02.22.07

When you’re big Canada…

Posted in some albums we done liked others we ain't - February 22nd, 2007 at 7:17 pm by Mimi

Since we started the site, I’ve been saying I was gonna talk about Joel Plaskett, because I love him in an unreasonable sort of way usually seen in Cricket when confronted with skinny boys with tattoos, [Hee! It’s funny ‘cause it’s true.—Daisy] and because I am random and sketchy, I never got around to it.

La De Da and Truthfully, Truthfully — The Joel Plaskett Emergency

Joel Plaskett is fairly famous in Canada. That’s not quite the same as being Big in Japan, but it might as well be for a non-border dwelling American audience (I am always shocked when people in the States know Canadian acts because most artists there never break through to the American mainstream, even big acts). He was in a band called Thrush Hermit that I always hated. So, I didn’t really want to give him a chance, but then, guess what? Yeah, I saw him live. [You're so easy that way. Hmm, Mimi doesn't like a band? Well, I'll just take her to a live show then...—Cricket]

I think I saw him first touring to support Truthfully, Truthfully. It was just him and his guitar and all these people at the show that I detested. Let me tell you, my circle of hell will be filled with indie rock chicks wearing slanted bangs and funky glasses, drinking Stella, their “domestic partners” in skinny jeans and a cloud of ennui. [But how do you really feel?—Daisy] It’s sort of amusing, because these people ruin bands for me unless I work really hard to ignore them, but they are also the canaries in my personal coal mine since I know that when they flock, some band is about to get really big really fast (so they can then say they liked the band before they sold out, like, seriously, they are so commercial now!). Anyway, oops, just fell down a K-hole of personal issues there.

So, I saw Joel Plaskett live several years ago, and while the crowd could have been carpet bombed as far as I’m concerned, I was stunned by how witty and amusing Plaskett was himself. [It just goes to show that you can’t judge an artist by the douchebaggery of his fans.—Daisy] I’ll just admit here that I love the Halifax scene and the music that comes out of it. Matt Mays is also a personal favorite. Hell, I even like Sloan of all ridiculousness. If you are reading this thinking “there’s a Halifax scene? A Halifax sound? Where’s Halifax, where Anne of Green Gables is from?” please go to iTunes and download La De Da and be amazed. Plaskett’s the best of that whole set, but there’s a whole universe of music you’re missing out on. Cue up “Truth Be Told.” The irreverent vocal delivery and sassy guitar offset by the sparse production is a perfect introduction to Plaskett. The song is sort of like a rambling conversation with your friend who might have a few issues, but you won’t ever tell him, “get out,” when he shows up at midnight with a bottle of whiskey and a little bit of hell in his spleen.

I think “Love This Town” might have been a single, but I hate the radio so much I’m not sure if it was actually played on rock stations or if the music programming people at the CBC just played it constantly (he’s a favorite of the Canadian public radio cartel which I am addicted to—to the point of listening to it every day even now and forcing Cricket to listen along; it’s pretty amusing). If you are yourself a musician and have played nightmare venues in front of crappy crowds, or you’ve been disenchanted with your “fans,” this one’s for you. “I saw your band in the early days/we all understand why you moved away/we’ll hold a grudge anyway.” The whole mentality that fans of an artist somehow own stock in them really pisses me off. Like I’ve said here before, entitlement by fans makes me violent. When I hear someone say “Oh, I liked them before they went mainstream” I just dislike that person automatically. Some people judge others on what religion they are or how they treat animals; me, I hate people who identify their own cool points by hating on an artist because they decided to feed themselves. Please kindly step the left for the line to fuck off. [You know what I love about you guys? When Cricket loves something, she gets all thirteen-year-old-girl giddy. When Mimi likes something, she becomes Rants McRantypants. It really does gladden my heart.—Daisy]

Where was I again? Right, I was talking about how awesome Joel Plaskett is. Download “Love This Town” and you will probably love him, or at least want to hang out with him.

What is this madness? Truthfully, Truthfully isn’t on iTunes? Damn, well, Amazon has it.

Now, considering how much I go on about not liking rock music, it’s sort of amusing that I realized while writing this that La De Da is the more stripped down and dude-with-his-guitary of this set of records and yet! And yet, I love Truthfully Truthfully in an unholy way. I don’t quantify and list-make, so I can’t say Top Ten Albums ever, but this record certainly has a special place in my soul. It makes me HAPPY. Yeah, one of those sorts of really scientific things.

The intro notes to “Work Out Fine” always make me smile and go YAY! to my iTunes or radio or other music-delivery device. This was a single, um, I think. Maybe this was one with a video even? I hated MuchMusic, so I hardly ever watched it unless I was stoned or someone else turned it on. Or both in the case of The Wedge which I had inflicted on me on a weekly basis for years.

All my friends, where did they go?
To Montreal, Toronto.
All my friends, they split too soon.
They split town with the fork and the spoon.
They all split town and they left me sitting with a bottle of wine
Gonna pop the cork, say my goodbyes
And everything’ll work out fine

Seriously, who hasn’t been there? This also has the added notes of regionalism that people who aren’t from NYC or California can relate to. Even if you’re not Canadian, the message is still vibrant and true.

“I go to all the parties, and I never have a good time, it’s like we’re acting out a movie, mystery and crime.” Ok, I am just going to stop myself from quoting the entire album. BUY THIS RECORD. These lyrics are from “Mystery and Crime” which is a pretty straightforward Halifax pop song with a relentlessly upbeat tempo broken up by soft sections or just total breaks for half-beats of silence.

My favorite song from this album is “Extraordinary”. Since I am not quoting lyrics anymore, I am sort of stymied. Why do I oppress myself? ACK! But there’s a lyric about setting the world on fire, self. Yes, I know, self, but talk about the song construction! SIGH. Cowbell? This song will make you want to dance.

My white-belt and skinny jeans wearing ex has a Joel Plaskett Emergency t-shirt, so Plaskett is endorsed on both ends of the hipper-than-thou spectrum.

Joel is (from what I can glean from the lack of solid evidence) going to be at the North American Folk Alliance Festival this weekend in Memphis. So will Wes Charlton and a metric asston of other high quality artists. Maybe you should give that a go if you’re in drivable distance. [And by "you" you mean us, right?—Cricket]

Permalink