Good Time: An Interview with Teenanger's Steve Sidoli and Shows # 852, 851, 850

Teenanger released their sixth studio album titled Good Time on October 2nd. Put out through Telephone Explosion Records, Good Time is a lean record that wields a large burst of creative energy. The band finds a deeper groove on this record as they lock in on each of the eight tracks that make up Good Time and further expand the post punk wavelengths that they explored on 2017’s Teenager. They do this while still keeping their thought provoking and subversive lyrical subject matter in tact.

“Beige” starts off Good Time. With its watery guitar, bass that treads with strong melodies, intense feedback and drums that provide a resilient backbeat, “Beige” brings forth lyrical images with words such as “I’m stuck in a strange wave/Everything starts to feel beige/Can’t walk in a straight line/Can’t stay in time” and “It’s the safest shade/Everything is beige.”  Within the opening moments of the album, Teenanger leave plenty for the listener to contemplate. The lyrics are on point as they address the blandness we all can find ourselves dealing with in our everyday lives when it comes to work, housing and the monotonousness found in the world around us. “Trillium Song” starts off with bass and drums as erratic, wiry sounding guitar leaks into your ears. Lyrically, the song addresses the current political climate in Ontario, as it tackles the education system, environmental factors and failed promises. With its post punk dance groove, vocalist Chris Swimmings and bassist Melissa Ball trade off vocals (as they do in “Beige” and several other songs on this album) with lyrics such as “Yours to discover/Keep it beautiful/Throw away all that once was plentiful” that fester with social commentary.

“Pleassure” features bassist Melissa Ball on lead vocals. Musically, with synthesizers, new wave guitars and undeniable bass and drum combinations, Ball questions detachment in the modern digital age, finding happiness and the pressures that surround it. “Romance For Rent” features congas by Ed Squires (percussionist in U.S. Girls and Badge Epoque Ensemble), as musically the listener is surrounded in a post punk atmosphere that encircles this song about someone trying to find romance online since they can’t or are unwilling to in real life. The song takes on further context when considering how much the world has changed since the pandemic and is one of the strongest tracks, musically and lyrically on Good Time. “Straight To Computer” mixes synthesizer and proto punk guitar licks as drums and bass hold down the foundation in the background. Vocalist Chris Swimmings sings in a concerned, but irreverent tone as he asks “Straight to computer/What’s behind the screen.”  Along with words such as “People on autopilot have become the norm,” the song blends guitar and synthesizers in the middle section that also features dial up modem sounds that concerned Internet users in the 90s. Back then if someone called or picked up the phone while you were trying to use the Internet you would lose your connection. But as the song comes to a close it reveals an even more haunting concern, the disconnect of humanity in a modern age.

“Good Time” comes in as track six on Good Time. As the album’s longest track, this song is filled with a juxtaposition of lyrical satire and positive/negative thoughts. Musically, Teenanger stretch their early post punk watery guitar sounds with danceable drumbeats from drummer Steve Sidoli and fuzzy stop and start bass riffs. This is a song that while it contains many thoughts and brings up different emotions for different listeners, strikes a chord that echoes in more ways that one. “Touching Glass” mixes new wave/post punk sounds with pop. Sung by bassist Melissa Ball, “Touching Glass” arrives with a seemingly laid back approach, but digs in as the chorus “You’re touching glass/We’re fading fast” hits and cutting guitar and drums break through. This song delves into the frustration of being absorbed by our phones all day.  As the song reaches its close, the band moves into a funkier groove with sweeping synthesizers and polyrhythms that would make fans of Talking Heads or even Tom Tom Club move their feet. Ball had this to say of the song: “I was thinking about John Carpenter's 1988 classic They Live (starring Roddy Piper) before I wrote these lyrics so I guess I had that plot in the back of my mind. It's pretty straight forward lyrically and partly about the fear of mind control and my frustrations with being tethered to/tired with my phone.”

“The Drain” ends Good Time. With its encircling motorik drum patterns ala Ralf Hutter of Kraftwerk and spacious guitars, the steady bass holds down the centre as Swimmings sings of acid rain and being stuck in malaise/funk of negativity. Although it was most likely partially inspired by the challenges in the studio that the band faced when making Good Time, flooding, rats, power outages, mold and a carbon dioxide leak, it calls for removing yourself from all the negativity that can bring you down in our current climate by letting it wash away down the drain where it belongs. With Good Time, Teenanger breaks free from the rut of repeating themselves. Produced by drummer Steve Sidoli in their newfound rehearsal space/functional studio named Studio Z and mixed by Sandro Perri, the title of the album may be tongue-in-cheek, it may not. Teenanger’s lyrical subversion and irreverent humour shine through as they harness their creative energies to create a new post punk aesthetic for themselves.  This proves to anyone who listens that despite the challenges and negativity that can surround us it is not impossible to have a Good Time.

Listen to an interview that Revolution Rock did with Steve from Teenanger:

Show 852 Playlist (Originally Aired On October 24th, 2020)(Teenanger Interview):

1.  Spencer Davis Group - Sittin' And Thinkin'

2.  Spencer Davis Group - Midnight Special
3.  Spencer Davis Group - Keep On Running
4.  The Quiet Jungle - Ship Of Dreams
5.  The Scarlet Ribbon - Four In The Morning
6.  The Canadian Squires - Leave Me Alone
7.  The Ugly Ducklings - Nothin'
8.  Teenanger - Pleassure

TEENANGER STEVE SIDOLI INTERVIEW PART ONE 

9.  Teenanger - Romance For Rent

TEENANGER STEVE SIDOLI INTERVIEW PART TWO 

10. Teenanger - Straight To Computer
11. Bruce Springsteen - Burnin' Train
12. Elvis Costello - Flag Day
13. Jeff Tweedy - Guess Again
14. The Mountain Goats - As Many Candles As Possible
15. Germs - Strange Notes
16. X - Sex and Dying In High Society
17. Violent Femmes - Promise
18. Girls - Morning Light
19. Girls - Love Life
20. Itchy Self - Here's The Rub
21. Young Rival - 4:15
22. Demolition Doll Rods - Cloud
23. Fuzz - Spit

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the October 24 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 851 Playlist (Originally Aired On October 17th, 2020)(Thurston Moore, The Kinks, James Williamson & Deniz Tek, Pylon):

1.  Thurston Moore - They Believe in Love (When They Look at You)
2.  Porridge Radio - Long
3.  Osees - I Come From The Moutain (Live Levitation Sessions)
4.  Dog Day - Pictures
5.  Sprinters - It's Gone
6.  Drive-By Truckers - The Unravelling
7.  Daniel Romano's Outfit - Drugged Vinegar
8.  Kevin Morby - Campfire
9.  Jeen - Monsters
10. Plumtree - Go!
11. The Hardship Post - Watchin' You
12. Jale - Again
13. The Kinks - Creeping Jean
14. The Kinks - I'm Crying
15. The Kinks - Groovy Movies
16. The Kinks - There Is No Life Without Love
17. No Age - War Dance
18. Souvenir - The Protrusion
19. James Williamson & Deniz Tek - Jet Pack Nightmare
20. The Scenics - Sunshine World
21. Quintron and Miss Pussycat - You Made It Weird
22. Bad Hoo - Ratscallion
23. Pylon - The Human Body (Razz Tape Demo)
24. Touche Amore - I'll Be Your Host
25. Special Interest - Disco III
26. Cream - You Make Me Feel (Session Outtake)
27. Actual Water - Take The Stairs
28. TV Freaks - Heart of Gold
29. METZ - The Mirror

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the October 17 file to download/stream the episode.

Show 850 Playlist (Originally Aired On October 10th, 2020)(METZ, Kestrels, The Hives, Wolfmanhattan Project):

1.  METZ - Draw Us In
2.  Kestrels - It's A Secret
3.  Smokekiller - Lion 
4.  Hot Snakes - Not In Time 
5.  The Hives - Walk Idiot Walk (Live At Third Man Records)
6.  The Spits - Up All Night
7.  Red Lights - Tiger Girl
8.  By Divine Right - Rock High 
9.  The Bats - Another Door 
10. Outrageous Cherry - Pale Frail Lovely One 
11. 3ft - Underground 
12. The Deadly Vipers - Lot Lizard 
13. Moonwalks - Steam Train 
14. Shadow Show - What Again Is Real?
15. The Strokes - Not The Same Anymore
16. Jeff Rosenstock - Honeymoon Ashtray 
17. Death Valley Girls - Hypnagogia 
18. Born Ruffians - 30th Century War 
19. Teenanger - Touching Glass
20. Of Montreal - Gronlandic Edit
21. Brian Eno - Cindy Tells Me 
22. Pekoe Cat - Ice In My Blood 
23. BBQT - Hangover Song 
24. Teenanger - Beige 
25. Mark Sultan - Heart Attack
26. The Spy's - Best I Can Get (Demo) 
27. Wolfmanhattan Project - You Are My Glue
28. Wolfmanhattan Project - Sticky 
29. Wolfmanhattan Project - Summer Forever 

To hear this program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and click the October 10 file to download/stream the episode.