Influential Albums - Part 3

Welcome to part three. These five albums were the first couple years of university. It was full of drama, both on stage and in my love life.

TITLE: August and Everything After

ARTIST: Counting Crows
YEAR: 1993

GENRE: Alternative Rock

ALBUM TRACKS: ‘Round Here; Omaha; Mr. Jones; Perfect Blue Buildings; Anna Begins; Time and Time Again; Rain King; Sullivan Street; Ghost Train; Raining in Baltimore; A Murder of One

FAVOURITE TRACK: Anna Begins

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: The lyrics almost bring a tear to my eye. I think it’s beautifully written with its subtle changes in the choruses. A heartbreaking song of denying true love until it’s too late. I love that this song was not released as a single; a hidden gem just for us.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: This is the album I think of when I think of university. You could hear the passionate lyrics belting out of many a dorm window. Angsty emo music with poetic lyrics is the bread and butter of “higher thinking” university students. I always felt very in tune with this band and album. Unfortunately, my wife gets tired of Adam Duritz’ “whiny” voice pretty quickly and doesn’t appreciate her name being found in a number of songs including the popular “’Round Here”.

TITLE: Bargainville

ARTIST: Moxy Fruvous
YEAR: 1993

GENRE: Pop

ALBUM TRACKS: River Valley; Stuck in the 90’s; BJ Don’t Cry; Video Bargainville; Fell in Love; The Lazy Boy; My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors; The Drinking Song; Morphee; King of Spain; Darlington Darling; Bittersweet; Laika; Spiderman; Gulf War Song

FAVOURITE TRACK: The Drinking Song

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: I love the lyrics and the four part harmonies especially when they break into “Goodnight Irene”. I’m not a drinker at all but I love the story and the sad ending.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: This band has the quirkiness of Barenaked Ladies with some added eco-consciousness. An Ontarian in my dorm introduced me to these guys with a demo tape that included the catchy “King of Spain”. This was the only album I had of theirs. Unfortunately, one of the group members, Jian Ghomeshi, tainted this band with his violent sexual scandal in 2014. It’s sadder when I listen to this now.   

TITLE: Dookie

ARTIST: Green Day
YEAR: 1994

GENRE: Punk Rock

ALBUM TRACKS: Burnout; Having a Blast; Chump; Longview; Welcome to Paradise; Pulling Teeth; Basket Case; She; Sassafras Roots; When I Come Around; Coming Clean; Emenius Sleepus; In the End; FOD; (All by Myself)

FAVOURITE TRACK: In the End

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: This is a good ‘screw you’ breakup song. Love the energy and the bridge. Gets my body moving when I listen to it.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: This album was my introduction to punk. Sure, I had heard songs from Sex Pistols and The Clash but didn’t buy their albums. I enjoy the shorter punk tracks that are bursting with energy. This was a breath of fresh air among the gloom of some of the music I was listening to at the time. I also saw them rock in a couple concerts. I still enjoy their music, even the new stuff.

TITLE: Jars of Clay

ARTIST: Jars of Clay
YEAR: 1995

GENRE: Christian Alternative Rock

ALBUM TRACKS: Liquid; Sinking; Love Song for a Savior; Like a Child; Art in Me; He; Boy on a String; Flood; Worlds Apart; Blind; (Four Seven)

FAVOURITE TRACK: Worlds Apart

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: The lyrics are powerful and relatable. This is my go to song when I hit rock bottom, especially in my faith. I have often used this song as a prayer during troubled times. The drums are cool too. It causes my heart to pound. 

ALBUM INFLUENCE: Being at Trinity Western University, this band and album was in constant rotation in the dorms (along with dcTalk’s Jesus Freak). The thoughtful lyrics and acoustically driven music pulled me in immediately. Their use of strings in many of their songs was also a nice touch. I was proud of them when “Flood” managed to break into the mainstream markets. When people insult the quality of Christian music, this is one of the bands I suggest.

TITLE: Congratulation I’m Sorry

ARTIST: Gin Blossoms
YEAR: 1996

GENRE: Alternative Rock

ALBUM TRACKS: Day Job; Highwire; Follow You Down; Not Only Numb; As Long as it Matters; Perfectly Still; My Car; Virginia; Whitewash; I Can’t Figure You Out; Memphis Time; Competition Smile; ‘Til I Hear It from You

FAVOURITE TRACK: Not Only Numb

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK:  I like the poetry in the lyrics. It’s a song about returning to old haunts and dealing with how things have changed. This song reminds me of times I felt numb and didn’t want to face truths. Someone said that this song reminds them of Zach Braff’s film Garden State. I love that movie. Love this song even more now.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: In my opinion, this is what mid-nineties music sounded like. The acoustic guitars mixed with some emo lyrics and a bit of a raspy voice. This is the album I had in my car for most of the summer of ’96, going from work in the warehouse, to home, then to my fiancée’s house. Not everything was rosy during this time so a nice mix of semi-happy tunes and emotional questioning fit the bill.

Influential Albums - Part 2

Welcome to the second set of albums. These five albums were highlights of my high school years. It was a mixture of fun and angst as I hung out with friends and got a girlfriend. Here we go:

TITLE: Waking Up the Neighbours

ARTIST: Bryan Adams
YEAR: 1991

GENRE: Pop Rock

ALBUM TRACKS: Is Your Mama Gonna Miss Ya?; Hey Honey-I’m Packin’ You In; Can’t Stop This Thing We Started; Thought I Died and Gone to Heaven; Not Guilty; Vanishing; House Arrest; Do I Have to Say the Words?; There Will Be Another Tonight; All I Want Is You; Depend on Me; (Everything I Do) I Do It for You; If You Wanna Leave Me (Can I Come Too?); Touch the Hand; Don’t Drop That Bomb on Me

FAVOURITE TRACK: All I Want Is You

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: The lyrics are simple, like most Bryan Adams songs, but the passion infused in his performance is awesome. I’m also a huge fan of songs where the music drops out for a second and then hits you like a sonic boom. (You’ll see that a lot in these lists.)

ALBUM INFLUENCE: Of course, I loved “Summer of ‘69” off Adam’s Reckless album but Neighbours hooked me a lot more. It also led me to my first concert experience on January 31, 1992. I remember the crowd got silent for a moment and I yelled at the top of my lungs  “69!” (you know how loud I can be), Adams looked up to my nosebleed section, played the first few chords, laughed and then played something else. Though he would eventually get around to “Summer of ’69” at the encore, that concert was full of great songs from Waking Up the Neighbours.

TITLE: Mad Mad World

ARTIST: Tom Cochrane
YEAR: 1991

GENRE: Pop Rock

ALBUM TRACKS: Life is a Highway; Mad Mad World; No Regrets; Sinking Like a Sunset; Washed Away; Everything Come Around; The Secret is to Know When to Stop; Brave and Crazy; Bigger Man; Friendly Advice; Get Back Up; Emotional Truth; All the King’s Men

FAVOURITE TRACK: Life is a Highway

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: This song just gets your toe tapping. Also hearing “Vancouver’s lights” always brought a sense of pride. I often played this song when hosting 11:07 Comedy Improv at TWU – it was a crowd pleaser. I like this version a hundred time more than the Rascal Flatts cover.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: I’m a proud Canadian when it comes to music. I like to support Canadian artists when I can. I always take great pleasure hearing a Canadian artist make it big on the international stage. “Life is a Highway” was just one of those songs. And the album is full of pounding harmonica laced tunes and thoughtful insights on society. Also, saw this guy in a free PNE concert. Good times.

TITLE: Achtung Baby

ARTIST: U2
YEAR: 1991

GENRE: Alternative Rock

ALBUM TRACKS: Zoo Station; Even Better Than the Real Thing; One; Until the End of the World; Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses; So Cruel; The Fly; Mysterious Ways; Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World; Ultraviolet (Light My Way); Acrobat; Love is Blindness

FAVOURITE TRACK: One

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: The lyrics get me every time. A bitter conversation that touches on love and spirituality. Heavy stuff.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: This was my emo music of choice. The album would play on repeat while I pined for the girl who eventually became my first girlfriend. Achtung Baby is full of introspection and angst. It helps having downer songs like “Acrobat” and “Love is Blindness” at times.

TITLE: Gordon

ARTIST: Barenaked Ladies
YEAR: 1992

GENRE: Pop

ALBUM TRACKS: Hello City; Enid; Grade 9; Brian Wilson; Be My Yoko Ono; Wrap Your Arms Around Me; What a Good Boy; The King of Bedside Manor; Box Set; I Love You; New Kid (On the Block); Blame It on Me; The Flag; If I Had $1000000; Crazy

FAVOURITE TRACK: Blame It on Me

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: I like the clever lyrics and laid back rhythm. Also love the “la, la, la, I can’t hear you”. While I like their crazy stuff, I equally like their quieter songs.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: I would have to say that Barenaked Ladies is one my favourite band of all time. I love their zany nature mixed with folksy fun music & lyrics. It helps that they are Canadian as well. These guys have the best concerts. They are lively and improv songs while entertaining the throngs.I think I’ve seen them four or five times. In fact, I took my wife to one of their concerts for our first date (though she was unaware that it was a date and it took an entire year to work up the nerve to come right out and ask her again). As a side note, while I prefer Ed Robertson’s sings, I was sad when Steven Page left and was replaced by the far inferior Kevin Hearn. Oh well. Still enjoy their work.

TITLE: Automatic for the People

ARTIST: R.E.M.
YEAR: 1992

GENRE: Alternative Rock

ALBUM TRACKS: Drive; Try Not to Breathe; The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite; Everybody Hurts; New Orleans Instrumental No. 1; Sweetness Follows; Monty Got a Raw Deal; Ignoreland; Star Me Kitten; Man on the Moon; Nightswimming; Find the River

FAVOURITE TRACK: Try Not to Breathe

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: I love the driving rhythm under this song, it almost makes my body sway with the music. Also love the descant harmonies in the second half of the song. If you want to learn more about this song, I encourage you to check out Song Exploder by clicking here.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: Another round of emo music; perfect for my angsty teen years. I loved Michael’s Stipe’s voice and would often sing along to “Nightswimming”. This album reminds me of driving home from my girlfriend’s house. It’s great late-night driving music.

Influential Albums - Part 1

Welcome to the first set of albums. When it comes to music, I usually would list a large number of songs that meant something to me. I have many lists but those are for another time. This list is focused on albums. The complete album. I would say that I could listen to and enjoy the entire album for most of these selections Today, I am more accustomed to just picking my favourite tracks and moving on. These first five albums were highlights of my elementary school years. I didn’t really start listening to the radio until I was around ten or eleven, so grade five. Please keep that in mind. Here we go.  

TITLE: Polka Party!

ARTIST: “Weird Al” Yankovic
YEAR: 1986

GENRE: Comedy

ALBUM TRACKS: Living with a Hernia; Dog Eat Dog; Addicted to Spuds; One of Those Days; Polka Party!; Here’s Johnny; Don’t Wear Those Shoes; Toothless People; Good Enough for Now; Christmas at Ground Zero

FAVOURITE TRACK: One of Those Days

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: I just love the escalation of horrible incidents mixed with minor annoyances.  It’s one of Weird Al’s original compositions which I sometimes like better than his official parodies, especially on this album that is full of gems.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: Weird Al is hilarious. I thought it back when I was 11 and still believe it to be true today. Not only does he have a way with words when it comes to lyrics but his variety of singing styles is impressive. Weird Al is a huge influence on me as is evident in the musical parodies I have written and produced.

TITLE: Bad

ARTIST: Michael Jackson
YEAR: 1987

GENRE: Pop

ALBUM TRACKS: Bad; The Way You Make Me Feel; Speed Demon; Liberian Girl; Just Good Friends; Another Part of Me; Man in the Mirror; I Just Can’t Stop Loving You; Dirty Diana; Smooth Criminal; Leave Me Alone

FAVOURITE TRACK: Another Part of Me

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: This track works well when imitating dance moves and impassioned Jackson singing. I always get a kick out of how he sings “another pwart of me”.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: I’ll admit this album was a mixture of respect for Jackson’s infectious music/lyrics and ridicule for all the ‘ooo’s and other vocal interjections. At this age, I would do lip-syncs to Michael Jackson songs for friends, family and school projects and this album was rich with content. Still makes me smile to listen to it.  

TITLE: Kick

ARTIST: INXS
YEAR: 1987

GENRE: Pop/Rock

ALBUM TRACKS: Guns in the Sky; New Sensation; Devil Inside; Need You Tonight; Meditate; The Loved One; Wild Life; Never Tear Us Apart; Mystify; Kick; Calling All Nations; Tiny Daggers

FAVOURITE TRACK: New Sensation

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: It’s just a fun track with a great driving beat. It always puts me in a good mood.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: I was not into much hard rock at this time, so this was close enough without worrying the parents. I also lip-synced “The Loved One” for a school video project where my character was trying to woo their love interest (which happened to be my first girlfriend). It’s what I do.

TITLE: Hysteria

ARTIST: Def Leppard
YEAR: 1987

GENRE: Rock

ALBUM TRACKS: Women; Rocket; Animal; Love Bites; Pour Some Sugar on Me; Armageddon It; Gods of War; Don’t Shoot Shotgun; Run Riot; Hysteria; Excitable; Love and Affection

FAVOURITE TRACK: Pour Some Sugar on Me

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: I would play this track over and over in my room. I loved the lyrics and the drum beat. Also enjoyed Joe Elliot hitting the high notes among the tonal yells. Hate how they changed the opening on their greatest hits compilation.

ALBUM INFLUENCE: I felt cool listening to this album. This is the hardest rock I was listening to at the time. Lots of singing in front of the mirror on this one. I was so tough.   

TITLE: He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper

ARTIST: DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince
YEAR: 1988

GENRE: Rap

ALBUM TRACKS: A Nightmare on My Street; Here We Go Again; Brand New Funk; Time to Chill; Charlie Mack (First Out of the Limo); As We Go; Parents Just Don’t Understand; Pump Up the Bass; Let’s Get Busy, Baby; Another Special Announcement; Live at Union Square; DJ on Wheels; My Buddy; Rhythm Trax-House Party Style; He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper; Hip Hop Dancer’s Theme; Jazzy’s in the House; Human Video Game

FAVOURITE TRACK: Charlie Mack (First Out of the Limo)

LISTEN TO THE TRACK: Click here

WHY THIS TRACK: I love the story. A great tribute to their bodyguard.  

ALBUM INFLUENCE: I did listen to Run DMC and Beastie Boys, but I enjoyed the humour found in Will Smith’s lyrics. My other rap consisted of Young MC and Maestro Fresh Wes. My cousins and I would sing “Parents Just Don’t Understand” around the campfire while censoring the ‘hell’s. I still know all the lyrics.     

Film: Onward

GENRE: Animation, Adventure

RATING: PG for thematic elements
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 42 minutes

STARRING: Tom Holland (Spider-Man:Homecoming, Spies in Disguise)

Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy); Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld)

DIRECTOR: Dan Scanlon (Monsters University)

WRITERS: Scanlon (Monsters University), Jason Headley (newcomer),
Keith Bunin (Horns, In Treatment)

PLOT: Through magic, two elf brothers embark on a quest.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: I went in with lower expectations for this Pixar.  

STORY STUFF: It took me a little bit of time to get invested in the story and the characters. Once the quest started, I was totally along for the ride. There’s some great characters, funny lines and well-done action pieces (one is a bit of a rip-off of Indiana Jones though). I might not have found the dialogue as clever as previous Pixar films but the story is solid. Pixar is amazing at story-telling. On the emotional front, there were definite tears. Like, end of Toy Story 3 tears.  I can blame it on the fact that I’m getting older and mushier, but I’ll chalk it up to great writing instead.

ACTING STUFF: Great voice acting all around. I enjoyed the natural chemistry between Pratt and Holland. I had a hard time placing the voice of step dad, Colt Bronco, but seeing Mel Rodriguez’s (Last Man on Earth) name in the end credits made perfect sense. He’s perfect for the role.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Pixar animation is top notch. What else can I say?   

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You like Pixar and a good cry

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Maybe Black Widow if it’s not postponed.

Oscar Wrap Up 2020

While some of the awards were predictable, I was pleasantly surprised that Parasite took home the big prize. I tied my 2014 record of 21 out of 24 categories. The acting winners were pretty easy to predict but I think this was the first time ever I got all three short films right. Loved Best Director Winner Bong Joon-ho’s shout out to fellow nominee Martin Scorsese. I found it touching. On the other end of the spectrum, Joaquin and Renee, just say ‘thank you’ and get off the stage. Why were they allowed to talk so long and then the Parasite Best Picture winners got the lights turned off? Thank goodness for the front row. When Tom Hanks tells you to keep the lights on, you better listen. I was worried about the nomination packages this year. When they played the long Supporting Actor package, I was worried they were going to short change the Best Actor and Actress packages due to time, like every year. Luckily, they remained consistent. While there were some fun presenters like Maya Rudolph & Kristen Wiig ‘acting’, Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Will Ferrell’s cinematographer ignorance; and James Corden & Rebel Wilson mocking their Cats debacle, this show still need a host. Chris Rock & Steve Martin starting off the show with monologue banter proved how nice it is to have someone ring lead instead of having younger actors introduce another actor who in turn introduces another actor with an award. Let’s get a host and ignore their Twitter feed from ten years ago. Rant over. Anyway, here’s who won:

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

THE NEIGHBOR’S WINDOW (predicted)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

HAIR LOVE (predicted)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (If You’re a Girl) (predicted)

SOUND EDITING

FORD V FERRARI

SOUND MIXING

1917 (predicted)

ORIGINAL SCORE

JOKER (predicted)

ORIGINAL SONG

(I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN (predicted)

VISUAL EFFECTS

1917 (predicted)

MAKE-UP

BOMBSHELL (predicted)

COSTUME DESIGN

LITTLE WOMEN (predicted)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

FILM EDITING

FORD V FERRARI (predicted)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

1917 (predicted)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

AMERICAN FACTORY (predicted)

ANIMATED FEATURE

TOY STORY 4 (predicted)

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

PARASITE (predicted)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

JOJO RABBIT (predicted)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

PARASITE (predicted)

BEST DIRECTOR

BONG JOON-HO [PARASITE] (predicted)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

LAURA DERN [MARRIAGE STORY] (predicted)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

BRAD PITT [ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD] (predicted)

BEST ACTRESS

RENEE ZELLWEGER [JUDY] (predicted)

BEST ACTOR

JOAQUIN PHOENIX [JOKER] (predicted)

BEST PICTURE

PARASITE

How did you do?

Oscar Predictions

It’s that time of year again for my fearless Oscar predictions. Only confident in the acting categories this year. That worries me. Just as a reminder, I’m not predicting who I want to win but who I think the Academy will vote for. From smaller to bigger, here we go:

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

THE NEIGHBOR’S WINDOW

(It’s the only one in English. I think that matters to voters.)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

HAIR LOVE

(Going the non-Pixar route this year. It’s a touching little gem.)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL)

(Best title. Also about a skating school for girls in Afghanistan. Interesting)

SOUND EDITING

1917

(War movies often do well in this category.)

SOUND MIXING

1917

(It’s this one or Ford v Ferrari, but I’ll stick with the war film)

ORIGINAL SCORE

JOKER

(The Icelandic soloist has been getting some good recognition for this one.)

ORIGINAL SONG

I’M GONNA LOVE ME AGAIN [ROCKETMAN]

(This will be to make up for Egerton not get nominated like Malek was.)

VISUAL EFFECTS

1917

(I think they’ll go the classy route instead of Avengers or Lion King.)

MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING

BOMBSHELL

(Charlize as Megyn Kelly is a pretty impressive transformation.)

COSTUME DESIGN

LITTLE WOMEN

(Costumes usually favours the dresses. Period dresses at that.)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

1917

(The intricate maze of trenches alone should help it win.)

FILM EDITING

FORD V FERRARI

(I’ll go with the high-speed car races this time around.)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

1917

(No one is beating this single shot masterpiece.)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

AMERICAN FACTORY

(Since Apollo 11 wasn’t nominated, will go with Obama backed doc.)

ANIMATED FEATURE

TOY STORY 4

(Nervous about this one. Think it might go to Klaus.)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

PARASITE

(This is a no-brainer. Look at its other nominations.)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

JOJO RABBIT

(Waititi pulls of a comedy-drama with imaginary Hitler friend. Sold.)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

PARASITE

(As much as I like Tarantino’s work, this film is pretty twisty.)

BEST DIRECTOR

BONG JOON HO [PARASITE]

(I think he’ll edge Mendes on pure momentum for his film.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

LAURA DERN [MARRIAGE STORY]

(She’s on a roll with these types of roles.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

BRAD PITT [ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD]

(Love Pitt. He’s deserving but wishing Pesci could get it.)

BEST ACTRESS

RENEE ZELLWEGER [JUDY]

(Her face annoys me. Just sayin’. She’s keeps winning though.)

BEST ACTOR

JOAQUIN PHOENIX [JOKER]

(Expect a weird speech. This is pretty much a lock.)

BEST PICTURE

1917

(Even though Parasite is close, I think this is Oscar bait.)

Only got 14 right last year. Hope I do better on Oscar night this Sunday.