1. She Says What She Means {Chris Murphy}
2. C'mon C'mon (We're Gonna Get It Started) {Jay Ferguson}
3. Iggy and Angus {Patrick Pentland}
4. Sinking Ships {Andrew Scott}
5. Keep On Thinkin' {Chris Murphy}
6. Money City Maniacs {Patrick Pentland}
7. Seems So Heavy {Andrew Scott}
8. Chester the Molester {Chris Murphy}
9. Stand By Me, Yeah {Patrick Pentland}
10. Suppose They Close The Door {Chris Murphy}
11. On The Horizon {Andrew Scott}
12. I Wanna Thank You {Jay Ferguson}
13. I'm Not Through With You Yet {Patrick Pentland}
------------------------------------------------------
14. Work Cut Out {Chris Murphy}
15. Out To Lunch {Patrick Pentland}
16. Keep On Thinkin' [Acoustic]
8. Chester the Molester {Chris Murphy}
9. Stand By Me, Yeah {Patrick Pentland}
10. Suppose They Close The Door {Chris Murphy}
11. On The Horizon {Andrew Scott}
12. I Wanna Thank You {Jay Ferguson}
13. I'm Not Through With You Yet {Patrick Pentland}
------------------------------------------------------
14. Work Cut Out {Chris Murphy}
15. Out To Lunch {Patrick Pentland}
16. Keep On Thinkin' [Acoustic]
Hello Everybody! Sorry this post fell on the tardy side, but this was one of those albums I didn't want to just hop up in a rush. Mainly, because since I found this album, when I was but 13 years old, it has been my favorite/most listened to album ever. Pretty bold, huh? I'll explain in a minute.
First! Welcome to July mafakas. I decided this month do swing a little program I call "Essential Easties", which will be my exploration of the sights and sounds of East Cost Canada in the 90's and early 2000s. A time fondly known by many, as the "Halifax Pop Explosion". Starting around '92, after the release of Sloan's Peppermint EP, a ton of buzz and money poured into a wonderfully tight knit Halifax pop/rock scene. What came out of this unfortunately short-lived explosion are many my personal most influential albums. Seeing as this has been a point of great interest for me since I was but a wee lad, I figured it might make for a great journey for anyone not familiar with the magic of restless young adults with enormous record collections.
I chose to start this expose with Navy Blues, because this was my spark plug into independent, alternative music. Before I heard Navy Blues, I liked Ja Rule and Puddle Of Mudd. Coincidentally, a little bit of confusion of Ja's Murder Inc. label and Sloan's groundbreaking Murderecords may have been a step in the right direction for me. Before Navy Blues I was a lazy as hell music fan. I sure liked having Top 40 radio filling my atmosphere but I never actively or critically searched for music. Until, "If It Feels Good Do It" punctured my radio. I remember wondering why nothing else on the radio sounded like Sloan. I was overtaken, I needed to find out if this band was for real. I did something I never did. I went to HMV and wandered to S. To my bemusement, there wasn't one CD under Sloan, but five CD's! However, none of them seemed to have "Feels Good" on it. Fuck. I was just about to wander out of the shop until I figured, I'm sure one of these has to be cool and I just picked up the first one there. This really strange black and red cover.
The minute I made it home, I ran up to my room and put the CD in.
Someone coughs. The rest is history.
You can't imagine what a shock to a kids system "She Says What She Means" is, when the most original music I'd been introduced to at that point was those very Limp Bizkits. And the way these kids sang. Harmonies!!! For once, vocal harmony that didn't sound like it was made by computers. It kinda sounded like my mom's Eagle's records. And these kids howled and had fun. Imagine that. Having fun playing music to the extent that it pours through your music. I was in HEAVEN. Until. Track Two. Jay Ferguson's "C'mon C'mon". I'm not going to try to say how I felt upon hearing that tune, but...I don't think I ever listened to Puddle of Mudd again. I promptly ran to this budding new tool, called the internet. I waited for it to dial up. I scoured the internet for weeks. Apparently, Sloan had contemporaries. Lots of them. I was 13 and had no job, so for the next few years any pennies I could pinch went to completing my Sloan discography. Christmas/Birthday presents were all gift certificates to music shops because at this point, anyone who knew me, knew that I would kill a man for Sloan (Still Would).
If I never picked up this album, this blog wouldn't exist. I never would have given a shit about playing music. I never would have come out of my shell and I probably wouldn't have graduated from High school. You may not believe me, but I have proof...my grades started going up once I owned this album. I started making friends, I started to feel confident about life. Enough about me though.
This album is perfect. It truly is. Who knows if this is my bias passing this onto you, but; find me a band with four distinct songwriters that sticks around for 16 years. Find me a band that plays the music they love, regardless of the fact that no one can market them, and still becomes one of the most loved bands in our fucking country.
Listen to how they sing together! For once a group with varied influences. Listen to how Andrew Scott writes tunes! "and It takes a while, to realize, that everything around you is too...BEAUTIFUL."
If you haven't heard this yet, you really should give it a try. If nothing else, Money City Manics will get you kickin' down doors.
In the name of posting hard to find material, I posted the Japanese import tracks plus the acoustic campfire version of Keep On Thinkin'.
I think post has gone on long enough. If you want to talk Sloan, gimme a call. I can go on for decades.
Enjoy.
Someone had to state it, so I could imitate it...Masterfully.
First! Welcome to July mafakas. I decided this month do swing a little program I call "Essential Easties", which will be my exploration of the sights and sounds of East Cost Canada in the 90's and early 2000s. A time fondly known by many, as the "Halifax Pop Explosion". Starting around '92, after the release of Sloan's Peppermint EP, a ton of buzz and money poured into a wonderfully tight knit Halifax pop/rock scene. What came out of this unfortunately short-lived explosion are many my personal most influential albums. Seeing as this has been a point of great interest for me since I was but a wee lad, I figured it might make for a great journey for anyone not familiar with the magic of restless young adults with enormous record collections.
I chose to start this expose with Navy Blues, because this was my spark plug into independent, alternative music. Before I heard Navy Blues, I liked Ja Rule and Puddle Of Mudd. Coincidentally, a little bit of confusion of Ja's Murder Inc. label and Sloan's groundbreaking Murderecords may have been a step in the right direction for me. Before Navy Blues I was a lazy as hell music fan. I sure liked having Top 40 radio filling my atmosphere but I never actively or critically searched for music. Until, "If It Feels Good Do It" punctured my radio. I remember wondering why nothing else on the radio sounded like Sloan. I was overtaken, I needed to find out if this band was for real. I did something I never did. I went to HMV and wandered to S. To my bemusement, there wasn't one CD under Sloan, but five CD's! However, none of them seemed to have "Feels Good" on it. Fuck. I was just about to wander out of the shop until I figured, I'm sure one of these has to be cool and I just picked up the first one there. This really strange black and red cover.
The minute I made it home, I ran up to my room and put the CD in.
Someone coughs. The rest is history.
You can't imagine what a shock to a kids system "She Says What She Means" is, when the most original music I'd been introduced to at that point was those very Limp Bizkits. And the way these kids sang. Harmonies!!! For once, vocal harmony that didn't sound like it was made by computers. It kinda sounded like my mom's Eagle's records. And these kids howled and had fun. Imagine that. Having fun playing music to the extent that it pours through your music. I was in HEAVEN. Until. Track Two. Jay Ferguson's "C'mon C'mon". I'm not going to try to say how I felt upon hearing that tune, but...I don't think I ever listened to Puddle of Mudd again. I promptly ran to this budding new tool, called the internet. I waited for it to dial up. I scoured the internet for weeks. Apparently, Sloan had contemporaries. Lots of them. I was 13 and had no job, so for the next few years any pennies I could pinch went to completing my Sloan discography. Christmas/Birthday presents were all gift certificates to music shops because at this point, anyone who knew me, knew that I would kill a man for Sloan (Still Would).
If I never picked up this album, this blog wouldn't exist. I never would have given a shit about playing music. I never would have come out of my shell and I probably wouldn't have graduated from High school. You may not believe me, but I have proof...my grades started going up once I owned this album. I started making friends, I started to feel confident about life. Enough about me though.
This album is perfect. It truly is. Who knows if this is my bias passing this onto you, but; find me a band with four distinct songwriters that sticks around for 16 years. Find me a band that plays the music they love, regardless of the fact that no one can market them, and still becomes one of the most loved bands in our fucking country.
Listen to how they sing together! For once a group with varied influences. Listen to how Andrew Scott writes tunes! "and It takes a while, to realize, that everything around you is too...BEAUTIFUL."
If you haven't heard this yet, you really should give it a try. If nothing else, Money City Manics will get you kickin' down doors.
In the name of posting hard to find material, I posted the Japanese import tracks plus the acoustic campfire version of Keep On Thinkin'.
I think post has gone on long enough. If you want to talk Sloan, gimme a call. I can go on for decades.
Enjoy.
Someone had to state it, so I could imitate it...Masterfully.
2 comments:
I was bored on a Friday night after work and reading about Sloan's Navy Blues, also a favorite/life changer for me and stumbled upon this post. It's a great story. Thanks for sharing, this record means so much to me too!
Hi would it be possible for you to re-upload this great record please? Thanks in advance :-)
Post a Comment