Episode 75: Sloan’s “Smeared” (1992)

Summary

Accelerated Culture – Episode 75: Sloan’s "Smeared" (1992)

Date: October 25, 2025
Hosts: Lori & Scott Free
Podcast: Accelerated Culture: The Rise of Alternative Music in the 80s and Beyond

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Episode Overview

This episode is a deep dive into Sloan’s 1992 debut album "Smeared," a Canadian alt-rock staple that blends grunge, shoegaze, and power pop influences. Hosts Lori and Scott Free unpack the band’s place in the alternative movement, the unique elements of "Smeared," and track-by-track reflections—with personal, historical, and critical context. The episode also highlights the band’s legacy and their impact on Canadian indie music culture.

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Key Discussion Points

Personal Updates and Setting the Mood (00:49 – 09:38)

• Scott shares a heartfelt tribute to his recently deceased father, emphasizing the musical legacy he inherited.

  “He would often come in, listen to the music… and would stare for a moment and then ask, 'Where is the music?' in his inimitable Colombian accent.” (03:06 – 03:32)

• Scott describes attending two concerts as an emotional respite: Air in Chicago and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass in Milwaukee, noting the musicians’ enduring talents and contributions to pop music history.

Introduction to Sloan and "Smeared" (09:38 – 15:03)

• Scott’s Pick: Scott champions "Smeared" as an underrated album in constant rotation since its U.S. release.
• Lori’s First Impression: Lori is new to Sloan but comes open to the exploration; she references the band’s own description as a “shoegazy ABBA meets My Bloody Valentine approach.”

Sloan: Origins, Influences, and Band Dynamics (11:59 – 19:32)

• Formation: Band formed by Chris Murphy, Jay Ferguson, Patrick Pentland, and Andrew Scott in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
  • All four members are songwriters and instrumentalists, often swapping roles.
• Influences: Cited influences include Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Cheap Trick, Kiss, Rush, The Beatles, The Who, and Jesus and Mary Chain.
• Unique Approach: Described as combining shoegaze, grunge, and power pop in a uniquely Canadian context.

  “I think Smeared, more than any record that I know of, is a great example of transatlantic music from that era. It has aspects of shoegaze and grunge or American underground rock, more so than any other band.” – Chris Murphy (26:20)

History of the Band Name and DIY Ethos (15:03 – 19:32)

• Sloan’s name came from a mispronunciation (“Slow One”) and a friend’s agreement to let them use it if he appeared on their EP cover.
• DIY Spirit: Started Murder Records to release music quickly and maintain indie credibility before their debut LP landed with Geffen.

The Halifax Scene and the Canadian Alt-Rock Renaissance (19:32 – 23:44)

• Sloan played a key role in fostering the Halifax alternative scene, using Murder Records to highlight local talent and shape Canadian indie music in the 90s.

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Track-by-Track Album Discussion

1. Underwhelmed (27:57 – 37:55)

• Style: Witty, guitar-driven opener; lyrical wordplay with Morrissey undertones.
• Memorable Quote:

  “She was underwhelmed, if that’s a word. I know it’s not, ‘cause I looked it up.” (30:45)

• Lori notes the humor and relatability, especially the “affection has two Fs” lyric.
• Trivia: Sloan’s highest-charting U.S. single (Modern Rock #25, 1993).
• Single/Video: Two versions; the first won the Moon Snail Award (Canada).

2. Raspberry (38:24 – 41:08)

• Style: Loud-quiet-loud dynamic, Pixies/Nirvana energy with strong bass and reverb.
• Lori likens the lyrical ambiguity and tension ("pardon me for calling, I’m just checking in...") to The Smiths and Morrissey.
• Tone: Slightly stalkerish lover’s lament.

3. I Am the Cancer (42:01 – 48:23)

• Style: My Bloody Valentine-style layered distortion, sweet vocal harmonies, guest vocals by Jennifer Pierce.
• Lyrical Theme: Farewells to friends/lovers; possible reference to leaving Halifax.

• “Miss me, miss me, now you have to kiss me… kiss me, kiss me, now you’ve got to miss me.” (46:01)

• A standout for Scott and a favorite for Chris Murphy.

4. Median Strip (48:30 – 53:28)

• Style: Classic Pixies influence, pronounced soft/loud structure.
• Lyrics: Ambiguous, breakup undertones; wordplay ("feel free to dwell on what you feel, feel free to say I don’t feel free...").
• Lori highlights the Glenn Close/Fatal Attraction pun.

5. Take It In (53:28 – 56:29)

• Style: Swings from sentimental to manipulative as the unreliable narrator reveals themselves.
• Lori: “At first it’s implied that this other guy is the one… but then it’s turned around and you have been taken in.”

6. 500 Up (56:47 – 63:10)

• Style: Sonic Youth-inspired, rich vocal harmonies, two-chord power pop; playful and mean.
• Lyrics: Baseball game (“500 up”) becomes an extended, harsh metaphor for promiscuity and cliquishness.
• Notable Moment: Lori references the “Calvinball” energy.

7. Marcus Said (64:02 – 67:13)

• Style: Rocker with recurring guest vocals (Jennifer Pierce).
• Theme: Portrait of an aging, drunken artist; echoes of college art scenes.

8. Sugar Tune (67:34 – 72:22)

• Style: Power-pop with strong harmonies, upbeat and melodic; portends Sloan’s later sound.
• Rolling Stone Review: “Compresses years of power pop tradition into a modern spitball of unbridled fun...”
• Scott: “It’s poppy genius… unapologetically what it is.”

9. Left of Center (72:26 – 77:02)

• Style: Velvet Underground/Lou Reed spoken-word style; Gen X nostalgia.
• Lyrics: Star Wars and pop culture references ("I remember Uncle Owen...that was 1977 and I was in grade three").
• Lori calls it “a Gen X anthem.”

10. Lemon Zinger (77:02 – 81:00)

• Style: Sonic Youth-inspired, strong bass, shimmering guitars, and melancholic air.
• Lyrics: Surreal and beautiful ("the melody’s so sweet you want to die violently"); possible references to Pixies, tea, and/or Dolly Madison Zingers.

11. 2 Seater (81:01 – 84:13)

• Style: Fusion of Nirvana and Sonic Youth with pounding drums, fuzzed-out vocals, and urgent guitars.
• Theme: Relationship tension in a “lifestyle built for two,” with an apologetic narrator.

12. What’s There to Decide? (84:15 – 88:35)

• Style: My Bloody Valentine ambiance; soft, contemplative, feedback-soaked.
• Theme: Limbo at the end of a relationship; rich, sad harmonies end the album on an introspective note.
• Scott: “The sonic manifestation of that ache. It is beautiful and sad.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Scott on his introduction to Sloan:

  “This album has never gone out of heavy rotation for me. I listen to it all the damn time.” (09:43)

• Lori on Gen X representation:

  “At its at, this is a Gen X anthem.” (75:10)

• Scott quoting Rolling Stone:

  “Smeared, the debut from this post alternative chop shop, marries Nirvana’s thrash bottom to Twinkie harmony vocals...” (25:00)

• Chris Murphy on Smeared’s sound:

  “I think Smeared, more than any record that I know of, is a great example of transatlantic music from that era.” (26:20)

• Album Cover Process:
  Smeared’s cover art was created by heating and manipulating a Polaroid photo, a nod to their art school roots. (27:03)
• Lori on Median Strip’s lyrics:

  “Are you basically hoping she gets into a car accident?” (52:43)

• Scott’s summary of the closing track:

  “Goddamn if they don’t do this rare Canadian shoegaze thing really beautifully.” (88:33)

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Album Reception, Legacy, and Aftermath (91:25 – 94:05)

• Sloan’s Legacy:
  • 14 albums, 9 Juno nominations, 1 Juno win in 1997.
  • Credited with building a Canadian indie rock scene through Murder Records.
  • "Smeared" and Peppermint recently received deluxe remastered editions.
  • In 2024, the band played Smeared in full at special shows.
• Scott will finally see Sloan live in Windsor, Canada in March.

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Hosts’ Favorite Tracks

• Scott: “I Am the Cancer” (88:48 – 89:35)
• Lori: “Median Strip” (though this could change, citing the album’s overall subtlety and the relatability of the track). (89:48 – 90:09)

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What’s Next

The next episode will revisit 90s grunge with Stone Temple Pilots’ "Core" and be released on Lori’s birthday weekend (November 8th).

“Thank you again for listening. This has been an interesting journey. Scott, thank you for introducing me to this album. So now I can at least say that I’m familiar with Sloan.” (95:57)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |--------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:49–03:55 | Scott’s tribute to his father | | 09:38–11:59 | Album and band introduction | | 11:59–19:32 | Sloan’s formation and ethos | | 19:32–23:44 | Halifax scene & Murder Records | | 27:57–37:55 | “Underwhelmed” track discussion | | 38:24–41:08 | “Raspberry” | | 42:01–48:23 | “I Am the Cancer” | | 53:28–56:29 | “Take It In” | | 56:47–63:10 | “500 Up” | | 72:26–77:02 | “Left of Center” | | 84:15–88:35 | Closing track and album wrap-up | | 91:25–94:05 | Sloan's legacy and what happened next | | 94:05–96:07 | Upcoming episode preview and farewells |

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Tone & Takeaways

• Language & Tone: Friendly, insightful, self-deprecating, and geeky; passionate but conversational.
• For New Listeners:
  This episode is a rich, approachable guide to Sloan’s "Smeared"—even if you don’t know the album, the context given here will set you up to appreciate its place in alt-rock and Canadian music history.

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Find Accelerated Culture at AcceleratedCulturePodcast.com for more episodes and resources.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Welcome to the Accelerated Culture Podcast. A sonic journey through the vibrant and revolutionary sounds of the 1980s and 1990s and now 2024 Webby Honoree for Best Indie Podcast. I'm Lori, along with my co host Scott Free and in this podcast we explore how new waves stormed the airwaves in the early 80s and and gave way for the rise of alternative music in the 90s. Find us on the [e-mail].

[C]

Hello and welcome back to the Accelerated Culture Podcast. I am your host Scott Free.

[B]

And I'm your other host, Lori. Welcome back.

[C]

Good to be back. Regular listeners will have noticed that there was a delay in the release of this episode. The entire time that I have been co host of the Accelerated Culture Podcast for the last year and a half I've been involved in care for my elderly father and at the end of that road last Saturday night, my father passed away at the age of 92. He lived an amazing life, made some really important contributions to his professional field, raised a family that wasn't half bad between myself and my oft mentioned brother, Dr. Dave, and was a great lover of music. He did not understand the music that we talk about on this podcast. While I would play my music while still living under his roof as a youth, or in the many visits over the years that followed back home, he would often come in, listen to the music, particularly the heavier guitar rock and the electronic music that I am such a big fan of, as well as hip hop, and would stare for a moment and then ask, where is the music? In his inimitable Colombian accent. He didn't understand the music, but he was a great lover of music in his own right. He grew up on another continent in another time. He was a member of the silent generation, but the music that he loved was anything but silent. So he loved Latin music, obviously, having grown up in Colombia, he loved classical and opera and was a big supporter of, among others, the Detroit Chamber Music Society. So if anyone would like to contribute in his honor, I would say make a contribution to the Detroit Chamber Music Society. I know that that's right there in your wheelhouse. Accelerated Culture Vultures. Maybe not, but whatever. I just felt it was important to say a few words about the man who was so important in making me the music lover that you, for whatever reason, tune into every episode to listen to blathering about this album or.

[B]

Scott, I think that was really beautiful. I never met your dad, but to Eduardo.

[C]

You heard the story.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm glad. Glad you're Back and glad everything is going okay. Been thinking of you and your family.

[C]

So other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the show? Okay, so this is usually the point in the show where we do the what do you know, what have you seen? And I have seen. I have seen some amazing things. Two amazing things shows in particular. The first of them I saw in Chicago at the Auditorium Theater downtown just outside the Loop. And that was dreamy French retro space lounge pop act Air doing their seminal album Moon Safari in its entirety. And I gotta tell you, that show was amazing. These guys put out so much sound. It's so tight and it is album perfect. Are there some drum and sound tracks playing in the background? I believe there are, but they're clearly playing and playing well. And the stage production for this show was astounding. The auditorium theater is a big classical theater, but they built out a long letterbox shaped rectangular box, all the walls and ceiling of which were projection screens, behind which were lights. So depending on the song and the moment, you could have both projected space scapes as you're flying through hyperspace, but then blasts of light behind it so the whole thing lights up like a strobe. And really just amazing, amazing stuff. If you have a chance to catch Air doing Moon Safari, I highly recommend it. And then the very next night, I had forgotten that I had bought these tickets like six months prior. And then I got an alert. It's like, oh, I guess I'm driving to Milwaukee today. Breakneck pace. Drive to Milwaukee to see at the Bradley Symphony center in downtown Milwaukee, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Oh yeah. Herb Alpert at this point is 90 years old, still playing the trumpet. You know how sometimes old men will develop a slight rasp in their voice?

[A]

Us.

[C]

Herb Alpert plays the trumpet with that rasp, strangely, and apparently it's not uncommon, but he is a very alert and charming 90 year old, telling stories from his 70 years in the music business. On that note, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Everybody knows a few of their big songs. Spanish Flea, the Lonely Bull to you on a taxi. Even if you don't know it, you know it.

[B]

Rise.

[C]

Rise. Of course, yes. And you might not know that you know Rise, but if you know the Biggie Smalls song hypnotize, you know the Herb Alpert song Rise because of that groove. Oh, man. Yeah. Anyway, you may not know how big a deal Herb Alpert was in the music business. The A of A and M Records is Alpert for Herb Alpert.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[C]

Oh, yeah. He helped put a bunch of bands on the map. Brazil 66, the Carpenters. He collaborated with Janet Jackson in the 80s on Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend. Long storied career. And he is talking about it for the whole show. And again, the band was amazing. I think none of the players on stage that day were part of the original Tijuana Brass, but man, it was a blast. The show was so fun. If you get a chance. Yes, it's a little campy, but that does not mean that these guys are not top notch musicians and that the show isn't a hell of a lot of fun.

[B]

You know, that's really cool. And I'm actually a little bit jealous because when he was in Chicago in August, I was hoping my dad and I might make it because we're both fans. But the concert was the same day as my sister's birthday, so we didn't make it.

[C]

Cindy didn't want to go see Herb Alpert and the TJB for her birthday. The kids these days.

[A]

Sam. Well, cool.

[B]

I'm glad that you got to have a little bit of fun despite everything else that's been going on.

[C]

Yeah, I got to have those two bits of fun. And then just a couple days later it was, you might want to get to Denver tonight.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Got in a good last couple days and was there through the very end.

[B]

It's not easy.

[C]

I know it is not. But we'll always have the memories. And that is about as graceful a transition I can come up with to get to, hey, what classic alternative album are we talking about this week.

[B]

And what album are we talking about, Scott, because you chose the album this week.

[C]

I did. And I know that you were not familiar with this album, possibly even the group at all, as far as you are aware before I proposed doing this album. But I stand by it. This is an album that has been on heavy rotation since I first got it upon its American release. The album is Smeared by Canadian power pop group Sloan. Although at this era, their debut, Smeared, was really not fully power pop. It was more grunge meets shoegaze meets power pop. And depending on which track on the album, one or the other of those might have come to the fore. But, man, this album has never gone out of heavy rotation for me. I listen to it all the damn time.

[B]

Okay. Yeah, this was the first time that I'd ever heard of the band, first time I've ever heard anything by them. So, yeah, it was it was an interesting musical journey. I did find a quotation on Sloan's official website where they called this album shoegazy. ABBA meets My Bloody Valentine approach to their songwriting.

[C]

I think that is apt. Although it downplays the kind of straightforward distortion heavy rock aspect that even my buddy Valentine had some of the but this feels a lot more like an alternative and sometimes grunge album. When Smeared came out, Sloan was sometimes referred to in the music press as the Canadian Nirvana and they bristled at this label. And it's not entirely apt really, but it was a year after Nevermind had come out and everybody wanted something to be the next Nirvana. They called the Halifax scene the Canadian Seattle or the Northern Seattle. Sloan was originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, although moved to Toronto later in the 90s. We're getting ahead of ourselves though. Let's talk the history of Sloan.

[B]

Yes, let's.

[C]

Okay then. Right, so one Chris Murphy and Jay Ferguson play in a couple bands in Halifax, Nova Scotia together from like 1986 to 1990. These bands were the Deluxe Boys and Kearney Lake Road. Chris Murphy and Andrew Scott attend design school together at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, or NSCAD in Halifax and they start jamming together. One Patrick Pentland joins them in 1991 and Sloan is formed. Sloan is an interesting band in that all four members of the band are songwriters at this stage for their first ep, the Peppermint EP and the first album Smeared, both recorded in the same recording sessions. Chris Murphy is the dominant songwriter, but all four members of the band have at least one song that is theirs on this album and as their career goes on, all four of them play really any instrument and will oftentimes trade off. At this point I'd like to actually give you some of the references that I will be using throughout this episode as, you know, accelerated culture warriors. We like to cite our sources here. The first of them that I'm going to be citing is actually from threads under SteveHoffman TV, an article called Sloan the Canadian Beatles single by single 1992 to now, published on February 15th of 2022. He characterizes the four members of the band in a way that I think is pretty apt. First you have Chris Murphy on bass and drums, the nasal, witty wordsmith and most prolific member of the band. You have Patrick Pentland, guitar and provider of the most popular riff laden lead single Canadian Anthems. You have Jay Ferguson on guitar, the sweet voiced writer of catchy upbeat songs that could have hit 50 years ago. And then you Have Andrew Scott on drums and guitar. The gruff voiced wild card with quirky songs in a more Bob Dylan mode. So that's the basic lay of the land member of the band, cast of characters, if you will. As I mentioned, the. They meet more or less through other bands in Halifax and then design school and then start jamming and through a battle of the bands type situation, the band is given the award of recording time in a studio. And they bang out in this record or these recording sessions all of the tracks that will be released as their first, first ep, the Peppermint EP in much raw form. And then an entire LP in the form of today's album Smeared.

[B]

There's an interesting story about the title or the name of the band rather.

[C]

Oh yeah, love this.

[B]

When the guys were at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, they had a friend named Jason. And okay, being that they're in Canada, you know, Jason's boss nicknamed him Slow One, but he had a French accent, so it kind of came out more like Slow One.

[C]

Uh huh.

[B]

Yeah. And so Jason said they could use the name for their band as long as he was on the COVID of their first album. So that Peppermint EP that you mentioned.

[C]

Yeah, the.

[B]

The guy on the COVID that is Jason, AKA Slow One.

[C]

Yeah. An unflattering photo in extreme close up with super bright yellow everything. And like, yeah, he made it to the COVID of their first album. Okay, so as I mentioned earlier, this album Smeared, has been in constant rotation for me since its American release in 95. And in all that time I never, I don't think I ever opened up the liner notes and actually read them. And I open up the CD booklet and it's just four panels wide, no staple, no pages beyond, just one long old out. And then within that, pictures of the band, cool rock and roll photos. Great. And one column of text. I'm reading it for the first time, researching this episode and I see, okay, album produced by Sloan and Terry Pulliam. Only work I know by him, but all right, engineered by Terry Pulliam. And then get a little bit further down mixed by Dave Ogilvie at Lighthouse. I'm like, Dave Ogilvy, I know that. Dave Rave Ogilvy of Skinny Puppy.

[B]

Oh really?

[C]

The initial recording sessions that they got for that recording time for that battle of the band situation, they recorded all these tracks that made up both the Peppermint EP and Smeared and then took those same first sessions, handed them off to Dave Ogilvy, Dave Rave Ogilvy of Skinny Puppy. And he polished the hell out of it. And you listen to the Peppermint episode, say underwhelmed on that versus underwhelmed on the album. And you can hear what $30,000 of mixing can do to a song. It's just interesting. Yeah. I would not have thought listening to this album there would be a Skinny Puppy connection. And yet there it is.

[B]

Wow. Yeah. Surprise. Yeah.

[C]

It should be noted that they had recorded Underwhelmed prior and got them significant attention. They were playing live in Halifax, they got attention, and they actually got signed to dgc. David Geffen company, Geffen Records. Essentially, who you will know from such previous episodes of accelerated culture from bands including Sonic Youth and Nirvana. They got signed and the album deal was in the works, but they wanted to maintain their indie credit and they wanted to release music before the much slower pace that DGC was working at. So they formed their own record company, Murder Records, One Word. And released the Peppermint ep, so they could get it out ahead of the album so that the music press, particularly the music press in England, would be able to be like, we discovered this band before they got released on a major label and just, yeah, maintain their indie cred. And I think that's actually pretty cool. And in so doing, in creating Murder Records originally just to release their own music, they then started signing bands and releasing music from other bands in the Halifax music scene and helped to put a whole Canadian music scene on the map. It's a lot of bands that we don't know here in the States, but, hell, we just barely know Sloan here in the States. So they're a very big deal in Canada. I guess that's all I can say about that.

[B]

You know, many moons ago, you might remember, Scott, we got an email from a listener named Brian. And Brian's complaint was that we did not cover enough Canadian bands. So hopefully he's listening.

[C]

Brian, Here you go. Sloan grossly underappreciated. We're going to try to give them their due. So how do you describe Sonically, Sloan? And granted, as I mentioned, at this early stage in their career, their debut album, it's coming at a very specific point in time. As we said, Nirvana, Nevermind had just hit and taken over the world the year before and Nirvana certainly was one of their influences. They also name check Sonic Youth quite a bit. And as we go through the track by track, there are going to be a few tracks where you're like, oh, this is basically a Sonic Youth track, just with much better harmonies, vocally speaking. But they also, as I Said are a power pop band. They definitely cite Cheap Trick as an influence, strangely Kiss. But we think of Kiss as this hard rock band and they were more of a pop rock band than anything, just with a very hard look. They even name check Rush sometimes, although less musically and more for a punk rock attitude. Not to say that they played punk rock, but f the establishment record companies will tell you to do this and Rush was like, yeah, no, we're just gonna keep it hard and weird. They also name check the Beatles and the who as a band that they all agreed on. And you can definitely hear some who and some Beach Boys influence, particularly where they're vocal harmonies and pop approach are concerned. Also Jesus and Mary Chain. You can hear Jesus and Mary Chain throughout this record, particularly in their approach to distortion and guitars. And yeah, there's plenty to hear when we dig into it. One other reference that I should mention that I know both you and I found independently and we'll be referring to a bit here and there is actually from Cam Lindsay's substack a specific article published on June 5th of 2024 under the name First Revival. And this article is an interview with Jay and Chris from Sloan. I have a bit from Chris Murphy that I really like where he talks about everyone in the band being songwriters and being multi instrumentalists. Interesting bit that ties into liner notes for Smeared. So Chris Murphy, when I think back, I think I played some bass on Smeared and Patrick definitely played some Patrick and I switched and I was the guitar player for the first year. Then Patrick switched. I don't even know what I played on the record. I don't think I even played on Smeared. And this would explain why Chris Murphy is listed in the album liner notes as bass, vocals and erased guitars. Right. Patrick played a lot of bass on it too though, but he was so into that guitar fuzzery. He was never happier. Basically he's been unhappy ever since as the band's sound got more power, pop and cleaner. For this record though, Chris Murphy was the primary songwriter. Everybody got a song or two on the album, but the majority are Chris Murphy tracks or Chris Murphy and one of the other band members collaborating with him. There was a video that I saw from April 27th of this year, a YouTube video, where Toronto Mike Toronto Music DJ is interviewing the band Andrew Scott and talking about their songwriting process. And I think it. It's apt. So that's kind of the perception out there is that the four of you bring songs to the table for albums like that is the perception like that's how.

[D]

That's how we do.

[C]

But that's not necessarily how it was when Smeared was coming together.

[D]

It was a lot more. There was a lot more. Say Chris would bring a lot more songs to the table and.

[C]

Everybody, everybody.

[D]

Would just kind of fall in. However it. It seemed like it made sense. And there was no real road map that we had had, like in terms of a static or there here. There were the bands that we were all kind of influenced by at that time, a lot of alternative bands from America or UK or whatever. But then there was also. Everybody kind of agreed on the Beatles and the who and. And stuff like that. So we were, you know, we were just having fun at this stage. There was no expectation from any of us that this was going to turn into anything other than let's maybe we'll play a show or two and make a cassette tape and give it to our friends or whatever. Like, we never thought for a minute that we'd still be doing it today and making a living off it.

[C]

And yeah, they have made a great living off it. They are absolutely massive in Canada. Award winning with the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys. We'll get to that a little bit later, but yeah, another one of my sources. This is actually a Rolling Stone review of Smeared, and I think it sums it up beautifully. Smeared, the debut from this post alternative chop shop, marries Nirvana's thrash bottom to Twinkie harmony vocals, puts My Bloody Valentine on a budget with a beat, drops the ballast from Sonic Youth, uncovers the soft underbelly of Dinosaur Junior and takes 16 years off of Cheap Trick while running down a college radio playlist of ingredients. Smeared transcends mere style, scavenging through the band's guileless enthusiasm. On this album, Sloan's catchy tunes and witty post adolescent lyrics collate into a winning personality that sounds anything but calculated. And I think that is a beautiful summary of this band at this phase.

[B]

It's certainly quite a pedigree, isn't it, with all those influences?

[C]

But yeah, I mean, those are some big names and big comparisons being made for a band that is releasing their first ever LP. And I think it's apt. You're going to hear this throughout the record. So there is a quote from Chris Murphy in that sub stack that I think encapsulates the sound perhaps a little bit more succinctly than the Rolling Stone article. But from Chris Murphy, I think Smeared, more than any record that I know of, is a great example of transatlantic music from that era. It has aspects of shoegaze and grunge or American underground rock, more so than any other band. It's not a sound a lot of bands were trying to combine. And especially when you put that through the filter of power pop. But man, this band does it so damn well.

[B]

Okay, all right. Do you know anything about the COVID artwork?

[C]

I do. I mean, it is the band and a friend of theirs had showed them how if you take a Polaroid photo and put it under heat, put it just under a lamp for a while to soften the emulsion, you could then grind on it with a spoon or any other hard implement and make marks on it in emulsion. And that's what it is. It's just the band, Polaroid and being messed with.

[B]

Wow, how interesting. Yeah, no, I, I, I did not find that.

[C]

I always loved playing with Polaroids. And yeah, it was the experimental photography classes that I took back in art school. Still stick with me.

[B]

Okay, well, Scott, that brings us to the track by track. Do you want to start us off?

[C]

I would love to. Let's start with track one. Underwhelmed.

[A]

I was overwhelmed, I'm sure of that one. Cause I left Turn it back in grace to when I was young she said you was funny I said you are funny she said thank you and I said never mind and she rolled her eyes her beautiful eyes why it's not good forever. It's the feeling that is certainly in my heart.

[C]

Okay. From the first tone and the first words, you get a sense of what you're getting into. Buzzing guitar and witty college level admittedly, but witty wordplay and I am all in.

[B]

Yeah, I. The first time I was listening to this, I was actually on the bus on the way home from work and I laughed out loud a few different.

[C]

Times with oh dude, it's so funny. And like I think I mentioned this when I introduced the topic at the end of the last episode. It's that they are witty but they're not overtly trying to be funny. This is not novelty music. This is just guys who are smart and who enjoy wordplay. And the song is the story of a college age, or maybe early 20 something would be romance where this guy who is kind of uptight and pedantic is pursuing this passionate, free spirited and it seems like maybe foreign girl and just putting her off and messing it up at every turn, but always with this self righteous pedantry that he's proud of. And oh my God, the lyrics are so good.

[B]

So Chris Murphy was talking, I guess it was a private interview in January of 1993, in which he said, underwhelmed is a cutesy teen song. It was a poem I made up in second year university. It's got a bunch of puns in it and stuff, which is kind of weird because I find that that's a very Canadian thing to do, these smart alec, really pun lyrics. Although I think that ours is a bit different because of the execution, how we recorded it.

[C]

All right, I'll buy that. Yeah, yeah, you. The name of the track is one of the very first bits of this. This pedantry and this guy's love of language and knowledge. So it opens with she was Underwhelmed. If that's a word. I know it's not because I looked it up. That's one of the skills that I learned in my school.

[B]

Newsflash. Underwhelmed is, in fact a word.

[C]

It is now. I don't know if it was in 1992 and maybe they coined it, but whatever. And then the clip that you just heard comes in. I was overwhelmed. And I'm sure of that one because I learned it back in grade school when I was young. It goes on. And this is where you get the sense that she is perhaps foreign. Along with later in the track where she rolls her Rs, her beautiful Rs. She said, you is funny. I said, you are funny. She said, thank you. And I said, never mind. She rolled her eyes, her beautiful eyes. The point is not the grammar. It's the feeling that is certainly in my heart, but not in hers. And it gets worse for him from there. Oh, man, this track is so fun.

[B]

I think the lyrics that I liked best. Yeah, she skips her classes and gets good grades. I go to my courses, rain or shine. She's passing her classes while I attend mine. And I just found that so relatable. I mean, I think I was the one that was skipping the classes and getting good grades, which I, by the way, did get in a lot of trouble for. They didn't care that I was getting all eights. But then, you know, I. I think it's relatable that, yeah, I go to my courses, rain or shine, and she's the one that's getting the good grades.

[C]

Right. The other one, the other bit that I just love. In this one, she wrote out a story about her life. I think it included something about me. I'm not sure of that. But I'm sure of one thing. Her spelling's atrocious. She told me to read between the lines and tell her exactly what I Get out of it. I told her that affection has two Fs, especially when you're dealing with me. And with that, he has completely blown it. And yeah, college age 20 something me finds this song hilariously relatable. I was insufferable.

[B]

That does not surprise me.

[C]

Oh, how dare you?

[B]

So, yeah, there's actually kind of a. I think a double meaning to that line too. About affection had two Fs.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Because on one hand he's correcting her spelling. Right. But then he's also talking about how she gets good grades. He doesn't. Two Fs. Right. Academically, that's not good.

[C]

Yeah. I think also the two Fs, if you know what I'm saying. I mean, not a mean. That's not signing more.

[B]

Oh, okay. The international language, indeed.

[C]

I. I freaking love this song. And this was a single. This was a us single. And it is entirely possible. I know you say you've never heard it before. It was. It was around. If you were listening to alternative radio of the time, odds are good you heard it. It just was not a big hit. But it was the big one for them in the us.

[B]

Now, if I'm not mistaken, you mentioned that Battle of the Bands concert that they won. Yes. I think part of that was for them to be Featured on the DTK Records compilation here and now 92 ear.

[C]

H e a R. Yes.

[B]

Yes. And I am pretty sure that the original version from Peppermint was released on that compilation.

[C]

That's true.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

There were a couple other things that I found interesting. Chris Murphy said that the song's lyrical approach was influenced by political song for Michael Jackson to sing, which was a song by the Minutemen on their 1984 album Double Nickels on the Dimension Classic. Never heard of it.

[C]

Really?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Double Nickels on the Dime.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Listen to that album.

[B]

Okay. And then in another interview, Chris Murphy compared the lyrics of this song to Morrissey. He said specifically to me, it's so Morrissey. It's so over the top. Is it obvious that I'm doing Morrissey?

[C]

Yeah. And it's not the only one where he compares himself to Morrissey. But yeah, the specific line from the substack article where he does that, the LC line. She told me to loosen up on her way to the LC for years. That perplexed me. But it makes sense now that I know that the LC is the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission, the state run liquor stores that they have in Halifax. So they were going to get liquor. And he told her that he doesn't smoke or drink, which is a particularly Morrissey thing to do. And the line, her spelling's atrocious. Chris Murphy says, I might as well have been holding flowers singing that one to me. It's so Morrissey.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

Yeah. The equivalent he makes is to frankly Mr. Shankly, I didn't realize he wrote such bloody awful poetry. It's just such a tickish Morrissey thing to say. And yeah, he's channeling Morrissey in this one. That makes sense to me.

[B]

Yeah. As I mentioned, it was originally recorded for their EP Peppermint. They've re recorded it for this album and re released it as the album's lead single. And this song is actually their highest charting song in the United States. It peaked at number 25 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1993.

[C]

Not a huge hit, but again, if you were listening to alternative radio at the time, you likely heard it. There were two videos recorded for this song. The first video, the more notable of the two, was shot by one Colin McKenzie. Shot in the Clayton park neighborhood in Halifax, Nova Scotia in June of 1992 at Chris Murphy's parents house. It was the winner of the Moon Snail Award. What the hell is that? Canada. It's a whole other world, Brian. Perhaps you're more familiar with the Moon's Nail Award, or as we'll talk about later, the Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys. But all this is to say it made a splash, particularly in their home country. And it received a moderate rotation on MuchMusic, the Canadian analog for MTV of the time. You know, not much to say other than it's a great single, it's a great opener to the album. Gives you a good sense of what these guys are about. Powerful straightforward rock, but with plenty of distortion and plenty of wit. For me, it's a great opening shot.

[B]

All right, all right. Well that leads us to the second track. This is called Raspberry.

[A]

Hand. She knows you're looking at her, but that's what scares her.

[C]

So Raspberry takes it down a notch, energy wise versus opening track. Underwhelmed, but even so, the song is punctuated with these distortion heavy guitar chords and the huge room reverb on the vocals and the bass contrasting with the distortiony brightness of the guitars. I mean it's a classic loud, quiet, loud, Pixies, Nirvana style they're doing. And the band has admitted openly to being influenced by Nirvana. As I mentioned, sometimes the band was referred to as the Canadian Nirvana.

[B]

Yeah, couldn't find a lot about this one. But I found the lyrics very interesting. And you. You want to speak about Morrissey.

[C]

I know which line you're gonna say, I swear.

[B]

Pardon me for calling, but I'm just checking in. You don't know who I am, but I know where you've been.

[C]

Nice.

[B]

That totally reminds me of. The more you ignore me, the closer I get. Right, sure.

[C]

Also is wordplay, with the whole tap. You sit and tap your fingers when you should tap your phone, tap all your resources until she leaves you alone.

[B]

It does seem a little contradictory, doesn't it? It's like, on one hand, the girl's got nothing on you, but that's what bugs you because you still let her get to you. And, you know, pardon me for calling, I'm checking in, all that stuff. But then it kind of implied that maybe the girl goes a little bit overboard. You'll be hearing from her. But that should scare you.

[C]

Oh, yeah. I mean, it opens. The song opens with. Through the music. There's a dancing girl she can be broken in your hands. She knows you're looking at her but that's what scares her. You're in the space that she commands. Like, it's an encounter that begins on a dance floor and has maybe almost stalkerish tones going forward.

[B]

Yeah, I enjoy this one. I think this is a very strong track.

[C]

Yeah, it's a. It's calmer compared to underwhelmed. But that's largely because of the production, I think, on this one. Again, that bass with the huge reverb and the vocals, it feels quieter, but it's still. It still has that big rock feel. It just is more in a Pixies sort of way, I think.

[B]

Yeah. And you mentioned the bass, the first track. That was. The thing that was bothering me is that there was no low end to it. There's hardly any bass. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This one, I feel, has a little more gravitas to it. You know, it's got that oomph.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. You are a bass player. Historically.

[B]

So in my own mind, yes.

[C]

So you're looking out for the bass player. I can appreciate that. All right, well, then, that brings us to track three. I am the cancer.

[A]

I will miss you There is too much to do Where I go with you Some bedtime I haven't got it done.

[B]

Can I start this one, please? I really can see the comparisons. With My Bloody Valentine, we have Jennifer Pierce doing guest vocals. That female vocalist that you heard.

[C]

Yeah. Jennifer Pierce of Halifax band Jail J.

[B]

A L E. Right.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Referring back to that Substack article by Cam Lindsay that you keep referring to Scott.

[C]

Sure.

[B]

Chris Murphy talked about how My Bloody Valentine influenced this album. And he specifically said, I was at work and I heard you made me realize on Jay's radio show, Jay being one of his bandmates. And I was like, what the fuck is this? So there was you made me realize and feed me with your kiss and isn't anything. I was just in love with them so much. All of the songs on Smeared that I wrote are basically just copying those. And this one definitely, I feel that kind of isn't anything. My Bloody Valentine. That little bit of a raw rawr. More raw rawr.

[C]

Well, I mean, there's this driving 8th note baseline that do do do do do do do. And there's straight up guitar chords and then these super sweet harmonies on the vocals. But then over the entire thing, start to finish, there is this guitar feedback, distortion just line happening. It's floating over the top and it's always just screaming and wailing and doing whatever it wants with very little regard for what's happening in the rest of the song rhythmically. But it's beautiful. And yeah, it is a My Bloody Valentine homage for sure. There are very few songs that rock this hard, that are this sweet and capture that youthful heartbreak at a departure and a breakup that is about to happen. It rocks and yet it is sweet and sad, but while still rocking the whole time.

[B]

Yeah, the lyrics are interesting. I can't really make out what this is supposed to be about because the first verse is being sung to somebody named Matthew. So long, Matthew. The second verse is so long, Allison. The third verse, which we did not hear in that clip. So long, Andrew. I will miss you. I just wrote you a long note. You'd better answer. I am the cancer removed from you. So, number one, I love the rhyme scheme there. You better answer, I am the cancer. I like that. I don't know if this is somebody speaking metaphorically or if this is actually literally about a disease.

[C]

No, no. I mean, I. I think for me, this song has always been, I am leaving town. I am saying goodbye to my friends. I'm saying goodbye to the love interest. I am leaving you. I will return one day, but this is goodbye. And the last verse, you left out the fourth verse, which is so long, Scarecrow. So it's echoing the goodbyes at the end of the wizard of Oz, including so long, Scarecrow. I'll miss you most of all.

[B]

I didn't even catch that. Yeah, yeah.

[C]

But it's that heartbreak in advance is I'm letting go, I have to leave. But it does it in a way that is so such a young person's version of it. Like the recurring line that comes back in the chorus is missed me, miss me now you have to kiss me. Like that is a playground taunt. But then they flip it to kiss me, kiss me now you've got to miss me. Depending on who he's addressing, which goodbye this is. Yeah, it's sad and it's sweet, but yeah, it rocks. I I freaking love this song so hard.

[B]

It's decent.

[C]

I like this one and it it has been posited that this song is actually the band in the early stages, just as they're getting started, of saying goodbye to Halifax, Nova Scotia in the course of the next few years, from, I want to say 1993 to 1998, one by one, the members of the band leave Halifax to move to Toronto, and Sloan, originally a Halifax band, becomes just an all Canadian band based out of Toronto.

[B]

Okay, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. Anything else?

[C]

Two bits from articles that we've already referenced from the Rolling Stone review. With guest vocalist Jennifer Pierce and a buzzing breeze of guitar distortion invoking an Anglo dream pop aura, I Am the Cancer handily pulls off a tricky chord progression while cutely deconstructing romance. The band also talks about Chris Murphy, in particular, talked about how in this era, different songs from the album were released into different territories as singles. While Underwhelmed was the big US Single, I Am the Cancer was also released as a single, and they would release different singles whether it was into the US the UK or Canada. And Chris Murphy says I Am the Cancer is the best one out of those. Just kidding. The interviewer from the Substack cam, Lindsay, says, that's my favorite song on the album. To which Chris Murphy quickly replies, yeah, it's the best one. I think this is one of the best songs on the album. For all the reasons already stated. I freaking love this track.

[B]

Okay, well, next up then we have Median Strip.

[A]

I can't tell you what I want to I can't tell you I can't smell you a mile away Measured arms you flexed before next to a battleship you made me mad, I made you sad and now I'm glad you on Take Me, take Me.

[C]

So this is another classic Loud, quiet loud Pixies Nirvana influence in full effect. And really, this is the Pixiest song on the lp by my estimation.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah, not in terms of vocals, really. Mostly the front and center bass line and then the Big guitars come in and drums pound harder. Structurally, Pixies lyrically and vocally. Kind of their own thing. Right. Those lush harmonies are more than you ever get in a Pixies track, much less a Nirvana track. Where the loud, quiet, loud thing was the program.

[B]

Right. So the writing on this song, Chris Murphy shares a credit with Andrew Scott.

[C]

Yeah. The first three tracks on the album were all Chris Murphy tracks. And this is the first one at track four, where now it's a team up, Murphy and Scott.

[B]

Yes. And Andrew originally sang lead vocals on this song, but by the time they went to record it, they let Chris take the lead. If you happen to get the extended edition, there's a recording of Andrew singing this one.

[C]

Yeah. And how's it stack up?

[B]

I haven't listened to it.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Are you kidding? I had enough time to listen to the 12 tracks we're reviewing.

[C]

Yeah, fair. I'm gonna go ahead and admit, although, as I've said, I've had this album on heavy rotation for literally 30 years, I don't have a solid handle on what these lyrics are saying. Like, I know most of the words and what those individual words mean, but what they're trying to say I do not have a good handle on seems.

[B]

To be alluding to a breakup. Okay, you made me mad, I made you sad but now I'm glad you're gone.

[C]

Okay, so now this is classic. The way that Yoko ono criticized Paul McCartney's lyrics, writing that all you have to do is rhyme. Moon and June and spoon and mad, sad and glad. That is a pretty weak set of rhymes, I will give you that. However, count to 10, I'll be there Tone it down, I'll be in the barrel Point came for you to be Glenn Close to me.

[B]

I love that line.

[C]

It is terrible wordplay, and I freaking love it. Yeah, Glenn Close to me. Obviously, we're doing a Fatal Attraction thing, but, yeah, what comes next is very strange, and I have no idea what it means. For instance, can't you see I can't be P, P, I, M, I, S, S. I assess the situation differently. I've always liked the juxtaposition of M I, S s and ISS the situation, but I have no idea what that spelling or initializing is supposed to mean.

[B]

Yeah. I scoured the Internet to see if I could find out if that stood for anything. I found nothing.

[C]

Yeah. And then the song ends with. Three day benders set you straight Two flights were both on Time to fight was on your mind tonight I don't feel fine Love That. Feel free to dwell on what you feel. Feel free to say, I don't feel free. You made me mad. And now I've had to say that I was wrong. You should hit the median strip. This is where I'm like, cool.

[B]

But what is he basically hoping she gets into a car accident? Is that what that means?

[C]

Isn't that it?

[B]

Yeah. I don't know. I mean, not that hitting the median strip isn't necessarily. I mean, I guess it depends how high it is. It's not necessarily going to hurt anything.

[C]

Not necessarily a life ender, but yeah, yeah, whatever. It rocks musically. It's compelling. There's bits of wordplay in it that I do love. I don't exactly know what we're talking about, but I don't care.

[B]

That's fair.

[C]

It's one of the shorter tracks on the album, clocking in at 3:34. Take that or leave it. Whatever. I guess that brings us to track five. Take it in.

[A]

Hold this close to your chest no one can know he won't let his feelings show he keeps them under wraps Although they would love to know what he never told you is that he would love to take a look around Take it, take it.

[C]

Once again, an extreme version of the soft, loud, soft dynamic. Again owing a big debt to the Pixies, but again, doing it away with a sentimental sweetness, at least on its surface, that you don't really get from either of those bands like Pixies. There's a lot of irony and there's a lot of bombast, but sweet is not something you usually get from them. Nirvana, obviously, the energy and the anger and the depression. But on its face, it seems like it's a very sweet, kind of sweet love song where a guy is warning a girl about this other guy that is pursuing her and how he's trying to warn that this guy's intentions are not good. And then, as the song goes on, it reveals that this is an unreliable narrator. And there's a lot more going on here than that.

[B]

Yeah. Hold me close to your chest before you go there's something that you should know Put your mouth on my back and lightly blow. Where does the warmness go? Up to my arms and shoulders. Could I be any bolder? It looks like you have been taken in, right? Yeah. So at first it's implied that this other guy is the one. You know, he's just a friend, but he's got it out for you.

[C]

And I'm just giving you this advice. You should take it in. And then by the end of the song, it's turned around and you have been taken in.

[B]

You got it, yeah.

[C]

Starts seeming like a sweet sort of love song and turns out to be this master manipulator. And, yeah, it's a great song, man.

[B]

Interestingly. And I only noticed this when I had my headphones on. The guitar part in the verses, not the acoustic guitar, but there's kind of more of a. A lead guitar that's taking like center stage behind the lyrics. I swear to God. It's the intro from Soul man by Sam and Dave. I swear to God. That's what it sounds like.

[C]

Fascinating. Yeah. Lilting guitar line, individual notes as opposed to chords. It is another Chris Murphy penned track. This one just him on his own.

[B]

Well, that brings us to. To 500 up.

[A]

She's just like that farmer's daughter. Everybody laughs at the joke what it is. She just knows that it's not what it seems. Everybody knows that she's going nowhere Everybody always tells her how much they care but all they really care about is growing their hair.

[C]

Okay, so heavy Sonic Youth influence on this one, right?

[B]

Oh, absolutely, yeah.

[C]

I mean, the Rolling Stone review that I've been going back to, penned by Ira Robbins, as it turns out. I just had to get to the right point in my notes. But sums that up, I think. While the instrumental track of 500 up suggests Daydream Nation, Sonic Youth, the handsomely interwoven harmonies point this song towards chipper jangle pop. Yeah, again, it's that. It's that driving bass, it's the percussion, it's the guitars that all kind of. Yeah, it echoes Sonic Youth. But this is the song that really showcases the strength of this everybody in the band can sing thing where you can get these big, lush harmonies and they actually trade off lead vocals. For the most part. It is Patrick. Patrick Pentland on lead vocals. He's got the higher, clearer voice. But then you also have some Chris Murphy singing. And then there is. In the second verse, there's a couple lines where there's this lower, not quite in tune, slacker sounding voice that is actually.

[B]

Andrew Scott.

[C]

Andrew Scott. Yes. Yes.

[B]

Andrew Scott and Patrick Pentland actually co wrote this song. And Chris Murphy explained in an interview in 1993, 500 up is Andrew and Patrick's lyrics. They're totally senseless. 500 up is a game of baseball where you hit the ball and a whole bunch of people try to catch it. If you catch it in the air, you get 100 points. If it bounces once, you get 75 so that's that reference sliding downwards. You're the batter. That's what they say. 500 up on the ladder. I've never heard of 500 up. Honestly, to me it sounds kind of like Calvin Ball.

[C]

We just called it 500. But yeah, okay. It's a thing that boys who have a bat and a ball. Not enough players to do two full teams and not enough patience to play a full on game of baseball. Yeah, we're just going to whack the ball out there and you got to catch it. 500. Yeah. Now, I don't know that I agree that the song is nonsensical just because it references that. There's an extended metaphor going on here. This is a classic power pop song and as such, it's a song about a girl. Think back to our episode on Material Issue. One of the great power pop bands of the era, Jim Ellison, wrote a lot of songs about a lot of girls. However, here with Andrew Scott and Patrick Pentland writing about a girl, it is far less about the admiring, unrequited love that Jim Ellison did in his. This is a little bit of a meaner song about these guys busting on a. How shall we say, promiscuous but not very bright girl in their social scene. Everybody's playing 500 with her and everybody's getting points. Everybody knows that she's going nowhere. Everybody tells her how much they care, but all they really care about is cutting their hair and letting it grow. She don't know what it means she just knows that it's not what it seems. She's running down much faster. Home base is around the corner. All she can hear is laughter and that's all that's in store for her. Yeah, this song's kind of mean. That said, musically, it's pretty great. The first half of a lot of lines, you've just got the lead singer. And then the second half, the whole flush harmonies thing happens. Then it gets harder. The drum roll comes in. The crazy airplane going down freak out section. Freaking. Love that. There's a bass solo, sort of. It's a new bass line that comes to the front. And this is Patrick, the original bass player, playing bass on this one. And the whole song is two chords. Like there's just two chords happening the whole time. Yet the song has different sections where they mix up what line is in front, they mix up how specifically the chords are playing and what the arrangement is. It's simple and yet there's a lot going on in there. It also, again, is a Great way to showcase the various singers and how they can work individually and together. This is where you start to see what Sloan is going to become in future albums taking shape here on Smeared. This one does have a video, and that video is like a quintessential bit of early 90s alternative video direction. It's four guys under a bridge in Brooklyn. So you got the gritty urban setting miming, playing their instruments, and at times really lampshading the fact that they are miming. There's a point where Patrick, the drummer, is clearly missing every drum and playing in no way in time with the music that's playing while everyone else is doing their instruments and singing in time and then cutting to the band playing with a Barbie dream car with a Barbie in it and just pushing it down the street in Brooklyn. Like it's nonsensical. It's not taking itself seriously.

[A]

It.

[C]

It's just a chance to see the guys being young alternative rock stars. It's dumb and it's fun. It should be noted the band liked this one so much that when they released in 2005 a compilation album of a sides, it's called this was only one of two songs from Smeared's Five's singles that were included on that compilation. So to them, this is a important bit of early Sloan. All right, that brings us to track seven. Marcus said.

[A]

I just want to see what I know about My.

[C]

Right, Marcus said, is a Chris Murphy pen song. Talking about his drunken aging artist friend Marcus, who had things to say and they were often not the nicest things. It's the portrait of the artist as an old jerk. Not to get too James Joyce on you.

[B]

I appreciate the literary reference there. Yeah, yeah. It starts off, and I guess this is very timely being that this is October, Halloween. The night the artist caused a scene. The night I heard about his queen. I'm just glad my clock was clean. At least in the parlance that I'm familiar with. When you say you clean somebody's clock, that means you beat the crap out of them.

[C]

At least punched him real good.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. So I'm assuming that that means he got into a fight with the artist. Yeah.

[C]

The chorus or a version of it. Harder, harder, hardest. I am the artist that makes it easy for you to paint you in a corner. Marcus said. Or at least he might have said. I know what it is to be sad. You should see what I once had.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Yeah. Angsty, aging drunken friend.

[B]

Yes, I do like this particular verse, though. Alcoholic alchemy. Write a song for me I can turn lead into gold Just don't let me get old La la la yeah.

[C]

You know, it's again, an unflattering portrait, but apparently Marcus says a lot of stuff musically. Yeah, it's a compelling rocker. You heard it there in the sample we played that Chunka chunka chunka chunka chunka chunka chunk. Like that's always going to be compelling for me. And in the chorus, it gets bigger. It's got a subtler version of a loud, quiet, loud thing going here. Never gets all that quiet, but, you know, variations in intensity. And it should be noted you're hearing throughout the song a female voice. Once again, that is Jennifer Pierce of Halifax band Jail.

[B]

Yeah, you know, I'm actually kind of disappointed that she's not on more tracks. I enjoy what she contributes to the songs.

[C]

I will agree. And there was some lament that she didn't stick with the band for the albums to come, but again, I already got four singers.

[B]

True.

[C]

Nobody has quite the range she does. But yeah, she did add something to the two tracks that she is on on this album. I don't have a ton more to say about this one other than Marcus seems like kind of a jerk.

[B]

Marcus seems like the kind of person you and I both knew in college.

[C]

That is true.

[B]

Okay, so the next track is called Sugar Tune.

[A]

I wrote for you. It's too good and help you do what you gotta do when you're on the ground and keep falling down Remember how I made this sound Stay.

[B]

Okay, first thing I want to say. Yeah, this totally sounds like a Meat Puppet song.

[C]

I will agree. But also, it could just as easily be a Cheap Trick song. Like, this is hard power pop. Especially though I mean, get into the chorus and this is known Meat Puppets track. These big harmonies. The Rolling Stone review that I have been quoting I think does sum it up pretty well. The supremely catchy Sugar Tune compresses years of power pop tradition into a modern spitball of unbridled fun without letting it go gummy. Once you get to that chorus, the.

[A]

I know if everybody's got one, you want one too.

[C]

And the harmonies that come in in that it is in the power pop tradition harder than some. But the clean, the lush, just these power chords, I don't know. To me, I hear what you're saying, but it's as much Cheap Trick as Meat Puppets. And that's a weird combination, but one that I think really works. Should be noted that this is Patrick Pentland penned track and his only solo track on this album. And that post chorus bridge of descending chords has also these far off sort of ghostly oohs instead of a more expected guitar solo you would think you would get in a track like this. Yeah, it's poppy. It is poppy. Genius. And it's only a 3 minute 30 song. Not even 3 minutes 33, 27. And it ends clean. It says what it wants to say. It does it in classic power pop style. Short and sweet. It is, after all, a sugar tune. It's one of those songs that references itself and sometimes that bugs me. I wrote for you. This sugar tune is the opening line. But again, it's unapologetically what it is. It's a sugar tune, man. It's sweet power pop, but that still rocks.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And this is actually a portent of what is to come in Sloan's career. Much as I love the shoegaze meets grunge meets power pop thing that Smeared, this album has, as time goes on, they really strip the band down, strip their sound down and become a just straight power pop outfit. Big single that they're known for, not from this album is called Money City Maniacs, and that is like big power pop. And this is leaning in that direction. It's unlike the rest of the album, but it's very much like what is to come. There is a video for this one as well. It was shot in Iowa, of all places, in the spring of 93 while the band was on tour. And it was shot by another Halifax artist, Matt Murphy from Super Friends, who actually, I want to say Chris Murphy, played with before Sloan was even a thing.

[B]

No relation, right?

[C]

No relation, that I can tell. No, the video was shot, as I said, in 1993 and remained unreleased until December of 2024.

[B]

And that's when they came out with the deluxe edition of this album, right?

[C]

Yes, we'll talk a little bit about that. But Sloan has been going through their early catalog, releasing deluxe editions, releasing box sets and all that. They released a remastered edition of Smeared, which I am happy to say I just found out about and just bought myself a copy on vinyl of. And I'm very much looking forward to getting in the mail soon.

[B]

The special edition.

[C]

Just the. Just the vinyl reissue. I don't need the whole set with the live show and the demos and the all that. I'm a fan, but I'm not that big a fan. But I'm looking forward to having this album on vinyl finally. Because who has a CD player anymore?

[B]

Who's got a turntable anymore? You, Luddite.

[C]

What are you talking about vinyl is huge. Let me have this hipster pleasure.

[B]

Okay. All right. All right. Anything else on that track?

[C]

No, I think that's plenty.

[B]

Okay. I think you introduced the next one.

[C]

I do. Track nine is left of center.

[A]

That was 1977.

[C]

I was in grade three.

[A]

Since then, I got to thinking, I really.

[C]

I really can't remember.

[A]

The last time.

[C]

I was the center of the target of pop culture.

[A]

You see, I'm slightly left of center.

[C]

Of the bullseye created.

[B]

Okay. I geeked out the first time I heard this song Sky.

[C]

I was wondering if you were going to get the opening line. Everybody just heard it in that 45 second sample because they are wearing their influences on their sleeve in this one and doing their best. Velvet Underground and Lou Reed talk singing this one, you can hear every word clearly. Unlike some of the more distorted other ones, this is basically a Velvet Underground track.

[B]

Oh, yeah. It opened with I remember uncle Owen because his story was aimed at me. But that was 1977 and I was in grade three.

[C]

Yeah, Uncle Owen, he probably remember as a charred skeleton alongside his charred skeleton wife hanging outside the Tatooine house.

[B]

Aunt Beru.

[C]

Oh, poor Aunt Beru.

[B]

Poor Aunt Beru.

[C]

Yeah. Apparently Chris Murphy, songwriter on this one is two years older than me as I was in grade one or first grade as we call it in the United States. They're Canadian. That's really showing with I was in grade three. Yeah.

[B]

Well, it's also rhymes if they do it that way.

[C]

Sure. They're not always super concerned with that on some of these. Yeah, for sure. He's more talking than singing, although occasionally he's actually singing. But I really liked that line. I really can't remember the last time I was the center of the target of pop culture. And I would imagine that now 57, I would say year old Chris Murphy, if I'm doing my math correctly, is probably enjoying being at the center of the target of pop culture because boy, is pop culture pandering to the nerdly types from back then with all this Star wars content of varying degrees of quality and relevance. But boy Andor is great. If you haven't seen Andor watch andor.

[B]

At Selcat, this is a Gen X anthem. Oh, sure, yeah, I got the middle child blues. I couldn't wear your platform shoes. Later on he says, my older brother's pushing 40, my kid sister's only nine, and everything he knows is retro. The only word she knows is mine and that is Gen X. We are like the forgotten generation. The middle Child. Right. The latchkey kids that everybody forgets about. Now there is a line that I had to wonder, Scott, if it was not a reference to the Pixies.

[C]

What do you got?

[B]

But now it's safe to go back in the water. But I prefer Neptune's Daughter.

[C]

Oh, interesting. Yeah.

[B]

Mr. Greaves. Right, by the Pixies. What's that floating in the water? Oh, Neptune is only daughter.

[C]

Yeah, Yeah, I think you're onto something there. They do cite the Pixies as one of the references if filtered through Nirvana or as banned in their own right. So, yeah, I'm sure that they were not making that reference unintentionally.

[B]

Okay. Yeah.

[C]

And then another sentiment that comes through in the last lines of the song that I think is only becoming more relevant to us as Gen Xers as we age into middle age and beyond. You see, I'm just outside of nowhere but pretty soon you'll be in my care and there are just so many of you but not enough like me to love you. Yeah. Aging parents take heed.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

Too soon.

[B]

Yeah, well, I mean, that's not for me to say. Where?

[C]

What's next?

[B]

Next is track 10. This is called Lemon Zing.

[A]

Sam.

[C]

So Sonic Youth.

[B]

Oh, yeah, right. And I love the basing of the guitar on this one too, for sure.

[C]

Like there's this bombastic rocker that is the instrumental intro to the song and then versus these shimmering verses, that driving, moving bass that you're talking about. The big huge reverb lead vocals and then those haunting ooze behind them and then the big shimmering guitar chords. Yeah, I think this track is top notch. And even the way the harmonies sometimes work, it's almost. Almost discordant. Step down. And the backup vocal, that sounds kinda kind of lazy and Kim, like, I don't know, Sonic Youth wise.

[B]

I gotcha. I gotcha.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

What. What is the title? Lemon Zinger. And of course, you know, Fat Girl, My mind goes to Zingers. You remember the Dolly Madison Cakes, but I don't think they ever made a lemon.

[C]

Yeah, that is a Celestial seasonings tea. And I have no idea why they are calling it Lemon Zinger. Although Tea sometimes is associated with nighttime and sleeping. Although I don't know that Lemon Zinger necessarily is, but Sound asleep. Asleep with the radio, your favorite show they play the song, the one that hits your heart from the start. Hit your heart from the start. The melody so sweet you want to die violently. Electric guitar and a teenage superstar in stereo.

[B]

Now tell me that's not completely relatable.

[C]

And, you know, a teenage superstar. It's not quite referencing Sonic Youth, but Teenage Riot, Like, I. I gotta think there's intentional illusions happening there. And I want to be like, not only is it Teenage Riot, but it's also Superstar, that cover of the Carpenter's track that they did, except that wasn't released until 94, so unless they have a time machine, they probably weren't referencing it.

[B]

Well, you know, if Janelle Bonet has a time machine to go see David Bowie, why not?

[C]

Oh, wow.

[B]

You didn't hear about that?

[C]

No, I would like to.

[B]

Yeah. It's all over the Internet today. Huh. And I do love me some Janelle Monae, so.

[C]

Sure. Did she claim she did that?

[B]

Yes, but she has a tendency to kind of speak in metaphor, so.

[C]

I see.

[B]

We don't know how literal we're supposed to take that. But anyway, Banner, you know when I was thinking the melody is so sweet you want to die violently. Yeah, that sums up Morrissey to me. You know, like, there is a light that never goes out. Right.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. This is a good one.

[C]

Yeah. This is a rare Jay Ferguson penned track. He is usually a guitar player who does vocals, but he was the writer behind this one. And that's all I have to say about that.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

If number 10, Lemon Zinger was Sonic Youthy, boy, strap in and get into the even Sonic youthier track 11, 2 seater.

[A]

It's.

[B]

The comparisons to Nirvana are apt.

[C]

I'll go with that. I think it does both Nirvana and does Sonic Youth in various aspects of the song. Yeah. Drum wise, that could be Dave Grohl or that could be Steve Shelley. Either one. Just go into freaking town, pounding away those guitars, not afraid of distortion or feedback. The vocals, not at all afraid of distortion either. I will say I have, as I've said, been listening to this album forever on heavy rotation and have never really dug in. Look, looked into the lyrics to see what they're saying. And I got to say, between those drums and the vocals through a fuzzbox and the big guitars, they're kind of making it so the lyrics are less important than the feeling. And one bit of lyrics that you definitely can understand is that he's sorry about the way that he acted. Worth noting that this is a very Canadian band. But he is not sorry. He's sorry about the way he acting. He's not so sorry. My apologies to our Canadian listeners who will no doubt object to the mischaracterization of the specific pronunciation of their O's. And I'm sorry It's not a boot that.

[B]

I do like the lyrics to this one. I know that it's kind of hard to make them out in places. First it was me and then it was you. Caught up in this lifestyle Built for two. You know how I feel and what do you do? What do you do? I'm sorry about the way I've acted.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

But, yeah, I mean, I could totally see Kurt Cobain screaming these lyrics, you know what I mean?

[C]

I'm with you.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. You mentioned at the beginning of the episode that they were getting compared a lot to Nirvana, you know, this is the Canadian Nevermind. So, yeah, I don't have a lot else to say on this, except I was wondering. Two seater. Is that a car? Is it a bicycle?

[C]

I gotta think that's a car. And a fast one.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

All right. That's all I got.

[C]

It's plenty.

[B]

All right. Well, our last track on the album is called what's There to Decide?

[A]

Where'd you go to and how did you get there? Hope you come back soon. I've left you an empty room. Where did you go to? And happy. How did you get there? Hope you come back soon. You left me with plenty of room to breath.

[C]

My bloody Valentine, anyone?

[B]

Yeah, definitely, yeah.

[C]

I mean, there's this feedback whale as sonic background wallpaper for the duration of the song, and it is just this screaming feedback and it's absolutely brilliant for a song that is, like, relative to the rest of the album, quiet and contemplative. Like, there's no banging drums, there's just these jingle bells as the rhythm.

[B]

Right.

[C]

The bass is just this super fuzzed out, droning bass and then acoustic guitar like, this is a soft track for them, but still it's got this feedback and distortion and whale to it that for a super sad song, still has some bite to it, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. And for me at least, the song captures that just super angsty melancholy of my mid-20s. And hell if I'm honest, probably to this day, just when you're stuck in the limbo of a bad relationship or you're on the premise of what you know is about to be a major life change, but one that you just can't bring yourself to make right. Yeah. That you're at this impending breakup with someone that you know and it's inevitable.

[B]

Where did you go to and how did you get there? Hope you come back soon. You've left me with plenty of room to breathe. But I feel like I'm choking, you see?

[C]

Can't you see, you think that one step forward is one step back Stuck on a circus ride it always stops up in midair no one even knows that you're there. What's there to decide? But I feel like I'm choking. You see, can't you see?

[B]

Ah.

[C]

The song is the sonic manifestation of that ache. It is beautiful and sad. And then the vocal harmonies on the chorus, where it's at. What's that to decide? Like these huge, lush harmonies and it's just so good.

[B]

Yeah. And it's a really good way, I think, to end the album kind of on a slightly somber note.

[C]

Contemplative, if not, yeah, straight up sad. But, yeah, it shows the range of the band and is a good comedown from the just beat you over the head energy of two seater before it. But then shows that they can do this more shoegaze thing. And it's maybe not the last gasp of shoegaze for the band, but their subsequent albums really, as I've said, do lean more into the cleaner power pop stuff. So I don't know, It's a product of its time. It is once again, them wearing their influences on their sleeves as they're coming into their own and figuring out what their sound is going to be. But goddamn if they don't do this rare Canadian shoegaze thing really beautifully. All right, and so then what happened?

[B]

Well, do we want to do then what happened, or do we want to do our favorite track on the album?

[C]

Oh, yeah. Oh, boy. I should really think about. No, it's easy for me.

[B]

Okay, well, then what is your favorite track on the album, sir?

[C]

It is tough to decide because I love so many tracks on this album so much, and, you know, I, I, in some ways, I want to lean into the literary wit of underwhelmed, but really, for me, it is track three. I am the cancer that marrying of the driving pop rock with the sadness. You know, it's just the perfect encapsulation of that feeling of I am leaving and saying goodbye to everything and doing it both sweetly and sadly and hopefully. I think it's a brilliant pop song. I think it's a brilliant rock song. And yeah, for me, that is. That is the best song on the album. And hey, Chris Murphy agrees with me.

[B]

Except he was joking, wasn't he?

[C]

He then came back when he wants to challenge. He's like, no, actually, I think it is.

[B]

Okay, so we can't take anything he says seriously.

[C]

And yours?

[B]

I'm gonna go with Median Strip. Really? Yeah. But ask me again. Tomorrow. And I'll probably have a very different answer.

[C]

Why Median Strip today?

[B]

I find it relatable as far as, like, the lyrics and the content, but also some of the tracks on this album are missing something.

[C]

How dare you.

[B]

Well, like, even the lead single, underwhelmed. It's a great song. It doesn't have any balls to it. You know what I mean? It's like My Bloody Valentine if it was like really, really overproduced.

[C]

Dave Rave Ogilvy will be showing up at your house to kick your ass.

[B]

Sorry, that's just my opinion. I mean, I definitely appreciate this album now that I've heard it. And now that I've heard it, I never have to hear it again.

[C]

Philistines.

[B]

I mean, it's okay. There's nothing on this album that is really memorable to me. There's nothing that locks into my head and just won't let go.

[C]

I don't know. That is crazy. But all right, I can readily admit that there is a strong nostalgia component to me, except that I have at no point stopped listening to it. So I feel like I've seen it, heard it through my ears, through a mind over the course of 30 years. And boy, I can't disagree with you more. But hey, we don't have to like all the same things.

[B]

Yeah, that's fair. So what happens next?

[C]

So loan became a major force in Canadian music is what happened next. They have, as we mentioned, released 14 full length albums, including in September of this year, an album entitled Based on the bestseller, their 14th. They've received nine Juno Award nominations, the Junos being the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys, and won one of those in 1997 for the album One Chord to Another. At two different points, they have been put at the top of Chart magazine's reader poll as the best Canadian album of all time, which is pretty big. Puts them ahead of Neil Young's Harvest, which is really saying something. And in, I believe 2012, they got put at the top of the chart again. As I mentioned, they created Murder Records to release their own music, starting with the Peppermint EP and then started using the label as a way to produce and promote other Canadian acts, and are credited with largely creating an entire Canadian indie rock music scene and putting Canadian music on the map for the 90s. They've been releasing, as we said, reissues and box sets of their early albums, including last year, both the Peppermint EP and Smeared. And as for what became of Smeared, as the band's sound evolved, they did start dropping out A lot of the tracks from Smeared from their live shows. Although In November of 2024, they did a show live show in Canada where they did Smeared in its entirety and all of these songs back, playing them for the first time in a long time. And as for what Sloan is doing right now, as I mentioned, in September they released an album and currently they are touring all over Canada in support of that album. And I personally will be going to see them in mid March in Windsor, Canada. And I gotta tell you, I'm looking forward to that.

[B]

Nice. Well, that'll be good for you. I'm assuming you've seen them live before.

[C]

Never have.

[B]

Oh, really? Okay.

[C]

Yeah. So they sound great live from what I've seen from the videos on the Internet. But I'm looking forward to seeing it live and in person. And it's been a minute since I've been to Windsor. Having grown up in the burbs of Detroit, I spend plenty of time there as a ute in my teens and twenties, and it will be nice to get back there.

[B]

Cool. Well, enjoy.

[C]

Yeah. So I have a question for you, Laurie.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

What album are we doing for our next episode?

[B]

Okay, well, Scott, I'm going to give you a choice.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

We could do Core by Stone Temple Pilots or if we want to keep with the Canadian theme, the Future by Leonard Cohen.

[C]

Oh, interesting. That is some tonal whiplash.

[B]

We like to mix it up.

[C]

Well. Do we go with the tonal whiplash of going from power, pop, grunge, shoegaze Sloan to the mellow and smooth sounds of Leonard Cohen, keeping it Canadian all the while? Or do we go with the tone being similar but even harder going with the Stone Temple Pilots? That is a tough call. I think it makes sense to go with the Stone Temple Pilots. I know that some people have been like, when are we gonna get back to the grunge? And it's like, well, you know, there's not all that much grunge left in the 90s before it turns fully pop grunge.

[B]

Would people have said that?

[C]

People have asked people.

[B]

People are the people in the room right now.

[C]

They're not.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

All right. So then it's decided. We will do Core by Stone Temple Pilots. And that episode will be out my birthday weekend, so yay.

[C]

Happy birthday to you.

[B]

So we will be back on November 8th with Core by Stone Temple Pilots. Thank you again for listening. This has been an interesting journey. Scott, thank you for introducing me to this album. So now I can at least say that I'm familiar with Sloan.

[C]

Yeah, well, sorry you didn't love it like I love it. But that's crazy. You're wrong. Your opinion is dumb.

[B]

On that note, it's a goodbye from.

[C]

Me, Lori, and from me, Scott free.