Grey (Green) Ice Water

#13

01.13.10

I am enthralled by this photo.  Such a range of colors!  It was taken right where the Portage Creek exits Portage Lake about 55 miles from Anchorage.  Capturing the precise color of the milky green-blue glacier water in Alaska is no easy feat.  Over the years I have used my old Nikon Coolpix somethingoranother, my Nikon 8800 and my Canon Xsi and never captured the color more perfectly than my simple iPhone camera caught it here.  It must be an issue of where the sun is in the sky, and my position to it, while shooting.  In the end, all the frustration of the hunt melts away when I gaze at these colors. 

Many alaskan lakes, rivers and creeks look just like this.  The water turns positively turquoise due to the presence of 'rock flour'.  As glaciers migrate toward lower ground they grind the underlying substrate, picking up particles of rock and mineral along the way.  This "rock flour" is held in suspension in the water, and affects the reflection and refraction of light which we then perceive as either blue, green, turquoise or grey.  The opacity makes the word 'milky' a fitting adjective.

The next shot came out a little less milky green, and a little more milky grey.  Again, I think it's because I was facing toward the sun, albeit low on the horizon.  

The color of the water in this photo was identical in person to the color shown in the featured photo, and that demonstrates just how difficult it is to capture the true milky color.  The next two shots show more of the mountainside and the tunnel that leads toward the longer tunnel to Whittier:

Today's song is one that I am absolutely thrilled to feature.  It is Grey Ice Water by the amazing band Modest Mouse, but performed here by Sun Kil Moon.  If the Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth can be called "experimental"; then Modest Mouse are uber-experimental.  To most ears the music comes off tone-deaf and abrasive.  Admittedly, it has been a lengthy process for me to fully embrace them over several dedicated years.  I just felt like there was talent and beauty beneath the surface of static electricity, and at this point I can finally hear the beauty clearly on every listen.

Modest Mouse is a band out of the Seattle area, led by the insanely brilliant Isaac Brock.  He is known for what seems like random fits of shrieking alternated with periods of calm, almost whispered phrases in many songs, and for singing in to his guitar pickups, etc.  He uses a lot of "cold" imagery from Alaska / Antarctica in his album titles (e.g. the Moon and Antarctica), song titles (e.g. A Life of Arctic Sounds, Grey Ice Water, Tundra/Desert, The Cold Part), and in lyrics (e.g. Trucker's Atlas, others).  

Grey Ice Water is beautiful both musically and lyrically, and I think the lyrics deserve full attention, here:

You're standing by the grey ice water
Out in the wind, above ground out in the weather
You had yourself a crazy lover
Becoming frozen, trying hard to forget her
You got a job up in Alaska
It's easy to save what the cannery pays
Because there ain't no way to spend it
At home on a boat, it's a fish trap
You took the path of least resistance
On the phone, cutting out talking
Short to long distance
You're standing by the grey ice water
Out in the wind, above ground out in the water
You had yourself a crazy lover
Become unfrozen, trying hard to forget her
You got a job up in Alaska
It's easy to save what the cannery pays
Because there ain't no way to spend it
On the arctic blast
On the arctic blast
On the arctic blast
On the arctic blast
On the arctic blast
On the arctic blast
On the arctic blast

Wonderful stuff.  I am not sure of the source for Brock's / Modest Mouse's attraction to all things cold.  I don't even know if he's ever been to Alaska, for example.  He has his own record label called Glacial Pace, which I know about because the folkie Mason Jennings was signed to that label when he released his best album to date, 'Boneclouds'.  Brock also worked as an AR man for the legendary Sub Pop label in Seattle and signed one of my favorite indie bands "Wolf Parade".  So he is a multi-talented and saavy music dude, to say the least.

Sun Kil Moon is a group fronted by Mark Kozelek, the lead singer of a nice band called Red House Painters.  He has a super-mellow sound, and has developed a knack for drastically re-arranging songs from acts as diverse as AC/DC to Modest Mouse.  In the album 'Tiny Cities' he rearranges 11 Modest Mouse songs, and in such a beautiful way.  It really brings attention to the amazing lyrics of Isaac Brock, especially if you cannot tolerate the typical harsh delivery of Brock.  If you like the Sun Kil Moon track featured today; RUN, do not walk, to your nearest record store and buy 'Tiny Cities'.  I spin that music as often as any other non-Jazz album in the past 4 years.  I can highly recommend it to anyone liking the track featured today.

I've just decided as I was typing here to break with tradition in this entry and post both versions of the song.  The first will be the cover by Sun Kil Moon since it highlights the lyrics, and has a real soothing feel.  The original track by Modest Mouse will follow, and hopefully you'll be able to better appreciate it after the more mellow cover, first.  Keep in mind that this track is one of the most calm and accessible of all Modest Mouse tracks; I would recommend further research and sampling online before you decide to take the plunge and become a full-fledged M. Mouse fan complete with satin roadie jacket, belt buckle, and sacral tattoo.

Until tomorrow... thank you for looking, listening and reading.  CCE