THE FUTURE IS NOW!

I’m back from Costa Rica and fully recovered. Went with Prince Perry and co. and survived a week of umbrella drinks and corroding strings. My return was met with sessions. I wasn’t 100% ready, but I dug in with Bare Minimum on their EP. We tracked drums the night after I got back and continued with the overdubs until now. “Now” is clean up time. Tomorrow is for mixing. Actually, I should be cleaning up right this moment, but instead I’m cruising down Youtube and writing on this dumb ass blog site.

Prince Perry has completed his video for Love At The End Of The Century. The video features the band in the present and the future. Perry was able to get a hold of a time machine and bring our future selves back for the shoot. We only had one day so it was tricky. Not sure about the other guys, but my senior Mitch was a little crabby. I think he (me) took a look at my current self and thought about all the time I’ve wasted watching crappy Youtube clips. “I coulda been somebody” “Sorry, what was that?” “Ah, forget it, you little piss brain.”

Apparently, those are the kinds of things I’ll be saying in the future. The good news is that we haven’t (or will not have) destroyed the Earth as we know it and left it to the monkeys. Pierre Boulle was wrong. I knew it! Or maybe a few years wasn’t enough time to know for sure. Hmmm. Better get on Youtube again.

This version of Love At The End… is a remix I did to bring out some different elements in the recording. Eventually, we may sync the original mix to the picture as they are identical performance/ form wise.

I finally got my record player going again and the spinning has been delicious. All my favourites, The Clash, Glenn Gould and The Harmonicats. But I’ve also discovered some stuff on Grooveshark with some help from the library and recommendations from my music loving clients. Here a re just a few things I’ve been listening to recently.

Radio Kong

1. The Unthanks. Found this CD at the library and thought it was something very different from what it turned out to be solely based on the cover. I think I somehow got it in my head that they were something like The Breeders. Naturally, my first thought as the music began was “huh?” A lovely pulsing version of an old song.

2. Artibella by Ken Boothe. Rediscovered this one while learning songs for the Prince Perry shows in Costa Rica. The low end is absolutely tasty. And those out of tune bass notes!

3. Raise The Bells by Folk Implosion. Ah, got this from the Kids soundtrack which I picked up at Value Village a month back. There are other nuggets, but I’ll share those later. This one was a standout. The perfect antidote when I get saturated with too much pop music.

4. Phil Ochs. I missed the showing of the Phil Ochs documentary that came through town recently, but I caught Love Me, I’m A Liberal on Michael Enright’s CBC show.

5. My Shit Is Perfect by Bob Log lll. I can thank Dave Gould for this recommendation. The one-man band is very much alive. It always inspires a very particular kind of songwriting that collaborating with a group rarely brings out.

6. Jezebel by Iron And Wine. I run into a lot of people who loooooove Iron And Wine. I’m only just getting to understand why they feel so strongly about this music. This is one of those inviting recordings, never stepping too far forward. Very much involved in the moment.

I knew a Jezebel once. She ruined my life.

7. Steve Reich. I just never get tired of it. Aptly titled Triple Quartet. Kind of like ordering a quadruple double rum and coke. Perhaps Mr. Reich should have stopped at the double quartet or tried the triple trio. There is power in threes.

8. Elvis Costello with A Slow Drag With Josephine. Missed this album completely. Just discovered it tonight. This will be among the songs that I download off of iTunes. Another T-Bone Burnett wonder.

9. The Girl From Impanema by Stan Getz and co. What you don’t know is that I’m writing this from my patio. The drinks are stirred and the kebabs are on the Q. I have this on CD. I’ve never used it to seduce a woman, but if I were ever to be single again this record would be put to the test. Soft light, a new couch – beige? Perhaps. I might even take up smoking. What would the Future Mitch say! Damn, I should have asked him when I had the chance.

10. This is the opening track from the Unthanks CD, Here’s The Tender Coming. This was when I was having a very un-Breeders moment. It was a bust Saturday and I was thinking “what is this s–t?” I was in love by track 3.

11. Alexandre Desplat composes soundtrack music. It turns out I’ve been bending my ear to a lot of his scores without bothering to remember his name. As it was an Oscar nomination year for the guy I decided I’d give him the time of day. This unassuming piece is from the film, Birth, which I happen to own and love. Go figure. He also lent his talent for The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The King’s Speech and The Deathly Hallows (ching-ching!).