Mr. G's Song of the Week - "Hey, Snow White"

Hello and welcome to the inaugural "Mr. G's Song of the Week" post. Much thanks to the R.O.B. for welcoming me into his highly-touted blogosphere. I can only hope my contributions warrant an overall rating of Level 4+ (that's teacher-speak) and that you, dear reader, hold fast to the suggested listening material previewed here and live a healthier and more well-rounded life as a result.

You know a song is good when after one listen you begin frothing at the mouth and immediately set about to acquire that band's entire discography without so much as giving the song another listen. Such was the response elicited by The New Pornographers' "Hey, Snow White." Perhaps that places me behind the times a little, considering this band has been a powerhouse on the Canadian indie scene for some time now. Well so be it. The song and the band kick derriere whether you discovered them at their inception in 1997 or today.

Recorded for "Dark Was the Night," the newest of twenty compilation albums whose proceeds go towards the Red Hot Organization, a charity that raises funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS, the album is a who's who of indie rock superstars. But of all the fantastic contributions to the record, "Hey, Snow White," tucked away in the middle of the second disc of the two-disc set, stands out. An elegant rocker, complete with captivating melody and delicious harmonies, the song (in my humble interpretation) speaks to the crisis of today's economic situation and the importance of doing what you love to do when working for "The Man" doesn't quite work out. Because as the New Pornographers so eloquently state: "When the company goes public, you've got to learn to love what you want." Like much of their work, though, "Hey, Snow White" can be interpreted in a myriad of ways.

The song has great pace, moving from gentle, piano-driven sections to the rocking chorus and back again. There's even some glockenspiel thrown in for good measure. And where there is glockenspiel, one will find Mr. G's song of the week. Enjoy!

[mp3] The New Pornographers - Hey, Snow White

Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams... yeah, the trouble part is right.

I've been sitting on a this Destroyer post for what has been at least a couple of weeks, since I'm not exactly sure what to say about the new album Trouble in Dreams. But, rather than gouging my eyes out watching another Raptors game, I thought I'd give it a go; because, honestly, if I watch another Raptors game this year I'm liable to pull a Youzhny and crack myself in the head with my tennis racquet.

Dan Bejar (Destroyer) has always been my favourite part of the New Pornographers – with Neko Case a close second – as his more wandering lyrical music always seemed to be a nice fit with tNPs poppy sensibility. So, when I first heard Destroyer (Destroyer’s Rubies, recommended by Kyle I think) I was kind of taken aback that they didn’t sound at all like tNPs and was admittedly a little turned off. It took a while, but I really came around on Rubies and there was a period where I listened to the opening 4 songs – Rubies, Your Blood, European Oils, Painter in Your Pocket – a lot.

That said, for me, there's no stretch like that on TiD and I've found myself listening to 'Blue Flower/Blue Flame' then getting about halfway through the next song, and giving up and moving on to something else. And, the more I listen to Destroyer I just find myself wishing that he'd just take all that creative energy and Carl Newman would let him take the reins to tNPs.

In my mind, a pretty forgettable album, with a couple of tracks 'Blue Flowers/Blue Flame', 'Foam Hands' that I'll still be listening to in a few months.

[mp3] Blue Flower/Blue Flame
[mp3] Foam Hands

I prefer to remember the better times...

[mp3] An Actor's Revenge (from Your Blues [2004] - my fav Destroyer song of all time)
[mp3] Myriad Harbour (from The New Pornographer's Challengers [2007])


And this is just wicked awesome...