It has been over a decade since the neatly stacked boxes of our new home were pilfered and the numerous effects of having our possessions wiped out linger with us today... such as the hollow feeling at having accidentally left some items off of the insurance claim. I mean, where would I be now with my Guitar Hero prowess if we had remembered that Tiki 1) actually owned a guitar, and 2) had had it stolen!?! Additionally, we were unable to re-purchase many of the 600-odd stolen cd’s (filed under “not-popular” as opposed to “rare”). Thus, James’ “Wah Wah” - the improvised, experimental, oft-forgotten album recorded at the same time as, and a companion piece to, one of the best albums of all time, “Laid” - was not to be heard from again. And in this country, at least, not-popular Wah Wah hasn’t been in circulation for a very, very long time.
Enter good friend, saviour and all-around swell person, Zenmomma Mary:
me: oh, and been meaning to ask... do you own "wah wah"?
her: Was there any doubt? Of course I do. Would you like a copy?
me: BUOY YA!!!! (that's: "yes, please Mary")
her: Right on! I'll get it going this week.
She has nothing else to do, its not like she’s planning a massive conference or buying up fancy real estate or anything!Wah Wah is an album full of hidden, catchy, “throw-away” musical snippets that is most effective when listened to in its entirety and probably does not represent the best initiation to the greatness that is James. It is, however, much more than simply a completest’s necessity and includes the first recording of “Tomorrow”, arguably James’ finest work and one of a handful of “proper” songs on the album. Here’s an excellent live rendition of “Tomorrow” that includes the ever intriguing on-stage interplay between Saul Davies and Tim Booth as well as supreme evidence of Booth’s infamous whirling dervish-like dancing (apparently Booth’s first job in the band was listed as “dancer”):
Video :: Tomorrow (live) by JamesPretty much makes you want to sell your newly purchased vehicle and go and catch them on their upcoming British reunion tour doesn’t it?
It has been over a decade since the neatly stacked boxes of our new home were pilfered and the numerous effects of having our possessions wiped out linger with us today... such as the hollow feeling at having accidentally left some items off of the insurance claim. I mean, where would I be now with my Guitar Hero prowess if we had remembered that Tiki 1) actually owned a guitar, and 2) had had it stolen!?! Additionally, we were unable to re-purchase many of the 600-odd stolen cd’s (filed under “not-popular” as opposed to “rare”). Thus, James’ “Wah Wah” - the improvised, experimental, oft-forgotten album recorded at the same time as, and a companion piece to, one of the best albums of all time, “Laid” - was not to be heard from again. And in this country, at least, not-popular Wah Wah hasn’t been in circulation for a very, very long time.
She has nothing else to do, its not like she’s planning a massive conference or buying up fancy real estate or anything!
Countless English bands - and their descriptive lyrical imagery such as "enslaved in a pebble-dash grave" by Suede - scream out to me in a way that no Canadian band can hope for. In supporting and enjoying musicians and their works I have always struggled with that sense of distance and perspective. Basically, I eschew anything local. I don't want to hear some Canadian band spout off about suburbia... 
Then there is the (now) internationally popular Sigur Rós who find themselves wrapped up in the very fabric of their nation and pretty much are Iceland. Have 97 minutes to spare? Watch their full-length/ incredible/ goosebump-inducing film:
