Author: Michael

Posted in Paper Chase

David Goggins – Can’t Hurt Me

Posted on by Michael

A few years ago, self-improvement book recommendations were crowding my algorithm – especially during COVID.  One of the books that was always on those lists was David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me – Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds. Goggins starts the reader off talking about his upbringing where his entire family was mentally and physically abused by his father.  Escaping with his mom to small town Indiana saw that abuse end but posed new challenges for a person of colour in a mostly white rural setting. As he became a young adult, Goggins was in a job he hated, overweight and going nowhere. A spur of the moment decision saw him start to train in order to join the Navy SEALS.

That is where the next part of the story really takes off. Goggins describes going through the grueling military hell week and all the fears that he had to overcome in order to do this (ex: afraid of the water). After completing hell week he then talks a lot about competing in ultra marathons and Iron Man competitions. A lot of these he decides to do spur of the moment without proper training.  Because of the lack of training/planning, suffering through severe physical pain and injuries to finish the competition is a main part of the story.

While his story is extreme, it certainly is an interesting and often inspiring one.  Most will not be rushing out tomorrow to run for 24 straight hours with no training on broken bones, nor should they. But he points out that people are able to push further than they originally thought possible.  He talks of the 40% rule where people stop at only 40% of their physical capabilities while the elite push through this. He also talks about taking stock of how one did on certain challenges by completing an After Action Report.

Like everyone that people look up to or aspire to be, Goggins does have his limitations (broken marriages, terrible working relationships, etc) – but there are still parts of his mentality that can be incorporated into daily life.  We’re all dealing with problems and our fair share of BS, but maybe we can keep pushing to get to another level of accomplishment. Goggins sure thinks we can. If you need an extra push, reading this book might be the push you need.

8/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Saint Etienne – Foxbase Alpha (Deluxe Edition) (2016)

Posted on by Michael

Saint Etienne have been a going concern for 35 years. Started by childhood chums Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, the duo would later add vocalist Sarah Cracknell to the lineup.  Released in 1991 on Heavenly Records, the band’s debut Foxbase Alpha mixes 60s pop, British indie rock, and the beats of the house scene. The deluxe version of the album released in 2016 contains several cover versions with one of the best appearing right away with the Neil Young song, “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” sung by Moira Lambert. This club version of the song rides a groove with a solid bass, keyboards, and further down the line, a drum breakdown.

“Girl VII” puts acoustic guitar over a throbbing beat that lyrically lists several cities including beautiful Winnipeg(!) and the repeated mysterious line of “Carrie’s got a boyfriend”. “Spring” and the single “Nothing Can Stop Us Now” are sunny bits of 60s pop over 90s beats. These tracks are interspersed with more dancefloor ready tracks like the seven minute “Stoned To Say The Least” and atmospheric “She’s The One”.  Foxbase Alpha is an eclectic mix of styles that contains a youthful charm and energy, along with its great songs.

The deluxe version adds another 14 songs on a second disc of A and B sides + rarities. It’s extraordinary that the band’s bonus disc holds up as well as the main album. Continuing it’s dancefloor mixing on tracks like “Chase HQ” and “Sally Space”, the attention really goes to two songs.  “People Get Real” is a bass heavy, atmospheric disco soul number with a spine tingling vocal from Sarah. The band’s second single is a showstopping cover of Field Mice’s track, “Kiss and Make Up”. 

Sung by Donna Savage, the song captures the feeling and emotion of a couple getting back together after a fight. The music is upbeat with a bit of a faux reggae beat but it’s Savage’s vocal that stands out – deadpan that sounds slightly hurt but also excited to get over an argument. It’s an amazing track among many on the bonus disc.  For good measure, the band adds Sarah Cracknell’s more laidback version before the disc closes with the seven-minute instrumental, “Sky’s Dead”.

Foxbase Alpha – 9/10

Deluxe Disc – 8/10

Posted in Album Reviews

The National – Cherry Tree EP (2004)

Posted on by Michael

In between their second and third albums, The National released the Cherry Tree EP. The first three songs mention drinking. “Wasp Nest” tells someone that “you’re cursing up a storm in a cocktail dress”, chaos over an acoustic guitar. “All The Wine” would also appear on next years Alligator album and “All Dolled-Up in Straps” adds some mournful strings that would appear a few more times.

The title track adds some intense drumming on a song where singer Matt Berninger sings that “loose lips sink ships” and “About Today” is an emotional song, asking “how close am I to losing you?”.  The album then closes with the addition of Padma Newsome on the acoustically inclined “Reasonable Man (I Don’t Mind)”.  The Dessner and Devendorf brothers along with Matt Berninger crafted several really good songs for this 28 minute sampler.  For many fans thinking of digging deeper into the catalogue, this is more representative of their later sound and could act as their true debut.

8/10

Posted in Paper Chase

Ian McEwan – Atonement

Posted on by Michael

Ian McEwan’s classic novel Atonement takes place in England in 1935.  The Tallis family welcomes in cousins + the caretaker’s son Robbie who is like family for a family dinner. The idyllic day takes a turn as sex and violence occur placing teenaged daughter Briony’s distorted view of events at the centre of a story that will tear the family apart.  As that part of the book closes, the second part and third parts jump ahead a few years to WWII. The book closes with a scene from 1999.

Atonement is extremely well written and hard to put down.  One chapter focusing in on Briony is extraordinary, a truly marvelous read.  The mood throughout is downcast as each character is dealing with their own personal version of melancholy, this lasts for decades.  The 2001 book was later made into a very well received movie starring Keira Knightly and James McAvoy.

9/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Arcade Fire – Pink Elephants (2025)

Posted on by Michael

It’s not easy for fans to separate the art from the artist. When allegations come out about a musician, the knives come out – and for good reason.  In 2022, Pitchfork.com ran several stories of sexual assault allegations against Arcade Fire singer Win Butler.  He denied any wrongdoing but at the time, the singer Feist decided against touring with the band and Beck also dropped out of another leg of that tour.  After that, the stories seem to fade into another news cycle and the band dropped from sight for a few years.

They returned in 2025, with Butler and bandmate Regine Chassagne’s marriage still intact, along with the rest of the band – Will Butler having already left in 2021. The new album, Pink Elephant is a moody, down beat, atmospheric album that contains three instrumentals including the opener, “Open your Heart Or Die Trying” before Butler pleads on the title track to “take your mind off me”.

“Circle of Trust” adds a bit of a dance beat on a track that the married couple duets on.  The same trick is applied to “I Love Her Shadow” where Butler sings, that we’re “Breaking into heaven tonight”. In the Chinese zodiac calendar, the year of the snake is associated with wisdom, transformation and introspection.  At least for two of those ideals – the track of the same name sings that it’s “the season of change/and if you feel strange/it’s probably a good thing”.

Best yet is The Ronette’s like drum beat attached to “Ride or Die”. Recalling Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” in tone, Butler sings of running away with his love where he “could work in an office/you could be a waitress”. The repeat of those lines with slight changes turns into a mantra. The album closes with “Stuck In My Head” that works as a stream of conscious. At various points Butler sings “Stuck in my head, stuck in my head… mess in my head, mess in my heart… I’ll clean up this bedroom, clean up this head”.  It takes on a self help book way of dealing the problem, one made bed at a time.

Reading other reviews for this album, it’s safe to say people are angry.  Pink Elephant has been panned across the board, scoring mostly 50% scores.  Remarkably, the album did not enter the US top 200 albums chart after the band had scored #1 albums with previous releases.  It’s a spectacular fall from grace as many people were looking for apologies and a few come to Jesus moments. Instead they got mumbled declarations of being “a good boy”.  Still – separating the music from the band, mostly just the one man – it’s an intriguing album that is more like minimal bedroom alt rock than uplifting stadium filler. But still – I can’t stop listening to it as I quietly whisper, “I really like it”.

8/10