On A Completely Random Note - Due South

For those of you who ever wonder where songwriters get inspiration from, On A Completely Random Note talks about such things; books, TV series, random encounters.

I have often told many people I know my opinions of most American television of the last few decades; especially this trend towards reality TV. So I have tended towards television series of the nineties, and British series especially. And when my father introduced me to the somewhat specially cultural Canadian miniseries Slings & Arrows, I discovered a particularly fine example of the genre. During research of one of the writers and lead actors of the series, I discovered an earlier series he had done, which is an exceptional (if little known in the US) series called Due South. It chronicles the adventures of one Constable Benton Fraser, RCMP (that's Royal Canadian Mounted Police) as he first hunts down the killer(s) of his father, and due to a rather extraordinary series of circumstances, he ends up posted in what is, to him, a strange new wilderness: Chicago. (Well, attached to the embassy in Chicago as a 'deputy liason officer'. Exactly what this position does is actually explained, although he never seems to do much in the embassy itself.)

Fraser appears, at the outset, to be a complete bumpkin. He is an expert tracker, outdoorsman, sharpshooter, dogsledder, and indeed, policeman, as is shown in an opening sequence of the pilot where he tracks down a man through a massive blizzard for exceeding the fishing limit. However, he does not appear to be equipped for the big city; indeed, when he requests to transfer to Chicago, his commanding officer points out that the largest city he had ever been posted in was Moose Jaw (population 35,000) and he was transferred out because 'he couldn't adapt to such an urban lifestyle'. Indeed, everything about Fraser points towards him being in severe trouble, from his tendency to give people money because they ask him, and his choice of pet- his companion is a wolf who goes by the name of Diefenbaker. He sharply avoids anything approaching morally questionable; this trait is put to a severe test when he is partnered up with a wisecracking Chicago PD Detective, Ray Vecchio. However, Fraser's amiable approach to everyone proves to be one of his greatest strengths, much to the surprise of Vecchio (and everyone else).

Fraser trusts everyone, and believes that deep down, everyone truly wants to do the right thing; this does nearly kill him every once in a while, although luckily Vecchio is almost always there to pull him out of it. Throughout the series, Fraser makes decisions which most of us, with our somewhat cynical views of human nature, would never make, and it makes him a rather singular protagonist. He also has to deal with the fact that he is posted in Chicago, and thusly outside of the consulate he has no official authority whatsoever; as he never bothers getting a permit for a firearm in Chicago, he thusly never carries a gun (he is an expert pugilist, however).

This is where my personal love of the series kicks in; Fraser is portrayed as a model policeman, a model citizen, and a generally good person. However, through his reading of his father's journals, we get to see his dilemmas; he is all too well aware that he is a stranger in a strange land, and while he believes he can bring some good to this land, he knows that it can all too easily do great harm to him.

The series is incredible, and I highly recommend it as both incredibly hilarious and extremely poignant; also, the music is great, both the outside tracks and the fantastic original score work. Paul Gross does an outstanding job, and although there are a few personnel changes in between seasons 2 & 3, the series manages to hold a lasting appeal.

One From The Deposit Box - One of metal's shining moments: The Battle

Random internet trawling turns up interesting music, and here's a great example; The Battle is a collaboration released in 2005 under the name Allen/Lande, for the two vocalists who perform on the album, Jørn Lande of Masterplan and Russell Allen of Symphony X, although the mastermind behind the project is Magnus Karlsson, lead guitarist for heavy metal band Starbreaker. Karlsson produced and composed the album, as well as performing the guitars, bass, and keyboards for it.

Now, I make no small claim when I say that this is one of the finest examples of the metal genre; the album is well constructed, exceptionally well composed and performed, and has something I consider miraculous, which is that it suffers from no lulls- every track is as engaging and powerful as the previous one, up to and including the album's ballad, which is a great example of the metal ballad.

We open with atmospheric synths and piano building slowly into a crescendo, then crashing into life the virtuoso playing of Mr. Karlsson suddenly completely changes the landscape. The technique is heavy enough to sate those who love their metal hard, but lacks the overly clean feel of Steve Vai; it's a gritty technique that works wonderfully to give this whole album a uniform feel without every song being identical in sound.

I won't go through each and every track of the album and sing it's praises, because one, this would take far too long, and we'd all be spending far more time on this blog then would be healthy. There is a certain sameness to the tone of the tracks, which is my only complaint about the album; but as stated, each track has its' own musical flair to it which makes it unique. But I'll quickly hit on the high points of the album (which they are likely more of then I think, so this last paragraph may rapidly evaporate into pointlessness.

The opening track 'Another Battle' is a great example of where this album truly shines; the composition is seamless, flowing from atmospheric intro to verse to chorus with grand shifts of feel. The verses tend towards the softer side so that the lyrics can be clearly heard- a good thing too, as they are exceptionally written, and after all, one of the major purposes of the album is to show off the vocalists.

The album's ballad, 'Reach a Little Longer', is one of the finer points of the album; most metal songwriters completely bypass the ballad, as down tempo ballads aren't often in demand in the genre, and usually don't suit it. And while this isn't likely to be an eternal classic in the genre of power-ballads, it is still a shining beacon in the metal genre for managing to maintain both the metal instrumentation and feel, and the slow feel and power of a good ballad. It is also likely the most powerful song on the album, lyrically speaking.

As the album goes on, it reaches its' zenith, and 'Where Have the Angels Gone' is my personal favorite off of the album, for a variety of reasons. The lyrics are a fine example of how repetition isn't always bad; the song has a grand total of three (fairly short) sections of lyrics, the chorus being repeated a fair number of times during the songs nearly five minute length, but they never get old. The chorus has an almost catchy quality- it's one of the few metal songs I've found myself randomly humming or even singing the chorus from.

The Battle is a fine collaboration from some of the greatest talents in the modern metal world; it more then shows Magnus Karlsson's ability for both instrumentation and songwriting, and Allen and Lande both sparkle. I will also mention the fourth musician on this album, whose performance is likely the least appreciated and one of the finest, percussionist Jaime Salazar. Salazar's work truly makes the album, helping give much of the piece its' driving force. For those who want to work their way from heavy metal into progressive metal, this is a fine stepping stone, and for those of us who prefer the progressive scene, this is a slightly heavier gem that adds a little breadth the our collections.