I got into Sufjan Stevens on the cusp of the release of Michigan, his breakout album which would insure his rise to the top of the indie rock charts. Here was a guy doing something really new and interesting and, at the time, nobody had really heard of him. But, as it turns out, my future wife knew about him too, having seen him open for her Aunt and Uncle in a particularly unimpressive performance that must’ve surely been among his first as a solo artist—she even had a copy of his CD, I was impressed.
Of all the artists that write great songs Sufjan writes the best; it’s hard to choose my favourite track and if backed into a corner this probably wouldn’t be it. But I love this video too much not to choose it to share with you. So enjoy.
For the Widows of Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
In this special Victoria Day edition of Favourite Tracks I’d like to give a nod to two things: The fact that we don’t have to work today(!) and to the Monarchy who made all of this possible. To celebrate this great Canadian tradition, here are two tracks for one of the greatest bands of all time The Tragically Hip.
Music @ Work
After seeing the power and energy behind this performance I’ve decided that I could probably spare a couple digits to see The Hip live; that or I could just save up and pay for tickets.
Poets
And, of course, a classic piece of Canadiana. If you haven’t seen this before, you must. It’s The Hip performing live at the Queen’s Jubilee in Canada. I’ve never seen the whole Jubilee concert but if The Tragically Hip were on the bill I can’t imagine what other acts were involved, and what kind of wacky showcase of Canadian culture the Queen was treated too. Brilliant though, really.
The Weakerthans are one of those quintessentially Canadian bands. Like The Tragically Hip, they can sing about mundane things like garage sales, cats, or, in this case, curling. They can make anything interesting thanks to frontman John K. Sampson’s phenomenal writing ability, and their solid musicality. And, to be sure, I’ve been a fan of The Weakerthans for a long time and over the years, slowly, all the skeptics seem to be disappearing. If you aren’t a fan of The Weakerthans yet, give it a few years.
It’s hard to pick a favourite track, but here’s one, of many, that I love.
Two things that I love, music and ghosts, a match made in heaven.
Weighty Ghost
Weighty Ghost by Halifax’s Wintersleep is quite possibly the best song ever. I mean, really, listen to it. First of all, it’s got a really great beat to it, driven almost entirely by a kind of handclapped rhythm, an acoustic guitar, and the powerful yet fragile voice of frontman Paul Murphy. It’s a truly beautiful piece of music. And second, it’s got a great story to it. In my opinion it’s our story, the modern plight of a kind of world without direction, a body without a soul—a soul without a body. To put down a particularly good pun for y’all: it’s haunting.
I saw The New Pornographers live about five or six years ago. They were one of those bands that I had heard of but never heard. They were opening for Belle & Sebastian down at The Docks, when it was still called The Docks, on night I remember as being absolutely freezing, among other things. I remember not being hugely impressed by The New Pornographers but after having spent something like two hours in the freezing cold, lined up to get a good place to stand to see the main act, I think I was still thawing out.
“We’re just like you,” one of the band members said in between songs, “We’re all here to see Belle & Sebastian!” I thought it was a hilarious remark, but if I had known then what I know now, I would’ve been there to see The New Pornographers, too.
Adventures in Solitude
Adventures in Solitude just feels right, don’t you agree? A.C. Newman singing softly with Neko Case and Kathryn Calder. The beautiful back-and-forth. The gentle guitars. The building swell that comes like the tide and then breaks into an ocean of a chorus. It’s incredible even if my attempt to describe it is very poor. And, it’s summer music, don’t you think? It’s a breath of fresh air; it’s sunlight. Enjoy.
I came to know Belle & Sebastian a few years before their breakthrough release, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, came out in North America. I remember listening to an Internet radio station looking for some new music with Fox in the Snow came on. I must’ve stopped and thought, “What is this?” because at some point, on a day later, I bought a copy of If You’re Feeling Sinister. And then the band’s complete back catalog.
Fox in the Snow
Fox in the Snow is everything that I love about Belle & Sebastian, and music in general. It’s a beautifully written story punctuated with wonderfully simple and concise music. I like the way that the song builds upon itself, musically, yet it maintains that stripped down feeling of a very simple folk song. And if Belle & Sebastian’s musical chops are sufficiently demonstrated on a song like Fox in the Snow, have a listen to some of their other stuff. Their more recent releases, which are decidedly more upbeat and produced, are a departure from tracks like Fox in the Snow but still showcase a wonderfully talented band.
Belle & Sebastian are possibly my favourite band, so choosing a track was difficult but since Fox in the Snow was the first one I heard it holds a certain sentimental value, too. Check it out.
It was the mid-1980′s. I was being born. Paul Simon was recording with Black South Africans to create a new record: Graceland. Aside from being, in my opinion, the greatest record ever created, Graceland is an absolute piece of music-changing history. Along with Peter Gabriel, who was recording around the same time, Paul Simon brought world-wide attention to the aptly-named genre of world music. Sounds and songs not found in our Western musical palette but imported from overseas. In the case of Graceland, it was South African musicians that Simon brought on board to help him craft his record. But it was certainly more important than just bringing a new sound to the world.
Paul Simon traveled to South Africa, teamed up with Black South Africans, right in the middle of that country’s most radical racial segregation known as apartheid. At a time when blacks and non-blacks were radically separated, Simon went in, or brought musicians out, and made music with them. An act of incredible defiance of the country’s policies, and a beautiful artistic gesture.
The result, when all was said and done, was not only an incredible record full of rich, new sounds, but a global awareness of an issue that few had really understood or acknowledged previously.
Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes
This video comes from Simon’s Graceland concert. A 1987 performance that he staged in neighbouring Zimbabwe featuring a whole host of South African performers, some who had been exiled from their country for previously collaborating with white musicians or speaking out against their government.
Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes might well be my favourite track ever, if I had to pick one. It’s got it where it counts. I mean, just listen to the bass line.
