOK BLOGGING: DYLAN'S "CHRONICLES"- part 1

SURROUNDED BY BRILLIANCE

Currently I am reading Bob Dylan's "Chronicles Vol. 1" and I am completely absorbed by it. His stream of consciousness recollections are very compelling and I am utterly fascinated by his tales about the eccentrics, artists, poets and musicians that he was surrounded by during his pre-fame days in the New York City folk scene of the early 60's.

I love the stories about Cafe Wha? a subterranean venue that Dylan regularly attended when he first came to NYC. It featured a patchwork of performers during the day, including a comedian, ventriloquist, magician, and "somebody whose entire act was facial acrobatics".

Dylan mentions a guy named Billy Butcher who he describes as a "sad character", whose repertoire consisted of only one song called "High-Heel Sneakers", and who always introduced it by saying "this one is for the chicks". According to Dylan "he sang that one song pretty good though". This is great stuff!

Comedians like Woody Allen, Richard Prior and Lenny Bruce would perform at night. This is where Dylan would hang out with Tiny Tim, and would spend his time in the cafe kitchen , waiting to get stage time after some of the other more "known" performers would finish.

Needles to say, I am having one of my time travel fantasies, and this place and time is now officially on my list. I am awe struck by the number of creative (or at least interesting) individuals Dylan was surrounded by during his early years.

This reminds me that who or what you surround yourself with is very important. Admittedly, I miss some of the folks who I used to know who were of this caliber and helped bring out my own creative spirit. Thankfully, I have made a few re-connections recently via Facebook, and this part of me has begun to re-awaken (special thanks to Dave Dyment, an old friend and artist who I find very inspiring).

Anyways, I am completely taken with this book so far, so there will be definitely more thoughts and reflections to come...

Album Review: Crowded House "Time on Earth"

The cover of this album says it all. Our "time on earth" is fleeting, precious, and in the case of former Crowded House drummer Paul Hester, ultimately tragic. The image of the blue dragon (depression) devouring Hester, who died by suicide in 2005, sets the tone for this thoughtful and introspective album from a reunited Crowded House.

Musically, there is nothing ground breaking here, but what you do get is more finely tuned and thoughtful song writing from Neil Finn. This album is a natural progression from his last major release, "Everyone is Here" recorded with brother Tim under the Finn Brothers moniker in 2004. In a similar vein, there is a fair deal of reflection in these songs and many of them sneak up on you with a refreshing degree of subtlety. These are the type of songs that grow on you over time and embed themselves for the long haul into your emotional weather system.

The opening track, "Nobody Wants To" appears to have been influenced by Hester's death. When Finn sings "They make it go away/Pretending that its all ok/Broken pieces on the ground/And everyone's tiptoeing round" you get a sense for the regret and loss anyone would feel under such circumstances. The song reflects the all too human tendency to brush over the uncomfortable issue of depression, often with tragic outcomes. It is both haunting and lovely and it is a definite high lite of the album.

A more classic Crowded House moment is the upbeat pop of "She Called Up" which would fit well alongside many of their previous pop gems. Of similar note is "Even A Child" , featuring guest Johnny Marr's familiar jangly guitar work, perfectly complimenting Finn's penchant for a good pop melody. A pleasant surprise is the mid-tempo and slightly ethereal "Say That Again", complete with rubbery backing synths reminiscent of Finn's early forays with Split Enz, perhaps paying homage to his new wave roots.

Also of note is "Silent House", a track co-written with the Dixie Chicks and originally recorded on their Rick Rubin produced "Taking The Long Way" album in 2006. In this case we get a less anthemic , more minimalist version, complete with background distortion and Finn's vocals more subdued than normal. This seems fitting for a song that is about looking back in regret at things left unsaid and attempting to make lost connections down the road.

This album is at times a gentle whisper, infused with moments of sweet pop to lighten the load. For every moment of regret there are moments of hope, affirming that life exists in even the darkest places. It is summed up perfectly in "The Heaven That I'm Making" where we are beckoned to consider that "if there is hell on earth, there must be heaven too/ both in one place, not a second to loose". We are left therefore with a choice, and which one do we embrace?

In exploring these dual elements we get a more complete picture of life, and ultimately a more mature and fully realized album made by a songwriter and his band that have had a lot to reflect on during their lengthy hiatus. This is definitely an album for the grown-up crowd, and of course I mean this in the best way possible.

By this point in time Neil Finn's voice has become like a familiar old friend who still has a few bitter-sweet yarns to spin. Time has infused these tales with a little more depth, meaning and urgency, aimed at getting it all out before the clock runs out.

Tainted Toys & The Global Economy

I was aghast while reading a recent article in the New York Times that included continued revelations regarding poor manufacturing standards in China. The latest string of toy recalls, this time through Mattel, is alarming to those of us who have children, and perhaps this it is a wake up call to reconsider many of our consumer habits. This is especially true for those of us who want to avoid having our children ingest lead . This must be what we reap as a result of our incessant demand for cheap products that are outsourced and sub-contracted out half way across the world.

For me, many of the startling images of mass industrialization and environmental degradation from the film "Manufactured Landscapes" are embedded permanently in my mind. I think of them every time now that I see the ubiquitous "made in China label" on many products, and I have been contemplating for some time an appropriate personal response to these issues.

Though rather than simply just laying blame elsewhere, we in the West must also take responsibility for a great deal of this. In many ways we have given up on being attached to any meaningful forms of production, and have sold our soul to the lowest bidder overseas. This makes it all too easy avoid responsibility, as witnessed in Mattel's press release regarding this massive recall, where CEO Robert A. Eckert responded by stating that ""No system is perfect".

I can only hope that these revelations may cause many of us understand more fully the consequences of the globalized economy, and perhaps compel us to demand more localized and potentially safer choices. As for me, I am now determined more than ever to both discover and promote any company that produces locally, or at the very least in North America, where we have some capacity to influence both safety and environmental standards. I owe this to my children, in more ways that one.

(Note: To get a full appreciation of the scope of this massive recall, here is a link from the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission)

"Screaming at Life"

I wanted to include some wise words from Jeff Cothren (check out his blog "Syndesmotic Soul Mania") from a posting titled "patience";

While there is much to be said for desire, for pushing oneself, for battling through life, there is as much to be said for biding one's time, for allowing the appropriate moment to reveal itself, for letting life speak to you instead of screaming at life.

His words struck a cord for me, and seemed to fit with how I have been feeling lately regarding my efforts to "live in the moment". It reminded me of a piece I posted in July ("As The Crow Flies"), around how without provocation or any effort "life" spoke to me through a rather irate crow one morning when I went to the store with my son. It was a seemingly small event that spoke volumes to me about being open to wonder.*

I think we do a lot of "screaming at life" in our culture, and it has become a necessary and subversive act these days to slow life down and look and listen to what is going on around us, especially in our immediate context. We have a lot of information at our fingertips, from pretty well anywhere in the world at any given time, yet we hardly know our neighbours or have the time to walk and breath in the air around us.

This is a reoccurring (and rather obsessive) theme for me, and I will definitely be exploring this on an ongoing basis. Thanks Jeff for you inspiring words and for the thoughtful exchange we had.

*Note: the legend of the crow has grown considerably, even for my other son who wasn't present for the original event - we check the tree everytime we go back to that same store and it is now affectionately referred to as the "crow store" .

Foraging for Blackberries on Vancouver's North Shore

This time of year there are countless numbers of ripe blackberries growing wildly throughout the North Shore of Vancouver. They are so common place that you hardly notice them, and I would say about 90% of them fall off the bush after becoming over-ripened and remaining unharvested. You can simply pick them and eat them while going for a casual stroll or while you wait for the bus.

This weekend my family and I picked buckets of them just down the street from our home. Our little urban foraging adventure caused some curious looks from passers by, and we had great fun filling our plastic containers with these juicy and ripe berries. It was very rewarding to be this close to a food source, and to eat something not shipped thousands of kms from California. We made great blackberry muffins and other treats afterwards. It was gratifying eating something we had an immediate connection to in our own community.

Of course I failed to notice that we even had a few large blackberry bushes in our front yard. I do have a few valid excuses for this over site - we just moved to our house and new neighbourhood a few months ago, and we hardly use the front entrance. Anyways, my kids were ecstatic to note we had the same blackberries in our front yard, and we immediately scooped up more of these sweet treasures from outside of our house.

So here it is, so much abundance and beauty around me, and I failed to notice what was right outside my front door. This happens to me sometimes, such as my failure to notice the majestic North Shore Mountains, until some days they just seem to appear out of the mist and make their presence known. What a crime to neglect such beauty and such sources of abundant life. What else could I be missing?

My quest continues....

Making Space for the Sacred: Pancakes on Saturdays

Every Saturday morning, almost without fail, we make pancakes in my house. My boys look forward to this familiar ritual and will often talk about it for a few days leading up to it (i.e."two more sleeps until pancakes"). We use fresh and healthy ingredients, adding various kinds of fruit to the mix, and of course we always make them from scratch.

It is a messy and wonderful affair and we are often elbow deep in flower and other ingredients as we make the requisite "doubled" recipe. The time and effort it takes is part of the enjoyment. Everyone has role in this process, and the boys take turns being in charge of the "wet" & "dry" ingredients.

It is a very tactile, hand-on process for all of us and functions as a concrete connection to the joy of creating something, which is often missing in our processed and "ready-made" world. There is often a big mess to clean up, which is itself a necessary component in the art of creation.

Of course it would be much faster and more efficient to throw on some instant batter and feed my hungry and feral children quickly. If we did this, however, we would then miss out on this opportunity to slow life down and simply enjoy our connection to one another through the art of collaboration.

This also provides a hopeful and valuable lesson to me very week. It reminds me that it is often necessary to take the less convenient route, to slow down and embrace each moment. This was missing from my world for a while and I am all too happy to reclaim it. I look forward to creating other sacred rituals that will continue to take me on this path towards to being more alive and part of the vibrant world around me.

A Few Thoughts Regarding Nick Drake's "Family Tree"

OK, so I understand why the folks at RollingStone didn't give this new Nick Drake treasury a ringing endorsement, and yes, I have to agree that there are indeed some extraneous elements to this posthumous release (i.e the charming, though forgettable Kegelstatt Trio, or the 30 second album intro). Having said all this, there are some very warm and endearing moments to this collection that warrant further consideration.

The low-fi hiss of the old analogue tapes, the occasional clanging of glasses in the background, or murmuring between tracks all combine to make these recordings even more endearing. It is a refreshing break from the digitized slick pop machine of the Itunes era, and I have found myself drawn into the warmth and intimacy of these home recordings, lovingly compiled by Drake's sister, Gabrielle. (Note: her letter to her brother in the liner notes is heart wrenching and beautiful).

Though not used commonly as adjectives to describe Nick Drake's music, there are actually some playful and fun elements to a few of these tracks, including a slightly subversive bar room diddy written by Robin Frederick called "Been Smoking Too Long", and an upbeat version of the traditional tune "Black Mountain Blues". Both tracks have clear & confident guitar picking and you can hear the joy in Nick Drake's voice as he discovers his muse. This is definitely the sound of a young, emerging artist finding his voice and revelling in his artistic abilities.

Also of note are a few covers of Jackson C. Frank tunes, including a mellow and meandering version of ' "Blues Runs The Game", and "Here Comes The Blues", which you can hear as laying the foundation for the development of Nick Drake's song writing a few years down the road.

More of a curiosity than essential canon is the home demo of Drake's own masterful "Day is Done", offering a glimpse of the brilliance yet to come on his later studio recordings. If anything, it provides a snapshot of the artist's growth and development, including his own self conscious nervous laughter in the middle of the song.

A few key tracks have already latched themselves onto me permanently and are refusing to let go. I am sure I will be humming a few of them on many care-free, bare feet in the grass summer days to come. As for Nick Drake's brilliant "official" albums, I'll save those for my reflective Autumn walks, though I am thankful now that I have another season in which to appreciate his music.

Now excuse me as I go out and track down some Folkways recordings to satisfy my newly required low-fidelity cravings!

FROM THE ARCHIVES: My Ruminations on Neil Young's "Living With War Album"

It looks like Neil Young's Living With War Blog is still up and running a year after the album came out, and he even has a clock counting down the remaining days of the Bush presidency (something every hopeful household should have!). He also has postings of other protest songs/videos from artists both from the mainstream and indie sphere. I can't help but admire the energy and tenacity of this man.

Posted below is a copy of the article I wrote on my previous blog when the album came out last year. I was giddy with excitement at the time to hear such a brazen assault against the goons currently holding the reigns in Washington. A year later I am still impressed with what Neil was trying to accomplish, and his ongoing efforts to keep this message alive. Enjoy!


Friday, April 28, 2006

"LIVING WITH WAR" -Neil Young's Hopeful Protest

It is very inspiring to see what Neil Young is doing with his Living With War album. There appears to be a bold urgency attached to this project; the DIY approach, recording it in a matter of 6 days, and using the blogosphere to get the message music out quickly. The low-fi production values enhance this sense of urgency & compliments the topical relevancy of this record. You get a sense that he reached a boiling point and had an incredible burst of creativity.

It would be naive to suggest that this protest album will somehow contribute towards altering the current destructive direction of US foreign and domestic policy, or help "Impeach the President" as he playfully sings. What he does succeed in accomplishing is providing a surprisingly fresh and raw voice that stands in stark contrast to a culture of apathy, where people's worldviews are shaped by sound bites on corporate media. This is the world he critiques on Restless Consumer";

"Don't need no ad machine, Telling me what I need, Don't need no Madison Avenue
War, Don't need no more boxes I can't see, Covered in flags but I can't see
them on TV"

On the Living With War blog some people have commented around how they found the songs to be depressing, too reflective of the stark global reality of life in the early 21st century. I had the opposite reaction and have found the songs to be quite hopeful. I appreciate Neil's bluntness, which is the perfect remedy in an era of Orwellian euphemisms, where phrases like "friendly fire" and "soft targets" are used frequently to lighten up combat for the masses.

It does not seem that Neil Young is coming from a place of bleak nihilism, but a place where he feels that amidst the folly and darkness of this war there is a place for voices to cry out not only in anger, but in the hope that we can actually learn from history and make better choices. He honestly believes that as a unified voice we can make a difference.

It isn't accidental that he put together a 100 person choir to sing back up. This choir acts like a classic Greek chorus, though rather than foreshadowing a fated tragedy to come they are hopeful voices crying out , saying that we can move beyond the darkness of this current age. This is the chorus of voices on the title track that sing " I make a holy vow never to kill again". This is not the sound of people giving into despair.

In naming the sorrows of our time Neil Young helps liberate us from their tyranny. On "Shock and Awe" he sings "back in the days of shock and awe, we came to liberate them all, history was the cruel judge of overconfidence" and notes the "thousands of bodies in the ground, brought home in boxes to a trumpet's sound". This is not about narrow ideology and partisan politics. This is about being a mature global citizen, willing to analyze our actions and acknowledge our mistakes.

Neil certainly isn't the first to craft a protest album (he pays proper dues to Bob Dylan on "Flags of Freedom"), though there is an urgency and immediacy to this recording that hasn't been seen in popular music for a long time. In many ways it may become a lasting legacy, reflecting an appropriate response to a televised war in the internet age.

In using the available technology of the internet to create dialogue and have his songs heard in advance of any official release he has made this into an event that transcends the actual content of the album. In doing this he has invited us to join in with his choir and create a voice for hope and change, one that will not be content to accept the "golden photo ops" and believe that it is "mission accomplished".

Album Review: Gogol Bordello's "Super-Taranta!"

Admittedly, I have no prior "history" with Gogol Bordello, and I had not afforded them even a passing thought until Bob Boilen & company raved about their latest album, "Super Taranta!" on NPR's "All Songs Considered" summer preview back in June.

The preview included the opening track "Ultimate", which is a chaotic & wonderful masterpiece. The song is refreshing due to it's directness, simplicity and infectious energy. It builds to a frenzied crescendo with a provocative chorus that acts as a call to arms against the forces of legislated nostalgia;

"There were never any good old days, They are today, they are tomorrow, It's a stupid thing we say, Cursing tomorrow with sorrow."

As a first time listener I was immediately drawn into the rest of the album as if it were a fabulous train wreck that I could not keep away from. It was a raw and visceral listening experience. My reaction afterwards (one I have heard repeated elsewhere) was to think that this is indeed what The Pogues could have become had Shane MacGowan remained sober periodically, and had the energy level of the band been turned up a few notches.

What is immediately endearing upon first listen is the off beat phrasing and the strong unapologetic Eastern European accent from singer Eugene Hutz, a former refugee from the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Ukraine. He brings a unique perspective and voice to this already diverse gypsy-punk NYC collective.

Quirky songs with equally eccentric titles abound, including "Supertheory of Supereverything" where Hutz describes the Bible as being "unwitty", and sings about his mistrust of disciples, "even if they're made of marble".

Other stand out tracks include "My Strange Uncles From Abroad", a song of loss for a first generation immigrant, and "Tribal Connection", which reminds me of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" thrown into a blender and reconfigured to reflect a weary ambivalence towards early 21st century tribalism and narrow mindedness. Also of note is the slowly building "Alcohol", a straight ahead gin soaked bar room lament that is also a heck of a lot of fun.

Musically, the album functions as the soundtrack to some adrenalin fueled post-modern gypsy circus. The frenetic violin playing, choppy off kilter acoustic strumming and pounding drums are occasionally balanced out by the organic warmth of Yuri Lemeshev's accordion. This is the perfect back up band for Hutz's globe trotting, stream of consciousness meanderings.

This is not an album to walk alone to and enjoy in solitude on your IPod. It demands to be shared and embraced communally with other folks in mood for rapturous celebration. It is a bold and uplifting experience that avoids sounding trite. It functions as a life affirming coup d'état that cuts straight through the bland sentimentality present in much of popular music . I would recommend getting on board the Gogol Bordello express immediately and embracing the manic and joyful ride that this album provides.