Off Topic: Rogue Wave! Part II

In the short time since my previous post about rogue waves, there have actually been some developments on the subject. And judging by the number of hits generated by that post, I am not the only one who's fascinated by this phenomenon.

During the last two weeks, rogue waves have been a topic on one of my favorite TV shows: Season two of Deadliest Catch on The Discovery Channel. If you are not familiar with the show (shame on you), it is an ongoing documentary series about the Alaskan crab fishing industry. Camera crews went out with five different boats to capture the experience of fishing the deadly Bering Sea. According to the show, forty-one crab fishermen have lost their lives in the last decade, and watching the show, it's easy to see why. The Bering has consistently bad weather and high seas.

On last week's episode, the fishing vessel Aleutian Ballad had to return to Dutch Harbor prematurely, in order to drop off a suicidal "greenhorn" crew member. The Aleutian Ballad was not a "regular" on Deadliest Catch, and did not have a camera crew on board. But while back in Dutch Harbor, the boat's crew were apparently given cameras by the show's producers, in order for them to capture footage on the fly. Good thing for us viewers!

After putting out -- again -- from Dutch Harbor, the boat ran into a severe storm. By 3AM,the captain (sorry, I couldn't find any detailed info on the Aleutian Ballad on the internet) commented that the sea state was confused, with waves coming from multiple directions, and that he was having trouble navigating through the storm. Suddenly, the boat was slammed by a 60-foot rogue wave from the starboard side. The camera, pointed out the wheelhouse window, captured the wave as it began to break over the deck; then the impact knocked the camera out the cameraman's hands, and put everyone onto the deck. The engines died, and boat lost all power and was left listing to port. The captain was recorded by the camera (still lying on the ground) saying, "I've got no steering!"

I doubt whether any skipper could experience a more heart-stopping moment. A boat is at her most vulnerable when reeling like the Aleutian Ballad was at that moment; in huge seas, without steerage, a second wave could easily capsize her, and then it's lights-out for good. Eventually, the Aleutian Ballad righted herself, and the captain got the engines started (the steep list had caused the engines to lose oil pressure). The crew got banged-up a bit: The captain apparently broke a couple of ribs, and his daughter (the ship's cook) was thrown out of her bunk with such force that her body smashed open a wooden door on the opposite wall. We in the audience had just witnessed either a strong recovery from difficult circumstances (glass half full) or a near-sinking (glass half empty).

Incredibly, camera crews on board the Time Bandit, a series "regular" (see ship's model at left), caught another monster wave on tape later that same week. I don't know if it was technically a rogue wave, since it seemed to be in line with the swell, but it was incredibly big, and it did have a trough in front of it. Captain John Hillstrand watched dumbfounded as the Time Bandit slid down into the trough, then he grabbed the mic and called a big-wave warning to the crew: "Bigbigbigbigbig!" The wave broke over the boat, and no crew were injured; but it could certainly have gone differently. That's why these guys make the big bucks. What a great show!

I can't help but wonder how much of a part the ships' designs played in their ability to recover from big waves. Both of the above boats are "house aft", which simply means that the superstructure (bridge, deck house, etc.) sits at the back of the boat instead of the front ("house forward"). I guess it doesn't matter if you ship a wave from either side -- if it's gonna get you, it's gonna get you -- but it seems like a big advantage to have the house aft when your boat's pointed into high seas. Also, it lets the skipper keep an eye on the water and the deck crew at the same time, which has to be a good thing. (Below: Time Bandit's partner vessel, Debra D, in relatively calm seas.)

Last time, I mentioned how the QE2 was one of the most famous ships to encounter a rogue wave. Captain Ronald Warwick described the sight of that wave as looking like they were "Sailing into the white cliffs of Dover". The wave height was equal to the height of the bridge windows -- an incredible 95 feet!

Sir Ernest Shackleton also famously encountered a rogue wave during his desperate journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia Island. But unlike the cushy, 963-foot-long QE2, Shackleton's boat was the James Caird, a 23-foot wooden whaler -- basically, a lifeboat. The expedition carpenter, "Chippy" McNish, had modified the boat by raising the gunwales and adding a deck over the top, to keep out the weather. Shackleton was on top of this deck, chipping away rime ice, when he spotted what he thought was a strip of clear sky high above the gray horizon. Then he realized that it was actually the white crest of an enormous wave that was bearing down on them! He managed to shout a warning down to the rest of the crew: "For God's sake, hang on! It's got us!" The wave smashed down onto the tiny boat, but somehow the James Caird, overloaded with ice and supplies, managed to stay afloat.

Alaskan crab fisherman, cruise ship captains, polar explorers...they all have one thing in common: They all take a risk every time they go out to sea. And they're all either braver, or crazier, than me! I'm guessing it's both.

Launching the James Caird from Elephant Island

Iron Range Maiden

I keep a fairly eclectic playlist on Estrogenius, but as I've admitted before, there is a paucity of selections from the Americana side of the musical universe. In other words, you'll hear no Country, no Bluegrass, no Folk and no Jazz. That is a personal choice, based on my own taste, and the fact that I think that women in those genres are comparatively well-served by traditional media; I play the artists and genres that I feel are underserved. Also, I generally don't like Country, Bluegrass, Folk and Jazz. There is that. However, I do play artists who take those genres and put their own unique spin on them. One example is the astoundingly good Natalie London, whose style can best be described as "Thrash Folk".

Americana in general has enjoyed a relative explosion in popularity in recent years, with breakout hits like the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou, and the publicity garnered by Jack White's duties as a performer on the Cold Mountain soundtrack, and producer of Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose album.

Thus, perhaps it was inevitable that I, too, would cross-over and play some Americana. But being Me, I couldn't just play any ordinary artist; it would have to be someone a little different, and a lot better than the norm. Someone who fits the Estrogenius criteria of being an artist who is not getting enough exposure, but who deserves to be a superstar.

So, whose talent and skill managed to overwhelm me? That would be Minnesota's own Sara Softich.

Let's rewind a bit: Sara Softich contacted me about a month ago to promote her new release, Pipe Dream. When I saw that her previous work was a Country project called "Rusted & Bent", I was skeptical. But Pipe Dream was supposedly a major departure from that earlier work, in that it was a piano-based collection of ballads. Now you're talking! I asked Sara to send me the CD.

If you're folk-phobic like me, then you may wonder how I can possibly be so overwhelmed by such a simple album. How simple? The album was recorded using collaborator Jason Wussow's old 8-track recorder and the upright piano from Ms Softich's childhood. But that's the beauty of Pipe Dream: The arrangements may be simple, but the music is not. The tone remains dark throughout most of the album, and even the lighter tracks are tinged with melancholy. And that, as a dark-side Martha Stewart might say, is a very good thing.

The album opens with the title track, a perhaps-autobiographical account of a failed stint in Nashville, told sparingly with piano, organ and vocal. This beautiful song grabbed me to such an extent, that I already have a personal anecdote about it:

I've now been sick with the flu for about a week (which is why I'm so late updating the blog). Early on, when I was really getting slammed by it, lying in bed semi-delerious with unpleasant symptoms, one song kept playing in a loop in my head: "Pipe Dream." Why? I have no idea, but then a lot of things don't make sense when you're sick. Maybe the somber feeling of the song just fit my mood well at that time. The point is, imagine how powerful a song has to be to stick in your head for any reason. Congratulations to Sara Softich for creating a song that really got its hooks into me. That day, I looked at the blinds in my window and imagined red curtains blowing in the breeze.

And that's just track one.

The next track, "Ireland", makes me wish that Ms Softich had included a lyric sheet with the album. In this case, the upbeat (for this album) music belies a serious tale of separation. I especially liked the following few lines: Hear the burning of fiddle strings, chop the piano for kindling / Got a gallon of gasoline, divorce is better than death.

"Down in the Cellar" is a Cabaret-style song, and Ms Softich proves herself a natural at this genre too, as she also does with the instrumental "Corraine's Waltz". And I'm going to guess that after a a few more listenings, the haunting album closer "Wizard" will have a similar effect on my psyche as "Pipe Dream". Indeed, what's remarkable about the album Pipe Dream is not the variety of genres -- the artist has actually limited herself to a few closely-related subgenres of Americana -- rather, it's the consummate skill with which the album is executed.

For an album that seems to be marketed almost as a side-project, Pipe Dream is really a showcase of one artist's outstanding vision. Not only did Sara Softich lend her crystal-clear voice to the songs, she also wrote and produced the entire album. Therefore, although she was joined by a collection of great session musicians, the artistic success of the album rests with no one but Sara Softich herself; and this "new" artist acquitted herself with the skill of a seasoned professional.

Ultimately, I think that some musical works are greater than the sum of their parts. Some can transcend limitations (self-imposed or otherwise), and become an extension of the artist herself, not just a record of her observations. They can get inside your head and stay there, or they can change your emotional state in any number of ways. Sara Softich has succeeded at this, in the best way possible. This is a "small" album, made with few instruments and uncomplicated arrangements; but it still had a big impact on me.

In my view, Pipe Dream is a small treasure.

Plastic Oh-No Band

If there’s one genre that seems particularly male-dominated, it’s Electronic music; and I’m not sure why. After all, it’s not like there aren’t plenty of equal-opportunity tweakers out there to listen to it. Joke!

Actually, there is a fair amount of Electronic music on my playlist, and that’s because many of those male artists happen to use outstanding female vocalists. That’s fine, and I don’t wish to take anything away from those male artists; I’m just wondering, where are the female DJ’s?

I’m far from an expert on Electronica (for that, see my buddy DJ Tykx), but I can name a handful of top artists in the genre – and all of them are men. On the other hand, I can only think of one female DJ off the top of my head – Sandra Collins – and I don’t even play her music on the station (which is just a matter of personal taste; she’s a bit hardcore for me).

Therefore, I was particularly pleased to come across Arthur Loves Plastic, which is what composer/performer Bev Stanton has unfortunately decided to name her act. Yeah, I know. Opinions differ, of course, but there are those who think that it's one of the worst band names ever. Fortunately, it seems to be Ms Stanton's karmic fate to repay society by releasing really good music.

I'm basing that only upon hearing her latest CD, Pursuit of Happiness; but if you dig into her catalog, you'll discover that Ms Stanton is a prolific artist with many well-recieved albums under her belt (one of which is the brilliantly-titled Klondyke 5; why couldn't she have named the act that?). Pursuit can best be described as a "chillout" album, but there are some uptempo tracks, such as the album opener "Alone till the Day I Die", which features a Saint Etienne-like arrangement of Heather Heimbuch’s vocals.

Another track of note is "You May Think This is Love", which features a sample (from what sounds like an old educational film) of a stern woman admonishing us to "Not engage in frequent necking or petting". On the other hand, she may have been addressing the sapphic subjects of the album cover.

The title track is a solid vocal song reminiscent of great 80’s acts like Propaganda, and you know how much I loves me some 80’s music. "Pursuit of Happiness" leads into the very pretty "Just for the Night", and when you throw in the album closer "Play Misty", you’ve got my three favorite tracks on the album.

Like I said, I’m no expert on Electronic music; but Bev Stanton is, and she seems well aware that female artists must shout to be heard in this male-heavy genre. Here’s hoping that a wide audience hears her. Prove me right, and check out Bev Stanton's work at www.arthurlovesplastic.com.

Bev Stanton