Caught in the Carousel

Jason Collett

By Christine Fort

As the guitarist for Broken Social Scene, Jason Collett has long been part of a Canadian musical collective that's evocative, provocative, and, at times, downright strange. But as far as his latest solo ("solo" meaning supported by his backing band, Paso Mino) project is concerned, Collett is more of a gardener than a groundbreaker. On the recently released Here's to Being Here on the Arts and Crafts label, he skillfully tends the familiar to cultivate new surprises. The result is a celebration of the time-honored singer-songwriter tradition, as well as an expansion of its possibilities. While Collett claims there's no irony in the album's title, Here's to Being Here, though an ode to staying in the moment, is about anything but staying put or settling down.

Drawing heavily on '70s rock styling, Collett lures the listener in with moments of musical déjà vu. There's something about "The Redemption Song" that's almost evocative of the old Harry Nilsson classic "Everybody's Talkin'"; "Nothing to Lose" has a bit of Rod Stewart flavor to it; while "Harp" notes Bob Dylan as an influence for the entire album. Compared to Broken Social Scene, a band that delves into the fetishistic at random intervals (who could forget a line like, "I swore I'd drink your piss that night /To see if I could live" on 2001's You Forgot It In People, or the song title "Handjobs For The Holidays" on their 2004 self-titled release) Collett's solo work conducts the kind of specific but endearing character studies one could likely write home about: for example, "We argue over breakfast as you stare into your orange juice /You get up to bum a cigarette 'cause you're trying to quit /That's just what you do," he sings on "Nothing to Lose."

But the same songs that contain domestic comfort also shift quite deftly from the outside to the interior—"Burned-out fireworks smokin' in the pouring rain /Sittin' on a black leather couch where no one remembers your name" are the lines that kick off "Nothing to Lose"—and from one familiar image to another. Take "Out of Time" for example—easily one of the singles of the album—wherein he laments: "On a rainy day highway /In the melancholy garden /I get the most nostalgic feeling / I'm gonna hit rock bottom." None of these individual lines is, in itself, uncharted territory, but Collett pulls one over on the listener by cutting up the map and playing with the pieces, rearranging the details of any given moment to make them bump against each other in unexpected ways.

This associative, playful songwriting style is definitely reminiscent of Broken Social Scene's work, but Collett sets his songs' lyrics against less tentative backdrops than some of the more anarchic "let's tap on this pretzel jar and call it the new percussion" methods employed by BSS. Though also creatively crafted, the melodies on Here's To Being Here are self-reflexive and self-contained. Down-home flourishes—in the form of backing "ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-oohs," handclaps, guitar progressions, and piano tinkles—often pop up at the ends of Collett's lines. These touches echo the way in which Collett cuts up and rearranges concepts, but they also provide a kind of punctuation for the listener, guiding him or her from the end of one image to the beginning of another. Above these transitions soars Collett's voice, with an earnest exuberance that sets him apart from his influences. He adeptly twists his voice to match the mood of any given song, and it never seems forced: when Collett croons, "I was sorry then and I'm sorry now," the listener believes it. As for his more up-tempo vocal moments, those who've heard his cover of Stars' "Reunion" know that his enthusiasm is contagious.

Whether updating the classic Americana-style vagabond tribute with Canadian scenery in "Redemption Song" or describing a girl in the projects in "Charlyn, Angel of Kensington," the non-linear storytelling on Here's to Being Here is simultaneously creative and accessible. Collett's craft shines like the work of a renegade landscape artist or a modern-day Johnny Appleseed. It's not surprising that a man with this many stories has left some by the wayside.

Jason Collett's Consummate Top 10 Band Names He's Collected But Never Used:

1. THE VANDOOBS
2. THE BLAME
3. THE ITCH
4. THE SEPTEMBER WASPS
5. COUCH DYNAMO
6. THE VULGAR DANDIES
7. THE FULIGINOUS PECCADILLOES
8. THE SCRAPS
9. THE CALAMITIES
10. THE BACKWATER BELIEVERS

Discography:

Solo:
Bitter Beauty (2001)
Motor Motel Love Songs (2003)
Idols of Exile (2005)
Here's to Being Here (2008)

With Broken Social Scene:
You Forgot It In People (2001)
Broken Social Scene (2004)

Misc:
Cover of "Reunion" on Stars' Do You Trust Your Friends? (2007)

Jason Collett's Here's To Being Here is out now on Arts and Crafts.

Here's to Being Here
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