However, reasoned second thought and years of life experience have taught me there are worse musical acts than Duran Duran (albeit, few of them). Black Eyed Peas come to mind as one of the worst, but after giving this a lot of thought, I've come to realize there is only one band that can beat both of them for the title of Most Hated Band: Nickelback. Ah, Nickelback - it has been so long since I called you out on A Creative Maelstrom. You might think that my hatred for Nickelback might burn me, but it actually keeps me warm.
But on to happier thoughts, and actually talented Canadian musicians - lesser known, but so much better.
Disc 311 is...Heroine
Artist: Wild Strawberries
Year of Release: 1995
What’s Up With The Cover?: Lead singer Roberta Carter-Harrison strikes a retro fifties pose with a vaccuum cleaner. In the nineties I had a huge crush on Roberta, and looking at this cover reminds me why. She is so hot she makes the fifties look sexy.
How I Came To Know It: As I noted back when I reviewed "Bet You Think I'm Lonely" at Disc 211, I saw the Wild Strawberries on a late night Much Music show called 'The Wedge'. "Heroine" is their second album, and I bought it when it came out, excited to see what they would offer next.
How It Stacks Up: I have three Wild Strawberries albums. This one is excellent, and comes in 2nd only by the narrowest of margins.
Rating: 4 stars.
Good pop music is hard to find. When you think about some of the worst bands in history (Duran Duran, Justin Bieber, etc.) they generally come from the pop genre. I can understand that the world's most popular music consistently also produces the majority of the worst artists - that's statistically to be expected.
What I can't fathom is why so many of the best selling artists are the worst pop has to offer. Surely people can tell the difference between good pop and bad pop, yet this keeps happening. I can only assume soulless record execs are pulling the strings somewhere - not because I have any proof, but because the alternative is depressing.
This is even more noticeable when you come across a fairly obscure band like the Wild Strawberries, who are talented, accessible, write catchy hooks and are demonstrably photogenic (Oh, Roberta, why did you never return my calls...). They've got everything you need, yet somehow never hit it big. That said, I'm glad to make everything right in my little corner of the blogosphere.
As I noted in my review of their debut, The Wild Strawberries is a husband and wife team where the husband writes the songs and plays keyboards, and the wife sings and generally looks hot (see above). The music on this album is similar to their first, with a moody atmospheric sound that has a bit of an electronica edge (without actually being electronica). On top of this are layers of seventies-derived soul, topped off with the breathy crooning of Carter-Harrison.
Compared to their first release, "Heroine" has a bit more jump overall. You could say the Wild Strawberries 'lightened up' for this record, but the difference is only slight. They would take a different direction for their third record which I never enjoyed as much. "Heroine", however, is a joy - good to play in the car and sing along, and just as good at a party, or just hanging out playing board games with your wife. It is versatile and listenable music, which can fill the role of background music or active listening with equal success.
Lyrically, the record varies considerably. Some of the tracks are whimsical love songs and others are more seriously introspective. The band is very good at matching lyrics to the tone of the song, however, and the transitions from track to track have a good flow.
One song that stands out for me is "On My Own" which is half self-affirmation and half ironic self reflection on the nature of ego. It begins:
"I want to be a leading lady on my own
I want to act sophisticated on my own."
and later switches to:
"Everyone loves a winner when he's wrong
Everyone wants the singer to sing along."
Lyrically, I also like the final track, which is a slow and sombre character study titled, "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead." As with many Wild Strawberries songs, I'm not entirely certain of the narrative, so much as the mood. I think the song depicts the narrator picking up a stray waif on the street and helping her out, loving her, while not entirely trusting her. A couple of my favourite stanzas:
"She told me her name was Cymbeline
I met her at the corner of Church and Queen
She was selling lies and other painted things
I hardly even noticed when she touched my ring."
and
"'I can drive for hours when I'm wrong'
She said it like a preacher before the throng
Careful with your life, cause it's not very long
We struggle for a moment and then we're gone."
With so much bad pop floating around, it is nice to see bands like the Wild Strawberries and Aimee Mann delivering such excellent work. My only wish is that the Wild Strawberries' third album had lived up to the high standard set by "Bet You Think I'm Lonely" and "Heroine" - but that would be a tall order indeed.
In any case, over fifteen years later, this album gets put on by both me and Sheila at every opportunity, and still sounds fresh after hundreds of listens. It is amazing that I keep coming back to this record, but as Roberta sings in one song, "everything that rises must converge." That's certainly true of good music.
Best tracks: I Don't Want To Think About It, Heroine, On My Own, Aisle C, Everything That Rises, Everybody Loves You When You're Dead
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