1995 was a pretty good year. Still reeling from the death of Kurt Cobain we found some sweet solace in the likes of Hayden, a Canadian musician who hasn’t only survived the 90’s but did pretty well then too. With his debut album, Hayden introduced us to his super-slowed-down folk style and his super-low-down voice. We liked it, and continue to. Since then Hayden has gone on to record a whole bunch of really good music; his song-writing has steadily improved. I especially like his the story-telling style of his music and the fact that, as demonstrated on his famous live album, he can really do a lot with just a guitar and his voice.

Bad as it Seems (1995)

So I grew up in the 90’s, I couldn’t help it. In this new series I’d like to explore some great music from the 90’s. It does exist, of this I’m sure. Somewhere in my parent’s basement exists a CD titled “Absolute 90’s” and while the bands on that album, acts like Elastica and White Zombie, are exactly the kind of talent that I have in mind there was some good music to be had amongst all the, well, other stuff.

I Mother Earth, remember them? Remember the think metallic-beaded necklaces and the spiky, bleached blond hair? That certain way of holding the microphone that Fred Durst later made popular. These were the 90’s and it was all fair game. But I Mother Earth did some things right. Hailing straight out of the grunge movement, and trying to look the part, they mixed in just a touch bit of World Music and interesting percussion into their compositions to make them stand out. Not necessarily their singles, but certainly their b-sides, were often very cleverly composed and interesting-sounded pieces full of heavy toms and light bongo drums and if you can get past the machismo vocals they’re not so bad to listen to.

And so I present to you, readers, I Mother Earth. Love children of the 1990’s, born of the grunge movement and firmly planted in the memories of adults just about my age all over this great country. They’re not so bad.

Used to be Alright (1996)

Someday I’d like to write an article about the high pace of technological advancement in the 21st century. For now, I’d just like to share this little gem with you:

To any aspiring writer, learning that The Bishop’s Man is only Linden MacIntyre’s second novel is surely nothing short of depressing. MacIntyre’s story of one priest’s journey through the Catholic Church’s abuse scandals reads like he’s a writer who’s had lots of practice. He has, in a way. In the non-fiction realm, Linden MacIntyre is a well-known, award-winning investigative journalist. The host of Canada’s The Fifth Estate on public television and the often guest host of The Current on public radio, MacIntyre clearly has a prowess for fiction too.

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Continuing our power walk to the Oscars, Maria and I watched Precious over the weekend and I’d like to share some thoughts.

My initial thought—and it was Maria’s too—was finally. Finally a movie, out of all the Best Picture picks we’ve watched so far, that truly deserves a nomination. Precious deserves the Best Picture nod. Absolutely.

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I received Douglas Coupland’s Shampoo Planet for Christmas this year. At the same time I received the Talking Heads Greatest Hits record. This is an omen.

Understanding Shampoo Planet, I think, is the same as understanding what Talking Heads were doing back then. It’s about the future. It’s about a time in history when technology, innovation, and invention are racing forward at light-speed. At the same time, things are beginning to decay. Global warming is beginning to catch up with us; toxic waste and acid rain are seaping into the common lexicon. Advertising is everywhere. It’s all product, product, product, and this is called progress—a Shampoo Planet. This is what the Talking Heads are about, in my opinion, and this is what Coupland is getting at too.

This is Coupland’s second novel, following up on his incredibly successful Generation X. It feels like a second novel. It feels full of energy, packed with excitement, buzzy and confident. The novel follows a twenty year-old protagonist, a budding entrepreneur, obsessed with technology, the future, and business. His favourite book, he confesses, is the biography of a successful C.E.O., he expounds his love for things and his shower is a shampoo museum. At the same time, he senses decay all around him. His family is crumby, wrapped up in pyramid schemes and bad relationships. His town, once dominated by The Plants—factories which produced all kinds of wonderfully toxic and terrible things—are shutting down, the government moving in to clean up. He searches for meaning but things are moving so fast.

If I had a complaint about this book it would be about the section somewhere near the end. For the most part, Coupland’s writing style is crisp, quick and future-forward—it suits the plot well. But near the end it gets a bit mushy; the plot moves quickly, but the writing can’t keep up. It feels a bit stretched, but Coupland recovers in a huge way and comes through with a brilliant and honest conclusion to his character’s odyssey.

All told, Shampoo Planet is wholly authentic and that’s its selling point. If there’s one thing that Coupland is very good at, in my opinion, is taking the temperature of the times. Shampoo Planet is that temperature reading. Coupland nails it. Here he’s embedded deep in a culture that he understands very well: it’s the future, then, and it’s a great read.