The Automatik

Yesterday, I returned to Canada from New Orleans. I had gone to New Orleans for my grandmother’s (aka Maw Maw) funeral. I had not been back to the area since June of 2005, two months before Hurricane Katrina struck. I knew that as difficult as it was going to be to bury my Maw Maw that I had to also visit my old neighbourhood of Lakeview to see what had changed in the eight months since the hurricane.

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In The Red Records, 2006

A metaphor is a breath of fresh air
A turn-on, an aphrodisiac
- Sparks, “Metaphor”

Of all the bands that I consider perennial favourites, Sparks hold the remarkable (and unequalled) position of The Band Who I Most Enjoy Liking. An essay I read recently, written around the time of Sparks’ last album (Lil’ Beethoven) encapsulates just what it is that is so steadfastly appealing about them: they are one of the most joyous bands ever.
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How easy things would be if we could all exist within the insular worlds of our fandoms, where everything is puppies and chocolate and we are gleefully oblivious to anything but gushing admiration for our dearly beloved.

Unfortunately, “media” outlets like Pitchfork do tend to pierce through these blissful bubbles, and I can’t help but think their name choice is more than coincidental. Yes, yes, I’m well aware that you can’t keep picking at the scab or it won’t heal, but I never said I wasn’t a masochist.
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Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana and Mississippi seven months ago. Although the story of the storm and the aftermath is no longer on the daily national news radar, the people who lived in Louisiana and Mississippi are still struggling with the realities of its effects every single day. Although some areas have recovered, for a vast majority of the residents, very little has changed.
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Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of music from the 80s and, as I am wont to do, reflecting upon my formative years in that decade. I’ve also been thinking about a current trend that has reached back in time to transform those years.

It’s about access to pop culture.

I frequently marvel at the ability that people have now for accessing pop culture in a way that I never did in the 80s and even the early 90s, before the complete takeover of Internet life.
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I haven’t written much about Hurricane Katrina since last year. I suppose I felt like all my essays were falling on tired eyes, which is not to say that people don’t care, but more that many people are in the same boat as I am: the problems are so complex, so vast, and so overwhelming that it just feels like a tear in a bucket. I know the history of New Orleans and so I have a grasp of how messed up things were before – and maybe that’s a helpful or maybe it’s a hindrance, something negative to focus on so that the worst self-fulfilling prophecies seem to be coming true. I have faith in the people of New Orleans. The politicians? Not so much.
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I understand that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin sounded a bit wacko with his now-infamous “Chocolate City” speech last week. It was inappropriate for him to allude to conversations with God. Like several people have pointed out, when Pat Robertson does that, people start foaming at the mouth.
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Spitfires & Mayflowers/Old Soul/The Meligrove Band
The Mod Club Theatre
January 13, 2006

Friday night’s Meligrove Band CD release party for their new album Planets Conspire was mind-blowing. It was held at the Mod Club Theatre, a large venue that’s bigger than the Horseshoe or Lee’s Palace. The place is swank: it has several video screens, a huge bar, cordoned off areas with chairs and tables, a dance floor, and a super fancy light system.
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No I can’t hide the memory of you away
Today or any other day
It’s a time for remembrance
A time to cry
And, I’ll cry

The Cowsills, “A Time for Remembrance”

When I heard the news about Barry Cowsill’s death last night I felt completely gutted.
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Top Ten Albums of 2005 (Standard disclaimer: these didn’t necessarily come out in 2005; they are the albums I loved the most out of everything I listened to this year. For the first time in a few years there were so many good things I had to leave a few things off.)
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