Form and Function

Rikers is excited to be back on the road this week for three more gigs in Southern Ontario. To family, friends, and fans in Toronto, London, and Guelph: Come out early to see the band this week and pick yourself up a FREE limited edition (limited supply) Rikers t-shirt! A few will be held on to for after the show, so stick around and say hi.


Wednesday, January 11 - Toronto



Thursday, January 12 - London




Friday, January 13 - Guelph



My baby is rock and roll.

RECORD COLLECTION / COLIN

The National - Boxer . 2007

What's initially striking about this album is the production. Every sound on this album is perfect. This is how a snare drum should bang, how violins should swell, how distorted bass should grind... Everything sounds as it should, as though this is the most aesthetically pleasing arrangement of instruments and sounds possible. and that would be enough for most bands...

But what truly sets The National apart from other bands are the vocals. Maybe i just have a soft-spot for haunting Springsteen-esque singers. and if Matt Berninger sang just gibberish, 'Boxer' would still be just as beautiful...

But instead he takes us on a poetic journey, exploring themes of cultural and political disillusionment ("we're half-awake in a fake empire" / 'Fake Empire'), alienation from friends and society ("another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults" / 'Mistaken for Strangers') and suicidal impotence ("we’re so disarming darling, everything we did believe is diving diving diving diving off the balcony" / Apartment Story).

There's a desperate confidence to 'Boxer' that bathes you in hope despite its despair.

Standout tracks: 'Squalor Victoria', 'Brainy' & 'Start a War'

LYRIC SCRATCH PAD

FASCINATION

LAST NIGHTS SETLIST

Jan 5 2012
Call The Office
London

FREE T SHIRTS TONIGHT IN LONDON

Free limited edition promo t's being given out at every show this month. Limited quantities so show up early .

OTTAWA JANUARY 20 2012

FRIDAY JAN 13 / GUELPH

McQUEEN

One of my favorite album covers .

Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen


- RK

NEW YEARS EVE

GOLDEN TICKETS

New years eve tickets are now available .

only $10 and you can pick them up at the red dog or sympathy for the rebel.

here's the info again

December 31st
New Years Eve

RIKERS
w / the lumbermen
& meteor empire

The red dog
Hunter St , Peterborough
Doors @ 10


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BODY LANGUAGE

We're starting to discuss album artwork and other design ideas . Naturally there are lots of opinions floating around but for my money this is one of the greatest covers ever .

RK


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THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT

The Smiths on a Saturday morning. Working on lyrics and wanted some 'wordy' inspiration.

2012 DATES

NEW YEARS PROMO VIDEO

RECORD COLLECTION - ALEX

Heaven 17 - Penthouse and Pavement

With the release of The Human League's now famous "Dare" record, 1981 became the year that synth music became truly mainstream It was also the year that Heaven 17, founded by two refugees of The Human League, released a their own album, "Penthouse and Pavement." Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh had left The Human League due to creative differences. Whereas Philip Oakey wanted to pursue a poppier sound, Ware and Marsh were more interested in the experimental and conceptual side of music. It's impossible to talk about Penthouse and Pavement without referencing Dare; the two were recorded in the same studio, and at the same time with Heaven 17 working at night, and The Human League working in the day. Both records made extensive use of the same synthesizers, and both used the same the Linn drum machine (the opening bars of Penthouse and Pavement's title track and The Human League's "What Dreams are of Made Of" are nearly identical). But the results were vastly different.

Whereas the singles from Dare were about love and, well love, Heaven 17's "(We don't need this) Fascist Groove Thang" and "Penthouse and Pavement" were direct attacks on British society and the global order in a broader sense. Thatcher was at 10 Downing, Reagan was in the White House, and the new corporate culture was rapidly eroding financial regulations (sound familiar?). Throw in a bit of British class-ism, the ever present possibility of nuclear war, and Ware and Marsh were angry enough to eschew any songs about girls or parties. By contrast, the only overtly political song on Dare is "Seconds", a track about the death of JFK, definitely a safe subject that would appeal to one's liberal sensibilities without challenging the system itself. Musically, Heaven 17 embraced R&B and funk, and didn't shy away from complex rhythms and extended solos in sharp contrast to The Human League's considerably colder and more conventional (in terms of new wave) approach. The bass work throughout the album (particularly on Penthouse and Pavement) is stellar, and begs the question: Is it possible to drastically overplay while still being tasteful? If you're that good, then yes. Symbolically, the use of funk also helped underline that Penthouse and Pavement was not "establishment music" which new wave had ironically become once it hit the mainstream. For all of it's musical merit, there is no doubt that the lyrical content of Penthouse and Pavement negatively impacted the commercial success of the album as it did not chart as high or as long as "Dare", and a DJ at the BBC (who was also a supporter of the Conservative Party) actually banned it from radio play. The album's more conceptual side also lets it down at times, and leaves the listener wanting more songs, and less self-indulgent tangents. Still, the ideas and message behind Penthouse and Pavement are now more relevant than ever, and it only goes to show how little things have changed (and how they have gotten worse) since Ware and Marsh said what was on their minds.

Have you heard it on the news
About this fascist groove thang
Evil men with racist views
Spreading all across the land
Don't just sit there on your ass
Unlock that funky chaindance
Brothers, sisters shoot your best
We don't need this fascist groove thang