Matt Elliott's Online » music

From the Mail Bag

Matt — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:44:53 +0000

I was away this week, as you might remember, in Windsor (birthplace of jazz — read more in a post Erin claims makes no sense), and then pretty damn sick for the remainder of the week. It has not been a fun ride. About the only bright spot has been my continued love affair with Canada’s Worst Driver, which is a tour de force of television the likes of which I’ve rarely seen.

BRIEF ASIDE: I think the thing I like best about Canada’s Worst Driver, and you can actually watch it for free on The Discovery Channel’s website, is that the host — the delightfully named Andrew Younghusband — actually does all the challenges himself, before the contestants do. It’s something I wish more hosts would do.

ASIDE TO AN ASIDE: In fact, it reminds me a little bit of the scenario I hoped would play out during the whole Ken Jennings Jeopardy! thing. Where, after Ken had won 400 games or whatever it was he did, Alex Trebek would start up one episode by saying “You’ve done it Ken! You’ve defeated all the Jeopardy! challengers!” But then he would turn, smile broadly at the camera, pick up his OWN signaling device, and step behind a podium. “Except for one.”

In any case, when I was off watching Discovery Channel reality programming and trying not to vomit, I received a comment to my last post, regarding the Big Shiny Tunes series I wrote about last week.

Luke Adams writes:

i have to take exception with your calling the original big shiny tunes the one that holds up best. oddly, i was also looking at the tracklists of the entire series the other day, and although big shiny tunes 2 was the one i owned and listened to the most when it came out, i was shocked at how strong big shiny tunes 3 was. one or two duds, but it has a bunch of songs i still listen to semi-regularly.

I claimed that Big Shiny Tunes was the best, and looking at the track listings, I’m going to stand by that. Two is undoubtedly a great disc, but it kind of sags during the Blur-Third Eye Blind-Smash Mouth-Sugar Ray section. Bran Van 3000’s awesome “Drinking in LA” snaps it into high gear, and the rest is actually remarkably solid.

To be fair, though, what I actually said was this:

BRIEF ASIDE: I just looked at the tracklists for the Big Shiny Tunes series and it’s amazing how much better the first volume is than every single one that followed it.

And that’s proving disingenuous. I’m issuing a retraction. In fact, the first volume of Big Shiny Tunes is only slightly better than the next few that follow it. I was unfair.

To clear up any and all confusion, I’ve made a graph.

Scientific Graph

I had a pretty rigorous process for defining the metrics here. I took a look at each volume, decided which tracks qualified as “Good” (And I was pretty fair — I gave thumbs up to every Coldplay track and even the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” — because it is awesome.), then divided that number by the total number of tracks on the disc. Then I calculated percentages and made a chart. Finally, I realized I had just spent a significant amount of my time making a chart exploring the history of a Canadian rock compilation that nobody really cares about.

Then I got depressed. Then I moved on. Exeunt.

It was in Bobcaygeon

Matt — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:21:08 +0000

Listening to Here and Now on the CBC on my drive home today, I heard an absolutely mind-blowing version of The Tragically Hip’s “Bobcaygeon” by Damhnait Doyle. I have no idea how to pronounce that name. I can’t stop listening to this.

You can stream it for free on her site. And it’s available on the iTunes music store. Get the whole album! Her versions of “Gimme Gimme” and “Everlong” are great, too.

Drove back to town this morning with working on my mind
I thought of maybe quitting
thought of leaving it behind
went back to bed this morning
and as I’m pulling down the blind
the sky was dull and hypothetical
and falling one cloud at a time

Angry Alanis

Matt — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:03:17 +0000

Have you guys heard this new Alanis Morissette album? Flavors of Engagement? It’s really good! I hate to say it because it sounds so callous, but she really should painfully end multi-year relationships in preparation for recording all her albums. This Ryan Reynolds break-up has led to her best songwriting since “You Oughta Know”.

Seriously, check this out:

From Straitjacket:

This shit’s making me crazy
The way you nullify what’s in my head
You say one thing do another
And argue that’s not what you did
Your way’s making me mental
How you filter as skewed interpret
I swear you won’t be happy til
I am bound in a straitjacket

It sure puts Ryan in an awkward position. Do you think when he was starring in Van Wilder and had just wrapped up his stint on Two Guys, a Girl and for the first season a Pizza Place, when he was just starting to hit on Alanis all sly-like, he ever thought it would end up like this?

Somewhere Dave Coulier is laughing. And sighing. And maybe working in a Burger King or something. I don’t know.

It’s weird, too, because as hot as I think Scarlett Johansson can be, I still don’t really think he traded up. Maybe it’s just my Canadianness speaking, but Alanis is way better.

Another fine cop-out

Matt — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 04:00:11 +0000

I’m sorry, guys. I really am. I had things planned. Big things. They would have knocked your socks off. But unfortunately it got to be 11:54 p.m. which leaves me with only six minutes. I’ll try to figure out how to fill that time, but odds are it will go by so fast that it won’t be filled up with anything good. Like, look, it’s already 11:55. Time moves too quickly.

Some truisms, all about music:

Good songs only come on the radio when you have arrived at your destination and thus need to turn off the radio
As you get older, your disconnection from ‘popular music’ happens so gradually that you’re not even aware of it. You THINK you’re still cool. And then one day you hear a song and you’re like “This strange song sucks!” And that song is the most popular song in the world.
If a song is really and truly good, the part they call the ‘bridge’ will be the best part of the song. I don’t know why.
We’re in a period now where ironic love songs are really popular. Which means we’re well-primed for the return of the sappy power-ballad about love in about 4 or 5 years. It’s simple physics. I’m really excited about it.

We’ll have more on this and other issues tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Nightswimming Deserves a Quiet Night

Matt — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:16:23 +0000

They played REM’s “Nightswimming” on CBC Radio today on my drive home. The host called it a “Great Summer Song” which, well, I guess it is, in the same sense that “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” is a great song about history.

It is an awesome song, though. I don’t even like REM that much, but “Nightswimming” is fantastic.

This part is weird, though:

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,
Turned around backwards so the windshield shows
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse
Still, it’s so much clearer
I forgot my shirt at the water’s edge
The moon is low tonight

The line about forgetting his shirt. How do you even DO that? I can understand forgetting sunglasses or a hat, but a shirt? Who is so comfortable with their body that they routinely walk around shirtless without even being aware of it?

Michael Stipe, I guess.

Here’s the video.

I’ll open comments on this post so people can talk about how much they love Nightswimming. Any comments not about Nightswimming will not be approved for posting.