Glurg

Something (a nonsensical mood maybe?) has me thinking about The Shaggs today. They were profiled by Susan Orlean in a book I read a few years ago called The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup. In the 1960's, three sisters, at their father's behest, formed a band called The Shaggs but really weren't great at being a band. Or playing music. Orlean's profile gives personal context to their strange contribution to the recording world. They've acquired cult-like, revered status over the years. Wikipedia claims they're one of the most important examples of outsider music (a genre that exists, apparently). The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup features some other interesting folks too, like teenage surfer girls and a taxi driver/king. None so unusual as the Wiggin sisters and their bizarre sound though. Philosophy of the World is slightly accessible but My Pal Foot Foot is just plain weird.

More conventional musical samplings can be heard at Canadian Music Week. The festival, and its 500+ roster of CDN and international acts, kicks into gear on Wednesday. You'll even find the more tuneful Deal sisters of The Breeders there. And where have they been hiding? I'd love to know what it would take from the crowd to get the Deals to play the Last Splash triple crown of catchy - Cannonball, Divine Hammer and Drivin' on 9 - as the encore. Perhaps promising to get a comet named after the band would do. It would be a fitting tribute as they may disappear again into the silent unknown for another century after this tour is over. At least we'll have Breeders' Comet in 2012 to look forward to. Eyes on the sky.