Oh, the boss is coming! You better look busy, They’re not paying you for nothing!
— ARKELLS
If there’s time to lean, There’s time to clean.
— THE BOSS AT THE RECORD STORE “The Beat Goes On”
They used to call it “fucking the dog”. I don’t know what vernacular the youth of today use, but that’s what we used to call slacking off on the job: dog fucking.
I have known some expert dog fuckers in my day. I know one guy who had taken it to a fine art. I won’t tell you any details about this fine young man, except to say he was a maestro of dog fucking. He was the Bach, the Beethoven, of slacking off on the job. Let’s call him Smart Guy. He truly was a smart guy, which is one reason he was able to get so much paid free time at work. He was no dummy. But man, he had a system!
Smart Guy had a different boss from me. Everyone liked him. He was pretty grounded for a guy who was destined for big things. He worked in a small room, with a friend of mine. Because of this, I heard things and that’s why I can tell this story.
I learned from Smart Guy that Honda Civics were very popular with his age group because they were easy to customize. I had no interest in this, but I took interest for the sake of conversation. I’d stroll into their room, and Smart Guy would be on eBay looking for Civic parts. Maybe a fender, maybe hubcabs, maybe a spoiler, I don’t know. He was always shopping for car parts.
He was also very tech-savvy. For example he figured out how to send coded messages to my printer, in an effort to freak me out. He was also very playful. He printed out numerous pictures of clowns and hid them all over his room. Sort of a calling card for after he left. I had to find all those clowns when he eventually did move on to bigger things!
So how did he get away with it? By being a fast, efficient worker, and always having one project complete at all times — just not handed in.
So, if his boss walked in and he was fucking the dog, he’d just hand him a completed piece of work. “I’m all done this project, here you go!”
“Oh, thanks Smart Guy! Great. OK, I’ll leave you to your work.”
ARKELLS – Apple Music Home Session (2022 iTunes EP)
The Arkells have a number of download-only live EPs on iTunes. The most recent one is 2022’s Apple Music Home Session which boasts three tunes: Two from their Blink Twice album, and one exclusive cover. And damn, you won’t believe what they covered!
The EP opens with a laid back, horn-laden “Reckoning” from Blink Twice. The horns on this song are the real candy. Rolling low and punching high, Arkells usage of horns is very effective. And the chorus kick! “Blink twice! There’s gonna be a reckoning!” croons Max Kerman on this irresistible hit. Drummer Tim Oxford thunders out a smooth groove punctuated by his unusual kick drum pattern. This is how pop rock should be – musically inventive with impressive playing. This is how the Arkells do it.
Track two is “Past Life” performed just by the Arkells, and not with the Cold War Kids as on the Blink Twice album. It’s a little tougher in this guise, with a lot more texture, dynamics and unexpected instrumentation. Mike DeAngelis’ guitar break is tasty as hell and Max Kerman handles all the lead vocals himself. This could end up being your preferred version of the song.
The big surprise is the cover: “Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)” by ABBA! Max doesn’t swap genders for the lyrics, just as it should be! The horn section delivers a good chunk of the melodies, but Anthony Carone perfectly duplicates the main keyboard hook. Meanwhile, bassist Nick Dika lays down the funk in a flawless groove. Dika gets a cool groovin’ spotlight moment just before the understated sax solo. That leaves Kerman to deliver the indelible chorus, which he unflinchingly succeeds at. Let’s face it, ABBA were extraordinary songwriters and “Gimme Gimme Gimme” is one of their all-time best. The Arkells version is an undisputed triumph.
5/5 stars
Reckoning (4:22)
Past Life (3:55)
Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) (4:06) Arkells, the Beaches & July Talk
Blink Once was a surprising pleasure. Given how far the Arkells have sailed through the seas of rock, pop and blues, they seemed to be content circling ’round various genres of pop now. Experimenting with hip-hop vibes, soulful backing vocals, dance beats and loops, the Arkells still managed to keep catchy guitar hooks as part of the mix thanks to Mike DeAngelis. The bass thump of Nick Dika is still there, while Tim Oxford refuses to play anything simple on the drums. Max Kerman’s lyrics still bite, but Anthony Carone’s keyboards now make up a large share of the hooks. It’s still rock, but definitely far removed from their first track on their first album. Blink Twice is largely composed of short songs, none reaching four minutes, and over half featuring guest performers from the world of pop.
Blink Twice opens seamlessly, exactly where Blink Once left off: “Last Night I Heard ‘Em Sing” closed the former, a brief snippet of the latter’s opener “Reckoning”.
“Blink twice!” announces Max. “There’s gonna be a reckoning!”
Strings, horns and thick backing vocals adorn this soulful rock song. An instant classic. Though far more vague than past political songs, it’s clear that Max is taking shots at the upper crust. “It’s a drop drop in the bucket for you, becomes a knock knock on your ocean view.”
Though Max warns of a reckoning, track two brings this back home to more personal topics. “Past Life” is a duet with Nathan Willett of California’s Cold War Kids, a band I’ve never heard of before. The two work well together with distinctly different voices and styles, singing the same melody. Mike DeAngelis provides a nice thick guitar hook that the song orbits, but this is upper echelon pop rock. One lyric that sticks out is when Nathan sings “Feel like Bob Dylan’s son, always in the shadows.” Elsewhere, Max proclaims “I’m a little Wallflower, singing ‘One Headlight’.” Jakob Dylan did deserve stardom, but the line “I’ve gotta find my own way to write a song,” seems misplaced. The Arkells sound like they’ve mastered that already.
“Take Back Everything” has an older-school Arkells sound. This brings us back to the Morning Report days, perhaps the band’s finest hour. It’s important to listen to all the instruments and hear what each member of the band brings to the table. From day one, the bass has provided interesting textures and it’s still doing that here, while Mike DeAngelis explores his fretboard for new melodic compliments.
Hip-hop rears its head a lil’, on “Human Being”, a duet with Canadian electronica star Lights. Her vocals are sublime, but the chorus of “I’m just a fuckin’ human being,” doesn’t quite hit the spot. The song has its moments, including a catchy keyboard melody by Anthony Carone. It’s a shorty, over in just 2:34. We know the Arkells love Drake and that whole genre, but if I am going to have rap in my musical diet, “Human Being” isn’t so bad.
For duets, the high point of this album is the ballad “Teenage Tears” featuring Tegan and Sara. Not a duo I have heard before, but of course every Canadian knows who Tegan and Sara are. The twins sing as one here on a delicate ballad that boils tension and exhaustion together into a nourishing audio broth. Too much metaphor? Well you describe it, then. All I can tell you is that “Teenage Tears” is a classic; it hits you fast and doesn’t let go. You feel its familiar warmth immediately. It’s a “greatest hit” if you ever wanna compile one. The haunting music video is filmed in an empty mall, which certainly reminds of the pandemic days.
“Miracle” marks the midpoint of the album and the last song on side one. It blends the bluesy bent of their early albums with modern production. There’s guitar crunch but also the loopy melodic plinky bits that are popular in music today. Pretty good song, but it ends abruptly, and is surrounded by superior material.
“Nowhere to Go” crashes the party, opening side two with an upbeat pop rocker like the Arkells are prone to do. Wesley Schultz is the singer from the Lumineers dueting with Max, and their voices just add a little texture and variety to a song that otherwise might have got lost in the shuffle of similar bangers. However, the sax solo by Jake Clemons is a jumper! Nephew of Clarence, and member of the E-Street Band today, you know what you are in for. Just hit the “back” button a little bit and play that sax solo one more time! It has the exact same energy as classic Springsteen.
The biggest left turn is “Dance With You”, a pure disco song with lots of guests. American pop duo Aly and AJ provide the backing vocals. Surprisingly, the song is bilingual: half in French! Max sings in both English and French, while Québecois crooner Cœur de Pirate (Béatrice Martin) provides a breathy French counterpart. Her vocals stand out for being so different. By all means, give it a listen. The Arkells have never been afraid of taking a step too far, and for some this may be it, while others may joyfully embrace every beat. La plus grande surprise s’agit de “Dance With You”, une chanson disco pure avec de nombreux invités. Le duo pop américain Aly et AJ assurent les chœurs. Étonnamment, la chanson est bilingue: la moitié est en français! Max chante en anglais et en français, tandis que la crooner Québecoise Cœur de Pirate (Béatrice Martin) fournit un homologue français époustouflant. Sa voix se distingue par sa différence. Bien sûr, écoutez-le. Les Arkells n’ont jamais eu peur d’aller trop loin, et pour certains c’est peut-être le cas, tandis que d’autres peuvent embrasser avec joie chaque battement.*
There is even a dance remix called “Danser avec toi” available on an iTunes single, with more lyrics in French and more instrumental grooves.
“Running Scared” is another ballad, but completely different from “Teenage Tears”. Laid back sax and an easy tempo render a song for the night time. It’s immediately followed by an upbeat pop rocker: “Something’s Gotta Give” featuring Joel Plasket. As we race towards the close, this catchy singalong serves as one last blast-off before we face the end. “Blink once!” announces Joel. “Then I black out! Blink twice, ’til we cash out.” It’s just a party tune. But something’s gotta give…
“Lost my guitar, lost my keys, lost my favourite pair of jeans…” The finale “Floating Like” is about all those things that bring us down…but then that upbeat soul chorus hits and it’s like, “who cares!” There’s a cool “These Eyes” kind of vibe coming from the piano, but the chorus is pure soul. Sunshine and breezy days in the form of song. “Now I’m feeling weightless, like I’m gonna make it!” says Max. This is a song to help get you there.
Blink Twice is another triumph. Completing the Blink duology with an album full of duets seemed uneven considering the first album only had one. Instead, both albums do sound cohesive when played together, but the duets on Blink Twice seem to allow the album to build towards something. Towards a conclusion. A hopeful conclusion. After the pandemic weighed so heavily on us all, music was (and still is) a reflection on what we endured. Blink Once and Twice might be played together as a soundtrack from those days. While both albums are strong, diverse, pop-centric and experimental, Blink Twice is the climax.
“Blink Once is about resilience. It’s about grieving with loss and fall outs and finding your way back. The making of the album began before the pandemic, but the material seems to hit harder after everything we’ve been through over the past 18 months. These songs are about finding comfort in your family, community and music.”– Arkells
ARKELLS – Blink Once (2021 Universal)
Blink Once is the album on which you can definitively say the Arkells transitioned from a rock band to a pop band. Historically this is the kind of move that earned my wrath, but I’m a lot more chill about it now. Opening your ears to new kinds of music can’t hurt you, and you may in fact find that you like what your eardrums are beating into you. When you already love the singer, the drummer, and the other musicians, it’s a lot easier to make that leap.
And Max Kerman is one hell of a singer.
Rather than review in track order, I thought I’d start with what I think is the best song and the clear highlight of Blink Once. The single “All Roads” is stunning. Just have a look at its music video, shot by drone over a local landmark: the Devil’s Punchbowl in Hamilton Ontario. The band members all make appearances as the drone flies overhead and then zooms down for their closeups. It’s a remarkable video fitting a very special song. (I forgive Max Kerman for being in his shorts-and-gym-socks phase.)
You couldn’t name a price, You couldn’t buy me off, Don’t need to read my mind, There’s only one thing that I want, All roads will lead me to back you.
Don’t let the opening bloops and blips of programmed music fool you. Once the guitars kick in, the song takes off just like the drone in the video. Soaring through the clouds on muscular wings of melody, “All Roads” is nothing short of a masterpiece. “All Roads” sounds like a #1 pop hit from 1988, with the production values of today. Those “huh!” backing vocals are absolutely from the 80s. It’s cinematic, as if it came from one of the great romance movies of the decade. This song is huge and impossible to forget.
Incidentally, I like the production on the lead vocals. It’s as if you can hear the room that Max is singing in, instead of being uber-bright and clean.
Fortunately, the album is stacked with memorable material. The opener “Liberation” boasts catchy verses over programmed beats and synths, but then breaks into a chorus that sounds Caribbean in original. After this, a massive drum beat maintains a tenuous link with rock music.
One of the big singles was “You Can Get It” with American Doc-boot-stompin’ singer and rapper K.Flay (Kristine Flaherty). She has an interesting breathy style, but this is the song that requires the biggest listener adjustment. The horn section helps, as does the entertaining “Wheel of Fortune” music video. Really, it’s all about the horn section. Live, I’m sure that “I don’t give a fuck, tell me what you want, you can get it!” part is fun to sing along to. On album, it’s all the horns!
One of my complaints about the prior album Rally Cry was that didn’t have any truly sad tear jerkers, emotional songs that just make you break down. Blink Once returns to that territory with “Strong”. This is a song I can relate to — staying strong for members of your family. “Here’s the rules: stay strong for me, and I’ll stay strong for you.” Most poignantly, as I remember the summer of 2018 (that summer that never was): “Summer is here but it’s sleeping away, why would we want to miss a good day?” Chills, tears, you name it: they’re all here.
A short acoustic interlude of “Liberation” called “Little Moments” makes you wish for a full-on acoustic version. This transitions to a necessary party song called “One Thing I Know”. A good time piano bopper with samples and loops, like many Arkells songs, the chorus is as big as the sky is wide. A more beat-driven song called “Truce” follows, with slinky horns again delivering the hooks. The lyrics are as relatable as always: “We both say that we fucked up, can we call a truce?”
One of the more interesting songs is “Nobody Gets Me Like You Do”, which seems to relate lyrically to other songs. The line “I’ll follow you down any road” recalls “All roads will lead be back to you”. The words “But you’d tell me straight if I fucked up,” bring us back to the previous song. Most importantly, it’s another melodic summer champion, gliding on mighty wings of pop music. The saxophone solo is right out of 1985. You can almost visualise the sunglasses, colourful tee-shirts under white suits, and deck shoes (no socks). Another album highlight.
“Swing Swing Swing” is one of the only album mis-steps. It starts with what sounds like studio outtake chatter: “OK I wanna try to do one of these kinds of songs where people are like, happy and dancing, but everyone’s like really fuckin’ sad when they listen to the lyrics.” That they accomplished, with the line “a long winter learning how to be alone again” giving you an idea. Musically it’s another horn-driven R&B style pop song, but not one of their best. The awkward reference to the Beatles’ “Let It Be” seems forced in an attempt to seem cool.
Fortunately, “No Regrets” puts the album back on track. A dance beat is accompanied by synth and, yes indeed, more unforgettable Arkells melodies. The chorus is huge, and just enough to remind you that this album has some great pop songs on it. Brilliant disco-like strings add to the whole and bring it up to another level.
“Years In the Making” was previously heard on 2020’s Campfire Chords, the acoustic “lockdown” album. Here is it fully dressed with horns and programming. The acoustic version might the superior one for purists but there is little wrong with the Blink Once recording. The choice is yours.
Another brief interlude called “What the Feeling Was Like” talks of hardships, but the closing song “Arm In Arm” is all about overcoming them. “Not gonna lie I’ve been fucked up. Not gonna lie it’s been a long year,” sings Max. And indeed, 2020 was a little fucked up, and it was a numbingly long year. The music is bright, with those necessary “woah-oh-oh” Arkells backing vocals. It feels like triumph.
That’s not the actual closer: An outro sample of a string section from “Reckoning” alludes to the next album, when Max says “Blink Twice…” Truly, it’s a two-album set, but we’ll get there next time.
If you’re into iTunes, check out a completely different version of “All Roads” called the “Night Drive” version. They even made a music video for it. It’s not a remix, but a completely different recording. A completely different mood. It doesn’t have the impact of the original, but it is a very cool supplemental.
Blink Once seems split between three directions: Extremely upbeat happy pop songs, kinda corny and semi-successful R&B forays, and a really sad ballad. At times it feels like these directions don’t mesh. It was a weird time. We needed upbeat music like this at that time. We were all dealing with a lot of shit. This is an album to pick you up on a bad day. Mostly, anyway.
Welcome to Arkells Week! We will be completing the Arkells Album Review Series this week, and diving into one of their EPs! Four days, four reviews, for you! By all means, not a complete series yet – Arkells have expensive EPs I am still in need of and am hunting for.
ARKELLS – Jackson Square (2008 Dine Alone)
Confirmed: The Arkells were already brilliant from starter’s gun. Their remarkable debut album Jackson Square (they had an EP before this under the name Charlemagne, that has since been partly reissued as the Arkells Deadlines EP) displays a formidable band with a strong handle on writing great songs.
Jackson Square (the name of a neighbourhood they used to frequent in Hamilton) opens with the slamming “Deadlines”. First it’s Nick Dika’s bass rumbling through, then Tim Oxford goes hard-hitting on a drum into. Singer Max Kerman’s lyrics are his first in a career-long attack on the guys in the suits. “They’re sitting up in the board room, and you sit like a fly on the wall. You can hear the man in the suit say we don’t have time to stall. We got deadlines to meet.” Musically it’s one of the Arkells heaviest tracks and the bass is just omnipresent.
Immediately things lighten up with “Pullin’ Punches”. A fast punky beat is crossed with a pleasant guitar melody. There’s a reference to Kingston, Ontario, home of the Tragically Hip. Again, drummer Tim Oxford gets singled out for his inventive beat. Max Kerman even references Elton John’s “Your Song” in lyric and melody, in a clever way. See if you catch it.
The big single was called “Oh, The Boss Is Coming!” A heavy blues rocker about getting busy on the job, it was also the Arkells first of many comedic music videos. For using the office safety video tape to record one of their jams, the band are called into the boss’ office! They are tasked with creating a new safety in the workplace video by Monday morning! Mostly, it’s fun to observe just how young they were! Musically, this track recalls the Zeppelins of yore. Nick’s bassline certainly recalls some of John Paul Jones’ of the past.
Arguably the Arkells’ best song in these early days was the Beatles-Meets-Arkells bop of “Ballad of Hugo Chavez”. The piano line by Dan Griffin recalls some late era 60s hits, while the “hey hey hey” refrain is pure Arkells. Though not mixed prominently enough in the song, there’s also the Arkells first horn section to enjoy. This laid-back classic is a singalong favourite.
Things get fast again on “Tragic Flaw”, a punchy little number. A melodic chorus keeps it in Arkells-land, but musically there’s a lot of cool stuff going on here with the bass, drums and keyboards. Guitarist Mike DeAngelis always holds down the fort with catchy little guitar lines, which he does here on the outro. “Tragic Flaw” flows straight into “No Champagne Socialist”, a harmonica-inflected slow burner. Again the bass and drums really dominate the mix, but the harmonica work gives it a bit of a Black Crowes vibe.
A soft ballad called “Abigail” boasts a really strong chorus, while the verses simmer under the soothing throb of bass. A stunner of a song from the early days that perhaps foreshadowed some of the powerful, dramatic songs the band would later write. Then it’s time for an anthemic blast called “Heart of the City”. A prototype for later Arkells powerhouses, the chorus is an absolute banger. A great song for singing along to, pounding your fists, in the house or in the car. (Especially the car.)
The ballad “I’m Not the Sun” has a lovely, but sad sound. It has one of Mike DeAngelis’ biggest and best guitar solos, recalling the tone of Neil Young. This powerful song is a slow burner, but burn it does. This suddenly transitions into “The Choir”, which has a completely different feel. It bubbles under, but has a heft to it. These early songs all have a lot of weight, even the lighter “John Lennon”. “I’m John Lennon in ’67,” goes the chorus, and you just can’t help but bop your head along.
A final song, “Blueprint”, turns up the tempo and brings back the horns. This is a blast of a song, pedal to the floor and off to the races. Those “hey hey hey” refrains firmly cement it as an Arkells song, but what a way to close an album!
Two observations about this album in general. A couple songs aside such as “Oh, the Boss is Coming!”, Max doesn’t really belt it the way he later would. As a singer he was still finding his voice and perhaps didn’t have the confidence he would later display. Second, the production on this album is very powerful but basic. Later Arkells albums would have many more layers of vocals, keyboards and effects. That’s not a strike against Jackson Square; just an observation. There’s a sonic power to this album that the others don’t have.
4/5 stars
There is a double vinyl reissue of this album with a live EP that is still on my wantlist. The Charlemagne EP is a holy grail item.
Sometimes it’s fun to make a big deal out of something that doesn’t matter.
Let’s figure it out. What should the first song of 2024 be? I just woke up, I have not played any music yet in the new year. This is the kind of thing that music nerds make a big deal out of. The first song of the year! As if it sets the tone for the next 366 days (leap year!), let’s pretend that the first song played in 2024 is somehow really, really important.
How we do make such a decision? Let’s narrow it down step by step.
1. Let’s start easy. Should we play the song currently stuck in my head from yesterday? That would be “Past Life” by the Arkells with the Cold War Kids. Thematically it works. It’s all about moving forward instead of backwards, which works well with the whole “new year” thing. “I’ve been running from a past life, I wanna live this life instead!” Uplifting, and also I get that “scratch that itch” feeling of playing a song stuck in my head.
2. However, 2024 is the 40th frickin’ anniversary of a very significant year in my life. 1984: the year I committed to music as “my thing”, specifically heavy metal. The exact date was December 26 1984, Boxing Day. Perhaps I should play something from that year to commemorate this occasion. “I Wanna Be Somebody” by W.A.S.P., “Run to the Hills” by Iron Maiden, “Rock You” by Helix, or “Heaven’s On Fire” by Kiss would be appropriate.
3. Or, we look ahead. There are albums to come in 2024, and we have heard some of the new music already. Judas Priest have released two singles from the forthcoming Invincible Shield. That would be a great way to start the year right — by looking forward.
4. …Buuuut I’d be starting the year by playing a song to which I have no emotional attachment yet, if I played the new Priest. That doesn’t seem like the right note to kick off a new year. Also, do I really want to start the year with a song about a “Panic Attack”?
5. Kiss is my favourite band. I first got into Kiss during that mythical year of 1984. And, the debut album Kiss came out 50 years ago, in 1974.
6. I prefer to listen to albums over songs. 1974’s Kiss gives me an excuse to play a whole album. Playing that debut would be a way to honour both my roots in 1984, and the album’s 50th in 2024.
7. …However, I didn’t know that album in 1984. I was just getting into rock, and I only knew two Kiss songs at that point: “Heaven’s On Fire” (1984) and “Rock and Roll all Nite” (1975).
8. Just a side note: this is the longest I’ve sat at my desk writing with no music playing!
9. The way I see it now, we can go one of two ways. 1984’s “Heaven’s On Fire”, which commemorates its 40th anniversary, and my discovery of heavy metal music the same year. Or, 1974’s Kiss. 50 years of Kiss is a big deal, and they were one of the first five bands I ever liked back in ’84. I prefer playing full albums, and overall I have more nostalgia for it.
10. Flip a coin. Heads: “Heaven’s On Fire”. Tails: Kiss 1974.
2023: what a year! I have personally not experienced highs and lows like this since back in 2018. We’ll get into that in a minute. For now let’s talk music.
It was interesting to see both the Beatles and the Stones back on the charts. What year is it, anyway? Last I saw this happen, it was 1995. The Beatles Anthologies were coming out one per year, and the Stones had their latest CD Stripped on the Top 40. It was my second Christmas at the Record Store.
There were a number of new releases that I never got to in 2023, either due to time or budget or both, including the Beatles and Stones. I saw some people writing lists of their top 50 albums of 2023. My 2023 haul was much smaller. However, as usual, I do have a Top Five of banger albums that you absolutely need to own. Not stream – own! People who have Spotify accounts have been posting lists of their most streamed songs. That’s nice, but I don’t stream and I don’t just listen to songs – I listen to albums. Good songs, bad songs, the whole album without skipping. CD, vinyl, and cassette were all played and enjoyed here in 2023, with no apps tracking what I heard. Too bad! Support the artist in a real way, and buy physical product! They say CD is making a comeback. Let’s see what happens in 2024. As for 2023, here are my lists!
Hoping for a new physical EP in 2024! Check out this amazing uplifting track, because bad times will get better!
OK, so I guess I stream a little bit. 2023 was the year of the Arkells here at Ladano HQ. There are a lot of great Arkells live performances on YouTube, and some cool music videos as well. Here’s what YouTube had to say about that in 2023.
Sorry, Def Leppard. It has been a long and winding road with you, but this has not been a good year for us. I have not truly enjoyed a new Def Leppard album since 2015. This isn’t our first dry spell. I felt similarly negative towards you after Euphoria and X, but this latest album has only warranted two listens. I’m actually sorry that I bought it. This is one of the rare cases where I can justify skipping an album. (Think This Left Feels Right by Bon Jovi.)
I think it is possible that Def Leppard and I are through.
For me, 2023 will be the year that I learned to better trust my gut. I think we all know what I’m talking about here. Mistakes were made, and I chose to trust someone, over the screaming alarms in my head. She still generates massive hits and views, to this day eight months after the fact, but the cost was my happiness. I cannot apologise enough for foisting this person upon the community that I love. It was not worth it.
On the other hand, my instincts told me that Jex Russell is good people. I credit Jex for helping me keep Grab A Stack of Rock going last summer during the most painful of months. The Friday afternoon shows were a true joy. His enthusiasm and friendship redeemed 2023. And of course, Harrison was there too, as always, helping me keep the ship afloat with his incredible art and willingness to go live even when he didn’t care about the bands we were discussing. He even got to do a dedicated Blaze Bayley episode, and it was one of our most successful ever. Amazing! We had so many wonderful friends who guested in 2023, bringing light to my days and nights. Friends, old and new. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who helped me in this year. You know who you are, but what you don’t know is how much I needed you.
Jen had her struggles and nearly broke her jaw, but she keeps getting up and getting back in the saddle. Jen is my real #1. You’ve never seen someone fight so hard.
Rest in peace to Uncle Paul. I will wear your hat with pride at your beloved Lorne Beach this summer at the cottage. You will be with me in spirit.
We survived it all. Here we are. Allons-y.
In 2024 we look forward to new Judas Priest (Invincible Shield), Ace Frehley (10,000 Volts), Bruce Dickinson (The Mandrake Project), and maybe even Guns N’ Roses. Now where have I heard that before?
Please join me in 2024 as I continue to review music from my humongous collection, live stream with friends, and hopefully have a laugh or two. I’ve been knocked down, but I get up again…
Thanks to Jen, Dr. K, my parents and my Aunt Lynda for a wonderful Christmas haul this year.
Music:
Arkells – Blink Twice, completing my Arkells CD collection!
Black Sabbath – Live Evil super deluxe box set
Deep Purple – Tokyo, Japan 2001/03/24-25
Jen spoiled me with junk food and treats. Canadians of a certain age remember a drink called Tahiti Treat that doesn’t exist anymore. Jen found something called Tahitian Treat fruit punch that I hope will be similar. This was quite a nice batch of sugary snacks.
There were other assorted cool things too, such as comic books, funky socks, a hat with a light, and sardines! I also received Moby-Dick and look forward to the reading challenge.
For those curious, yes I did sabotage my mom’s Christmas village one more time.
Unfortunately, we also received the call this morning that Grandma has Covid again, which means we won’t be seeing her tonight. She’s none too happy but we will see when she’s well again. This is round two for her.
This Christmas I want to express gratitude to everyone who is in my life. This was a great Christmas. I even got a toilet light!
Merry Christmas one and all! Whether you celebrate or not, I wish you all a merry December 25! I hope you are not working today, and I wish you true joy on this morning.
If you’re sick of all the shows on TV, and tired of your Christmas albums, the Arkells have just what you need. The Hamilton band have their “Fireplace Channel” all set on YouTube. You can listen to acoustic renditions of all their hits from the Campfire Chords record, while Max hangs stockings and brings you cookies. Put it on a loop and enjoy with your tea and gifts!
Please drop a comment and let me know how you’re doing on this Christmas day. I value every one of you.
ARKELLS – “The Last Christmas (We Ever Spend Apart)” / “Pub Crawl” (2021 single)
I usually prefer an original Christmas song to a traditional one. We’ve all heard those standards a million times. How about something new? For Christmas of ’21, the Arkells put out a single with two originals: “The Last Christmas (We Ever Spend Apart)” and fan favourite “Pub Crawl” (from 2020).
The Christmas tune doesn’t particular sound like a Christmas tune. It sounds like an Arkells song. The synth strings and Beatles-y guitar solo dominate the music. It’s upbeat with singalong qualities, but the lyrics kind of nail the Christmas vibe of the last few years. Reflecting on the pandemic and the holidays we didn’t spend together: “Last Christmas, I didn’t get to hug you, last Christmas, it almost broke my heart.” I really like this verse: “Are we Catholic, are we Protestant? Jewish somewhere down the line? Got a cousin who’s Republican, I promise I won’t pick a fight.” Once again, the Arkells tap into those real feelings. It’s a good song, though it probably won’t usurp anything from your favourite seasonal playlist.
“Pub Crawl” sounds a lot more Christmas-y though the lyrics are only vaguely so. “Maria’s dancin’ around, and she’s singing Mariah,” is a reference to Mariah Carey’s ever-popular Christmas album. Instead of 12 days of Christmas, they have 12 pubs to crawl through. It starts as a piano ballad, and then kicks up into a rocker complete with guitar solo and handclaps. Max even references himself in the lyrics by name: “And Max is about to cry (I’m about to cry)”.
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