Cooling the Medium / Martha and the Muffins

You can buy it here: / mystery-walk-30th-anni... and here:
www.amazon.ca/...
The 30 year wait is over! Martha and Mark have reissued the 5th Martha and the Muffins album, 'Mystery Walk' which includes 3 different versions of 'Cooling The Medium'.
Written by Mark Gane, Martha Johnson and Bob Fresco
Produced, Directed and Photographed by Bob Fresco
Assisted by Byron Patchett
Edited by Bob Fresco
Financial assistance by FACTOR

[@ThatBearHasMoxie]

I can’t tell you how much I love this video. Martha and the Muffins never got the credit for exposing us 80s kids to so much cool culture so quickly. So amazing!

[@Lugosi2006]

I don't think I can't find a more underated new wave band than the Martha and the muffins. They were in the same league as Talking Heads and all the greats. Glad they still have fans. Thank you so much for the music over the years.

[@MarthaandtheMuffinsOfficial]

...and we have our fans to thank for keeping us going!

[@apollomemories7399]

Same league as Talking Heads? you really weren't paying attention.

[@gaelzornt1080]

@@apollomemories7399 This album was produced by Daniel Lanois if I remember it well. And D.L. worked with Brian "The Brillant" Eno who produced The Talking Heads...

[@murrayscott9546]

@@apollomemories7399 Getta grip.

[@apollomemories7399]

@@murrayscott9546 Don't be silly Murray. There's daft pop music and there's Talking Heads. FFS understand that very basic premise.

[@NormAppleton]

Martha and Marc are such incredible people

[@ambadad]

They are indeed. In 1998 I was in Montreal and bought Modern Lullaby from HMV. Got back to London and it was faulty. Emailed them through the website and asked if I could buy one direct from them and they sent one free with their compliments. Mind you, I knew they were nice before that as I met them at Sheffield City Polytechnic on their first UK tour and they signed my copy of Metro Music.

[@alanhansmannkurtcobain8811]

Nice.

[@martinmathieu6098]

Release in 1984. This song play in my head since 37 years. And i have no idea why. ...

[@mrconancat]

Because it's fucking awesome!

[@waydehull9022]

One of Canada's greatest assets even if record sales don't indicate as such.

[@daverawcliffe3212]

One of the best Canadian bands

[@lindaguthrie4291]

Thrilled to find this video, I am one of those white rabbits, back in the day. Thanks you for brightening up a cold day.

[@irwinwesley8297]

TORONTO New wave treasure ..we blessed

[@MarthaandtheMuffinsOfficial]

We have recently remastered the original 'Mystery Walk' album and will be releasing it plus bonus tracks shortly through CDBaby, iTunes etc. Thanks for your patience and respect for wanting to buy this. It won't be long! Martha & Mark

[@nickvandergraaf1053]

Awesome stuff. Toronto is lucky to have these guys!

[@spawn4582]

You have great music, thank you for being you! With love from Ukraine! ❤🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

[@ourson66]

One of my favourite M+M tunes - Martha's voice is absolutely stunning, and it's one of the very first songs I can ever recall mixing world music in with new wave.

[@antunivanovic]

with all due respect, and I love M+M just like you, but don't be daft. How about "Remain In Light"? And even that is only the tip of the world music/new wave iceberg :)

[@ourson66]

LOL Perhaps less "daft" and more "unaware" at the time. :)

[@rayeverett8379]

"Remain In Light" as in Talking Heads ? If that band had a differnt singer they might be fine,, but David Byrne's vocals are dihorretic ... horrible

[@Daviticus042]

*Diuretic...and no. Just no.

[@kobayashiMaroo]

simply because he rarely gets the production credit he deserves, I will pipe in a "how great a producer is Daniel Lanois here?" and then you can trace back to Eno (aka "Remain in Light", Geoffrey Oryema et al.) and Peter Gabriel and WOMAD.

[@murrrayscott6898]

The memories just flood back.

[@hubertvale5132]

A great under appreciated 80s band! Love the African dancers and the bunny people!

[@anitmatic]

I'd forgotten how gorgeous this song is.

[@mavjb2000]

This is my all time favorite track from the band. Too bad it was never released as a maxi single.

[@lemonlover6559]

Cool shot of Martha carrying Mark, love that !

[@frankstared]

Highly evocative.

[@bishbrod2428]

Here in 2019.... still carrying you down into the river

[@Cicilo1983]

Great news ! "Cooling the medium" is a fantastic song, and there are other gems on "Mystery Walk".

[@dividedwords]

The quote from "Theme from A Summer Place" over the outro is such a great touch.

[@evestabile9395]

I really love this song! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🇨🇦♥️💃

[@kobayashiMaroo]

I can still remember plopping "Mystery Walk" down in the studios of college radio station WXYC and thinking, the production here is *amazing*. Daniel Lanois went on to produce a few other nice records ;)

[@HowardFair]

Just discovered this! Canadians paying tribute to their own McLuhan!

[@BadlyBentPub]

Edited for clarity: They said in an interview that the song was based on a photo of a psychic from a book. Apparently the Mediums would become 'hot' when contacting the other side, and had to be 'cooled' before returning to our plane. The photo was of a Medium with her hands raised above her head and being held up on either side by other people. Apparently the photo was captioned "Cooling The Medium" and like any great artists, recognized a potential for great art from it.

[@GenXtasy]

I always loved the drums on this track...Good timing of the crash cymbals

[@steve_22xy]

loved this band, so many classic songs from them

[@murrayscott9546]

You two, dynamic duo, mean so much to me. I shed tears.

[@livinupyourself6232]

Just love this song. The image and gentle swaying of walking back to life again I found powerful. X

[@ianshort2336]

Great song and video from the days when new wave was really refreshing. Thanks for sharing!

[@ShakeYrFist]

Honestly, I'd give anything to see this song live! It's still such a weirdo bop, but it's got this like, urgency to it. It's so badass!

[@MrGoldenwaffler]

always really liked this song.

[@rosedunne5674]

cooling the medium , black stations white stations echo beach Martha and the muffins or m and m what a fantastic mix of funk new world rock and roll combined one of Canada s best ever groups I mlearning echo beach for a show this week with my 2 man acoustic band you are fab

[@phylliskumi4355]

I loved this and their songs

[@SteveBrandon]

I like that, in the last shot in this video, Martha's on a beach, watching the sun go down. "Cooling the Medium" is the only Martha and the Muffins song I remember hearing as a kid. If I had known about the song "Echo Beach" at the time, the last shot would have made more sense to me.

[@overseer71]

One of the great tracks of the 80's and one of the first music videos I saw living in a small town in N.Carolina. Great memories from a great band.

[@cmazarov]

heard it on the radio the other day...remembered what a great song this was....

[@Faxxxanadu]

I heard Mark in a recent interview describe the water effect used in this music video. It wasn't a digital effect at all - the director filmed water through panes of glass or something like that. Pretty cool.

[@bobolink890]

Thanks Martha and Muffin folk, nice song.....well done.

[@SWTinFLA]

I think this is one of the greatest albums ever. Produced by Daniel Lanois before he became a huge star.

[@STARSHIPUFO]

Love this song takes me back to the good old days.

[@earthraindove2870]

Love this timeless piece

[@Venom-ky2ht]

Very cool.

[@baronvonblueeyes7685]

Kind of a catchy little tune.

[@PrincePurple]

I just want to talk about the chorus. Don't really care much for the rest of the song - it's too jerky and too "new wavey" - but it sure sets us up for a terrifically soothing and beautiful chorus. "Hold me close so I don't fall...," oh, when the song drops into that chorus I just melt away. Such a warm, wonderful bit of music and lyrics. Hard to find a better chorus in any style of music.

[@DudeDadEsq]

Too "new wavey"....yes, they were a new wave band!

[@mattycobby27]

GREAT SONG !!!!!!

[@runningtap12]

Love this band! So talented and underrated as many talents are!

[@ajs41]

It's a pity that most people forgot about this band after Echo Beach in 1980, especially outside Canada.

[@henrygalka8064]

As Marshall McLuhan said, "This is the message!"

[@bhols52]

my favourite song by M+M. Saw them open for Eurythmics this day in 1984 in Forest Hills, NYC.

[@conradpoos2859]

I was there too, incredible show. It was the only time I saw M+M live.

[@frankstared]

Certainly one of the most indelible choruses from the 80s.

[@Whuntmore]

Always been great music. Keep it up.

[@sherylbentz-sipe4905]

This is such a cool tune! And it's great to dance cha cha to!

[@Itzakadoodle]

This has VideoFACT written all over it, lol. What a great song, though. Might be their best!!

[@alanhansmannkurtcobain8811]

Nice!

[@lane99]

Song good!

[@jeffs8802]

Awesome....Thank you!

[@tajbullard256]

Another excellent song, beautifully produced

[@modefan63]

thanks m+m i allways loved thissong. heard it again last weekend with David Marsden. first heard with black stations white stations on KROQ in 1983. in la.

[@misscottontv]

LOVE LOVE LOVE!

[@youbetcha6880]

I find that with most bands, I dislike their biggest hit yet love their other songs, and M&M is no exception. I hate Echo Beach with a passion, yet I think Cooling the Medium represents everything that is great about New Wave. Go figure.

[@kilts4u2]

Funny how music effects us differently. I find this song as boring as dishwater but "Echo Beach" has me dancing immediately. The beauty of sounds.

[@marcd73]

I like em both! Women Around the World is my fave Martha & the Muffins song, tho.

[@steveespinola7652]

How do you not like ECHO BEACH I love that song and it's catchy.

[@LilyLemony]

God, I haven't seen this video since I was 9! Thanks for posting! :D

[@1000murdog]

What ever happened to great music.......the soundtrack to our lives! Sadly that ended in the early 90's!

[@xzcsdf9574]

discovered this by chance on the radio, glad there was a tracklist

[@23chiffy]

Ace tune

[@elterrifico9522]

Hey I remember this!

[@frankstared]

Brilliant!

[@TheMasterdein]

Thank for your work from france !!! keep the music on !!!

[@michelledavismahoney5690]

Such a cool, artistic video.

[@mammilaria1]

fun stuff..great lyrics and vocals...and dansable too!... albums are hard to come by in europe..thanks for posting

[@kevinhardy8997]

Us GenXers grew up with MTv which brought us together. Now kids grow up with bloody TikTok which tears them apart.

[@abigaileldritch]

You wish tik tok would! But tik tok is actually a great space for niche topics, and if you open up your mind to you it you can actually find very interesting video essays in short form about specific genres, music history, and artists. I have been able to find community on it who have the same love of new wave music as me. It’s not as divisive as people make it seem or seem to think.

[@loartedolz]

My favourite tracks of this album are "I Start To Stop", "Garden In the Sky" and "Nation Of Followers". Also, I would like to see released in digital form the album "The World Is A Ball": "Stuck on the Grid" (which is superb), "I Watch I Wait / Watching the Boys Go Down"

[@bpinkhof]

like it

[@randomglen]

hmm funny, just today I transferred 'Mystery Walk" LP, that I recently found used at a consignment store, to digital. transfering vinyl is time consuming but I love the album so much I will not consider it a waste of time... Even though my transfer come out extremly well I will buy the CD remaster whenever I see it. I normally buy music on Amazon and itunes. hope to see it soon, thanks for the info, love this video! Cheers!

[@rhymeandreasoning]

this video was on MuchMoreMusic today...I recorded the video..I love Martha and her Muffins..XX

[@philipstabile9737]

💎

[@bestbass42]

Thats great news! I Always thought Mystery Walk was a brilliant album,my only complaint is that the tracks are a bit too short! But great news about the release!!!

[@SuperTinaBebee]

Sounds like she's saying "Hoolie don't need it"

[@Ken-tt5md]

2nd fav M&M tune after Paint By Number Heart. This video is about as 80's as you can get.

[@jonseaward7298]

This song sort of has an "Echo Beach" style beat, in my opinion.

[@Daviticus042]

1:32 lol

[@wildkubera]

They just released a new album

[@Krysten55]

This song sounds vaguely familiar, but I don't know if I actually know it...

[@synapticflow]

Time machine please!

[@menswear2112]

Canada’s answer to Talking Heads?

[@octobersun221]

I saw this on acid when I was kid, those rabbits freaked me out.

[@cieranfallon8594]

Where r my books ?

[@petethundabox5067]

Too many "Donny Darko's". I'm having flashbacks.

[@mrconancat]

14 of them as of now.

[@baldbollocks]

Cooling the medium.... what on earth does that mean ?

[@froggyblat]

Good news and bad news Bad news first, we're gittin old Good news is, probably forgit about it

[@kellymccann1193]

The Indigenous petroglyphs featured in this video are located in Ontario, Canada and it is now forbidden to take photos of them when visiting the site.

[@richardgottheil997]

from Richard gottheil cooling the medium

[@sweiland75]

What does the title mean?

[@MarthaandtheMuffinsOfficial]

sweiland75 There was a book about African drumming we were reading at the time which had a photo of a woman in a trance state being supported by others around her. The caption of the photo was "Cooling the medium". The explanation was that she, the medium, had to be "cooled down" in order to safely return from the spirit world. We built the lyrics of the song around that idea as a starting point.

[@sweiland75]

Martha and the Muffins Cool. :)

[@rhymeandreasoning]

+Martha and the Muffins Brilliant !!! Xx

[@kencraig5824]

I think a reference to Marshall mcluhan. best guess. mcluhan wrote of media in such terms as a prof at u. of. Toronto

[@ilfautdanser9121]

@ ken craig this kind of answer is why it's good to read responses to questions before commenting.

[@treetheoak]

how can i get this song! preferably legally.

[@Lumberburner]

Now on iTunes. Just download it. :)

[@Buddywugga56]

When anyone asks who has (Had) the sexiest mouth in music, i refer them to this Video

[@sunfirexca]

I just want to get this off my chest. For years i have heard the chorus as "cooling of medium". Look at Martha lips when she sings it. That is no "th" lipage.

[@thiscorrosion900]

Nah, she is clearly enunciating Cooling THE Medium. Near as I can tell.

[@sunfirexca]

Upon many further replays, I stand corrected.

[@frankstared]

@@sunfirexca Ah, it's all in the tongue.

[@RoySATX]

I am a Bunny-Man

[@alexandernabokov6882]

Too calm . there was a sprk on the album i brought from them .I cant find the single nor the tape I brought decades ago . This is good but its not the infectious white pop I remeber .It reminds meof theTalking Jead's foray into similar bluesy material yet without the manic sensitivity and gather all elements genius that band exuded ! I love her voice and melodic lines just wish more nervousness was here.toopoppy sounding

[@imperiald3864]

CRTC works for music...not tv

[@Mykamania]

Why is Martha carrying that light weight threw a garden?

[@thiscorrosion900]

she's carrying Mark down to be baptized, I guess.

[@snowstormcan]

Because he's a light weight.

[@luap149]

The worst video from my favourite band !