A "lost" Canadian classic-- Tom Cochrane, 1983

So...

I hesitated to post this, since i know i post so much random 'net stuff, but...

The fame that Tom Cochrane achieved with "Life is a Highway" in 1991 was rather unfortunate, since that's probably among his worst songs, imo.

It made people forget that Cochrane, who was born and grew up in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, was/is actually a fairly decent singer/songwriter/musician who put out some pretty good music in the 80's-- at a time when Canadian pop was all Corey Hart, Mitsou, and Glass Tiger (who also have their place, I guess).



Anyway, this here is two fabulous songs (they're really part 1 and 2 of the same song) and a cheesy-but-cool video. It's "Light in the Tunnel/Race of Life"-- from his album Neruda, made all the way back in 1983.

The album title, of course, refers to the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. I don't know much about him, except that Gabriel Garcia Marquez called him "the greatest poet of the 20th century, in any language".

If you're impatient, and don't want to sit through the intro, the "real" song starts at 01:40, but spending 4 minutes listening to or watching the whole thing while you clean or play chess won't be a waste of your time, trust me.

And the simple guitar part he uses from 01:35 on is really nice-- a good example of the "less is more" school.

I had forgotten all about this song until my friend Sean, who was born the year it came out, re-introduced me to it. We work together in the kitchen at the gay bar. But we're not, like, gay or nuthin'.

Merry Xmas and Joyeux Noel to one and all of you, my fellow bloggers and good people.