Latest posts (RSS 2.0)Tired of hearing Christmas music everywhere I went, and with the Arctic Monkeys and Foo Fighters’ latest albums reaching absurdly high play counts on my iTunes, I recently went in search of some unfamiliar music to spice up my life.
It was also exam period, which is when this type of thing always seems to get done for me. Forget New Year’s resolutions, I have exam resolutions. They don’t last very long and they’re a lot easier to keep, so until I get burned I’ll keep using exam period for such fruitful activities as finding new music, watching hockey and building that large pile of laundry at the foot of my bed.
This year I resolved to find some new tunes.
I’m not pretending to be an indie music aficionado. But my recent dabbling in lesser-known bands, coupled with my Journal colleagues’ insanely intense interest in indie music (that’s my first big alliteration of 2008) has led me to peruse some lesser-known artists.
As I raided my friend Scott’s computer with my 1 gigabyte USB memory stick (apologies to those of you with morals in this area), one artist jumped out at me: Joel Plaskett, who visited Ale House in October with his band, the Emergency.
Amidst some video gaming (which has become another favourite exam pastime), Scott put on Plaskett’s latest CD, Ashtray Rock.
I almost dismissed the album after its second track, “Drunk Teenagers.” “This song would be really cool if we were about 13.” Scott hilariously observed.
But I found myself bemused by the catchy guitar riffs, intrigued at the cheesy yet somehow compelling lyrics (“The reason I like the instrumentals/Is cause they haven’t got any words,” Plaskett croons on “Penny for your Thoughts”), and impressed at Plaskett’s solid vocals that give away his Eastern-Canadian origins.
At the heart of the album, I was tapping my foot (a tough task while playing video games) and waiting to see what harmless yet appealing song would follow.
Plaskett calls Ashtray Rock a “concept album.” I would correct him and call it a “concepts album,” the three concepts being snow, instrumental music, and drunken shenanigans. At least one of these things seems to find its way into every song, with the “Instrumental Song” coming near the end of the album as a reminder.
So if you’re looking for an album that will help you find yourself or discover the meaning to your life, skip over Plaskett and his band. But if you’re looking for a foot-tapping good time, these just might be the tunes for you.
Personally, I’m sorry now that I missed his show. But my eyes have opened to the fact that I really need to attend more shows in Kingston.
That’s a New Year’s resolution I can keep.