Author: Johanne Nedergaard

Categories
Music

Why Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours will be the one and only for my ears – always

Graphic by @sundaeghost

On their 50th anniversary tour, the band demonstrates that even though time goes by, the shared love and music is everlasting

“If music be the food of love, play on” – that’s how Shakespeare wrote it. If Fleetwood Mac was a meal, I could eat it everyday (and most of the time I do). My alarm went off at 6.30 a.m. this Wednesday, and I got myself ready for an opportunity I’ve wanted for the last five years: a night with Fleetwood Mac. Unfortunately, the band’s 50th anniversary tour didn’t pass through Montreal, so I got on a bus to Quebec City in the early hours to experience what has been the soundtrack to most of my young adult life.

Fleetwood Mac is the ultimate symbol of an intense, deep and heartbreaking relationship told through music. From their early beginnings with British Blues in the 60s, to their careless and hardrocking tracks in the late 90s, they have showed us how inseparable music and the turbulent excitement of love are.

About five years ago I was at a place in my life filled with doubt, changes and my first proper heartbreak, and that was when I discovered the 1977 album Rumours. I have been madly in love with their tender and honest sound ever since. Best rebound ever.

Not only is Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours one of the greatest tales of love in music history (it was a product made in a time where the band members struggled with divorces and crossover-affairs, all while they consumed huge amounts of cocaine), it is also a stroke of genius in musical terms. 

The tonal soundscapes consist of cosmic electric guitar riffs balances with the calm Americana-inspired acoustic and soul-lifting harmonies with the melodic bass humming underneath. It’s all held together by Fleetwood’s rhythm-superiority on the drums, where fills are being poured over this musical unicum as a cherry on top. Rumours topped the US Billboard 200 for 31 weeks in a row after its release in 1977, and marked Fleetwood Mac as one of the most inspirational music groups of the 20th century (last year they were announced as Person of the Year by MusiCares, the charity arm of The Recording Academy).

But a lot has happened since 1977 – the ever-changing group dynamic was not only shown on the production of Rumours, but has been an ongoing issue ever since. Fleetwood Mac has had no less than 18 different members, with the only permanent one being the founder, Mick Fleetwood. The rotation and shift of members has was caused by drug abuse, affairs, dramatic fights and firings, where the latest was the layoff to vocalist Lindsey Buckingham due to artistic disagreements. Therefore, I was extremely excited to see if the ever-changing band could give me the same nerve-wrecking sensation as the 50 year-old LP I have on my shelf back at home.

Twenty minutes after the show began, the group known to be history’s greatest soap opera band appeared on stage, and the memorable bass drum from “The Chain” surrounded us all in one joined heartbeat. My heart was (once again) stolen, and like the rest of the crowd, I got carried away for two hours in the musical universe that is Fleetwood Mac. New Zealand singer Neil Finn is the replacement for Buckingham. Even though he didn’t have the exact same tonal finesse, he still did a pretty good job (you know how it is embracing the flaws of your loved ones).

While hearing Stevie Nicks singing about disappointment and heartbreak on “Dreams” (an ode to fuckboys before the term was even invented) or experiencing the 10-minute long drum solo by Mick Fleetwood – where his characteristic eyeballs looked as if they could pop out of his head anytime – I lost sense of time and place, and everything came together in one big cosmos.

So, was Fleetwood Mac just as sharp, energetic and passionate as they were on Rumours? I think the show was as good as it gets, despite the stamp all of the members have achieved from the vanity of life (especially one as musicians). 

“We love doing this every night,” was the final words of the night from drummer Fleetwood. That’s the thing about true love – no matter how many times you spend doing the exact same thing and the exact same routines, you can feel the magic and anticipation just as strong as you did on first sight (or listen).

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
News

Le Monde Festival takes a stand for climate justice at Concordia

According to Concordia’s Ursula Eicker, cities of the future should be less about expansion and prosperity, but more about resilience and socio-economic sharings.

Want to live smart? Slow down. That’s what Ursula Eicker, professor of Buildings Civil and Environmental Engineering said at Le Monde Festival 2019. Le Monde is a climate festival held on Oct. 25 and 26, co-organized by French newspapers Le Monde and Le Devoir. Different talks and debates were held, arguing how we can shape the most sustainable and hopeful future possible.

We have never been as busy as now when it comes to revolutionizing our use of natural remedies. But instead of rushing towards new methods and technologies, maybe we should just go back in time and get inspired by how things were before the industrial revolution. Eicker is Concordia’s new Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Communities and Cities, and this year she was giving the keynote address for the French climate festival. According to Eicker, climate justice will not just take a few single actions, but several repeating ones that might conflict with our incorporated and safe habitual life as we know it. Her take on this matter is that we need to change the infrastructures in cities, not necessarily by looking forward, but by looking backward.

“We live in a world where short term actions dominate,” Eicker said. She doesn’t see a bright future for sterile cities with a focus on expansion and financial growth. Instead, Eicker argues that we need a frame that can help us reduce our carbon footprint in the most efficient way possible.

A large and open space for pedestrians, bikers and green areas are key elements of these so-called “next-generation cities,” that Eicker gave us a virtual tour of. Besides these back-to-basics renovations of the cityscape, she also shared the importance of rethinking how we as consumers maintain ownership of, for example, our way of commuting. Why not drive together with your colleague to work, or go grocery shopping with your neighbour, in one vehicle?

Being smart is not just about being fast, evolving and building. Big changes have to be incorporated into city infrastructure, but you can also help a lot through individual actions. Maybe this simplified approach to sharing both transport and resources would be worth a try.

 

Feature photo by Johanne Nedergaard

Categories
Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Tove Lo – Sunshine Kitty

Tove Lo - Sunshine Kitty

The Swedish Queen of dark pop has found a new path with lots of sunshine

Swedish artist Tove Lo usually creates alternative and honest pop songs about heartbreak, where the production suits the darker corners of the club. On her new album, Sunshine Kitty, Lo has been walking down a much brighter path – one that has a promising and very well-produced foundation throughout (almost) the entire album.

Tove Lo has changed her lyrical universe surrounding broken hearts and drugs, to embrace inner peace and falling in love. She wants you to actually enjoy the parties you attend, instead of being smashed and wasted on the dancefloor. Unfortunately, there are some quite dull moments between the delicate pop bangers; where songs like “Mateo” and “Shifted” give the vibe of waiting in line for the washroom at a party, where you are feeling impatient and restless.

Throughout the 40-minute album, Tove Lo is guiding you through her newfound happy place. Unfortunately, this positiveness doesn’t have quite the same feeling of sincerity and honesty that can be found on Lo’s earlier productions.

All in all, I am sure to give this little Kitty a spin or two, especially when I’ll be going out to dance the night away.

7/10

Trial Track: “Really don’t like u” ft. Kylie Minogue

Star Bar:

“They say be one with the city

So I’m standing in the sun all day

Got their manners mapped out

And they just smile, no matter what I say” (Lo on “Anywhere u go”)

 

Categories
Music

An intimate night in the world of Red

Photo by Jonathan Vivaas Kise.

girl in red was impressive from the moment she got settled on stage

The first time I experienced Marie Ulven – who goes by the artist name ‘girl in red’ – was in the early spring when she played at the Scandinavian showcase festival by:Larm, in Oslo. At her home field show, we were being introduced to a young and fairly confused girl serving us heartbreaking stories with the attitude of Joan Jett and the humour of Will Ferrell. I was excited to see how 2019 had formed the up-and-coming artist, and I must say that at the end of the night I was very pleased by her progress.

Ulven is 20 years old, and produces all of her charming lo-fi pop songs from her room. Her bedroom-pop reaches out to all of the misfits of the competitive generation Z, and tells us it’s okay to be more into girls than boys or vice versa, and that you are allowed to feel down or depressed, even though the sun is shining outside.

Thursday evening, Le Ministère on St-Laurent St. was completely packed with young fans with sparkling eyes and lots of excitement. As girl in red entered the stage, the crowd exploded in high pitched cries and shrieks from the female-dominated crowd.

The show opened with the latest released single “bad idea.” Even though people were ecstatic by her appearance, it was a bit of a wobbly start for Ulven and the band – an unbalanced sound level made it almost impossible to hear the detail-oriented production, especially because of the dominating lead vocals volume being way too high.

You could tell that Ulven was affected by the technical bothers, stuttering through the introduction. She told us she had a sore throat and couldn’t hear anything through her in-ear monitors. A lot of warning signs made it a bit hard for me to believe that she would be able to deliver as convincing of a performance as she had the first time I saw her.

Luckily, I was wrong.

Even though Ulven didn’t seem to be catching either her breath or foothold until the fourth song of the gig, “summer depression,” the crowd was positive and uplifting. Ulven and the band were finally past the sound difficulties, and they could finally open their eyes towards the big and warm Quebecois welcome that was facing them. This included both pick up-lines from the girls in the front rows, and a beautifully handmade fan art portrait.

Last but not least, the whole crowd singing “O Canada” at the top of their voices when Ulven complimented them for speaking French, which according to her is “the most sexy language ever.”

The national anthem really reached both Ulven and the audience, and hearts were being stolen from both sides of the stage.

The show reached new heights when “forget her” was flowing out of the speakers. Ulven was finally ready for takeoff.

We were already halfway through the show, but Ulven was relaxed and actually present with the packed venue. A lot of chit-chatting with the front row and storytelling came between absolutely banging and impressive versions of “we fell in love in october,” “watch you sleep,” and “girls.”

Finally, we got to see Ulven in her element. She demonstrated the perfect balance between being an absolute performer on stage, with her long hair surrounding her like a blond tornado, and a charming conferencier in the breaks, with blushed cheeks caused by the compliments and cheering from the “woo girl” crowd.

The show ended with a singalong of “say anything,” closed by the debut single “i wanna be your girlfriend,” when the band was playing in all their glory. All in all, girl in red was just as adorable and vulnerable as I remembered her; but this time, she was a little more hyped, although cold-infected, and professional. It took her a while to reach people’s hearts, but as she got comfortable and warmed up, she had all of us under her thumb.

 

Photo by Jonathan Vivaas Kise

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