Holy tiger ass, have you seen Chad VanGaalen’s new video? Never mind the song (a creepy tale of posthumous revenge guaranteed to fist-freak your sleep sheep) — the Calgary musician drew and animated the entire thing as a Flash cartoon. It’s called “Molten Light,” it’s just a mess of horrible beauty, and it’s easily found on YouTube.
Bulging eyes, a murdered naked woman sinking to a lake bottom, and even a melting priest all come together in the weirdest fucking thing I’ve seen since ODing on the Frank Zappa-sponsored Amazing Mr. Bickford claymation. The short is seriously terrifying: “She’ll find you and she’ll kill you,” sung with VanGaalen’s heavenly sweet falsetto. If it doesn’t win a Juno I’ll ... I’ll ... well, it’s actually pretty tough to threaten our Junos with less respect. “And the winner is — a tie, ladies and gentlemen, between Great Big Back-Nickel and Rita McMcMaster!”
The funny thing is, up till now I thought VanGaalen’s songs were some of the most complete-sounding things I’d ever heard — so far post-rock to make your radio age 150,000 years and seem a thing of ancient fossils. But now I see, thanks to the view from this sick mountaintop, these songs are merely the score to something you seriously get the feeling the entire planet is going to know about someday soon. Dear Canada, give VanGaalen as much money as you have. To hell with foreign aid and the national parks this year.
Soft Airplane, the new album out Tuesday, does also rule, P.S.
Of all places to get drunk, we were in Bentley, Alta., on the weekend, celebrating Dick Damron’s 50th anniversary in the recording industry. Damron is the pride of the town’s actually-called-this Monkey Top Saloon, and even has a road named after him. Dressed like a trucker and making numerous references to going for a toke in the alley, he’s probably the closest thing we have to Waylon Jennings in the province of Croc-wearers and rig-camp serial masturbators. Collectively, Bentley seems to be under the impression that the man’s a household name worldwide, which, not to get all 2008 on their asses, a simple Wikipedia or AllMusic entry might help out with a little bit.
Still, the band was tight, the tunes solid, and to my knowledge no one else can announce the chili and corn buffet’s existence with such total class.
Finally, in Edmonton news, the Black Dog’s Best in Show II rolled open like a giant red tongue, which, as the weather continues to tank, turns out to be a good thing. I only saw the first three bands — Electricity for Everybody!, Fat Dave Sound Wave, and Red Ram — before living it up in Donair-ville on the jagged walk home. But they all kicked ass. E4E! you’ve already heard me rave about with Guided by Voices enthusiasm, and Red Ram worked quite well as a two-piece with an absent Doug Organ. But Fat Dave massaged my heart the most this time, sick blues with a mandatory Iron Maiden uniform which Tom Murray somehow didn’t get the memo on.
In the crowd (why do I feel like Graham Hicks all of a sudden?) was former YEG-ger Tony Baker, sci-fi visual-artist genius, who’s throwing a show in Calgary’s Untitled Art Society Gallery (4th Floor, 319-10th Ave. SW) from 7-10 p.m. on Friday night. Called Rebuilding the Expanse, the show will include some of Baker’s first 3-D model work (besides Tapey monsters), essentially windowboxes into his colorful cities — now with depth. If you’re in Calgary ...
