“There’s a Michael Jackson influence,” confesses the producer/composer/musician with a gentle chuckle, about the third Jakalope album. “I made a conscious effort to look into the type of stuff I enjoy, so there’s a very heavy Jackson-factor in there, as well as a bit of a Donna Summer-thing going on.”
It’s one of the tastier ironies of Ogilvie’s catalogue that the pulsating influence of Donna Summer’s disco-synth svengali Giorgio Moroder is already felt in some of the more outré work he’s done in the past – albeit shrouded in night terrors – but it’s also no surprise.
“Moroder’s stuff was very influential in everybody’s world,” he says, “but especially for me, with Moroder being the first to do a lot of electronic stuff. I always had a very weak spot for that, and loved to be able to emulate that in any way. In the past with Jakalope I was trying to really stick to an industrial rock vein, but I’m trying to let it flow a little more with this album, and applying those influences.”
If Jakalope’s first two albums established a bubblegum meets sheet-metal blueprint for the enterprise, Things That Go Jump In The Night is a graduation into something a little more substantial, and a little less brazen in its effort to make itself heard. As Ogilvie notes, he’s letting the music “flow”, which means that Things That Go Jump In The Night has to some extent designed itself, taking Ogilvie and his cohorts to a slinkier place than Jakalope has occupied before. There’s at least one very good reason for the neon-lit and smoke-infused feel of the new material, or, as Ogilvie has it, “the lush, multi-dimensional sound.”
“These songs are really written with a lot more attention to the character of Chrystal’s voice,” he explains. “It’s a lot more mature, I think. That’s one of the things for me – the writing, performance and style has a whole new level of maturity, where before it was simple pop songs with simple vocals.”
Chrystal Leigh is Ogilvie’s newest muse, now that Katie B. has amicably moved on from her two-album collaboration with Jakalope. Ogilvie came across Leigh when he was petitioning friends and colleagues to find him the new voice. The Vancouverite aced her audition.
“I was blown away by her personality, her voice, and the fact that she’s a piano player,” recounts Ogilvie, before dishing, “I was dying to have someone to collaborate with, who actually is a musician and not just a singer.”
The results of their partnership? It’s anointed Jakalope with a Nancy-and-Lee or Serge-and-Jane vibe; adult, knowing, and altogether smoother than the boisterous dance moves of It Dreams and Born 4. Ogilvie had Leigh inaugurate the new Jakalope with a reverent cover of Julee Cruise’s “Falling”, which turned out every inch as celestial and haunting as the original. But it’s the Ogilvie/Leigh compositions that ultimately convince, be it “Magnolia” where an uplifting tempo juxtaposes the haunting lyrics, the boom box and B-movie organ laced “Cupcake”, which suggests a goth Gwen Stefani, or the gorgeous “Last Song Tonight”, which gives Ogilvie the chance to exercise his inner-John Barry with a tense string part emerging from a platter of schizoid, Aphex Twin percussive signals and rubbery bass. Throughout these tracks, Leigh establishes herself, unequivocally, as the new voice. “I’ve always been drawn towards Dave’s work and it’s nice to finally collaborate with someone I respect and inspires me. If there’s one thing Jakalope was missing was a chemistry between music and vocals and I’m excited to be that new voice.” Says Leigh. Jakalope has consequently taken an exponential leap forward, giving Ogilvie what he always wanted – an equality between its male and female principles.
“Look at my discography and there’s a lot of women I worked with,” he says. “And I always loved seeing passionate female performers, and it’s really something I think we’ve been lacking.”
“Joni Mitchell was one of my early influences,” Ogilvie continues, no doubt much to the surprise of any aging rivet-heads who grew up with Too Dark Park in constant rotation, “with just the power of what she was saying – it spoke to me very deeply. Seeing someone like Shirley Manson, from her onset to what she became, I just always loved to be able to see how someone with such a small demeanor in person can have such control of an audience. I just really, really enjoy that…”
Which brings us to Chrystal.
“The big thing I’ve always stressed,” he concludes, “is that when people see someone on stage, they want to be that person. You don’t want the person on stage to be part of the crowd, and Chrystal definitely stands out and is not part of the crowd. I’m so excited to be involved with that. She’s someone who takes the reins in her hands and is like, ‘Let me take control…’”
Forecast 42
Jakalope Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Listen to my story
A ride I thought I'd left far behind
Some broken falls
In a memory box
Waits to be cashed in
Waiting for my stocks to rise
Still with the idea
Some other time
Tap on the glass
And watch the roller coaster
Little screams heard from tiny
You and I
Race me around the playground
Til I catch you
Ready for the next go round
On your mark
A weatherman
Coming or going
Predicting sunny skies
You give me stormy
Whether you are wrong or right
You are always crowned
And I'm left back at the playground
I left my stamp to beacon you
I thought that seeing you would
Would be a forecast made for two
The weatherman
Always watching
Predicting stormy skies
You give me rainbow
Wether you are here or there
You're always around
And you're running from the playground
I left my stamp to beacon you
I thought that seeing you would
Would be a forecast made for two
I think I'm on to you
I'm building this forcast made for two
Fooled again
Taken by surprise
A ride that I'd left
Trailing in time
I've been taught well
To sit and stay
And now I'm begging to run away
Get set
The weatherman
A strict position
For taking my hand
And then casting his fortune
If I watch once more
Will I weather the storm
Or will I swing
Back to my playground
I left my stamp to beacon you
I thought that seeing you would
Would be a forcast made for two
I think I'm on to you
I'm building this forcast
Building this forcast
Building this forcast made for two
The lyrics of Jakalope's Forecast 42 allude to the ups and downs of a tumultuous relationship. The singer recalls past mistakes and experiences, all while trying to reconcile their feelings of lost love and hope for the future. The song begins with the singer telling a story to a group of listeners, acknowledging that they thought they had left a difficult situation behind, but memories of broken falls still linger. The lines "Still with the idea that you'd be mine, some other time" suggest that the singer still holds onto the hope of a future with their loved one, but the timing is not right.
The chorus brings in the metaphor of a weatherman, who is constantly predicting storms and sunny skies. In this case, their loved one is the unpredictable weather, giving them both joys and pain. The singer is "building this forecast made for two," meaning that they are trying to create a clear path forward with their loved one, but they don't know what the future holds. The line "Fooled again, taken by surprise" suggests that they have been hurt before, but they are still hoping to weather the storm and come out stronger on the other side.
Line by Line Meaning
Gather round
Come together and listen closely
Listen to my story
Pay attention to my narrative
A ride I thought I'd left far behind
A previous experience I believed was long gone
Some broken falls
Some misfortunes and mistakes
In a memory box
Stored in my recollections
Waits to be cashed in
Potential to be used in the future
Waiting for my stocks to rise
Waiting for my fortunes to improve
Still with the idea
Holding on to a belief
That you'd be mine
That we'd be together romantically
Some other time
Perhaps in the future
Tap on the glass
Make a small, repetitive gesture
And watch the roller coaster
Observe the ups and downs
Little screams heard from tiny
Faint sounds of excitement
You and I
We, together
Race me around the playground
Compete and move quickly
Til I catch you
Until I can win and find you
Ready for the next go round
Prepared to continue the cycle
On your mark
Get ready for the next action
A weatherman
Someone who predicts the climate
Coming or going
Leaving or arriving
Predicting sunny skies
Forecasting good conditions
You give me stormy
Your influence causes conflict and turbulence
Whether you are wrong or right
Regardless of your accuracy
You are always crowned
You are always victorious
And I'm left back at the playground
I'm left behind and defeated
I left my stamp to beacon you
I left a sign to attract you
I thought that seeing you would
I believed that encountering you would
Would be a forecast made for two
Would be a prediction meant for both of us
The weatherman
The forecaster
Always watching
Always observing
Predicting stormy skies
Forecasting turbulent weather
You give me rainbow
Your presence gives me hope and brightness
Wether you are here or there
No matter where you are
You're always around
You're always present
And you're running from the playground
And you're moving away from the experiences we shared
I think I'm on to you
I suspect I understand you
I'm building this forecast made for two
I'm creating a prediction meant for both of us
Fooled again
Tricked once more
Taken by surprise
Caught off guard
A ride that I'd left
An experience that I believed was over
Trailing in time
Fading into the past
I've been taught well
I've learned well
To sit and stay
To be patient and to not act
And now I'm begging to run away
And now I'm craving freedom and escape
Get set
Prepare for action
A strict position
A rigid stance
For taking my hand
For guiding me
And then casting his fortune
And then making a prediction
If I watch once more
If I observe one more time
Will I weather the storm
Will I endure the turbulence
Or will I swing
Or will I struggle and falter
Back to my playground
Back to my familiar experiences
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind