Old Enough to Forget

Heavy Metal is one of my favourite soundtrack albums ever. True, not every song is a winner, but boy howdy the hit to miss ratio here is Hall of Fame worthy. The opening sequence when the Corvette drops from the Space Shuttle to Riggs "Radar Rider" blew my mind. It still absolutely boggles the brain that Riggs did not include the songs they contributed to the soundtrack on their debut and only album - oh what should have been. Then again, a lot of the songs here were only available on the soundtrack - both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good for me since I own the soundtrack, but after buying several albums by the featured artists, I was hoping some of those songs would appear there too. Unfortunately, they didn’t. I digress.  Heavy Metal  (the movie) showed a lot of boobies, and I spent a fair bit of time channelling my inner Den ... "Oh boobies." One vignette after another were loosely braided into an overarching story that was cool but didn't make any sen...

Frank Turner is a bit of a conundrum. I can't rightly recall how I first heard of Mr. Turner, but I ended up with copies of England Keep My Bones (2011) and the two albums that followed, Tape Deck Heart (2013) and  Positive Songs for Negative People (2015). The only song I can remember is the all too short "Eulogy" that opens his 2011 release. I do remember them as being pretty decent, even if they didn't stick with me. I obviously liked him enough to pick up more of his stuff. That's the problem (one of many) with getting old, the neural pathways required to make those associative connections with time place and music are well worn and the ability to carve fresh tracks alongside the long establish ruts is pretty much an improbable task. However, my ability to appreciate music in the moment has not diminished. I'm as quick to pass to judgment as I ever was. If anything I'm more self aware and will often take the time to intentionally listen, really liste...

A while back I'd found City Boy's second album Dinner at the Ritz and I'd made a comment about being on the lookout for more of their stuff. Well, I didn't have to look that hard or wait that long. In addition to finding Young Men Gone West I also snagged a copy of Book Early, both of which have been patiently sitting waiting. There are others out there ... it's just a matter of time, and space ... I'll need more space soon. Before the recording sessions started drummer Roger Kent left the band, and Tony Braunagel from Crawler was brought in to play on Young Men Gone West . The dual lead vocalists Lol Mason, and Steve Broughton were awesome and really worked off each other. Their voices are fairly similar but not entirely alike. Sort of like how people used to confuse Henley and Frey. Mike Slamer the band's guitarist has a lot of room to stretch throughout the album but never overplays or resorts to technical noodling for the sake of the noodle. The...

Steven Page has been quietly releasing albums since his departure from Barenaked Ladies back in 2010. I'll be upfront and admit I don't have a dog in the fight as to whether the band is better off with him or without him. Honestly I was a casual at best and while I have a few of their CDs I more or less stopped listening after their 2001 release  Disc One that collected their greatest hits from 1991 to 2001. I had no idea he had recently (dates and times are relative around here) released Excelsior . Over the last 25 years I've more or less watched from the sidelines. When Steven left Barenaked Ladies, I  watched along with millions of Canadian their reconciliation that wasn't a reconciliation for the Canadian Music Hall of Fame back in 2018. That performance absolutely silenced any doubters that this, THIS was the version of the band we needed, but wouldn't get - and that's okay. As cool as that Hall of Fame moment was it somehow manage to exclude o...

The first Police album I ever heard was Outlandos d’Amour , at my buddy Mike’s place. I heard it once. I’m pretty sure it belonged to one of his three sisters - most likely Leslie, because she was scary and cool and smoked cigarettes. Of course I liked “Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle." Who didn’t? But the punk‑ish reggae thing never really landed with me. Sting’s habit of tossing in those yo‑yo‑yo yodels irritated me then and honestly are still irksome. Oddly enough, though, I loved “Be My Girl - Sally” from the debut, and staying true to my contrarian streak, I also really liked “Mother” from Synchronicity , which ended up being the first Police album I actually bought. I suppose this is my way of saying I was not, am not, and likely never will be a dyed‑in‑the‑wool fan of The Police - so take everything that follows as confirmation of my suspect credentials. The first time I remember hearing anything from Zenyatta Mondatta , I was on a basketball road trip and one...

From the annals of What Could Have Been I present Flesh for Lulu's 1989 release Plastic Fantastic . This wasn't my first exposure to the band. I first heard them on the radio back when CBC Radio in the dark hours would feature Brave New Waves and expose people to indie and alternative music the mainstream eschewed. I'm racking my brain trying to remember the song that caught my interest. It's probably a false memory at this point but I'm inclined to think it was "Baby Hurricane" from Big Fun City / Blue Sisters Swing . At the time when I found the CD I figured it was a collection of two releases, but there was no internet so I was never sure. It was a rough, raw and pretty cool collection. I will also admit that I thought "Laundromat Kat" was awesome ... and yes it is two of their 1985 releases repackaged in 1986. A few years later I stumbled upon Plastic Fantastic , and this time while the songs were still raw there was also a polished sheen to...