Winter Games: Hockey Skates

Kathleen Edwards: Hockey Skates
[purchase]

It’s not that I don’t like hockey, but I just never got into the habit of watching it. I grew up watching baseball, basketball and football, and hockey wasn’t something that we followed in our house, although my father tells stories about going to the old Madison Square Garden when he was in high school to watch double headers for like a nickel. When I do watch hockey, I recognize that it is exciting, and the few games I have been to are great, and I find that I enjoy the games best during the playoffs, or the Olympics, when fighting takes a back seat to skating. Of course, I was very excited by the “Miracle on Ice” (which you should read about here). And I loved Slap Shot. Hockey may also be the sport that benefits the most from HDTV, because you can actually follow the puck.

My siblings and I all grew up in the same house, and while my brother and I became rabid sports fans, my sister never got the bug. I have no idea if my parents did anything differently to cause that, but I have found that my daughter is less of a sports fan than my son (except, to some degree, when it comes to soccer). But life has a way of throwing curves (to use a baseball metaphor, because I’m not familiar enough with hockey to know if there is a similar hockey phrase), and my sister has a boyfriend who is a rabid hockey fan and a son who is less interested in sports than her daughter. Seeing pictures on Facebook of my sister in a Rangers jersey at a game has brought me much amusement. But it is important in a relationship to support your partner’s interests, which is why my wife has found herself at more Mets games than I think she ever anticipated, and I have certainly seen more choral music than I ever imagined.

Of course, if you are Canadian, hockey is ingrained in your culture. It is actually the state religion, set forth in the Constitution (no, it isn’t). And it is not surprising that Canadian singer Kathleen Edwards uses hockey references even in songs that aren’t about hockey at all. Often compared to Lucinda Williams due to the similar quality of their songwriting, their twangy sound, and less than perfect voices, Edwards is a great talent in her own right. In the song “Hockey Skates,” Edwards’ narrator describes an unsatisfactory relationship and says, with resignation,

I am so sick of consequence and the look on your face 
I am tired of playing defense 
I don't even have hockey skates 

You don’t have to be Don Cherry to understand what she means.

Another great Edwards song that references hockey without being about hockey is “I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory,” in which the narrator unfavorably compares herself to her fellow band member with a series of clever comparisons—

You're cool and cred like Fogerty I'm Elvis Presley in the 70's 
You're Chateauneuf, I'm Yellow Label 
You're the buffet, I'm just the table 
I'm a Ford Tempo, you're a Maserati 
You're the Great One, I'm Marty McSorley 
You're the Concorde, I'm economy. 

Here, she is comparing herself not to the all-time great Wayne Gretzky, but to his teammate, the grinding enforcer, McSorley. The video for this song is fun, and features a hockey match that includes Edwards, members of her band, Blue Rodeo singer Jim Cuddy, former NHL players Paul Coffey and Brad Dalgarno, and, yes, Marty McSorley.

O Canada: 5 Years

Kathleen Edwards: 5 Years

[purchase]

Most of us, myself included, came to Kathleen Edwards' music through her 2003 debut album, Failer. Few people, though, are aware of her true debut effort.

Building 55 was self released in 1999 and limited to a quantity of only 500 pressings. The EP is the work of an artist who is clearly still finding her way as a songwriter and performer and probably would not be considered essential for casual Kathleen Edwards fans. What it does show, however, are glimpses of the artist Kathleen would become.

I'm sharing here a track called "5 Years" that is easily the hardest rocking song on the disc and the one that dishes out a heavy dose of anger with its crunchy guitars. As far as I know, this EP is not currently commercially available. The "purchase" link above points to Kathleen's Amazon Artist page.

PS: I don't normally link to my own site on my posts here... but there's a good opportunity for some blog synergy here. This week is "Canadiana Week" at A Fifty Cent Lighter & A Whiskey Buzz, and I'm featuring several Canadian Americana acts. Check it out for a look at some newer Canadian acts that may not get mentioned here this week.

Sports: The Hockey Edition

Kathleen Edwards: Hockey Skates

[purchase]

Jane Siberry: Hockey

[purchase]

Although I had plenty of songs I could have chosen for this theme (lots of baseball, and even a boxer... no, not the Simon and Garfunkel one), I'm not really a sports person - of course, at the eleventh hour, I remembered a tune I'd love to cover... and then discovered BoyHowdy already had...

So... since it's been a while, I'm re-upping that one... which made me think of the other one - Jane Siberry is a favorite for a few of us on this blog, and this song (although it drops a few f-bombs) is from her Child holiday live ensemble double-CD. From the liner notes:

"The wintry scenario depicted in "Hockey", though, was all fun in its performances here: The song takes a wistful look back at the fading joys of youth, and ends with the children who are playing hockey on the frozen river being called home for dinner. One by one, Jane called home her band, each member regressing back into childhood and comically expressing their displeasure."

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Last-minute bonus topical track from Boyhowdy himself: THESE Hanson Brothers are a faux Canadian punk band named after the boys from the film SlapShot; they make entire albums about hockey in full-blown Ramones-era style...

The Hanson Brothers: The Hockey Song

[purchase]

Footwear: Hockey Skates

Kathleen Edwards: Hockey Skates

[purchase]

One of my favorite artists to have emerged into the alt-everything stew since the millenium, Canadian folk/alt-country singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards has a gorgeously tuned, slightly hoarse folkvoice, and an incredible knack for saying complicated things with few words, a couple of simple images, and not much more. Add an instinct towards thump and twang, and the perfect radio-ready folkpop production, and you've got a hitmaker whose music stays on the shuffle mix pretty much permanently.

Here, on one of three rising-star singles from her 2003 major label debut, she brings the weary weight of an age-old complaint -- same old bar, same old defensive pose, same old guy who loves the bar more than he loves her -- to new heights. This track is a little slower and a little more alt-Nashville than some of her others, but to me, the choice of pace and production is stunningly apropos: the dragging, exhausted voice, the wailing slide and fiddle, and the slow alt-country beat combine to make the song a perfect barroom soundtrack to its own narrative.