Ashley MacIsaac — The Wedding Funeral
Album: Ashley MacIsaacAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 292
Length: 4:23
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Fireworks exploding, in a 21 gun salute
Fireworks exploding
Angels are crying through a Crystal Irish flute
Angels are crying
Champagne is spilling
Champagne is spilled
As if a million flowers had suddenly been killed
As if a million flowers
Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today
Dearly Beloved
We have come together for the love that got away
The love that got away
Naked on a staircase that we could never build
As if a million flowers had suddenly been killed
As if a million flowers
As if a million flowers
As if a million flowers
As if a million flowers
Roulette, roulette place your bet
Roulette, roulette cigarette
As if a million flowers
As if a million flowers and the last time
Fireworks exploding
Angels are crying through a Crystal Irish flute
Angels are crying
Champagne is spilling
Champagne is spilled
As if a million flowers had suddenly been killed
As if a million flowers
Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today
Dearly Beloved
We have come together for the love that got away
The love that got away
Naked on a staircase that we could never build
As if a million flowers had suddenly been killed
As if a million flowers
As if a million flowers
As if a million flowers
As if a million flowers
Roulette, roulette place your bet
Roulette, roulette cigarette
As if a million flowers
As if a million flowers and the last time
Comments (60)add comment
mrtuba9 wrote:
I need this today. 65 days sobriety, 29 years of continuous employment, and 35 on campus. My bosses are calling an Encouragement Session meeting with me. *sigh*
Still here... 115 days sober...
I need this today. 65 days sobriety, 29 years of continuous employment, and 35 on campus. My bosses are calling an Encouragement Session meeting with me. *sigh*
Still here... 115 days sober...
mrtuba9 wrote:
I need this today. 65 days sobriety, 29 years of continuous employment, and 35 on campus. My bosses are calling an Encouragement Session meeting with me. *sigh*
If this were from a soundtrack, I would watch the film.
I need this today. 65 days sobriety, 29 years of continuous employment, and 35 on campus. My bosses are calling an Encouragement Session meeting with me. *sigh*
If this were from a soundtrack, I would watch the film.
mrtuba9 wrote:
A classic case of 'less is more'.
I have to break the 7 year comment hiatus with a phrase that I don't think I have ever used in print... This is just hauntingly beautiful 
A classic case of 'less is more'.
I have to break the 7 year comment hiatus with a phrase that I don't think I have ever used in print... This is just hauntingly beautiful
apd wrote:
Sounds like Mary Jane Lamond, who also sang on "Sleepy Maggie" from the same cd. Wow, I had totally forgotten this track - need to find my cd...
Ah, she has a gorgeous voice - and I was just trying to place it, thanks for the reminder about "Sleepy Maggie."
Sounds like Mary Jane Lamond, who also sang on "Sleepy Maggie" from the same cd. Wow, I had totally forgotten this track - need to find my cd...
Ah, she has a gorgeous voice - and I was just trying to place it, thanks for the reminder about "Sleepy Maggie."
I've always liked Ashley. Looking at this album cover it's hard to believe this is the same lad who had the wild hair and the kilt, kicking up his heels and showing off his junk on national television years ago,
coding_to_music wrote:
Sounds like Mary Jane Lamond, who also sang on "Sleepy Maggie" from the same cd. Wow, I had totally forgotten this track - need to find my cd...
Who's the vocalist? Female?
Sounds like Mary Jane Lamond, who also sang on "Sleepy Maggie" from the same cd. Wow, I had totally forgotten this track - need to find my cd...
This reminds me of the movie New Waterford Girl, which is set in Cape Breton. In one of the opening scenes, a family has combined a wedding and funeral into one gathering. People are mourning or celebrating, depending on which room they're in at the time. It's a quirky comedy/drama. SO recommend this movie. MacIsaac performs later in the film at a pub where our heroine misbehaves. (fyi, he also performs in The Hanging Garden, also set in Cape Breton. MacIsaac is himself from...Cape Breton.)
MsJudi wrote:
I don't need lyrics, but if there are going to be some, could they please make even a modicum of sense and NOT just be the same inane line repeated?
I think i'll see what I can do to help. I'm going to fly across the Atlantic, find where he lives, trap him in a cage and force him to write lyrics for you only...how does that sound?
Blah, blah, blah, to all the previous comments and commentaries. Sometimes, I wonder if some people on here are a little too lonely . . .
We're all entitled to our opinions, yes. It's a free society, thankfully.
Just enjoy RP and its unpredictability.
I thought this was tasty. All MacIsaacness aside.
The "violinse" reminds me of Camper Van Beethoven.
I don't need lyrics, but if there are going to be some, could they please make even a modicum of sense and NOT just be the same inane line repeated?
yclept wrote:
...no one in Canada seems to want to recall that Bill Graham, our loyal leader of the opposition in Parliment, is a chicken hawk himself. No wonder the Liberals are so loathe to raise the age of consent.
Gay men and lesbians have frequently occupied salient political positions in Canada for decades now. The 'chicken hawk' err pedophilia slur is a tad over the top.
The only true 'chicken hawk' I know of was a former Maritime province premier. He did his little dirty offshore....
Yes - it is Anúna. The sample is probably from the song "Wind On Sea", but it could also be "Invocation", which was an earlier version of this tune.
ThePoose wrote:
You mention ''gay sex.'' In Canada, the federal Criminal Code makes it an offence for two individuals under the age of 18 to have anal sex-- unless they are married, which, until recently, was not possible for gays in this country.
I'm just sitting here with a bag of popcorn, minding my own business......
Ag3nt0rang3 wrote:
Umm, I'm only familiar with the term "chicken hawk" referring to a politician who is pro-war, but has never fought himself, or more specifically, dodged out of a war in his youth. How does this relate? Or is there some other meaning of the phrase I'm not aware of? Inquiring minds want to know.
An older man who likes young boys.
And this is the first I've heard that Bill Graham swings that way.
Gilles Duceppe, OTOH, has been seen with his boyfriend around Montreal....
Ag3nt0rang3 wrote:
Though IANAL, that law, if challenged, would probably be shot down as discriminatory (the same way the whole gay marriage issue got started).
Of course it would.
Further, In fact, no Canadian judge in his/her right mind would ever allow this to result in a conviction. I'm simply pointing out an anachronism in Canadian criminal law.
yclept wrote:
...no one in Canada seems to want to recall that Bill Graham, our loyal leader of the opposition in Parliment, is a chicken hawk himself. No wonder the Liberals are so loathe to raise the age of consent.
Umm, I'm only familiar with the term "chicken hawk" referring to a politician who is pro-war, but has never fought himself, or more specifically, dodged out of a war in his youth. How does this relate? Or is there some other meaning of the phrase I'm not aware of? Inquiring minds want to know.
7:25 pm - Ashley MacIsaac - The Wedding Funeral
7:20 pm - Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun
Yet another entry in RP's ongoing series of super smooth seamless segues!
If I was a lonely and bitter man I would make jokes about Weddings and Funerals being the same thing. Good thing I'm not huh? 
Who's the vocalist?
Female?
th3boon wrote:
macisaac is a nice crazy canadian whose always doing something fun, pretty damn good with the fiddle as well. and it's about as authentic as you can be without being raised speaking gaelic
...authentically crazy, authentically Canadian, and always doing something fun! ...now there's something Ashley MacIsaac is guilty of!!! ...until proven innocent.
ThePoose wrote:
You mention ''gay sex.'' In Canada, the federal Criminal Code makes it an offence for two individuals under the age of 18 to have anal sex-- unless they are married, which, until recently, was not possible for gays in this country.
...no one in Canada seems to want to recall that Bill Graham, our loyal leader of the opposition in Parliment, is a chicken hawk himself. No wonder the Liberals are so loathe to raise the age of consent.
ThePoose wrote:
You mention ''gay sex.'' In Canada, the federal Criminal Code makes it an offence for two individuals under the age of 18 to have anal sex-- unless they are married, which, until recently, was not possible for gays in this country.
Though IANAL, that law, if challenged, would probably be shot down as discriminatory (the same way the whole gay marriage issue got started).
JohnErle wrote:
Steven, I'm not saying MacIsaac is a model citizen. He's his own worst enemy, as anyone who reads those articles will find out. I merely objected to the false accusation of "abusing young boys". He had a boyfriend who was quite young, and that raised a lot of eyebrows, and while many people do think the age of consent in Canada should be raised, 16 is pretty much the average around the world. And remember that MacIsaac was only 21 at the time. Hardly a "grown man". Simply having gay sex is still techncally illegal in many places, including Oklahoma, so no matter how old his boyfriend had been, he could have been tossed in the slammer for his sexual preferences where you're from. If he had been a 21 year old straight boy dating a 16 year old girl, I wonder if we'd be having this discussion.
He's done enough things that have gotten him into trouble and ruined his career, he doesn't need false accusations on top of everything else. And he's hardly the only controversial wild child the music industry has seen. The incident with a Led Zeppelin groupie and a fish comes to mind. I'm still able to enjoy the excellent music MacIsaac has given the world, despite his stupid, self-destructive side.
And if you're going to pick one negative user review off of Amazon.com, I feel the need to point out that this album has an average 4 and a half out of five rating on Amazon after 29 reviews.
I can understand that your experience would color your perceptions on such issues, but I do think you're being unfair to Ashley Macisaac, all the other excellent Canadian musicians who worked on this album, and to the RP listeners who would probably just prefer to enjoy the music.
You mention ''gay sex.'' In Canada, the federal Criminal Code makes it an offence for two individuals under the age of 18 to have anal sex-- unless they are married, which, until recently, was not possible for gays in this country.
Sounds like a Camper song to me.
There was no abuse: they urinated on one another.
Doesn't everyone?
ears.. bleeding.
Does this sample an Anuna song? The repeated background vocal is strikingly familiar... can't recall off the top of my head which song, though.
WHAT a beautiful instrumental intro. -
Steven, I'm not saying MacIsaac is a model citizen. He's his own worst enemy, as anyone who reads those articles will find out. I merely objected to the false accusation of "abusing young boys". He had a boyfriend who was quite young, and that raised a lot of eyebrows, and while many people do think the age of consent in Canada should be raised, 16 is pretty much the average around the world. And remember that MacIsaac was only 21 at the time. Hardly a "grown man". Simply having gay sex is still techncally illegal in many places, including Oklahoma, so no matter how old his boyfriend had been, he could have been tossed in the slammer for his sexual preferences where you're from. If he had been a 21 year old straight boy dating a 16 year old girl, I wonder if we'd be having this discussion.
He's done enough things that have gotten him into trouble and ruined his career, he doesn't need false accusations on top of everything else. And he's hardly the only controversial wild child the music industry has seen. The incident with a Led Zeppelin groupie and a fish comes to mind. I'm still able to enjoy the excellent music MacIsaac has given the world, despite his stupid, self-destructive side.
And if you're going to pick one negative user review off of Amazon.com, I feel the need to point out that this album has an average 4 and a half out of five rating on Amazon after 29 reviews.
I can understand that your experience would color your perceptions on such issues, but I do think you're being unfair to Ashley Macisaac, all the other excellent Canadian musicians who worked on this album, and to the RP listeners who would probably just prefer to enjoy the music.
JohnErle wrote: See full article below.
FROM MAY 9, 2003: MacIsaac shows cancelled over SARS comments
"I plan on having the largest gay wedding that Canada's ever seen," MacIsaac said. "And I'm trying to get a TV company to produce Who Wants to Marry Ashley MacIsaac as a reality show."
MacIsaac has made headlines in past years for shouting obscenities at fans during a concert, being charged with marijuana possession, and allegedly making racist comments about Asians and SARS.
In 1996, the then-21-year-old was quoted as saying he enjoyed sexual acts involving urination with his 16-year-old boyfriend.
In 2000, he declared bankruptcy.
From cbc.ca ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Here is another article, this one from Wikipedia - https://members.shaw.ca/celebritywash/macisaac.htm
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Here is one person's review of Ashley MacIsaac's music (on this same album, Hi How Are You Today) from Amazon.com along with pointers to some possibly better music in the same style -
With all due respect, Steven, you don't know all the details of what went on, and MacIsaac is Canadian so American laws are totally irrelevant in this discussion. The age of sexual consent in Canada is 14, so there's nothing illegal going on in that article. Saying MacIssac "abused young boys" is way off base and uncalled for.
Well, as I said, perhaps being the recipient of abuse myself colors my perception of things. If you were, yourself, abused as a young person, you also might find yourself looking differently at matters such as these. As for details, I am thinking that a typical Canadian or American parent wouldn't, themselves, be too concerned with the details. I know that I, as a parent, wouldn't be.
And regardless of what may be on the law books in Canada, I still personally consider that even a 16 year old is boy, not a man, and I further feel (I am referring to feelings here, not law) that it was what happened between that grown man and that young boy that was totally uncalled for.
I am sorry if my comments stirred things up for some people. If I hadn't seen JCEntMan's reference to the article (earlier in this thread) I wouldn't have even known what went on and would be saying instead, simply "cool - more Celtic music." As it is, with my particular background, I find that I cannot do that and, instead, find myself speaking negatively against this artist.
I don't mean to sound like I am on some sort of crusade against Ashley MacIsaac. We all make mistakes, that is very true. But with this person, there is very clearly, to me anyhow, an established pattern of on-going behavior above and beyond his "sexual proclivities with boys." Things that I would find abhorrent in anybody. Things that perhaps others should know about. Like alleged racism, shouting obscenities at fans, etc. He caused a considerable amount of controversy after being interviewed by Maclean's (Canada's leading weekly news magazine), for their best of the year section. Maclean's dropped him from the list and instead wrote a disparaging article on him.
He lost his label deal with A&M records after other incidents, the most memorable being his lewd performance, complete with swear words and kilt-raising flashing, at a family venue .
And, to be completely fair to the man, here is an online article from Gayguidetoronto.com that includes an interview with Ashley -
A brief excerpt from the introduction -
Fiddling With Disaster is the name of Ashley MacIsaac's autobiography, and the title couldn't be more apropos.
The former child prodigy of the blistering Cape Breton fiddling scene electrified the world stage, wowing audiences with his acclaimed marriage of gritty Gaelic playing to punk, electronica, hip hop and grunge, until the world was left to watch in shock and dismay as a tumultuous series of public disasters finally led to a hard and nasty fall from grace.
(If you visit the online article, be sure to click on the link to the second page to get to the interview.)
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Here is an article that kind of sums it all up about Ashley MacIsaac (and the article originates out of Canada, as do a few of the other given links) - Others Have Done This Before and Done It Better
Reviewer: bogubundus2
Sorry, folks, this one doesn't quite cut the mustard. It's OK, but nothing special. Merely adding a bunch of crunching, disorted guitar chords to some fiddle playing does not an exciting folk-rock album make. This is clearly the case of a FOLK musician trying to make a ROCK album, but he has no clue as to how to go about it and resultingly sounds out of his element.
If you want to hear what truly exciting Celtic Rock is , check out Tempest's "Gravel Walk" and "Turn of the Wheel", Wolfstone's "Unleashed", or Horslips' "Book of Invasions": there is intricate interplay among various instruments, at times each instrument solos, at others, all the instruments join together in note-for-note harmonious unison to form a powerful melodious wall of sound.
There is nothing of the sort here. The fiddle player just wails away while the guitar player plays power chords and drones beneath the wail. No interplay from the guitar, no soloing, no note-for-note unison. In short, nothing interesting musically is going on and nothing to maintain the listener's interest. This simplistic, fiddle-over-guitar chords formula rapidly becomes tiresome and boring. Good try, Ashley. Better go back to the drawing board before trying anything like this again. Or better yet, just stick to folk music (the folkier tunes are the better ones on the album).
On a final note, Ashley's own current record label (Loggerhead Records) had this to say of the man - "Ashley alone is responsible for his own actions" and "We are offended by Ashley's recent behaviour." (Click here for the entire article.)
Are myself, his own record label (as well as A&M, remember), and numerous journalists being completely unfair towards Ashley? I don't think so. What do you think? (Speaking of journalists, one last link to a Montreal Mirror article and interview.)
Steven_G wrote:
A man carrying on with a teenager (in whatever form) is enough to put people in prison here, depending on the details of all that went on.
With all due respect, Steven, you don't know all the details of what went on, and MacIsaac is Canadian so American laws are totally irrelevant in this discussion. The age of sexual consent in Canada is 14, so there's nothing illegal going on in that article. Saying MacIssac "abused young boys" is way off base and uncalled for.
Dianyla wrote:
So what? Who cares if he's into pissing? If we were to start excluding music based on sexual proclivities of the musician, that could reduce one's music selection significantly.
I could care less, actually, about "sexual proclivities" - as long as it is legal (i.e. - between adults and not destructive in nature). The news article, mentioned by JCEntMan (click here for the article) actually mentions something that is illegal in the United States. A man carrying on with a teenager (in whatever form) is enough to put people in prison here, depending on the details of all that went on.
Like I said before, this is great celtic-style music (which I love) but when I know that the given artist sexually abused a boy, it kinda destroys my respect for the person and, likewise, my appreciation of that person's music. (I guess my being on the receiving end of abuse tends to color things a bit differently than would otherwise be the case.)
Already a 9
very nice...
Steven_G wrote:
I enjoyed this piece. Until, that is, reading the referenced news article - especially the end where MacIsaac himself spoke about enjoying, uh, certain sexual acts with his 16 year old boyfriend......
So what? Who cares if he's into pissing? If we were to start excluding music based on sexual proclivities of the musician, that could reduce one's music selection significantly.
Liked it until the signing began. I strongly recommend "Hi, How Are You Today". Fantastic CD. This song wasn't on the 1996 CD I bought.
JCEntMan wrote:
Quite a...colorful artist to say the least.
https://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2004/11/19/Arts/macisaac_alberta041119.html
(click here)
I enjoyed this piece. Until, that is, reading the referenced news article - especially the end where MacIsaac himself spoke about enjoying, uh, certain sexual acts with his 16 year old boyfriend......
DrLex wrote:
That segue from Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun was the most seamless I ever heard!
It sure got my attention!
DrLex wrote:
That segue from Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun was the most seamless I ever heard!
yeah, good wasn't it?
That segue from Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun was the most seamless I ever heard!
I loved the beginning and only wish there had been more fiddle/violin in there. The flow of the song was definately nice.
He's the real thing, from Cape Breton Island. Let's hear more of Ashley, and while we're at it, how about some Natalie MacMaster, too?
macisaac is a nice crazy canadian whose always doing something fun, pretty damn good with the fiddle as well. and it's about as authentic as you can be without being raised speaking gaelic
tony99 wrote:
more faux Celtic cr*p.
He's from Cape Breton--that's pretty authentic.
Please make this go away ... more faux Celtic cr*p. either the real thing or nothing, plu-ease ...
Really enjoyed this one -- the violin and voice are a great match.
8)
Quite a...colorful artist to say the least.
https://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2004/11/19/Arts/macisaac_alberta041119.html
MacIsaac?
Wheted my appetite
I would have rated it higher if there had been more fiddle. The man is amazing.
Interesting blend of instruments and styles. Kinda spooky too.
Never heard this before....Lovin' it! A 9.
wow, what an intro. pretty voice too.
Amazing fiddle...need to hear much much more of this
Still here... 115 days sober...
269 days.