When I was typing out the title to this post, I accidentally pecked out “who taught you to lie like that.” I had to chuckle because I was thinking that very thing this morning while ruminating about a certain president who resembles a Cheeto, and the prevaricators who carry his water.

But I don’t want to write about him (today).

I blogged about emotional intelligence the other day. Another topic that remains in heavy rotation in my thinking.

Canadian bands and artists have colored my musical palette for quite some time. I think it dates back to a trip to Montreal that our unit of three made back in the early 1990s. I ended up finding a cassette tape by The Tragically Hip (RIP Gord Downie). I became a fanboy from then on for their north-of-the-border take on classic rock.

I finally got to see “The Hip” play live at The State Theater. There were probably 500 people there on a hot August night in ’98 to see Canadian rock royalty perform. The show wasn’t heavily promoted. Mary and I learned about it when a plane flew over Old Orchard Beach pulling a streamer that said, “Tragically Hip at State Theater” that night. I said to her, “we should go.” And we did. It’s probably one of five shows we’ve attended together in our 35 years of marriage. What our pursuit of live music lacks in quantity, I think it more than makes up for in quality, though: Cheap Trick (with UFO opening), Dave Mason, The Grateful Dead, Lucinda Williams (The Bottle Rockets), and The Tragically Hip.

On May 5, Sloan hit the stage at Empire in Portland. Another Canadian band, much like TTH, who deserve way more attention stateside than they’ve received, at least from fans—they remain the darlings of music writers at places like Pitchfork and Paiste. I’ll be there and I’m excited to hear their amazing power pop, new songs from their 12th album, and Beatle-esque back-catalog.

Sloan: still going strong.

I found an article about the band titled, “The 11 Keys to Keeping the Band Together,” about them. This was fascinating in the sense that they talk about things that bands rarely touch on. Even more intriguing to me, with a few tweaks, it’s a great rundown on how to be a good human being and enhance your EQ, as they’ve obviously been doing over the past 27 years of being band mates. Heck, I think our current president could learn a thing or two about getting along with others in reading this piece.

Not only do music writers dig Sloan, but some of my favorite radio stations appreciate the band’s prodigious talent, like KEXP in Seattle, with DJ Cheryl Waters gushing about the band, calling herself the “President of the KEXP Sloan Fan Club,” when the band came through Seattle and dropped by for a live set at the station.

All this talk about music of late got me to pull out my acoustic guitar on Sunday. The good news is that I haven’t forgotten how to play. In fact, I’m happy to say I’m playing as badly as ever!

And like the chorus from the opening song in the KEXP set, I’ve learned that the only way through tough times is to “keep swinging.” I love how Sloan as a band has certainly been doing that for 27 years.