This Little Droid Went to Market

Bleep bloop whirrrr squelch

(translation: I need an oil change!)

Late in the summer of 2013 I was fortunate enough to see the travelling Star Wars exhibit on its stop in my fair city. Wandering through the impressive array of displays, I was reminded how I cared far less for the "human" characters and much more for the non-human characters of the Star Wars universe. I can narrow it down to R2-D2 as my favourite of the entire Star Wars canon, film or otherwise. Hey, who doesn't love that little droid? His electronic bleeps and bloops are so expressive that it is easy to understand his moods and even take a pretty accurate guess at what he saying. Who needs a protocol droid to translate anyway?

Mommm, I want one!

Next after R2, I'd put the Imperial Stormtroopers on my list of fave characters. I know that underneath their armour they are "human", but if you will recall from the prequels, the clones - genetically manufactured, supposedly perfect specimen soldiers (though they are all terrible shots with a blaster) - are sort of more robotic that human... the way they are programmed to live and function. Not terribly human in nature, if you think about it. Anyway, those Stormtrooper "uniforms" (their armour) are the coolest look in Star Wars. There was a time when I actually considered buying a suit of 'Trooper armour, but the cost was prohibitive. Maybe someday, in my elder years, if I have the cash lying around, I'll splurge on it and become the oldest living Imperial Stormtrooper. My only concern would be whether the 501st Legion, the international Star Wars costumed fan organization, would accept me as a geriatric member.

On another note, as I was recently sifting through all of my belongings for more material to photograph for the blog, I came across a couple more old Star Wars items, two fully intact wall calendars that I bought way back in '78 and '79. The funny thing about those calendars is that there was a point in the 90's, I believe, when the calendar dates once again coincided with the actual days at the time.... so I was able to hang up and appreciate the calendars all over again.

The Who's on First

The beards and long locks will come later, right, lads?

The Who have survived the ever-changing musical landscape since 1964. The Beatles had already assumed the rock'n'roll throne, having racked up several hit singles and released their movie A Hard Day's Night. Beatlemania was in full force. But something else was happening in the UK: The Who emerged and carved their own niche in the music world with a more colourful and rebellious reputation. While the Stones were simply the "bad boys" of rock, The Who entertained via manic performances, usually concluding by destroying their music equipment. 

The band's first single Can't Explain shot to the top ten, followed by a string of successful songs like My Generation and Substitute. While I loved these songs when I first heard them in the mid-seventies over the radio, I was absolutely blown away by their later, more expansive anthemic rockers like Won't Get Fooled Again and Baba O'Riley. Even their relatively early ('67) I Can See For Miles had a big, heavy sound that won me over. Their more experimental work, like the album Who Are You, which employed newer electronic instrumentation, was equally engaging... crafted by masters of the form while retaining that angry energy that made Who music "Maximum R&B". These guys were developing hard rock before Led Zeppelin made their first album. They foreshadowed punk, too, since The Who brought so much attitude to the stage. Their anti-establishment messages were often delivered through loud, raucous songs, though key songwriter and guitarist Pete Townshend also penned intelligent, biting lyrics for sonically lighter tunes. 

Townshend has always been among my favourite guitarists, his unique style more important than blistering chops. Yes, Clapton and Van Halen may forever be considered superior axe men, but Townshend's distinctive sound and a technical ability sufficient for The Who's brand of rock still place him in good stead among his peers. 

John Entwhistle has always impressed me with his melodic and thunderous bass playing... his influence on prog rock bassists Chris Squire and Geddy Lee is obvious... and much appreciated. I even did a painting of Entwhistle, bedecked in his spider-themed bling, for a project in art school. 

While Who's Next is often considered the band's crowning achievement, The Who By Numbers boasts many of Townshend's most accomplished songs. Dreaming From the Waist, Success Story, and Blue, Red and Grey are among my favourites on this collection. And then there is Quadrophenia, The Who's magnum opus; its 2-disc format isn't a bit overwrought, every song essential to the story laid out in this early concept album. The Real Me, 5:15 and Love, Reign o'er Me are faves from this ambitious project, though it's rare that I'd just pick out a few songs to listen to - it always made more sense to play Quadrophenia from start to finish.

Though I've sort of tired of The Who's 60's songs, I can still appreciate pretty much everything from the 70's onward. That may partially be because I heard so much of that earlier music for so many years of my life, though it took a little while to get around to the later stuff. And I can blame rock radio stations for playing such a small selection of Who songs over and over again, sadly neglecting a lot of great music that never hit the top ten. Radio programmers be damned!

I was never fortunate enough to see The Who in concert. I do, however, have a fond memory of their televised farewell concert (the first of many) of 1982. I recall joining a group of friends to watch the concert together. And my DVD of The Kids Are Alright movie makes a fine substitute for the real thing whenever I'm in the mood for some mic swinging, windmill guitar chords, and drums of mass destruction. 

A few little Who-ish bits I found lying around

King of Kings

Can't a guy get any sleep around here?

It was when I was about twelve or thirteen years old that I discovered a rather new author named Stephen King. I saw a friend at school toting around a book he was reading called Carrie. I don't think I read the book, but I did see the movie.... somehow, since I certainly wasn't old enough to see a Restricted film back then. Maybe that came a few years later, when I could successfully - as an under-ager - get into rated R movies. I was tall for my age. 

Anyway, that same school buddy later had a book called Salem's Lot, also by King. This horror stuff was becoming a real thing in "literature". Well, let's call it what it is: genre fiction, pulp, shlock, whatever derogatory term you want to place on it. Regardless, I was interested in it. After all, I already had a reasonable background in watching horror films, even by that tender age. So why not books?

The Shining, released in '77, was my first Stephen King novel. I snapped it up as soon as I heard about it. A very good choice. I remember a faceless head on a shiny silver book cover. And it was thick. Most of King's books were big, but that didn't put me off.... I loved this stuff. I was unaware of Rage, which King wrote under a pseudonym, so I never got around to that one. But the following year I grabbed Night Shift, a collection of short stories, as soon as it hit store shelves. Terrific late night reading for a young imaginative mind. The nightmares were glorious!

Though I enjoyed King's brand of horror, I guess I didn't keep a close eye on his work, for I missed several of his books along the way. Different Seasons might have been the last novel of his that I ever bought upon its release (though I did pick up an old copy of Danse Macabre decades later). I did, however, see the film adaptation of his book The Dead Zone, which I still rank among my favourite horror movies. It didn't hurt that a young Christopher Walken played our protagonist in the story. A tormented if subdued role, enacted perfectly to help establish the eeriness and the sense of dread in the movie. 

The trouble with the movie adaptations of King's stories was that the master of horror didn't often have a hand in the making of the picture. Where his quality control would have helped rein things in closer to the source material, instead we got directors and screenwriters with grand ideas of improving and changing key elements too much. One exception in my opinion was the auteur director Stanley Kubrick, whose every film is a masterpiece in some respect. Kubrick's take on The Shining was brilliantly realized, though it did stray from King's written version. Here we found a highly visual and visceral experience, dripping with mood and madness. Jack Nicholson breathed frightening life into his character, and the rest of the cast certainly brought their own weirdness into the mix. A resounding success, in my opinion, despite protestations from many a King fan. 

So the King adaptations were inconsistent. I skipped many of them after hearing bad things about them by word of mouth. Some I would finally check out decades later, only to learn that they weren't so bad after all. Like Silver Bullet and Pet Sematary. And Salem's Lot, which I rank among the best vampire stories on celluloid. And I only want to talk about King's horror output here, so please don't think I do not worship films like Stand by Me and Shawshank Redemption, both masterpieces of cinema - period. 

Just a few years ago, I was in the mood to try out some later King novels, so I borrowed The Dark Half and Gerald's Game from a friend. I was pleasantly surprised at how good these both were. Oh, and I did buy myself King's entertaining On Writing, both autobiography and guide to the craft of storytelling.

Think you're pretty scary, don't ya?

Disciple of Syrinx

Rush in their early days.... pre-synthesizers

My discovery of Rush, and my gradual descent into obsession with the band, was in the mid-to-late 70's. A primary school friend and I sneaked into his older brother's bedroom one day and we rifled through his record collection. Among the BeeGees and Black Sabbath albums was a black cover emblazoned with a rippling red star, "Rush" in bright sparkling type, with the mysterious and bold "2112" printed directly below. 

We got a taste of some spacey noises followed by staccato blasts of drums and guitars, which led into a heavy rocking wall of sound. That was the first track, Overture. And that was enough to make an impression on me. Not long after that, I bought myself the 2112 album and that, my friends, was the beginning of a decades-long love of all things Rush. 

Not long after I entered high school, I found the Rush record A Farewell to Kings in the school library. With the headphones on and the volume high, I very slowly found my way around this album. It took a little while, for this was even more challenging and textured music than that on 2112, which was comparatively more straight-ahead rock, if similarly woven from sci-fi themes. Farewell continued that science fiction/fantasy flair in spots, though lyricist/drummer Neil Peart stretched out into the real world a bit more in his writing for this recording. 

It wasn't long after that I reconnected with a childhood friend from the old neighbourhood... and the old sandbox... and the old crab apple tree. It was amazing after so many years just how similar our tastes were in music (and movies, books, and so on). Hard rock, metal, and progressive music were our shared interests, and before long that old pal helped me take my guitar playing to the next level. I'd been struggling away with tutorial books, teaching myself to read music, and learning very short, simple oldies - folk, classical, and gospel... no rock yet.

A few calendars & magazines from my collection

But soon I was delving deep into the Rush catalogue for riffs to master on my creaky acoustic at home, and on my buddy's concrete-weighted Gibson Les Paul whenever he let me noodle around on it. He'd jump behind his little drum kit and let me rock out with In the End  and Fly By Night... his massive Traynor amplifier rattling the windows! My little taste of rock stardom there.

Around this time, my favourite Toronto radio station Q107 played an entire weekend of Rush music, which spanned their entire career - up to either Hemispheres or Permanent Waves (I can't recall that detail). I hooked my tape deck up to the family FM receiver and sat with headphones on day and night until I'd recorded absolutely everything by Rush. During long songs (and most were, of course), I'd take bathroom breaks and make quick meals to bring back to my recording couch. My parents thought I was nuts, but they didn't interfere. I guess they figured this was better than playing with needles and pills in the alley. 

Oh, and once Permanent Waves hit store shelves, I snapped that up pronto - on vinyl! I believe that is my favourite Rush album of all. Prior to Permanent Waves' release, 2112 was my fave Rush disc, and after Moving Pictures came along in '81, that became my overall fave. But after decades of revisiting all of these classic albums, I have to admit that it is Permanent Waves that stands the test of time best for me. 

As I familiarized myself with all of Rush's music way back then, I found myself struggling with singer/bassist Geddy Lee's enunciation of lyrics. Lee's shrieking and wailing sounded awesome as an "instrument" but it was next to impossible to make out what he was actually singing sometimes. So... back to my school friend's basement, where I took pen and paper to copy the lyric sheets from his Rush records. We had lengthy listening sessions where I'd be writing furiously as he'd often accompany the music on his guitar. I suppose it never occurred to me to simply photocopy those things. But at least through all of that manual labour, I honestly learned all of the lyrics.... a lot like school (or monks in monasteries copying texts), learning by rote. Except I actually wanted to learn this stuff. 

My cash flow increased around this time with a better-paying after-school job, so I started to buy the Rush albums... on cassette tape, my medium of choice then. And that was when I began to branch out in my Rush fixation, buying posters, buttons and patches, tee shirts, books, photos, anything I could get my hands on. And eventually tickets to actual concerts! I still have my entire Rush collection, though tee shirts had to go after too much wear and tear, and I did part with all of my forty-some Rush wall posters several years ago. There simply came a time when I realized I wasn't going to display these things anymore. Besides, I'd already drawn my own art portraits of the members of Rush, and I was happier with those on my walls. At least I found a great home for all those posters.... the wife of a Rush fan bought the set off me to give her husband for Christmas. Now that is an understanding and amazing wife - lucky guy!

Into the 90's, I continued to check out Rush concerts whenever possible, though I missed a couple of tours. I did, however, get more serious about guitar, practising several times a week (in spare time, since I was married with a job) and even jamming with friends on a regular basis. I had about twenty or so complete songs in my repertoire, including a handful of Rush tunes that I learned pretty well. Limelight, Closer to the Heart, Bastille Day, and Ghost of a Chance were among them. Good times!

Rush biographies and music books, most from the 80's

KA-POW!

Get down and do the Batusi... 

There was nothing like the Batman show on television back in the 60's and in syndication during the 70's. I was barely into kindergarten when I owned my first Batman T-shirt. At that early age, I don't think that comic books were a part of my literary selection yet. I was still looking at Curious George and stuff like that. But on the tube, there were enough cartoon and comic heroes to inspire me to tie a blankie around my neck as a cape. Okay, so I couldn't tie a knot yet, but I convinced my mom to do the honours. Then I became the caped crusader for a few hours, foiling neighbourhood  villains and recovering missing cookies for young damsels in distress. 

I still got a kick out of that campy Batman series when I reached about age nine or ten. Good ol' mom even made me my own "real" Batman cape! The envy of all my friends. Or they just thought I was cuckoo. Regardless, I loved that stuff so much it was quite the obsession. I remember making my own Bat-Utility Belt.... not sure how I did that.... I think I used a wide army belt (handed down to me by dear old Grandpa, a WWII vet) and then built and attached pocket-like compartments sort of like those on Batman's belt. I think I even made a few little Bat-gadgets to go into those compartments, including a hand-made, non-functional (phooey!) Batarang (a bat-shaped boomerang, in case you didn't know). 

Burt Ward as Robin (well, just Robin - period, in TV, movies or comics) was always a curiosity in his little green underwear and booties, and short yellow cape. Not terribly cool or tough-looking, eh? But he was a loyal enough sidekick... I will give him that.

Then there was the master... the best Batman ever, Adam West, as Bruce Wayne and of course his crime-fighting alter-ego. The show was just plain fun with all of the colourful characters and wacky punch-outs. As a kid, I doubt I got many, or any, of the subtle "adult" jokes that I now understand. I've been dying to own a bunch (or all) of the episodes for years, and it now looks like we are in for a special Bat-treat later this year when the entire series will be available on home video (which means Blu-Ray for this fan). 

West's deadpan delivery of the silliest of lines is priceless. To youthful ward Dick Grayson/Robin: "When we have more time, I'll acquaint you with the various processes of sculptoring. It's a fascinating art to which I devoted many hours of study." Such a renaissance man.

The notion of a Bat-Suit Pill blew me away as a kid. Just add water and the tiny tablet quickly expanded into the full-sized superhero uniform! Who wouldn't want that? It sure got our Dynamic Duo out of a scrape more than once.

And that secret button inside the sculpted bust of Shakespeare in the Wayne library... which gave access to the Bat-poles and the Bat-Cave. Anything cooler than that? Only that our Dynamic Duo could change into their disguises "on the poles" en route to the cave, that's what! How'd they do that? Who cares... it was awesome.

We can't forget the most famous of all cars in fiction, the Batmobile. I had my own little Mattel diecast toy replica '66 Batmobile as a kid and probably loved that more than any of the other cars I owned.... Matchbox, Corgi, Dinky, whatever.

Fleet-fingered Mac

Cheer up, love. The 70's will be over soon....

Today is the birthday of Christie McVie, born 1943. A talented keyboardist, she also provided her songbird of a voice to British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. And I actually find her voice far easier on the ears than that of her fellow singer/band-mate Stevie Nicks. Not to diss Stevie... just my preference. 

Among my earliest music purchases as a teenager was Fleetwood Mac's classic Rumours. While the album was quite a different sort of genre than I was used to at the time, it immediately impressed me with its slightly folky soft rock. The music on Rumours is genius pop songwriting. I say that because not only was it radio-friendly enough to earn the album a Grammy Award in '78 and the status of one of the best selling albums of all time, but because the music was produced through the brilliant teamwork of creativity and technical mastery. The longevity of Fleetwood Mac is due to their honest approach to their craft. Not to mention their wonderful vocal and instrumental talents. 

Several songs became hit singles, including Don't Stop and Dreams, a couple of my favourites. The average song length on Rumours is about three minutes, short and punchy, not a second wasted. As a result, the album is jam-packed with terrific songs, every one a gem in its own right. Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham was one reason this music was so great.... his technical skills on the instrument led to memorable solos on pretty much every track, and I'd say Go Your Own Way is perhaps his best ever. Ever.

I never understood the curious album cover, though. Some sort of modern dance pose? Those dangling things? Should I ask? And there was the similarly-designed cover for the previous album,1975's Fleetwood Mac, too. Hmm. 

Rumours was - strangely? - the sole Mac album in my collection until 1987's Tango in the Night, which saw a resurgence in the band's popularity through its updated sound and many hit songs. While I liked Tango a lot, I favoured the earliest of the Buckingham releases, which began in '75. Buckingham's songwriting, playing, and singing were such key ingredients to what I liked about Mac. And when I discovered Buckingham's solo work, and even his much earlier collaboration with Stevie Nicks, I jumped on board. Even more amazing than Mac in many respects. 

Far out, man....

It Was A Hit

Serious musicians only need apply

Way, way back, sometime in the late-ish 70's, just into my early teens, I bought myself an album that I'd only heard about. A friend owned it, and he might have played a tiny bit of it for me once. All I knew was that it was hailed as perhaps the greatest rock album ever recorded. That was enough for me. 

So I bought - on vinyl record - Dark Side of the Moon, by Pink Floyd. As I played and replayed that album, it never once occurred to me that this was "stoner music". At the time, I don't think I even knew about such a genre, if it even was one back then. Maybe nowadays it is. But the mind-boggling concepts and the even more stunning aural experience were what swept me away. I marvelled at how the imaginations of the band members collided and meshed to create such a sonic feast. 

Lyrically, this is heady stuff.... intelligent, clever, laconic, unhinged, and even spiritual. 

Musically, Dark Side is trippy, sometimes rocking, often deeply relaxing, and sometimes downright disturbing. The dreamy opener Speak to Me/Breathe washes over the listener, coaxing him or her into a meditative state. On the Run moves in another, more frantic direction. Paranoia and madness, themes that dominate here, are explored both lyrically and instrumentally. 

Pink Floyd pioneered progressive rock as we know it now, influencing both rock and electronic music along the way. Back in '73, when the album appeared, trance-inducing tempos made some people suspicious of this dangerous druggie music. But for me, it was just great entertainment.

That perfect union of technical virtuosity with creative genius spelled the incredible success of Dark Side of the Moon. Floyd used the most advanced recording techniques available at the time, and studio engineer Alan Parsons (who later formed his own successful Floyd-ish band) played no small part in that process. The album immediately topped the Billboard charts, then maintained a residency in the charts for 741 weeks!

Though I heard some other Pink Floyd music on the radio along the way, it wasn't until the early 80's that I began adding some of their other albums to my collection. Naturally, The Wall was among them, though today that two-disc monster fails to do much for me, other than a few notable songs. Wish You Were Here also made an impression around then, the title track being my favourite of its few lengthy songs. It wasn't until the late 80's that I tried out some more by the band with Momentary Lapse of Reason, quite good in its own right, but not exactly classic Floyd. Then just a few years ago, I finally filled in the gaps in the Pink Floyd section of my CD collection, enjoying for the first time some of their earliest and middle-period recordings. 

A handful of early psychedelic gems stood out for me, like Astronomy Domine (which I first heard as a cover by 80's Canadian metal-heads Voivod) and Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, but it was the albums Meddle and Obscured by Clouds that really grabbed me. True concept albums, best appreciated in their entirety. I can't even name favourite songs, for each record stands as an entire track for me. As old as this music is, it never loses its impact on me. I revisit these albums regularly, each time a treat for the ears all over again.

As I wrap this up, I am gently nodding... almost sleepily... to Us And Them, from Dark Side of the Moon. Best saxophone in rock and roll.

A few little collectible buttons from the 70's

Kitchen Remodeling With Rush

Rush released  their fifteenth studio album, Counterparts, in 1993. I was thrilled with the revitalized heavy sound of this disc. Roll the Bones, the previous album, had its moments, but there were songs and portions of songs that annoyed me. A slightly weaker effort from the boys. Counterparts was another story. 

Thick, loud guitars dominate the mix, but axe-man Alex Lifeson also slides quite seamlessly into his lighter mode on Nobody's Hero and Everyday Glory. While opening tracks Animate, Stick it Out, and Cut to the Chase set the hard rocking tone for the album, my favouite songs are a tangy blend of modern and slightly older Rush sounds. Alien Shore is built from Lifeson's jangly guitar style, reminiscent of his mid-to-late 80's output. The tension between verses and chorus, within the solo, and during the bridge, actively accentuates the otherworldly vibe described in the lyrics. Perhaps my fave on the album, Double Agent, incorporates the best of the two sides of Lifeson. The nervous energy of the percussion and guitars conspires with the paranoid lyrics to paint an unnerving picture. Not to mention the quietly spoken-word verses, adding yet another dark and unsettling quality to the song. And the stripped-down rocker Cold Fire burns with an intensity carried not only by catchy guitar parts but by Geddy Lee's melodically rambunctious bass.

A carload of my buddies and I hit the road in early May of '94 to see the Montreal show of Rush's Counterparts tour. The band ploughed through a massive set of prog-metal greats old and new. Highlights for me were The Trees, Xanadu, and Cynus X-1 (books I and II).... the last of which I believe had either never been played live before, or at least not in many decades. These classic Rush songs alone made the entire evening a worthwhile experience, though there were plenty more rockers to keep the arena crowd on its feet. 

Everything's Archie

Comic books never played a huge part in my life, but as a young lad, I did my bit to educate myself on the topics of monsters and superheroes via this fun art form. The very first comic I ever owned was a rather worn-looking issue of Batman from the early 60's. The cover price was something like ten or twelve cents, though I got it for probably a nickel at the neighbour's yard sale. 

That was the beginning of a modest collecting habit that lasted several years of my childhood. I favoured the DC universe over that of Marvel. I did love Marvel's Spiderman and I followed the odd title like Shang-Chi, Tomb of Dracula, and Werewolf by Night. But it was the "classic" DC superheroes that initially stirred my imagination. The true oldies like Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, The Flash... and I checked out some Green Lantern and a few others. 

Oh, and I also enjoyed the dark and creepy stories in some of the Charlton Comics. I seem to recall owning some of their horror and war comics, which at the time felt sort of taboo to me.... but I did cherish those books. 

After immersing myself in all of the fantasy stories, I found something quite different, and I believe it was through the magic of television that I made that discovery. The Archie Show grabbed my attention with its pop music theme and other songs. Sugar Sugar is the only song I can recall now.... super teeny bopper sweet.... definitely sugar-coated for the younger crowd. But the characters on the show were funny and likable, with a true community feel to everything, as though these were real people with real relationships living in a real city. 

There is no record of when I picked up my first Archie comic, but that was the next logical step for me. I might have been in grade five at the time; I say that because that was when I became good friends with Martin, a new kid in town, and he had a massive Archie comics collection. 

There were so many titles within the Archie universe that I had to make some tough buying decisions each month at the drugstore (no comic shops back then... just newstands and drugstore magazine racks). There were comics dedicated to many of the characters, including some of the minor characters who earned their own spin-offs, like Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Josie and the Pussycats. I stuck with the main Riverdale gang, though. And it didn't take long for me to realize that the comic digests were the best bang for my buck, so I often skipped the regular comics and began to build a sizable collection of Archie digests. I hung onto those digests until I became a father, and then I passed them on to my lovely daughter, who adored the books.

Jughead happened to be my favourite character, with his weird little "crown" hat and insatiable appetite for burgers. I loved burgers a lot, too, often sitting down to an A&W meal - complete with burger, fries, root beer float and a banana split, while reading my latest purchases. Then I'd go home and eat my Mom's lunch. Hehe, she had no idea.

I rarely buy comics today, but I have occasionally picked up an interesting graphic novel, and most recently I bought trade paperback collections of The Punisher and Green Lantern... mainly just to learn about the origins of the characters. Interesting and kind of fun, but nothing that I want to pursue in a big way. And no more Archie... though I have toyed with the idea of buying that nice hardcover edition of the reprints of the very first issues of Archie comics. A little piece of history there. 

A questionable purchase - my Jughead toy from

the 70's (like new condition)... plus membership 

pins from the official Archie Fan Club. Yeesh.

Rockin' Canadian Style

The young and the wreckless

Today is Canada Day, when we beer-drinking, snow-shoveling, plaid-wearing "eh"-sayers celebrate the birthday of our fair nation. In tribute to this occasion, I'd like to share some fond memories of Canadian rock'n'rollers from a few decades ago.

During my teenage years, I was discovering all of the great Canadian bands actively recording and touring at the time, not for a moment realizing that this was a Golden Age of sorts. The late 70's and early 80's were special enough as they were, simply because I was young enough not to have a care in the world except "what album will I buy this week?"

My main sources of music news were the Toronto radio station Q107 and the Toronto TV show The New Music, and on rare occasions maybe CHUM-FM. Between the three of them, I was able to keep current with the scene and appear pretty knowledgeable to the average Joe on the street. Not that I was trying to impress anyone... or was I?

The fertile 70's laid the groundwork for a thriving music industry in Canada. At the time, you could never say there was a glut of bands out there. There were just enough to keep you happy, with no real difficulty keeping up with their creative output. Today, on the other hand, you seem to need a wi-fi receiver brain implant in order to know everything going on in Canada, let alone the rest of the world. Yes, just plug me in Matrix-style. No, I wouldn't want that. 

When I became a serious music listener as a teen, a Canadian government group, the CRTC, had just modified its requirements for TV and radio broadcasters to play a certain percentage of Canadian content (thus, the abbreviated CanCon). The requirement jumped from 25% to 30% in the 80's. That's a fair bit....

But this was not a problem for radio stations like Q107, for they were proud of the fact that Canada was producing so much amazing music at the time. Yes, bring on the Canadian content! Sure, we still got Def Leppard and Ted Nugent over the airwaves, but hey, there was no shame in blasting some good ol' Rush or Triumph back in the day. Not to mention the lower-tier acts who comprised the exciting scene right here at home. 

Some of my fave rockers at the time were Santers, Coney Hatch (and then singer/bassist Andy Curran when he went solo - with no tattoos), FM (prog rockers with a difference), Max Webster (then Kim Mitchell when he went solo), Killer Dwarfs (inducing heavy mental breakdowns everywhere), Helix (give me an "R"), Kickaxe, and Harlequin. Oh, and April Wine, though most of their best music was made in the 70's. 

Other cool bands that really kicked were Lee Aaron (the original Metal Queen), Goddo (juiced on lizard fuel), Prism, Frank Soda, Teenage Head, Aldo Nova, Headpins, Loverboy, Toronto, Streetheart, Queen City Kids, Trooper, and the Pat Travers Band (snortin' whiskey and blazing solos!).

And the dawn of the music video gave these artists the chance to get their music (and faces) out to the whole country - and maybe the world - through sometimes shoe-string budget videos (check out the Killer Dwarfs' "Heavy Mental Breakdown"). Some bands were quite inventive with the new medium, creating unforgettable images to accompany their hit songs. In fact, I just now revisited a bunch of those videos and man, some of them still get me going.... again, I'll cite Heavy Mental Breakdown by the Dwarfs as a favourite. MuchMusic, Canada's answer to MTV, was a glorious thing for music-hungry fans in its early days. 

Good times.....

Mime your own business!