Kicking off the 2015 summer concert season with the Endless Summer Tour, sultry songstress Lana Del Rey took over the Molson Amphitheatre and brought in a massive crowd to hear her dark brand of cinematic pop. Opening for her was homegrown talent Grimes, a similarly magnetic artist with a very singular image.
Grimes is the brainchild of Montreal native Claire Boucher, and to date has made a name for herself playing an effervescent blend of J-pop, K-pop, and U-S-of-A pop. Though she’s indicated that her next album, due this October, will be drastically different, she stuck to her electronic repertoire for this show.
Most of the selections were from her breakthrough 2012 album Visions, including the darkly playful “Oblivion” and glitchy “Be a Body”. The crowd went wild for the ethereal space pop of “Genesis”, which sounds like a modern take on the futuristic sounds of French composer Jean-Michel Jarre. Also popular were newer songs like last year’s “Go”, which was originally written for Rihanna but ended up as a Grimes track instead. The mysterious track “REALiTi” released a few months ago made an appearance too, to huge applause.
Grimes and her energetic dance crew then made way for the towering drama-core of Lana Del Rey, who seems to operate solely on the “grandiose” setting. True to her “gangster Nancy Sinatra” image, the stage was decked out in all manners of retro-Americana, from marquee lights to a replica of a 1920s style cityscape.
It’s actually pretty admirable how she’s fashioned an ironclad brand for herself and stayed true to it. In an era where most bands hop around from genre to genre, often on the same album, Del Rey has stuck to her fifty-shades-of-film-noir sound for two and a half albums now. Painting her widescreen canvases with swaths of Golden Age nostalgia, she’s refused to go the upbeat route of her peers in the industry.
Her set then was as expected, all swelling strings and effortless cool. Her lyrics evoked bygone eras as she prowled around onstage, the embodiment of her “good girl with a dark side” persona. Of course both “Blue Jeans” and “Video Games” made their way into the performance, as did follow-up singles “Born to Die” and “Summertime Sadness”. Last year’s hazy “West Coast” made the cut as well, as did a cover of Leonard Cohen‘s “Chelsea Hotel No. 2”.
And though the tour is called “Endless Summer”, it was not an endless night, and after “Off to the Races” Del Rey graciously thanked the crowd and went gently into the night. It probably won’t be long before we see her once more, as new album Honeymoon is due later this year and will likely bring her through our neighbourhood again.
The notion of a “one-hit wonder” might seem simple at first: a performing artist who is only recognizable for one massively popular song. They scored a huge hit and then disappeared from the public’s consciousness, only to reappear on snide and degrading future compilations and lists of other unlucky artists. The problem is that most of these artists aren’t actually one-hit wonders, and the parameters for labeling an artist as such are vague and arguable. And as we enter an age in which the music industry and radio are flailing towards their demise and many massive artists don’t even have “hits”, the label becomes completely meaningless.
At first blush it’s easy to come up with a list of publicly deigned one-hit wonders:
– Gangnam Style- Psy
– Somebody That I Used To Know- Gotye
– Float On- Modest Mouse
– Flagpole Sitta- Harvey Danger
– The Way- Fastball
– I Believe In A Thing Called Love- The Darkness
– Crazy- Gnarls Barkley
– Macarena- Los Del Rio
– Blurred Lines- Robin Thicke
– Nothing Compares 2 U- Sinead O’ Connor
etc, etc
Source: popmatters.com
Whether they deserve it or not is up to the individual, but the majority of people only know the one song by its respective artist. This is the sort of playlist a radio station might compile for a themed segment, which is kind of messed up considering it’s the radio stations that decide whether or not to play more than one single by an artist. It’s also messed up because most of the aforementioned artists actually did have more than one radio hit, as most artists in general do.
Source: soompi.com
– Gentleman- Psy
– Eyes Wide Open- Gotye
– Dashboard- Modest Mouse
– Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo- Harvey Danger
– You’re An Ocean- Fastball
etc, etc
It’s usually a novelty or charity ensemble group that only ever release one single (Live-Aid/Band-Aid, Liam Lynch, whoever did “Disco Duck”). Regular artists tend to have these things called “albums”, and after they land a big hit they chase it with one or two or three other songs. You know, to keep them in the public eye. Sometimes these songs even chart pretty high! Does nobody remember that Psy’s “Gentleman” was a hit as well? Or that Robin Thicke, Gotye, and Psy all had careers before their big singles? Gotye was already a huge deal in his homeland of Australia with the song “Heart’s a Mess”! Psy was five albums into his career before Gangnam Style! Why is he considered a one-hit wonder?
Furthermore, does this mean that artists that never have that one big song are no-hit wonders? Because there are a lot of artists that are doing just fine without one, including:
– The Script
– Colbie Caillat
– Sara Bareilles
– Christina Perri
– The Tragically Hip
– Jack Johnson
– The Jonas Brothers
– Lady Antebellum
Source: pixelfanatix.com
If you asked the general population what any of those artists’ “big song” was, you’ll get blank stares. But they’ve all got comfortable careers with consistently high-selling albums and reliable fanbases. Colbie Caillat, above could release a greatest hits based on all her singles, even though most people don’t know what she looks like (I didn’t until about five minutes ago). It’s not really that big of a deal that they’ve never reached the pinnacle of the Billboard Top 100. Although even that achievement doesn’t matter in this day and age, especially when you consider how few legitimate hits come out.
To date this year, there have only been a handful of big songs, with one (“Uptown Funk”) languishing at the top for 16 weeks. Streaming music has segmented audiences to the point where there may never again be a true “Song of the Summer”, because everyone’s got their own songs of the summer. There are now “micro-stars” who are hugely famous thanks to industry pushing despite not yet having…any recognizable songs.
source: youtube.com
Who are Austin Mahone (above), Rita Ora, and Five Seconds of Summer? I can’t even picture their faces, much less tell you what they sing or even what KIND of music they play. But I know that they’re rich and famous because I see those names everywhere. They’re doing fine. In fact it seems like these days, NOT having the “one big hit” is more beneficial than having it. Stars have to be careful not to make their songs too good. (note: maybe that’s why music is so bad nowadays cuz they’re purposely making it bad, tee hee)
So WHY is Carly Rae Jepsen so thirsty for another hit?
source: kiss925.com
The halcyon year of 2012 brought us the inescapable “Call Me Maybe”, which is her one big song. The thing about its success however, is that it was a complete accident. A single by a third-place runner up on the 2007 season of Canadian Idol and produced by the former member of a hard industrial group (Dave Ogilvie)? It was a fluke and that’s partly why it was so refreshing. Nobody was expecting it to be huge and its viral spread was completely natural. Jepsen followed it with a guest spot on Owl City’s “Good Time” and another song later in 2012 called “This Kiss”, and could have continued releasing low-key pop and had a stable career like Colbie Caillat or Christina Perri.
But she didn’t. She went away for a little while and started planning a BIG comeback. Which could in turn backfire in a BIG way, as the desperation for another huge hit is palpable. Everything that’s come out of the promotion for her new material has been a transparently obvious grab at the limelight.
source: mashable.com
– “I Really Like You” was released in March, a calculated date when artists wanting to score a “song of the summer” drop their songs.
– The video had a celebrity cameo in Tom Hanks.
– A big deal was made of Jepsen’s quest in making this album, from the wide range of producers and songwriters to the hundreds of songs she wrote for it.
– She performed on SNL, Ellen, and Castle (??).
– Another (kind of embarrassing) “viral” video was released with a bunch of famous friends (Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande) singing the song.
– Another song called “All That” was released.
– Both songs were very much in the late-80s style that is en vogue right now (as opposed to the timeless sound of “Call Me Maybe”)
Despite all this, as of this writing the song has not charted very well (39 on the Billboard Hot 100). It’s nowhere near the ubiquity that “Call Me Maybe” had and it doesn’t seem like it will be the huge summer hit Jepsen wanted it to be. The corresponding album has no release date due to this tepid response. No doubt the producers are going through the “hundreds” of recorded songs trying to revise them for another hit, possibly with a guest appearance. And it’s all a little sad, because “I Really Like You” is a pretty fun song and didn’t need this massive circus surrounding it. Jepsen could have just released it normally, had the album out by now and toured without pressure and expectations. Her quest to avoid being a one-hit wonder has turned into MORE of a one-hit wonder, something I think she was really, really really, really, really, really trying to avoid.
I’m fairly certain the office motto at Dreamworks Studios is: Quantity, Not Quality! These guys pump out movies like the Duggar woman pumps out babies. They don’t have time to develop silly things like unique characters with individual personalities! Audiences will have to like them based on their hip attitude, represented by the ever present Dreamworks Face.
This isn’t some mind-blowing discovery I made last night while studying the Declaration of Independence. The Dreamworks Face has been well-documented by others for years now: it’s that crooked half-smiling, occasionally snarky expression which just screams irreverence. DID I MENTION THE RAISED EYEBROW??
It’s this fact that makes this even more depressing. You’d think the studio would switch it up a little now that they’ve been caught. Sometimes it seems like they have! How to Train Your Dragon had no Dreamworks Faces in the promotional materials, and neither did Rise of the Guardians.
…But then they throw out shovelware like Turbo, Penguins of Madagascar and the upcoming Home and the Dreamworks Face is out in full force, almost to the point of parody.
Below I have put together a compendium of Dreamworks Faces from nearly every one of their animated films. Here they are, in varying degrees of sardonicism.
WTF DREAMWORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the most Dreamsworkiest Dreamworks Face there ever was!! Tied with Bee Movie and Over the Hedge for first place. And this is from 2015. Of course the movie does star Rihanna so I don’t think they’re taking its success very seriously.
You know, doing this “research” I realized two things:
– I feel kinda bad criticizing the animators’ hard work. Looking at the pictures in high resolution made me realize how much effort goes into the textures and modelling. A pox upon whoever forces them to cram “the face” into their work.
– As aforementioned, How to Train Your Dragon didn’t have any Dreamworks Faces in the posters or banners online. There was this:
Which seems like it might be an acknowledgement of the meme! Hooray for meta humor.
Except not, because a few years later…
DREAMWORKS FACE OVERLOAD. ERROR. ERROR.
Update March 2017: Back at it again with the eyebrow
Despite the intensely frigid weather Sound Academy was packed to see post-grunge veterans Bush take the stage. Supported by Stars in Stereo and Theory of a Deadman, it was a night of hard rock that heated up the winter-weary crowd. Stars in Stereo were the first to take the stage. The L.A. based group recall the hard rock heyday of the early 2000s, complete with high-octane riffage and “pump-you-up” stage banter from frontwoman Becca and guitarist Jordan McGraw. Reminiscent of acts like Kittie and Flyleaf, the band tore through a brief but energetic set comprised mostly of songs from last year’s Leave Your Mark.
Canadian active rock mainstays Theory of a Deadman were on second, playing mostly newer songs in support of ther 2014 album Savages. In fact the only song from before 2008 was the 2005 ballad “Santa Monica”. While their peers Nickelback have opted for a more poppy approach in recent years, Theory have continued with their sludgy, Alice In Chains indebted direction. Frontman Tyler Connolly was full of impish energy the whole night, throwing out quips and good-humoured observations about hockey throughout the scuzzy, muscular set. The band even performed a truncated version of “Sweet Home Alabama”, tailored to an Ontario audience and filled with local references. Bush took the stage to huge cheers and started off their set with their 2011 single, the appropriately titled “Sound of Winter”. This was the single that officially declared the band a reunited presence in the world, meticulously crafted to recreate the sound Bush became famous for. A sound that the audience became reacquainted with over the course of the night. The chunky riffs, the serrated lead guitar and unabashedly big singalong choruses reminded the crowd that frontman Gavin Rossdale has always been a talented songwriter who knows a good hook when he hears one, and has written a huge amount of them. He’s also a very gracious, humble man who repeatedly thanked the crowd for coming out to see the band.
The set was largely comprised of older material, with a few songs from last year’s Man on the Run thrown in. Everything got a good reception but it was the singles from the 1994 breakthrough album Sixteen Stone that drove people ecstatic. It cannot be stressed enough how excited the crowd got when the first of that albums FIVE (!) massive singles, “Everything Zen” was played. 1996’s “Swallowed” also got tremendous cheers, as did its album mate “Greedy Fly” and the 1999 single “The Chemicals Between Us”. The new material was also received well, as it sounded like vintage Bush with a few modern augmentations here and there. “Bodies in Motion” and “Man on the Run” in particular sound like they will fit well on a future greatest hits compilation, with big brash guitar riffs kicking them off.
Many bands save a one-two punch for the encore, but Bush gave the crowd a one-two-thee-four-five punch in the form of the remaining singles from Sixteen Stone, as well as a left-field cover of the Talking Heads new wave classic “Once in a Lifetime”. The set ended with “Comedown” and its snaky bass groove and massive crescendo of a finale. And so the audience did come down from their clouds, back into the cold night but hopefully with a little fire in their hearts thanks to Gavin and his boys from London.
Last year I created a brief guide in order to help non-football fans understand the big game, but it lacked the in-depth analysis the event deserves. This year I’ve expanded upon many of the crucial points you need to “get” Super Ball X-LIX.
This is the title of the article.
The Teams
This year’s teams include the New England Patriarchs and the Wichita Witches.
The New England Patriarchs are coming off a ten-year winning streak and have on their team superstars such as Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Brayden Manning, Phil Manning, the praying man, M’ant’i T’eo, Joe Namath, and Jose Canseco. They are the “favorites” to win this year.
The opposition, the Wichita Witches, are in fact the NFL’s very first all-evil team. Finally society has progressed enough that we can accept an entirely evil team (although some players do identify as half-evil).
The Ball
The object they play with is called a football, or in their terms, a “pigskin“. This is an abbreviation of “pig’s kin”, as the ball in fact IS a pig’s kin- it is a pig egg which has not been fertilized and therefore will not hatch. The unique hard texture prevents it from breaking and leaking yolk.
The footballs have recently been in the news.
The Antennae
On each end of the field there is a large, strange looking antenna. These are television antennae that are positioned this way to serve each coast. This way audiences on both the east and west coast of the continent get the best reception of the big game.
The Gatorade
You may notice that during the game the players pour Gatorade on each other from big tanks. This provides a double purpose:
First, it hydrates the players. The team has undergone rigorous physiological training that has enabled their skin to become extra porous and absorb liquid through it. This way the Gatorade gets through the skin cells and into their system.
Physiological scan of a football player.
Secondly, the excess Gatorade that remains after the skin has become supersaturated creates a membrane which makes the players more slippery and harder to tackle/pin down. Talk about getting out of a tight squeeze!
The Language of Football
One of the football players favourite things to say on the pitch is “hut“. You can hear them say it all the time. This is short for an Old English term, “huttence“, which means “we will conquer”. It is said to strike fear and intimidation into the hearts of the opposing team.
The Coaches
You might notice that every coach looks like Academy Award winning actor Ed Harris. They are actually all related! Ed was the only male member of the Harris clan who did not go into football coaching, the rest of the bloodline have all hit the field to get that football gold. Inspiring.
The Formulas
Many people will tell you that football is very simply but that is not true. Each team hires a Nobel Prize winning mathematician and physicist to assist with the logistics of the game. These brainiacs calculate the weather conditions, wind speed, dynamics, and muscle mass and then tell the players their findings.
A football player’s brain works at 600 yards per second.
Each player then is mentally armed with formulas that they must apply to their throws, passes, tackles and other actions in split second decisions. Wow.
The Announcer
Not much is known about the current announcer of the game, only that he got his start in the Nintendo 64 game “Madden 64”. He impressed the executives so much that they brought him on to voice every game since the late 90’s. He is beloved by fans all across the nation, who have given him the nickname “Madden Guy”. His most popular catchphrase? We all know it: “He shoots he scores!” Unforgettable.
The Camaraderie
If there is one thing that you take away from this report, it’s this: football brings people together– literally! At the end of the match both teams jump into a big pile in celebration, despite the mud and sweat they may be covered in. It is a joy to watch, and it’s the reason that football is known as “the Lover’s Game” across the continent.
Conclusion
So as you watch Super Ball X-LIX, do not watch it in fear any longer. You know your stuff, champ. Good Grief!
