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If you didnât grow up in Canada itâs likely youâve never heard of this Band.
If you did, like me, well you might have memories of your parents playing their 1980 debut album âCognac & Bolongaâ on repeat and have formed a deep nostalgic tie to that LP cover bizarrely adorned with mustard dripped stacks of bologna.
Fronted by former magazine cartoonist Doug Bennett - an everyman with the appeal of a quirky used car salesman and a distinct golden voice - they had something truly special going on that sadly went under the radar outside of the great white north.
Doug And The Slugs have an overall style thatâs hard pin down, itâs rock but itâs playful pop, itâs soulful, complex and at times itâs even a little bit influenced by ska and reggae but not in the most obvious of ways.
Their music videos were always comedic and quirky and really well thought out. They reminded me a bit of monty python sketches. A blue collar guy at work gutting fish, an trip through classic tv shows, a gang of sci-fi space rangers sticking it to the music corporation and team of on call sex therapists for when you need help âmakinâ it workâ
As silly as they could be they had a poetic depth evident on tracks like âDangerousâ and âPartly From Pressureâ - a song Iâll quote to close off my ramblingsâŚ
âTell me another tale Of how a man succeeds I know the way he fails You're on your way to what it means Partly from pressure Feelings undefined Don't follow me you'll throw it all away..â
If you did, like me, well you might have memories of your parents playing their 1980 debut album âCognac & Bolongaâ on repeat and have formed a deep nostalgic tie to that LP cover bizarrely adorned with mustard dripped stacks of bologna.
Fronted by former magazine cartoonist Doug Bennett - an everyman with the appeal of a quirky used car salesman and a distinct golden voice - they had something truly special going on that sadly went under the radar outside of the great white north.
Doug And The Slugs have an overall style thatâs hard pin down, itâs rock but itâs playful pop, itâs soulful, complex and at times itâs even a little bit influenced by ska and reggae but not in the most obvious of ways.
Their music videos were always comedic and quirky and really well thought out. They reminded me a bit of monty python sketches. A blue collar guy at work gutting fish, an trip through classic tv shows, a gang of sci-fi space rangers sticking it to the music corporation and team of on call sex therapists for when you need help âmakinâ it workâ
As silly as they could be they had a poetic depth evident on tracks like âDangerousâ and âPartly From Pressureâ - a song Iâll quote to close off my ramblingsâŚ
âTell me another tale Of how a man succeeds I know the way he fails You're on your way to what it means Partly from pressure Feelings undefined Don't follow me you'll throw it all away..â
May 26, 2025
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IS THIS THE GREATEST PSYCHEDELIC POP SONG OF THE 1960âS?
THE FOUNDER OF THIS GROUP WAS A BIZARRE BLOKE. HIS NAME WAS BOB MARKLEY AND HE WAS ADOPTED BY AN OIL TYCOON. HE HAD A STRANGE, OBLIQUE BOWL CUT. SO PSYCH.
CHECK OUT THEIR SONGS. THEY HAVE SO MANY GOOD ONES.
OH YAâŚBOB MARKLEY MAY HAVE BEEN A NONCE. HENCE THE SONG TITLE.
BUT THE SONGâŚPERFECTION.
A MINIATURE MOMENT OF SPARKLING DARKNESS THAT EMANATES A DERANGED, CAPTURED INNOCENCE. CLOSE YOUR EYES AND YOU MIGHT SEE CHARLEY MANSONâS FACE APPEAR OUT A BLACK CLOUD OF FUNERAL SMOKE.
MUCH LIKE MANSONâS STUNNINGLY HAUNTED SONG â LOOK AT YOUR GAME GIRLâ, THERE IS A DEEPLY FORLORN QUALITY TO THIS TUNE.
WHEREAS THE BEATLES TENDED TOWARD THE WHIMSICAL, PLAYFUL AND LETâS BE HONEST, BLOODY FUCKING GOOFY SIDE OF THINGS, THIS SONG HINTS AT SOMETHING MUCH MORE NEFARIOUS.
GO LISTEN TO THE SONG WHILE LOOKING AT THE SEVEN OF CUPS CARD FROM THE RIDER WAITE TAROT DECK. AND THEN LOOK UP THE LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION IN LAUREL CANYON. AND THEN CHECK OUT THE BOOK âCHAOSâ BY TOM ONEILL. AND THEN READ âWEIRD SCENES FROM THE CANYONâ BY DAVE MCGOWAN AND ONLY BELIEVE HALF OF IT. AND THEN READ ABOUT THIS BAND. AND THEN REWATCH MULHOLLAND DRIVE. AND THEN ASK YOURSELF:
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH LOS ANGELES?
THE FOUNDER OF THIS GROUP WAS A BIZARRE BLOKE. HIS NAME WAS BOB MARKLEY AND HE WAS ADOPTED BY AN OIL TYCOON. HE HAD A STRANGE, OBLIQUE BOWL CUT. SO PSYCH.
CHECK OUT THEIR SONGS. THEY HAVE SO MANY GOOD ONES.
OH YAâŚBOB MARKLEY MAY HAVE BEEN A NONCE. HENCE THE SONG TITLE.
BUT THE SONGâŚPERFECTION.
A MINIATURE MOMENT OF SPARKLING DARKNESS THAT EMANATES A DERANGED, CAPTURED INNOCENCE. CLOSE YOUR EYES AND YOU MIGHT SEE CHARLEY MANSONâS FACE APPEAR OUT A BLACK CLOUD OF FUNERAL SMOKE.
MUCH LIKE MANSONâS STUNNINGLY HAUNTED SONG â LOOK AT YOUR GAME GIRLâ, THERE IS A DEEPLY FORLORN QUALITY TO THIS TUNE.
WHEREAS THE BEATLES TENDED TOWARD THE WHIMSICAL, PLAYFUL AND LETâS BE HONEST, BLOODY FUCKING GOOFY SIDE OF THINGS, THIS SONG HINTS AT SOMETHING MUCH MORE NEFARIOUS.
GO LISTEN TO THE SONG WHILE LOOKING AT THE SEVEN OF CUPS CARD FROM THE RIDER WAITE TAROT DECK. AND THEN LOOK UP THE LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION IN LAUREL CANYON. AND THEN CHECK OUT THE BOOK âCHAOSâ BY TOM ONEILL. AND THEN READ âWEIRD SCENES FROM THE CANYONâ BY DAVE MCGOWAN AND ONLY BELIEVE HALF OF IT. AND THEN READ ABOUT THIS BAND. AND THEN REWATCH MULHOLLAND DRIVE. AND THEN ASK YOURSELF:
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH LOS ANGELES?
Jan 30, 2024
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Stop me if youâve heard this one before.
A band of brothers that truly just did what they did for the enjoyment of making music.
My passion for Sparks has been undying since I first began listening to them back in high school. Their sound and style totally blew my mind.
Refusing to be held hostage to the inclinations of the music industry, like Frank Sinatra and Sid Vicious say âthey did it their wayâ sailing off on a slow boat and leaving a discography rich with a uniquely cinematic & whimsical world vision in their wake.
Spanning decades and the confines of genre with a sharp comedic wit, throughout their prolific career they have always been simultaneously a little ahead of their time but still little rooted in the past. This was a great strength of theirs in the long run - nobody did it quite like Ron & Russel Mael.
A band of brothers that truly just did what they did for the enjoyment of making music.
My passion for Sparks has been undying since I first began listening to them back in high school. Their sound and style totally blew my mind.
Refusing to be held hostage to the inclinations of the music industry, like Frank Sinatra and Sid Vicious say âthey did it their wayâ sailing off on a slow boat and leaving a discography rich with a uniquely cinematic & whimsical world vision in their wake.
Spanning decades and the confines of genre with a sharp comedic wit, throughout their prolific career they have always been simultaneously a little ahead of their time but still little rooted in the past. This was a great strength of theirs in the long run - nobody did it quite like Ron & Russel Mael.
May 28, 2025
Rec
Acoustic guitars! What?!? Iâm pretty sure that very early teenage me thought this intro was amazing. So when the Electric Guitar and Drums enter, they do so with Aplomb. To put it mildly. The guitar is HUGE. The riff is HUGE. All Of This And Nothing - the bandâs most ambitious piece, at that juncture. 6 minutes 23 seconds.
A phonebook full of accidents
A girl to drive your car
A suit to wear on Mondays
And a coat a magazine
A heavy rain a holiday
A painting of the wall
A knife, a fork and memories
A light to see it all
You didn't leave me anything
That I can understand
Itâs pretty great, really great, and then, well, it doesnât *quite* deliver the money shot.
Hey, I never meant that stuff
I want to turn you round
But then the final, excellent conclusion
Now I'm left with all of this
A room full of your trash
Maybe a touch too much sax, but lovely.
The band that refuses to be a rock pop band makes an almost perfect rock pop album.
I'm pretty sure my first band started almost right after this. I couldn't play for shit, but then, I didn't NEED to.
Jun 6, 2025
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May 15, 2025
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Staying up all night connecting dots with the fervent passion of an unhinged genius - like a mad scientist. Notes and references strewn about the living room floor. Making art and making a huge mess.
Jun 3, 2025