Rotel. Bruce's parents know not what they have. High-end English-made amplifier. Dull black front with small knobs, painted on numbers 1 to 10 and maybe only a couple of red lights to tell you the thing is on. I sold my Rotel during one of my gotta-pay-for-a-move moments in life. Cleanest sound I have ever had. I look for Rotels when killing time in stereo shops and never see them. I saw them in Sebringville, 5 km west of Stratford.
Music is a shop that says on its receipt "The Best Stuff Since 1972". They sell and install very high-end stereos and they sell Canadian CDs. 4,500 artists according to another bit of paper in the bag. The bag, when I left, had 14 CDs in it:
- Wailing Jennys, self titled.
- Blacks Mountain, Barin' The Soles
- Raffi, Let's Play
- Lenny Gallant, Live
- Oh, Suzanna, Johnstown
- Fred Eaglesmith, Drive-In Movie
- Tegan and Sara, If It Was You
- Luther Wright and the Wrongs, Guitar Pickin' Martyrs
- The Be Good Tanyas, Chinatown
- Avril Lavigne, Let Go
- Treble Charger, Self=Title
- Sandbox, Murder in the Glee Club
- The Pursuit of Happiness, The Wonderful World of TPOH
- Gordon Lightfoot Tribute, Beautiful
First thoughts from driving around rural southwest Ontario listening to through these over the Thanksgiving weekend? Avril Lavigne is much better than I thought from the radio hits - good enough to set aside for the daughter's teen crisis years starting in a decade or so. Gordon Lightfoot tunes can be better sung by others but the final tribute to Gordie song on the CD is a waste of space. Fred Eaglesmith may have memory obsession issues but "White Rose" is a really great song. With five CDs coming from murderecords and four more coming from amazon.ca, it'll be some busy listening time for the next while. Check for some reviews on Switching to Glide over the next wee while. Still looking for Mary Margaret O'Hara's Miss America.
Comments
Mandy - October 15, 2003 4:53 PM
Oh no no no.. why Alan, Why??? I can understand the Raffi, The Gordon Lightfoot is always perfect, Lenny Gallant - maybe. Sandbox is a terrific choice (ah we'll miss Bubbles..), but why, why, why did you buy Avril?? I'm sorry you got sucked into her. Another one bites the dust..
Alan - October 15, 2003 5:12 PM
I am sorry I have disappointed you, Mandy. I also own (and like) the Go-Gos and Wet, Wet, Wet (which I do not like). I buy pop, too. But consider this:<ul><li>She has a very good voice regardless of her image or chosen songs</li><li>Her lyrics are relatively true to her experience [compare Mobile to Rufus's "Oh What a World"] though not as particular as Tegan and Sara</li><li>I have a 4 foot tall, five year old who already likes the stuff.</li></ul>The album is quite decent teen pop and I was interested to hear how many 80's references are in the instrumentation - Glass Tiger's miltary drumming for God's sake. I also have Alanis Morrisette's <i>Jagged Little Pill</i> which I find less believable in its blantantness. I am much more wary of Lightfoot [art as icon - sniff the CD, it smells like Algonquin] than Avril.
Mandy - October 16, 2003 12:02 AM
Well Alan, I do have to apologize. I suppose it's not my place to tell a person what music they can and can not like. My musical tastes are certainly all over the map. Madonna to the Doors. Lizzie West to Rammstein. Weezer to Fiddlers' Son (and all that is 80s).... we all like what we like. And hey, I can't even truly judge Avril's entire album, as I never gave it a chance...
but man, there is just something about this girl that bugs the snot out of me...
however Alanis' debit album and "Now is the Time", now we're talking....
Alan - October 16, 2003 8:21 AM
Well, that is fine. There is much around Avril that should bug anyone. I suppose I am lucky at my age being extracted from radio and Much Music. I remember the extraordinary thing about Sara MacLaughlin's first contract was that she had full artisitic freedom. Remember that JLP is not Alanis's first record - she was a bad Ottawa disco teen. I will be interested to see where she can go starting where she has been able to start.
Mandy - October 16, 2003 9:12 AM
that's what I said, her debit album entitled "Alanis" and her "Now Is The Time" albums... I loved her teen pop days. I was all of 11/12 years old in the height of that madness... work with me here.
Alan - October 16, 2003 9:49 AM
Sorry Mandy - you know more about Alanis than I do. Did you know Brian Adams had a similar pre-career with "Let me Take You Dancing" a bad disco tune from '79 or so?
Mandy - October 21, 2003 11:00 AM
No I didn't... I'm sure a lot of the worlds more respected artists have had some bad beginnings...
Ah, but now see I liked Alanis before she got on Madonna's label and got all "Angry"... bring back her days of big black curly hair and hoop earrings. I need to dance..
<i>You got a plastic name and a plastic heart
You can play the game or you'll never start
I'm talkin' to you
You got a plastic house and a plastic fence
Gotta look around or you'll lose your friends
Am I gettin' through?</i> - Alanis