Today we shall revisit some artists that we've covered in previous entries. These three albums have been sitting in my queue pile for many years, so it's time to clear them out and make room for other crap.
The Welfare Starlets - Underground
The last thing I reviewed by the Welfare Starlets was what seemed to be a demo tape which contained the song "Menstrual Blues". They also seem to have lost a member between the release of that cassette and this CD (more on that later). You know what? This album is quite decent. The music is played well, it has a good mix, and the lyrics are fun and dumb. You can't ask for much more than that. I have no clue what the hell is going on with the cover though.
The entire reason why I dug this one out was because I had received an email from one of the band members a couple of months back...
Thank you for posting about the Welfare Starlets. I wrote The Menstrual Blues 30 years ago because my mother didn't believe that cramps could hurt that much! After we started playing the song, people came out of the woodwork to thank us for expressing what they felt, and my mom learnt that the pain was real. You made me laugh with your comment on how you could relate, having had bloody diarrhea!
Anyway, the real reason I wanted to thank you for posting the song is this: the woman on the far right in the picture of us you posted now has young-onset Alzheimer's, and is in a long-term care institution. The other day, I found our recording on your blog, and played it for her and we sang along to it! It was great to see her eyes light up as she remembered the words.
Thanks for unearthing old cassettes and uploading them online. You're doing great work.
So let's enjoy a couple of songs from it. The Roadkill song is probably my favourite. As a side note, what's the deal about writing songs about eating roadkill?
Kevin & Marg Harcourt - Shadow Pictures on the Wall
Previously covered here and here and here and here and here and here
Kevin stepped it up a notch and recorded this album on Chromium Dioxide tape. Now you can hear his moustache in crystal, clear audio fidelity! I'm just glad I can't hear the sound of their shirts. Yeeesh!
Whoever previously owned this tape decided to check off all the Kevin Harcourt albums they have. This really gives us an inside glimpse into what kind of people listen to Kevin Harcourt...
Kevin usually records nothing but cover songs. However, this time he recorded some originals that he got from other people across Canada. Kudos to him for being nice enough to give credit to these contributors unlike some of the other people I've reviewed who leeched talent and took all the credit for themselves. Good boy, Kevin!.
I'm letting you hear the song "Sick and Tired", which is how I feel from constantly finding Kevin's albums in the thrift store
George Wescott - Yesterdays Memories
Do you like the Casio keyboard? Do you like screechy violins? If you do, then you're probably a Newfie. At least that's the impression I get from finding all these shitty Canadian sea shanties from Newfoundland. So if there's any Newfies out there who don't feel these musical elements represent their province, then perhaps you should hunt down all these people pooping out crappy albums and teach them how to make GOOD music.
Now look at the cover. George said, "Fuck this hayride shit, I'm gonna play my accordion!"
According to the sticker on the spine of the cassette, I paid fifteen cents for this. With eleven tracks, that's a little more than a penny per song, although I think he charged extra for "Fields of Athenry" since it clocks in at five minutes. Shitty music is getting expensive.
This guy should do an album with Eddie Coffey, although I think Eddie is well above and beyond doing suicidal sea shitties played on a Casio keyboard. Also, these songs almost all sound the same. I suppose that saves time programming the Casio.
Listen to Mist Upon the Morning
Well, hopefully you get some entertainment from the junk I review while you're locked up in your smelly house that you're too depressed to clean due to not being able to have friends over or jobs because it's illegal. I know I'm entertained by it. Perhaps I should do something about the smell. Oh wait, it's probably because that last album stunk.
3 comments:
I was devastated when the tape deck ate my Welfare Starlets Underground tape. Roadkill, Menstrual Blues and Granny's Hooked are three of my granddaughter's favorite bedtime songs I sing
My dad got me the Underground CD by the Welfare Starlets for my 10th birthday and I played it until it was scratched up. Sadly, it's near impossible to find now! Thank you for at least giving us a few of the songs! And if you want to add more... I mean, I know I'd love it!
It was also lovely to hear the story about them having a chance to sing together. Thanks so much!
I have a copy of this fun CD that was in a CD collection I bought. It is in great shape! Happy to make a good chrome tape or rip to file for anyone that wants.
;-)
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