Soundtrack of my life vol #3

A couple of months ago, I did a series of posts about the albums that have had a profound impact on my life. I thought I’d carry on here with some other ones. These are in no particular order.



Big Country – The Crossing:

I got this record as a present for helping one of my parents’ friends landscape their yard. At first I liked it because it had bagpipes, and I thought that was neat in pop music. The more I listened to it, the more I started to understand this was more of a protest album. Sort of a Scottish Billy Bragg type thing.

Not to mention, it’s loaded with killer pop hooks, and a sound that’s less dated than most early 80’s pop. It’s too bad they never seemed to get their shit together after this record. (Although “Songs from Steeltown” is also a fine disc.)



The Cult – Electric:

This one is just pure cheese. The record is loaded down with cheap tawdry lyrics that happily remind me of some of the better times in High School. My friends Benji and Phil were obsessed with this band.



Doughboys – Whatever:

The only band to rival my affection for Husker Du. This power pop dynamo from Montreal kicked serious ass. They were an explosion of dreads and screeching guitars. (At the same time even!)
This album is their first effort, and it rocks big time. This is one of the finest fusions of pop and punk ever conceived.

This album reminds me of my friend Diz. We would sit up late at night, smoke a joint, and listen the shit out of this disc. It’s really hard to believe it’s 20 years old.



Down By Law – Blue:

Another punk gem!!! This one’s really important to me. I got this disc around the time that I was going through a really messy divorce. It spoke to me. When It roared, I did, when the music got more sullen, so did I. This and a few bottles of scotch got me though the worst of it. The message in the track “The Greenest Field” still holds dear to me. It’s become a mantra for me.



Fugazi – Repeater

Words escape me. This one is brilliant. This one reminds me of being at the radio station. I played something from this disc every week.
Well that’s it for this pile. More to come sooner or later.

Some Thoughts on the war!

Here’s something to chew on. Canada is at war. Our nation is taking a lead in the participation of armed conflict. It’s weird to me. Don’t think so? Say it out loud! Try the statement on for size. Sound wrong to you? I bet it does.

I find it interesting that this concept is not as pervasive in the Canadian psyche as it is in America. Other than the occasional (and truly tragic!) news reports about slain Canadian Soldiers, it does not seem to be pervasive in our current culture.

Do we (our forces.) belong in Afghanistan? It’s a good question. The Conservatives here at home argue that it’s our duty to be there. I do not argue this position. I think it’s pretty obvious that we should be.

The more accurate question is, “Should we be there to fight?” The answer I think is a resounding no. It would seem the wiser path is to be involved with rebuilding and peacekeeping rather than trying to “smoke out the evil doers!”

After all, is that not what we do best? Are we not better equipped to help restore a sense of normality than add credence to “Shock and Awe?” (Although given the hesitance of our other partners in this conflict… I’m looking your way Europe… This is turning out to be more of an “Aw Shucks” instead.)

Please don’t misunderstand. I support our troops. I think that’s critical. They do us a service most of us will never be able to comprehend, let alone participate in. I do however think we are doing them a great disservice by putting them in harms way for reasons that seem to lack any substance.

Putting us in a combat role cheapens our identity as peacekeepers. It becomes that much harder to illicit help from warlords and tribal chieftains when the shit hits the fan, especially when they know you’ve been actively blowing the shit out of their countrymen. (Regardless of political proclivity.)

America started this mess. Why on earth are we there cleaning it up? Am I the only one who fails to see the logic here? This is no longer about terrorism. This is now an active campaign to occupy and control a country. Since when are Canadians active participants in occupation? How the fuck did we get here?

Perhaps Mr. Harper can explain it? Perhaps he can explain to the mothers of slain soldiers why Canada is participating in an occupation. Yeah right, and one day Osama will just turn himself in.