Blast No. 68 | April 24th, 2023
"I HATE YOUR LIPSTICK" by VEAL
“a hundred thirty-six wet dog pounds of skinny white boy love”
Waiting for the show to start, the house was dark. The only light was ambient, coming from the bar and soundbooth and from various tiny, glowing plugs on stage.
A single bulb switches on. A cold, bright white-grey beam illuminates the middle of the stage. An instant later, a hand swoops out of the dark to bat at it. The bare bulb swings and rocks itself on its long cord as a pick slices strings, electrifying the room with stark, crunchy guitar. The hand goes out to slap the bulb again, sending the light careening across the faces on stage. They look a bit like silent-film Ramones or a basement-era Weezer. But it’s Veal, circa 2003.
Helmed by splayed-leg guitarist Luke Doucet, dancey shaggy-haired bassist Nik Kozub and classic crust-punk drummer Chang, the trio blast their way through a set of fast paced heart racers and don’t stop when they hit the love song, “I Hate Your Lipstick”. It’s painfully honest, no fuss, fun. Au natural. A clean and clear plea to be seen by and with the one you love.
“I want the whole world to know that I belong to you.”
“I Hate Your Lipstick” is a short burst of courage, like the one you get after your second Breeze Cooler, a racing blur of honest emotions expelled in 1:53. It’s that bit of confidence that pushes us onto the dancefloor and keeps us there, thrashing our heads and our bodies in time as though these punks on stage are pumping blood.
If “I Hate Your Lipstick” were a theme song, it would soundtrack a coming-of- age flick, something fun and earnest. There’s a split screen morning routine of a couple of teenagers getting ready for school: the protagonist is trapped within a rigid traditional framework, restless and seeking adventure, and the antagonist is a counterculture cool kid who’s too tough to wear their heart on their sleeve. Through a series of happenstances, the pair bring each other out of their respective shells, wipe off the lipstick and end up making out madly on the dancefloor during Spring Fling while Veal plays through the song on stage.
“I hate your lipstick ‘cuz it covers your mouth up so I can’t kiss it.”
A label favourite, originally released back in 2003, “I Hate Your Lipstick” is reapplied on vinyl for the last day of Record Store Day. As long as lipstick exists, they’ll always be room for “a hundred thirty-six wet dog pounds of skinny white boy love” professing his love. “I Hate Your Lipstick” is the song you put on when you don’t want to wear anything else.
PS. Winnipeg, don't blink or you might miss Veal news...
THE HORIZON LINE PLAYLIST:
Listen to this week's Horizon Line playlist inspired by “I Hate Your Lipstick”.
