Stuff I'm Listening to - Delerium featuring the Mediaeval Baebes

 

Artist: Delerium (featuring the Mediaeval Baebes)

 

Title: Aria
 

Lyrics:

I have wist, sin i couthe meen,
That children hath by candle light
Her shadewe on the wal iseen,
 
And ronne therafter all the night.
Bisy aboute they han ben
To catchen it with all here might.
 
And whom they catchen it best wolde wene,
Sannest it shet out of her sight,
The shadewe catchen they ne might,
 
For no lines that they couthe lay.
This shadewe i may likne aright
To this world and yesterday
 

Why?: I’ve discovered over the years that there are songs, parts of songs, or even tones, that can instantly change my mood from utter despair all the way up to total euphoria. Some songs will even put me in a meditative state where I can instantly visualize things and relax. Some of the songs and tones are what you would expect. Choral songs, chants, wind chimes, percussion heavy music. The droning of a didgeridoo is soothing to me, as is the droning of bag pipes (I swear I must be a reincarnated Highlander!... I actually do like haggis... ). The 10 hours of Enterprise engine noise that you can find on YouTube? It is a white noise that keeps my geeky-self remarkably calm.

Delirium was introduced to me on the dance floor of Sanctuary where I learned it was a side project of one of the members of Skinny Puppy and Frontline Assembly. Fitting really as they performed the songs that would instantly unseat me from the booth or table and my friends and I would race to the dance floor to secure a roomy spot to flail about in the guise of dancing. Delirium was no different. It was a danceable sound and always made me happy to move along with it, but the dancing for a Delirium song was a little more joyful versus the angry pogoing I was used to doing. 

The first time I heard this song, it was the musical equivalent of the sunlight streaming through the leaves in a forest.

Stuff I'm Listening To - Holiday Road

 

Artist: Lindsay Buckingham

Title: Holiday Road

Lyrics: 

I found out long ago
It's a long way down the holiday road

Why?: 

Every great travel holiday starts off with some ritual. For the last fifteen years (for me anyway), the ritual was and still is to play this classic song at the start. I'm not superstitious by any means. Perhaps it's best imagined as a little 'prayer' to the vacation gods that our vacation will go more or less as planned and that we're not stuck having to break into an amusement park and hold John Candy hostage by the end of it all. 

So far so good! 

We've never endured any unfortunate situation from 'National Lampoon's Vacation', though admittedly, my husband will fully admit he wouldn't have issue with Christie Brinkley racing beside him in her Ferrari. I fully admit that I am as frantic as the patriarch of the Griswolds. During our first trip to Cuba with my husband, he was dismayed that I'd written up an hour by hour itinerary for our trip.

After checking into the resort in Cuba, he promptly headed to the bar, seated himself with 'dos cervezas por favour' and cigar, and told me he had no intention of doing anything else that day, except, perhaps, to eat dinner. I was frantic and ended up walking the resort twice over to burn off my frantic energy from the usual hustling and bustling Toronto pace I'm used to. I wasn't mad. He and I just have different ideas of what is relaxing. It took me two days to unwind, with the help of 27 pina coladas and a bout of hangover/schedule adjustment and minor 24 hour stomach bug that flattened both of us, to finally slow me down. The itinerary was reduced to one thing, the local bat cave. The rest of our trip was figuring out what to do over breakfast each day and it was unforgettable and amazing.

For this week, we're off camping in one of our provinces beautiful Provincial Parks, a waterfront site booked months ago, the same day that the government opened up the campgrounds in anticipation of loosening quarantine restrictions. The campsite was booked promptly by my husband and I was instructed to sort it out with my work later. Fortunately for me, my work is a great place and my bosses are incredibly accommodating. I've still written up a rough itinerary for the trip (read: I made up a detailed spreadsheet in Excel), but it remains unshared with my husband for the sake of his sanity.

Stuff I'm Listening To - Professor Elemental

Artist: Professor Elemental

Title: I'm British

Favourite in-song banter:

Well, at this point I'd just like to take a moment to apologise on behalf of Britain for all the things that we've brought to the world. Simon Cowell, for example, and eh, Jim Davidson. Fox hunting. Black pudding. Racism. But most of all, we're all terribly, terribly sorry about Piers Morgan.

Why?: A couple of years back I met one of my husband's... uh... second cousin once removed? I'm not sure how that works. Anyway... his whole family was nice. Here was this guy wearing a pin made up of gears and feathers... SteamPunk! Naturally I knew I was likely going to get along just fine with him. I feel like I did. We haven't really spoken since that family reunion but he certainly left an impact on me.

I introduced you to Bardcore a few weeks ago. Today, I present for your listening pleasure: Chap Hop.

This song comes up occasionally on my play list... but not often enough I think.

For what it's worth, Thanks Neil for introducing me to this bit of lovely weirdness. It's awesome.

Stuff I'm Listening To - Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)

Artist: Joan Jett and Paul Westerberg

Title: Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)

Choice Lyrics: 

And that's why birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

Why?:
I first heard this cover song when I was watching a mediocre adaptation of Tank Girl. I admit, I knew nothing of the comic before and am only mildly invested now, but the movie had an over the top and absolutely bored Malcolm McDowell (Alex from "A Clockwork Orange") as the main baddie. Malcolm can do no wrong. He killed Captain Kirk after all. I will forever love him for that (Sorry... of on another tangent... reigning my brain in). Tank Girl the comic and the movie are about a post apocalyptic world where the water is controlled by a giant corporation. Every now and then I stare at people drinking bottled water and I'm not sure Tank Girl is fiction at times.

Over the last few months we've all entertained the weirdest of fears because of all the uncertainties. In among them for me, some idea of needing to survive in some kind of post apocalyptic existence. 
 
Obviously, I felt better prepared to battle zombies than to deal with the skin on my hands dried, cracked and peeling from copious amounts of cleansers, hand sanitizers and soap.  Nobody told me the apocalypse was going to require moisturising hand lotion!

Tank Girl herself, remains a scarily accurate image of how I would likely deal with myself in a post apocalyptic existence. She's funny, cheerful and determined. I try to aspire to be that. I'm not one for sadness. Don't get me wrong, I'm here for you if you need, I just don't know what to do with crying people. Like crying babies... Do I hold you and rock you gently? Need a bottle? Need a nappy change? Teething ring? I just don't know! 

Stuff I'm Listening to - War of the Worlds

Artist: Justin Hayward (the Moody Blues) (composed by Jeff Wayne)

Title: Forever Autumn

Lyrics: 
A gentle rain falls softly on my weary eyes
As if to hide a lonely tear
My life will be forever autumn,
'Cause you're not here

Why?: I am not sure if I've ever mentioned my best friend, the one who first dubbed me Peanut. She was the one who made an attempt to introduce me to more progressive music than I was used to listening to in high school. She was a rocker at heart, and where I was something in between Bender and Brian (the 'brain') from the 'the Breakfast Club' and JD from 'Heathers' and a freelance mod and goth, was immersed in the depths of synth-pop, ska and punk, she was immersed in the depths of prog-rock, heavy metal and punk. It was a history teacher that had introduced her to Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds and in turn she made a copy of the CDs for me. 

Linked above, a live version of the one track I immediately gravitated to, featuring Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues who provided the vocals in the original recording, followed by the track Thunderchild lead by Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann, which I've grown to like over the years. 

Below, a kind of ambient track that, to my understanding, wasn't part of the original score, but has made it's way into the remix album, ULLAdubULLA, where it serves only as a narrative device where the Martians discuss their plans to invade the planet Earth. 

ULLAdubULLA (Audio only)

Stuff I'm Listening To - the Phantom of the Opera

Title: Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

Artist: Sierra Boggess (composer: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart)

Favourite Lyrics:
Wishing you were somehow here again
Knowing we must say goodbye
Try to forgive teach me to live
Give me the strength to try
No more memories no more silent tears
No more gazing across the wasted years
Help me say goodbye


Why?:
I mentioned earlier, Andrew Lloyd Webber was making his musicals available online to keep the quarantined masses entertained and to raise money for charities supporting theatre workers during this time of crisis which is what got me started on this musicals kick. 

Back in the late 80s and 90s in Toronto, we got our 10 year run of 'Phantom of the Opera' at the Pantages Theatre. I'd seen it twice in total. Once when my brother won tickets to the third row. I accompanied my mother (because my brother was uninterested). It was a rare evening out with my mom and so enjoyable. My mother insisted on purchasing the souvenir book for me, making sure we had some memento to look back on. Then once with my ex-boyfriend's mother, who declared a sheer love of Andrew Lloyd Webber's work shortly after we met. With her, it was so nice to see her so happy. Normally chatty, she was left speechless for the evening, clearly happy and overwhelmed by the experience. 

Both times the experience was pretty phenomenal. Despite what you may think of Webber's work, it worked for me. I was definitely sold on live musical theatre. 

I had initially opted to post 'Think of Me' as my choice track, because it features Carlotta, the typical diva character and always a phenomenal soprano. But for each performance I've seen, Carlotta almost steals the show. How easy it must be to overdo it and clearly she is a fun character to play, but kudos to every single singer I've watched, hamming just enough to make Carlotta the antagonist she's meant to be. I have a soft spot for louts and scoundrels and bad guys, and Carlotta is one of them. 

The recently streamed show featuring Sierra Boggess as Christine blew me away and made me rethink my choice track. 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' is this song where Christine is singing at her father's grave. Normally, it's part of the story and I'm just enjoying the music each time I've watched various incantations of the show online. I'll lie and tell you it's quarantine stress that made me emotional when this part came on. 

Of course, I couldn't post about this musical without a nod to the title track. While for most, Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford are their choice for Christine and the Phantom, my biased favourites would be Rebecca Caine and Colm Wilkinson, as they were the original Canadian cast. It was a big deal to have the show with a semi-permanent Canadian home and the promotional video got a surprising amount of airplay on MuchMusic. But posting that video would have been too easy. 

So instead of the two promotional videos you've likely seen many times featuring Sarah Brightman or Rebecca Caine, linked below instead, Antonio Banderas with Sarah Brightman at one of the anniversary shows. Antonio Banderas... Yeah... is it me or did it just get super hot in here? 


Phantom of the Opera - Sarah Brightman and Antonio Banderas

Stuff I'm Listening To - Avenue Q

Artist: Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, Book by Jeff Whitty. 
(Cast in linked performance: Sarah Dewhirst - Kate Monster, Jenny Reierson - Mrs. Thistletwat, Bryn Tanner, Carter Roeske, Zarah Nesser - Trekkie Monster, Michael Turner - Princeton , Steve Modena - Brian, Tolu Ekisola - Gary Coleman, Zach Miller - Rod)

Title: The Internet is for Porn

Favourite Lyrics:
The internet is for porn.
The internet is for porn.
Grab your dick and double click
For porn! Porn! Porn!

Why?:
Given that most of us have been in lockdown for the past two months, I figured this would be an appropriate song of choice. 😉


I was actually introduced to this song via a Warcraft fan video and immediately thought it was awesome. For anyone raised on Sesame Street, this weird musical is going to be a familiar alternative universe of your childhood television viewing, but better suited for today and for your allegedly adult self.

Plus, you have to admire the genius of the second last line in the lyrics above. 

I can't give you much more depth other than I am totally guilty of trying to imitate Trekkie Monster at the top of my lungs in my more drunker moments.