Listomania! - 1995

1995 was a pretty important year for me. Debbie had to move to Toronto for work, so Martina and I became full-time parents. We moved in with the kids and had a blast seeing them every day rather than 3 days a week. I loved making lunches for everyone and getting to sink my teeth into being a regular Dad again. Also, I was finally hired full-time at Loeb. I had already been working 40 hours a week for a few years, but now we got benefits and I knew which days I'd be working ahead of time and not have to be on call anymore. So, we all settled in to a nice, comfortable routine, and I do like routines. I know, that makes me boring as hell, but I'm not one for living by the seat of my pants, even though it has been that way most of my life. We also bought our first brand new car, a Geo Metro, which, despite its lack of prestige, was a great little car for us. Up until then, we had driven family hand-me-downs or old used clunkers that we would pray to daily to get us from A to B without breaking down. We sure had some adventures with our vehicles over the years! Probably the one that sticks out most occurred that spring. I was driving down King St. in Pop's 15 year-old Impala with Martina's brother Karel. The car was not starting properly, so Karel brought a plastic bottle of gasoline with him. You see, it was his theory that there was something wrong with the way the carburetor was working, and since I was (and still am) a complete dolt when it comes to mechanics, I let him take the lead. The car conked out on King St. near the YMCA, so I pulled it over to the side of the road. We popped the hood and Karel got out with his trusty bottle of gas. He poured some into the engine or carburetor or wherever and then got in and fired the ignition, with the hood still in an upright position. As soon as he turned the key, flames shot about 10 feet in the air and also straight out the bottom of the car. A huge plume of black smoke rose into the air, noticeable for miles around. I was standing beside the car, yelling to Karel about the flames. He proceeded to jump out of the car and start walking away, up the street. As he had left me standing there wondering what the hell he was doing, a city bus pulled up alongside and the driver came racing out with a fire extinguisher. Karel kept walking. Then, the fire truck showed up. I tried to explain what happened to the bemused fireman, who probably thought I was a brainless idiot (no argument here!) and who made sure the fire was out. When everyone had left, I saw Karel sheepishly ambling back toward the scene. He was laughing his ass off while I fumed. Now, if you know Karel, he has a real shit-eating grin on his face when he thinks something is funny. It was because of this shit-eating grin that I decided not to kill him and joined with him in cracking up about what had just transpired. I went into the YMCA to call a tow truck and everyone in there had seen the incident and were laughing quite hard when I went up to the desk to use the phone. I called a tow truck and had the car towed home. Soon after, we went and bought the Geo. Some of the tunes that I listened to in our new car were:

10. Alright - Supergrass

This sunny, teenage paean to being cool is taken from these Brit's debut album, I Should Coco. It received almost no airplay on this side of the Atlantic, but through my reading of the NME, I had the 12" single. Most people in North America would know this from an Intel TV commercial from a few years ago. It is instantly memorable, full of the catchiest hooks and Gaz Coombes' youthful vocals. The piano riff which drives the tune is a direct tip of the cap to one of their biggest influences, Madness. I always felt this song would have fit right in on an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. This is a song that will stick in the old craw for hours after just one listen, so go put it on! "We are young, we run free, keep our teeth, nice and clean, see our friends, see the sights, feel alright." He iiiisss an halibut!

9. King - Belly

This is the title cut from this Boston-based band's 2nd and last album. Leader Tanya Donelly was a former member of the seminal '80s band Throwing Muses with her sister, Kristen Hersh. She left in 1992 to form Belly and their 1st album Star from 1993 was a great record. But, I like this record even better, despite the fact that it was a commercial failure, due to the Grunge scene and its hold on popular music at the time. The guitars are driving and urgent, but more jangly than loud and they didn't fit in with the times. This is Power-Pop though, and the melody is catchy enough to stick in your head, sort of like one has heard it before. I love the tempo changes, not so much quiet-loud, but just a subtle shift in the rhythm. "You light the ocean from behind, I'll show you mine, I'll show you." Mmmmm.....Tanya Donelly.....

8. Catching On - Son Volt

I always find it amusing when critics go on about so called "supergroups." Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy were in a band called Uncle Tupelo in the early '90s that is now considered one of these "supergroups." Now, if any of my loyal readers can name even 1 song by them, I will be surprised. They were no "supergroup" folks - in retrospect maybe, but their records were heard by very few and sold to even fewer. Tweedy went on to form Wilco, who have become critical darlings and achieved Indie superstar status. Farrar formed Son Volt, who critics like fairly well, but their on again-off again existence has left them far behind the much more efficient Wilco in terms of star-power. I adore both bands, pretty much equally, but my sister Shannon has become one of the biggest Son Volt fans around. This is my favourite cut from their debut album, Trace. I love the melancholy everyman in Farrar's voice, very country-tinged to be sure, but this song rocks pretty hard as well. The guitar sound on this song, especially the string-bending lead, is brilliant and he can write a melody with the best of them. "As the pieces fall like candy when you're young, medicine when you're old." I'm getting to the medicine stage.....

7. Just - Radiohead

This song had perhaps the most haunting video ever - remember the one where the guy is laying on the street and people keep coming up and getting angry at him and asking why he is lying there? Then the end, where he says something that isn't subtitled, and to this day, nobody can say for sure what he says? Then, the really disturbing part at the end where all of those who had been questioning him end up lying down beside him in the street? Oh yeah, that video! Well, I love the song on its own merits too. There is the brilliant, breakneck guitar playing by Jonny Greenwood for starters, sounding so menacing and paranoid. Drummer Phil Selway crunches the skins so hard, I'll bet he had to change the heads after recording this tune. Thom Yorke uses his gorgeous voice to full effect too, singing about a friend who sounds rather annoying, and I can forgive him for spawning almost as many copycats as Eddie Vedder. "Can't get the stink off, he's been hanging round for days." You know what they say about guests and fish.....

6. Box Full Of Letters - Wilco

Here is the other guy from Uncle Tupelo with his band and their debut effort, AM. It is essentially Uncle Tupelo without Jay Farrar. They tread the same alt-country ground as well, but it is a great little tune. It showcases Jeff Tweedy's self-deprecating sense of humour, which is one of his enduring strengths. His singing sounds like that of a slacker-dude, but I like this as well. The lead guitar is played by Brian Henneman from the Bottle Rockets, who was hired specifically for this one album. Multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett would join the band for the tour to support this record and stay until after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. "I just can't find the time to write my mind the way I want it to read." A mind is a terrible thing to taste.....

5. Floaty - Foo Fighters

This record would be among the biggest musical surprises I've ever encountered. I mean, Dave Grohl was buried behind all those drums and all that hair in Nirvana- a great drummer, but that he was a guy who was able to write, record, produce and play all the instruments on his own record? - no way! But, on this self-titled debut album, he did indeed do all of the above. I still love this album, probably my fave of 1995. On this song, there are roaring power chords, machine-gun precise drumming, and, another surprise, a huge melody that outdoes, for me anyway, anything Cobain ever did. He eventually hired a band and continues to make good solid records to this day. "He floats, floats away, on the ground, he comes back down." Todd Rundgren, eat your heart out!

4. Out Of The Sinking - Paul Weller

This song is taken from his 3rd solo record, considered by many to be his best, Stanley Road. Critics always comment on this album as being the one he returned to his roots on, but his roots were not bands like Traffic really. It sounds nothing like his true roots, The Kinks or The Who. The Traffic-vibe is further authenticated by the presence of Stevie Winwood playing organ on this album. This is a very rocking tune, with more guitar-jamming going on than any of his previous music. Once again, drummer Steve White gives me goosebumps, especially on the lead-in to the chorus, with his brilliant, jazzy rolls and fills. This is one of my top 10 Weller tracks ever for sure. "It is shining for me, all I need to be, but I can't find the key, the one to make me believe." Shine on you crazy diamond.....

3. Sick Of Myself - Matthew Sweet

I had liked his song Girlfriend back in '91 or '92, but I didn't know much about Matthew Sweet really. I loved this song right from my first listen. It is right in my wheelhouse though, a real true Power-Pop classic. From his 5th album, 100% Fun, this is all vintage tube amps and analog sound at its best. The melody is amazing, the lyrics too, and it is virtually impossible not to sing along to it. The sound of the guitars is outstanding, all garage-fuzz and distortion and the lead is played brilliantly by punk legend Richard Lloyd, late of the groundbreaking NYC band, Television. This is another record where the instruments are almost all played by 1 guy, and Sweet does a yeoman's job for sure. This was a big number on jam nights with my buddies Cope and Peesker back in those days. "I'm sick of myself when I look at you, something is beautiful and true. In a world that's ugly and a lie, it's hard to even want to try and I'm beginning to think, baby you don't know." Once again, I wish I'd written that.....

2. Nautical Disaster - The Tragically Hip

This track is on my fave album by these guys, Day For Night. There is a much darker feel to Gord Downie's lyrics on this record, and they aimed for a more adventurous musical side as well. This song is pretty much Hip-by-numbers though, but what numbers they are! It is written from the point of view of a guy having a nightmare and then waking up to find out it is all too real, that his life is the nautical disaster of his nightmare. The urgency and paranoia of the lyrics, delivered in his own singular way by Downie, paint a vivid portrait for the listener. The band does their usual workmanlike job here, but bassist Gord Sinclair stands out with his high-neck playing, especially near the end as the songs plays out with a long jam session. "The selection was quick, the crew was picked in order and those left in the water got kicked off our pantleg and we headed for home." Shudder to think...

1. Morning Glory - Oasis

This is the Gallagher brothers finest hour, or 5:03, as it were. The way it starts, with the screeching guitars, whirring helicopters, and pounding drums, then just kicks in with those roaring guitars - whew! Liam doesn't sound snotty on this song. His voice is almost melodic and carries with it an almost palpable hint of regret or remorse. The brothers were hyped daily in the media, certainly in the U.K., where they were the biggest band in the land. The melody is, as usual, very catchy and simple, which is Noel's main strength as a songwriter. He gleefully plagiarizes from all his heroes, but it is OK because he is so reverential, even throwing in the title of his fave Beatles tune, Tomorrow Never Knows. This was the end of Oasis for me as I feel they never came near this kind of fantastic song again. So, I made it #1 on my list for '95 because it is just a great song, no argument. "Another sunny afternoon, walking to the sound of my favourite tune, tomorrow never knows what it doesn't know too soon." Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream.....