"The song within my soul, the melody that can't grow old"

Today I spent the whole day (literally) sitting at my local tax person's office, waiting to see how much I owe the government this year. In that room, the radio was set at Oldies 1150 AM. It's your typical oldies station, playing the hits of the 50's ,60's and 70's ranging from rock 'n roll classics with cred like The Stones, CCR, and The Beatles to classic Motown like Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin as well as some schmaltzier stuff like Lesley Gore and Bobby Vinton (pictured above.) Perhaps not my selection of choice, but relatively inoffensive nonetheless. At one point however, a lady in her mid to late 40's leans in to the person next to her, and I overhear her saying, "This music sucks!" For some reason, not only did I instantly assume that her personal mp3 player consisted of the unimaginative musical stylings of Cher and Rod Stewart, with perhaps a touch of Beyonce, just to prove that she's till "hip", but her comments also really irritated me. Why?

At first, I really didn't know why. It's not that I have any Lesley Gore in my iTunes catalogue, nor do I own '14 Golden Greats by Sam Syrup and the Sappytones.' Still, for some reason her blanket statement made me a little bit irate. After thinking about it, I came up with a few possible reasons for my state of perturbation.

First of all, there's the fact that "This music sucks!" is not stated as an opinion, it's stated as a statement. I love opinionated people. As a matter of fact, I thrive on it. When someone says that they can't stand one of my favourite artists, I'm instantly intrigued as to their possible reasons for feeling that way with the hopes that it will lead to further stimulating conversation. But when someone makes a statement such as that which was stated above, I need evidence. In what way does said artist suck? Is it a case of a pretty face providing a diversion from the fact that other talents are actually playing the music, i.e. a Milli Vanilli type situation? Has listening to their music actually caused people (without former evidence of instability) to convulse and commit some serious crimes against random innocent bystanders? Is it possible that not one single being on this planet has derived an ounce of joy from the artist's sacharine style? Seriously, what reason, other than the fact that YOU don't like them, could there be for you to make such a huge accusation of suckage?

A second reason for my mild irritability could also be the fact that sometimes, there just seems to be a lack of respect for musical heritage. Regardless of personal preference, the contributions that these entertainers made allowed for music to evolve into the grand variety that surrounds us today. While it's true that some of the oldies exude a certain level of naivete, expecially those of the pop variety that precede Beatlemania and the onslaught of psychedelia, the astute listener can still hear the early stages of indie rock evolution. Lesley Gore's teenage heartbreak can be heard throughout the tunes of Camera Obscura and other modern day troubadors of twee. Indie cred exudes in the croons of Jens Lekman or Stephen Merritt, but how would that croon exist if not for 50's Bobby's like Darin, Vinton or Vee? It's true, I may not listen to many of these entertainers on a regular basis, but there comes a time when we need to accept the fact that most of these artists were certainly groundbreaking for their time. I also feel that there was a purity to the music that was played on the radio back then that is painfully lacking in the music that is played on the airwaves today. And it's not the purity in content that I'm referring to, but the purity in style and instrumentation.

My thoughts are not that of an old cranky curmudgeon. I'm actually younger than the person who made 'the statement' and I have always felt that good music should never be era-specific, but it should be able to transcend a certain time period. I think that music has never been more exciting than it is right now as artists continue to borrow from the past and create a future of limitless possibilities. The true musician and music lovers appreciation for the past assures us that the oldies most certainly do not suck. If it doesn't turn your own personal crank that's cool, but making the lame aforementioned statement just makes you look like a musical buffoon who obviously lets mainstream media dictate your personal taste, instead of putting forth the effort to try to generate a taste of your own.

Now sitting in the waiting room at the tax office all day, that sucks.

The above lyric is taken from 'My Heart Belongs To Only You' by Bobby Vinton.

Other stuff in the world of 'indie' and 'not-so-indie' rock:

Great Bloomers are interviewed on this week's Zygiella podcast in support of their CD release party for Speak Of Trouble. That takes place on Saturday May 2nd at The Horseshoe. [Myspace: Great Bloomers]

Michael McKean of Spinal Tap, The Folksmen and other awesome fake bands, is interviewed on this week's edition of the Stuck In The 80's podcast and it's incredibly entertaining. He will be joined by fellow Tappers Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer for the 'Unwigged and Unplugged' tour at Massey Hall on Thursday May 21st. [Myspace: Unwigged and Unplugged]

Kim and Kelley Deal of The Breeders talk about roller derby, Danzig and the songs on their latest EP Fate To Fatal over at Magnet. [Myspace: The Breeders]

Local rock 'n roll photography phenom Pete Nema is interviewed at A Table For One, an excellent local blog. [Myspace: Pete Nema]

Win Butler of Arcade Fire is interviewed by Clash Magazine about Funeral, which the magazine named the #1 album of the last five years. An interesting, if somewhat controversial list. [Myspace: Arcade Fire]

Passion Pit's new video for The Reeling is featured over at Now Magazine. The album Manners is out on May 18th, and they are making another attempt to play Toronto at Lee's Palace on June 16th. [Myspace: Passion Pit]

The Breeders w/ Flash Lightnin' @ The Phoenix

"What are you guys doing here? There's a blizzard outside" So were the wise words of Kelley Deal, as many fans from the Greater Toronto and surrounding area braved the storm and made it out to see The Breeders perform as part of Canadian Music Week. Sorta. They were actually another one of the "limited wristband" choices, and once again, I was there early enough to get in.

Unfortunately, this is probably not going to be the most detailed review that you're likely to read of this show simply because I'm not as familiar with their music as many other people are. I realize that pokes a few holes in my credible armor of musical knowledge, but unfortunately it's true. I was and am a huge Pixies fan, but as far as The Breeders go, I'm really only familiar with their singles and the only album I owned was, of course, Last Splash. But that didn't make the show any less enjoyable. The band was in top form and they blasted through their set with precision and vitality. Apparently they featured a lot of songs from their upcoming release Mountain Battles, which is out on April 8th. From what I understand, in a gutsy move, even the encore consisted of 3 new songs. But the night was also filled with classics, including their monster hit, "Cannonball" which was accompanied by a pretty cool light show, something that I've never really noticed at The Phoenix before. It was also nice to see them enjoying themselves and having a really good time.

Photos: The Breeders @ The Phoenix on flickr
Download: Bang On mp3
Myspace: The Breeders
Video: Cannonball on youtube

Prior to the show, I briefly sampled the music of Flash Lightnin' in order to be relatively acquainted with them. At first listen, I thought that they were kind of an odd choice of an opener for The Breeders. They seemed to be your typical barroom bluesy classic rock type of band. On second and third listen, and upon seeing them live, I realized that they were actually your typical barroom bluesy classic rock type of band. That didn't mean that they weren't good, just perhaps a bit predictable. They were talented though, I'll give them that, and by the end of their set they won me over a little bit with the simple fact that they were quite good at what they did.

Photos: Flash Lightnin' @ The Phoenix on flickr
Download: Made Up My Mind mp3
Myspace: Flash Lightnin'