The 500 - #411 - Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Boulevard

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

Album # 411

Album Title: 461 Ocean Boulevard
Artist: Eric Clapton
Genre: Blues Rock, Funk, Reggae Rock
Recorded: Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida
Released: July, 1974
My age at release: 8
How familiar was I with it before this week: Somewhat
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Mainline Florida

461 Ocean Boulevard is the second studio record released by English guitarist, singer and songwriter Eric Clapton. However, more importantly, the record marked Clapton's return to the studio after a three-year hiatus due to heroin addiction. 461 Ocean Boulevard is also the Golden Beach, Florida, address where Clapton lived while he recorded the album at the nearby Criteria Studios.  

461 Ocean Boulevard Album Cover

Addiction is a brutal disease that impacts us all, societally and individually. For much of my youth, I saw addiction as both a choice and a weakness. However, my first hand experiences of the impact and tragic consequences have made me far more empathetic to those I know personally and even celebrities or strangers on Twitter. I rejoice at whatever progress they make at overcoming their addiction. In fact, many of the podcasters I enjoy (including Josh Adam Meyers of The 500 Podcast) have experienced tremendous success while in recovery. I thought about this a lot as I enjoyed Eric Clapton's record. 

Clapton is the only person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times -- as a solo artist and as a member of Cream and The Yardbirds. However, his journey to musical superstardom had its challenges.

Clapton was born in 1945 to Patricia Molly Clapton who was 16. His biological father, a visiting Canadian soldier, shipped off to war before Eric was born and did not return to England. Clapton was raised by his grandmother, Rose, and her second husband. Clapton believed they were his parents and was told that Patricia, who married a another soldier and moved to Germany, was an older sister. When he learned the truth, he was devastated by this betrayal and it impacted him for years, ultimately leading to his addiction and personal issues.

Clapton as a teen

In the documentary, Life in 12 Bars, which chronicles his life, he states: "I was always full of such hatred and anger". This record marks the point when he began to let go of some of that hostility. Producer Robert Stigwood, best known for his work on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, paid the rent for Clapton to stay at the 461 Ocean Boulevard, and was instrumental in helping Eric artistically and emotionally.

Open gatefold version of the album 

It certainly seems fitting, and possibly therapeutic, that the opening track on 461 Ocean Boulevard is a gospel-blues standard called Motherless Children. The song was originally recorded in 1927 by Blind Willie Johnson whose mother died when he was very young and who, shortly after, was blinded when his step-mother threw a caustic solution in his eyes. 

Blues legend Blind Willie Johnson

The thing that stood out to me was that Clapton's arrangement of this tragic and sombre song is uncharacteristically upbeat. I couldn't find any evidence to support my theory, but my belief was that this choice was intentional. Perhaps as a way of exorcising the betrayals of his past and moving on to a new chapter.

Clapton began a new chapter with the release of 461 Ocean Boulevard. He has maintained his sobriety and his career flourished through the next four decades. He has, to date, released 21 records as a solo artist and is considered one of the greatest blues guitarists of all time. In 2011, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him second in their list of The 100 Greatest Guitar Players of All Time, surpassed only by Jimi Hendrix.

Addiction is brutal -- but there can be triumph in recovery.

The 500 - #412 - Wire - Pink Flag

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

Album # 412

Album Title: Pink Flag
Artist: Wire
Genre: Punk Rock, Post Punk, Art Punk
Recorded: Advision Studios, London, UK
Released: November, 1977
My age at release: 12
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Three Girl Rhumba

"I feel like I am building an airplane...while flying it."

Doing something on the fly, as the quote suggests, is an apt way of describing how the education community approached the unprecedented task of continuing to teach during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Around the world and throughout entire work forces, industries and institutions were compelled to adapt to new ways of doing things -- from reshaping their floor plans to maintaining social distancing to working from home via the internet. 

Euphemistically, it's not the first time flying a plane while building it has worked. For as another adage suggests, "necessity is the mother of invention." And we did muddle through.

Looking back, it's only a handful of months since our world unravelled. One day, I'm communicating, collaborating, creating and critically thinking (The four Cs of education) with 28 Grade 7 students in a conventional brick and mortar classroom. Three weeks later, I was socially-isolated with my wife and cats, sitting at a kitchen table and developing distance-learning lessons and activities. 

Meanwhile, our school's administrative team frantically disinfected and distributed Chromebooks and iPads to families already dealing with the economic and mental health stress that accompanies a global pandemic. Time seemed to move, simultaneously, slowly and quickly.It was a contradictory experience.

For about a week, there was a flurry of phone calls, emails and online meetings, followed by glitches, lost passwords, missed connections and technological hiccups. However, there were also little triumphs. The online education community began sharing tips, lessons, activities and techy-tricks. It was at this moment, about mid-April, that the idiom came into focus: 

"We were building an airplane while flying it".

I thought about this expression again recently as I investigated the band Wire and their 1977 debut album Pink Flag. There were similarities, however, to understand it, we need to revisit the United Kingdom of the mid-seventies. It was a gloomy time, sandwiched between Prime MInister Harold Wilson's swinging sixties and PM Maggie Thatcher's divisive eighties, when an angry, youthful rebellion called punk rock was born. 

A London Police Officer guards
National Front Anti-Immigration protesters

There has always been debate about the origins of punk rock, but 1976 is generally considered to be Year Zero for the British scene. Consequently, while preparing to write about Pink Flag, I was struck by the description of this record as Post Punk. 

How could an album released during the first wave of British punk possibly be influenced by the genre it was helping create?

It did. In fact, Johnny Marr of the post punk band The Smiths once remarked on their influence by stating: "Wire wasn't a late arriving punk band, they were an early arriving post punk band".

Wire was a punk rock band who bent the genre while continuing to create within it. In 1977, such bands were almost in competition to play louder, faster and angrier. Wire's guitarist and singer Colin Newman wanted to move his newly formed band in a different direction. He chose to incorporate a genre of music with which I was previously unfamiliar: pub rock. 

Pub rock was a short-lived, back-to-basics movement which developed as a reaction  to expensively recorded and highly produced stadium rock bands of the early 70s. Pub-rockers, much like punk-rockers, embraced small, intimate venues and developed a "Do-It-Yourself" approach to recording and performing. However, unlike their punk counterparts, they were more informed by the sounds of Rhythm and Blues and early Rock and Roll.

However, pub rock was not the only inspiration for Wire. Newman also borrowed from mid-sixties psychedelic pop and the art rock experimentations of David Bowie and Brian Eno. Consequently, they chose to embrace a style that would come to be known as Art Punk. This choice was a contradiction of the edicts established by pub-rock. In many ways, Wire were deconstructing a movement (punk rock)...while also being part of it. 

Strangely, much of this was possible because the band members were not particularly skilled musicians. Yet this deficit, combined with their fearless sense of creativity, was a crucible for something special. They were willing to take chances because they didn't know any better.  In 1978, Village Voice writer Robert Christgau lauded the album Pink Flag for its "simultaneous rawness and detachment...returning rock and roll irony to the native land of Mick Jagger, where it belongs." 

Wire in 1978

Wire continued to develop its sound on subsequent records, venturing into the world of experimental rock and electronic music. Three of the four original members are still part of the band who released their 18th record just last month.

In a 2017 article, Rolling Stone Magazine called Wire "The Ultimate Cult Band". Wire is to post punk what Big Star is to rock. They are the band that your favourite post punk band is listening to, be that The Smiths, The Cure, Minutemen, Guided by Voices, Franz Ferdinand or REM. 

True to their origin, Wire remain a dichotomy -- both widely unknown and wildly influential. 

So, much like my contemporaries in education during the sudden arrival of distance-learning during a global pandemic, they...

• Were not entirely sure what they were doing 
• Were informed by and deconstructed previous methods
• Paid attention to the creativity going on around them
• Approached the opportunity with fearless bravado
• Overcame the challenges and
• Ultimately enjoyed some small, quiet, triumphs.

Wire were bending a genre while creating within it or, as the idiom goes, "they were building an airplane while flying it."

Coming Up: 461 Ocean Boulevard by Eric Clapton

The 500 - #413 - Minutemen - Double Nickels On The Dime

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

Album # 414

Album Title: Double Nickels On The Dime
Artist: Minutemen
Genre: Alternative Rock, Post Punk, Hardcore Punk
Recorded: Radio Tokyo Studios, Venice, California
Released: July, 1984
My age at release: 13
How familiar was I with it before this week: 1 song
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: History Lesson Part II

For help with this week's blog, I reached out to my chum Claudio Sossi. Claudio and I share a love of music, Pro-Wrestling and the comedy stylings of our mutual friend Oscar Macedo. I knew that Claudio was well versed in the US hardcore punk scene...so I suggested this album to him. I was thrilled when he agreed. I spent the last week listening to it and I can understand his passion. This is a great record and not at all what I was expecting. Imagine my surprise when I suddenly heard the signature guitar lick from the infamous Jackass television program blasting through my speakers. I am sure you will enjoy Claudio's connection with this band's eclectic sound.

I hope everyone has been enjoying Marc's 500 album project as much as I have! I was honoured to be asked to make a contribution and hope I'm worthy of the standard Marc's set here.

In the late 70s through to the early 80s, there wasn't anything to distinguish your musical tastes as "different" quite like embracing what was happening in the American hardcore punk scene. If you happened to find like-minded individuals, it made for a making great new friends. It also had the ability to clear a room in record time with the "classic rock set". 

I mean, it was Anti-Everything...yes? Certainly many of the trappings embraced by the world of classic rock.

Anti-progressive rock, anti-guitar solos, anti-drum solos, anti-self indulgence, anti-lyrics inspired by The Hobbit, anti-15 minute opuses.

Few bands captured that short, sharp burst of inspiration like Minutemen - a trio from San Pedro that blended punk with funk, jazz and poetry. They had a "lead" bass player in Mike Watt jamming along to the more rhythmic, treble-heavy style of guitarist D. Boon punctuated by drummer George Hurley's hyperactive rat-a-tat-tat. It was a working man's punk rock that said what it had to say -- typically in under two minutes.

Minutemen in 1982 (Left to Right) Watt, Boone Hurley

Which makes one wonder: What was with the decision, in 1984, to go where only classic rock (and jazz) dared to tread?  You know...that bloated beast called..."The Double Album!"

Credit must go to Husker Du and their two-LP Zen Arcade for coming up with the notion first. Although released simultaneously with Double Nickels On The Dime, it was the Minutemen hearing Zen Arcade in advance, through their kinship with SST Records, that gave them the noton to expand their already-recorded single disc into a double. 

Zen Arcade by Husker Du (1984)

But, come on man! What are we talking about here? That would be like 40 songs, right? 

Nope. 45!

I was obsessed with the record, buying it just before moving to London, Ontario. Each band member curated a side (the fourth, called "Side Chaff", were the leftovers after the band made their choices). Each side began with a car engine starting up and pals, such as Henry Rollins (Black Flag) and Jack Brewer (Saccharine Trust) popped in with a few lyrics. The band even chose to include a few cover songs. It was easy to read a comical irony in their 40-second burst on Van Halen's Ain't Talking 'bout Love, but...was that a reverential take on Steely Dan's Dr. Wu? It suited me fine -- a love for Steely Dan, an American jazz-fusion and soft rock band of the 70s, was one of my dirty little secrets as I tried to pass for a "punk rock guy".

There was also a camaraderie implied by this sequencing. Taking a page from Pink Floyd's 1969 record, Ummagumma, each band member was allocated a side of the record. Additionally, the car engine heard at the start of each side belonged to that member, Side D, Side Mike and Side George, respectively. This was a huge part of the album's appeal for me, it felt like a shared car ride. Singing about themselves on songs like Take 5, D. One Reporter's Opinion, and the sentimental History Lesson - Part II, made you feel that you were part of the gang, a Minuteman. 

With D. Boon, songs like VietNam and This Ain't No Picnic, you could get mad together at all the right things to get mad about. And, it was just fun to sing along with wordsmith Watt's songs like The Big Foist before delving into the more personal, Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Truth. 

So many of my nights ended with the headphones on, listening to Double Nickels On The Dime. It rarely strays far from my stereo, making it a great way to remember the larger-than-life D. Boon, who died tragically in a car accident in 1985, just a few days before Christmas. A big loss. Sigh.

Double Nickels On The Dime is a spectacular ride -- and every listen makes me feel like I chipped in for gas.

Guest Blogger Claudio with his editing assistant.

The 500 - #414 - Beauty and the Beat - The Go-Go's

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

Album # 414

Album Title: Beauty and the Beat
Artist: The Go-Go's
Genre: New Wave, Pop Rock, Post Punk
Recorded: Penny Lane, Record Plant & Power Mixer Studios, New York City
Released: July, 1981
My age at release: 15
How familiar was I with it before this week: Quite
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: We Got the Beat

Several years ago, an eleven-year old girl returned to my Grade six classroom in tears. She was devastated by the news she had heard on the school yard. It seemed a former "best-friend" had hosted a sleepover during the weekend, attended by several classmates. At the sleepover, rumours had circulated so awful that she was unable to share them with me.

I felt absolutely helpless. My simple reassurances had little impact and, as the rest of the girls filed into the room, I felt equally paralyzed. I couldn't chastise any students without all the facts -- I didn't know who had said what. I just watched the "bullies" walk to their desks, some even had an air of smugness...or was I reading into that? 

Then, like a tiny angel, one of my kindest students arrived. I knew she would never be involved in such a tawdry situation. Quietly, I asked her to escort her tearful peer to the main office to chat with our vice-principal, a female who was kind and adept in a crisis. Hurriedly, I scribbled a few details on a note. During the next hour, students (including the main antagonist) were called to the office. The vice-principal stemmed the tears and found a tentative resolution to the problem, yet, the damage was done and I continued to wonder what I could have done (or in the future, do) to ameliorate situations like these. Little did I realize that the band, The Go-Go's, would soon provide me with an answer.

The Go-Go's were an all-female, new-wave band from California  who incorporated a sound that, at first blush, seemed a modern take on the girl-groups of the past. However, The Go-Go's were different. Unlike their predecessors, the doo-wop vocal groups of the late 50s and early 60s, The Go-Go's played their own instruments and wrote their own music. Additionally, they drew inspiration from the Los Angeles punk scene of the late 70s. Lead singer Belinda Carlisle had been a member of the band The Germs, using the pseudonym Dottie Danger, prior to forming The Go-Go's with guitarist and singer Jane Weidlin. 

Beauty and the Beat Album Cover

The opening track from the Go Go's debut record, Beauty and the Beat, is an uptempo, pop-number called Our Lips are Sealed. I was in high school at the time of its release and it quickly shot up the billboard charts, where it remained for 30 weeks. The video, which was in regular rotation on Canadian television, was a playful romp. It featured the five members piled into a 1960s Buick convertible for a cruise around Beverly Hills. It seemed an intentional throw-back to "Beach Party Films" from 20 years earlier.

A "screen-grab" from the 1981 Go-Go's video

They stop at a lingerie store and then at a public fountain where they frolic in the knee-deep water. Throughout the video, the band is shown performing on-stage at a small club. In many ways, the video presented the band poorly. It certainly led me, and many of my friends, to dismiss them as a novelty act playing "bubblegum pop" -- highly contrived and easily disposable.

Years later, after the incident with the bullied eleven-year-old, I was preparing lessons on strategies to deal with bullying. Anti-bullying education is an important part of the elementary educator's curriculum. Plenty of resources are available and, over the years, I have curated a good collection of songs, videos and activities with the goal of helping my students to choose kindness, support the bullied and have strategies to help themselves. I share stories from my youth, including a shameful memory of a time when I mercilessly bullied a girl from my school in order to fit in with a group of boys from my hockey team. I consider the annual retelling of that dreadful story penance for what I did.

It was during my preparations that I stumbled on an acoustic version of Our Lips Are Sealed performed by its songwriter Jane Weidlin. I realized I'd underestimated this music. This stripped-down, demo-version highlighted the subtle magnificence of the song's structure. There was so much going on -- the infectious melody, the clever chord shifts and the gorgeous harmonies, (particularly in the haunting bridge section). But, most importantly, there were the empowering lyrics, brilliantly providing the listener with a strategy to combat the toxicity of elementary school gossip and social bullying.

Discussing the song Our Lips Are Sealed is ideal for addressing a different kind of bullying -- gossip and social exclusion. I am generalizing, but my conclusions are based 24 years of teaching. 

Boys bully directly. They intimidate physically and their taunts and barbs are often levelled directly at their targets. As an educator, boy bullies are far more easy to spot. Additionally, they are often socialized to embrace a "boy code" -- a set of rules that define what it means to be a boy. These include being macho, independent, athletic and dominant. Those who do not embrace this code are considered weak or wimpy. Additionally, the boy code dictates that a certain amount of verbal bullying is acceptable between friends. Making a mistake and having your friend ridicule you or bust your chops* (among other variants) is part of male relationships and, typically, a two-way street.

Girls often bully indirectly and don't tend to engage in the playful, verbal sparring of their male counterparts. This has been dubbed Mean Girl behaviour and, like the antagonists in the film of the same name, they ostracize their victims, often spreading false rumours or malicious gossip.   

It is often more difficult for me to recognize Girl Bullying because it can be silent and more passive in its aggression. However, it cuts its victim deeply...arguably more deeply than a punch or kick. I was, as I mentioned at the outset, at a loss for a strategy to help girls cope with bullying. Now, we cover the song as a class and I present the strategy.

When you look at them

Look right through them

That's when they'll disappear

That's when you'll be feared.

It seems hokey...but, it works. I add the song to our classroom playlist and words are displayed on the wall. Admittedly, it's not a panacea...but it is a strategy against an elusive form of villainy.   

 

The 500 - #415 - Debut - Van Halen

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

Album # 415

Album Title: Debut (Self-Titled)
Artist: Van Halen
Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Recorded: Sunset South Recorders, Hollywood, California
Released: February, 1978
My age at release: 12
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Runnin' with the Devil

As I've said before, my favourite three bands for most of my early teen years were: (1) Rush, (2) Van Halen and (3) Cheap Trick. This debut album by Van Halen was certainly one that supercharged my love of rock music into high-gear. It was one of the first records I purchased with my own money and for about three years it was on my turntable daily. I knew every nuance on every track. In the late 70s and early 80s, the four members of this group were the epitome of cool -- musicians with confidence, swagger, flare and the talent to back it up. 

Shortly after moving to London, Ontario in the late Spring of 1980 I learned that Van Halen was coming to town on the Canadian leg of their Invasion Tour. Within days of the news, I figured-out local transit in order to purchase a general admission ticket at Sam the Record Man. I began counting the days. 

General admission meant there were no designated seating assignments. I wanted a place near the front of the stage and the best way to secure it was lining up early on the day of the show. My plans hit a speed-bump when my mother reminded me of an appointment with a knee specialist on the morning of the show. Then, she said, "we should stop downtown to see Terry Fox arrive at Victoria Park".

Terry Fox on his Marathon of Hope (1980)

Terry Fox, now one of Canada's most revered and famous heroes, had recently embarked on The Marathon of Hope. Fox, whose right leg had been amputated due to cancer, was running across Canada in order to raise awareness for the disease. He hoped to convince every Canadian to contribute a single dollar to his cause and reach a goal of 25 million dollars for The Canadian Cancer Society.

His marathon began quietly on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean near St. John, Newfoundland. By the time he reached Ontario, his fame was growing steadily. With the medical appointment out of the way, I got to hear him speak to the crowd -- hours before the concert -- but I was in an adolescent panic. With every tick of the clock I kept thinking...."People are lining-up ahead of me!!"

The London Gardens (c 1980)

Nevertheless, I made it to the show in plenty of time and begrudgingly joined the lengthy line that had gathered. Once inside, the floor of the arena was quite crowded and, reluctantly, I found an aisle seat in the stands. It provided an elevated view of the stage, well above the heads of the throng below. In all honesty, The London Gardens is a small venue for a rock show, holding fewer than 5000 people. There really wasn't a bad seat in the house. The show was everything I'd hoped -- loud rock music, a brilliant light production, incredible musicianship and lead singer David Lee Roth's acrobatics and comedic banter.

David Lee Roth leaping from the drum riser during
a performance on the 1980 Invasion Tour

In retrospect, the medical appointment was a  boon because I was able to attend the Terry Fox event. His Marathon of Hope celebrates a bittersweet 40th anniversary this year. On September 1, 1980, just outside Thunder Bay, Ontario, Terry tearfully suspended his run because the cancer had returned and spread to his lungs. He died on his 22nd birthday, June 28, 1981.

It is the recollection of that day in 1980 that make me thankful to be alive. I got a chance to see two significant events in the history of my city, and I am still clicking a keyboard 40 years later to share the tale.

The 500 - #416 - Mule Variations - Tom Waits

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

Album # 416

Album Title: Mule Variations
Artist: Tom Waits
Genre: Experimental Rock
Recorded: Prairie Sun Recording Studios, Cotati, California
Released: April, 1999
My age at release: 33
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very Little
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: House Where Nobody Lives

Mule Variations by Tom Waits 

In my blog post from March I discussed a 1978 record by Devo. In the post, I recalled my Sunday evenings in the late 70s and early 80s listening to the The Doctor Demento Radio Show. 

Here is what I said:

Dr Demento..."was appointment listening. It combined my two great loves: music and comedy. Each week, Dr. Demento (aka Barry Hansen) would spin an eclectic mix of novelty songs ranging from humorously peculiar to the hauntingly bizarre. It was where I first heard... 

• "Weird" Al Yankovic and his first parody hit "My Bologna" (which lampooned The Knack's My Sharona), 
• What's He Building in There? by Tom Waits
• Constantinople by The Four Lads,  
• and all the exquisite weirdness of Barnes & Barnes with songs like Fishheads or Something's in the Bag

As it turns out...the second example I gave was untrue. 

What's He Building in There? was released by Tom Waits on this album, Mule Variations, in 1999. I could not possibly have heard it in the time-frame I suggested. 

I'm not even close. I was off by nearly two decades.

Did I misremember this? 

I still don't think so and I say that with confidence, despite clear evidence to the contrary. I distinctly remember hearing that Tom Waits' song on the radio in the 80s. Furthermore, I can recall quoting lines from it with my high-school chum Paul.

Perhaps this is an example of False Memory -- a psychological phenomenon where an individual recalls something differently than the way in which it happened, or maybe I am the first to identify a new example of The Mandela Effect.

The Mandela Effect  is a psycho-social condition that transpires when a large group of people believe an event has occurred when there is abundant evidence it did not. It was named by Fiona Broome who, in 2010, shared her strong recollections of the death of Anti-Apartheid activist Nelson Mandela while he was imprisoned in the 1980s. Broome recalled news stories and even a speech delivered by his widow, Winnie. 

However, as you likely know, none of that is true. Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and became the President of South Africa. He did not die until 2013, when he was 95 years old.

Nelson Mandela (1997)

Even though Broome's recollection never occurred, her experience was not an isolated case. Her story gathered a following from many people who experienced the same false reality. As a result, the Mandela Effect was named. For some who are part of this collective, there is a belief that they once lived in a parallel reality (one in which Mandela died in prison). However, now, due to some unfelt schism in the time-space continuum, they exist in our reality. A reality in which Mandela became President and died at 95.

I am not part of that collective and, normally, I would dismiss it as delusional hooey. However, there is another weird example that I personally experienced.  I was convinced that the popular children's book series "The Berenstein Bears" was spelled that way, with an "e". The "truth" is that it was named after the creators, Jan and Mike Berenstain, with an "a". Thus, they are The Berenstain Bears. They always have been -- despite everything my memory was telling me.

A book cover for one of many in the Berenstain library

I am not alone. In 2015, this phenomenon was, as a Globe & Mail Article put it, "a feverish discussion." Many came forward with the same recollection. I talked to numerous friends and found people in both the Berenstein and the Berenstain camps. 

Which brings us back to where I started. I could not have possibly have heard the Tom Waits' song What's He Building in There? twenty years before he released it on this album, Mule Variations. 

The question is, am I experiencing a false memory or is this an example of the Mandela Effect? In an attempt to verify my Mandela Hypothesis, I contacted my high school pal Paul. Would he remember it as I had? 

Sadly, he did not. So, it seems it was a false memory.

I suppose it is fitting that a Waits' song would choose to fragment itself in my memory timeline. Waits has always been an enigma to me. He is a musician, songwriter, composer and actor best known for his gravelly voice and his poetic focus on the darkness and beauty found in the underbelly of society. On The 500 Podcast episode dedicated to this album, actor Chris Sullivan summed him up as follows:

"Tom Waits is a romantic idea...I mean, every actor wants to be a musician but I always wanted to be Tom Waits. I realize that would require a huge amount of self-destructive behaviour, but you can't just "dress-up" like Tom Waits. He is entirely singular". 

Waits has two more records on The 500 list, so I will share more about him in the future. For now, much like the frustrated speaker in the Waits' song that started this confusion, I'll look to my flawed and time-fragmented brain and wonder..."What's He Building in There?"

 

The 500 - #417 - Boy - U2

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

Album # 417

Album Title: Boy
Artist: U2
Genre: Post-Punk
Recorded: Windmill Lanes Studios - Dublin
Released: October, 1980
My age at release: 15
How familiar was I with it before this week: Fairly 
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: I Will Follow

This week, I am relinquishing the reins of my blog to my dear friend Steve "Lumpy" Sullivan. I've known "Lump" for over 25 years. I met him when he hired me as a bartender at Kelsey's Restaurant. However, it turns out that we had socialized in similar circles since high school and knew many of the same people -- so many people that it was surprising we hadn't already met. He has been a loyal reader of my blog posts and when I reached out to him to be a guest writer, he leapt at the opportunity to share his experiences with this record from U2. Lumpy is a generous, funny and loyal friend. And, despite his sometimes blustery exterior, there is a sweetness to him that isn't always accessible to strangers. However, I think you'll recognize it as you read his post...Enjoy.

Boy - Album Cover - by U2

When I was a teen in the early 80s, I started a job at Spooners Restaurant in London, Ontario. At that age, your music acumen is limited to songs played on popular radio and those played for you by friends. I was working with people older than I, and they were listening to music that was NOT on conventional radio stations. It was "underground music", much of it from a radio station I had not discovered, CHRW (now Radio Western), which broadcast from our local university.

The kitchen staff at Spooners were diverse and so were their tastes in music. Consequently, I was introduced to many genres of music including works by Peter Tosh, Judas Priest, Gang of Four, Joy Division, King Crimson and Big Country. I was also introduced to a band from Ireland named U2. The band's third record, War, was the first album I'd heard by the band. War was a cassette tape with which I was obsessed. I could play it all day, every day. In fact, I was finally banned from playing it in the Spooners' kitchen.

War cover - U2 #223 on The 500

A cook, Alex, and I were hanging out one night when he asked if I’d heard anything else by U2. I didn’t know there was anything else, but was excited by the prospect. He played the song An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart and I was blown away. These were two separate songs but, as I would learn, they are ALWAYS played together during rare live performances. Alex didn’t play the anthemic I Will Follow or the poppy The Electric Co. from this debut record. Instead, he wanted to see if I would listen to deeper cuts. I was hooked!

The Album

There is probably a reason this album, and the band, appealed to me at that time. The songs focused on developing from boyhood to manhood. I would later learn that darker themes and reasons were behind some. For example, I Will Follow was written about lead singer Bono’s Mother, who died when he was a teen. In fact, she died of an aneurysm four days after collapsing at her own father's funeral. The song is written from her perspective and centres on a mother’s unconditional love for her son.

An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart is two tales. The first An Cat Dubh (Gaelic for The Black Cat) is about a brief relationship Bono had while estranged from his girlfriend, now wife, of 38 years, Ali Hewson. The second, Into the Heart, is about the loss of innocence.

The Electric Co. is an abbreviation for “electric convulsion therapy", a controversial psychiatric treatment in which seizures are intentionally induced in patients to provide temporary relief from mental disorders. The band wrote this as a protest song in support of a friend who had received the treatment following a suicide attempt.

The Ocean is a one and half minute long song, attributed to Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, However, the band has said it also serves as a metaphor for the spirit of freewill and travel. In many ways it is a celebration of the lengthy, picturesque coastline that encircles their homeland.

A Day Without Me deals with the removal of someone from their habitual social circle. It also marks the first time the band worked with famed producer Steve Lillywhite, who would collaborate with them on the next two records War and October.

As I look back now, so many themes perfectly ‘hit home’ for a young man, especially losing innocence and growing into manhood.

Fast forward to 2020, Marc asked if I would guest post on his blog celebrating The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. He offered up the next four or five entries on the list, but it was this record, Boy, that immediately sparked my passion and evoked so many memories. I have listened to the music of U2 for decades and have been fortunate to see them live in concert on several occasions. I have even become disenchanted with them...only to be called back to their sound.

I put a lot of thought into choosing a song from this album for Marc's "The 500 Spotify Playlist". I'll admit, the choice was easy but, for personal reasons, emotionally challenging.

A Cat Dubh/Into the Heart opened my mind to this wonderful band, but I've always been my Mother's boy.

"A boy tries hard to be a man

His mother takes him by his hand

If he stops to think he starts to cry

Oh why..."

I Will Follow it is.

Steve "Lumpy" Sullivan & Marc at his Wedding
in Iqaluit, Nunavut (2012)

Next Up: Tom Waits Mule Variations

The 500 - #418 - Band on the Run - Paul McCartney Wings

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

Album # 418

Album Title: Band on the Run
Artist: Paul McCartney & Wings
Genre: Rock
Recorded: EMI & ARC Studios, Lagos, Nigeria and AIR Studios in London, UK
Released: December, 1973
My age at release: 8
How familiar was I with it before this week: Somewhat
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Let Me Roll It

Band on the Run Album Cover - Paul McCartney & Wings

In a recent study, popular music was used with patients suffering from brain injuries to help them recall personal memories. The researchers, Amee Baird and Severine Samson, are the first to explore Music Evoked Autobiographical Memories (MEAMs) and have since expanded their studies to include patients suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of late-stage dementia. Music, it seems, engages broad neural networks, tapping into emotions, motor skills, creativity and memories. Consequently, it is being considered as a nonpharmacological treatment. Interestingly, these neural connections stay purer when a song has not been heard for years. This makes sense. Songs that are frequently played would constantly update these pathways and dilute the impact because other memories would take their place.

During my blog preparation, as the opening guitar lick to the title song from the Band on the Run album played on my stereo, I experienced a MEAM. I was transported to what Baird and Samson have called "an island of recollection" -- a mental state where memories fuse with emotions and senses, creating a rich, nostalgic experience.

A hot summer day in 1974 found me in the passenger seat of the family car. My father had stopped for gas at a rest-stop on the 401 highway -- the major thoroughfare that connects Detroit to Quebec, threading through many of the heavily populated cities of Southern Ontario.

401 Highway (St. Catharines & Kingsville Shown)

The two of us were travelling from St. Catharines, where I had lived for the past three years, to our new home in Kingsville. Perhaps to soften the blow of this transition, I had been told that there was a cabin on our new property and it was mine to use as a clubhouse. As I chewed gum, deep in thought about this structure ("Will it be a shanty or a chalet"?) the song Band on the Run began to play on the radio. 

Suddenly, I felt something shift in my mouth and I realized I had cracked a tooth. There was no pain or blood, just a hunk of enamel mingled with my bubble gum. For reasons I still don't understand, I thought I would be in trouble. I wasn't. My dad examined my gnashers and reassured me that I'd be fine until I could see a dentist.

Fast forward to today and, as the familiar notes played, that moment sparked in my head. It was a quick, but powerful, MEAM that brought back everything -- the heat of the summer asphalt, the smell of gasoline, the taste of the gum, a vague feeling of optimism tinged with a sudden burst of worry. It was fleeting, but everything was there. Later, I replayed the song and the moment failed to return. I've experienced this perplexing phenomenon before and find it utterly fascinating. Thanks to the research of Baird and Samson, I'm starting to understand it better.

The Record

Band on the Run is the third studio album from Paul McCartney and his band Wings. It is the best selling and most celebrated of all McCartney's post-Beatle recordings. However, the story behind the music was tumultuous and rife with complications.

McCartney and his wife Linda wanted to record the album in "a glamorous, tropical location." It was their intention to be "creatively inspired" by a remote locale -- sunbathing on a beach during the day and recording at night.  Unwisely, they chose EMI's studios in Lagos, Nigeria, a country still reeling from a recent civil war and run by a corrupt military dictatorship. 

Country of Nigeria in Western Africa

Days before the band departed, the drummer and guitarist quit and, upon arriving, the McCartneys and bass player Denny Laine found the studio well below standards. A few days later, Linda and Paul were robbed at knifepoint and among the items stolen were hand-written lyrics and cassettes containing demo-recordings of songs.  

Shortly after, while recording his vocals, Paul began wheezing and could not catch his breath. He went outside for air and the intense heat exacerbated his condition and he collapsed. His wife panicked, thinking he had suffered a heart attack. Later, in hospital, it was revealed that he had experienced a bronchial spasm brought on by too much smoking.

Afrobeat legend and political activist Fema Kuti raised concerns that the band's visit might have ulterior intentions and that the McCartneys intended to appropriate African music and add it to their sound. These accusations were withdrawn after Kuti was invited to the studio to hear the recordings. Apparently, during the visit, Kuti made amends by sharing a joint that Paul later stated, was "the strongest marijuana he had ever smoked".

Linda & Paul McCartney in studio with Fela Kuti

The band eventually returned to England to finish the record at George Martin's AIR studio in London. However, as a gesture of goodwill, McCartney left behind the audio equipment they had purchased for the studio, including a state-of-the-art soundboard.

And if you were wondering, the tooth was an easy repair and the cabin was more "chalet than shack". Perched on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie, it was a clubhouse to me and my friends for the 6 years I lived there.

Next Up: Boy by U2, with guest blogger Steve "Lumpy" Sullivan