Vancouver au printemps

Right, I warned you there may well be some slicks of nostalgia coming up, and on Monday I ran into one that gave me a good dose of whiplash. While driving to work I was listening to this week's marvellous Sandy Acres Sound Lab podcast from East Village Radio (ch-ch-check it out). Between snippets of indie groovings and Franco-Swedish-Germano pop poifekshun came the plangent notes of Supertramp's "Goodbye Stranger." Ye, gods, I was instamatically ripped out of my seat back to 1980 and plonked into the rear of the old Ford Econoline van that used to shuttle me between home and school in Manhattan. What's more, driver Gus was now at the wheel, looking like a skinnier version of Lionel Ritchie only with a bigger 'tache and a flat cap. And all the other kids were laughing at me as I breathlessly related that I had seen Empire Strikes Back and guess what, Darth Vader is Luke's father!!!

Easter is almost upon us, and there seems to be a whole lotta birth/rebirth/spring mojo around right now. The cherry trees in our neighborhood are in full blossom and shedding swirling blizzards of pink petals. I got an e-mail yesterday, complete with adorable pix, from an ex-colleague in London announcing the birth of her first daughter (cue misty eyes of happiness). Mama Eagle seems to be doing well sitting on her nest on Hornby Island and the eaglets are expected around the end of April. As I type I can hear the roof rats thundering around in the walls - no doubt they're breeding too. I'm told infestations of said vermin are par for the course here in Vancouver, something about them trying to stay out of the rain.

I also felt compelled to explain to my six-year-old daughter this year that there was more to Easter than just bunnies and chocolate. She was asking questions and I figured it was about time she heard the full sacred narrative. So she got it, from Pilate to the disciples shindig, complete with nails and resurrection. Must say she took it all rather inscrutably; she is a mysterious child in many ways. I wonder if next year we should tell her about Eostre, the putative, hare-headed, Anglo-Saxon mother goddess whose spring festival the church so brilliantly co-opted...

Right, so what to post that would tie this all together? Spring, Easter, zartbitter memories of schooldays - er, we'll leave out the whiplash, shall we? OK, here goes...

Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl (Buy here)
The Former Yugoslavia - Jesus Built My Strobelight [B52s vs Ministry] (visit website here)
Speed Killers - Jesus Died So We Could Ride (Buy here)
Depeche Mode - New Life (Buy here)
The Runaways - Cherry Bomb (Buy here)