Songs the Brothers Warner Taught Us All

It’s as though Megan Lynch was born to sing these songs. Her new album, Songs the Brothers Warner Taught Me, is such a heartfelt rendition of the great music of Warner Brothers productions that you can almost imagine her singing in the lovely black and white movies of the 1940s, with their rich, mellow sound.

These melodies will be most familiar to those of us who are older, and who grew up on Bugs Bunny cartoons. But the cartoons have been replayed and revived so often, for so long, that a great many younger people will know this music too. (You wonder how many people in North America automatically think of a frog dancing in tux and top hat, the instant they hear the words, “Hello ma baby, hello ma honey, hello my ragtime gal…”)

Lynch gives us the songs in a much different way from how we remember them in the cartoons. These are the grownup versions, lush and mature, with the full lyrics. There’s no cartoonish quality here, and yet Lynch captures the mood of the songs with confidence and aplomb. You want saucy? You want “The Latin Quarter.” How about dreamy? Head straight for “It Can’t Be Wrong.” Lynch’s voice is as rich, clear, and true as that of any singer who sang the originals.

The Songs the Brothers Warner Taught Me website allows you to download the whole album, or else choose the individual songs you want. For each song, there’s a brief description of where the music first appeared, and how it was used in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and Warner Brothers films. There’s no suggested minimum price, but you’ll want to pay Lynch, and the other musicians who appear on the album, a price that makes it worth their while to have created such great music. Give them the thanks and appreciation they deserve.

I actually squealed when I heard the beginning of “We’re in the Money,” and remembered the countless times I’d heard that tune as I was growing up. A lot of us will be familiar with these melodies without at first remembering why. Along with the pleasure of Megan Lynch’s renditions, we’re going to get the delightful frisson of recognition and nostalgia as it all comes back to us. The Brothers Warner taught a great many of us these same songs too.

 

Yes Rick Mercer really is like that

"And now it's time for...The Front Page"

That’s right. Whatever you see on the Rick Mercer Report, even when things are a bit scripted, that’s what Mercer is really like. At least as far as I could tell, when I went to a taping a few weeks ago. Mercer, who preceded the American Jon Stewart by several years when it comes to satirical poking at politics, really does have those lightning-quick responses to comments people make. Here’s a man who thinks on his feet. And he is very, very funny.

The studio was big and the audience was huge, compared to other CBC tapings I’ve been to. But this, understandably, is a very popular show. Booming rock music (just my kind!) filled the room as several interns escorted everyone to their seats, trying to keep groups of people together. The whole atmosphere was electric. And when Mercer finally bounded onto the set, nobody had to prompt the audience to applaud and yell at the top of their lungs.

"My you're a tall audience."

His first comment as he stood there and looked out at us? “My, you’re a tall audience.” And it just went on from there. He had a running commentary going with the floor manager, whose name was Bob, as I recall. He took the time to chat with several people in the audience, and he kept us all laughing and feeling a part of the show. He even had Bob recount to us the adventures he (Bob) had had with flight cancellations and diversions on his way to a wedding in Winnipeg the previous snowy weekend in Manitoba.

All of this shows some definite people skills, because as anyone knows who has watched the show, many of the segments are pre-taped. It wasn’t like Mercer was going to take this entire audience down to the Maple Leaf Gardens to watch him film his Battle of the Blades figure skating segment with Tie Domi, after all. And the ad for taser-proof undergarments had already been made. So one might have wondered why an audience was there at all for the little bits that were left.

But Mercer made a great night of it. Even for pre-taped segments, he was back onstage to introduce them, with the usual hilarious comments. And always, in between segments, he kept in good contact with the audience and helped us while away the time till taping was ready to start again.

But he didn’t stop there, in his good audience relations. Or should I perhaps say his showing himself to be a really good guy? Because after the show is over, Mercer always sticks around to talk to people. So you can say a quick hello, get an autograph if you want, and even get your picture taken with him. And this can add another two hours to his night!

What Rick sees

As one of the interns told an elevator full of us afterward, “He’s really nice.” That’s the impression you get when you watch him boat racing with a Canadian Olympian in a giant pumpkin in Pembroke, Ontario, attempting trick riding at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton, Alberta, going on a tour of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, or visiting the Electronic Arts video game developers in Burnaby, B.C. Or, of course, figure skating with Tie Domi at Maple Leaf Gardens. Mercer really likes seeing all these different people and doing things with them, and getting to know Canada. And, of course, bringing all of that to his audience.

When you go to a taping of the Rick Mercer Report, you see the same funny, friendly, interested guy you always see on the show. You just get to be one of the lucky Canadians who sees all that in person.

 

I Still Believe in Haydain Neale

“I still believe in love…Yes I do…”

I can’t tell you how terribly sad I am today at the news that Haydain Neale, the singer for Jacksoul, died in hospital on Sunday.

I had never heard of him till a few years after I moved to Toronto in 2000. But he was beloved of CBC Radio personalities, so it wasn’t long before I began to hear the music of Jacksoul featured as I listened to the CBC every day. And I absolutely fell in love with his gentle, almost haunting voice.

I’m really not a hip hop fan, much as I try. I loved the music of Jacksoul because it hearkened back to the sweet, smooth music of people like George Benson, which I had always loved.

When Haydain had his car accident in August of 2007, his recovery seemed to be taking so long that I worried that the injuries had been so severe that he might not be capable of making music any more. We in the public really never knew what the injuries were, and the long silence didn’t bode well. I thought, the longer it drew out, that the chances were increasing that we would never hear Haydain Neale make new music again.

How stunning that I was correct, but for the completely wrong reason. As I heard on the news this morning that he had died, I also heard that he had been battling lung cancer for seven months. As though he had needed that big struggle after his long recovery from the car accident!

It feels like we barely knew him before he was gone. My condolences go out to his family and friends. Their loss is much greater than ours, but ours is terribly sad. Farewell, sweet singer.