Craft Rock Friday with Neko Case, Modest Mouse, and a bunch of whales...

One of the things that got the whole city of Vancouver excited this week was a visit from a grey whale... He swam right into town!

Here's a video of the whale swimming up False Creek. Not to worry, he found his way out.

Today's Craft Rock Friday is a tribute to the False Creek Whale (who even has his own Twitter account, btw!). Neko Case's song, "People Got A Lotta Nerve" features these great lyrics about a whale:

We know, they call them 'killer whales'
But you seem surprised
When it pinned you down to the bottom of the tank
Where you can't turn around
It took half your leg, and both your lungs
And I craved I ate hearts of sharks
I know you know, that I'm a man, man, man
Man, man, man eater
But still you're surprised-prised-prised when I eat ya
Yes, I'm a man, man, man
Man, man, man eater
But still you're surprised-prised-prised when I eat ya

The video also starts out with some crafty goodness: girls knitting (though in a somewhat dubious looking cave). The artwork and illustration are by brother/sister team Paul and Julie Morstad. Julie Morstad also did the illustration on Neko's album, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.



Another video that combines both whales and craftyness (and what a fine combo it is!) is the one for Modest Mouse's "Whale Song". I love that multi-pencil drawing device at the beginning of the video!



Let's see, what other great whale-related music comes to mind?

1. "Sad, sad Song" by M. Ward:

And so I went to the whale
I said "killer whale, please, what do you do when your true love leaves?"
He said "I only have but one trick up my sleeve
I sing it over and over till she comes back to me

2. "Grounds for Divorce" by Wolf Parade:

You said you hate the sound
Of the busses on the ground
You said you hate the way they scrape their brakes all over town
Said pretend it's whales
Keeping their voices down
Such were the grounds for divorce I know

3. "Last Great American Whale" by Lou Reed:

Last great American whale...
Some say they saw him at the great lakes
Some say they saw him off of Florida
My mother said she saw him in Chinatown
But you can't always trust your mother

4. Anything by Noah and the Whale.

5. Anything by Freelance Whales.

Can you think of anything else? Let's make a whale of a mixed tape...