Cultural Overload

You have my solemn promise that there will be no mention of swine flu in this column. But I will talk about the weather, because I seem to do that a lot.

So we know that April showers bring May flowers, yada yada yada, but it is almost mid-May, Mother Nature! I won’t grouch too much since by the time you read this we will probably have had a few days of sunshine and all will be forgiven. And to be fair, with all the precipitation, and a nasty lung infection to boot, which at first I thought was...oh no, promised not to go there! I have been spending a lot of time indoors, watching and listening, reading and writing...okay, been a bit of a couch potato, I have.

Hence, I have made a few discoveries. I am still reeling from Drew Barrymore’s performance in HBO’s Grey Gardens, the story of the making of the 1975 documentary of the eccentric mother and daughter socialites, both named Edith Beale. Being first cousins to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, they drew great attention when they retreated to their country estate and ran it into the ground till they were threatened with eviction. Compare it with the original documentary, which is also being featured on HBO Canada, and it is both a train wreck and a fascination. Barrymore was bang on in her performance of the intriguing Little Edie. If you haven’t caught it and you can, I highly recommend it!

I may have been the last to find out about this little gem, a Montreal radio station called Planète Jazz. Just in case you haven’t heard of it, it is located at 91.9 on your FM dial, or can be accessed through Videotron at channel 571. They also have a website where you can tune in live: www.planetejazz.ca. Planete Jazz offers up standards like Sarah Vaughn and Nat King Cole, eclectic and lounge tunes, the roots of jazz and multicultural stylings, and a lot of very cool covers of groups like U2 and Genesis. Sweet!

Anyone remember the 1979 Supertramp concert at Jarry Park? I was there, and it was one of the best concerts ever. Like most British bands, Supertramp caught fire in Quebec a good many years before raging across America, often leaving their best work behind in La Belle Province. Genesis, Chris de Burgh (who I got to meet when I was 16!), Joan Armatrading, Murray Head, Yes, and so many more were first recognized here, in the days when CHOM FM was way less regulated and anyone could stop by Greene Avenue and knock on the wooden door with the heart on it for a late night rap with Doug Pringle. If it seems so long ago, it was!

The spine of Supertramp was lead singer and songwriter Roger Hodgson, who three decades later is still thrilling audiences soloing the band’s classic hits. Accompanied by many instruments but just one other musician/singer (an awesome talent named Aaron MacDonald, from London, Ontario, whose musical arsenal ranged from sax to piano to bagpipes), Hodgson delivered one legendary classic after another to a grateful and varied PDA audience. He comes to Montreal frequently; this was a fourth performance stopover that was completely sold out.

So with all this culture, you would think I would have something to Twitter about. Nah. The current social networking trend online leaves me cold. It might have something to do with the fact that I only have five followers. Or the fact that statistics have shown 60% of new users do not log back in after the first month. Critics have bandied about terms such as narcissistic and ego gratifying when it comes to this platform for leaving short status reports that are delivered to your personal network of followers. It is the rage of many “celebritwitters” like Demi Moore and John Mayer. I have better things to do with my day, but I am a Facebook devotee, due to its versatility and its focus on personal friends as opposed to unknown followers.

However, I have heard testimonials from Twitter users, some of them friends, who have discovered a substantial use of this online phenomenon for marketing and information gathering (in one case, for medical reasons and support). To make the most of it, one has to dig deeper and learn how to make it a real resource as opposed to a hiccup of self expression.

Mayhem and Madness in TMR?! Uh huh. The Mount Royal United Church is holding a funraiser (it’s not a typo!) called «Mayhem and Madness» on Saturday, May 23 at 6pm. The evening includes a catered dinner followed by a variety show featuring local talent: skits, song, readings, all designed for laughter. Sounds like a great time; I’ll be there. Tickets are 20$ and can be purchased through the United Church, 514 739-7741. Enjoy the week!