Contemporary indie music falls into many categories. But perhaps the most recognizably “indie” songs contain guitar, keyboard riffs, and male/female vocals (including generous portions of ooos, ahhhs, and ohhhs. I was listening to my ipod while laying some interlocking brick, and this lovely old tune came on. It seems to fit in well with contemporary music. Considering that The B-52’s were an underground phenomenon before making it big, they seem to fit the mold.
I tried to imagine the group as up-and-comers and what impact they might have on the current scene. They were willing to be unusual, experimental, and even at times somewhat bad in pursuit of making interesting and fun music. Apparently Rock Lobster was written and ultimately played on a guitar missing the middle two strings. Certainly, these days there are many people who also experiment with music. With the proliferation of the internet it’s possible to be constantly exposed to these folks. Thus a group like The B-52’s could become one voice among thousands. Fortunately for them, those thousands didn’t write Love Shack.
Please take a second to click on this link and marvel at our universe. Each dot on that picture represents a galaxy of around 100 billion stars. Amazing.
This is an opinion piece about opinion pieces. A great deal of media discourse comes in the form of opinion and speculation. The 24 hours news cycle is filled with experts and commentators giving their perspective on issues. Often these people lack evidence for what they are saying, and indeed at times they contradict reality. Yet under the guise of journalism they pass off information that may or may not be true. This situation has been criticized before, particularly in response to the rampant speculation that appears when a big news event occurs, like the death of Michael Jackson. Facts easily outdo speculation, but require more patience.
In reading an older text on the state of Canada’s poor, I came across a number of columnists claiming that Canada was the most overtaxed country in the world, along side evidence proving this was not the case. I was inclined to believe that iff you asked Canadians if they were overtaxed, you’d probably find more people believe in the columnists than the facts. But I decided to do some research and discovered that in a 2002 survey, most Canadians asked said they were willing to pay higher taxes to improve or sustain public health care and other social services. So maybe the majority in this country recognize the value in funding social programs.
I was searching through some draft posts and I came across this random bit of thinking.
Have you ever thought about life in another person’s head? For example, you might be far too shy to walk up to someone in a grocery store and ask them out, yet people do it all the time. You may be afraid to haggle over a price, but all over the world people do it regularly. Contemplating different ways of thinking is really a fascinating exercise. There are the very positive types of people who are hoplessly optimistic, or completely naive. I can’t imagine what life would be like for someone who doesn’t notice and analyze each interaction and response he/she encounters.
For the last few years there has been a great deal of discussion surrounding Canada’s arctic sovereignty. The current Conservative government has been very interested in establishing Canada’s command of the Northwest passage. The original quest for the Northwest Passage was fraught with death and disaster. Modern technology and changing global conditions has changed the situation. As the ice becomes more navigable, shipping and tourism through the Arctic sea is more attractive. Already Canada has been faced with competing interests from Russia, the United States, and others. The government pays people to live in Arctic regions, in part to keep a presence in that area. This issue has been on my mind for awhile, and I’d like to recommend the following CBC documentary as an interesting look at one such Northern community. This one was created by a previous Canadian government precisely to reinforce Arctic sovereignty.
There has also been talk of adding an additional “to sea” to the Canada motto of “from sea to sea.” This change would acknowledge that Canada is surrounded by three bodies of water and not just two. The original motto came about at a time when the country was interested in expanding westward to the Pacific ocean, and the Arctic region was an afterthought. Apparently the change would be relatively cheap, and is supported by many elected officials. It is a minor detail in a sea of much more important issues, but it is also a simple way to acknowledge the breadth of our nation and its peoples.
Yesterday I caught an enlightening documentary on the Canadian/British/American/Polish invasion of Italy, focusing specifically on the Canadian effort. I knew some bits and pieces about that part of World War II but was foggy on the details. It made me realize that most of what I know about that war, or at least what I remember, relates to the events after D-Day in Normandy. Thanks to the National Film Board I am able to bring you this wonderful documentary on Canada’s part in the war prior to June 6, 1944. Some of the events are more well known, such as Dieppe, the Battle of Britain, and the North Atlantic convoys. Yet I still think many of us forget that a lot of fighting took place before the final push from the beaches of France to the gates of Berlin. Long before the boats came ashore at Juno Beach, brave Canadian soldiers were fighting and dying among the remnants of the Roman Empire. Be warned, the following video is close to 1 hour long, but if you have the time, it’s well worth watching. You can also see Part II and Part III of the big documentary on the NFB site.
Yet another delicious National Film Board archive piece for you. I have exactly 1 Expo ‘67 story, and it isn’t exactly mine since I wasn’t alive. My mother attended the Expo with her grade 8 class, and I’m sure she was very excited to check out this amazing event. Unfortunately, she collapsed at the front gates and spent the entire trip in a Montreal Hospital. Her doctors and nurses only spoke French, so they could not explain to her what was wrong (I’m not sure if they even knew). So you and I have now seen more of Expo ‘67 than my mom, who was there.
The World’s Fair movement continues to this day, but many argue that Expo ‘67 was the Zenith. This remarkable effort in Canada’s centennial year exceeded all expectations. Over 50 million people visited Montreal that summer including a record 590 000 in one day. It is even more remarkable that many observers at the time believed the Expo was unfeasible. Instead people from around the world were treated to a marvelous experience.
This film captures much of the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of the Expo. It is a cultural milestone for Canada that may never be matched. The film itself lacks narration, which is fine for this kind of documentary/commercial. The images speak for themselves.
I believe I once linked to this video, but this is the first time it’s been embedded. This classic Canadian folk song, about an apparently defunct profession is quintessential Canadiana. No one really makes animated films like this anymore. The Log Driver’s Waltz was regularly played on TVO when I was a kid, so I am quite familiar with it. It was one of the films I was desperate to see again, so I have to thank the NFB for giving it to the world for free.
I can understand that some people may not see the purpose of animating an old Canadian folk song. Obviously, the audience for such a piece is limited. That was certainly the case in 1979 when John Weldon took a version by Mountain City Four and turned it into a short film. It’s popularity, however, is almost unsurpassed in NFB history. I think there are two main reasons for this.
First, as was the case for me, many people associate seeing this film with significant parts of their life. It is directly linked to my childhood, and thus is a nostalgia piece. I’m sure many others share similar memories of the song and the film.
Second, it represents a way of life that is at the core of the Canadian experience. Many of us who live in the bigger cities of the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes corridor may forget that this country was founded and has thrived on natural resources. Logging, Pulp and Paper, Mining, Drilling, Fishing, Trapping, and Farming have been the backbone of Canada’s economic development for much of its history. Going forward, the vast supply of fresh water could surpass all of the items on that list. Certainly manufacturing, such as the steel mills of my hometown, have also played a significant role, but it would be hard to argue against natural resources as our greatest strength as a nation. The Log Driver’s Waltz, without even intending to, casts the young lady in the role of Canada, as she realizes the value of the soft footed labourer against the bankers and doctors of the city. Without vast natural resources, and the hard work it takes to extract them, there wouldn’t be much of a country here.
I think The Log Driver’s Waltz is an important piece of the cultural history of Canada. The version heard here is performed in part by Kate and Anna MacGarrigle who showed up in my piece on Martha Wainwright’s concert. I really believe that tru folk music is the sound of the soul of a nation. In this case there can be little doubt.
Today I bring you another National Film Board of Canada short film. This one is new to me, but I absolutely love it’s treatment of history. Kern and I had a conversation on the podcast about modern documentaries and how many of them have taken the reality TV approach to teaching science and history. I think that reality TV has convinced show producers that people crave extreme emotion. Thus when telling an historical tale, the dramatic elements must be exaggerated, and the narrator must make every event seem like the most dire and important occurrence in history. Perhaps educational television is being made by those who sat at the back of history class and fell asleep. At least they assume that everyone else was that person.
This 1978 Richard Condie documentary takes a fairly obscure piece of French history (oddly appropriate now though), adds a delightful cartoon, and creates a compelling story. Besides being a lesson in speculation and currency, it is also, in my opinion, a superior method of teaching history. The story is not over-dramatized besides the occasional comic cartoon foible. Instead the story is presented mostly as it occured (though simplification is always a part of any documentary story), and without any unnecessary appeals to extreme emotion. I think many of today’s documentary filmmakers could learn from this and other NFB docs.
One more question, shouldn’t cartoons play a bigger role in our education system? This doc shows how using imaginative animation can liven up a bit of financial history. Just a thought.
It’s just the only way to reach my home again, the only way I’ll fall and break.
Laura Smith
Break
Come hell or high water there will be a new episode of the podcast tonight. Look for more of my conversation and music by the lovely Laura Smith, who has been featured on the show several times. I expect to be posting my podcasts more frequently in the next little while because I have a bunch of ideas and plans to hatch. Kern and I touch on some interesting topics and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
Exciting news today out of North Korea. The ruling party swept the recent election in which they ran unopposed! Despite my willingness to weigh in on the taboo topic of religion on this blog, I have generally avoided making too many statements abut the economy or politics. You can search around WordPress to find people who are far more qualified and far more interested in these issues. Watching political leaders practice the art of the possible while yelling, arguing, and making ridiculous claims generally bores me to death. But one thing that does get me excited is any talk of facism, dictators, and authoritarian government. It’s just such a fascinating topic. Often the cult of the leader takes on religious-like qualities, and that is likely the source of my interest (remember I’m also fascinated by “traditional cults” and new religious movements).
I should start by saying there is no redeeming feature of mass-murder, torture, assassinations, or any of the other absolutely atrocious activities of most dictators. That aside, I’m fascinated by how willing we are to allow ourselves to be dominated by other people. This isn’t some rant about conformity, claiming we are all “sheep,” but rather an observation that history has shown that people don’t care that much about their leadership if they are happy or feel that they can’t do anything about the situation. I mention this because I want to recommend a great book: What We Knew: Terror, Mass Murder, and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany. This lengthy tome was put together by a sociologist and a historian. They surveyed and interviewed German Jews and other Germans to discover what they knew about the holocaust during the 1930’s and 40’s. It is absolutely amazing. One quick caution: the book is written by two academics and contains raw survey data, commentary, and interviews. It’s style is not that of a popular history because the others are more interested in presenting the facts than jazzing it up. This book is a must read for anyone who is interested in learning about WWII, the holocaust, Nazism, or genocide.
The Alder Fork is a musical group and a creative project. This blog and it's companion podcast showcase music, art, photography, drama, and culture. The blog is updated daily and the podcast weekly. You can also find the podcast on iTunes by searching for The Alder Fork.
