Sorta funny music story this week as former Britpop band Menswear guitarist Chris Gentry tweeted that their debut record, Nuisance finally went platinum, prompting all kinds of hilarity as documented in this exclaim article. Menswear were always a band that was style over substance and ultimately one of the first bands which music rags NME and Select pushed onto unsuspecting crowds with lofty headlines and unsubstantiated claims. Their inevitable failure was to no surprise (think Britpop Lana Del Rey circa early 90s) but still, this is a pretty funny story.
You were fair and fey as a sun that evil day
We were bold and life was great
But as time went on
I wondered what was wrong
I wondered what became of you
The above lyrics come from “It Was There That I Saw You,” a classic track off of …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead’s 2002 album Source Tags And Codes. They didn’t play that song at their Lee’s Palace show, but the lyrics were going through my head in the hours before the show, not just because there was a period when that album came out that I listened to it almost daily, but because in a way, I sort of felt that those lyrics applied to my relationship with the band. I did indeed wonder what was wrong and what became of them. Which really says more about me than about the band. They’ve continued on doing what they do and they do it well. But in all honesty, I really haven’t given their last couple of albums much time. Their latest, Lost Songs, is a good album, but having given it a listen (and yes, admittedly only one) I wasn’t blown away by it. I thought maybe I was over the band. Then I saw them live again and was reminded of why I liked them in the first place.
On record, Trail Of Dead are impressive, but live they’re a formidable force, full of huge amounts of energy and operating as almost a sort of controlled chaos, mostly in the form of vocalist/guitarist/drummer Jason Reece and bassist Autry Fulbright II. Reece, of course, is known for his stage antics and did not disappoint, wading into the crowd by the third song of the set. Not to be outdone, Fulbright took his bass into the crowd on two separate occasions and also contorted himself into various positions while still playing along. He also offered up the odd non sequitur as stage banter, such as, “Hello, Los Angeles, California. Thank you for coming out for the 20th anniversary of our self-titled debut Rage Against The Machine.” Odd, but definite evidence that he was enjoying himself.
Trail Of Dead are not a band that I can imagine half assing it. So dedicated are they to rocking out that vocalist/guitarist Conrad Keely played much of the set with a broken string. I guess it wasn’t one of the important ones. In the end, there was no real reason for me to ever have doubts. I should have known all along that the band would put on an intense live performance. I suppose I’ll be giving that new album another listen. And if it still doesn’t grab me, well then I’ll be there regardless next time they come through town, ready to be blown away.
That’s right, Panic Manual has literally gone to the dogs and as of Saturday I’m still hypnotized by all the prancing pooches that were paraded around by their Pet Parents.
I’m told by girlfriend that the term “Pet Parents” is a nicer more politically correct way of explaining those owners that dye the fur of their Shih-Tzus, paint the nails of their Dobermans, or push their pair of Chihuahuas around in a baby carriage. Yes, they were all out in full force at the Direct Energy Centre for the third annual Winter Woofstock on Saturday. My girlfriend herself is the owner of a bulldog but it must be noted that although she’d much prefer to snuggle with her dog than with me, she doesn’t hold the same odd characteristics that Pet Parents hold so dear to their furry little hearts.
Pet Parents:
Their obsession with their dogs wasn’t too much of a surprise when you see the multitude of products being marketed to them. Everything from gourmet dog treats, to doggy sunglasses, to diamond-studded monogrammed collars were all exhibited by vendors.The most entertaining parts of the afternoon were several events and contests that encapsulated all that defines the modern-day mutt. It varied from racing weiner dogs, or watching a class on how to cook canine cupcakes, or why not judge the Ms and Mr Canine Canada Contest? In between there were several fashion shows, and of course, a stupid dog trick contest. Yes, there was something for everyone.
Our favourite part of the afternoon had to be the reactions of the dogs in attendance. We estimated that approximately 90% of attendees brought their dogs and for the most part, they were extremely well-behaved. Sure, there was the random bark heard, one attempted humping, and a few of them took advantage of the pine trees set up as decorations to relieve themselves, but for the rest they were clearly in doggy heaven. For every second that these particular dogs were there it just kept getting better. It was like a diabetic fat kid in a candy store. This was clearly a place for Pet Parents to show off their “children” and justify dressing up their dog in a pink ballet tutu but it was also heart-warming to see how happy these doggies were.
So me and Vik both like Robbie Williams for his earlier solo material, which basically elevated him into a megastar. His new record, Take The Crown is supposed to be his comeback record and has already reached #1 on the charts in the UK and spawned a #1 single for him, so obviously, we would listen to the album. Here are our thoughts as we listened to it.
Tracks 1,2,3
Ricky : checking out robbie williams
Vik : wait until you listen to ‘candy‘
Vik : weiiiiird
Ricky : thats track 3
Vik : ya
Ricky : the album’s sposda be his comeback album
Vik : jesus
Vik : i think he’s tried to make all his songs sound like whatever tunes are currently popular
Vik : like with track 3. i could hear katy perry sing that
Vik : a bit of carly rae jepsen in track 2
Ricky : ” My main priority was to write what I consider, and hopefully what the world would consider, to be hits. “
Vik : what a hack
Ricky : yea specially when the dude is probably absurdly loaded
#4 Different
Ricky : the 4th track is alright
Ricky : pretty standard robbie williams
#5 Shit on the Radio
Ricky : track 5 could be a Pink song
Vik : haha based on the title alone
Ricky : just cos it has swearing and stuff “shit on the radio” sounds like something Pink would write in a misguided attempt to sound hard
Vik : yeah man
Ricky : everything on this album sounds like a single
#6 All That I Want
Vik : trying to sound like bowie on track 6
Ricky : yeah
Ricky : he’s almost singing with a bowie accent
Vik : yeah
Vik : he has an accent in candy as well. like jamaican
Ricky : a bit U2ish
Vik : yeah
Ricky : i mean if U2 came out with an album it’d probably sound like this song
Vik : i was thinking that but just a tad poppy
Ricky : only with an epic song title
Ricky : the backing guitar is straight out of the joshua tree album
Vik : haha yeah
#7 Hunting For You
Vik : track 7 is a power ballad from 1998
Ricky : it just started
Ricky : life thru a lens came out in 97 actually
Vik : so bad man. and it’s not like i’m being a snob either. i wanted this album to be good
Ricky : this song would have been a b-side on that album
Ricky : should of never enlisted gary barlow for some of this album
Vik : ahhh now the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place
Ricky : although this hunting for you song will be in at least two movie commercials in the next year i think
Vik : haha yeah
Ricky : starring hugh grant
Ricky : as an inept ____ who mumbles his way to a hot girl
#8 Into the Silence
Ricky : nevermind this track is the u2 cover song
Vik : yeah the rest of the album is starting to sound that way
Ricky : i can already see bono cashing in his royalty checks
Vik : okay i never made it past track 8 yday
Ricky : gotta do it now
Ricky : theres only 5 more tracks
Vik : …and omg track 9 haha. i’ll wait till you get there
Ricky : its called hey now yeah yeah
Vik : yeah
Ricky : sounds like something bieber would write
Ricky : but im not there ya
Ricky : i wouldnt be surprised if track 8 became a hit though
Ricky : its got stadium anthem quality
Vik : yeah, a few of them would probably sound good in a stadium
#9 Hey Wow Yeah Yeah
Ricky : okay im on track 9
Ricky : hahaha
Vik : right? it’s like he’s trying to channel ting tings or something
Vik : may have wrote this in 2008
Ricky : the beginning sounds like timbaland
Ricky : produced
Ricky : only thing missing is the periodical “yeah”
Ricky : but yeah this is a tings tings tune, or karmin or something
Ricky : hey wow wow yeah yeah clap your hands now is a chorus
Ricky : that was the first real crap song though imo
#10 Not Like The Others
Vik : this is a perfect song for a montage of a bunch of faux hipsters dancing on a NY rootop for a cell phone commerical
Ricky : yeah
Ricky : probably by samsung
Ricky : ‘you and me not like the others’
Ricky : its probably already being practiced on glee
Vik : haha
Ricky : this song can be a katy perry song i feel
Ricky : but i think every electro pop song could be a katy perry song
Ricky : this song is going to be a hit though
#11 Losers (Featuring Lissie)
Ricky : who is Lissie
Vik : i was just googling that
Vik : not much
Vik : i thought it might be nicole kidman again
Ricky : robbie williams circa 2002 would have got kylie
Ricky : this song is okay, nothing special
Vik : gone back to generic pop for tracks 11-12
Ricky : yea
Ricky : oh 12 is a bonus track apparently
Ricky : im just going to stop listening..13 is also bonus track
Vik : haha really?
Ricky : yea
Ricky : this would probably make a good review article
Vik : yeah track by track man
Ricky : its serviceable record, probably gonna have hits but i’ll probably forget about it next week
Ricky : would be my concluding statement
Vik : yeah
