© theotherpress ¢ Culture

The White Stripes

 

Ericka Meyer
OP Contributor

Meg and Jack White—hmm, brother and sister or ex husband
and wife? Who cares, they put on a great show. A little late to
review a show that was here September 15 you say? I know.
What can I tell you? I’ve been busy.

I’m serious though, when I say they put on a great show,
even if every person I went with said they could have done
Meg White's job. (“All she did was bang on the drum one
handed!”)

I do know that she can sing. When she came to the front of
the stage to sing her one vocal track, “Cold, Cold Night,” it
was mesmerizing in a sexy, scintillating way. She had the
crowd buzzing with nervous energy. That was the only time
she lifted her head from the drum kit.

The highlight of the evening must have been Jack White's
two-toned, colour blocked, lycra-denim-blend black and red
pants. He brought me right back to the 80s hair-band era. On
the other hand, the worst part of the evening must have been
Jack White’s two-toned, colour blocked, lycra-denim-blend
black and red pants. He brought me right back to the 80s hair-
band era.

The crowd that night was like the Berlin Wall. Impervious.
The die-hard fans were relentless. You know how you take
every opportunity that arises, every little crack you sneak up
further? There were no opportunities. Although I did manage
to make my way two rows from the front I paid for it the next
day. I had cauliflower ears and a bruised chest. I had to body-
surf my way out. That is the first time I haven't been able to
get to the front at a concert. Doesn't help that I’m only five
foot two I guess.

I will certainly toot White Stripes horns though; they are
one of the few bands that have more than one or two singles
on the radio. They have at least five songs currently getting
radio play. (“Seven Nation Army,” “Cold, Cold Night,” “Dead
Leaves and a Dirty Ground,” “Fell in Love With a Girl,” and
“Hardest Button to Button.”) They played them all with their
heads down and with a sound that was less clean and even
more raunchy than normal.

The Plaza of Nations is a great—although unlicensed—
venue. Fortunately it is right next to a pub. You can hear every-
thing from the pub patio. This is especially helpful if beer
takes precedence over the opening act, which it usually does.
Unfair but true. What I heard of I Robot (I think that is what
they were called, did I mention the beer?) reminded me of a
mixture between B-52’s and Devo, a good combination.

If you get a chance, and like a raw, raunchy sound, White
Stripes is the band to see. I will go again and next time I will
make it to the front, damnit!

 

 

Justin Ray
Culture Critic

Pilate
Caught by the Window

 

 

sages ek Bh; eee

 

 

 

Chalk up another point for
Canadian music. After sharing
stages with Sam Roberts, Hot
Hot Heat, and Matthew Good,
Pilate is poised to become a
household name. The Toronto

In Retrospect...

Aphex Twin
—Selected Ambient Works Volume

IT

   

electronic

Although some
albums seem ahead of their
time, very few endure long
enough to prove that promise
true. When was the last time
you listened to that 2
Unlimited tape you bought in
912 At best, most futuristic
albums sound dated within a
few years. Aphex Twin’s ambi-
ent recording, Selected Ambient
Works Volume II, is a double-

disc exception to the trend.

October 8, 2003

 

foursome has already been
making waves at festivals like
the 2002 NXNE, where they
were named “Best Unsigned
Band.” Indeed, one listen to
the album and you will agree
that Caught by the Window
sounds like Canada’s answer to
the neo-British invasion.

The vocal resemblance
between Pilate’s Todd Clark
and ‘Travis’ Francis Healy is
uncanny (although Clark
sounds somewhat less wimpy),
and one cannot ignore the like-
ness between the two bands’
songwriting, where melody and
harmony take centre stage
(although Clark doesn’t sound
as wimpy). Mind you, Travis
could probably learn a thing or

Released in 1994, SAW2 was
quietly heralded by a few crit-
ics, and appeared for years to
come on lists like Future
Music’s 50th Most Essential
Electronica Albums. I must
have bought the relative hype,
(the genre was still quite unfa-
miliar to most) because I hunt-
ed the album down at HMV—
shelling out around $40 for it.
And guess what? I hated it.

I was used to Future Sound
of London's freeform groove
style, but what was this? Quiet
pads and ambiance, repeating
with very little groove. A typi-
cal track (they’re all nameless)
features a ticking clock for
rhythm and hollow chords
bouncing up and down for 7
minutes and 20 seconds. A
pluck here, a ping sound there.
It all makes for apocalyptic
anime-style anti-noise. Or
maybe just noise.

SAW2 seemed incredibly
boring and disappointing, and

certainly not very ground-

two by listening to the banjo
on “Collide,” where the instru-
ment does not seem like a gim-
mick. Pilate carefully arranges
their pieces so that every
instrument—piano, _ banjo,
even a trumpet—have a specif-
ic purpose. They exceed in sub-
tlety, and never overwhelm one
with unnecessary dissonance,
as do some similar bands.

Caught by the Window stands
up to the best of British Rock,
including Travis’ The Man Who
and Radiohead’s The Bends,
and is truly worth buying if
you like those albums. If this
trend continues, perhaps, in
time, the UK will experience a
Canadian Invasion.

breaking. The CDs sat ignored
on my shelf for several years,
until one day when I was look-
ing for atmospheric music to
accompany a poetry reading.
Ambiance was the perfect
choice, so I grabbed the unob-
trusive SAW2.

The paradox of this album is
that it is at once deeply haunt-
ing and remarkably peaceful.
Whether you feel like abstract
escapism or surrealistic terror,
this recording is appropriate.
There is absolutely nothing
catchy about it: no hooks, no
tricks. It would be at home in a
David Lynch movie, profound
enough for the most preten-
tious poet. The industrial-
organic compositions are as
subtle as you can imagine.

Now, whenever I listen to
this masterpiece, I can’t imag-
ine anything more enduring. |
just put it on and watch the
world slow down.

 

( This Week
In History...

 

 

aes Page 14 e http://www.otherpress.ca

Amanda Aikman
Culture Editor

October 12, 1957:
After a concert in Sydney, Australia, Little Richard
announces he wants to give up rock and roll, claiming,
“If you want to live for the Lord, you can’t take rock
and roll too. God doesn’t like it.” He then proceeded to
throw four diamond rings into a nearby river before
flying to Las Angeles to be baptized and “prepare for
the end of the world.” Wow, with credible spokespeo-
ple like this, I can’t imagine why born-again Christians
are always getting such a bad rap.

October 10, 1962:
The BBC bans broadcast of Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s
“Monster Mash,” after deeming it offensive. Now I

know some of you panty-waisted liberal anti-censor-
ship types may not approve of this, but I say, “Good on
them!” Lord only knows how many reams of impres-
sionable British youth were saved from the demonic
perversity of this disturbing ditty.

October 11, 1988:

Arizona rehab facility.

Ringo Starr and his wife Barbara Bach travel to Tucson
for alcohol abuse treatment together. This is something
you may wish to consider the next time you are plan-
ning a romantic getaway with that special someone of
yours. Nothing says, “I love you” like offering to hold
back your partner’s hair as they vomit in an exclusive

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