Is there anything that goes better together more than peanut butter and jelly than rock and roll and tattoos?
Winnipeg’s Baroque-Pop Art-Rocker GROTOKO Stands Starkly Symbolic in New Video, “Mister” — Available Now
When it comes to Grotoko, the new single and video “Mister” — available now — offers a landmark in the art-rock, baroque-pop artist’s growing and ever-fluid body of work.
The brainchild of Montreal-based, Winnipeg-born multi-instrumentalist, composer and visual artist Blue McLeod, Grotoko’s sound pulls from grunge, folk, punk, and classical genres and kneads them together with the artist’s experiences and the world around. “I often use confessional, optimistic, sarcastic, or sometimes nearly nonsensical lyrics to describe various experiences and emotions,” McLeod says of the multifaceted creative outlay. “There’s also a wide variety of musical colours and textures to create a sort of collage of sounds, when words might not necessarily be enough.
“‘Mister’ was written almost entirely on the spot,” McLeod continues, adding that it was written about a highly personal experience. “Now it’s a song that seems to change tone every time I perform it.
“Occasionally, the lyrics feel entirely genuine from the perspective of someone who isn’t happy about an ended relationship but is trying to see a positive side and handle it maturely. And, a lot of the time, the song is sarcastic from the perspective of someone who is happy that a controlling and emotionally exhausting relationship has ended.
“Sometimes, it feels like a bit of both.”
With a symbolic set-up too good to pass on, Grotoko’s acoustic outlay of “Mister” comes to visual life in a starkly empty apartment on a dreary, weighted-weather day.
“The video was shot in my old apartment in Winnipeg after my roommates and I had finished moving. Somehow, it seemed fitting to play the song in an empty apartment after everyone had left; the emptiness of the room seemed almost symbolic of the feeling of losing someone or something significant, and symbolic with the amount of space available for new experiences.”
“Mister” lands as a follow-up to Grotoko’s debut LP, We All Fall Down and acoustic offering, Grotoko Says Happy New Year, while serving as a precursor to its forthcoming album, Periwinkle. That said, the track’s ultimate home is saved for a fourth addition to the act’s ever-increasing and interconnected library, set for release down the line. “We All Fall Down began after a long break from writing,” McLeod recalls of the 2017 release. “My first band had broken up, which had practically destroyed me to the point where I tried to quit music.
“During that time, I didn’t really talk much and I went through a lot of bad experiences. Eventually, giving up music turned out to be incredibly difficult; I had a lot bottled up.
“The title is a reference to ‘Ring Around the Rosie’ — which is about a plague, although when I was growing up, that information seemed to be hidden. We All Fall Down is a fairly dark album, and it’s hard to talk about. The music was the easiest way to communicate about things that were just too disturbing.
“As for Periwinkle, it was a nickname one person called me in theatre school,” McLeod says of the new album’s namesake. “It seemed like a fitting word to use as a title since it was a word that was following me around during the experiences that led to writing it.
“Even though some of the songs were written so far apart, they all seemed to belong together on Periwinkle, with them all being a part of the same story.”
“Mister” is available now.
Joy & Pain Share Energy-Filled Soundscape in Halifax’s JONT’s Exuberant New Single, “Thank You For My Happiness”
Overflowing with unbridled joy and cheerfully unexpected moments, Canadian alt-folk and dance-pop artist Jont delivers a candid message with the release of his new single, “Thank You For My Happiness” — available now!
Electronic beats — plus a choir, string quartet, sitar and harmonium for good measure — all hold and share space on the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based singer/songwriter’s most recent sonic offering. The track follows this spring’s latest single, “I Think It Could Be Possible” and accompanying video that included sing-along submissions from around the world.
That said: Despite “Thank You For My Happiness” being one of the catchiest, most infectious and jubilant tunes Jont credits to his repertoire, its genesis stems from feeling decidedly the opposite. “It’s inspired by opening my heart to my lover about something I thought they would reject me for,” he shares. “Instead, I found acceptance and empathy.
“I first came up with the mantra at the end of a hedonistic couple of nights at a festival in Nova Scotia,” he continues. “It was time to go home, and my energy was depleted. Even though I had nothing to be unhappy about, I was feeling low. I sat in the corner of someone’s camping area and started chanting the phrase ‘thank you for my happiness’ over and over, imagining this golden light inside me.
“I started feeling better.”
The full song came later, he expands, and starts from a point of Jont’s experience within a crisis and depression. “When there is this thing at the heart of your being you feel ashamed of, and you think will stop you from ever receiving real love… And you finally build up the courage to own it and honestly declare this hopelessness to your friend or lover… And they don’t run away or reject you because of it — because of what you think is your weakness — but rather support you and say ‘we’ll get through this together’
“A huge weight is released.
“The song represents the sound and feeling of that weight of shame and hopelessness lifting. It’s the vision of fearing a life without love being wiped away in an instant, all through solidarity, empathy, and love itself.”
Much like the experiential journey that preceded the song’s writing wasn’t quick, neither was the recording process, it turns out. “I thought I’d completely finished it, but then re-did the drums because they weren’t quite right, and weren’t making it sound like the hit I knew it was.
“If I count it up, I think there were 28 people involved in making this recording,” he adds, marvelling. “So much love and good energy has gone into this, and it’s literally bursting at the seams with the capacity to really help shift one’s energy. I invite everyone to turn this song up and dance like crazy to it.”
“Thank You For My Happiness” is the second single off Jont’s forthcoming — and eleventh — album, Thank You For The Medicine. The LP features contributions from a bevy of Jont’s talented and musically inclined friends from around the world, including GRAMMY Award-winning mix engineer Mark Lawson.
While the album was written following Jont’s own time of turmoil and triumph — from pausing his globetrotting life after connecting with his young daughter, to his father’s passing, to a series of transformative meditation/Vipassana retreats — that its being released during a time of shared societal difficulty is not lost on the mindful musician. “I know there’s a huge variety of situations being experienced right now, with some feeling trapped or lonely, some working in very stressful environments, and others feeling they’re having an enlightening break from the norm.
“It’s obviously not easy for any of us as time drags us out of our peaceful place, even when that’s where we most need to be.
“But we are in charge of how we react to any given situation and right now, to be happy, the same timeless rules exist that have been taught by all the great masters for thousands of years.
“And most especially, music helps! It’s a tool that allows us to drop into the moment of ‘now’ very easily.
“Perhaps this is the sort of record the world needs right now,” he adds, which is a sentiment he’d considered even before now. “Never before has the world’s conversation been as aware and tuned into issues of healing, trauma, and the power of the human heart as it is now.”
“Thank You For My Happiness” is available now.
The Buddhist Monk Performs Covers of The Beatles, The Ramones and Queen
uddhist monk Kossan1108 performs his illuminating covers of “Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles, “Teenage Lobotomy” by The Ramones, and “We Will Rock You” by Queen.
Iggy Pop ‘The Idiot’ and ‘Lust For Life’ Deluxe Editions Plus 7-CD Box Set Out May 29
A 7-CD box set ‘The Bowie Years‘ exploring Iggy Pop’s Berlin-era albums is today announced for release on May 29th via UMe. The box set features remastered versions of The Idiot, Lust For Life, live album TV Eye and rare outtakes, alternate mixes and a 40-page book. Lust For Life and The Idiot will also be released as standalone 2-CD Deluxe Editions with bonus live CDs on the same date. The box set and albums provide a fascinating insight into the unique creative alchemy that defined the mythical Berlin-era of post punk and set the wheels in motion for a sound that went on to dominate the world, shaping popular culture for decades to come.
Iggy Pop’s The Idiot and Lust For Life remain two of the most influential albums ever made and still stand as towering behemoths in rock’s upper echelons, their sonic DNA and attitude continuing to influence and inspire new generations of artists to this day. Both albums run through the fabric of artists such as Joy Division, Queens Of The Stone Age, IDLES, Fontaines DC, R.E.M., Depeche Mode, N.I.N., Nick Cave, and an ever regenerating crop of new talent.
Unveiled today, the first track to be released from the box set is an alternate mix of “China Girl” – listen here. Originally the second single to be taken from The Idiot in May 1977, this tale of infatuation, often interpreted as an ode to hedonism and Iggy’s former band The Stooges, would go on to become a hit for David Bowie on his Nile Rodgers produced 1983 album Let’s Dance.
Following the demise of Iggy’s seminal proto-punk band The Stooges, and a stint on the road together, Iggy and Bowie moved to West Berlin in 1977 to start work on Iggy’s debut solo album. Inspired by the Cold War era surroundings, and named after Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, The Idiot saw Iggy moving away from the guitar heavy punk of The Stooges (and the ubiquitous sound of the era), bringing electronics textures and brooding darkness to the fore. The album was a critical and commercial success, spawning hits including “China Girl,” “Nightclubbing,” “Funtime” and “Sister Midnight.”
On a creative roll, the duo were back in the studio a matter of weeks after the accompanying tour to promote The Idiot finished, recording Iggy’s sophomore solo album Lust For Life. Bringing a rawer rock’n’roll feel back to the fore, Lust For Life spawned two of Iggy’s biggest hits, the titular track and the anthemic “The Passenger.”
Alongside these two albums, included in the box is a remastered version of the live album TV Eye recorded the 1977 tour in Cleveland, Chicago and Kansas City featuring Bowie on keyboards. There are also three discs of live recordings from March 1977 officially released for the first time – Live at The Rainbow Theatre, London, Live at The Agora, Cleveland and Live at Mantra Studio, Chicago. The set also contains a 40-page booklet with contributions from the musicians who played on the records and famous fans discussing the influence the albums have had on them.
IGGY POP SUPER DELUXE EDITION 7-CD BOX SET
Disc One (The Idiot)
Sister Midnight
Nightclubbing
Funtime
Baby
China Girl
Dum Dum Boys
Tiny Girls
Mass Production
DISC TWO (Lust For Life)
Lust for Life
Sixteen
Some Weird Sin
The Passenger
Tonight
Success
Turn Blue
Neighborhood Threat
Fall in Love With Me
DISC THREE (TV Eye Live)
T.V. Eye
Funtime
Sixteen
I Got A Right
Lust for Life
Dirt
Nightclubbing
I Wanna Be Your Dog
DISC FOUR (Demo’s and Rarities)
Sister Midnight – Mono Single Edit
Sister Midnight – Single Edit
China Girl – Single Edit
Dum Dum Boys – Alt Mix
Baby – Alt Mix
China Girl – Alt Mix
Tiny Girls – Alt Mix
I Got A Right – Single
Lust for Life – Edit
Interview with Iggy about Recording The Idiot
DISC FIVE (Live at The Rainbow Theatre – Finsbury Park, London 07/03/1977)
Raw Power
T.V. Eye
Dirt
1969
Turn Blue
Funtime
Gimme Danger
No Fun
Sister Midnight
I Need Somebody
Search and Destroy
I Wanna Be Your Dog
Tonight
Some Weird Sin
China Girl
DISC SIX (Live at The Agora – Cleveland 21/03/1977)
Raw Power
T.V. Eye
Dirt
1969
Turn Blue
Funtime
Gimme Danger
No Fun
Sister Midnight
I Need Somebody
Search and Destroy
I Wanna Be Your Dog
China Girl
DISC SEVEN (Live at Mantra Studios – Chicago 28/03/1977)
Raw Power
T.V. Eye
Dirt
Turn Blue
Funtime
Gimme Danger
No Fun
Sister Midnight
I Need Somebody
Search and Destroy
I Wanna Be Your Dog
China Girl
THE IDIOT DELUXE EDITION 2-CD
DISC ONE (The Idiot)
Sister Midnight
Nightclubbing
Funtime
Baby
China Girl
Dum Dum Boys
Tiny Girls
Mass Production
DISC TWO (Live at The Rainbow Theatre – Finsbury Park, London 07/03/1977)
Raw Power
T.V. Eye
Dirt
1969
Turn Blue
Funtime
Gimme Danger
No Fun
Sister Midnight
I Need Somebody
Search and Destroy
I Wanna Be Your Dog
Tonight
Some Weird Sin
China Girl
LUST FOR LIFE DELUXE EDITION 2-CD
DISC ONE (Lust For Life)
Lust for Life
Sixteen
Some Weird Sin
The Passenger
Tonight
Success
Turn Blue
Neighborhood Threat
Fall in Love With Me
DISC TWO (TV Eye Live)
T.V. Eye
Funtime
Sixteen
I Got A Right
Lust for Life
Dirt
Nightclubbing
I Wanna Be Your Dog
Sting, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots Perform The Police’s “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
Sting joins Jimmy Fallon and The Roots to perform a social distancing remix of The Police’s hit “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” with instruments found at home while in quarantine.
60 Minutes report on Bill Graham from 1969
60 Minutes report on impresario Bill Graham and his legendary concert hall the Fillmore East, with live footage of the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, 1969.