The 500 - #483 - Gang of Four - Entertainment!

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan (amended). 

• 2 1 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 483

Album Title: Entertainment!
Artist: Gang of Four
Released: September, 1979
My age at release: 14
How familiar am I with it: Not at all
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: I Found that Essence Rare (With help from Claudio)
Great Lyric:
"Aim for the body rare, you'll see it on TV
The worst thing in 1954 was the bikini
See the girl on the TV dressed in a bikini
She doesn't think so but she's dressed for the H-bomb"

There is a great verse from the band Elbow and their incredible lyricist Guy Garvey in the song Lippy Kids.

"Lippy kids on the corner begin
Settling like crows
Though I never perfected that simian stroll
The Cigarette Senate was everything then"

So much of my high school experience (1979-1985) is encapsulated in that short series of words. My Cigarette Senate fell into the category of a "Rocker clique". We wore concert shirts like a uniform and our parties and headphones rang out with the album oriented, blues influenced hard rocking riffs of bands that included Iron Maiden, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest & Blue Oyster Cult.

I had a peripheral group of friends who were into Post Punk, so it was a genre I knew as casually as I knew them. Some of it crossed over - I really liked The Clash & The Sex Pistols, but I really didn't venture into the world of Siouxsie & the Banshees, Public Image Ltd., Joy Division or this band... Gang of Four. Consequently, I was at a loss for a story when I arrived at this album on the list. In fact, I reached out to my chum Claudio to ask him for his favourite track. He picked a good one!

Listening to Josh's podcast helped a lot. He and his guest Karen Kilgariff really opened up this record for me. I can now hear the through line to so many bands I would later come to love REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage against the Machine & Franz Ferdinand. 

This record grows on you quickly. It is a tremendous listen at the gym and so many of the songs transport me back to the early 80's and a background sound that walked that fine line between inconspicuous and omnipresent.  Kilgariff put it well during the podcast... "these are songs that sound like they were in the background in Pretty in Pink but didn't make the official soundtrack."

I guess that is how I felt about it. These were not on the soundtrack endorsed by my Cigarette Senate but they were certainly in the background. I'm glad this experience has brought them into sharper contrast in 2019.

Things I learned...

• The lyric I chose is actually a reference the Atomic Bomb Tests at the Bikini Atoll (Islands) in 1954. It is juxtaposed against the prevailing attitude about cultural decay when the bikini became a fashion statement.
• The song Guns before Butter track references a macroeconomic model identifying how much a nation's investment in military when compared to domestic goods.
• The band takes their name from a political faction that came to power during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

The 500 - #484 - Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan. 

• 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 484

Album Title: All the Young Dudes
Artist: Mott the Hoople
Released: September, 1972
My age at release: 7
How familiar am I with it: Very little
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Sucker
Great Lyric:
"And my brother's back at home with his Beatles and his Stones
We never got it off on that revolution stuff
What a drag too many snags
Now I've drunk a lot of wine and I'm feeling fine
Got to race some cat to bed
Oh is there concrete all around
Or is it in my head"
I will share this ... I am starting to doubt myself in this pursuit. I'm not quitting - but last night I started to have some reservations. 

Here's what happened.

I was visiting my friends Steve & Jen. The conversation turned to music after their son brought out his new Fender Stratocaster and demonstrated his impressive chops. I mentioned that I was writing about the top 500 albums of all time when Steve suggested that we listen to a song from each album. 

"Starting at #500?" I asked.
"No, a record you haven't done yet...what's next?" he replied
"Gang of Four - Entertainment".
"Jump down a bit."

So, we began to explore and, although I enjoyed the playlist we were creating, I started to feel overwhelmed. I don't have much to say about many of the upcoming records, including this one. I didn't want this blog to be a review of the record - just stories about my experiences with them, but what am I going to do when I don't have much to share? 

Well, I am not a quitter ... three frustrating years of Duolingo Spanish is a testament to that. Es muy dificil. 

Last week was the first time I had heard a Mott the Hoople album in its entirety. I am currently spinning it for the 4th time and it's terrific. I always liked the band's name. It's ridiculously comical - like something Monty Python made up for a sketch. Sort of like the fact that Toad the Wet Sprocket got it's name from this Python bit.

I can remember picking it up and debating its purchase many times at the now defunct Dr. Disc used record store here in London. I had Ian Hunter's 1979 album "You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic" and I knew I liked that...especially the song "Cleveland Rocks" and the album cover, which 15 year old me thought was incredibly cool.

I knew the title track - but thought it was a David Bowie song for a long time. It turns out it was. Bowie wrote the song and produced the album in a successful effort to keep the band together. They did stick together and released several more albums. They are currently on tour - with Ian Hunter back on lead vocals and guitar.  

Things I learned...

• David Bowie plays saxophone on one of the songs - what couldn't that guy do.
• Ready for Love appears on this record before it would be reworked to appear on Bad Company's first record.
• Their 1973 album was called Mott and their 1974 album was called The Hoople. 

The 500 - #485 - Pearl Jam - Vitology

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan. 

• 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 485

Album Title: Vitology
Artist: Pearl Jam
Released: November, 1994
My age at release: 29
How familiar am I with it: Very
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Corduroy
Great Lyric: (So many to choose from - Eddie was in the zone by this record)
Ransom paid the devil. He whispers pleasing words.
Triumphant are the angels if they can get there first.
Little secrets, tremor, turned to quake
The smallest oceans still get big big waves.

I was going to talk about my introduction to Pearl Jam and grunge, but I realized that I had already covered that territory with this post from last year. 

Instead, I will share a story about working for a slightly shady, but decent, guy named Bruno - selling stereo equipment from a bare-bones retail space in a strip mall in St. Mary's, Ontario. 

In 1994, I was bartending full-time at Kelsey's Restaurant, saving  money for Teachers College. I was making a great living and was reluctant to give up my lifestyle for a year away at school - but I also knew that this gig was not sustainable. Late night restaurant service work was a young man's game - and I was nearing 30.

In the plaza where the restaurant was located was a small stereo store. It had done well in the previous decade, but was now struggling. The early 90's marked the rise of the big box store and several warehouse-style electronics outlets had opened nearby (Best Buy, Future Shop & Costco). 

The aforementioned Bruno, who owned the store, was in survival mode. He had hired two brothers who agreed to work there for less money because he provided them with a room at the back with two cots. 

That's right - they agreed to live in the back of a stereo store & shower at the local gym. They ate in our restaurant almost every night.

Bruno should have made the switch to high-end audio & video, perhaps transition to a boutique store. Instead, he dug himself in and bought a literal truckload of lower to mid-range equipment in order to get better pricing. The problem was that his store was too small to house it and he needed to move it quickly. 

That night at the bar, he asked me and my coworker Kris if we were interested in working that weekend in the small town of St. Mary's. He offered us a deal that justified missing a Saturday night at the bar...

• $12 an hour
• 5% of all sales we made
• Accommodation & Gas
• Lunches, Dinners & an open bar tab at the local tavern

The two brothers had traveled in the truck to St. Mary's the night before. Bruno had rented an empty unit in the only plaza in the town - right beside the grocery store - and the brothers had dutifully filled it with boxes of VCRs, Amplifiers, Car Stereos, televisions and CD Players (even the new 5 disc carousel style ones).

 Saturday was a whirlwind. The word got out quickly in the village and people filled the store all day. Sales were brisk and effortless. The prices were good because the equipment wasn't high-end and people left satisfied.

That night we celebrated at the local bar "The Creamery" and drank entirely too much. I vaguely remember weaving toward the hotel - a manor style home along the river called "The Westover Inn".

The next day, through a hazy hangover, I made more sales. By mid-afternoon - we were pretty much sold out and we headed back to London with our pockets full of cash.

Bruno was ecstatic - and so were the brothers. A few weeks later, Friday, December 8 to be exact (the day after Vitology was released on CD) we were set up again - this time in London in a larger, but equally barren, strip mall concrete bunker.

We opened at 10 am and I put the Pearl Jam disc into one of the better stereo systems in the store. As the cacophonous intro to Last Exit rang out, I prepared for a busy day that would never arrive. 

It was a bust. The five of us stood around for hours - only occasionally would someone wander in - look around - check prices - and leave (probably for a nearby Big Box Electronics Outlet). 

Bruno had misjudged the popularity of a Pop-up Stereo store in a larger municipality. In little St. Mary's, it was big news. In London...crickets. Well, crickets and the sound of Pearl Jam's Vitology. That disc is now inexorably tied to the events of that day...or rather... the absence of events. 

I wasn't a huge fan of the album at first. I absolutely loved both Ten and Vs. and this seemed uneven to me - maybe even rushed. However, over the years it has grown on me and it gets at least one play a year - usually at the gym in headphones.

Stuff I learned

• When Pearl Jam appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1994 they were so popular that they played 3 songs, instead of the customary 2, including this great version of RearViewMirror
• This SNL appearance was also 11 days after Kurt Cobain killed himself. Vedder revealed a K over his heart at the end of the show as a tribute to his contemporary.
  
• The album was released on vinyl two weeks prior to being made available in any other form (including the more popular compact disc). For the next twenty years it held the record for most vinyl sales in a week at 34,000.
• When Vedder was fell ill with food poisoning, he was forced to leave a show in San Francisco. Neil Young replaced him, singing 14 songs with the band.
• The song Corduroy is about a thrift-store jacket that Vedder bought for about $12. It was copied in the height of Grunge Popularity and was being sold for over $500.

Take the Test

Last week, the Ontario Government passed legislation requiring all new teaching graduates to pass a mathematics test before receiving their teaching certification. Premier Ford has also suggested that the government was considering expanding that requirement so it applied to all teachers every year.

"I have an idea: Why don't we test all the teachers, rather than just new ones, on learning how to deliver math?" he said during question period.

A colleague and I were discussing this the other day and he is all for it. His primary argument makes sense - we should know the math we are teaching. However, we concluded our chat with some skepticism - will this be executed effectively. Like many bold statements from government officials - this is one of those soundbites that seem to make good common sense - but are rife with issues and require a good understanding of many nuances. 

•  It will be expensive - proctors, scheduling, classrooms, marking, etc. Is that the best use for this money? 
• Is it a test of a teacher's ability to do math or to teach math? How does one test "teaching ability" in a single session? Our board already has Principals evaluate teacher efficacy every five years (and that is a multi-day prospect).
• Does the teacher only have to successfully meet the expectations for the grade they are teaching? Do kindergarten teachers simply need to demonstrate that they can count to five?
• If you don't teach math - do you still need to take the test? Imagine removing an exceptional art, history or biology teacher from a school because they can't remember quadratic equations.
• There is some suggestion that it will be administered annually. "So, if I pass the test in 2019 ... the assumption is that I will forget those skills in a calendar year?"

I was an English and History major - but I have a university mathematics credit (I had to get one for my first degree). I was not a great math teacher when I began in this profession. I often joke that I need to find the students who were in my classrooms during the early 00's and apologize to them. The truth is that, although I wasn't great, I also wasn't awful. I used the curriculum and text books and learned from my mentors. The Crosby, Stills & Nash line from "Suite:Judy Blue Eyes" always assuages my conscience. "Don't let the past remind you of what you are not now."

In the past two years, I have been fortunate to receive exceptional Professional Development and I know that when I return to the classroom I will be an even better mathematics educator than I was two years ago. I will also continue to improve and I will leave this profession at the top of my game. 

Mr. Ford, I encourage you to take the money you plan to spend on testing teachers and invest it into providing them with the same PD I have received. 

The 500 - #486 - Earth, Wind & Fire - That's the Way of the World

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan. 

• 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 486

Album Title: That's the Way of the World
Artist: Earth, Wind & Fire
Released: March, 1975
My age at release: 9
How familiar am I with it: Somewhat
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Shining Star
Great Lyric:
"Child is born with a heart of gold
Way of the world makes his heart so cold"

I am not sure when I first heard this record or knew the name of the band. I do remember seeing the album cover for All 'n All and being fascinated by it. It was distinctly Egyptian and that was a time when I had a growing interest in ancient civilizations and mythology.

In the mid-seventies, I lived in St. Catharines, Ontario. I had two best friends, Glen and Uzoma. They lived several streets apart and went to different schools - so I rarely saw them together. They were both great chums with different interests. 

Glen's favourite thing to do was to build - like the go-cart that we raced, crashed and repaired for a whole summer. He liked hockey and the Batman television series. He also loved to explore the construction sites in the new subdivision that was being built. This was also where we "found" things for his many projects.

Uzoma obsessed with American Football and, if I allowed it, would want to play catch with a football for hours. I can still throw a pretty good spiral from all the time we spent in our backyards. He also loved table-top hockey, Adam 12 and the board game Careers.

Uzoma's family was living here temporarily. His father was a visiting professor from Nigeria and was working at Brock University. He had a much older sister who was always really nice to us. On Saturday afternoons, shortly after morning cartoons ended, she would take over the television to watch the show Soul Train. If you haven't seen it, click that last link, it is an awesome slice of seventies nostalgia.

I distinctly remember standing in their wood-paneled basement, waiting for Uzoma (who had likely gone to find his football) when his sister raced into the room. Seconds, and a few clicks of the television dial, later - she was swaying and grooving. Everything was unfamiliar...the clothes, the dancing, the hair, the music. It was also the first time that I had seen that many black people on a television show. As strange as it seems, It was the first time I recognized that there were television shows for people of a different race. Uzoma was my age... 7, maybe 8, and he liked all the same stuff I liked. His sister was at least 12 or 13 and it was clear that she connected with this show.

I liked the music. I have no idea what song was playing on that particular episode - but I have always associated Earth, Wind & Fire with it. Heavy bass, African rhythms, horns, falsetto vocals - there was so much going on. It would be years before I would purchase a record from that genre - it was a single - Stevie Wonder's Sir Duke. 

We moved from St. Catherines when I was 9 and, as you might expect, Glen, Uzoma and I lost contact. Years later, we reconnected through social media and I learned that his sister had passed away due to cancer.  

When I listened to"That's the Way of the World" all of these memories came back - not all at once - in little bursts like fireflies on a dark night. Glen, go-karts, Batman, Adam 12, Soul Train, Careers, Uzoma and his sister. I like that she stays forever young in my mind - full of life, smiles and happiness...dancing in front of a television screen.

The 500 - #487 - Cyndi Lauper - She's So Unusual

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan. 

• 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 487

Album Title: She's So Unusual
Artist: Cyndi Lauper
Released: October, 1983
My age at release: 18
How familiar am I with it: Very
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix:All through the Night
Great Lyric:
"They have forgotten what by day they lack
Oh under those white street lamps
There is a little chance they may see"

This album arrived on the scene at a time when I was decidedly "anti-pop". My friends and I sincerely felt we had the corner on musical truth. Consequently, we deemed (from our intellectual high-ground) that anything that the "in-crowd" embraced lacked integrity...and was to be ridiculed mercilessly. 

In retrospect, I recognize that we were insufferable louts. I also know that, in the safety of our cars or homes, we would listen to Top 40 radio and secretly enjoy much of it. This is one of those records - full of catchy, interesting songs performed with unapologetic panache. My first high-school girlfriend, Maria, owned the LP and I begrudgingly listened to it many times...usually following a juvenile display of faux-displeasure.  

This was also the first summer of MuchMusic - Canada's answer to MTV. Lauper videos were a staple - and the cross-over with Professional Wrestling was appealing. Granted, my fascination with the WWF was another thing that I kept to myself. In retrospect, it's remarkable how much time I invested into building a public version of myself...when the real me was equally interesting, and far less neurotic. Alas, isn't that the stuff of youth.

In the summer of 1984, a friend of mine got married - he was 19 years old. It was the first time I had been invited to a wedding by someone I knew - and many of my friends were going. It was entirely surreal, as most of us were still in high-school. 

He held the reception in a Union Hall. I am always reminded of it when I watch the first half of The Deer Hunter. We smoked cigarettes and drank too much as we joked and laughed with earnest but unearned bravado.

Then, slicing through the hazy mist of this immature frivolity rang the keyboard swirl to Girls Just Want to Have Fun. There was a boisterous cheer and, in a flash, the dance floor was populated by women of all ages...sans-shoe swirling with joyous abandon. 

You have to realize, that song was inescapable in 1984. It was a monster hit...and on the charts for months. I had heard it so many times that it had become background noise. However, at that moment, I saw it in a new context. It was an anthem for women. It was both a call to action and, a statement of solidarity. However, it was wrapped in such playful, silly innocence that I had entirely missed that point.

The next week, I was visiting my friend Steve who had attended the wedding. When I went into his room, he had the cassette on display beside his stereo.

"You bought that?" I asked, incredulous.
"Yea." he smiled "did you see Cathy dancing barefoot to it?"
"I saw everyone dancing barefoot to it", I replied.
"So," he said with a wry grin "I remember that when I listen to it."

You know what? 
35 years later...that's what I remember too.