The best songs don’t just tell a story set to music – they capture a moment, encapsulate a feeling and draw in the listener, in a way that’s at once singularly personal and completely universal. When Toronto singer-songwriter Jason Collett was mulling over titles for his new album, the by-turns effervescent and elegiac Here’s To Being Here, he stumbled across a line in an anthology of poetry by his friend Emily Haines’ (Metric) late father Paul, a well-known avant-garde jazz poet.
“I really love the simple sentiment of the title. I think of it as a toast, a raising of the glass to the notion of being present to the moment. Recording this record was all about that for me. Capturing the bits of spontaneous magic in the studio that are just the happy accidents of the day. For me there's a kind of unadorned celebratory ring to the phrase ‘here’s to being here’. There's no irony in it, and lord knows we’ve all had enough of that for a while. I really like Haines’ playful writing. It’s like Dylan, almost Dada-esque; it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I really relate to that era of writing… Ginsberg, that pre-’60s movement.”
Fittingly, Collett’s own work draws upon such classic cultural touchstones while continuing to push the boundaries of the great singer-songwriter tradition. After over a decade of honing his sound and style, in the process becoming a key figure in Toronto’s burgeoning indie scene, Collett returns with the long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s critically acclaimed Idols of Exile.
But where Exile was one big house party featuring Collett’s Broken Social Scene brethren, the guestlist was scaled back a bit for Here’s To Being Here, which was built largely around Collett’s former touring band Paso Mino, with producer Howie Beck, New York guitar great Tony Scherr, The Stills’ Liam O’Neil, BSS’ Kevin Drew, and members of Apostle of Hustle and the 6ixty8ights all lending a hand in the studio.
When it came time to get off the road and begin to record some of the 40-plus tunes the prolific Collett had written over the past several years (the father of three children, the busy musician notes he’s able to find sanctuary and perspective to write while on tour), the recording process took place in two quick but productive sessions in winter 2007: four days in a barn an hour outside of Toronto with engineer Marty Kinack in February, and two days at Toronto’s Hallamusic studio in March.
“For me, the studio is a very different beast from playing live. What you’re trying to do is capture a bit of magic in an environment that doesn’t necessarily lend itself to that. Howie and I have a really dynamic thing going on,” Collett says of working with Beck, who also produced his last album. “He’s the Woody Allen of rock and roll: he’s neurotic, funny, he’s got crazy ears – he can hear things that other people can’t, which drives *ME* crazy. He works fast, and I like working fast.”
Here’s To Being Here is the sound of a seasoned songsmith fully coming into his own signature sound – from the ’70s AM-radio vibe of road-tested favourites like the rollicking relationship reflections “Not Over You” and “Out of Time” to sparse countrified ballads like Canadiana ode “No Redemption Song” and album closer "Waiting For the World" (partially inspired by Collett's friend James Loney, who was taken hostage in Iraq in 2005), the album redefines the contemporary guitar-based singer-songwriter framework for the current genre-blurring musical landscape. As tuneful as they are poetic, these masterful songs of hope in an age of disillusionment stick in your head as firmly as they capture your heart.
“I feel this is a rock-and-roll music record. Not rock, not rock and roll, but Rock ’n Roll music. I don’t care much for the roots-rock tag or the singer-songwriter one and all the banality those genres conjure up. Rock ’n Roll music encompasses all sorts of influences – country, blues, gospel... all those things, and I’m just part of that tradition,” Collett points out. “We decided midway through the record to avoid embellishing it with horns and strings – which I really love, but I think it sort of helps make the record more cohesive with the absence of that indulgence. There’s not a lot of trickery to it. It’s not like we really stripped things down, it’s just that we never gussied them up.”
Collett, who began writing to try to escape the boredom of the suburb of Bramalea where he grew up, and logged time in Toronto bands before going on to craft two full-length albums (1999’s Chrome Reflections and 2001’s Bitter Beauty) prior to joining the Arts & Crafts family in 2003, has always penned songs with a poet’s knack for reflection and a journalist’s eye for detail. That timeless quality permeates Here’s To Being Here, which not only allows listeners a peek into the songwriter’s thoughts, but also a glimpse into the everyday human emotions that bind us.
“I’m beginning to recognize that I have a body of work. I’ve always tried to make records with a classic sensibility, so that they’re records you can listen to 20 years from now,” Collett says. “I feel like I connect when I’m just being candid. I want to take the audience on a journey with me – by being as present in the moment as I can.”
With the release of Here’s to Being Here, Collett looks back at the ghosts of his past while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the future. The title says it all: it’s a line of poetry, an affirmation, a toast to where we’ve come from, and where we’re going.
No Redemption Song
Jason Collett Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a band of southern Ontario bastard sons
I let my soul slip into the sun
and watched it sink just over Kingston
I left my heart in Old Montreal
ou les femme sont belle and their legs so long
I'm running on empty but still running on
Don't the houses all look haunted in every farm we pass
All the crumbling beauties each new division's trash
We don't pay for our sins, no god saves our souls
In the name of the daughters and sons of the holy smoke
And the holy smoke with no redemption song
The lyrics of Jason Collett's "No Redemption Song" paint a vivid picture of a man riding through Southern Ontario, trying to escape the past and forget the pain. He has a band of bastard sons with him, but they are all staying stoned as they drive on Highway 401. The singer has lost his soul, and he is watching it sink over Kingston. He remembers leaving his heart in Old Montreal, where women are beautiful and their legs are long. Even though he is running on empty, he continues to push forward, and he is now driving into the red flaming edges with no redemption song. The houses pass by on either side, and they all look haunted. Each new division's trash reminds him of the crumbling beauties he has left behind. He reflects that there is no one to pay for their sins, and no god willing to save their souls. He finishes the song by referencing the daughters and sons of the holy smoke, and the holy smoke with no redemption song.
Overall, the song is about the struggles of living in a world that is far from perfect. There is no one to guide you, and no one to save you. The road that the singer is on is a representation of the journey that every person must make in their lives. Even though he has lost his soul, he continues to move forward because there is nothing else he can do. The lyrics in this song are both introspective and universal. The theme resonates with almost every listener, regardless of their background or experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Staying stoned on Highway 401
We're driving on Highway 401 while being high.
In a band of southern Ontario bastard sons
Our band is made up of illegitimate sons from southern Ontario.
I let my soul slip into the sun
I lost all inhibitions and let my true self shine.
and watched it sink just over Kingston
However, my true self was short-lived and quickly disappeared.
I left my heart in Old Montreal
I fell in love with the beauty of Old Montreal.
ou les femme sont belle and their legs so long
The women there are stunning and have long legs.
I'm running on empty but still running on
Despite feeling empty, I continue to move forward.
Into the red flaming edges with no redemption song
I'm headed towards a dangerous and uncertain future, with no hope of a savior or redemption song.
Don't the houses all look haunted in every farm we pass
As we pass by farms, the houses look spooky and abandoned.
All the crumbling beauties each new division's trash
Formerly beautiful buildings are now left to decay and are disregarded as trash.
We don't pay for our sins, no god saves our souls
We don't take responsibility for our wrongdoings, and there's no divine entity to save us.
In the name of the daughters and sons of the holy smoke
We strive for enlightenment through drugs and other worldly pleasures.
And the holy smoke with no redemption song
We cling to these vices, but they won't save us from our problems; we have no redemption song.
Lyrics © ARTS & CRAFTS MUSIC INC DBA GALLERYAC MUSIC
Written by: JASON COLLETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
andrewltodd
one of my fav records : )
Shane Murley
Idles of Exile ❤ as well
Roelof Jan
weird low pace .. slow in a way for a running guy on empty..