![\"Jason](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/JC_hires4_IsisEssery.jpg\")
<\/a>Many of the themes on Song and Dance Man<\/i> are an expression of Collett\u2019s growing feelings of discontent with the direction of the music industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think overall the process was one of ambivalence, so I just kept on writing,\u201d he says. \u201cI was reluctant to just turn around and release another record and re-engage in another cycle. But, most importantly, I was reluctant to make another record that I was tossing into the gaping maw of Google or Apple or whatever else.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a focus on the shifting and uncertain musical landscape, the album takes a lighthearted jab at the music industry itself, something that Collett has a lot to say about.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe economy of this is not working,\u201d says Collett. \u201cIt\u2019s not working for us. It\u2019s working for Google. It\u2019s working for Apple. It\u2019s working for Amazon. But it\u2019s not working for the artists, for the creators, for the songwriters.\u201d<\/p>\n
While some of the sweet melodies and reflective lyrics on Song and Dance Man<\/i> are certainly lighthearted and jesting in tone, Collett stresses that the problems faced by his peers are very real.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people have this misconception of what success is,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of my peers are straight-up broke; they\u2019re ending up on the covers of magazines and charting on Billboard, but they\u2019re still broke. They\u2019re still struggling to pay rent. So how long does this last, before songwriters can\u2019t afford to be songwriters anymore?\u201d<\/p>\n
The album\u2019s inspiration also draws heavily on what it means to be an artist, with its self-referential title and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. It is also rife with nostalgic themes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s reflections on getting older,\u201d says Collett on the album. \u201cI\u2019m trying to write from where I\u2019m at, and where my peers are at, and the state of what it\u2019s like to be an artist. You\u2019ve got to really hustle to make it all work for you. And, even then, it might not work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the serious nature of the subject matter, Collett also notes that the album is very light and lighthearted at times.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I found a really nice balance there, where it\u2019s very enjoyable and it\u2019s celebratory. And I take a supreme amount of joy in writing songs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collett\u2019s initial drive to write songs came from a fairly unusual place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing that first turned me on to being a songwriter would be in the early \u201980s, CBC had a show on nuclear disarmament and they played Bob Dylan\u2019s \u2018A Hard Rain\u2019s a-Gonna Fall.\u2019 I was very sheltered up until that point, but hearing that song and the endless verses and evocative lyrics opened a whole world, an entirely different universe, in my young mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Armed with a new album, Collett is excited to return to Victoria to play music and breathe in the fresh ocean air.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo get out of that germ tube of a van and breathe that air and be actually on the ocean after coming across the prairies and mountains is so great,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s just that physicality of stepping up onto the deck for the first time after travelling; that excites me about Victoria.\u201d<\/p>\n