If this sounds apocryphal...

[schmerica]

Don’t make me drive that truck, don’t make me feed that rottweiler
I’m clean out of luck, take me to the bedroom and tie my body down

...You guys, remind me not to listen to the LYRICS when I put on Paul Gross's songs, okay? OKAY.

(I stick with what I said the first time brooklinegirl showed me the Voodoo video: I actually do really like his voice. DON'T JUDGE ME.)

Now is the time of the day when I have to choose between continuing what I am doing -- that is, listening to PG and read all the archives at I Can Has Cheezburger? -- or watching the new Doctor Who episode I have downloaded. Decisions are hard!

Note that this is not a cue for fox1013 to comment to tell me that my lack of a clear decision means I should be writing her fic. That's not how it works!

Comments

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

YES. Exactly. We are entirely on the same page. *beams*

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

THERE IS NO SHAME IN THIS.

Really.

Honest.

[omphale]

I didn't know, but I would have guessed that. Not just because some of the phrasing is similar to other songs that I assume he wrote, but because I honestly can't imagine David Keeley writing a song about homeless people and oppression and veterans.

Um. Okay, maybe I do have a theory about this one.

[kristiinthedark.livejournal.com]

*beams* THANK YOU! I feel better, now. :D

[omphale]

Okay, I'm officially making "deconstructing Canadian music" one of the first topics for the yet-to-be-named new comm.

Because how much fun would it be to take apart Paul Gross's lyrics and demonstrate that, in fact, he's a lot better at this than people think? At the very least, the ones that people mock for making no sense *koff*Cherry Beach*koff* but which are actually social commentary.

And to pick out the Hugh Dillon songs that are the best references to Callum?

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

Ooh, coooooool! *happily awaits more* (You know. Some day. Whenever you get around to it. Not impatiently or anything. Really.)

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

My very favorite form of his voice is the very deep growly Shakespeare recitations in S+A? But singing is a close second.

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUU! :-D

*does the Dance of Fannish Joy*

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

And I love you, too! *smooches and twirls you*

[kristiinthedark.livejournal.com]

MMmmmm... I think my favorite is when he's being all sincere with Kowalski. He gets that tone that just makes me melt. But growly? Hell, yes. Singing? BIG HELL, YES.

Oh, Paul. ♥

[omphale]

Okay, you twisted my arm. Or something.

Short version: Cherry Beach is a park in Toronto, which most people know, but it also (in 2000? Maybe? Around then, at least) became fairly well known for being a place where the cops would take homeless people out and beat the shit out of them.

This wasn't one isolated incident--it was several, they had at least one death attributed to it, and there was a phrase that they used, although I can't remember what it was. Something to do with trains, maybe?

Anyway. The imagery is fairly blunt, once you know that bit. Work in the relatively high population of veterans in homeless populations, the way that they're often stigmatized (I tend to think that the "burning cross" references are parallels to KKK rallies and the Civil Rights movement), and the reliance on images of rain, cold, and hunger, and I suspect that the references to "you and me" have nothing to do with any sort of love song. They're more along the lines of humanizing a stigmatized group.

I could be wrong, but almost all of it makes sense through this lens.

[omphale]

He has a *good* voice, and he's well aware of his range. Both things which a lot of singers lack. Including, for all that I love him, David Keeley.

And I think he'd be better off singing actual folk music, but I can understand why he's drawn to rock/country instead.

I would absolutely *kill* for a copy of his early stuff.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

ALSO GOOD. Or telling the storytelling sincere voice he uses for the Victoria stories in s1. Yis.

[kristiinthedark.livejournal.com]

Oh, so his early stuff is more folkish? Interesting. And very cool!

Heh. If I'm listening to Paul with someone else in the room, there are times when I'll turn to that person and say, as way of explanation, "You see, he's Canadian." I don't know why I do this! Except for the fact that his music SOUNDS CANADIAN. Which is one of the reasons why I love it. ♥

[omphale]

Hmm. No, I think it was more pure rock (if I'm remembering right), and I'd like to hear what he did with the stronger downbeats. I think they'd work better for him than trying to do a combination of folk sensibilities with country instrumentation.

My biggest complaint about his music is that he tries to do everything, because he's not as sure of himself as he is with scriptwriting or acting.

If I'm listening to Paul with someone else in the room, there are times when I'll turn to that person and say, as way of explanation, "You see, he's Canadian."

As opposed to me, where if I'm listening to it, someone *else* will look over and say, "He must be Canadian."

It does sound Canadian. As do the rest of the bands and artists in my 'kristi's emergency music upload.'

Which isn't finished yet, because I got distracted by the poll. But it will be. Soonish.

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

Also: Somewhere swimming around in my brain are lots of thoughts toward a post on the themes and language of addiction and recovery in Hugh Dillon's lyrics. Which might interest no one but me... but still, at least the community would give it some sort of a shot at finding an audience.

[omphale]

Oh! Yes, perfect!

Have you noticed that the songs actually seem to trace out his addiction as autobiography? I mean, not just within them, but from album to album?

I'm *so* intrigued by the idea that Hugh is really a self-aware, smart guy who loves language and just happens to also be a punk. It's half the reason I read rps--I keep hoping that eventually his characterization will start to fit with that impression.

[omphale]

It's not so much the genre as it is that he won't just *pick* a genre, isn't it? He tries to do too much, and he and David Keeley need to find a better way to pick their lead vocals than a coin flip or whatever they're using.

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

*googles*

"Cherry Beach Express"

Oh, wow. That's really chilling, and quite horrifying.

And yes, it does make sense of a lot of the lyrics, doesn't it? I'm still not sure about the "desire" bit... I'll have to listen to it a few more times and give it some more thought. (I think slowly about this sort of thing, as I have to crowbar my very literal brain into thinking about things in a different way.)

Thanks so much for writing this out. I hope you'll save this for a community post and discussion, when the time comes.

[omphale]

Yeah, I sort of handwaved the "desire" bits until I sit down and actually write it all out. I'm sure something will occur to me.

And yeah, I'll throw it out to the group once things are up and running. Because asking the fannish hivemind for help can only be a good thing.

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely!

I have spent literally hundreds of hours listening to these CDs, almost always in chronological progression, and thinking about what they mean.

And there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that most of his music is an autobiographical account of his history with addiction, recovery, relapse, sobriety, and its impact on his life and relationships -- mostly with Midori, I think, but I can at least hypothetically read Callum into some of them, too (which gets all the more interesting when you factor Callum's own acknowledged alcoholism and sobriety into their relationship).

I'm *so* intrigued by the idea that Hugh is really a self-aware, smart guy who loves language and just happens to also be a punk. It's half the reason I read rps--I keep hoping that eventually his characterization will start to fit with that impression.

That's my take on him. He's a very bright guy, and we've heard any number of times that he reads voraciously. He's a thinker and a wordsmith. And he has obviously spent a lot of time reflecting on his own life, his choices and mistakes and relationships, and that is the overwhelmingly dominant theme of his music. He just doesn't choose to present a polished image.

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

Also: Um... hi, Pearl. *sheepish grin*

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

It's not so much the genre as it is that he won't just *pick* a genre, isn't it?

Very true. His stuff is all over the map, isn't it? Listen to it and you can hear Willie Nelson and Gordon Lightfoot and Leonard Cohen and and and... I want him to find his own musical voice.

he and David Keeley need to find a better way to pick their lead vocals

From what I understand, most of the time they each sing lead on their own compositions (though at least some songs, including "Two Houses", are joint compositions). But occasionally they swap, or at least we know of two songs of Paul's on which David has sung lead.

Paul has said that he doesn't think he has a particularly good voice and that his voice limits the sort of songs he can perform to those with a limited range ("no high arching ballads") and "just kind of grumbly songs" -- those are direct quotes. Which, I believe, is why David sings "Cherry Beach" and "The Other Side of Life" even though both were written by Paul.

[omphale]

I have spent literally hundreds of hours listening to these CDs, almost always in chronological progression, and thinking about what they mean.

Okay, you officially live *way* too far away from me. No, really. This is not fair.

mostly with Midori, I think, but I can at least hypothetically read Callum into some of them, too (which gets all the more interesting when you factor Callum's own acknowledged alcoholism and sobriety into their relationship).

The music geek in me wants to agree with the first bit--it's the public relationship, after all--but the fangirl side wants it to be much more about Callum than it is.

It also makes a better narrative if it's about Callum, because then (as you pointed out) there are two distinct individual stories, and a joint one.

But yes, I admit that you're probably right.

He just doesn't choose to present a polished image.

Yes. Exactly. And he's quite deliberate about that--he uses language that doesn't entirely fit with the image, and is clearly pretty self-aware in his public correspondence when it comes to his music. The disconnects between the stuff he says he's reading and his style on things like the HDRC message boards are a lot of fun.

[omphale]

Oops.

You know, this is the second time I've done this in two weeks. The last time it was (still unfinished) commentfic with [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com].

Sorry, Pearl. You just bring up topics that people want to talk about!