Just prior to heading off on Spring Break for a week with my family came the news of the passing of Canadian music legend Ronnie King. Mr. King was one of the founding members of the Canadian rock band called The Stampeders. The Stampeders hold a special place in my heart, so even though his death is old news by now, I still wanted to take a moment and honour him for his contributions to the world of music as I know it to be. So pack your bags and have your tickets and photo ID at the ready because this stop on the Great Canadian Road Trip starts in Calgary, Alberta and ends up going everywhere in Canada. All aboard! Let’s go!
As many of my faithful readers are aware, I grew up on the beautiful east coast island of Cape Breton in the province of Nova Scotia. While Cape Breton Island was a wonderful place to be as a child, it was also a place that was small and tucked away from much of the rest of Canada. I never realized how disconnected we were until I became a teenager. One of the signs that I first recognized came in the form of touring concert bands. Not many popular rock bands came to play on Cape Breton Island, so when a band did show up, it was always big news. I have written previously about the impact of those concerts by bands such as Trooper and April Wine (which you can read here and here). A third band that always made it their mission to play everywhere in Canada, including back home on the island, was The Stampeders. When The Stampeders came to town, it was always a time. Even though I grew up in an area where Celtic music thrived, songs like “Sweet City Woman” by The Stampeders and any number by Trooper and April Wine are definitely part of the soundtrack of my youth. In honour of guitarist Ronnie King, let’s take a look back at one of Canada’s most well-known bands, The Stampeders.
The Stampeders: Ronnie King, Rich Dodson and Kim Berly.
The Stampeders were formed in 1964 in Calgary, Alberta. They were originally known as The Rebounds and were a five piece band. In time, the band’s lineup settled upon three men known as Rich Dodson (guitarist/lead singer), Ronnie King (bassist) and Kim Berly (drums). Like many artists and bands who originated in areas outside of Central Ontario, The Stampeders found success in their home province of Alberta, but they always felt that to be truly successful meant that they needed to be where the music industry’s headquarters were. So in the late 1960s they relocated to Toronto. The song “Sweet City Woman” is a song that was written about that decision and the journey that ensued. Many Canadians have sung along with this song thinking that the band was referring to an enchanting woman while, in fact, The Stampeders were always singing about the city of Toronto, itself. While the song was written with a traditional guitar in mind, when it came time to actually record the song, it was felt that replacing the guitar with a banjo lent an air of authenticity to the story the band was attempting to tell of a trio of small town boys moving to the big city. I find this idea to be interesting because if you know anything about Canada, then you know that Calgary, where The Stampeders got their start, is no small town. But in the 1960s, before the oil boom really changed the nature of Canada’s economy, Toronto billed itself as the centre of it all. “Sweet City Woman” is testimony to that sense of regional inferiority that existed at the time being true.
With Toronto as their base and the Prairies as their home, The Stampeders were naturally inclined to travel across the land. To their credit, they decided that being Canada’s band meant actually touring in all parts of the country. As a consequence of that way of thinking, whenever the band toured in support of an album, they didn’t stop the eastern parts of their tour in Montreal or in Halifax, they actually took the time to play on Cape Breton Island and in Newfoundland and on Prince Edward Island, too. The Stampeders played in hockey arenas and community halls and Legion branches in all parts of this great land of ours. And when they played in these small towns, “Sweet City Woman” often opened or closed their shows; sometimes it was both. Hearing that song always meant a lot to those who saw them play in person or who saw them interviewed on local TV shows or who read about them in the local newspaper. The Stampeders were big stars in many eyes, and the fact that they cared enough to come and play in our small cities and towns was a form of validation that we existed and were recognized as having some sort of value. Truth be told, my musical heroes growing up weren’t Elvis or The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, it was guys like Myles Goodwin of April Wine or Ra McGuire of Trooper or someone like Ronnie King of The Stampeders. In those pre-internet days, these guys were the faces that I saw gracing the stages of the old Sydney Forum. They were the guys who cared enough to show up and play for us in our tiny corner of the world. They seemed to care about us, and in reply we gave our all to them. As a young boy growing up in the 1970s as I did, I always looked up to people like Ronnie King. I thought that he had a look and a stage presence that made him cool in my eyes. If I could have taken my skinny teenage body and pimply-faced self and transformed them all into any celebrity back in the day, I would have instantly chosen to be Ronnie King. For me, he was my rock star. Waaaay more so than guys I didn’t really know about at the time, such as Mick Jagger or Robert Plant or Rod Stewart. Back then, it was someone like Ronnie King that I felt like I actually knew. He looked and acted like the cool dude I always wished that I was. More importantly, he cared enough to keep showing up at a time when many others simply passed us by. During my teenage years, being cool, having talent and simply showing up were more than enough to have earned my respect and admiration.
The Stampeders with Anne Murray as they received numerous Juno awards for their song “Sweet City Woman” in 1971.
Rest in peace, Ronnie King. Thanks for a career filled with great music, including one of the most iconic songs in the Canadian musical canon, “Sweet City Woman”. May peace be with you, now and forever more.
The link to the official website for The Stampeders can be found here.
The link to the video for the song “Sweet City Woman” by The Stampeders can be found here. ***The lyrics version is here.
The link to the official website for the city of Calgary, Alberta can be found here.
The history of modern music is filled with moments that acted as the spark that helped to inspire those who launched whole new eras and genres of music. For instance, there are many stories written about nice young English lads named John Lennon and Eric Clapton and others who were bored with the music scene in the UK at the time and longed for something, anything different and exciting. Their experiences watching singers such as Big Mama Thornton, Little Richard, Muddy Waters and the like caused them to take up music in the belief that they had found what they were looking for and that they could do it, too. Such revelatory moments weren’t confined to the 1950s and 60s either. There are also many stories written about young girls such as Kelly Clarkson, P!nk, and even Beyoncé and their subsequent reactions after hearing the incendiary Jagged Little Pill album by Alanis Morissette for the first time. If someone like Alanis Morissette could stand up for herself in the world of men and sing forcefully about it, so could they. And they have! All of these singers, and many more, have had long, successful careers because they found validation from others who told them that what they felt in their hearts had value and was important. There is even a famous quote about the significance of these important musical moments. It’s centred on a very young Lou Reed, John Cale and the other members of the Velvet Underground in New York City. The quote goes something like “The Velvet Underground’s first album only sold around 10,000 copies. But each of those people went out and started their own band”. While I can’t vouch for the accuracy of that statement, I can say that there is something magical that happens every once in a while when a perfect set of circumstances aligns to change history. Today’s story chronicles one such moment when the perfect band arrived at the perfect time and performed in front of an audience that was absolutely thirsting for what that band brought to the stage that night. It is a moment that was as seismic for the music world of the 1970s, 80s and beyond as anything witnessed by the John Lennons and Eric Claptons of the world back in the 1950s. It was the evening that brought a brand new band called The Sex Pistols to The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. That concert, as the history books all say, changed everything going forward from that point on. Here is the story of that venue, that performance and the ripple effects of it that are still being felt by music lovers today.
The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England.
The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England was a unique performance venue in part because it was one of the very few such venues that came into being as a result of a political movement, as opposed to an Arts-related reason. The Lesser Free Trade Hall was built way back in the mid 1800s on the site of an infamous historical event known as the Peterloo Massacre. The Peterloo Massacre was an incident in which police and armed cavalry officers rode into a crowd of hundreds of protesters and killed almost twenty while injuring dozens more. The protestors had gathered in an attempt to change the voting laws of England which, at the time, stated that only those who owned land could vote. Since only men could own land and not all men did so, it meant that only a fraction of the population could actually affect the laws of the land. One of the lightning rod issues at the time was something called The Corn Laws. These laws regulated the price of corn, wheat, etc., all of which inflated the price of bread, putting it well beyond the means of many common English families. Thus, much in the same way as bread was one of the surface sparks that ignited the French Revolution, access to bread became a rallying point for many citizens of England, especially in the working class areas of northern England, such as Manchester. In time these protests yielded changes to manhood suffrage (so that all men in England could vote, regardless of their status as a landowner or not) and eventually, decades later to women’s suffrage (so that women could be recognized as people and have the right to vote, too). In addition to being a gathering point for protests about voting rights and unjust laws, The Lesser Free Trade Hall became the home to the trade unionist movement. As time went on, the LFTH was also the scene of political speeches by politicians who leaned in the direction of labour groups, or else sought the support of trade unions for their own political aspirations. Thus, Prime Ministers such as Benjamin Disraeli and Sir Winston Churchill all gave important political speeches to Manchester citizens from within the walls of The Lesser Free Trade Hall.
A commemorative historical plaque regarding The Peterloo Massacre.
However, as is often the case with community spaces such as this, there came a time when the union dues being paid by trade unionist members started to fall behind what was needed for the upkeep of a rapidly aging building. The decision was made to open the hall up for social events such as weddings and funerals, as well as for concerts and other Arts-related performances. Consequently, after almost a full century of being a trade union office, The Lesser Free Trade Hall opened for business as a concert venue. As it turned out, The Lesser Free Trade Hall became an important concert venue that helped serve the interests of many northern music lovers in the UK. Manchester is located almost four and a half hours north of London, sitting almost equi-distance between Liverpool and Sheffield. Because all of these cities exist so far outside of the London sphere of influence, the area developed its own sense of cultural identity. All through their existence, the northern towns and cities have always felt hard done by in relation to their peers in London. The socio-political dynamic is not unlike how the people of the Canadian prairies feel about Toronto. Whether it was jealousy or resentment or whatever, but there was always a feeling of isolation and of being left to one’s own devices when it came to living in a northern town in England. So, whenever a popular band agreed to appear in Manchester, it tended to be a big deal for music lovers from there but also from the surrounding towns and cities as well. The Lesser Free Trade Hall got the odd, popular band like KISS and even the Velvet Underground, but the most famous concert performance prior to 1976 was given by Bob Dylan. A live bootleg recording was made of a concert given by Bob Dylan in 1966 (not long after he had “gone electric”) in which an audience member was captured shouting at Dylan and calling him “Judas!” Needless to say, Bob Dylan stuck to his musical guns and survived that public scolding, but history has noted that it famously happened at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England.
Judas aka Bob Dylan at The Lesser Free Trade Hall.
This brings us to the famous Sex Pistols gig of 1976. If you know your music history at all, then you will recognize that after 1969, the music world experienced a change of sorts. The whole Summer of Love feeling of optimism had ended. The Vietnam War was reaching its messy conclusion. The Watergate scandal in the U.S. and the effect that it had on the nature of how politics worked was unfolding on prime time TV. The Beatles had broken up. The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Rod Stewart and many others had fled England because of the income tax situation there. Everywhere one looked, there seemed to be a pessimistic void. This same feeling of doom and gloom applied to the city of Manchester as well. This is not to say that there still wasn’t live music. There was. The problem was that after the heyday of the 1960s in terms of new, innovative and meaningful music, the early 1970s music seemed cheesy and leaden by comparison. Prog. rock and its Tolkinian epic fantasies seemed like too much work for audiences to get excited about. Not everyone wanted to get stoned in their basements or flats; many still wanted to go out on a Friday night and party. But where were those good time bands? Where was the energy and the passion and the defiance that effects change and makes things better? Well, like it or not, the musical saviours the world over arrived in the form of punk rockers. In the US, it was bands like The Ramones who started thrashing about with lightning speed in the mid 1970s. In the UK, it all started with a band called The Sex Pistols. The story of that night in 1976 when The Sex Pistols played at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester was one of those rare moments in history when the conditions were ripe for change and change was what happened as a result. The repercussions of that concert were felt in Manchester and around the world for generations. Here is how the concert came to be and why it holds such a significant place in the timeline of the history of modern music.
In that atmosphere of depression and despondency existed many young people who would go on to become extremely important figures in the world of music. Not unlike the world in which a young John Lennon found himself before seeing Little Richard play, many Manchester teenagers were impatiently waiting for something, anything to happen there, too. The story goes that one day two friends who eventually became known by stage names as Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley were sitting around complaining about the state of Manchester’s music scene while flipping through the pages of the New Musical Express magazine. It was while doing so that they came across the NME article that introduced The Sex Pistols to the world beyond London. From what the article mentioned, Shelley and Devoto thought that this band sounded exactly like the type of band that Manchester needed to inject some energy into its lifeless scene. So, they borrowed a car and made the long trek down to London and found Malcolm McLaren, the manager and creator of The Sex Pistols, and asked if the band would be interested in coming to Manchester to play a gig. To their surprise and relief, McLaren thought the idea was a good one and agreed to have the band appear. In time, Devoto and Shelley would come together to form a band of their own called The Buzzcocks (you can read about them here). But initially, they felt unprepared to open for The Sex Pistols and contented themselves with organizing the concert. When the evening of the concert arrived, legend has it that only 40 or so people actually showed up. However, in that crowd were the two members of the future Buzzcocks, along with a teenager that the world would come to know as Morrissey (You can read about Morrissey and his band The Smiths here, here, here and here), future members of Joy Division/New Order (You can read about these bands here, here, here, here and here), a young man named Mick Hucknall who was in several bands but is most well known for fronting Simply Red, along with a music entrepreneur named Tony Wilson who, at the time, was a television reporter for Granada TV but who, in time, founded Factory Records in Manchester, opened a nightclub called The Hacienda and, in doing so, helped launch the Alternative music scene in “Madchester”, as well as the EDM/House Music/Rave scenes that came to sweep the world. Wilson’s impact on the world’s music scene was captured in a riproaring movie called 24 Hour Party People. In any case, in the audience of four dozen or so were the people who would pick up the torch that was held high by The Sex Pistols and would carry it forward based on the inspiration they all received that night at the Lesser Free Trade Hall.
The Sex Pistols on stage at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976.
When The Sex Pistols came on stage that night, they did so with much passion and delivered a blistering set that started out with cover songs but ended with the introduction of original material, some of which would end up on their famous album called Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols. Initially, the idea that Malcolm McLaren had was to put together an anti-band. He wanted The Sex Pistols to have no talent and become famous anyway in spite of it as a way of mocking the music industry and thumbing his nose at the British public. But a funny thing happened on the way to realizing that dream: The Sex Pistols actually possessed a modicum of musical talent and could play reasonably well. That fact caught the attention of those in attendance right away. The music was quite good, and the performance earned the respect of those who witnessed it right out of the gate. But what really made The Sex Pistols who they were was the magnetic, charismatic, theatrical nature of front man John Lydon who went by the stage name of Johnny Rotten. Lydon sneered at and stared down everyone at The Lesser Free Trade Hall that night, leaving no doubt as to who was in charge and in control. The Sex Pistols brought it full force and blew that room of four dozen people completely away. Nothing was ever the same for them after that again.
That initial performance proved to be just the beginning of a highly successful relationship between The Sex Pistols and the city of Manchester. Malcolm McLaren thought that the show went so well (considering the negative reaction the band usually got when they played in London) that he asked Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto to organize a second show in six weeks time. The two friends did so, but this time, they were ready with their own band The Buzzcocks, who opened for The Sex Pistols, while debuting as a band. The Buzzcocks gave it their all for twenty minutes and were warmly received. They went on to have a good run of their own as a band before both men left for other projects, with Shelley going solo and Devoto forming the influential band called Magazine. The Sex Pistols put on a second well-received show. This time they introduced a new song that would go on to become one of the biggest punk rock hits of all time called “Anarchy in the UK”. (You can read more about The Sex Pistols here, here and here). But the good times continued from there when TV reporter Tony Wilson approached Malcolm McLaren and offered them a chance to appear on a music show he hosted on Granada TV. They agreed, and that performance became the band’s first live television appearance. All in all, The Sex Pistols made three memorable appearances in Manchester and changed that city and the rest of the world forever.
The Sex Pistols live on Tony Wilson’s music show on Granada TV.
The history of modern music shows very clearly that every generation seems to bring with it the desire for new ways of performing and new ways of watching/listening to live music. Country music continues to grow today in part because of those role models who first appeared on The Grand Ole Opry show. The 1960s UK rock explosion happened because young men like John Lennon got to see authentic Blues and Soul as performed by the original music masters themselves such as Chuck Berry. Without Cher and Madonna and Alanis Morissette, the chances of there being no Taylor Swifts or Beyoncés of the world would be greatly increased. Everyone needs their own role models who allow them to believe that the dreams they hold in their hearts and minds can be made real. For bands such as Simply Red, The Smiths, The Cure, Joy Division, New Order, The Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, The Fall, The Happy Mondays (who you can read about here), there is a strong possibility that none of these bands would have come to fruition if not for that concert by The Sex Pistols in 1976 at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. When you go to a concert, you never know when something magical is going to happen that changes everything. The wonderful thing about it all was that you didn’t even have to have been there to feel the impact that the concert had. My own personal musical awakening started in university when I became aware that bands such as The Cure, New Order and Joy Division even existed. Discovering that music helped to turn me into the lover of music I have become. None of that might have happened if not for The Lesser Free Trade Hall concert in 1976. The only unfortunate thing about it all is that eventually The Lesser Free Trade Hall became too costly to maintain and it closed its doors. On the spot where it once stood is now a hotel. Unlike The Cavern Club in nearby Liverpool, there is no LFTH museum or replica site to visit in Manchester. The fortunate thing is that there is plenty of archival footage of that concert, which I shall share in the links below. Lots of people claim to have been there that first night, but only forty or so actually were. Lucky for us, most of those people went out and started their own bands. We are all the better for it that they did.
The link to an excellent documentary called I Swear I Was There about The Sex Pistols concert at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976 can be found here. ***If you are a fan of this era, I highly recommend this documentary.
The link to the trailer for the movie 24 Hour Party People can be found here.
The official website for The Sex Pistols can be found here.
The official website for The Buzzcocks can be found here.
The official website for New Order can be found here.
The story behind today’s song is one of taxes, music history that didn’t involve Deep Purple and music history that did. How “Smoke on the Water” came to be recorded in the first place provides a real snapshot of one of the most prolific musical periods that England ever produced. It also shows how those in charge of the country threw it all away in jig time. It is a song that is based upon a true story. It is also a song that many in the band came to dislike, even though it is easily Deep Purple’s most well known song. Somehow, it all involves Beethoven. Buckle up, my sweeties! This is one song that unifies a lot of different storylines in the historical record of rock music history. Enjoy.
As the 1960s began, singers such as Petula Clark, Anthony Newley, Cliff Richard, Bobby Darin and Connie Francis ruled the top of the charts. Sugary sweet Pop was still the order of the day. But a closer look at the UK song charts for 1960 shows the first crack in Pop’s iron grip appearing in the form of a young man named Elvis Presley with a song entitled “It’s Now or Never”. With the exception of Elvis and The Drifters’ “Save the Last Dance for Me”, rock n’ roll had not yet fully arrived in the UK. However, the emergence of Elvis Presley changed everything, everywhere as we now know. The King’s ability to take the best of Black soul and R&B and package it in a way that would appeal to white audiences inspired a whole new generation of fellow white performers in England to follow suit. It is absolutely amazing to think that in the space of just one decade, the UK charts went from how it was in 1960 (which was OK for those who like their Pop sugary sweet) to charts filled with artists and bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, Pink Floyd, Genesis, The Faces/ Small Faces, Cream, The Jeff Beck Group, Spencer Davis Band, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple…just to name a few. Wow!!! The evolution of UK music during the 1960s is easy to trace. It went from basic Pop songs, to the Pop/Rock of the early Beatles, to more Bluesy, bawdy rock from the Rolling Stones, to the much more guitar-oriented rock of Cream and Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, all the way to the hard rock/heavy metal trinity of bands Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. What an incredible explosion of talent and creativity and innovation and volume! But just as the 1960s can be said to be the birth of rock n’ roll in England, a second thing can also be said, and that is that the 1960s proved to be the time that money and business and greed ruined everything just as quickly as it had all begun.
Deep Purple lineup #2: Jon Lord, Roger Glover, Ian Gillan, Richie Blackmore and Ian Paice.
Much has been written about The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and how badly both bands were taken advantage of early in their careers. In both cases, by the end of the 1960s, neither band had much to show for their enormous success. Almost all of the revenue generated from albums, singles, movies and merchandise sales went into the coffers of record companies or the pockets of record executives such as Allen Klein. For The Beatles, the death of their manager Brian Epstein forced the Fab Four to actually assume a greater role in their own financial affairs. The additional stress of managing their own money and signing their own contracts eventually played a contributing factor in causing the best band the world has ever known to give up and call it quits. The same financial shenanigans had caused the members of The Rolling Stones to almost declare bankruptcy as the 1960s ended. Having bad contracts is terrible enough, but there was a further complication that all of these new artists and bands had to deal with, and that was a UK tax rate that reached almost 90%!!! It is difficult to imagine living in a society where you had to try and get ahead in life while being taxed on nearly every dollar that you earned. Beset as they were by mounting debts that ranged into the millions, the boys in The Rolling Stones decided to flip the bird to those in charge of the UK, and they opted to become tax exiles. Mick, Keef and the boys fled the UK and moved to various places in France. Once there, they put together a mobile recording studio and installed it at Keith Richards’ new home in Nice. The first album they recorded there was called Exile on Main Street. The band was now a collection of tax exiles hiding in plain sight, hence the album title. But The Rolling Stones weren’t the only artist or band to leave England for greener tax pastures. Rod Stewart left with girlfriend Britt Ekland for California. His first album from the US was called Atlantic Crossing. David Bowie did some of his best work in Germany (as you can read about here, here , here and here from previous posts). But before landing on his feet in Berlin, Bowie set up shop in a trendy little spot called Montreux, Switzerland. Montreux sits just to the north of the famed mountain known as the Matterhorn. It is a place where the rich and famous settled to avoid paying high taxes in their homeland. It was also the place that became a musical refuge of sorts for musicians fleeing England’s punitive tax system. One of the most famous stories to emerge from Montreux is that it was there that David Bowie and the members of Queen wrote and recorded the song “Under Pressure” (You can read about that song here). The other famous song to emerge from the Montreux scene is the subject of today’s post, “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple. Just before getting into that, it should also be noted that to this day, one of the world’s most noteworthy Jazz festivals is held in Montreux. As much as places such as Monte Carlo and the French Riviera are thought of as swanky locales, Montreux, Switzerland ranks right up there, too.
Members of Queen with David Bowie in Montreux, Switzerland.
The story of Deep Purple is one that is interwoven with the musical history of their times and of past times in Europe. First things first: let’s get to know the band. As mentioned earlier in this post, Deep Purple are one of three UK bands that many critics and fans hold up as being one of the founding members of the genre known as Hard Rock or Heavy Metal music in the UK. The band lasted for several decades and went through four distinct lineup phases that saw members come and go. The original idea behind Deep Purple was that it was going to act as a musical collective. That means that it was going to be a supergroup that employed members who came and went, as the needs of other side projects came up. The first, and longest serving member of the band was Jon Lord. Lord was a classically-trained organist. This turned out to be important, because as Deep Purple evolved as a band, their sound went through various iterations. One of those iterations was evident on albums such as Concerto for Group and Orchestra which was an album that combined hard rock with that of a symphonic orchestra. The theatrical bent that Jon Lord brought to Deep Purple made that band one of the first to mine this musical territory. (You can trace Deep Purple’s foray into the rock/classical hybrid as bearing fruit a half century later when punk rockers NOFX performed their epic nineteen-minute song “The Decline” with the Denver Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which I wrote about just last week. You can read that post here). Counterbalancing the classical music influence of Jon Lord was, arguably, Deep Purple’s most famous member, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Blackmore is regarded as being one of hard rock’s greatest guitarists ever. As much as anyone in the band, Blackmore became the face of Deep Purple during its most successful days. Let me tell you, the band had many successful days. Over the course of their career, Deep Purple has amassed album sales of over one hundred million records worldwide. They are highly regarded as one of the most influential bands in rock history, and yet they had an terribly difficult time getting inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. One of the reasons given for this snub (which lasted from 1998-2016) was that the band, for all of its success, had only ever had “one hit”. That this “one hit” was a song that almost every aspiring rock guitarist since 1971 first learned to play held no sway with the nominating committee of the Rock Hall for many years until, under incredible public pressure, Deep Purple finally received their induction in 2016. The “one hit” that is being referred to is, of course, “Smoke on the Water”.
The story of how “Smoke on the Water” came to be written ties into everything you have read in this post so far. In 1971, Deep Purple left England and traveled to, wait for it, Montreux, Switzerland to record the album that would be called Machine Head. In order to record this album at the Montreux Casino, the band had rented out the very same mobile recording studio owned by The Rolling Stones that was used to record Exile on Main Street. Deep Purple was slated to begin their recording sessions at the casino at the conclusion of a concert being given by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Unfortunately, someone in Zappa’s audience decided to launch a flare into the air during the show. That flare lodged itself into the roof of the casino, causing it to catch on fire. The Montreux Casino ended up burning to the ground as Deep Purple watched from their hotel room. The smoke from the fire gently blowing across the nearby waters of Lake Geneva inspired the lyrics of what was to become Deep Purple’s best known song.
Rolling Stones mobile recording studio.
There has always been a question about how “Smoke on the Water” came to have one of the most famous opening riffs in rock history. The answer to that brings us back to founding member Jon Lord. Because the Montreux Casino fire ruined their recording plans, the members of Deep Purple were left scrambling to find recording space because they were being charged to rent the Rolling Stones’ mobile studio whether they made use of it or not. Since time was of the essence, the band recorded in nearby abandoned hotel corridors until the police came due to noise complaints. However, because they were hurriedly recording, there was no time to argue, debate and craft new songs. So when it came to “Smoke on the Water”, the first person with an idea for the musical structure was Jon Lord. He drew upon his classical music training and suggested that they should use guitars to emulate the famous four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony *(which you can read about here). The band went with that, and the famous opening riff was born. That opening riff has been played in guitar shops ever since by everyone and anyone who has picked up a guitar with dreams of being in a band. The song “Smoke on the Water” was one of the few Deep Purple songs to ever chart on the rock charts of the world, reaching #2 in Canada and #4 in the U.S. However, like many bands who quickly cobbled together a song only to see it take off, “Smoke on the Water” becoming a hit was something that no one in the band expected. In time, it became a song that Blackmore, in particular, came to loathe playing in concert. To him, there were so many other Deep Purple songs in their musical catalogue that better represented the soul of who they were as musicians. But all that anyone wanted to hear after a while was “Smoke on the Water”. In the end, the ever-evolving roster of musicians and singers who became members of the Deep Purple family came to outgrow Ritchie Blackmore’s initial displeasure at the notoriety that “Smoke on the Water” received. In fact, after Blackmore left the band, along with “Smoke on the Water” era singer Ian Gillan, Gillan’s place was taken by a young man named David Coverdale. When it was Coverdale’s turn to leave in the 1980s, he went on to form one of the most well known “hair metal” bands of all time, Whitesnake. While Whitesnake had their own hits during the 80s, they were known to, from time to time, cover “Smoke on the Water” during their live shows because, unlike Richie Blackmore, David Coverdale regarded the song as a gift that just kept giving.
As this post draws to its conclusion, I want to take it back to the issue of taxes and finance. For what it is worth, I have no problem paying my fair share of taxes because I know that in return, my family and I and our community benefit in the form of being provided many services such as police and fire protection, having clean water available from our taps and having good schools and hospitals around should we need those services, and so on. But even I would have to agree that a tax rate of 90%, which it was in England in the 1960s, is a tad excessive. There was a debate at the time about whether artists and bands who willingly left England as tax exiles were traitors who took from the UK public in the form of album and ticket sales but refused to give back to those same communities in the form of taxes or whether they were a type of freedom fighter who were using their public platform to apply pressure on the governments of the day to reduce the tax rate and enable more citizens to earn a brighter future. There is a famous version of this debate that is told by Rod Stewart. Apparently, before he actually made the move to the U.S., Stewart found himself in Elton John’s house. With both men earning millions of dollars and being taxed on almost all of it, the topic of conversation soon came around to Stewart’s idea that it was time to leave the country for somewhere in the world with a more favourable tax rate. According to Stewart, talk of leaving England and her people behind caused Elton John to fly into a rage. In response to Rod Stewart’s suggestion, Sir Elton John played Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” at ear-splitting volume and told Stewart that if he was going to speak of such treasonous things that he could leave! As you know, Sir Elton John was one performer who opted to remain in England. Whether his legacy of loyalty registers any more prominently than the actions of someone like Rod Stewart or David Bowie is not for me to say. It is for the people of England to weigh in on. But for me, the larger issue is that arguments over money once again ruined something vibrant and beautiful. Many people claim that history is boring or that it is irrelevant, but the story of rock’s UK tax exiles is just one in which greed among the ultra wealthy and those who wish to divest them of their riches has taken us off course. The same stories can be read today with regard to ultra-wealthy people such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, not to mention Jeff Bezos, and how getting out of paying taxes is such a core principle by which they operate. Somewhere in the middle of all this talk about the financial freedom and social obligations of the wealthy, there arose the circumstances that led to the creation of one of rock music’s most iconic songs, “Smoke on the Water”. What an amazingly interconnected world we live in and always have!
The link to the official website for Deep Purple can be found here.
The link to the video for the song “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple can be found here. ***The lyric version is here.
Despite knowing the journey….and where it leads….I embrace it. And welcome every moment of it.
Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) to her dying daughter Hannah during the film, Arrival.
In 1998, science fiction writer Ted Chiang wrote a novella entitled The Story of Your Life. This story won the Theodore Sturgeon Award, as well as the Nebula Award for the best science fiction story/novella of the year. The big idea behind the story involved the concept of how our understanding of language impacts our concept of time. It is a weighty idea that was humanized by asking the question at the heart of the quote that opened this post, which is, if you knew how your life was going to turn out, would you make the same choices along the way as you do now? In other words, would knowledge of the future impact decisions of the present? That is a question that lies at the fundamental heart of our humanity. Because, if you stop to think about it, our lives are replete with examples of loss and pain and heartbreak, and yet we move forward. We continue to live our lives even though romantic interests break our hearts when we are young. We persist even when those we love, our parents, our friends, our own spouses and children, die and leave us alone. One of the reasons we steel our resolve and go on in the face of emotional adversity is that the highs of finding love and of giving birth to children and watching them grow and being part of a family are worth the pain that the journey inevitably brings. Everyone leaves in the end. Everyone. No matter your age, gender, profession, wealth, hair colour or religion, everyone goes away in the end. But the journey together is something we all embrace. It brings immense value to our lives. Loving others and being loved in reply makes life worth living, even if all of us can predict the future and know how it ends. That thinking formed the basis of Ted Chiang’s award winning novella The Story of Your Life.
Author Ted Chiang.
The Story of Your Life is a prime example that there is something for everyone in the genre of science fiction. It isn’t all alien monsters and space lasers. Science fiction can be thought of as fictional stories based upon scientific principles. Sci-fi can actually be quite cerebral and deeply human, as was the case with Ted Chiang’s wonderful story. The Story of Your Life was found to be a deeply moving experience by many who read it. One of those who was touched by it all was a man named Eric Heisserer. Mr. Heisserer was a Hollywood screenwriter. After reading Chiang’s novella, Heisserer knew that it would make a terrific movie. For the next decade or so, Heisserer created drafts of screenplays and pitched them to studios, only to be rejected precisely because the story did not have monstrous aliens and space lasers. The studios kept saying that the story was too quiet and required too much thinking on the part of the audience. So Heisserer put his screenplay aside and wrote another movie that did end up being produced called Hours starring the late Paul Walker. That movie was also about life and death and family. While Hours wasn’t a huge box office hit, it received enough critical praise to raise Heisserer’s profile with the studios. Eventually he was contacted by someone who had remembered his pitch for his screenplay based upon Chiang’s novella. With a studio agreeing to finance the project, director Denis Villeneuve was hired and actors Amy Adams, Forest Whitaker and Jeremy Renner were added to give voice to Heisserer’s words. The movie was named Arrival. It was released in 2016 and was a huge critical and commercial success. Arrival ended up being nominated for eight Academy Awards in 2017, including Best Picture, Best Actor (for Adams), Best Director and several others. It won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Eric Heisserer. [It was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, but did not win.]
Screenplay writer Eric Keisserer!
Without giving away any spoilers, the plotline for Arrival focuses on the arrival on Earth of twelve seed-shaped spaceships that hover in place in twelve different countries around the world. The military are obviously concerned that these spacecraft and the aliens inside of them may harbour hostile intentions so they surround each spacecraft with high-powered weapons. But before acting provocatively, each country employs a linguist whose job it is to try and communicate with the aliens and find out why they have arrived. Amy Adams plays Dr. Louise Banks, America’s foremost authority on linguistics. Jeremy Renner plays a scientist specializing in quantum physics. Forest Whitaker plays a military leader who is directing the pair to open the channel of communications before itchy trigger fingers render that choice impossible. What unfolds is about the nature of language and how our understanding of it colours how we perceive our world.
Language is simply marks upon a page.
A short primer on the subject of language and our understanding of the world goes a little like this. When we speak and listen, we organize sounds in such a way that they allow us to communicate our thoughts, feelings and ideas to others and allow us to understand what others communicate to us. When we read and write, those sounds change and become symbols or marks upon a page or screen or whatever surface you are reading or writing on. The marks on a page have no value or meaning in and of themselves until we, as a society, agree to give them a meaning. Thus, the letters that appear in order to spell “a-p-p-l-e” automatically cause an image to appear in your mind because that is what we, as a society, have agreed is the correct meaning for that series of marks upon this screen. But, if language is nothing more that sounds that we speak and marks upon a page, why is it that there is this sense of unease that comes over us when we find ourselves in places where we “don’t speak the language”? If we know how to decode marks upon a page to help us to communicate and understand our world in North America, for example, why can’t our decoding skills serve us just as well when it comes to understanding Arabic script or ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics? The answer is that our skills can be universal, but we have to take the time to learn new languages. In learning new languages, we also incorporate cultural idioms and other language/cultural-specific tidbits of knowledge that can alter the meaning of certain words when compared to how we use them in our native language. In Arrival, an example of this happens when Dr. Brooks (Amy Adams) first learns a bit about the alien’s language and decodes one of their words as “weapon”. Upon hearing this, the military springs into high alert. But upon further examination, Dr. Brooks learns that what the aliens really mean by “weapon” is the word “tool”, in the sense that we would say that “…funding will help scientists conduct research that will be used as a weapon in the war on cancer”. In this case, the word “weapon” doesn’t mean a gun or a bomb, it means an increase in our level of understanding. In short, Arrival is a movie in which the understanding of a new way of communicating helps expand the mind of Dr. Brooks. It explains why the aliens have come from the future and why Dr. Brooks says what she says at the beginning of this post. It is all thoughtfully played out on screen in a very human manner that touches the hearts of many who have watched the movie.
This brings us to the film’s soundtrack. Arrival is known for its use of music throughout the film. However, despite being nominated for eight Academy awards, the film was deemed ineligible for Best Original Soundtrack because the movie opens and closes with an instrumental composition by a composer named Max Richter called “On the Nature of Daylight”. In order to be nominated for Best Original Score, a film’s music must have been written specifically for that film. In the case of “On the Nature of Daylight” by Max Richter, this piece of music has been used in many TV shows and other movies. Most notably, it was used in the Leonardo DiCaprio/Martin Scorsese movie Shutter Island in 2012. It was just used in the TV series The Last of Us. One of the reasons that this composition turns up so often in soundtracks is because of its ability to create emotional soundscapes within the hearts and minds of listeners. “On the Nature of Daylight” has been described as being the saddest song ever written. It was originally conceived just after the 9/11 attacks in New York City in protest to the seemingly kneejerk American reaction that the best way to respond to such a tragedy was to launch an immediate war against the Iraqi people. Richter channeled his own emotions into an album called The Blue Notebooks. Critics have deemed The Blue Notebooks to be one of the best classical music albums of the past century!!! For me, “On the Nature of Daylight” is sad but in a beautiful way. Richter has managed to capture, in notes, the emotion that comes from having loved and lost. The only composition that I can compare it to in terms of the emotions that it evokes would be Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 by Samuel Barber (which I wrote about in a previous post that you can read here). Even though “On the Nature of Daylight” caused the soundtrack for Arrival to be disqualified for consideration for the Academy awards, it is the perfect choice to open and close the movie. As the film opens, audiences are given the musical message that what they are about to see is going to touch their hearts in a very profound way. As it turns out, “On the Nature of Daylight” says in musical notes what Ted Chiang’s novella and Eric Heisserer’s screenplay says in words…words that ended up being spoken by lead character Dr. Leslie Brooks when she says, “Despite knowing the journey….and where it leads….I embrace it. And welcome every moment of it.”
Composer Max Richter.
When I married my wife, we both pledged to love one another until “death do us part”. We already know our own future. One day one of us will leave the other. That day will be a sad day for whoever is the one left behind. But I know in my own heart that neither of us would go back in time and decide not to marry in order to spare ourselves from the inevitable heartbreak that awaits us down the line. We entered into our life partnership knowing full well how it will end one day. But in the meantime, each day together is a treasure. Knowing true love makes us rich beyond measure. We are happy with our choices. Despite knowing our journey and where it will inevitably end, we embrace it all and welcome every moment of it. Life is beautiful. That is the ultimate message that comes from the movie Arrival. If you have never watched this film, then do yourself a favour and give it your fullest attention. It is a thinking person’s film, no doubt, but don’t let sci-fi stories intimidate you or turn you off. Arrival is nothing like Star Wars or any of the Marvel Universe movies. It is a movie that uses the language of music and symbols and words to tell you the story of your own life. That is a remarkable feat of storytelling when you consider that this movie is set in and around a seed-shaped spacecraft for much of the film, and that not many of us have lives that revolve around seed-shaped space crafts. But, as Ted Chiang so aptly titled his own story back in 1998, Arrival is the story of your life. It is a wonderful movie that is built upon a foundation of musical, literary and cinematic excellence. All of the praise and critical recognition given to Ted Chiang, Eric Heisserer and to the film, Arrival, as a whole are richly deserved. This movie is terrific and I highly recommend it.
The link to the video for the trailer for the film Arrival can be seen here.
The link to the official website for Max Richter can be found here.
The link to the video for the composition “On the Nature of Daylight” by Max Richter, as used in the film Arrival, can be found here. ***The link to a video for “On the Nature of Daylight” as filmed in Toronto and listed as Max Richter’s “official” video can be found here.
The link to the official website for Ted Chiang can be found here.
The official website for Eric Heisserer can be found here.
For the whole of my adult working life, I was a slave to the rhythm of schools. Every work day began early in the morning and went until late afternoon after the kids had all gotten safely back home. My work week began on Monday and went until Friday. My yearly work cycle followed the seasons, beginning in the Fall, slogging my way through Winter, teaching past spring time, finishing up just as summer was about to begin. I did this for thirty years in a row before retiring in 2018. Because of how the world of my work transpired, there was an ebb and a flow to the way I experienced the outside world. If I was being honest, I guess that I knew deep inside that there were other people out there in my community who experienced their day differently than I did, but it sure didn’t seem that way. Everyone I knew, everywhere I looked, all seemed to be grinding it through the week waiting to exhale once late Friday afternoon came and went and our weekend break had finally arrived. We all relaxed on Friday night and then ramped up our energy in order to squeeze all of our own personal responsibilities and obligations into that 48 hour window of opportunity that had just opened up. As I aged, Friday changed from being a night on the town and became an evening of rest. Saturday was the day to socialize, shop, get projects done around the house. Sunday, during the day, was the time to finish whatever jobs you could get done as the afternoon ticked away and then, after supper, we’d start gearing up for another week at work. In the blink of an eye, the weekend that we had all waited for with such anticipation was over. A new work week began and the cycle repeated itself. On and on it went, week in and week out. It seemed to me that we were all in the same boat.
Then I retired in 2018 and discovered that we were not all in the same boat at all. Freed, as I was, from the daily school routine, I found out that there was an entirely new rhythm to life for people who did not work, as well as for those who did work that didn’t involve being in a school. When I first started walking to town during that part of the day when I used to be at school, I found the town to be very quiet, with usually only seniors ambling around and new moms pushing strollers and me there. No one seemed in a hurry. The atmosphere was very calm and relaxed. It was during these morning strolls that I found out the shopkeepers have a rhythm, too. The early hours of the morning seemed to be the time when shelves were restocked and displays were changed. It was quiet and relaxed in the stores of my town, too. The beautiful beach that we have in Cobourg, which can host hundreds and hundreds of people on a warm day, was almost always empty when I would go by. Just me and the seagulls and the odd metal detection enthusiast for company. It was as if I had been spit out from within the cogs and gears of the work-a-day machine and had landed softly in an empty meadow. The sense of relaxation in my mind felt akin to the warmth of sunshine on my skin. It was all intoxicating and blissful.
The reason I mention all of this is because being out of the everyday flow of the working world is how the song “Working for the Weekend” by Loverboy came to be. Back in 1982, Loverboy released their second album, called Get Lucky. This was the followup to their highly successful self-titled debut album that had spawned chart topping hits such as “The Kid is Hot Tonite” and “Turn Me Loose”. That debut album went multi-platinum, selling well over a million copies worldwide. The success that Loverboy achieved right out of the gate allowed them to tour around the globe, opening for all manner of their musical heroes such as ZZ Top, Styx, Journey and Foreigner. Because of such initial success, the members of the band had a measure of financial security that allowed them to not have to experience the work-a-day world that most of their fans knew all too well. Between tours, the band had time to relax and explore their surroundings. It was on one such jaunt to the beach that guitarist Paul Dean found himself alone on the sand in the middle of a sunny day. It struck him as odd that a beach could be so empty during the middle of the day, but then he realized that everyone except him must all be at work. Because Dean was a songwriter as well as a guitarist, he was always looking for ideas that he could develop into songs. The more he thought about all those folks who were just itching to finish their shift and their work week and get to the weekend, the more the idea for a song came to mind. Initially, Dean came up with the song title “Waiting for the Weekend”. When the band next met up, he showed singer Mike Reno his idea and some of the lyrics he had put together. Reno liked the song but thought a better title would be “Working for the Weekend”, as that was what the people were actually doing…they were working their way to freedom, not just idly standing around waiting for that freedom to arrive. Dean agreed. Together, Dean, Reno and fellow band members Matt Frenette (on drums), Doug Johnson (keyboards) and Scott Smith (bass guitar) structured the song so that the energy in the verses seemed pent up (to simulate being stuck at work) while the chorus acted as a trigger, releasing that energy just like you see in movies when school lets out for summer vacation and everyone pours out through the doors, tossing papers and notebooks into the air.
80s version of Loverboy: Reno, Smith, Dean, Johnson, Frenette.
“Working for the Weekend” propelled the band into the upper echelon of the Canadian music scene. The album Get Lucky sold over four million albums. The band won six Juno awards that year, the most ever by an artist or band in a single year! “Working for the Weekend” became a No. 1 song for the band in Canada and a top ten hit in many other countries, including America. Throughout the 1980s, Loverboy toured constantly as an opening act and as headliners for their own tours. Their first five albums all went gold or platinum. They had a string of hit songs, such as “When It’s Over”, “Hot Girls in Love” and “Lovin’ Every Minute of It”. As the 80s drew to a close, the band went on hiatus for several years. But in 1991, they reunited to perform at a benefit concert for one of the members of the Canadian band Chilliwack, who had taken ill in the U.S. and had racked up huge medical bills. That concert for musician Brian MacLeod rekindled the band’s love of performing together. Loverboy reunited for good and have been touring the world ever since. While the band has released a few albums since Y2K has come and gone, they are mainly a nostalgia act these days and that is just fine with the boys in the band. According to Dean, Loverboy’s discography contains some of the most recognizable and popular songs ever released by a Canadian band, so of course, they are going to play those songs for their fans even after all these years. After all, it is not for nothing that Loverboy is in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. And while all of their songs bring about a positive reaction from their audience, the one song that generates the wildest and most enthusiastic response is “Working for the Weekend”. It got everyone moving and certainly still does the same for fans all over the world today.
The premise of that song still holds true over forty years later. We all treasure the feeling that comes from being in control of our own personal time. To not have to punch a time clock or answer to a bell is such a blessing for those of us who are retired. For those who still have some time to go before you are permanently released from the world of work, that taste of freedom is confined to the weekend. What a delicious forty-eight hours those are! To all who find themselves in that position, let “Working for the Weekend” be your anthem. To those of us for whom every day is like the weekend, the song still rocks for us, too. Maybe I’ll play it on a Monday morning just for kicks! Why not?! What else am I doing? Oh yes, I know…anything I want because I am retired!!!! Life is awesome when you don’t have to work. For those of you who do, at least you have the weekend to look forward to in a few days. And a kickass song from Loverboy to tide you over. Cheers.
The link to the official website for Loverboy can be found here.
The link to the video for the song “Working for the Weekend” by Loverboy can be found here. ***The lyric version is here.
The link to the Canadian Walk of Fame (where Loverboy has a star) can be found here.
The Wiener Musikverein translates into The Vienna Music Associationand is the name given to the concert hall in the centre of Vienna that is home to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Commonly referred to simply as Musikverein, this concert hall was built on land donated by Emperor Franz Josef I in 1863. This land was located on a portion of the city known as Vienna Ring Road. At one time in its history, Vienna was a walled city. Within the walls sat the original buildings that made up what was known as Vienna. In time, as the population grew, more room was needed so the walls came down and the city grew outwards. In the spot where these walls had once stood was built a roadway delineating the old city core from the newer portions of the city. It was on the Vienna Ring Road that Emperor Franz Josef I donated his land and the new concert hall was built. The Musikverein opened in 1870 and is said to have among the best, if not the best acoustics of any live performance venue in the world.
A drawing of the Vienna Ring Road.
The period of time from the mid-1700s until the late 1800s was a glorious time in the history of the Arts and, specifically, in the history of classical music. In the centre of it all was the city of Vienna, Austria. Vienna was home to composer Joseph Haydn, who many credit with being the father of modern chamber music. In his wake came the likes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss, all of whom settled in Vienna by the mid-point in their careers. In addition to the many symphonies, concertos and operas that were created in the city during this period, new music-related businesses were established such as those used to publish music manuscripts, as well as those dedicated to the creation of new musical instruments. One further development in the history of music that allowed Vienna to bill itself as The City of Music was the fact that it was during this time that public performances became more open and affordable to the general public. Prior to this, composers often created their musical masterpieces for the sole enjoyment of the aristocracy and, as such, most concerts were given in castles and other such regal abodes. But now, with the Arts thriving as never before, the need for public performance halls grew. And so it was that in the 1860s, pressure grew on Emperor Franz Josef I to act as a Patron of the Arts and spearhead the creation of a new performing arts space near the centre of the city. That concert hall became the Musikverein.
The Musikverein in Vienna.
Around this time, many concert halls were built in major cities across Europe such as Berlin and Copenhagen. All of these new concert halls were architecturally similar in design. They borrowed liberally from the design elements used in ancient Greek temples. Thus, The Musikverein and all other new concert halls were built in a rectangular box-like shape. Some had pillars on the sides, as Greek temples do. Most also featured doorways and window openings that had an arch-like design element. The Musikverein, in particular, is actually two performance spaces in one! There is a concert hall known as the Grosser Musikvereinssaal or Great Hall or the Golden Hall which seats approximately 1700 people. There is also a smaller concert hall that was built specifically for the playing of chamber music called the Brahmssaal or Brahms Hall in honour of Johannes Brahms. The Brahmssaal holds 600 people. The most amazing aspect of the whole Musikverein complex is that it was built long before the science of acoustical engineering was understood. The man responsible for the construction of the Musikverein was a Dutch architect named Theophil Hansen. Mr. Hansen had no formal training in acoustical design. Instead, he created the interiors of each performance space based solely on intuition as to how he thought sound would travel and be reflected within the space. Luckily for patrons and for generations of musicians, Hansen’s design intuitions proved correct. The placement of viewing boxes at certain levels, working in combination with the materials used to construct the building and its interiors, along with ornamentation placed along the ceiling all had the effect of sending sound off in all directions, giving the interior spaces a full, rich, deep soundscape. With so many sound waves bouncing back and forth and from side to side, the effect of sitting inside the Musikverein is not all that different from listening to music with good headphones on. The ear hears every note…by design, as it were!
There have been many great and noteworthy performances held in the Musikverein over the years. The most well known are those given by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Initially, in the early 1800s, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra did not exist. Instead, when someone such as Mozart wished to give an orchestral performance, he would cobble together as many musicians as he would need in a random, ad hoc manner. However, as time went on and the frequency with which top flight concerts were being held increased, it became apparent that a more formal orchestral organization was needed. After much discussion and debate in Viennese Arts circles, the idea of creating a formal, permanent concert-calibre orchestra was approved. The result of this all was the creation of The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. There are a couple of interesting notes about how this orchestra was formed and how it functions to this day. First of all, only the most skilled musicians are permitted to audition for a spot in the orchestra. In order to qualify to audition, a musician must have gone through a period of training and apprenticeship as a member of the orchestra for the Vienna State Opera. Once a musician has played with the Vienna State Opera for a minimum of three years, they are allowed to apply to audition for the Philharmonic Orchestra. Once accepted as a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, this new musician would find themselves as part of one of the most democratically-run organizations of any sort in the world. All matters of concern to the orchestra are put to a vote of all members. As well, there are standing committees that function throughout the year to deal with specific concerns. Even the acceptance of new members is put to a vote of the whole orchestra.
Nothing says Vienna than a good waltz.
There have been many performances at the Musikverein given by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, but the most well known is the annual New Year’s Eve concert. You can watch one of those performances by clicking here. As you watch this short clip, take note of how the interior of the Golden Hall is organized, where people are sitting relative to the stage, how the ceiling looks and so on. There is a reason that sound travels so well in this space. The secret can be found in its design.
Erhard Buschbeck: the man whose slap was the most harmonious part of his concert.
In addition to the annual New Year’s Eve concerts, the Musikverein has been the scene of some infamous events, too. One of the most well known events of this sort happened at the turn of the century. As the 1800s drew to a close, the Arts scene in Europe was enjoying unprecedented success and acceptance. It was definitely a golden age for the Arts. As such, there grew a school of thought that said that with so many artists, writers, poets and composers enjoying so much critical and commercial success, that there never was a better time than then to push the envelope and try new things. Consequently, within only a few years of each other there was the Paris riot that occurred during a performance of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (which you can read about from a previous post here) and a similar riot in Vienna at an event that has become known as the SkandalKonzert (Scandal Concert) or as it is also referred to, The Slap Concert. This particular concert was put on by a group of up and coming Viennese composers and poets. Like Stravinsky in Paris, this concert exposed listeners to avant garde music for the very first time. Instead of traditional melodies and harmonies, these composers used discordant sounds to compose their symphonies. The Vienna audience, schooled as they were in the classical sound, were completely unprepared to endure what they considered to be such monstrous noise. At one point, about two-thirds of the way through the setlist, members of the audience arose from their seats and demanded that the composers be taken away to “an insane asylum”. One of the concert organizers demanded that the audience members sit down and quiet down. When they refused to do so, the concert organizer named Erhard Buschbeck slapped one of the patrons across the face. A witness to the assault later claimed that the sound of the slap was “the most harmonious sound of the evening”. Needless to say, lawsuits were filed and it was a long time before any of the composers on that evening’s bill performed at the Musikverein again.
A second note of infamy that is attached to the history of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concerns the role it played during WWII. As many of you may know from history, one of the very first political moves of aggression made by the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler was to absorb Austria into the Third Reich. The rationale behind this was that Austria and Germany shared a similar cultural history. In fact, many Austrian citizens had German ancestry in their own family histories, and therefore many Austrians openly viewed Hitler’s ambitions in a positive light. As Germany consolidated its hold on Austria, life in Vienna changed for everyone. This included the members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Investigations conducted after the war ended revealed that almost half of all VPO musicians had become active members of the Nazi Party. This percentage was higher even than that found within the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to that, all Jewish members of the Philharmonic were forced out, with a majority of those ending up in concentration camps. In 2013, seventy-five years after the Anschluss which unified Austria with Nazi Germany, an official investigation was conducted into the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s role promoting Nazi ideology during WWII and in the deaths of its Jewish members. Official apologies were issued as a result of this investigation, and all honours bestowed upon Nazi Party officials were formally revoked and stricken from the official records, based on a vote of the current membership of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as it existed in 2013. In fact, the very first New Year’s Eve concert performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was in 1941 at the behest of German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, who believed that the pairing of entertainment with politics made the Nazis’ messages easier to communicate. After the war, there was much debate among the Philharmonic’s membership as to whether to continue with these concerts or not. It was decided that the concerts would continue. The thinking behind this decision was that it was important to remember how easily the Arts were transformed from something that uplifts us all to something that was used as an instrument of evil. Consequently, each New Year’s Eve concert is not just a celebration of the year that was; it is a reminder of the history that has brought everyone to that very moment in time. The need for all of us to “never forget” is as true today as it ever was in the past.
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and its Nazi past is a source of shame for the organization.
The history of nations, organizations and even performance venues such as Vienna’s Musikverein can be complicated. In purely technical terms, the Musikverein is a grand and glorious building that houses some of the world’s best acoustics. It is home to an orchestra that has, as members, some of the finest musicians on the planet. Its annual New Year’s Eve concert is one of the world’s most beloved and popular traditions. It is broadcast/streamed live on a worldwide level that matches that of the US and their ball drop in Times Square. And yet…much has happened within the walls of this building that will forever bring shame to this jewel in Vienna’s cultural crown. I would like to think of the Musikverein as a place where Beethoven’s music rang out, especially his Ode to Joy. But I, like you, would be doing a disservice to those who suffered as a result of its association with the barbarism of the Nazis if Beethoven’s and Mozart’s genius was all we associated with the Musikverein. Unfortunately, as beautiful a building as the Musikverein is, it is not a place I would ever wish to visit. Instead, I will watch the highlights of the 2024 New Year’s Eve concert and remember the history of all that this event evokes because it is important to do so. I will never forget and nor should you.
The link to the official website for the Wiener Musikverein can be found here.
The link to a performance of “The Theme to Jurassic Park” as conducted by John Williams and played by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra can be found here.
The link to a performance of Mozart’s most famous music by Vladimir Horowitz can be found here.
The link to a performance of Johann Strauss by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra can be found here.
The link to a video news report about the links between the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nazi Party can be found here.
The link to a documentary entitled Music in Nazi Germany can be found here. This documentary describes the link between classical music and German propaganda. Even if you only watch the first two minutes of it, you will see a commentator make reference to the fact that “In Auschwitz One (concentration camp), we have half of the Vienna Philharmonic sitting there”.
As many of you know, I was an elementary school teacher long before I ever became a blogger. For thirty years I spent a majority of my days in the company of small children. It was the best experience. Kids deserve far more credit than they get for how wise and compassionate and able they all really are. Being in their company helped to make me a better person. Looking back, I consider it to have been an honour and a privilege to have been welcomed so readily and completely into their world.
MacInnes Family art that speaks from the heart.
Throughout the entire course of my career, I functioned in my role as teacher against a backdrop of constantly pushing and pulling societal forces. On one side were those political operators who said that it was a teacher’s main job to prepare students for the world of work. On the other side were those who claimed that it was my responsibility to train students to be critical thinkers and good citizens, so that they could chart their own course in life and help to make our world better for all. While I always strove to achieve a balance of both schools of thought, my ultimate allegiance lay with the kids in our classroom and their families. One of the greatest lessons that I learned as a teacher was just how unique all of us are and how that is OK. I never had 25 or so Grade 2 students in my classroom that acted as one homogeneous group. What I actually had were twenty-five or so little humans who each brought something interesting, challenging, funny, creative, etc., to the table on a daily basis. I taught kids who were loud and some who were soft spoken and made sure that both sets of voices ended up being heard. I worked with kids who were neat and organized and others who had no clue where their pencil was from one moment to the next and made sure that both types possessed strategies to help them complete tasks accurately and efficiently. I sat with kids who were the only child in their family and were used to getting all of the attention they wanted all of the time, as well as those from large families who had to fight to be seen every day, all of the time…and I helped them both develop the ability to listen to others and share the spotlight, safe in the knowledge that I knew they were there. The bottom line to all of this is that my experience as a teacher gave me a window into the makeup of our society and an appreciation for the differences that it contains.
In practical terms, this means that I can understand and yet still appreciate my neighbours who have different interests from me and my family. I can understand and appreciate the fact that some people in my town love differently than I do and that them being who they are doesn’t hurt or hinder me and my family in the slightest. I know that my neighbourhood and town is composed of high income earners, middle class folks like me and those who find it hard to make ends meet from paycheque to paycheque. I don’t envy the rich, nor do I denigrate the poor. We all need to treat each other with respect and dignity regardless of socio-economic status, so that is what I try to do each and every day. Finally, not everybody in my neighbourhood or town looks like me or speaks like me or has the same religious affiliation as me, and somehow the sun continues to shine and the birds continue to sing and it is all OK. It truly is.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
I am inspired to write today’s post for two separate but connected reasons. The first is the news that the U.S. Supreme Court, which is filled with political appointees placed there during the Trump administration, has agreed to hear legal arguments stating that former President Trump is not legally liable for any of his actions during his time in office. If you follow U.S. political news at all, you will be aware that Trump has indictments against him coming out the ying yang…ranging from charges of rape, to tax evasion, to shoddy business practices, to stealing classified intelligence documents and much, much more. The Supreme Court hearing will have a direct impact on the upcoming U.S. elections. But even more importantly than that, if and when Trump’s Supreme Court appointees rule in his favour, the court is basically making the legal precedent that states that a sitting president is above the law. I have always thought of leaders who put themselves above the law as being dictators, which is the antithesis of democracy. If this ruling comes to pass, a way of life that we have known seemingly forever will change on a dime. I imagine Trump followers will even stand and cheer for their own subjugation. Oh, the times we find ourselves in.
Homeless encampment in my hometown of Cobourg, Ontario. Photo courtesy of Pete Fisher, Today’s Northumberland.
The second thing that inspired this post is something more local in impact to me, and yet it is something that can be seen happening in communities all across North America. That is the problem of homelessness and, more specifically, homeless encampments. I have always believed in the saying that a measure of any society was in how it cared for its weakest and/or most vulnerable citizens. Well, there is an encampment made up of three or four dozen tents less than a kilometre from where I live. It is difficult to say with any certainty if those in the encampment are there because of poverty or addiction or criminal activity or a combination of them all or something different altogether. But all that I can say with certainty is that the encampment in my neighbourhood is not the only encampment around. The fraying of our social safety net can be seen in the proliferation of the homeless all throughout my province, the rest of the country and into America, too. Ironically, this coincides with a building boom in which farmland and ecologically-sensitive lands are being devoured in record numbers by real estate developers intent on creating sub-division after sub-division of predetermined new communities complete with schools and chain store shopping plazas that all have outdoor entrances. That homelessness should be on the rise at a time of building booms seems at odds with how it should all be turning out. But, of course, at the root of it all is money and, more specifically, the difference between investment and profit. Furthermore, at the root of the difference between investment and profit is how we view our fellow human beings. All throughout my existence, Canada has been lauded for the nature of its social safety nets with regard to public education, public healthcare, our social services for those in need and so on. But recently, we have had a series of governments who have viewed investing in social services as being money not well spent because it does not have a healthy return on investment from a financial point of view. Thus, the agencies involved in providing social services have had to endure a seemingly endless series of budget cuts that have greatly hampered their ability to adequately respond to the challenges inherent in today’s society. Through it all, suffering grows exponentially while a small minority grows more comfortable in the nature of their social, financial and political status with each passing day.
At the beginning of this post I spoke of teaching against the push and pull of external factions regarding whether my role was to prepare my students for the world of work or to enter the world as critical thinkers and good citizens. Well, the core of that political debate for me essentially forced me to decide for myself how I viewed my students. While I knew they needed skills and knowledge to thrive in the real world, I never viewed them as being less than human. My kids were never cogs in the future machine. They were always my kids…loud or quiet, messy or neat…compassionate or self-absorbed…they were always viewed as being the humans that they were. They still are, even though I am long retired. I share this view when it comes to my community, my country and the world, as a whole. I believe in the right of each human to exist. I believe that we should all be treated with dignity and compassion, too. I have never been concerned with limiting wealth accumulation, because with great wealth comes the opportunity for great philanthropy and for social good. But when wealth accumulation comes at the cost of dehumanizing others, then I have a problem with it. One of the best ways of explaining how corporate dehumanization works can be seen in the opening six minutes of a children’s film produced by Jerry Seinfeld called The Bee Movie. (You can watch that clip by clicking here). There are no individual bees (except for Jerry, of course) in his graduating class. They are all one homogenous group of workers destined to work until they die for the benefit of the corporate bottom line. I don’t know about you, but I find that view of life to be scary. It is also a view of life that I see happening increasingly in the world around us. When Art and life begin to merge into one shared reality, that is really scary!
Sam and Gert Bettens from K’s Choice.
Our song today comes from a Belgian band named K’s Choice and is called “Not An Addict”. This band consists primarily of two siblings named Sam and Gert Bettens. Although they are well known in Europe, “Not An Addict” is their one big hit in North America. It is a song that talks about addiction in a way that elevates the topic into the often multi-faceted issue that it actually is. The song is non-judgemental. Instead, it simply states that addiction is a complex issue and that those who exist under its sway are real people deserving of understanding and compassion. I have never been a social worker or addiction counselor by trade. I imagine that it must be an emotionally draining job. However, the importance of helping those in need cannot be understated. The measure of a society and the measure of us, as individuals within that society, can be seen in how we view those less fortunate than us. While I don’t have the resources to cure all the ills of the world with a stroke of a pen in my cheque book, I do know that the first essential step is to recognize and honour the humanity that exists within us all.
The link to the video for the song “Not An Addict” by K’s Choice can be found here. ***The lyric version is here. FYI: This is a gorgeous version of the song. It is backed by a choir and sounds absolutely lovely.
The link to the official website for K’s Choice can be found here.
I began writing this punk rock series with a post about the San Francisco area band Jawbreaker. In that post (which you can read here) I talked about some of the characteristics of bands who claim to be punk bands, or else are said to be punk bands. Chief among those was a foundation of non-conformity. The manifestation of this non-conformist attitude tended to appear in the form of politically motivated song lyrics combined with an unwillingness to involve themselves with the corporate world by the signing of record contracts with major record labels. Much of the series has examined the careers of bands who eschewed such corporate sponsorship and what happened to those who did agree to suck on the corporate teat, as it were. Through it all, it appears as though the bands held in the highest esteem by punk rock fans tended to be those who stayed true to the DIY aspect of punk. Bands such as Rancid, Fugazi/Minor Threat, Black Flag and today’s featured band, NOFX, were all bands that kept it real and raw and minimalistic. For them and their fans, it was all about the music, the message and the connection that existed between the band and their fans. When a band stayed true to their fans by staying true to their punk roots, the fans remained loyal to them right up until the end. This is especially true with NOFX. I can talk about the easy rapport that NOFX had with its fans, but trust me, no words will be necessary once you watch the video for “The Decline” that is included in the links below. The strength of that connection is obvious and is a delight to see. I close out this series as it began, by showcasing one of punk’s legendary bands. By doing so, I will touch again upon some of the ways that true punk bands were able to stay relevant and financially solvent at the same time. The time for the final post has arrived. Here is the story of NOFX and “The Decline”.
NOFX: Smelly Sandin, Fat Mike, El Hefe and Eric Melvin.
NOFX formed in Boston in the early 1980s. Like many bands, there have been numerous lineup changes over the years, but the lineup for NOFX’s most successful days as a band was composed of singer/guitarist Mike “Fat Mike” Burkett, guitarist Eric Melvin, guitarist Aaron “El Hefe” Abeyta and drummer Erik “Smelly” Sandin. Right from the get-go, NOFX used sophomoric humour as a means of making political points. Over the course of their career, the band has released albums with names such as S & M Airlines, Heavy Petting Zoo, So Long and Thanks For All The Shoes, Pump Up the Valuum and their most commercially successful album, Punk in Drublic. In total, NOFX has released 15 studio albums and various EPs, singles and live albums (including one called I Heard They Suck Live) that have sold over 8 million units worldwide. This makes NOFX one of the biggest selling completely independent bands in the world. The fact that many of you reading these words have probably never heard of them speaks to the indie nature of how NOFX goes about their business. As “Fat” Mike famously wrote in the liner notes of Punk in Drublic with regard to signing with a major record label, “We’ve been doing fine all these years without you so leave us alone!” They have toured extensively.
NOFX have played venues large and small. But they have done so on their own terms and have never accepted corporate sponsorship along the way. So how have they done this for all these years and managed to survive? It isn’t cheap to travel across North America and around the world.Well, one of the ways that DIY punk bands like NOFX have eased their financial burden is by taking over the means of production and distribution of their own music. The primary vehicle for achieving this is to own their own independent record label. Companies such as Dischord Records, Epitaph Records and Fat Wreck Chords were all in the business of signing and promoting punk bands and other indie acts. All of these companies were started by punk rock musicians themselves as a way to centralize control of their music. In this way, they ensured that they had the independence to record what they wanted to, rather than having to use a formula to create “hits” to justify a major label’s investment and bolster the corporate bottom line. Dischord Records was started by Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat/Fugazi in Washington, DC. Epitaph Records was started by Brett Gurewitz of the band Bad Religion on the west coast. Fat Wreck Chords was started by “Fat” Mike of NOFX. That company operates out of San Francisco now. In addition to taking care of the business of producing and distributing albums for punk and indie artists, these record companies also served as a cross-country promotional network that helped book bands into punk-friendly venues and promote their appearances as they moved across the land. If not for this community of like-minded punk idealists, it would have been much harder for these bands to remain true to the spirit of their punk roots.
One of the positive benefits that comes from being your own boss, as NOFX is because they release their music on their own label, Fat Wreck Chords, is that the only consideration they have when it comes to their songwriting is creating new material that pleases them and their fans. There are no external factors or pressures that NOFX has to bear in mind when coming up with fresh material. If they have something to say that they think their fans will be receptive to, then that material becomes the fodder for a new album. It was this artistic freedom that allowed “Fat” Mike and the band to even remotely consider a song like “The Decline”.
“The Decline” is an eighteen minute long epic piece of commentary on the state of life in America. While it mines the expected anti-government/anti-corporation line, “The Decline” also takes time to rap the knuckles of ordinary citizens who display apathy and/or blind obedience to it all. The song is told in one-two verse segments that, when stitched together, form a damning indictment of life in the land of the free. Because “The Decline” is so long, it is rarely performed in public. It also does not appear on any album. It was released as its own EP and was pressed in a limited edition. The version of “The Decline” that I am featuring today is one that takes an already over-the-top song and brings it to an even higher level. The story is that one day while warming up for a concert somewhere in Europe, a French jazz drummer who goes by the stage name of Baz came to hear “The Decline”. As he listened to the EP version of the song, Baz immediately began to hear orchestral accompaniment in his head. When time permitted, Baz sat down and fleshed out his ideas and contacted “Fat” Mike and pitched it all to him. Now “Fat” Mike had never written or collaborated with anyone on a NOFX project but was intrigued by what Baz had to say and agreed to give it a try. The result of this collaboration can be seen in the video included in the links. That video shows “The Decline” as it was played at the lovely Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado with NOFX performing in front of the Denver Symphony Orchestra under the musical direction of Baz. When it comes to the history of punk music, this rendition of “The Decline” is its magnum opus. What a theatrical, bombastic joyride this is! A punk rock opera, of sorts. Simply astonishing and amazing and a completely satisfying way to end this series for me.
The irony of the punk genre’s DIY poster child, NOFX, standing in costume before a symphony orchestra in a setting like Red Rocks while playing a song that has as much in common with prog. rock songs that the original punk bands like The Sex Pistols formed to lampoon, is not lost on anyone, including me. But if there is one thing that has become clear as this series on punk music has rolled along, it is that one of the core rules of the punk world is that, in the end, the only rule that matters is being your true authentic self with not the slightest concern for what others might have to say. The only opinions that matter are those of a band and their fans. That’s it! The rest are pure bollocks.
Thanks to those of you who have followed the posts that made up this series. I hope that you enjoyed it, and maybe even learned a thing or two along the way. I had fun and even scored a Jawbreaker t-shirt out of it for my trouble! From MC5 and The Stooges in the 1960s all the way to NOFX and “The Decline” at Red Rocks in the 2020s, watching and listening to the evolution of punk music has been a blast! Tune in next week to see what happens next. I haven’t come up with a firm plan yet, but rest assured, the next series will be as interesting and informative as I can possibly make it, too. Take care, everyone. Thanks for reading my words.
The link to the video for the song “The Decline” by NOFX with Baz and the Denver Symphony Orchestra can be found here. ***The lyric version is not from the same concert. However, it is helpful to watch the lyric version so that you have a sense of familiarity with what is being sung on stage at Red Rocks in the live video. You can watch the lyric version here.
As I have said all throughout this series, the title of the series was taken from lyrics to a great song called “Boxcar” by the band Jawbreaker. I am most appreciative of having been able to use such a meaningful phrase as my series title. In response, I have always encouraged my readers to take a few moments to visit the Jawbreaker website and show the band a little love. They have a great music archive there. They also have the latest information on tours and ticket sales, as well as terrific merch for purchase. Remember, punk bands are often their own sources of income, so buying directly from a band helps that band directly. The link to Jawbreaker’s website can be found here.
If you are a faithful follower of this blog then right about now you might be asking yourself “Didn’t he just cover ‘Sunglasses at Night’ by Corey Hart a few weeks ago?” If that is indeed your thought, then you are correct. I did write a post about this well known Canadian hit song just a couple of weeks ago. (You can even re-read that post again if you like by clicking here). But a cool thing happened as a result of that post. I received a comment from a fellow blogger named William (His blog A Thousand Mistakes can be found here) asking me if I knew that “Sunglasses at Night” had been used in the new Jordan Peele movie NOPE? I did not know that tidbit of information. Furthermore, William mentioned that the track used in the movie was a remix, meaning that the original song had been altered in some way. Since I always appreciate receiving tips such as that one, I decided to head down the rabbit hole that William had so kindly dug for me. What I found there will form the basis of today’s new “Sunglasses at Night” post. I thank William for his tip. I hope that the rest of you find it all as interesting a journey as I did.
Director Jordan Peele.
Jordan Peele is one of Hollywood’s most creative and prolific directors working today. He first came to the attention of North American audiences because of his role in the comedy show Key and Peele. Along with partner Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele wrote, directed and starred in dozens of comedy sketches that offered razor-sharp social commentary on various aspects of the times we all find ourselves in. Key and Peele won several awards for the consistently innovative manner in which they produced their skits. In 2017, Jordan Peele debuted as a feature film director with the movie Get Out. That movie was a critical success and ended up being nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Peele’s follow up project was the equally well-received film Us. Then, just as momentum was really building in his career, the COVID pandemic came along and shut down many film projects around the world. As Jordan Peele sat at home like the rest of us, he thought about movies and about the uncertain future that lay ahead. As he thought those thoughts, he decided that if and when things returned to normal, he was going to return to the big screen with a movie that would be a spectacle in every sense of the term. Well, things did return to a new normal, Peele got back to work as promised and in 2023, he released a movie called NOPE.
A scene from Phoebe Gilman’s wonderful children’s book, Something From Nothing.
Starting with the Key and Peele comedy show on TV and continuing on through his first three movies, Jordan Peele has developed a reputation as being someone who embeds social commentary, history lessons and “Easter eggs” of all kinds within the scope of the stories he tells. This is especially true with NOPE. In order to give you even a small idea of how Peele tells his stories on multiple levels at the same time, please allow me a short tangent that will give you an idea of what I am talking about. One of the most popular stories I read to my students while I was still teaching was a book called Something from Nothing by a wonderful children’s author named Phoebe Gilman. The story idea was a simple one. There was a boy who had a grandfather who would make him articles of clothing out of a piece of material. Over time, each article of clothing that once was new would become worn. The boy would take the worn out piece of clothing and ask his Grandfather to mend it. The Grandfather would take whatever it was and would turn it into something new but smaller than before. A blanket became a coat which became a vest, which became a bowtie and then a button. The idea was that nothing should be wasted and thrown away. That everything, even worn out objects, had value and worth. However, as you can see from the image above, while the main story was being told in the upper three-quarters of the book, a second story was being told simultaneously at the bottom of the page. This second story involved a family of mice who lived under the floorboards of the boy’s home. In their story, they took the scraps of material that had fallen to the floor and created wondrous new things for themselves, too. It was two stories in one, both told at the same time, the second story told only in images.
Jordan Peel employs this technique as well. However, he does it everywhere, all the time, all throughout his films. Get Out, Us and NOPE are all movies that have a surface story that you can enjoy just for what it is. But all three movies also have many other stories being told through the use of background props, music, small scenes that appear to be isolated scenes at first but, over time, can be connected together to tell a new story in a fashion similar to how Phoebe Gilman created the second story in Something from Nothing. Before going on any further, I will give you links to two different movie trailers for NOPE. If you haven’t watched the movie yet and think that you might, then watch the trailers and stop reading this post at that point. I will discuss aspects of the movie below so you will be more than welcome to join back into the discussion at a later date. If you have seen the movie already or don’t plan to, then by all means, stick around for the ride! The two trailers for the Jordan Peel movie NOPE can be viewed here and here.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
NOPE is all of the following things and probably more. It is a movie about the history of cameras and filmmaking. It is a movie about historical representation for people of colour. It is a story about our penchant for using cameras to record events with profit making in mind. It is a movie about bad miracles. It is also a movie that is an homage to Hollywood films such as Jaws and Alien and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It is a movie that uses sounds as ambient characters. It is a movie that critiques the nature of capitalism and greed. It is a movie about families. NOPE is all of these things and more, all at the same time. What Jordan Peele is able to accomplish in his movies is truly amazing to me. He is a gifted storyteller, for sure. For the purposes of today’s post, I am going to focus on the theme of representation, mainly, but I am sure I will talk about many things along the way as they are all so wholly integrated together. Here we go.
The easiest entry point for NOPE is the surface story. This is the story that answers the question as to what the movie is about. The rest of our discussion will be what the movie is really about. For now, NOPE is a story that in many ways most closely resembles that told in the movie Jaws. However, instead of a great white shark roaming about a vast ocean, we have an alien creature in the shape of a UFO flying in the sky in the desert/mountain areas that exist outside of Hollywood. The parallels between both movies are strong. In both cases, we have humans who, initially, have no idea what they are up against. Then we have the humans discovering what they are up against and realizing what a dangerous position they suddenly find themselves in. Finally, in both movies, we have the situation resolved in a last ditch, Hail Mary-type of effort that destroys the beast in question. So, on the surface, NOPE is a thriller about a monstrous UFO-like alien entity. If you enjoy a grand adventure movie, then you can watch NOPE and come away satisfied. But there is so much more going on than that. Please allow me to give you a quick example of how complex the multiple story arcs really are.
The main characters in the movie are a brother and sister named OJ and Emerald Haywood. The Haywoods are descendants of the jockey featured in the very first “motion picture” created by Eadweard Muybridge in the 1880s. Muybridge gained much fame and notoriety from his use of stop-action type photos that, when shown quickly in consecutive order, gave motion to still photos. Muybridge has been called the forefather of modern filmmaking ever since. But no one has ever learned the name of the Black jockey. This is one of the first scenes in the movie. Emerald is explaining how that jockey was her great, great, great grandfather and because of that connection, her family have become the only Black trainers of horses for use in Hollywood movies. As NOPE progresses, the scene depicted in Eadweard Muybridge’s study of motion is repeated numerous times and in numerous ways as OJ rides horses while attempting to escape from the alien creature and/or to lure it in so they can try to destroy it at the end. But from this opening scene alone, we have the themes of family history and connections, of Black representation from history being erased, the homage to filmmaking and the history of cameras and filmmaking techniques being introduced and on and on it goes.
The vehicle that moves the plot along is that OJ and Emerald are experiencing financial difficulties and fear that they may lose their horse ranch. Once they come to realize that a UFO seems to be hiding in the clouds over their ranch, Emerald comes up with the idea of capturing it on film and selling the photo for millions of dollars. Thus, she seeks to exploit the existence of the alien for personal gain. She claims that the sudden arrival of the UFO/alien is a miracle. OJ replies that it is a bad miracle and will only cause them all grief in the end. The Haywood storyline continues on with their quest to discover the best camera for filming the UFO, the best setup for the cameras and, in the process, they become involved with several people who are experts in that field. Meanwhile, a second independent but connected storyline unfolds involving an Asian neighbour of theirs named Jupe who was a former TV child star. Jupe had the misfortune of witnessing a massacre as a child while on the set of his TV show. Apparently the show used a real monkey as a character. One day, the monkey got spooked by the popping of a balloon and attacked everyone on set except for the boy who hid under a table and never made eye contact with the riled up monkey. The fact that Jupe survived the attack convinces him that he is special and is immune to danger going forward. As a man, Jupe has sought to capitalize on the incident and on his fame by opening a cowboy-themed amusement park. The main attraction of this park is a show in which Jupe summons the UFO/alien by offering it a sacrificial horse which the UFO/alien inhales and eats in front of the paying crowd. The horses that Jupe sacrifices each day had been purchased from the Haywoods ranch and, as such, is one of the Haywoods only sources of income, which ties the two storylines together. Needless to say, nothing good comes from poking the bear, as it were, so what happens to Jupe in the end seems entirely predictable. However, one of Jordan Peele’s moments of genius is how he integrates one scene into another. As OJ and Emerald and their team of photographers and videographers prepare for the arrival of the UFO/alien, the sky darkens and the wind picks up. We all know that there is a moaning quality to the sound of wind at times. Well, Peele uses this knowledge to full effect as he places the scene where Jupe meets his end just before the scene where the Haywoods prepare for their own encounter in the darkness. As the Haywoods watch the sky with fear in their eyes, the wind moans. Except this time, it is not just the wind moaning, it is the actual voices of Jupe and his audience as they are being digested by the UFO/alien entity that was at the amusement park in the distance and is now approaching the Haywood’s ranch.
DJ Screw hard at work in Houston, Texas.
But what does this all have to do with the song “Sunglasses at Night”? As mentioned several times already, Jordan Peele is known for dropping in seemingly unrelated “Easter egg” type items or moments within a scene. The value or meaning of these Easter eggs only becomes apparent in later scenes when connections between them become known. In the case of “Sunglasses at Night”, the song appears in a scene in which it is being played on the radio of a pickup truck. In this scene, we learn that the UFO/alien possesses the ability to control electricity, and so, as the song plays normally, the power goes out and the music slows down before petering out entirely. Unbeknownst to me and many others, this slowed down to half speed version of the song is not only the Jean Jacket remix but that it is an actual subgenre of Hip Hop known as chopped and screwed music. The term “screwed”, from chopped and screwed, is in reference to a Houston-area man known as DJ Screw who pioneered this musical technique. The science behind the technique is one in which a song is remixed and recorded at a slower speed than the original. The trick is to get the reduced speed just right so that the lyrics maintain their integrity, but the reduced speed renders them as being spookier or more atmospheric. When you add in the mind-altering effects of drugs and alcohol, it gives the song a trippy, otherworldly effect. Regardless of what you may think of the chopped and screwed remix of Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night”, the main thing to take from this is the topic of historical representation of people of colour. This mid-film Easter egg shout-out to DJ Screw is a subtle reminder of the historical contributions of people of colour.
NOPE is a movie about an alien monster, but it is filled with moments of cultural, historical and socio-political significance all throughout the film. There are no throwaway moments in NOPE. Even one that appears on the surface to simply be the manipulation of a well known pop song because of the UFO/alien’s ability to control the Haywood’s electrical supply turns out to be a commentary on people watching others without wanting to be seen (which is the plotline of the song, as well as a key story element for the movie), it introduces a key piece of knowledge that neither the characters nor the audience knew before (which is that the UFO/alien reacts to eye contact) and it reinforces the key historical idea of cultural representation by acknowledging the pioneering influence of a person such as DJ Screw (who is well known and highly regarded within the Hip Hop community but not so well known in the world beyond Hip Hop). And it all comes from a seemingly innocent ten-fifteen second scene in the middle of the movie. Imagine watching and rewatching the whole movie! I am willing to bet that NOPE will become a movie that true fans will watch dozens of times as they attempt to discover everything that Jordan Peele has stitched together so expertly as skilled weavers of tales know how to do.
The link to the video for the song “Sunglasses at Night Jean Jacket Remix” by DJ AK47 (in the style of DJ Screw) can be found here. ***There is no lyric version of this remix.
The link to a video that attempts to explain the movie NOPE can be found here. ***Spoiler Alert.
The link to a video that examines the subgenre of chopped and screwed music and talks about the influence of DJ Screw can be found here.
The link to the official website for Jordan Peele can be found here.
Today’s post is a spin-off from a post I wrote last week about the Canadian punk film classic Hard Core Logo. (You can read about the post here). If you happened to read that post, you might remember one of the more interesting tidbits of information was that one of Canada’s most successful and popular bands, Billy Talent, was named after one of the main characters in the movie. Having unearthed that nugget of news last week, it only seemed fitting that the band I profile for this week’s edition of The Great Canadian Road Trip should be Billy Talent as well. Why not? They are terrific. They have had 7 songs reach the top of the Canadian rock charts since they formed over thirty years ago in 1993. Billy Talent has sold over three million albums worldwide, going platinum multiple times. The band has won seven Juno Awards, ten Much Music Video awards and had the video for their song, “Fallen Leaves”, earn the #5 ranking as being one of the best Canadian music videos of all time. But who exactly is Billy Talent? Let’s find out as we travel to the home of Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, where it all began for four guys who have known each other their entire adult lives. This is the story of Canada’s Billy Talent!
Billy Tallent from Hard Core Logo.
Billy Talent is primarily known as a rock band. However, they also enjoy punk music and often combine the two genres in a musical hybrid that often is referred to as Pop Punk. But make no mistake, the boys in Billy Talent play a brand of rock music that has been widely embraced by fans all across the country. In many ways, Billy Talent has some important similarities to a couple of other iconic Canadian bands known as Rush and The Tragically Hip. First of all, the lineup for Billy Talent has remained the same throughout the entirety of their career as a band. That is a rare and noteworthy accomplishment. There are only so many Canadian bands like Rush or The Hip who have stuck together through the highs and the lows and the grind that comes with making a living playing music in Canada. The members of Billy Talent consist of singer Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarists Ian D’Sa and Jonathan Gallant and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. They met while attending high school together. In fact, they played together for almost a decade under the band name Pezz. As Pezz, the four friends played all around the Greater Toronto Area. They wrote their own songs, lugged their own gear and developed a reputation as one of the area’s hardest working bands. In the basement of Ian D’Sa’s parent’s home, the band recorded a four-track EP called Demoluca. But the sound quality was subpar, so they all got part-time jobs and maxxed out their credit cards in order to pay for some time in a proper recording studio with a professional record producer and sound engineer. This resulted in a better quality EP called Dudebox. Still working as Pezz, the four guys managed to save a little more money, which they invested in recording an actual professional album which they called Watoosh! The future looked bright for Pezz until one day when the band received a notice from an American lawyer that they were being sued by a U.S. band that also went by the name Pezz. As it turned out, the American band had been performing as Pezz longer than our Mississauga heroes, so the Canadian band was forced into a name change. As they looked around for inspiration, they thought about one of their favourite movies, Hard Core Logo. In that movie there was a character who went by the name Billy Tallent. He was young, handsome and skilled and seemed to have a wonderful future ahead of him. That character resonated with the guys in the band, so they opted to call themselves Billy Talent…dropping one letter from the character’s name so as to avoid a repeat of being sued for using a name that they weren’t entitled to use.
Billy Talent from Mississauga. L-R: Aaron Solowonuik, Jonathan Gallant, Ben Kowalewicz and Ian D’Sa.
With the same four guys, Billy Talent headed out to maintain the momentum they had established with the Watoosh! album as Pezz. They did this by tapping into some of the industry connections they had started to make along the way. In the early days of Pezz, in order to get the money to record their first EPs, Ben Kowalewicz had gotten a part-time job at Toronto radio station 102.1 The Edge. That station was known for featuring bands with an alternative bent to their musical style. Kowalewicz asked one of the programme directors there to come and watch Billy Talent as they played at a local club. The programme director, Jen Hirst, liked what she saw. A short while later, after she had moved to Warner Music Canada, she remembered the band and invited them to sign with the label. The band agreed. For the first time ever, the boys in Pezz/Billy Talent had a decent amount of money being invested in the making of an album. The result of this effort was Billy Talent’s debut self-titled album. The lead single from the album Billy Talent was a banger of a song called “Try Honesty”. The video for “Try Honesty” was shot at Whitby Psychiatric Hospital. The song and the video both became hits and were instrumental in launching the brand that the band had become. In no time at all, “Try Honesty” made Billy Talent a recognizable name in the Canadian music scene. Pezz was definitely gone. Billy Talent was the only name that mattered now.
In addition to having a No. 1 hit song right out of the gate, the other things that really helped Billy Talent establish their identity as one of Canada’s best rock bands were the videos they produced. The band was lucky that they managed to begin their ascent to the top of the charts during the last vestiges of Much Music’s reign as a music station of influence in Canada. As many Canadian bands found out during the 1980s and 90s, it was easier to get their music known all across the country via music videos played on Much Music than it was to get in a van and attempt to drive back and forth across this vast nation. Billy Talent was able to launch themselves into the national music conversation from the relative comfort of their Mississauga home base. For anyone unaware of the local geography in question, Mississauga is a city that borders Toronto on its western boundary. Any band from MIssissauga would consider playing at Toronto venues to be like playing at home. Since Much Music was headquartered in Toronto, Billy Talent could make live appearances there and get their music heard in all parts of the country without actually ever having to leave home. As mentioned off of the top of this post, Billy Talent have become highly regarded for the quality and originality of their music videos. So even though I am featuring their debut single, “Try Honesty”, I encourage you to check out some of their other videos for songs, such as “Rusted From the Rain”, “Fallen Leaves”, “Devil On My Shoulder”, “Surprise, Surprise”, “Stand Up and Run” and many others. In the links below, I will show you the “official” music video, as well as a live version of “Try Honesty”, so you can see the band as their creative and live best.
For thirty-one years, Ben, Ian, Jonathan and Aaron have made music together because they view themselves as a musical family. Their story of brotherhood and friendship that has stood the test of time makes me think of Neil, Alex and Geddy from Rush or Rob, Johnny, Paul and the two Gords from The Tragically Hip. The men from Billy Talent also share one other unfortunate thing in common with The Hip and with Rush, and that is health issues. Just as Rush lost Neil Peart and The Hip lost Gord Downie, both to brain cancer, Billy Talent has also been learning to deal with the onset of Multiple Sclerosis in drummer Aaron Solowonuik. Amazingly enough, Solowonuik has managed to stay on as drummer for the band right up until the recording of Billy Talent’s latest album, Crisis of Faith,which was recorded in 2021. As lead singer, Benjamin Kowalewicz has stated in interviews that as the disease spread and took hold of their friend, the band learned how to help him deal with it in ways that allowed him to continue to be a functional member of the team. They learned all about medication and exercise and diet and rest and have worked together as brothers to help their friend to keep making music at a high level for as long as possible. There seems to be a growing sense that Solowoniuk may need to start stepping back, but until he makes that call or else simply can’t drum as a rock band needs him to do, he will be the drummer for Billy Talent. Sometimes the lineup for a band changes significantly over time, to the point where the group you may go to see play live bears little resemblance to the original band that you grew to love. But that is not the case with Billy Talent. Although I have not heard anything on this matter, it is worth noting that neither Rush nor The Tragically Hip replaced their friend when fate stepped in and the final notes were played. Whether or not the same will be true for Billy Talent once Aaron Solowonuik can no longer play is something that remains to be seen. Regardless of how it all turns out, the boys from Mississauga have a lot to be proud of. They have played in a band as friends for over three decades. They have No. 1 hit songs and golden records galore. They are one of the top ten best selling bands in Canadian history. They have achieved all of this success by staying true to their own creative vision and strategic business plan. They work hard, play hard and are well respected in all corners of this land. They are Billy Talent. Well done, gents. Well done, indeed.
The link to the official website for Billy Talent can be found here.
The link to the official video for the song “Try Honesty” by Billy Talent can be found here. ***The link to the lyric version is here. The link to a live version of “Try Honesty” can be found here. For what it worth, I think the live version is best if you are hearing this for the first time.
The link to the official website for Mississauga, Ontario can be found here.
