meandering morning thoughts on Los Popularos

Back when I lived out in Pimple Ridge (see previous post), I used to watch Soundproof all the time, as a window into a scene I was very curious about, but too far away and too young to actively partake of. I recall seeing Buzz, Dave, and maybe Tom Harrison reviewing the Los Pops EP, Born Free, a couple years after it had come out, circa 1984. I think the band was long done by then. One of them held it up and said, "Art Bergmann was kinda wasted in that band," and they all had a little sniggering chuckle about Art being "wasted," ha-ha. 

They didn't spend a lot of time on the EP, otherwise. 

Still, it's interesting to read Stuart Derdeyn's article on Art and Los Pops. I did ask Art a couple of Los Popularos questions as well, as part of an attempted email interview: Do you have a Zippy story? What's your favourite Los Pops song? What parts of which songs are yours? Why do you take a vocal for a bit of "Don't Say It?" 

Art just ignored the lot of them without comment. I'm guessing Stuart was talking to Art by phone, or some other medium where ignoring questions is harder.  Anyhow, I confess to getting a chuckle out of reading Art's reaction to Stuart's question about Los Pops: 

“A band I don’t care about that didn’t succeed,” he said. “The only thing that matters from the experience was the long-term friendships that came out of it. My past three albums are some of the best work of my career, let’s talk about those instead.”

Zing! I mean, yep, Art is prickly. I can sympathize, Stuart. I got a couple rebuffs myself, too, mostly about how under-prepped I was (mea culpa -- it was pretty last minute and I'd heard ShadowWalk one time through, maybe?). 

And yeah, as Stuart says, John Armstrong (who by coincidence I also have spoken to recently) is a much easier guy to talk to. Art reacts and shares it -- almost on the level of, whattaya askin' me this stupid fuckin' question for? -- while John obliges and/or occasionally gently redirects you. John has, for whatever reasons, cultivated "being a great interview" as a skillset (maybe from having worked for the Sun?). Art is more inclined to get feisty if you're being dumb or not doing what he wants. He has higher expectations of people, maybe? Or perhaps he just wants you to join his cult (he doesn't want interviewers, he wants followers!). 

To express it in terms of books, I have no idea if John has read How to Win Friends and Influence People, but I would be willing to bet Art hasn't. On the other hand, if I hadda guess which one might have read The Art of War... 

Regardless, Art's got a point. 

I discovered when the Porterhouse digital reissue of Born Free (and assorted demos and live cuts) happened that I had sold my copy of the album during a recent purge (one of those "What can I live without?" moments, where I have to second-guess my future listening). It says something that when I did that, I kept my EP by the Scissors (but I'd get more for Los Pops, right? I'd only get a couple bucks for the Scissors, great a pop tune as "Wrecked My Car" may be. I'd get five times that for Born Free! Then pay twice that or more to replace the fucking thing, which I also did last week. Third copy of it I've owned to date).  

I've just never loved Born Free. Of the four songs on it, there are two decent but hardly essential pop items ("Can't Come Back" and "Don't Say It," which, like I say, has Bill step aside so Art can sing a verse); there's a song that has never grabbed my attention or stuck in my memory ("Out on the Frontier" -- I always somehow tune it out, might be great but you'd figure it would have stuck by now, if it were); and one-and-only-one (minor?) local masterpiece, which is "Get Out of Your House," which is really interestingly-constructed, has provocative lyrics, and which I've asked Bill and John about already (working on Tony, looks like Gord isn't into it). If that song weren't on it, I probably wouldn't have re-purchased it. 

I've never owned their 7", either. 

Which is not to say that none of this is worth talking about. The Porterhouse reissues sound great, compared to, say, downloading some fan's rip sourced from the original vinyl EP (it's out there). The demos, live cuts, single and so forth are all right too -- I'm still kind of working with them. They're not a revelation, not going to change anyone's estimate of the band, but they're certainly not nothin' and I'm glad the tapes were found and I don't begrudge anyone who digs them. It's a curious project, worth checking out, I'm not dismissing it. 

But they really were a band where the parts are way more interesting than the sum. Active Dog, the Modernettes, the Young Canadians and the Pointed Sticks are all historically momentous local bands, unequal to each other, but all worthy of their canonization in terms of Vancouver punk. Los Popularos, though combining members of all those bands, is a kinda-interesting side project at best, a curio that doesn't really equal up.    

It's actually pretty interesting how DIFFERENT they sound from any of the bands they cannibalize -- they are a thing-unto-themselves, have a completely separate identity. And they do cohere around that identity. For people coming from four bands that have such strong and singular personalities, they do create a "whole 'nuther thing." But what supergroup has ever actually been better than the groups that it is made up of? 

Remember Minuteflag, which combined members of the Minutemen and Black Flag? Was someone from Saccharine Trust in there, too? Or am I thinking of the October Faction? Wow, I'd almost forgotten about them. If someone came at me telling me that October Faction was way better than the Minutemen, Saccharine Trust, and/or Black Flag... well, I would politely indulge them (sure wouldn't try to argue the point, almost like I try not to argue with flat earthers), but I'd also think, "Ah, this is someone who is using their musical opinions as a way of jockeying for status, who is so desperate to be noticed and remembered he's deliberately seeking obscure things to champion, to provoke reactions and stake out territory that no one will contest." 

I mean, that's fine, buddy: you can have that territory. "Oh, really? October Faction, huh? You don't say." (I know someone like this, when it comes to Los Pops; he is hereby invited to go tell it to Mike Usinger, who at least is getting paid, or, alternately, to fuck off and start his own blog, if he thinks his opinions are so righteous. Just go away, man -- I don't care what you think).

As for Art's involvement with the band... other than the line he sings in "Don't Say It," what does he even do, exactly? I am not so skilled (or invested) that I can pick out which guitar parts are his, vs. John's, for example. And as for the lyrics, I'm under the impression (from John) that songwriting was highly collective (tho' he did say "Get Out of Your House" was mostly down to Bill, lyrically). So I can't even say which WORDS are Art's, y'know? 

It is cool that the Los Popularos reissue is out there. If you don't know "Get Out of Your House," and care about local music, correct that. There WILL be a further Los Pops article from me, because they're worth noticing (it will take some time). And they have the advantage of being from 1982, so the release can capitalize on people's nostalgia, appeal to the memories of people who, as kids, saw them at the Town Pump and were blown away, or such. Far be it from me to interfere with anyone reliving their days of youthful fandom, when they were innocent and beautiful and life was full of potential and drama and new discoveries. It's a great time to discover a band, when you're young, I get it. 

But Art speaks the truth. The Apostate, Late Stage Empire Dementia, and ShadowWalk are far more interesting albums, far more mature, far more significant, more rewarding, far more deserving of our attentions. End rant.