THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS with MORE PLASTIC and White Star line at Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor West), Friday (November 16). $12.50. 416-532-1598. Rating: NNNNN
the members of vancouver-based supergroup the New Pornographers have each had enough experience in other bands to know it takes more than exciting music and dazzling performances to sell records. Truth be told, winning a Juno for best alternative album (Mass Romantic) didn’t translate into round-the-clock radio play for their exhilarating power pop anthems, nor did it get their videos into high rotation on MuchMusic.
Yes, videos. It’s still largely a secret, even to some New Pornographers fans, but there are video clips for the songs Letter From An Occupant and The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism, although you might not know it from watching Much. I recall catching the tail end of the former once, but I had to borrow a copy of the latter from the group’s Mint label rep, Yvette Ray.
Mike Dowse’s video for The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism is a hilarious documentary-style work of stoopid genius in which a working stiff indulges in a day-long tear of drunken revelry with a couple of long-haired hoser buddies (Terry and Dean from Dowse’s forthcoming feature, FUBAR — The Movie), a tear that soon spirals into karate-kicking and barrel-tossing foolery.
What makes it so funny is that the goofy depiction of the suburban backyard booze-up is actually quite accurate. It’s certainly the most engaging Canuck music video I’ve ever seen. So why isn’t it being shown non-stop?
“We were told there was a problem with the “conspicuous consumption of alcohol,'” explains bassist John Collins from his JC/DC studio. “But it doesn’t glamorize drinking — it just shows what happens when a bunch of hosers get loaded: they turn into idiots and do stupid shit.”
“We submitted it to MuchMusic knowing that there was no way they’d ever play it,” continues singer/guitarist Carl Newman.
“The funny thing is, we all had a pretty good idea of what they’d say, and they responded exactly as we expected, like, “Oh, no, we can’t show a video with people drinking in it.’ That’s pretty laughable when you consider the state of contemporary music and all the stuff that they do play.”
Part of the problem could be that the Pornographers video comes with no clear moral message saying drinking is bad and leads to horrible human tragedy.
Instead, it simply suggests that normal-looking people can get tanked and have a grand time running around like buffoons in their undies.
“You’re right,” agrees Newman. “It doesn’t really judge its characters. At times it looks like fun, occasionally it doesn’t. What I like most about the thing is all the unanswered questions, like what is this suit doing with these two hoogs anyway?
“It’s definitely a great piece of work, and Mike (director Mike Dowse), who’s an old roommate of mine, did the thing in his spare time. He called me up saying he had a video idea. A few months later, a video cassette appeared in the mail and I brought it to a band practice to show the guys what I thought was a work-in-progress.
“We put it on and were shocked to see that the thing was not only completely finished but also amazing. Who knows? Maybe they’ll show it in Europe.”
timp@nowtoronto.com
