The Basement Rug

I am currently working on a future compilation post based on memories of my school days. Black Sabbath was huge amongst my high school friends and I recall more than a few sets of speakers being blown at a friend’s house as we cranked up songs like War Pigs.

One of my favourite albums was Volume 4, which was a bit of a departure point for the band - as far as studio production values go. Already known for his extensive guitar overdubs, guitarist Tony Iommi began adding orchestral sounds via mellotron and piano as well.

I had nearly forgotten about this album (I listen to so much jazz now) until last night, when I heard an awesome cover of Snowblind by System of a Down:

Like most of System’s recordings, this one suffers from the Loudness War, but not so badly as to make it unlistenable. Apart from the intense volume and guitar stylings, what struck me (as I listened on my car radio) was how the lyrics had changed. The line I feel the snowflakes freezing me was changed to I feel there’s no place freezing me. Changing lyrics in cover versions is not that uncommon, but this particular change made absolutely no sense to me, so I decided to troll around on the search engines to see if I could figure out why.

Based on a cursory examination of lyrics sites it would appear the problem has to do with information integrity and the echo chamber effect of the internet - ie - the problems of cut and paste from bad sources of information (one of the main reasons I believe we need to continue to support print publications). It made me wonder if System of a Down sung the wrong lyrics simply because they went to the internet to look them up, instead of asking Black Sabbath for the proper lyrics or checking the original LP inner sleeve (I can’t remember if there were lyrics in there or not).

Here’s the original Black Sabbath recording (from their 1972 album: Volume 4) and lyrics for Snowblind:

What you get and what you see
Things that don’t come easily
Feeling happy in my vein
Icicles within my brain
(cocaine)

Something blowing in my head
Winter’s ice, it soon will spread
Death would freeze my very soul
Makes me happy, makes me cold

My eyes are blind but I can see
The snowflakes glisten on the tree
The sun no longer sets me free
I feel the snowflakes freezing me

Let the winter sun shine on
Let me feel the frost of dawn
Fill my dreams with flakes of snow
Soon I’ll feel the chilling go

Don’t you think I know what I’m doing
Don’t tell me that it’s doing me wrong
You’re the one who’s really a loser
This is where I feel I belong

Crystal world with winter flowers
Turns my day to frozen hours
Lying snowblind in the sun
Will my ice age ever come?

One of these things is not like the other things. That’s one way of describing this 2003 sampler from Toronto’s tiny Lifestyle label. It has folk, bluegrass, first nations, and a dash o’hardcore. I will let you decide which one is not like the others. I was hoping to have a detailed post of the various artists, but unfortunately the only info I could find was on Bloodwurm, from metallian.com:

Frontman Vince used to describe the band’s sound as ‘Southern Fried Devil Rock!’ He had replaced Chris Bailey in Infernal Majesty and sang on that band’s Creation Of Chaos demo. He had also laid down vocals for Infernal Majesty’s return album. His sessions were eventually erased when Bailey returned to front Infernal Majesty once again. Cold Dead Stare was an EP on Lifestyle Productions and was limited to 100 copies. It was followed by a red vinyl 7″ in 1998. The band hailed from Toronto and was compared to Gwar and Motorhead. Things came to an end when Vince died of a heroine overdose on October 13, 2001 during a Toronto radio interview. Vince was previously once incarcerated for alleged vampire activity and sucking blood from human volunteers and again later for assault charges.

The signed CD insert says it all for me: “Be Dangerous, it’s careful out there!” That’s some pretty quaint sarcasm coming from someone who died from an overdose of smack.

I don’t know about the “Southern Fried” business, but the near-perfect ghoul vocals place Bloodwurm firmly in the devil rock category. You can check out more on Bloodwurm by visiting CBC Radio-3 and/or you can watch | download their “Pit” video.

As for the others:

If J. Rowley really had the girlfriend he described in his song, then he should have left the studio and made a run for it. Brady Jenkins goo will stick to your ribs, and then dance sadistically on your chest, thanks to one of the worst mixing/mastering jobs I’ve ever heard. Note to Jenkins: Next time don’t let your bass player near the mixing console.

Lastly we have Brad English and Red Wind, who performed the most interesting track on the EP. The little time I spend listening to radio is increasingly reserved (pun intended) for aboriginal music. The new music coming out of Canada’s first nations is some of the most creative work around.

Tune in daily to Canada’s Aboriginal Voices Radio Network:

• Vancouver 106.3 FM
• Calgary 88.1 FM
• Edmonton 89.3 FM
• Kitchener 102.5 FM
• Toronto 106.5 FM
• Ottawa 95.7 FM
• Montreal 106.7 FM

Track List:

1) J. Rowley - She’s Crazy and She’s Trying to Kill Me (folk, 2001)
2) Brady Jenkins - A Little Bit O’The Goo (bluegrass, 1995)
3) Greg English and Red Wind - Turtle Bay (first nations, 2003)
4) Bloodwurm - Erase the Past (hardcore punk/metal, 2003)

Download the sampler

I am not sure if they are still operating, but you might be able to reach Lifestyle Records in Toronto at lifestylerecords@yahoo.com or by phone at 1-416-763-8515.

This is a great little indy punk/hardcore compilation out of London, Ontario, Canada (1996).

Tracks:

1) Life Long - AngerKain
2) Dig - Acid Mud Flower
3) Tears of Rage - Spitfunnel
4) Fight - Rellik
5) Surreal - Owen
6) Raw Assumption - Mr. Machete
7) Space Suit - Brownwater
8) The Program - Storm Without Cease
9) Goin’ to See Rollins - AngerKain
10) Beyond the Grave - Acid Mud Flower
11) Click - Spitfunnel
12) Mindlapse - Rellik
13) Small Town - Owen
14) American Cigarette - Mr. Machete
15) Manic Nerve Shot - Brownwater
16) Neutralize - Storm Without Cease