CALL & ANSWER

I love it when a songwriter overtly references another artist, song or album and how it makes me drift towards other artistic possibilities while being immersed in the current musical narrative that I am listening to. This creates a continuous feedback loop where the self referencing world of pop music reinforces it's own history (and mythology), creating context and bulding a cohesive universe of sorts.

One examples that I adore is in the song "So Far Around The Bend" by The National; "You’ve been humming in a daze forever, praying for Pavement to get back together". A good illustration of the power of art to imprint itself in the brain and become entrenched in our psyche.

One obvious, and perhaps my favourite example of overt referencing is the Camera Obscura song "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" (2006) in response to "Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?" (1984) by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions. It is a playful track and I can picture singer Tracyanne Campbell being a fan of Cole and flaunting the influence proudly.



There is a reason why some of the most compelling forms of art, music and film are often those that are aware of their own history and our able to reference both itself, as well as that which may be behind it's own genesis. This provides a sense of place in a creative universe where connections create a dynamic sense of birth and rebirth, where various forms play off each other and grow into something new.

THE MISSISSAUGA BLOB

I love urban legends. I recently rediscovered one from my childhood, “The Mississauga Blob” as it is referred to by some kind soul who took the time to enter it on Wikipedia. I remember at the time hearing reports about the national (and international) press investigating a mysterious incident of some flaming object shooting into someone’s backyard.

It goes like this; apparently on June 19, 1979 a man and his daughter were sitting in their backyard and claimed to see an object that was "perfectly cylindrical” with flames about 18 inches high come flying through their backyard, landing with a “sickening thud”. The father decided this was a big deal and managed to get the press involved, which then prompted officials to take his claim seriously.

Of course my eight year-old imagination was inspired by this, and the idea of random flaming objects bringing an element of the extraterrestrial to my otherwise quiet suburban community was appealing. It was even more intriguing than the rumour about the neighbourhood “bad girl” who got high when she ingested some aspirin with coca cola, or the kid who thought she was impregnated by her teddy bear.

Upon further investigation it was later revealed that mysterious object was in fact a frisbee that was set on fire and thrown into someone’s backyard as part of a prank. Still though, the fact that it warranted some larger scale media attention provided sufficient validation in my eight year-old mind.

This was the pre-internet era of course, and there was likely some lag time between the reporting of the initial “mysterious sighting” and the final report that officials investigated to discount it. By my count, that gave us a few days time to speculate further on whether it was aliens or the ubiquitous bogey-man who was responsible for this atrocity. Of course during this time the story became more grandiose with each new telling

I love that fact that someone took the time to document this on Wikipedia, which in my mind reinforces the positive aspects of user driven content. It was great to have a vague memory from childhood reflected online, bringing to mind those strange stories, legends and myths that are an essential part of my psychological make-up.

It is good to remember these tales from time to time.

MY PRIVATE VINYL SPEAKEASY

I went to see my music "dealer" the other day, a fellow vinyl enthusiast I met courtesy Craigslist who hooks me up with some great vinyl every so often. I periodically schedule times where I can head down to his rec room and leisurely peruse the stacks of wall to wall vinyl to help satisfy my musical addiction.

While I browse he plays me some great samples - blues records, dub reggae, post-punk, whatever suits the moment, and I leave with a small stack of records to take home. It is an awesome experience, kind of like an exclusive speak-easy for music geeks. Of course now that I have a regular supplier I know that I am hooked.

Here are the recent gems that I picked up during my last vinyl foraging engagement;

Brian Eno - "Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)" (1974)

This is Eno's second post-Roxy Music album. I was inspired to find this one after listening to his recent David Byrne collaboration and remembering that he is actually a decent and engaging singer, a fact overshadowed by his ambient pieces and role as a producer.

Brian Eno - "Ambient 4: on Land" (1982)

One in a series of Eno's many ambient recordings. I am looking forwarding to relaxing to this one late at night with some really good headphones for closer scrutiny. A recording like this makes a good case for having vinyl on hand, as this one clearly benefits from the dynamic range inherent to vinyl.

Scientist & Peter Chemist - "1999 Dub" (1984)

I have never been a huge fan of dub reggae, though this one was intriguing and was a great soundtrack for my record foraging (my dealer played this one and got me hooked). It is fun to imagine the pre-millennial & dystopian themes in this one from the vantage point of the mid-80's when it was recorded.

Patti Smith - "Radio Ethiopia" (1976)

I am a recent convert to much of Patti Smith's work, and I am especially fond of her earlier albums which often hold a sense of blistering urgency and poetic spirit that I admire. This record was criticized by some at the time for being too "self indulgent", though from my vantage point this is hardly a problem.

The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues" (1988)

This one is a bit of a sentimental favourite, an example of how to do Celtic rock the right way.

I will soon be able to convert these to digital format if anyone wants a fix of some engaging music to enhance their aural palette. Now excuse me, my turntable is calling me!

THE ART OF TWAIKU

In my previous post I expressed my Twitter ambivalence and have since realized that this medium would be more appealing to me with certain parameters in place. Specifically, I realized that the maximum of 140 characters allowed for each Twitter update promotes an economy of language conducive to the ancient Japanese form of poetry known as Haiku.

If I could convince a group of people to engage in an exclusive Haiku format for Twitter than I would be all over it. Just think, your day could be filled with an endless barrage of short poetry that captures the beauty inherent in that simple "Haiku moment".

Here is an example of a Haiku-centric Twitter account might look like for me;

westcoastwalker
3,455,210 followers

tapping fingers - massage the keyboard - typing these words
3 hours ago

staring at the screen -
the glowing canvas
comes to life
1 day ago

one letter at a time
thoughts materialize -
words like these
3 days ago

Of course while I am writing this I googled "Twitter" and 'haiku" and realized there is already a "twaiku" movement, though I am not sure how many people write haikus that are specifically about posting an update on Twitter?

There would have to be some obligatory nature themed haikus as well. Regardless of what they are about I would be thrilled to fill each day with countless tiny poems materializing across my screen, implanting my mind with images that capture a graceful and beautiful moment in time.

Any takers?

TWITTER AMBIVALENCE

I have decided that I am not likely going to sign up for Twitter. If I did have a Twitter account I would probably post annoying and obvious updates like these on a regular basis;

westcoastwalker

2,345,533 followers;

right now I am typing these words
1 hour ago

updating my twitter again
2 hours ago

sitting at my computer, writing these words
5 hours ago

posting another message here
6 hours ago

ad infinitum....

I am not "anti-Twitter", nor do I see it as being inherently good or bad. From my vantage point it reflects both the banality and the vitality of life and everything in between ; Perez Hilton's celeb-o-centric rantings on the inane end of the spectrum, protesters in Iran posting messages to get the true story out on the other end.

If I did use Twitter I would likely resort to my default position of writing cryptic, esoteric or surreal things that would inspire the inevitable WTF moment from anyone with the fortitude to follow my thought process;

I am being stalked by a giant hedgehog named Spiny Norman
2 hours ago

had a nice time levitating in the fire swamp this morning
5 hours ago

Realistically though, if I did use Twitter it would likely be another outlet to pronounce my love for various personal musical obsessions;

listened to the new Wilco album 5 times today - really kicks ass*
35 minutes ago

picked up the "Murmur" deluxe reissue - I am in bonus track heaven
2 days ago

*Note: I actually did listen to the new Wilco album five times the other day, and it really does kick ass

Anyways, I do enjoy some of the Twitter updates from some of my online compadres - I just hope that folks don't sacrifice writing the occasional lengthier and inspired blog posts for the expediency of a few words on Twitter - though if you do, please keep it surreal and cryptic!