MIXTAPE
BORN
RUFFIANS
Image by Loïc Lusnia
The Hook mixtape is compiled through a series of music related questions. Each artist who fills it out can answer as many or as few of the questions as they wish, and elaborate on their choices, or let them speak for themselves.
​
Artist
Born Ruffians
​
Location
Toronto, Canada
​
Members
Luke Lalonde (vocals, guitar), Mitch Derosier (bass), Steve Hamelin (drums)
​
FYI
Born Ruffians just released their album JUICE, the 6th full length since the band formed in 2004.
​
Press Clippings
“Juice finds Born Ruffians at their songwriting peak. Instant, catchy, and concise, with enough complexity and reflection to make it more than just a throwaway pop album. For the music world to miss out on this record wouldn’t be surprising, but it would be a crime.”
The last piece of music you paid for (streaming doesn’t count)
Mitch: I purchased Sarah McLachlin’s “Angel” on iTunes to make a stupid video for my cousin.
​
Your favourite place to listen to music
Luke: I listen mostly to music in my car. But my favourite place is lying on a comfy couch and listening in headphones. I don’t do that often enough though… dedicate special time to simply listening to an album.
​
A song which reminds you of your childhood
Luke: The first thing that comes to mind is Glenn Miller Orchestra - maybe Pennsylvania 6-5000. I used to spend a lot of my after school (and lunch) time with my grandparents. They loved all that WWII era music. I think Glenn Miller was sorta like the Beatles to Charlie, my Poppa. He would sing all the words when we drove around listening to the AM oldies station that played all that stuff.
​
Your go-to karaoke song
Mitch: “Callin’ Baton Rouge” by Garth Brooks. A fun song to sing that’s apparently about a guy slowly coming to the realization that he may have slept with a minor on tour? Seriously, the lyrics are… interesting. “A replay of last night’s events roll through my mind / except a scene or two replaced by sweet red wine”.
​
A song which could change the world if everyone heard it
Steve: 'Imagine', but only if sung by Gal Gadot and her celebrity friends.
​
A song you’d rather never hear again
Luke: Taking Care of Business by BTO
​
A song which reminds you of someone you don’t see anymore
Luke: At Least That's What You Said - Wilco
​
A song which gets you in the mood (for dancing)
Steve: “Rasputin” by Boney M. I gave myself a hernia dancing to this song.
​
A song which gets you in the mood (for romancing)
Steve: “Callin Baton Rouge”, karaoke nights can get a little complicated.
​
The soundtrack to your last holiday
Luke: I wish it wasn’t, but that newest Maroon 5 song called Memories. I went to Vietnam with my partner and we’d hear it at least three times a day. We’d hear a lot of American pop songs but never the original version. It’d be someone else doing an extremely faithful cover of a Billie Eilish song or something. If you listened closely, you could tell it wasn’t her singing. I have no idea what the deal was…
​
A song which has changed your mind
Luke: Are we talking changed my mind about an issue, like whether or not the Marvel movies are real cinema? Or changed my mind formatively? I’ll go with the latter and say Violence by Parquet Courts. A lot of Andrew Savage’s lyrics have changed my mind. He’s the same age as me but I look up to him, his art and his intellect. That song is an essay. It’s incredible. I love everything he writes.
​
A song which makes you cry
Luke: Mary by Big Thief. A lot of Big Thief songs make me cry every single time I listen to them. She is, in my opinion, the best poet and lyricist alive right now. The melody and lyrics of Mary work abstractly on my brain and pull emotion out like a magnet.
​
A song which makes you laugh
Luke: Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem. James Murphy makes me laugh, his lyrics are funny without being stupid. That song is great. I love the line “and who are actually, really really nice” and the way he delivers it… It encapsulates a type of person we all know, or maybe a type of person we all have a bit of within us. It’s hard to do what he does lyrically… very hard.
​
A song which tells a story
Luke: Long Black Veil is my favourite story song I think. I love the Band’s version of it best.
​
A song which gives you goosebumps
Luke: I sort of define good music on this criteria and this criteria alone. Or at least I define the music I love this way. There are too many to mention. Let’s say Edd Tide by Rosemary Clooney.
​
A song which makes you feel empowered
Mitch: “Danny Nedelko” by IDLES makes me wanna run through a wall.
​
An artist you regret never having seen live
Luke: Aretha Franklin or David Bowie.
​
An artist you hope to see live soon
Mitch: Anybody, at this rate.
​
A gig you’ll never forget
Luke: Luke Temple opening for Adrianne Lenker in Toronto at the Longboat Hall in Toronto. Two of my favourite songwriters… Adrianne had a power over the room I had never seen before. I felt like the entire room was floating and we were all sort of contained inside of an organism together. She was warmth incarnate.
​
An album you know by heart
Mitch: Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge of Town
​
A cover which is better than the original
Steve: I think I like the Violent Femmes version of “Children of the Revolution” slightly more than T-Rex’s.
​
A song you first heard on a film soundtrack
Steve: “Halcyon” by Orbital on the Hackers soundtrack. What a song. What a movie.
​
A song you love in a foreign language
Steve: “Jat Mahibathi” - Yemen Blues
​
An instrumental song you love
Steve: “Opening” from Glassworks - Philip Glass
​
A song which gets stuck in your head
Steve: “If I Had a Million Dollars” - Barenaked Ladies. It’s most displeasing to have stuck in your head, but it’s a prank my girlfriend plays on me. She’ll purposely get it in my head by singing about three words. Now it’s in my head.
​
A recent musical discovery
Blake: Down on the Beach By the Road - Steve Hiett. It’s from 1983 but new to me. Amazing record.
​
