Music

6 awesome past and present videos you might’ve missed, with Freelove Fenner, the Space Lady, and more

by Jesse Locke

Living on Video is a weekly column that unearths forgotten VHS gems, Vimeo obscurities, and YouTube oddities from the musical ether—all obsessively curated by Weird Canada music editor Jesse Locke. 

This week’s Living On Video column traverses Canada, with just-dropped videos from the far-flung corners of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and more. It isn’t all Canadiana, though—we’ve also collected obscurities from San Fran streets, proto-Prince masterpieces and heck, even Mikey Erg swings by. Let’s hit play!

 

Freelove Fenner – “All Things Break Through”

The second video from pop perfectionists Freelove Fenner for their latest LP, Do Not Affect A Breezy Manner, is another feast for the eyes and ears. This one follows fellow Montreal musician and videographer Jane L Kasowicz on a stroll through the woods as she smokes cigarettes coyly, twirls a 20-sided die, and looks for a quiet spot to play D&D.

 

The Space Lady – “From the Womb to the Tomb” / “Johnny B. Goode”

There’s been no shortage of worthy reissues this year, but one of the coolest comes from San Francisco street musician Susan Dietrich (a.k.a. The Space Lady). With the simple set-up of a phased-out Casio and her signature winged helmet, Dietrich developed a repertoire of dreamlike re-interpretations including everything from Chuck Berry to Peter Schilling to The Electric Prunes (earning her a spot on the infamous outsider artist comp, Songs In The Key of Z). The Space Lady has soundtracked the hustle and bustle of Haight Street since the 1980s, and now has a greatest hits collection via Night School Records.

 

Soupcans – “Parasite Brain”

Did I call it last week or what? It didn’t take long for Toronto’s favourite spazzoids to deliver a video for their spanking new 7-inch. Kinda tough to wrap your head around the concept here, but it involves spiked martinis, psychotropic side effects, hugs, bloody mouths and some violent biz with the bartender (played by a member of Cellphone, natch). Yechhh!

 

Superchunk – “Void”

Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster is one of the funniest people on the planet (check out his character call-ins from the sadly soon to be departed Best Show on WFMU), but he’s got stiff competition here from Jon Glaser and H. Jon Benjamin. Of course, those aren’t the only cameos in this video from the ’Chunk, and sharp eyes have pointed out an appearance from the one and only Mikey Erg. It’s basically “Dirty Boots” all grown up.

 

White Poppy – “Without Answers”

There’s a different brand of (imagined) nostalgia in this trippy clip from Vancouver’s Crystal Dorval, a.k.a. White Poppy. For this tune from her eponymous album on L.A.’s Not Not Fun, she tapped the Tumblr aesthetics of Strawberry Jacuzzi for a blast of fluorescent fuzz to the dome. Sometimes all you need is a TV, a guitar, and a rollercoaster.

 

Mind & Matter Live

Let’s close things out for the weekend on a seriously fonky note. The incomparable crate diggers at Numero Group have outdone themselves once again with Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound, a deluxe four-LP set of late ’70s/early ‘80s proto-Prince groups. Mind & Matter are just one of many rarified acts spreading the gospel of the electric word life, including 94 East, the original vehicle for teenage guitar god Prince Rogers Nelson.