Although some of the more politically tinged songs from recent records of mine have tended to be a little on the snarky side (some of them bordering on barely concealed rage, if I’m honest) "Unnecessary War" attempts to strike a more conciliatory tone. Being angry all the time is tiring, so rather than just going for another diatribe against the usual easy political targets, this one ended up as a bit of a plea for solidarity and understanding across the political divide, albeit with a darn good skewering of those on high horses who seek to pit us lowly folk against each other. Almost akin to poor old Mick Jagger’s, “People, why are we fighting?” plea to the seething crowd at Altamont in ’69. Not that I was there, of course - I was too young and in a different country, but still...
My cousin, David Wise, had shared with me a collection of dramatic WW2-themed pinhole camera shots that he'd taken in Europe, and I wondered if it might be interesting to use them as the backdrop of a lyric video for the song. Now, David and I have never actually met (long story) but it turns out we are very much alike. Consider this quote from a 2023 article in The Hamilton Spectator about him and his pinhole photography: “He has slept on the desert floor in the Sahara and walked and run hundreds of miles at a time across several continents.” Ok, so maybe we’re not really alike at all. I mean, I’m such a cautious homebody these days, that I’ve been known to contemplate getting travel insurance before heading out to the Publix downtown for our weekly shopping excursion. My idea of risky behaviour is to eat a bowlful of ice cream while sitting on the couch without a napkin. Truth be told, I’m a little in awe of him, so I’m really happy that our creative lives have clashed this way. By the way, the article is worth a read; it’s right here: https://www.thespec.com/.../article_9ed8c2c7-6ae6-58e7...
As he usually does, my friend Ed Woltil helped me traverse the minefields of my own technical ineptitude and created this seamless video for me after I’d picked out the shots I thought would work best to accompany the song. Funny thing is, after it was done, my cousin David happened to send me an old photo of our great-grandfather that I’d never seen before. In it, he was very young, and cut a striking figure dressed in his military finery, and after I shared it with Ed, he indicated that it should probably be added to the video. So, in it went (it shows up around the 2:30 minute mark) and I’m so glad he suggested it. Not just because I was hesitant to infringe on his time any further by asking him myself, but because ultimately, I think it makes a for a lovely and poignant addition to the photographic slide show.
After seeing the video, David mentioned to me that he’d like to think that our shared great-grandad would be quite tickled, and might well indeed raise a pint glass to the idea that one of his great grandsons would end up moving to Canada, the other to America, and would both one day connect via an artistic collaboration that would incorporate this very photo. Sappy old bugger that I am, I find the idea quite moving.
Anyway, onward to war stuff…
