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Archive for the ‘history 101’ Category

The view from Machinery Hall

Posted in food, history 101, music, tagged , , , , on July 7, 2010| 6 Comments »

I wrote last week about those records that at some time in your life, you loved. Capital ‘L’ LOVED…. but now, maybe you don’t listen to them all that much.

A record that did that to me was Sufjan Steven’s 2005 masterpiece, Illinois.

This record came out in the summer and at a time when I smoked a lot of pot.  I worked nights at the Zone and when I got home after a radio show Alex would be in bed or maybe still at work.

I’d pack the bong and plug my headphones into the stereo amp and hit play on this compact disc.

By the winter, Alex had moved back to Vancouver and I was all by myself.  My obsession with this album intensified.  I listened to it almost every night and thought it was a religious revelation.

But then something funny happened.  Well two funny somethings….

Alex and I broke up; and I stopped smoking pot.

Maybe it was the haze (or lack there of…), or time, or new music coming in…. but Sufjan got pushed aside and I really haven’t punched it up much at all in the past??? three years?  Damn, I’m getting old.

Today I am reading about chili.  Did you know that chili… the delicious meaty treat that many of enjoy from Tim Hortons or cooked at home… was first introduced outside of San Antonio to mainstream audiences at the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893? (so was the hamburger, rag time music and neon lights)

Then I start reading about the Expo ’93… as I’m sure that is what the Industrial Age kids of the time called it.

Its an interesting story about this fair that made use of electricity and gave the world the Ferris Wheel.

I wondered about the music of the time and my wandering brain took me to discover ragtime. One of the great ragtime performers of the era played a show at the exposition and ragtime would go on to be the dominate music style in North America till jazz would develop after World War One.

This is fascinating because the Veneto Lounge styles many of their cocktails on this late 19th century culture and maybe ragtime would be the perfect musical accompaniment?

Right, Sufjan Stevens… there really isn’t a point to this rambling… as I am flying though the internet and iTunes, listening to ragtime and exploring the wonders of American exceptionalism.  The internet wants me to listen to Sufjan.  My searches and hyperlinks keep saying, “Do You Mean Illinios (album)?”

Um, no… but ok internet, I’ll bite.  I punch up the record and the music washes right over me. It feels good.  I remember all these songs.  I can’t listen to it loud enough! (though back in the day, one of my favourite things to do was put it on as quiet as possible and try to have the songs tickle my little ear hair things as lightly as I could make out sounds… like I said, I smoked a ton of pot).

Illinois is such an amazing record.  Its like an audio epic adventure.  After reading about chili, Chicago, ragtime and The World’s Columbian Exposition… I couldn’t imagine or have predicted a better soundtrack.

Go with yourself.

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we fuck in sadness / a cold frustration / then we’re fine for awhile

Posted in history 101, music, tagged , , , , , on June 28, 2010| 2 Comments »

A monthly article I never miss is Resonant Frequency.

Its written by one of the editors at Pitchfork, Mark Richardson, and he waxes on about his personal relationship to music and what it means and all this 30-year-old white guy non-sense.  His tastes are were far more eclectic than mine ever were, or will ever be.

But his themes are so interesting.

He talks this week about about the albums that were our favourites at a time.  And when this record meant so much to you; you thought, “I will always love this record.”

Then, one day, years later you wake up and its not your favourite.  In fact, you haven’t listened to it in years and if you did now… heck you might not really care for it all that much.

He then talks about a group called Piano Magic.  I wanted to check it out to try and hear what he might have back in 1999 when Mark thought Low Birth Weight was destined to be a great record.  Wow, it is spooky.  Wikipedia called it ghost rock and I think, listening I might have found my perfect Steam Punk sound!

He then goes on to think about the internet and how stuff lives forever.  I found Piano Magic’s music pretty easy on Youtube.  <– This song was crazy real.  Reminded me of this old British movie I watched years ago with some of the most awkward and authentic sex scenes I have ever seen in a movie.  I wish I could remember the title.

Music lives on forever with the internet.  Last night I was telling Coral about my dream to press a 7 inch single of my old band, Smut Peddling Sam.  She didn’t get it.  Said it was silly and childish and that no-one would care.

Maybe she is right… maybe not?  I’d care, so that is at least one.  I googled Smut Peddling Sam.  Everything lives on the internet, even Smut Peddling Sam!

Our old friends were in a group called Triple Word Score and they got signed by a record label called Long Beach records outta California. They mentioned us in their bio and that bio still takes up a few bits of internet code.

SPS used to play at the Cobalt in the early days of that old punk rock bar… and I found an old page of WENDYTHIRTEEN that mentions us.

My brother Matt’s Myspace mentions us. (remember MySpace awww).

WHAT? the original Smut Peddling Sam website?

Crazy… silly internet has a long memory!

***if you care to hear some of our uhhh, unique? style on speed punk, click on my –> MixCloud page. ***

Go with yourself.

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History’s Mechanical Marvel!

Posted in history 101, music, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 25, 2010| 2 Comments »

Last weekend in Victoria was busy.  There was the parade, the hordes of American band nerds, the cruise ships and holidayers, personally I had a wedding to attend and DJ and then there were the kids dressed as olden tyme Victorians crossed with Mad-Max.  Steampunks.

Taking my grandparents for a stroll around Victoria I noticed some Goth looking kids all dolled up in frilly dresses and corsets.  one person commented that it might grad attire for a local highschool and we left it at that.

Later that night I was DJing at the Veneto Lounge and Miss Rosie Bitts stopped in for a cocktail and bite after a gig.  She had just performed at the Empress Hotel for Victoria’s first Steampunk Expo!

Wow, I wish I had heard of it earlier, seemed very cool.  It might be hard for me to explain here, real nerd stuff, but check out the wikipedia on Steampunk if you are curious.

While trolling the world of steampunk I discovered a story about a robot named Boilerplate.

The idea of steampunk is that is a fantasy or alternate history type of story where the technologies of the Victorian and Edwardian age either live on or information technology is “invented” at an earlier time.  Think a steam powered computer for example?

Boilerplate is the story of a robot build in 1893.  History’s Mechanical Marvel, created to end human causalities during conflicts between nations!

Watch the trailer.

When Paul Guinan created Boilerplate as an online project back in 2000, it seemed so real that many people actually believed that some mad scientist invented Boilerplate!

Check out the website.

At the top of this post is a picture of Boilerplate from the album cover of Stars’ 2008 digital ep, Sad Robots.

Neat.

I wanted to know more about Steampunk music… but what I unearthed, was… well terrible.

Some group called Abney Park… oy vey.  Super cheeseball and they seem more interested in selling brass goggles and t-shirts than crafting some unique music.

And yet the idea of what steampunk music might sound like to me is fairly intriguing.  I might stew on that a bit to hear some elements that might soundtrack a Steampunk Space Exploration!

I am sure it will include this jump-point song.

***

I do loves me some Tommy James and Shondells!  Yesterday, god bless Pol Plastino and his lovely lady Hannah.  Hannah works at Chapters and was able to track down a copy of Tommy James’ biography; Me, The Mob, and the Music.

So far so good.  There will be lots of inspiration for a new playlist to develop for my lounge sets at The Veneto.  This Wednesday night is the one year anniversary of the Rialto Hotel and the Veneto Lounge and I think I’ll base a set list on AM Top 40 radio of the early to mid-60s with some b-sides and interesting selections from Roulette Records.  I’ll need to take some notes tonight and track down some songs to mix into my standard weekend fare of Motown, Atlantic Records, Standards and Northern Soul jams.

There is a lot going on with Roulette so it might take some time to suss out the gems.

Go with yourself.

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Analog YEAH!

Posted in history 101, life or something like it, music, tagged , , , on May 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I was reading Alan Cross’ website yesterday and he found a great article with a very poignant quote.

“I remember the first record I ever bought. Do you remember your first download?” – The Young Person’s Guide to Vinyl

I remember the first three records I bought, on Compact Disc, with my own money, that earned working for the man.

The summer of 1996 I got a job working at a Subway.  At the time my music collection could be considered anemic. I had some tapes, some CDs I had acquired, that was about it.  To hear “good” music I would hang out at friend’s houses or rocked the radio.  When I got steady work at Subway I was making the most money I had ever earned in my life… some pay-cheques were over $100!

My first pay-cheque I dumped in my Leo Young Savers account and headed off to Lougheed Mall.  I found the Music World and plunked down close to $80 for three records.

01) Alice in Chains – Alice in Chains
02) Metallica – …And Justice for All
03) Seven Mary Three – American Standard

Of the three albums, I don’t really listen to any of them front to back anymore and maybe only Alice in Chains is a band I still regularly enjoy.  But back in 1996, they all got heavy play… and though I was late to the party when it came to collecting music, I played a serious game of catch-up, and now I have more CDs than I know what to do with.

It only makes sense that my obsession is drifting over to collecting vinyl records, which admittedly I don’t have a ton of.

I did find a couple blogs I am enjoying these days.

Analog Apartment
Fuck Yeah Vinyl

Go with yourself.

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Expo ’86

Posted in history 101, music, tagged , , , , , , on April 27, 2010| 3 Comments »

Add this album to my list of “looking forwards to…”  The new Wolf Parade album will be out in June (or maybe July from Sub Pop) and is named after one of my earliest memories growing up, Expo ’86.

Anyone in my age bracket or older that lived in British Columbia in 1986 likely has some fond memories of the World’s Fair that dominated Vancouver.  Every time you ride the Expo line of the Skytrain or take in a IMAX film at science world, you’re basking in the legacy.  I thought it was pretty neat when I read an interview with WP’s Dan Boeckner about why they chose Expo ’86 as the title for their new record:

Pitchfork: Do you have a title for the album yet?

DB: The title for the record, as far as we know now, is– unless we get sued for using it– Expo 86.

Expo 86 was a World’s Fair that happened in Vancouver in 1986. It’s been this thing we all talked about as a band. We all grew up in British Columbia, and we were all at Expo, which lasted about three or four days. It’s a weird little thought experiment– basically, we were all young children at the same big event. I remember Expo 86 was as big as the Olympics were this year in Vancouver. They completely reorganized part of the downtown core, and they built this giant geodesic dome called “Science World”. Now it looks completely, totally dated and a product of its time. They built monuments, built rides. It was something I don’t think we’re going to see in Canada ever again because World’s Fairs have fallen out of favor, at least for the Western World.

Pitchfork: Do you have any particular memories of going to Expo 86?

DB: I remember going to the German Pavilion, which was totally terrifying. Each country had a pavilion showing off their prime exports or a little bit of the culture, and the German Pavilion was this super austere, really cold Bauhaus-style minimalist building. It freaked me out as a child.

I remember the UFO HTO water park, Expo Ernie! and MFing Rainbow War.  I still have a an Expo ’86 t-shirt that is wearable… not that I wear it much, it’s been co-opted by Ms. Coral Crawford.

Fun fact: The above cover for the new Wolf Parade album features some greasy looking youngsters about to fuck some ship up… those kids are actual family members of Wolf Parade’s Dante DeCaro.  Wait an minute?  the same Dante that used to be in Victoria favourite sons Hot Hot Heat?  yes, the same one!

And one more degree of Kevin Bacon; Expo ’86 had a chief operating officer named Jim Pattison.  He now owns The Zone @ 91-3!  Believe that.

That’s it…  Go with yourself.

Me, Expo Ernie, and my brothers CJ and Matt: May 1986

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Bobby first of all is an actor, Clint first of all is a star. Bobby suffers, Clint yawns.

Posted in history 101, neat-O gang, playlist, tagged , on April 20, 2010| 3 Comments »

If you look at the top of my wordpress blog, you’ll see on the header a picture of Clint Eastwood from the movie, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The movie is considered a (the best) spaghetti western (of all time).   A spaghetti western is a weird hic-up in history where during the 1960s, Italian and Spanish producers would make low budget movies based on themes that revolved around the American frontier west and Mexico

As of late I have been enjoying a fascination with all things desert, and this film played right into my obsession.  The last few nights, after DJing at the club or lounge, I’d come home at some weird hour and punch up The Good for a bit before falling asleep on the couch. (thank you Randy!)

A couple nights ago I finished my visual adventure and I was a little sad it was over.  I haven’t smoked pot in a few years now, but man, these past few nights had me hankering for a joint while I watched this crazy adventure for stolen Confederate gold.  The vistas and geography had me lusting for an adventure to New Mexico territory (but then I read the film was shot in Spain, so maybe I really want to go to Spain?).

The movie is amazing, if you have the chance to see it or download it or something, I say do it!  then we’ll get some horses and ride south and find a grave to dig up for gold.  Oh the times we’ll share!

The scene from the picture above happens at about 4:25 of the clip.  It is the final “Mexican standoff” in the film so yeah… SPOILER ALERT if you haven’t seen the film.

***

I remember I made a desert playlist way back in 2008 for Vancityrockgirl’s wedding that I brought on my iPod.  I am going to post this best of… for now, but I am so going to update tonight when I get home now that I found it (there are some better songs and some that i would cut given my 20/20 hindsight)!

somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert

01) QOTSA – “Better Living Through Chemistry”
02) QOTSA – “First It Giveth”
03) Constantines – “Trans Canada”
04) Fu Manchu – “Thinking Out Loud”
05) The Killers – “Sam’s Town”
06) The Hold Steady – “Chips Ahoy!”
07) Alkaline Trio – “Help Me”
08) Hermano – “My Boy”
09) Spoon – “Rhythm and Soul”
10) Teenage Head w/ Marky Ramone – “Let’s Shake”
11) Mondo Generator – “So High, So Low”
12) Corrosion of Conformity – “Redemption City”
13) Solace – “King Alcohol”
14) Eagles of Death Metal – “Miss Alissa”
15) Desert Sessions 9&10 – “I Wanna Make It Wit Chu”
16) Kyuss – “Thong Song”
17) The Sword – “Barael’s Sword”
18) Why? – “The Hollows”
19) Rehab – “Sitting at the Bar”
20) Hot Water Music – “Remedy”
21) QOTSA – “The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret”
22) The Section Quartet – “Such Great Heights”

That’s all I got for right now.  Go with yourself.

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first time a former colonial force pushed back a major European power on European soil

Posted in history 101, tagged , , , , , , , on April 8, 2010| 2 Comments »

I don’t know why, but the other day I was thinking about the Canadian generally regarded as the first to die during World War One.

I remember watching a documentary about the war sometime ago and they mentioned him.  I thought it would be a cool name for a band or something… then I thought, maybe that will be my DJ handle.

I was waxing about it on my radio show a couple weeks ago and I got this email from Jeff at CFB Esquimalt:

Jeremy;

I can’t remember when but one afternoon, I think last week you were talking about the first Canadian war dead from World War I.  The first Canadian war dead were actually sailors not soldiers and they died nowhere near the shores of Europe, they actually died in the Pacific.

The German squadron leaving Valparaiso on 3 November 1914 after the battle.

The first Canadian casualties of the war occurred before these troops arrived in Europe. Sir Christopher Cradock’s squadron was sunk at the Battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile, claiming four midshipmen who became Canada’s first war dead.

We sailed past Coronel last year and paid our respects by dropping a wreath in their honour.  A moving moment for our ship’s company.

Hope that helps.  Best Regards,

Jeff McCartney
Petty Officer 1st Class | Maître de premier classe
Senior Naval Communicator | communicateur naval Superieure
Information Systems Security Officer | Officier de securite des systemes informatiques
Chief of Maritime Staff | Chef d’état-major des forces maritimes
HMCS CALGARY | NCSM CALGARY
Canadian Fleet Pacific | Flotte Canadienne du pacifique
Department of National Defense | Département de la Défense Nationale

***

Now that is an interesting piece of historic knowledge.  The first Canadian casualties of the war were likely reservists serving Cradock.

The story of this early navel battle is a decent read if you like your War History.

These men were not who I was thinking of.  It took some digging, but the man I was looking for was a soldier named Bellinger.

German barrage on Allied trenches at Ypres. Probably Second Battle of Ypres, 1915

The Canadian Army at the beginning of World War was tiny.  At the start, a new regiment was formed called the Princess Patricia’s and they became part of the 1st Canadian Division.  They first dug into the trenches at a place called Dickiebush (France) on January 6th, 1915.  By the 8th, the first two Canadians of the war were dead, Norman Fry and Henry Bellinger.

The name Bellinger has always stuck with me.

Go with yourself.

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It is like many a street we have seen in the British Isle

Posted in history 101, tagged , , , , on February 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

This is too neat, trolling one of the radio message boards last night, they had a video posted from 1936.  It was an old travel documentary that would have aired before a movie and this edition features Victoria and Vancouver, gateway to Canada.

I like the shot at 2:03 of the video, looking down Douglas north towards City Hall and you can catch a glimpse of the Rialto.  Also, it is pretty cool to see all the trolley cars and the lack of high rises everywhere, especially in James Bay behind the Parliament Buildings.

The second half features Vancouver; British Columbia’s biggest city with a population of 350,000!

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Haiti has been fisted by European powers since inception

Posted in history 101, tagged , on January 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I was reading Regine Chassange’s (the chick from the Arcade Fire) essay in the UK paper the Guardian.  Powerful stuff from the Arcade Fire’s co-front woman.  She made mention of how Haiti has been fisted by European powers since inception.  Got me thinking about a blog post a did a while back about reading of Haiti’s storied past.

Revisit: I Can See For Miles and Miles
Seriously read the Country’s History (coles notes style from Wiki)

Hey France, maybe you should pay back the $21 billion you extorted?  That might be a good start on getting Haiti back on track.

Go with yourself.

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And o’er uninhabitable downs/Place elephants for want of towns

Posted in history 101, tagged , , , , , , , on December 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

"The Slave Trade" by Auguste Francois Biard, 1840

Wow, last night I did a late night push to finish Lawrence Hill’s “The Book of Negroes.”

What a stunningly rich epic.  People have to read this book, kids should read it in school.  Its similar to a Holocaust story, in that it is a bizarre and inhumane struggle, that was real.  But why it is as important than the Holocaust for Canadians is that part of the story takes place in Canada!  (and Lawrence Hill is a Canadian too).

The story begins in the 1750s in a small village somewhere in Africa (I think Nigeria) where the main character Aminata is an 11-year-old girl.  Raiders come and kidnap her into slavery, and then about about 400 plus pages of misery later, The End.

Maybe not the best selling job to say 400 pages of “misery.”  There are also many triumphs and in the end an uplifting closure.  The main character in the novel is fiction, but she lives close to the real life events that happened to her during her voyages and captivity.

I stayed up past 3AM last night reading, then after I finished the book I had to read the Wikipedia article on the Atlantic Slave Trade (which is so tame compared to the accounts in the novel) and I read about the nation of Sierra Leone.

While Coral was reading the book, I also read about the Slave Rebellion in Haiti too.  if you’ve read the book, or are going to read it, all these articles will help with your understanding.

Where the book leaves off, the real life struggle to end slavery begins.  The British did outlaw slavery and put their money (and men’s lives) where their mouth is.  The had a squadron of the British Navy station at Freetown (where Aminata lives for a spell) fighting the slave traders and the local African tribes that continued to sell their people to traders.  They had a mortality rate that was close to 5 times higher than regular mariners serving in the Royal Navy of the time.

The Americans would fight one heck of a war in the 1860s to once and for all end the practice of slavery… and the rifts of slavery would continue to reverberate throughout history with the civil rights movements of 1960 and all the struggles in Africa that continue to this day.

I wonder what Sierra Leone is like now?  I read about Freetown on wiki and it said the city is a tropical metropolis on the ocean surrounded by beaches and jungle and it seemed fairly stable (now, they had a recent civil war).  I wonder if it would be a good place to visit?  I wonder if Bance island is still there? If people care to preserve it?

Go with yourself.

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