Twin Cities Daily Planet

Dwight Hobbes

St. Paul's Red House Records just keeps on rollin' along, making the world safe for quality, grassroots folk music. And it was a fine fit when the label pulled off a coup to sign Canadian velvet throats the Wailin' Jennys a few years back. So no one needs to call the purity police on Red House for deviating with Bird Song, a solo album by the Wailin' Jennys' moonlighting alto Heather Masse. So what if it's not dust-bowl-dry fare, way off the beaten track? So what that it's straight-ahead country music with—gasp!—a little jazz and pop thrown into the mix? The world will not come to an end.

Wonderfully backed by Jed Wilson (piano, Hammond B-3), Lyle Brewer (guitar), Karl Doty (bass), Joel Arnow (drums), and Aoiefe O'Donovan (vocals), Heather Masse sings up a sweet storm. The last time somebody combined this kind of quality rural roots and mainstream accessibility, Linda Ronstadt had just left the Stone Poneys to record her upstart triumph Silk Purse. Masse, of course, has not bolted from the Wailin' Jennys and, in fact, is on tour with the group, as well as with the Heather Masse Band, even as we speak.

"Mittens" is a playful, tongue-in-cheek jaunt with Masse offering a little down-home seduction to a fellow who went outside in the winter air, forgetting to dress right. She matter-of-factly croons that she'll warm his legs up so well he won't miss them long johns for a minute. You get the distinct impression she's telling the honest to God, no-brag-just-fact truth. "Chosen" is beautiful, bittersweet mood music, a portrait of an ill-at-ease lady that Masse delivers with haunting angst. You can't beat "High Heeled Woman" for a rollicking hayride, featuring Patsy-Cline-style warbling that'll raise your eyebrows and pin your ears back. When, after barreling along in fine, freewheeling spirits, the song finally comes to a rest, it's hard to resist hollering "Yee-haw!" Don't tell anyone I said that: I'll get drummed out of the soul folk's union and they'll take back my secret decoder ring. "Our World" is indicative of most of the stuff here, thoughtful and heartfelt reminiscence set to rolling guitar licks and a pulsing beat as Masse airs out her crystal clear, powerhouse pipes.

There's 13 cuts on Bird Song, all originals with Nicky Mehta of the Wailin' Jennys helping out with the lyrics on the title song. Not a loser among the bunch.

The name of the single Super trooper is also the name of the seventh Abba volume released at the beginning of the 80s. For a long period of time this was actually the best sold album in the UK for instance with another hit like “The Winner Takes it All” as a power engine for even more fame. The name of the song is probably the most suggestive of all, since it made one think of both the famous music group as well as the military infantry ranks, during the dire years of the Cold War. The super trooper thus becomes the epitome of the common soldier who fights in the low ranks and operates military vehicles, unseen and unsuspected.

As paradoxical as it may seem the “unimportant” super trooper of elite military groups is definitely remembered by anyone humming the Super trooper song. The phonetic association that has often led to confusions, has also left place for army jokes and lots of humorous stories in which the super trooper is the main character. Such stories also inspired the 2001 comedy The Super Troopers picturing five police members who are busier with playing pranks than with real police work.

A different version of the Super trooper was launched in 1999, by Abba Teens, who preserved the original line of the song, changing the tune here and there. This was another success, which actually opened to door for the new band towards the music world. The good reception of the new Super trooper proves the rich appeal a classic song can have to the younger generations, usually said to have a different perception of past music culture. The most surprising fact is that the remake of Super trooper actually brought a higher success worldwide than the original itself.

What followed the release of Mein Teil was a scene of utter chaos! The European media went absolutely haywire on how a music band could put up something as grisly as this. To summarize the theme of the story, Armin Meiwes, a young technician from Hesse butchered 43-year-old Bernd Jeurgen, a microchip engineer. Indeed a horrific and a gruesome incident to even think of! Your horror would go worse when you hear that after butchering Bernd, Armin ate him live.

Now, that is true horror for you! Armin did that because he believed that in doing so, the soul would stay with him forever. On research, it was also found that he killed Bernd because his mother did the same with all his relationships. It truly may sound like a metaphor, but mark my words; this was a true incident that happened in the springs of 2001.

Mieweves, while butchering Bernd had videotaped the entire incident. Rammstein, in order to make his video shoot original, wished to use the same footage. The, local police promptly rejected this. As a result of which, Rammstein employed a recreation of the event with animation and produced his video. The uniqueness of the concept itself caused the song to be on top of the popularity charts, as not too many songs were released before that spoke on the subject of cannibalism.

Amidst all the popularity it got, it also had its fair share of controversies. For starters, this song definitely took some time to hit the domestic markets. Secondly, even in America, there was fierce opposition from some quarters, especially from people who spoke German. It must be said to the credit of Mein Teil, that the final shot produced by the director had minimal imprints of the actual cannibalism episode.

But this definitely did not go down well with a good cross section of people. In spite of their troubled past, Rammstein did manage to come up with a commendable effort. Their creativity and uniqueness of ideas must be appreciated. But at the same time, depicting cannibalism through songs is just gory to even think of. Of course, leave alone the fact that no child in his living daylights can even think of seeing this clip.

So, what is Mein Teil all about! In essence, Mein Teil is a commendable effort from Rammstein. See this if you wish to see one of the few songs produced on Cannibalism. Of course, it is gory but you know it, so be prepared for it. Good luck watching and listening to Mein Teil!