THE RADIO SAYS...

Real mature, Bradley.

2010-01-27T17:31:00.003-05:00

I feel slightly depressed when I read rosters like this. Sad, because half of these bands are great in their own respect, but will be (un)patiently watched in anticipation for...things like Ke$ha and relatively irrelevent Hanson. I understand the placement of MGMT on there (even though I've heard they were begged to play), I understand the eternal presence of Girl Talk. Hell, I can even find some hope in Kevin Devine playing. On the other hand, is it too much to ask for a lineup that actually reflects the audience?

I mean, Emmure stuck between a DJ (what?) and years-late mindfuck band that sounds like it's at a high school talent show covering Taking Back Sunday (and then breaks off into epileptic, anachronistic musical directions forty times in a three minute span)? What? What is this? We Came As Romans have a large enough fanbase to get them on a festival? Why isn't nevershoutnever! (is that even how it's written anymore?) one of the first performers? Guy's got like 9 gazillion fans. This doesn't make sense to me. I feel old.

2010-01-03T16:47:00.001-05:00

Inspired by Alanah, I thought it might be nice to compile my own list of 2009 favourites. I haven’t been as actively seeking out new music as I normally do, but I’ve still discovered some gems.

THE XX - ISLANDS

This is one of my favourite songs ever. I especially love the man’s voice (I have no idea which of the two male members sings). It’s one of those voices that make me weak at the knees. When I first found this song I just listened to it over and over and over again and it never gets any less beautiful. Despite that I can’t seem to get into their other songs.

CRYSTAL FIGHTERS – XTATIC TRUTH

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song. This band is so unlike anything else I’ve heard, they’ve got such a unique sound. The lyrics are amazing and their bleak depression contrasts beautifully with the upbeat music.

THE DRUMS – LET’S GO SURFING

It took me quite a while to give this band a chance because I tend to be mistrustful of hyped bands, but I’m so glad I caved in and listened to some of their songs. This is by far my favourite, because it reminds me of a range of great sixties music and it just makes me feel happy and in the mood for some dancing. Also, nothing beats a running video.

CROCODILES – SUMMER OF HATE

To me, this is again a total throwback to the sixties. I’m usually not the biggest fan of noise, but I will gladly make an exception for Crocodiles. I love nearly all of their songs, which rarely happens.

To be completely honest, I’m mainly listening to electro and classical these days. It’s quite hard to find videos to that kind of music though.

A few days late? No big deal.

2009-12-31T08:58:00.010-05:00

Best of 2009? I guess this is one of those lists. No Girls, I watched them in Rough Trade one time and it was a bit ehhhh. No XX, although I do own one of their singles (50p in a bargain bin in Manchester... and I still haven't listened to it. Embarrassing.) Cold Cave? I want American Nightmare back more than ever. La Roux? Ugh.
This isn't really a best singles, best albums, sort of list. Just what summed up music for me this past year.

We were in this freezing cold film set/warehouse for a good 7 hours. Most of that time was spent watching my sister and her friends get pissed, racing chairs down a hallway, and hanging out in a fake police station. About 45 minutes of this time was actually doing any work. Such a good time though. None of the crowd shots in this are remotely faked, in fact a lot of the time the director had to calm everyone down. Hate on them all you want, Cancer Bats are the best dudes and this video sums up everything I miss about seeing them.

Blur FINALLY reuniting? WITH GRAHAM? Seeing them in London after not living in the country for 12 years? Probably the best night I could have asked for, to be honest. Not only did I get to hear all the songs I could possibly want to (going as far back as She's So High) but it was just like seeing them in their prime. They were jumping around with smiles on their faces, almost as big as my own. It looked straight out of any live footage I've seen from the mid 90's. Plus, Alex James still had that cig hanging out the side of his mouth and was STILL bopping the exact same way he did over a decade ago. With pretty much the same haircut.

Like most of the world, I have been won over. I actually properly loved Pokerface, but it was this video that opened my eyes to the artist, and how bonkers she really is. Plus, like the previously mentioned, the song is by all means, a TUNE. Not to mention the lyrics are borderline psychotic. Wait, borderline? They're simply mad. Bad Romance may be one of the best music videos in the last five years, but Paparazzi opened the doors to letting Gaga truly be Gaga.

It would be really easy to fill this whole list with just bands from London. After all, they make up a large majority of the overall music I've been seeing and hearing this year. Seeing as I live in London now, that's a bit obvious. Oddly enough though, of all the hype and names I've heard about in the years building up to moving over here, Hatcham were not one I really paid attention to. In fact, it wasn't until late summer when a friend of mine played their record in her DJ set. To their dismay, when they walked in five minutes after. Then I caught their set at 1234, it was one of the few highlights of a pretty washed out day. I don't know what it is, but they've got something really special going on. This is their most recent video, and it's probably my favourite track of theirs so far.

I still love this band. The first time I came down to London was to see them. The gossip, the critics, the hate from those who once worshiped them- it's all taken too seriously. This community is a bit weird, in that sense. I do admit though, sometimes I miss the days when they looked like cartoons...

I love the Strokes, have since their early days. For some reason, it always takes me ages to actually pay attention to anyone's solo projects. Julian Plenti? Aw, I should probably get around to that one. Julian Casablancas came to mind in a clothing shop of all places. I remember being pissed off because all the shoes were made of leather and the ones that weren't were too small. Trivial things. Anyway, this song came on. I felt like I had heard it before, but not really. It's one of those sort of sounds. He's borrowing about a million sounds but with a voice like his, it's hard to mistake who it is. The whole album sounds like he's gone a bit Wendy Carlos. And I love Wendy Carlos. That synth line is epic. Well done.
Side note: Does Julian actually age? He's been around for almost ten years (holy shit) and he looks just as young.
Side note 2: I'm way late on this, but he also contributed to THE BEST CHRISTMAS SONG IN YEARS. Covering an SNL sketch? AMAZING.

People think my Gaga obsession is a bit off, but personally this one surprised even myself. I mean, I've never HATED Kasabian. In fact, I used to love them. Especially Tom Meighan. Or Serge. I'm not picky. I mean. Anyway, what I mean is that they've got a bit of a bad taste in the fact that they're absolutely everywhere here. They're typically seen as a total lad's band, but behind the swarms of festival boozers and Gallaghers of the world, there's hints of "psychadelica, yeah?". Plus every interview I've read with them has been some of the funniest nonsense I've read. Points for that. Fuck it, I'm not even going to try and defend this. They write TUNES. TUNE. TUNE TUNE. Innit.

"We don't dance, no. We got class. We don't have any fun at all."

2009-12-02T08:02:00.005-05:00

I have been talking about these shows to a friend recently. Surprisingly, in completely positive manner. I used to resent the music scene back in Ontario, but there's something I miss about it.

I am somewhere up front in all of these, which was always a bit out of character for me to do. Plus, especially in the first one, I can pinpoint so many friends I know. The best part of the last video is when the person shooting it goes "underwater" (when everything goes black due to 500 kids trying to pile on him). I was actually just to the left of this shot, I'm probably in it at some point. I remember it specifically because I had been hoisted against my will onto the stage and remained there for the rest of the set. It hurt to a ridiculous extent, but it was fun.
This was just over a year ago now. It sort of sums up how the best shows went for me in London, Ontario. Most of the local scene became pretty pathetic over the last few years compared to say, 2005-2006. 90% of the bands that came around sounded exactly the same, most of the venues closed down, and the ones that stuck around had the worst sound you could imagine. When it was good though, it was the best times. All the same, I was pretty desperate to finally get out of there and be surrounded by new sounds, music that I would appreciate a lot more. As fun as all these shows were, there were only a handful of bands I actually enjoyed musically.
I've found it here, but only to a point. Within a sea of copycats and pretentious nature, I have met the most passionate musicians I ever have. The unfortunate thing is that I'm barely able to say the same thing about the audience.
Back in Canada, the GREAT shows only made up a small percentage of the events happening in the area. Since living here, I have been going to see amazing bands on quite a regular basis. But there's no community in this crowd. Or at least, I still need to find it.

She stopped drinking Diet Coke...she on that coke diet.

2009-11-04T17:17:00.002-05:00

Alright, in an attempt to keep this beast alive and breathing (switch that order around, perhaps), I'll review the Monsters of Folk show I went to.

Anyone who has ever discussed music with me knows that I love Bright Eyes. Fuck, if you saw my first Last.fm (or the second, for that matter), you knew that the 3000+ playcount of Oberst-related material was an indication that I love me some Saddle Creek. Hell, half the stuff I've posted on here is related to Conor Oberst. Still, I had yet to see him (much to my displeasure, because I believe I would've made the Cassadaga tour if I wasn't 16 and had an exam the next day), so I jumped (literally) at the chance to see him with Monsters of Folk. Imagine my joy when I found out that they weren't just playing the songs from their self-titled album, but solo sets were intermingling with covers and their collective material. Imagine my joy when I read reviews from previous dates telling me that they sounded harmoniously insane, ridiculously good together, and put on amazing performances. I NEARLY SHAT MYSELF, OKAY? There, now it's out there.

I arrived at Massey Hall 15 minutes before showtime, only to see a fairly empty theatre. As it turns out, they started at 8:18 (not 8, so to hell with you, punctuality!) and opened with 'Baby Boomer', which is a gloriously knee-slapping number that showcases the entire band's individual talents. Segue into another song before M. Ward took the stage alone to play 'One Hundred Million Years' from this year's impeccable Hold Time, which gave way to Post-War's 'Chinese Translation'. Side note: this is my favourite song off that album, which already was/is one of my all-time favourites...so picking from that lyrically astounding bunch is like, I don't know, choosing between pears and grapes. Needless to say, I was elated. M. Ward's voice is this smoky drawl that sounds beautiful in any format; imagine early Tom Waits with a bit of butter. I have previously said it's like chocolate, and it really is.

More MOF songs, and then Jim James and Conor Oberst came out to sing 'I Will Be There When You Die'. I had a feeling it was a My Morning Jacket song (and no, I'm not familiar with their catalogue and don't particularly plan on becoming acquainted), but it was beautiful. Sad and poignant, James was possibly close to crying by the end. Either that, or it was the drugs - apparently a border guard let him into their confiscated drug room and said, "Take your pick!" More MOF songs, then Conor did his bit. Oh lord, I swooned. His voice has gotten stronger as the years have gone on - he's not the 13 year old kid singing on cassette anymore, but the warble and nasal edge that made him the "Dylanesque singer-songwriter" came out at the perfect moments during his little solo set; he covered all the right bases, from I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning's 'We Are Nowhere and It's Now' (the performing of which excused the fact that it was featured on the Knocked Up soundtrack, of all fucking places), a gloriously upbeat version of 'At the Bottom of Everything', the personal and profound (I sound like a twat) 'Lenders in the Temple' from his self-titled album, as well as a complete and delicious surprise: 'Kathy With A K's Song (Love Is Real)'. As far as I know, that last one is rarely performed live, and the fact that it was only just rehearsed in the dressing room before the show made it that much more incredible. I fanboy'd a bit and cheered...along with the other Bright Eyes fans recognizing it. All three of them.

Not being a fan of My Morning Jacket had me feeling skeptical about Jim James' solo bits, particularly because I know he's vocally adept but I wasn't about to applaud music I'm not crazy about. I don't know though, he managed to sway me. There were more than a few touching moments during his songs, and he has a range that impressed me. When they all came back out for their encore after ten minutes of standing ovation, he breezed through 'His Master's Voice' (easily the second best song on the MOF album, in my opinion, right after 'Temazcal') and even though they're a folk band...the crescendo into a crashing, plausible wall of sound was welcome end to a beautiful night.

Excuse me while I go sigh in private.

"Only assholes draw on church doors!"

2009-11-03T01:28:00.002-05:00

Well, well, well, what the fuck is this thing?

Where to begin? There's a considerable gap between this post and the last one - over two months, at that. A lot happens in two months.

I'll take the opportunity to say that I'm not particularly sure if I like university, as I find myself enjoying everything besides it much more. Of course parties are usually more fun, as are excursions to the market and participating with a shadow cast to Rocky Horror, but the pedantic mediocrity that has become my schedule is wearing me out to the point of annoyance. I was consdering dropping out for a bit there. I whole-heartedly intend on getting involved in the things about my school that interest me: there's a rather kitschy newspaper that reads a lot like this blog, for example, and I suppose joining a task force of sorts for, I don't know, homeless people or kittens would be a good occupant of my time. I keep meaning to do something productive, but then I go outside. Then again, half of my time AT school is spent trying not to laugh at the people I'm in class with - as usually, within one class, there's such a hilarious spectrum of intelligence that it's more educational to watch the resulting dynamics as opposed to, say, reading Shakespeare (again). Example: a course I'm taking on critical writing has the very typical airhead blonde girl who's incredibly fast at sending texts from her iPhone. Politely put, that's where her speed ends. She ain't so bright, and on occasion, her interjections to the class conversations visibly irritate the Bitch United (as I fondly call them, because I think they're fascinating). The Bitch United being these two girls who sit together all the time and cross their arms and, as often as they can, make references to their gender's historical oppression and sneer at any general comment they deem st00pid. Actually, I just made the name Bitch United up, but they are bitchy. Funny bitchy, and they do always sit together. My second theory is that they're lovers, and there's more than a few kids in the class who feel the tension. Maybe it's anger, maybe it's lust, maybe it's an oncoming case of swine flu.

Anyway, there's been lots to do in Toronto. But that's for later, or another blog.

"Tigers love pepper... they hate cinnamon."

2009-08-28T17:50:00.004-04:00

Oh my goodness. It's the Radio Says. Like that weird friend you have that you don't think about often enough to keep in proper contact with but you can't quite shake and only call up when you're horrendously bored. I used to complain about being that friend in high school. Hooray for run on sentences though!

Anyway, here's my version of the list Ben JUST POSTED.
THE LIST THAT MADE SUMMER 2009.

1. BIG BROTHER: Oh yes, that little thing that everyone says they hate but actually watch just as obsessively as I do. It's the tenth series, and actually the first of the UK version that I have ever seen. It's the most ridiculous thing I have ever witnessed--- stalkers, wanking, nudity, contestants breaking out of the house, dressing up as aliens and lots of yelling. Brilliant.
2. BLUR: I finally got to see my favourite band, play my favourite songs. In LONDON. In the summer. Perfect.
3. LONDON: I live in one of the most notorious neighbourhoods that isn't Brixton. Still, I love everything about this place.
4. FREE SHOWS: I'm pretty poor. The only show I've had to pay for this year has been Blur. Otherwise, I've been very lucky and extremely greatful.
5. ROSIE: She probably won't read this, but best room mate ever. In fact probably one of the nicest people I have met in years, genuinely.

Lesson learned these past few months- FINDING OUT JUST HOW FAR I CAN STRETCH MY FUNDS: I swear I managed to live off £1.28 for an entire two weeks. Thanks, Sainsburys.
Worst thing ever- SLUGS: No. Stepping on slugs barefoot takes the cake. That's what I get for repeatedly walking into the kitchen without turning the light on. I have learned. In fact, there are three in there right now. Don't ask me why this is a common occurance, though.
Song of the summer- LADY GAGA "PAPARAZZI": Anyone who can listen to this all the way through and not find anything they like about it is blatently ignorant to brilliantly crafted pop music. Plus, she's bonkers and I love the crazies. Gaga, I salute you.

I'm an old lady, 95 years old! If I don't eat this banana, I'll die!

2009-08-28T16:57:00.002-04:00

WHAT THE FUCK.

I am moving soon, and I guess that's reason enough to post. I was debating on whether or not I should just write a list of quotes from the summer; working at camps for individuals with developmental disabilities and diabetes led to some rather notable one-liners. Or, I could brag about an rather excellent cache of vinyl that I stumbled upon the other day (well, week)...which brings me to one of the original purposes of this blog (because I suppose we had a postulated agenda at some point): Destroyer's Bay of Pigs EP is rather excellent, although it could be the weather, or the mood I'm in, or sheer happiness at being able to use my record player again.

I had something lovely to say here, and I'm forgetting it all. Here's a list to pass the time:

TOP THINGS OF THE SUMMER THAT ARE SOMEWHAT RELATED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

1. SKINS. Seriously, it was once described (by an actually-British nurse who cared for me while I had the flu) as "the O.C. with actual drugs and real problems...like Vicky Pollard's imagination". Television on the laptop is always a good thing.
2. Rachel Getting Married. Without getting too excited, I haven't been so pleasurably numb after watching a movie in a long time. Move the fuck over, Kate Winslet.
3. The OneTouch <> Insulin Pump. The joys of camp for diabetics included, for me at least, testing a brand-new insulin pump. My street cred is going nowhere as a result, but who can say they were one of the first people in the world to try one out?*
4. ICE CREAM.
5. Harry Potter. Thankfully, the second driest book in the series translated well. Of course they left stuff out, of course DanRad is an awful actor, and of course Ginny is a dank. At least Hermione's not gasping every time she opens her mouth. The more forced laughter, the better!
6. Uh..

I'll get back to this eventually. Not that he;s an afterthought, but it just doesn't seem right for me to do a tribute post to Michael Jackson. I mean, it would go: header, Michael Jackson Tribute, David Carradine Memorial, random post about an Elton John concert I went to, and another post noting a particular, veering car.

That's all for now.

* I was on a saline solution, bot actual insulin. Camp wasn't THAT fun.

I Am Caine, I Will Help You

2009-06-04T11:35:00.003-04:00

It is with great sadness that I must write about the passing of a legend. In fact I've already made an appreciation post about him some time back.
David Carradine, kung fu legend, actor, BILL, has passed away while filming in Thailand.
I am absolutely devastated. I can't remember the last time I actually screamed when I find out such news.
I'm not even going to comment on how it happened, why or whatever. Nothing has been confirmed. I am just utterly gutted.

It's all shit!

2009-05-29T19:37:00.003-04:00

Is it wrong of me to be slightly disappointed that Elton John can't hit the nasally falsetto that makes "Oh, but they're weird and they're wonderful" such a memorable lyric? Is it wrong of me to be kind of dismayed that he cannot hit anywhere near the notes he once could - albeit that he still can perform for over an hour non-stop?

I don't know, Billy Joel was more impressive. Then again, I (still) remember the words to We Didn't Start The Fire, and to end the concert with the entire arena singing Piano Man...well, the bitch can go back for all I care.

B-B-B-BENNIE AND THE JETSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSO this blog is not dead. Not yet.

2009-05-01T13:09:00.003-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/world/europe/01dutch.html?scp=2&sq=NETHERLANDS&st=cse

This is just.. too terrible. What kind of maniac does something like this? The death toll has risen to 7 now, and there are still people in critical condition. It's just.. mind-boggling.

2009-04-29T16:07:00.002-04:00

I just finished watching the finale of the one of the most amazing television shows ever: 'The Speaker'. It's a BBC show where teenagers (aged 14 to 18) compete to be crowned, as the title says, Britain's best speaker. Over 8 episodes they had to survive all kinds of challenges (e.g. live news report). They first started with thousands of candidates, that were narrowed down to a group of 160, then 20, then 8, then 3, then 1. In the finale the 3 remaining contestants were taken to Malawi to delve deep into the issue of children's rights, about which they had to give a speech later on. The contest was eventually won by 14-year-old Duncan from Bristol, who I'd been rooting for the entire time. He made such great progress throughout the competition and delivered an absolutely perfect last speech.

I really loved this show because I just adore well-written speeches. I deeply enjoy writing them myself and delivering them in just the right way, and I think it's a very important skill to develop. I am so envious I won't be able to participate myself - even if they do a Belgian version, I'm already too old. Sigh.

Also, Jo Brand was one of the judges, and that lady can do nothing wrong.

It's a slippery slope... beer, liquor, dope, coke, meth, chicks with dicks, then jail!

2009-04-17T18:19:00.004-04:00

I had my wisdom teeth pulled on Wednesday and was completely conscious for the procedure, and perhaps this alone is contributing to the minimal pain I've been experiencing. I'm glad that I haven't been loopy with painkillers, though, because I probably would've been oblivious to the fact that Conor Oberst's documentary was released the day I had them pulled. I don't stan for much anymore, and I think I've written about how he makes it hard for me to appreciate his work. First it was his ridiculous drug use that bled into his performances, usually resulting in him saying some pretty shit things. Then it was his drinking that made anything he did hard to take seriously - performing or otherwise. Then Cassadaga divided the Bright Eyes listener community. Then this self-titled album with a really, really bad music video and another dispute over who actually is performing...tell me, baby, why you gotta be so haaaaaaaaaard to love?

Anyway, I watched the documentary One of My Kind the other day and it is what it is: a documentary about the band leading up to their new album, Outer South. Having said that, it actually features a fairly even split between members, Oberst himself not being the principal speaker. There's a certain level of universal appeal in how it's filmed, and in the subject; but of course, only those who know what lead to this and what will likely follow can really appreciate the sight of the band performing in crowded clubs...with smiles on their faces. This is probably the highlight of the film, and for me, that it also managed to confirm several inside jokes that fly around Bright Eyes fans. Except Bright Eyes fans don't joke, right? Winky-face here.

The songs released from the new album are alright, I'm not that excited...yet. I have a tendency to fully doubt everything this man does until I hear it, and regardless that the last album was a bit on the Dylan-goes-electric-shock side of things, I really enjoyed it. I maintained and I maintain that the bootlegs were better, and now that most of them are included in this album, it'll be an interesting comparison. May 5th cannot come soon enough.

On another note, Doubt was an amazing movie.

Dead Man's Bones

2009-04-04T13:11:00.002-04:00

i know im raping this page sorry but it'll be my last post for a bit since school will have melted my brains with assignments due everyday for the next 3 weeks.
Just came to post the new Dead Man's Bones video for the song 'Name in Stone', because ive only heard this song the once and already love it.
It will never cease to amaze me that this is the same boy from Breaker High haha

DEAD MAN'S BONES - "NAME IN STONE" from biz3 publicity on Vimeo.

i think the writing is beautiful really i think thats what i like about their tracks and the music discreetly haunting, which pwns on various levels

Primary Colours

2009-04-02T20:31:00.005-04:00

Ive just heard the new Horrors album Primary Colours and they've really gone in the right direction this time around, at least for me because for the past few months all i've really been listening to is 80's post-punk new wave bands like Echo & The Bunnymen, Love and Rockets, Heaven 17, The Psychedelic Furs ect...
the musical intros are really great and even though the album is heavy of them throughout every song it doesnt really drown the songs and make them overbearing, and theres just enough synthpop to make an 80's nerd like me all giddy.
this isnt much of a review just saying that i think everyone is rightly excited about this new one and it was well worth the wait.
The only real words i can use to describe it is : fucking fantastic

"I can't describe passion fruit without sounding like a martyr." "Yeah, because 'PUKKA TUKKA' is too much, you mockney asshole."

2009-03-29T19:49:00.004-04:00

In regards to the last post, I apologize for letting the sarcasm normally found at my personal blog, The Daily Decay (no link, no shameless self-promotion) spill over into this otherwise stately forum of cultural anecdotes critiques. Why yes, that statement is sardonic, I know.

Anyway, I've been proven wrong a few times over since writing that rant. Many projects that I had completely forgotten about have popped up on my radar and, in checking out their ner material, things are looking up for 2009. Granted, some of the material is from 2008, but as Picasso once (allegedly) said, "Goog artists copy. Great artists steal." It just so happens that such a nugget of wisdom can be applied to timelines (and ID3 tags).

Back in...October? I went to the annual Toronto Art Fair, nearly dying of happiness when I had a chance to see Marcel Dzama's infamous bear costume in all its woolly glory. I recall writing here that I must've looked like a complete nerd asking how much is was worth ($30,000 approximately, although it comes with a signed DVD and original painting), and I probably sound like a complete nerd for posting this:

Directed by Marcel Dzama himself, this is the music video for Department of Eagles' song that almost wasn't, No One Does It Like You. Now, I'm not a huge fan of this band - I much prefer the members' invidiual involvements besides this band, like Grizzly Bear; that and I think their album, In Ear Park, was generally overrated last year - but this is worth a watch, even if it means muting for a few minutes. Things like this only make me embarrassed to know that I get excited enough about lists/music to complain about boring new material.

Saved by pseudo-Communist live action-animation mixes and childish ghost costumes!

I have always stood behind thrift stores and their purpose.

2009-03-22T20:01:00.002-04:00

I am not impressed with 2009's musical offerings thus far. Not impressed at all.

Yeah, Bon Iver's EP Blood Bank was alright; I could very well go on about how he used that vocoder to his benefit to create an equally haunting follow-up to 2007/8's For Emma, Forever Ago. Hey, I don't mind that Yeah Yeah Yeah's single, Zero - the album as a whole, on the other hand... And it's fairly obvious that The Horrors are not going to suck anytime soon.

But what is this, really? The Knife's new album is boring, Antony and the Johnson's aren't nearly as theatric as they used to be, Will Oldham's doing the same (or very similar) thing he did last year (and knowing him, perhaps the same will find itself on another release later this year)...that N.A.S.A. project was mediocre.

M. Ward put out a decent album recently, as did Vetiver. The Number 12 Looks Like You has taken a new path in their sound, and I actually like it as much as I love their old material. There's been some fantastic stuff posted over at This Is Offset, but that is not good enough. There needs to be even more! MOAR MOAR MOAR!

Come on Bessie, give me a good year for music! HELL WILL BE PAID IF ANIMAL COLLECTIVE IS ON EVERY TOP TEN LIST. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

/rant off

WBC

2009-03-21T13:07:00.002-04:00

has anyone heard of this Westboro Baptist Church group they came to my attention through this post on ontd and i was utterly disgusted by them and what their intentions are.
I don't want to make this into a religion bashing post because i tend to piss people off with my reasons for not believing in religion and im not preachy about it but i thought i'd post what they had said about the recent passing of actress Natasha Richardson [R.I.P]

"Thank God for the Bunny Slope of Cursed Quebec, Canada!
She lived in adultery with Robert Fox (he had a living wife).
She raised her sons in the catholic pedophile whorehouse.
She enabled feces-eating fag beasts by supporting "AIDS research.
She had a megaphone; she should have done her duty, to love her neighbor; but she hated her neighbor, so she failed to warn them not to be proud sinners."

how could a group of people who believe in 'love' and think everyone is a sinner go about saying that and be so blind to not realise that is one of the most harsh things i've ever heard in my entire life.
They're planning on picketing her funeral and i hope the authorities step in and stop this bullshit, because ive never heard of an "association" so hypocritical; reading some of the things they are against and the measures they go through to promote it, is quite disgusting to say the least.
this is bringing free speech a little bit too far y/n?

Should we finish off the beluga or should we have some smoked salmon nibbly things?

2009-03-18T16:42:00.002-04:00

Quite an insubstantial post really, but I have completely fallen in love with this song and I wanted to share it.

'Sweet Disposition' by the Temper Trap.

I particularly love the bit where he goes 'stop me' at the beginning of the chorus. There's something about the way he sings there that gives me butterflies.

"I think tonight is going to be de-wait for it-lightful. Delightful!"

2009-03-17T17:40:00.002-04:00

I am actually shocked and appalled at myself that I haven't already posted a squee-like entry about the Blur-reformation at the NME Awards a few weeks back. It was only Damon and Graham mind, but that is the most anticipated part of the reunion really. And what song did they choose to perform? Only the one I named this blog after! I forget that reference myself sometimes...

New Horrors song!

2009-03-17T03:58:00.004-04:00

Yes indeed, The Horrors have released their first new song / video online - you can watch it on their website. It's really very odd, I don't know how I feel about it yet.

Dave, maybe you should vounteer...

2009-03-13T20:22:00.002-04:00

I really like snapshot aesthetic. Not because it's slowly becoming the prominent style of photography used in commercial applications, nor because it's easily the most accesible for of photography; rather because of what it manages to convey between the photographer, the subject, and the viewer. The audience is exposed to the raw, ephemeral moment captured, and any film that manages to further that fleeting shake is of interest to me.

I just finished watching Milk. I've been putting off writing in this blog because I felt that I didn't have enough to say, let alone actually write about - no, not just about movies. First of all, I was a bit mad at myself for getting excited about a movie and then never seeing it (which I tend to do a lot) in theatres. Then, as it reaped the praise and won multiple awards, I got even more bogged down by the notion that I had missed out on something. Then it clears out at the Academy Awards (which, I'll admit, are sort of pretentious; Matt Damon is wise in his casual proposal to judge films a decade fter their release), and today I walk into the movie store...and it's released.

I am glad that I rented it if only because my sister, who was watching it with me, was visibly shaken by the movies content. It's not that it's gratuitous with the gay factor, it's not that it's a campy hmage to an admittedly sometimes-campy guy. There is no real agenda, at least none that I really noticed; Van Sant, being a gay man himself, could have very well over-emphasized this fact. Instead, Dustin Lance Black's screenplay explores the political, the personal, and the cultural impact of Milk's life without being so investigative that we're staring into Harvey's toilet. Van Sant's direction encompasses the beginnings of Harvey Milk, to the hodgepdoge meetings in his flat, to the massive protests surrounding Prop 6 and eventually, Harvey's death. The subtlety of the themes encourages the acting, which is excellent. Sean Penn does a very good Milk, and I was particularly impressed with Emile Hirsch's portrayal to the exact of a pretending-to-be-apathetic-but-really-fucking-insecure freashly-out gay man. James Franco is very good, as usual. Joseph Cross and Alison Pill are very well-chosen additions that compliment, if not steal, their scenes, and Denis O'Hare does well in his role as the very Conservative Sen. John Briggs.

By incorporating archival footage with the modern equivalent (that is, shooting with 35mm and smaller film), Milk manages to look old without feeling old. That idea of capturing a moment carries out through the entire film. Again, instead of elaborating, the movie quietly places a huge amount of history in front of the audience, and walks away without any reservations, requirements or expectations. By doing so, the film is quietly hopeful, not demanding and outwardly critical of its audience. There is no agenda for persuasion, rather, there's an obligation for education. The film makes you think about how regardless that the majority of the story takes place in the early to mid-70's, the arguments real characters like Anita Bryant used in their campaigns are still use today. The idea that times have changed is carefully examined, much like the necessary considerations of the gay lifestyle pre-Milk: the promiscuity, the dangerous implications of being gay, the secrecy, the brutal harassment. Without being a flaming pile of homoerotic bullshit, of course.

Then we get to the fact that it's beautifully shot. By merging the film formats together to create a collage of historical and modern footage, there comes the requirement to dress the sets accordingly. The colours are perfectly selected, the costumes are spot-on, the visual appeal is incredible. Much like the oversaturated tones of a disposable camera, the movie translates nicely onto the screen.

I know I sound like a bit of a stan already, but I was really impressed with how the film ended up. Gus Van Sant's last film, Paranoid Park, wasn't nearly as strong as this (although it's grown on me, the screenplay is still really, really bad). Of all the people to direct, and of all the subjects for a film, this was earsy to seriously do an injustice of. Introduced to me through another gay rights activist, Stephen Chbosky, Harvey Milk has been someone of interest because he was/is a champion of human rights. He was imperfect, and he understood the system to be, just as he understood his public and his closest friends to be as well. I would praise the same way of anyone who manages to understand there's much to be done in any aspect of society (for example, Nikki's post below), just the same as I praise the excellent piece of cinema that is Milk. A very, very good film.

Spider and the Flies.

2009-03-12T17:11:00.005-04:00

The fabulous Rhys Webb and Tom Furse from Spider and the Flies / The Horrors (whose second album, to be released later this year, I'm impatiently awaiting as we speak) have released a mix tape, which you can download for free online. I haven't listened to it yet, but coming from these chaps, it can't be anything short of amazing.

On a much more serious note: my heart goes out to all the victims of the German school shooting. A 17-year old boy shot 15 people, most of them 14-15-year old girls. I cannot begin to comprehend how and why people do things as unspeakably horrible as this. It seems that it's happening more and more, which deeply disturbs me. I couldn't stop crying when I first saw the report.

"You paint your face fluorescent yellow and you want a sip of my booze? Fuck off!"

2009-03-01T16:04:00.005-05:00

What's happened here then? I guess I need to pay a bit more attention to this place :)
Last night I watched one of the best horror movies I've seen in a long time. It was genuinely thrilling, which is rare amongst all the remakes that come out these days. I've been catching up on a lot of modern British horror, movies I haven't even heard of. I watched one named Severance the other day, it wasn't half bad. It had a bit of comedy in it though, as one of the lead roles was Danny Dyer of all people.
The movie I mean to talk about is called Eden Lake. It had quotes all over its cover about how it was the best horror movie in years, yet I hadn't heard of it before so I was intrigued to say the least.
The premise is that a young couple head to an abandoned quarry for a weekend getaway. It's soon to be turned into a housing development, so no one else is really around. Unfortunately, the company they do run into is a bunch of chavs. If you're not aware of this term, they're basically your run of the mill teenage lowlifes who stab each other for mobile phones. And wear tracksuits. Okay, that's a bit of a generalization. England has an actual epidemic of these sorts of kids and they don't seem to be changing anytime soon. Anyway, as you can imagine the plans the couple have are soon tossed when they cross paths.
The gang is portrayed perfectly, which is why it's so scary. Their mannerisms, speech and gang mentality is frighteningly real. Anyone could assume they're exaggerating a stereotype but unfortunately, that's not the case. At one point they steal the couple's car, and their only reaction to being blamed is repeating "Not us, MATE." in an unnervingly calm manner. In fact it's been a long time since I've seen that sort of villainous mischief.
Not that I'm saying any kid in a hooded jacket is capable of what happens in this movie, I just mean that the personalities are portrayed exceptionally well.
I do recommend this. Even for those of you who just like a bit of gore, there's plenty of that. Oddly enough, those scenes weren't the scariest part.

R.I.P.

2009-02-13T10:07:00.002-05:00

Estelle Bennett, of the Ronettes, died February 11, at age 67. The cause of death is still unknown. The Ronettes were such an amazing group of women who made some of my favourite music. It's really upsetting to think she's no longer with us. My thoughts go out to her family.

when you grow old your heart dies

2009-02-13T00:18:00.002-05:00

yes this a rant
Does anyone here actually enjoy school, or did they when they were enrolled cause honestly how the hell am i supposed to enjoy my education when i`ve got an honest total of 10 hours sleep since saturday. I been getting 3-4 hours of sleep a night if im lucky because im so swamped with assignements and then im stuck at school for 8-10 hours. christ i fucking hate school.
next week are exams and who the hell gives an exam on a saturday in the middle of the day, tnhe system is purposely trying to screw me over, im sure of it.
and i thought my first year of university was supposed to be bitchin`what a fucking sham, i want my money back!

"It's gonna be legend-... wait for it... and I hope you're not lactose intolerant because the second half of that word is DAIRY!"

2009-02-06T10:51:00.004-05:00

Layout change! Well, not really. Inverted, innit.
Which do you guys like better?

"You're, like, my only friend Lindsay! And you're a total loser!"

2009-02-04T20:54:00.007-05:00

NEW SINGLE BY THE LONELY ISLAND

I look forward to this being overquoted/~~ruined~~ by everyone (including me!)

In similar, immature comedy: College Humor is becoming a TV SHOW. It is possible that you already recognize the cast/staff from my favourite lip sync video ever, Flagpole Sitta. I can't help but be a bit excited.

Why the fuck is shane walking in there? What is he is doing there?

2009-02-04T15:07:00.002-05:00

Bonnaroo 2009's Lineup is as follows:

* Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
* Phish (2 shows)
* Beastie Boys
* Nine Inch Nails
* David Byrne
* Wilco
* Al Green
* Snoop Dogg
* Elvis Costello Solo
* Erykah Badu
* Paul Oakenfold
* Ben Harper and Relentless7
* The Mars Volta
* TV on the Radio
* Yeah Yeah Yeahs
* Gov't Mule
* Andrew Bird
* Band of Horses
* Merle Haggard
* MGMT
* moe.
* The Decemberists
* Girl Talk
* Bon Iver
* Bela Fleck & Toumani Diabate
* Rodrigo y Gabriela
* Galactic
* The Del McCoury band
* of Montreal
* Allen Toussaint
* Coheed & Cambria
* Booker T & the DBTs
* David Grisman Quintet
* Lucinda Williams
* Animal Collective
* Gomez
* Neko Case
* Down
* Jenny Lewis
* Santogold
* Robert Earl Keen
* Citizen Cope
* Femi Kuti and the Positive Force
* The Ting Tings
* Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3
* Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
* Kaki King
* Grizzly Bear
* King Sunny Ade
* Okkervil River
* St. Vincent
* Zac Brown Band
* Raphael Saadiq
* Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
* Crystal Castles
* Tift Merritt
* Brett Dennen
* Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue
* Toubab Krewe
* People Under The Stairs
* Alejandro Escovedo
* Vieux Farka Toure
* Elvis Perkins in Dearland
* Cherryholmes
* Yeasayer
* Todd Snider
* Chairlift
* Portugal. The Man.
* The SteelDrivers
* Midnite
* The Knux
* The Low Anthem
* Delta Spirit
* A.A. Bondy
* The Lovell Sisters
* Alberta Cross
* More TBA

I'm not sure if I like this more than I like Coachella. Then again, AL GREEN is playing. On the other hand, the order of some of these acts...

Andrae, you really embarrassed me at Red Lobster last night.

2009-01-30T12:21:00.006-05:00

Speaking of Ariel Pink...

Why Billy Talent is on there is a bit beyond me. On the other hand: My Bloody Valentine, Throbbing Gristle, The Horrors, Morrissey, Anthony & The Johnsons, Franz Ferdinand, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band (note: it's nice to see the entire band billed), Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Public Enemy, M. Ward, Felix da Housecat etc. would make for a pretty good festival.

Oh Judy, no more lesbian jam.

2009-01-24T12:43:00.005-05:00

Appreciation Post:

I have a hard time figuring out where exactly to place him in terms of genre, because 1) genres tend to be so bastardized these days, not to mention there's constant mucking about what actually is a genre (ex: is shoegaze a created-by-media label to describe experimental post-rock? MAYBE! is indie a stupid term? MAYBE!) and 2) his music draws from so many different genres that it's rather capricious to do so; then I get to questioning whether or not that's of actual importance. The point remains that I really like Ariel Pink, and all the transparent history about him. I much prefer his music to that of, oh, Animal Collective (and the mandatory critics' circle-jerk that comes with any song they make, fap fap fap) or Black Mountain - but those are comparisons that rely on one aspect of his sound. Combining elements of various genres well (I emphasize 'well') is a difficult feat, something that Ariel Pink manages to do consistently, yet in a way that doesn't get boring. The only problem I find with his music is that it has a time and a place, sort of like The Doors (but that's another story).

Right at home in a Larry Clark film, or momentarily heard in a Dogme 95 feature, or late at night. Initially harder to get into, but once you hear the right song, you understand why Ariel Pink is worthy of a post on The Radio Says...

R.I.P HEATH LEDGER

2009-01-22T15:03:00.002-05:00

i still can't believe it's been a year, much less that it's even real. He just had such a wide range of amazingness that blew peoples minds and it's unfortunate what had happened, and i know for a fact i will never forget that moment and day when i first read the news, it's bascically scarred me for life but his performances will always be what i remember most.

I'm so happy and proud that he was rightfully nominated for supporting actor for this years oscars and it would bring me great joy if he and Robert tied for the win but either one is fine with me.

Heath marathon tonight!

Hey, I tried to teach you how to handle comics in the sixth grade, but oh no. You wanted to play little league instead.

2009-01-19T18:06:00.002-05:00

So I'm going to continue the abundance of video posts and make one in tribute to the original BAMF: Kwai Chang Caine AKA David Carradine. Most of you would know him as Bill in well, Kill Bill.

One of my friends LOVES Carradine, and another used to bring up this show all of the time. I never paid much attention to it until last year when it entered a morning television slot. The original series from the 70's is a classic, but Kung Fu: The Legend Continues mixes it all with some 90's cheesy goodness.

"I am Caine... I will help you."

And here he is effortly dodging bullets because he's so badass.

Chuck Norris sucks, and so do any jokes that are related to him. It's all about the CAINE.

I bet she thinks Iron Maiden is something you make grilled cheese on.

2009-01-18T23:42:00.001-05:00

For about ten seconds it makes no sense, and then it just gets hilarious. Or maybe that's only me...

"Hey! A gun!... Are you Fern?"

2009-01-13T20:56:00.006-05:00

ACTION 52!

"Might as well fucking jump into the Elton John abyss, Beethoven you FUCK."
This is part 2. See part 1 here and part 3 here.

the world will look up and shout 'save us!' and i'll whisper....no

2009-01-11T13:14:00.002-05:00

i know im raping this page, sorry, but i cannot contain myself and instead of contiously annoying my family with all this talk why not bring it to the interwebs

2009 is going to be an amazing year in films for my fellow geeks and i, so many great flicks coming out i can barely sit here in front of the screen without squealing with joy
in no particular order of excitement

Fanboys
6 February 2009

i've been waiting for this for forever now and if they push it back one more time im going to explode i need my star wars adventure pronto and to see Rogen as a Trekkie

Terminator: Salvation
22 May 2009

one name: Christian Bale.........that is all, oh and i miss Edward Furlong

X-Men Origins : Wolverine
1 May 2009

they're keeping stills from this one tightly locked up so all you can find are promos and screencaps =(

FINALLY they decide to include Gambit in a film, jesus yes! I think its well cool that Hugh Jackman has carried on with the series, i couldnt bare seeing someone else play Wolverine [who is canadian btw ;)], this better be better than that last excuse for a 3rd installement.

The Watchmen
6 March 2009

OH MY GOD! if THIS keeps getting pushed back im going to have to 'Sylar kill' someone, Fox cannot keep depriving us of this beautiful piece of artwork, im already mentally preparing for buying tickets months ahead and standing in line for hours opening night

Star Trek
8 May 2009

am i ready for my love, Zachary Quinto to star rocket to fame after this comes out? not entirely no, but if i get to blow an entire paycheck on seeing this and his face on the silver screen over and over and over again, i would say it's a pretty fair trade. This is another film thats getting my entire day of waiting in line opening night because words cannot descrice how excited i am for this. SPOCK!

jimmy really really likes 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID BOWIE!!!

2009-01-08T22:40:00.003-05:00

this man is seriously my daily inspiration and the love of my life, and goodness he doesnt look a day over 23 :)
can you believe he's 62?! i can't

not my favorite song but my favorite video of all time, i am making myself a ground control shirt

p.s did anyone notice the singer of the video i last post was ryan gosling...most people dont at first glance just thought id mention.

I broke my hand on a pineapple, didn't even care

2009-01-05T22:07:00.003-05:00

Back in high school, it was sort of a custom to get together with certain people, go to the local video shop (which was always lacking in actual blockbusters) and pick the cheesiest horror movie we could, purely based on cover alone.
Although movie marathons with friends is obviously a common past time, these times always stick out in my mind. The videos, although obviously lacking in funding, acting ability or a basic sense of camera direction, usually ended up being good! Hardly ever scary, though. The best part of this routine we had were the jokes that came out of it.

Anyway, I thought I'd dig up what were some golden finds over the years.

Die Hard Dracula
My cousin and I found this in a box set, actually. It was one of those 5for1 things you find in a bargain bin. It looked like it was going to be a black and white movie, but we were wrong. By the way it looks, you would assume it were from the late 70s/early 80s- also wrong. This green screen gem came from 1998! There isn't even a trailer for it. Thankfully, the only scene I did find online just happens to be the most ridiculous.

Grandmother's House
While I was in Espanola, my friend Kayla and I picked this up purely do to its tagline. It actually said ON the box something along the lines of "Secrets! Murder! INCEST!" Which is always promising. Apparently, only the german trailer is online, but that makes it even better!

Chopping Mall
Picked up purely due to the clever title, obviously. A bunch of horny teenagers break into the mall for an all night party, end up getting in the way of the new security guards (these guards being laser shooting robots)

The Baby
Kayla and I found this here in town. The front cover is a man with his hands around cradle bars, which would lead you to believe he's looking IN the crib. Not so, he's looking OUT. This man is... THE BABY. Certainly not a gory movie in the least, just flipping weird.

Sleepaway Camp
This is probably the most popular movie on this list. It's also sort of what started the get togethers. I first saw this at a birthday party in grade nine. When it got to the last scene, all of the girls in the room (myself included) freaked out so badly. Unfortunately, this was one of those classic times where the VCR jammed and the still image would NOT get off the screen. It took one of my friends jumping up and turning off the television set just to calm the room down. Eventually I watched it again with my cousin, where it turned into a big joke between us. After that it became a staple amongst some other friends of mine.

ALSO, I thought I would mention that I have started a solo blog which can be found here.

you better run!

2009-01-04T22:45:00.002-05:00

In The Room Where You Sleep by Dead Man's Bones

this song has fucking blown my entire brain cells to pieces im surprised im able to type, now i dont want to hype it up but it's really really good, it's been on repeat ever since ive heard it

p.s i really like the new header up there, just thought i'd mention it here :)

Some of them are Davids but most of them are Daves. They all have their own hands but they come from different moms.

2009-01-03T13:42:00.008-05:00

The new Doctor Who has been announced (finally), Matt Smith.
I can't say I hate the decision. I wasn't fond of David Tennant when he first came in, because Christopher Eccleston was just so good at it. That changed pretty quickly, because Tennant is probably one of my favourite Doctors now.
The only disappointment is that they skipped over who is obviously the best candidate. David Mitchell, of Peep Show/That Mitchell and Webb Look/every panel show ever. Here's a Doctor Who nerd's list of reasons (that nerd being me):
- He's a self proclaimed Doctor Who buff, there's absolutely no way he would turn the role to shit.
- He's a comedian, and while it's geared more towards being a sci-fi drama, there's always been room for punchlines.
- He's young enough (and relevant enough) to adhere to younger viewers
- He's old enough (and certainly acts much older at times) to adhere to older viewers
- His awkward ways would be a total throwback to the quirkiness of Doctors like Tom Baker
- While Tennant was considered a dreamboat, Doctor wise, Mitchell still has that cute charm about him that would probably draw his own fangirl base. Not that this is an important point, but it comes with the territory.

Still, of all the candidates that could have been I suppose it's not the worst. I would have been interested in seeing Patterson Joseph in the role, though.

Edited note: I totally wrote the title of this post (in relation to this video) without realizing the direct relation to the content of it until after I had published.

I go three, maybe four times a year to get tested for sexually transmitted infections and most of the time I don't even need to.

2008-12-31T09:36:00.002-05:00

As it is December 31st, I can now do the end-of-the-year list that, in a way, I have been dreading. Is it worth mentioning that MGMT have been on every list that I've read so far? Except for maybe, like, two?

AND NOW, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

THE TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2008

Final Fantasy - Spectrum, 14th Century

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree

WHY? - Alopecia

Scary Mansion - Every Joke Is Half The Truth

$100 - Forest of Tears

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill

Passion Pit - Chunk of Change

Various Artists - Stereogum Presents... Enjoyed: A Tribute To Björk's Post

QUOTE OF THE YEAR: "Why so serious?"

BEST FALL: Joe Jonas at the AMA's

...That's all I have at the moment. In a way, 2008 was a bit disappointing. The remix ruled, the covers were generally lacklustre (ahem, Katy Perry) and newsflash: vinyl is coming back. Here's hoping 2009 brings some good changes. Interpret that as you will.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

There's nothing here I want, NOTHING.

2008-12-25T10:42:00.003-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I think I've got better things to do than to talk to friends and flirt with people, thank you.

2008-12-24T20:03:00.002-05:00

This is really only a post to whore out Julia's new project (some of you may know her as the other half of the Lusty Piles, also State Bird Of Idaho, also president of the David Carradine fanclub, also the queen of EOA)

THE LATE MISS MARY KINGSLEY

Do have a listen.

You there, computer man! Fix my pants!

2008-12-21T20:17:00.004-05:00

Maybe my sense of humour is ridiculous, but nothing has made me laugh so hard as this in quite a long time. J-OI-SSSSEEEEEY BOYS, DICK.

"And like, every famous celebrity sat on that couch. And like, Tim Deegan took a picture of me sitting on it."

2008-12-17T19:57:00.002-05:00

There are many reasons why I like this commercial from Japan:

Win and awesone and Wes Anderson and France Gall and etc....

Gasmark egg on your face.

2008-12-12T13:13:00.003-05:00

Time for yet more lists! This week's NME features a list of their album and tracks top 50. It's been compiled by the NME writers, who all made a list of their 20 favourite albums / tracks. & Here it is:

TOP ALBUMS

50 Heartbreak - Lies
49 Bloc Party - Intimacy
48 Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
47 The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
46 Blood Red Shoes - Box Of Secrets
45 Black Keys - The Attack & Release
44 Lykke Li - Youth Novels
43 Black Kids - Partie Traumatic
42 School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms
41 These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid
40 The Kills - Midnight Boom
39 Chairlift - Does You Inspire You
38 Beck - Modern Guilt
37 Primal Scream - Beautiful Future
36 Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
35 Cass Mccombs - Dropping The Writ
34 Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
33 Deerhunter - Microcastle / Weird Era Cont.
32 Mogwai - The Hawk Is howling
31 Coldplay - Viva La Vida
30 Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
29 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
28 British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
27 Hercules And Love Affair - Hercules And Love Affair
26 Verve - The Forth
25 Portishead - Third
24 Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
23 Scarlett Johansson - Anywhere I Lay My Head
22 Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
21 Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
20 Spiritualized - Songs in A and E
19 Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life
18 Late Of The Pier - Fantasy Black Channel
17 Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
16 Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke
15 Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of Understatement
14 Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim
13 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
12 Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
11 Neon Neon - Stainless Style
10 Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
09 Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night
08 Mystery Jets - Twenty One
07 Santogold - Santogold
06 Metronomy - Nights Out
05 Foals - Antidotes
04 Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
03 Glasvegas - Glasvegas
02 TV On The Radio - Dear Science
01 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

TOP TRACKS

1. MGMT, Kids
2. Glasvegas, Geraldine
3. Mystery Jets, Two Doors Down
4. MGMT, Time To Pretend
5. MGMT, Electric Feel
6. Metronomy, Heartbreaker
7. Friendly Fires, Paris
8. MIA, Paper Planes
9. Kings Of Leon, Sex On Fire
10. Vampire Weekend, A-Punk
11. The Verve, Love Is Noise
12. Hot Chip, Ready For The Floor
13. Elbow, One Day Like This
14. Florence + The Machine, Kiss With A Fist
15. Ladyhawke, Paris Is Burning
16. Oasis, The Shock Of The Lightning
17. Spiritualized, Soul On Fire
18. Hercules And Love Affair, Blind
19. Oasis, I'm Outta Time
20. Chairlift, Bruises
21. TV On The Radio, Golden Age
22. The Last Shadow Puppets, Standing Next To Me
23. Fucked Up, Year Of The Pig
24. Santogold, LES Artistes
25. Mystery Jets, Young Love
26. Amazing Baby, Head Dress
27. The Last Shadow Puppets, The Age Of The Understatement
28. Elbow, Grounds For Divorce
29. DJ Mujava, Township Funk
30. Florence + The Machine, Dog Days Are Over
31. Laura Marling, Ghosts
32. Black Kids, I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
33. Vampire Weekend, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
34. Late Of The Pier, Space And The Woods
35. Ladyhawke, Back Of The Van
36. Little Boots, Stuck On Repeat
37. Wiley, Wearing My Rolex
38. Sam Sparro Black And Gold
39. Vampire Weekend, Oxford Comma
40. Heartbreak, We're Back
41. Dizzee Rascal, Dance Wiv Me
42. Late Of The Pier, Focker
43. Glasvegas, It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry
44. Crystal Castles, Courtship Dating
45. Crystal Castles Vs Health, Crimewave
46. Mogawi, Batcat
47. Portishead, Machine Gun
48. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
49. Glasvegas, Flowers & Football Tops
50. Ida Maria, Oh My God

As usual, I don't agree with it, but at least it's not as ridiculous as their cool list.

my name is Jorma mother fucka, the sensitive one

2008-12-10T01:12:00.002-05:00

Akiva, Jorma and Andy have succesfully taken over my life
their amazingness makes me jizz in my pants, seriously

I can't come up, I'm wearing my good clogs

2008-12-09T07:57:00.005-05:00

Third post in a row? Mental. BUT THIS IS THE GREATEST NEWS EVER FOR ME. I CAN'T EVEN EXPLAIN IT.

LOOK, THAT'S ACTUAL GRAHAM AND ACTUAL DAMON, TOGETHER.
NO JOKES THIS TIME. ACTUAL TOUR DATES AND EVERYTHING.
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG.

Thus confirms my move to London as the best timing EVER.

He thinks I lack social skills, JUST because I glued some kid to the wall.

2008-12-08T20:49:00.004-05:00

Everyone should enjoy this song as much as I do!

Bababababaaaa

And I don't know why, but the bassist reminds me of Mark Ronson. Perhaps the attire? Although I do realize they're all wearing the same thing.

"Where did you get this?" "I stole it." "Mmm, stolen choccy." "The secret ingredient is crime."

2008-12-07T16:42:00.005-05:00

I have a confession to make.

After a solid year or so of refusing to jump on the Twilight wagon- I still haven't read the books (and don't really plan to) and having it thrown in my face everywhere I went became quite the annoyance. I do love Robert Pattinson though, so I let my curiosity get the best of me and watched it last night. Mind you, I didn't pay money to do so...
Anyway. Maybe it's the fact that I went in with absolutely no expectations, but I absolutely loved it. I think what a lot of people's disappointment comes from is that they're expecting a vampire movie. It's hardly about that at all, it's a teen romance flick through and through. It just happens to involve vampires too. What I think all these obsessed girls love the most (other than Edward Cullen- which I COMPLETELY get now) is the meaning behind it. Holding back from feeding on his blood lust is just one big gigantic metaphor for sex. In fact it's sort of relieving that for once, a teen movie didn't rely on heavy make out scenes, those were far and few between. As I said though, I completely see why there's such a pandemonium behind Edward as a character- he's actually perfect. Charming, romantic, protective and beyond gorgeous. Robert pulled it off, beautifully.

I like lots of cheesy movies, I don't know why I'm so surprised by this.
And this is the third(?) post about this on our blog. Yikes.

"They have stingers, but we have ovens!"

2008-12-06T19:31:00.004-05:00

GRAMMY NODS! My predictions are bolded (in the most focused-on categories).

Record of the Year

Chasing Pavements, Adele
Viva La Vida, Coldplay
Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis
Paper Planes, M.I.A.
Please Read The Letter, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Album of the Year (undecided)

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay
The Carter III, Lil' Wayne
Year of the Gentleman, Ne-Yo
Raising Sand, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
In Rainbows, Radiohead

Song of the Year (By Performer) (undecided)

American Boy, Estelle ft. Kanye West
Chasing Pavements, Adele
I'm Yours, Jason Mraz*
Love Song, Sara Bareilles
Viva La Vida, Coldplay

Best New Artist

Adele
Duffy
Jonas Brothers**
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

Chasing Pavements, Adele
Love Song, Sara Bareilles
Mercy, Duffy
Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis
I Kissed A Girl, Katy Perry
So What?, P!nk

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance (undecided)

~~Sweet Home Alabama~~ All Summer Long, ~~Lynyrd Skynyrd~~ Kid Rock
Say, John Mayer
That Was Me, Paul McCartney
I'm Yours, Jason Mraz
Closer, Ne-Yo
Wichita Lineman, James Taylor

Best Pop Performance By A Duo/Group With Vocals (undecided)

Viva La Vida, Coldplay
Waiting In The Weeds, Eagles
Going On, Gnarls Barkley
Won't Go Home Without You, Maroon 5
Apologize, OneRepublic

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals (undecided)

Lesson Learned, Alicia Keys & John Mayer
4 Minutes, Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland
Rich Woman, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
If I Never See Your Face Again, Rihanna & Maroon 5
No Air, Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown

Best Pop Vocal Album (undecided)

Detours, Sheryl Crow
Rockferry, Duffy
Long Road Out of Eden, Eagles
Spirit, Leona Lewis
Covers, James Taylor

Best Dance Recording (undecided)

Harder Better Faster Stronger, Daft Punk
Ready For The Floor, Hot Chip
Just Dance, Lady Gaga ft. Colby O'Donis
Give It 2 Me, Madonna
Disturbia, Rihanna
Black & Gold, Sam Sparro***

Best Electronic/Dance Album

New York City, Brazilian Girls
X, Kylie Minogue
Alive 2007, Daft Punk
Last Night, Moby
Bring Ya To The Brink, Cyndi Lauper
Robyn, Robyn

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance (undecided)

Gravity, John Mayer
I Saw Her Standing There, Paul McCartney
Girls In Their Summer Clothes, Bruce Springsteen
Rise, Eddie Vedder
No Hidden Path, Neil Young

Best Rock Performance With Vocals By A Duo/Group (undecided)

Rock 'n Roll Train, AC/DC
Violet Hill, Coldplay
Long Road Out of Eden, Eagles
Sex On Fire, Kings of Leon
House of Cards, Radiohead

Best Hard Rock Performance

Inside The Fire, Disturbed
Visions, Judas Priest
Wax Simulacra, The Mars Volta
Saints of Los Angeles, Mötley Crüe
Lords of Salem, Rob Zombie

Best Metal Performance (undecided)

Heroes of Our Time, DragonForce***
Nostradamus, Judas Priest
My Apocalypse, Metallica
Under My Thumb, Ministry
Psychosocial, Slipknot

Best Rock Song (By Performer) (undecided)

Girls In Their Summer Clothes, Bruce Springsteen
House of Cards, Radiohead
I Will Possess Your Heart, Death Cab For Cutie
Sex On Fire, Kings of Leon
Violet Hill, Coldplay

Best Rock Album

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay
Rock 'n Roll Jesus, Kid Rock
Only By The Night, Kings of Leon
Death Magnetic, Metallica
Consolers of the Lonely, The Raconteurs

Best Alternative Music Album (note: worst category name) (undecided)

Modern Guilt, Beck
Narrow Stairs, Death Cab For Cutie
The Odd Couple, Gnarls Barkley
Evil Urges, My Morning Jacket
In Rainbows, Radohead

Best Rap Song (By Performer(s)) (undecided)

Lollipop, Lil' Wayne ft. Static Major
Low, Flo Rida ft. T-Pain
Sexual Eruption, Snoop Dogg
Superstar, Lupe Fiasco ft. Matthew Santos
Swagga Like Us, Jay-Z & T.I. ft. Kanye West & Lil Wayne

ETCETERA.

* In terms of 'I'm Yours' finally being released as a single and not passed around as a bootleg, the polished, made-for-MTV version sucks. Jason Mraz wasn't that bad before everyone and their friend thought the song accompanied a blunt and a resounding "Chiiiiiilllll".

** The Grammy will lose all credibility if they win. Any they have left, that is. Notice how Coldplay is in most of my predictions - I'm being realistic. Radiohead was celebrated, but Viva La Vida was a critic's wetdream. The Eagles are historically successful, Bruce Springsteen is still relevant, and Duffy is Dusty Springfield reincarnated. Nothing much can be said about all that.

*** It would be fantastic if these artists won. DragonForce winning a Grammy? Sam Sparro walking onstage for his acceptance speech? I'd actually pay attention if these things happened.

Two posts in a row, I know.

good-bye, stranger

2008-12-03T17:37:00.003-05:00

When I went to the Ottawa Folk Festival, I had the chance to see Odetta perform some of her favourite songs. As I mentioned in the review I posted here, she held the audience. This 77-year-old woman with a gravelly voice, wrapped in blankets and wheeled onstage held a crowd for close to an hour. I don't know what else to say about it, besides the obvious: it was a performance to remember.

She passed away today.

The question remains, I suppose: what will we do when the greats are all gone?

P.S. It's a day later and I'm still thinking about this. Earlier this year some asshole sent me a Facebook message that Win Butler of The Arcade Fire passed away, which turned out to be a really sick joke; only now, someone actually passed on. I didn't expect to be this affected.

is it moraly wrong that i hate christmas music

2008-12-02T00:09:00.002-05:00

So the countdown to christmas 2008 has begun.

For some reason im not as excited as i used to be, i could blame that on getting older but im 18 so i dont think that counts, but maybe it's because i have no idea what i want really... (besides Season 1+2 of Heroes *sigh* and to go to the next ComicCon *mega sigh*)

I do remember all the gifts i wanted though through the years and never got, so the point of this post is to find out what was the ONE gift you wanted sooooo bad and your parents never got you.

mine was :

i will never forgive either of my parents for depriving me of this wonderful machine

p.s i dont hate all christmas music, i like the classics but after working at a store last year that started playing christmas music covers from awful artists from the 1st of November till the 1st of January, makes you resent the entire concept.

watch Heathers, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Reality Bites, The Crucible etc... you will know

2008-11-27T00:59:00.002-05:00

I am madly in love with Winona Ryder, always have been, always will be and there's nothing anyone can bring up to me that will change my mind, YES I KNOW SHE STOLE SOME SHIT, who cares i don't, so what is up with Rolling Stones' "Hot List", alright so i agree with a lot of things on it expect this one appalling category

"Hot New Winona Ryders Olivia Thirlby, Emma Stone, Hannah Bailey, Ellen Page, Kat Dennings"

"Before Johnny Depp famously had a tattoo artist delete the "na" from his biceps, he had it right: "Winona Forever." Everywhere we look these days, there's another young brunette playing an ultrasarcastic, liberal-minded, sensitive slacker — the type of grunge Hepburn that Winona Ryder once made famous. Just watch Olivia Thirlby in The Wackness, Emma Stone in The Rocker, Hannah Bailey in American Teen, Ellen Page in Juno, Kat Dennings in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist — if you squint through Nick and Norah, you might mistake Dennings for Ryder herself. Both are five-foot-four-inch Jewish girls whose curvy top halves upend their bottom halves, and both, curiously, were home-schooled. Why the Winona-vitalization? Maybe it's because America is starting to resemble the place it was when Winona schlepped a greasy Dave Pirner to the Oscars: The economy blows, grads can't find jobs, even flannel is back. Meanwhile Ryder, after a brief detour through shoplifting ignominy, is sticking to the future. She'll be in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek prequel, playing Spock's mom. Shit, we're old. MELISSA MAERZ"

i like all these chicks ( i haven't seen American Teen yet so i haven't seen Hannah Bailey in a film yet) but no one can be the "new" Winona, why can't people be their own people and not the new this or that, besides watch any of Winona's films (not 'The 10' because that was horrible and im putting all the blame on Jessica Alba) and you'll see she's serious magic to the screen and im not just saying that because i like her. Obviously other people agree or else this category wouldn't exist, but i still think its bollocks!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

2008-11-24T19:28:00.002-05:00

End-of-the-year blogs have already been popping up already. Must be almost December...

No.

2008-11-24T16:29:00.004-05:00

Two posts in a row, but the last page of entries gave me the idea to compile a list of all the bands / singers I hate most. Not a very constructive idea, but I'm going to do it anyway, 'cause it's fun to vent. So here we go, feel free to add your own:

Anouk: for those of you who don't know, she's a Dutch singer, and on top of making really crap songs, she's also incredibly arrogant and all-round annoying.

Dirty Pretty Things: mainly because they just did a gig here and they're breaking up and nobody seems to be able to shut the hell up about them already. Plus, they're shit. And Carl Barât is a twat. Fact.

Oasis: their music is really, really bad. What's makes it so much worse it that everyone I know worships the ground they walk on.

Muse

U2

Silverstein: I used to like them, but listening to them now, I realize they'd drive anyone insane enough to cut their ears off.

Kings of Leon

Manic Street Preachers

The Beatles: one word: overrated.

And that's about all I can think of at the moment.

Infinity's not as fast as me.

2008-11-22T17:25:00.002-05:00

Once in a while I have these phases where I rediscover a band I used to love, but that kind of got pushed to the background. I'm having one of those right now and the band in question is These New Puritans. When I first discovered them, long before they released their debut album, I was awestruck, amazed, enthusiastic. They sounded so new and fresh. They had elements of other bands I loved (e.g. The Horrors, My Bloody Valentine, Aphex Twin), but they still managed to be completely unique and innovative. Also, their lyrics are perfect. Every line is a quote. I'll be listen to a song and go: this line is incredible, it's earth-shattering, mind-blowing poetic genius. I realize I'm using a whole lot of superlatives and adjectives here, but I can't help it, they have that effect on me. So, if you don't love them already: go and have a listen. In fact, no matter what the circumstances are: listen to them. I dare you to not fall in love.

"Just because you live up north doesn't mean you can't be on the telly." "Yes it does!"

2008-11-22T16:47:00.005-05:00

Part 2. EVEN MORE. My dog (appropriately named Alaska) basically had to swim through the snow to do his morning business.

beyond overrated

2008-11-21T23:17:00.002-05:00

Alright so i finished Twilight a few days ago and to start this post off i must say: kids these days really don't know what a good novel is.
I'm a book worm so I've definitely read books that are similar to each other but i was hoping Twilight was going to be this amazing original thing, because that's what everyone made it out to be, and it wasn't in the slightest.
I have the Vampire Diaries series and as i was reading Twilight i kept thinking "what the hell haven't i already read something like this?!?!", naturally i checked which one was written first and the 1st book out of the Vampire Diaries series was written in 1999.
Now i don't want to completely bash the book because it wasn't bad, it was quite entertaining especially the last chapters after the baseball game.
But i was still disappointed, and Edward wasn't THAT charming like, I've followed the stories of much more charming boys in other novels christ i think Holden Caulfield (Catcher In The Rye) was even more charming than he was, and Bella was quite pathetic at times, I'm sorry i know he's a vampire and very "dazzling" and all but come on.
Whatever im still going to see it tomorrow because i like Kristen Stewart other than that i'm rating the book a 3 and a half only because it was entertaining most of the time.

i did think i had ringworm once but it turned out to be a cigarette burn

2008-11-21T21:52:00.004-05:00

My van is playing Where's Waldo.
Hello, winter. So nice to see you again.*

*I'll regret saying this in about a week, when the novelty wears off. And I'm tired of slipping all over the pavement. And the fact that you sort of become a hermit due to not wanting to go anywhere in such bad weather. And when sledding gets boring.
That's a lie, sledding NEVER gets boring.

I've got a hundred hours, but what did you do last weekend?

2008-11-21T16:37:00.002-05:00

In regards to Nikki's post about Coldplay, I think this video is proof that their existence post-Parachutes is invalid:

Young@Heart is one of the most intruiging films I have seen in the past while. I've been meaning to post about it for a bit, but I kept forgetting. Anyway, elderly folks singing Sonic Youth and James Brown is a beautiful concept on its own, just as imagination. The execution, however, is brilliant and poignant.

hippie love

2008-11-19T13:01:00.002-05:00

i tried to avoid it for some time but i've got the fucking bug

i have to admit they're good

it's just like me to hop on the last train

i think if they would have come out when i was in the 7th grade i would have been an enourmous fan when i first listened to them months ago

god i was such a hippie at 12-13 years old, if i look back on some of those pants i wore *shudders*

dont get me wrong though i still love hippies

Finally.

2008-11-19T12:12:00.003-05:00

www.nme.com/news/coldplay/41153

Chris Martin: 'Coldplay will split up next year'

Frontman says the band will call it a day before they get old

Coldplay's Chris Martin has suggested that he plans to split up the band at the end of 2009.

The frontman told the Daily Express that his decision was based on his view that bands should call it a day before they get too old – saying he wanted to go out with a blast by keeping as busy as possible until 2009 ends.

"I'm 31 now and I don't think that bands should keep going past 33," he said. "So, we're trying to pack in as much as possible. Up until the end of next year, we'll just go for it in every sense.

"I don't believe in time off. We've still got most of our hair, we can still fit into our musical trousers and we've got to make the most of that."

Yes. Best news ever. There are certainly more annoying bands out there, but one lousy, irritating band less is a good start.

Girrafes aren't fat, and you spelt girrafe wrong anyway.

2008-11-17T13:58:00.002-05:00

Having been sick for the past few weeks and stuck to the couch for most of the day, I have had a lot of time to think. Nothing productive, mind you, until I came across this a few days back:

Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All-Time

100 Mary J. Blige
99 Steven Tyler
98 Stevie Nicks
97 Joe Cocker
96 B.B. King
95 Patti LaBelle
94 Karen Carpenter
93 Annie Lennox
92 Morrissey
91 Levon Helm
90 The Everly Brothers
89 Solomon Burke
88 Willie Nelson
87 Don Henley
86 Art Garfunkel
85 Sam Moore
84 Darlene Love
83 Patti Smith
82 Tom Waits (should've been higher, in my opinion)
81 John Lee Hooker
80 Frankie Valli
79 Mariah Carey
78 Sly Stone
77 Merle Haggard
76 Steve Perry
75 Iggy Pop
74 James Taylor
73 Dolly Parton
72 John Fogerty
71 Toots Hibbert
70 Gregg Allman
69 Ronnie Spector
68 Wilson Pickett
67 Jerry Lee Lewis
66 Thom Yorke
65 David Ruffin
64 Axl Rose
63 Dion
62 Lou Reed
61 Roger Daltrey
60 Björk
59 Rod Stewart
58 Christina Aguilera
57 Eric Bourdon
56 Mavis Staples
55 Paul Rodgers
54 Luther Vandross
53 Muddy Waters
52 Brian Wilson
51 Gladys Knight
50 Bonnie Raitt
49 Donny Hathaway
48 Buddy Holly
47 Jim Morrison
46 Patsy Cline
45 Kurt Cobain
44 Bobby "Blue" Bland
43 George Jones
42 Joni Mitchell
41 Chuck Berry
40 Curtis Mayfield
39 Jeff Buckley
38 Elton John
37 Neil Young
36 Bruce Springsteen
35 Dusty Sprinfield
34 Whitney Houston
33 Steve Winwood
32 ~~Bono~~
31 Howlin' Wolf
30 Prince
29 Nina Simone
28 Janis Joplin
27 Hank Williams Sr.
26 Jackie Wilson
25 Michael Jackson
24 Van Morrison
23 David Bowie
22 Etta James
21 Johnny Cash
20 Smokey Robinson
19 Bob Marley
18 Freddie Mercury
17 Tina Turner
16 Mick Jagger
15 Robert Plant
14 Al Green
13 Roy Orbison
12 Little Richard
11 Paul McCartney
10 James Brown
09 Stevie Wonder
08 Otis Redding
07 Bob Dylan
06 Marvin Gaye
05 John Lennon
04 Sam Cooke
03 Elvis Presley
02 Ray Charles
01 Aretha Franklin

Not bad, I suppose. But Bono should have never come close. Ever.

P.S. I apologize for posting about Nickelback. I just really, really, really loathe them and frankly, I am tired of piss-poor motherfuckers getting more record deals while talented artists can't make ends meet. Peace and peas.

And then I go and seal the deal by doing something wicked like this caaaartoooon

2008-11-14T22:20:00.002-05:00

Best song/film ever.

Try and fight me on it, you're not going to win!

Hey lady, I don't collect comics! Comics are for kids!

2008-11-12T17:36:00.003-05:00

WHY?

WHY WHY WHY!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

WHY DOES NICKELBACK HAVE ANOTHER ALBUM? WHY IS CHAD KROEGER STRAIGHTENING HIS HAIR? WHY IS THIS POST DECIDEDLY KANYE WEST IN HOW MANY CAPS THEIR ARE? COULD IT BE BECAUSE NICKELBACK RUIN ANY PROGRESSION MUSIC HAS MADE SINCE THEIR LAST ROUND OF FLAMMABLE PUTRIDITY?

LOOK AT THIS:

WHY? WAS AC/DC'S COVER ARTIST HAVING A HALF-OFF SALE? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, THE BESNARD FUCKING LAKES?

WASN'T THIS ENOUGH?:

WHY ARE THEY ON ROADRUNNER RECORDS? THAT IS TERRIBLE! ROADRUNNER IS FOR METAL, NOT SCREECHING DEE SNIDER DYES HIS HAIR TO!

^ NICKELBACK FAN?!!?

^ SURPRISED AT ACTUAL CONTINUATION OF CAREER? (maybe)

no, i dont hunt vampires....

2008-11-11T13:51:00.003-05:00

am i the only one who hasn't read the Twilight series?
i actually have the boxset, ive had it since x-mas, but just havent gotten around to it so it's still in the plastic.
the only reason why i had asked for them was because last year in class randomly a girl, i hadnt talked to in forever, came up to me and recommended them to me because supposedly *i would REALLY like them*, a lot of people in my grade must have thought i was some sort of goth vampire lover.
WRONG
im a zombie freak, but i guess i'll have to at least read the first one before november 21st, so i'm not pressured by every other person to read them, god i am sooo not looking forward to falling in love with Edward

La Croix, darling.

2008-11-06T15:22:00.004-05:00

In case no one had noticed (YEAH RIGHT), Barack Obama has been voted in as the next President of the United States of America. All I demand is that they remix that anthem of theirs.

Besides the point, I know, but here's hoping that he holds office with grace and dignity, strives to heal relations and is not, like too many before him, assassinated. I know that last bit is entirely dependant upon another party; but still.

P.S. John McCain gave one of the most professional and dignified concession speeches, I was very impressed. And when the boos came, he was quick to hold his hands up. Good show.

It's a rhetorical question, like "Can you feel the force?" or "Do they know it's Christmas?"

2008-11-04T23:21:00.008-05:00

The votes are in, the ballots are counted and the results are here.

And thus, I give you...

THE NME COOL LIST 2008

50. Jon McClure, Reverend & The Makers
49. Carl Barat
48. Lethal Bizzle
47. Eva Spence, Rolo Tomassi
46. Matt Bellamy, Muse
45. Brian Fallon, The Gaslight Anthem
44. Gruff Rhys, Neon Neon
43. Karen O, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
42. Tom Vain – S.C.U.M.
41. Shunda K, Yo Majesty
40. Robert Plant
39. Robbie Furze, The Big Pink
38. Jason Pierce, Spiritualized
37. Brandon Flowers, The Killers
36. Frank Carter, Gallows
35. Little Boots
34. DJ Mujava
33. Josh Homme, Queens Of The Stone Age
32. Lovefoxxx, CSS
31. Rivers Cuomo, Weezer
30. Will Roan, Amazing Baby
29. Scarlett Johansson
28. Miles Kane, The Rascals/The Last Shadow Puppets
27. Yannis Philippakis, Foals
26. Nick McCabe, The Verve
25. Peter Gabriel
24. Zack de la Rocha, Rage Against The Machine
23. Jamie Reynolds, Klaxons
22. Jay Reatard
21. Damon Albarn (personally, I think Graham is cooler)
20. Dev Hynes, Lightspeed Champion
19. Florence Welch, Florence & The Machine
18. Ed MacFarlane, Friendly Fires
17. Santogold
16. Ezra Koenig, Vampire Weekend
15. Johnny Marr
14. Dave Sitek, TV On The Radio
13. Lil Wayne
12. Guy Garvey, Elbow
11. Pink Eyes, Fucked Up
10. Caroline McKay, Glasvegas
9. Liam Gallagher, Oasis
8. M.I.A.
7. Caleb Followill, Kings Of Leon
6. Ladyhawke
5. Sam Dust, Late Of The Pier
4. Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys/The Last Shadow Puppets
3. Andrew VanWyngarden, MGMT
2. Jay-Z
1. Alice Glass, Crystal Castles

Ahem. Good for laughs, as usual. I can't help but be a bit puzzled by the absences of a certain Mr. Jarman or even a Mr. Fielding. Strange to see a Canadian atop everything.

Oh yes, and that other voting thing happened today. Well done.

Things I can't say to children #785

2008-10-30T17:51:00.004-04:00

I was thinking about this the other day and I found the perfect clip. This may as well go down as one of the best one-liners in history, I laugh so hard.

And I guess that Spinner.com posted their top-ten worst duets of all time, as follows:

1. Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis - Cruisin'
2. Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat - Opposites Attract
3. Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson - The Girl is Mine
4. Bono and Frank Sinatra - I’ve Got You Under My Skin
5. Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias - To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before
6. Mariah Carey and Busta Rhymes - I Know What You Want
7. Jennifer Warnes and Bill Medley - I’ve Had The Time of My Life
8. Hilary and Haylie Duff - Our Lips Are Sealed
9. Mick Jagger and David Bowie - Dancing in the Streets
10. Madonna and Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes

Shit son. Have they seen the videos for some of these? They are the real worst-of stuff here (except for #9, because Jagger and Bowie can - still - bust a move).

She's got her own council flat and three kids and she's only nine.

2008-10-27T20:13:00.003-04:00

Two posts in a row, because I had to share this with everyone.

I don't even want to offer commentary. That hair is amazing.

It took me one day to grow this moustache.

2008-10-26T18:57:00.003-04:00

So as everyone knows (or at least, the three other contributers to this blog do) I'm planning on moving to London in the near future. Well, actually I'll be visiting/staying with my family in the north for a bit first. Anyway, although I don't intend to actually use it, I've been paroozling the online gem "Gumtree" which, if you didn't already know, is one of those online community flier sort of things. Rentals, job listings, etc. I go through it sometimes just to see examples of how the rent is, what's available, that sort of thing. I can't believe some of the things I come across, though.
The entire process is a bit seedy. You find a lot of good bargains on there, and while some of them are genuine- you stumble across some pretty creepy things.
The "wanted" section is a bit ridiculous, but I understand its method. You post a bit about yourself and ask for someone to give you a place to live. I suppose that sort of thing is slightly important when you're looking for a tenant. Although you'd have to be very cautious about who actually puts forth any offers towards you.
A lot of the listings are aimed towards females. While most of them are just other girls, or perhaps a mixed house trying to balance the number of males vs ladies, some posts just make you want to cringe.
No word of a lie, I stumbled upon something quite disturbing yesterday. I wanted to take a screen cap or something but (thankfully) it has been removed. In short, it was basically asking for a live in girlfriend. But not just any dating ad. It said things such as "The flat costs 1000 pounds but don't worry I will pay for it all. There is only one bed." Which basically shows you where their motives lie. The sad thing is that I could see someone being so desperate that they would take up such an offer. Isn't this just a (not so) glamourized version of prostitution? Free rent in exchange for sleeping in a bed with a stranger? I honestly can't remember the last time I felt so repulsed. I've seen other listings on there where the idea is sort of hinted at. They'd offer a cheap space in exchange for some company, but it was your own room in which you would pay for. A few of them would have specifics as in how they'd like their future FEMALE roomie to act or look, as well as gloat about how charming and built they are themselves. Those sort of ads take common sense to avoid. The fact that people feel alright with publicizing the idea of bribing a woman into your bed? I'd rather pay my bills, thank you.

Ladida.

2008-10-26T15:00:00.004-04:00

Friday night a friend invited me to go see Amanda Palmer play in Ghent. I didn't really know any of her music, apart from what I heard on an old Dresden Dolls cd I used to own, but I figured I'd go and see what she was like. I'm so glad I went.

The opening act was this weird hippie fellow named Jason Webly. I had never heard of him, nor had anyone else in the audience I had the impression. He was introduced by a member of the Danger Ensemble, a group of performers from Australia, who was wearing funny little spectacles and a waist coat. I loved him straight away. Anyway - at first I was sceptical because his songs aren't what I'm used it and I wasn't immediately impressed. I'm still not a fan -I'll probably never be- but the drinking song at the end was nice. Everyone had their arms around each other and we were swaying from side to side. It was kind of brilliant.

Then Amanda Palmer. Her entrance was very grandiose and dramatic: she was carried in to eery, loud music, wearing a veil and various undergarments - but the illusion was shattered by the piano not being properly plugged in and her consequently not being able to play the first song ('The Astronaut'). They handled it very well though, joked about it, got it to work and did the whole thing over again. She then went on to play several of her own songs, usually just her and her piano, sometimes accompanied by a violin. The violin player was the most beautiful man ever, but I can't find his name anywhere, so if anyone knows: fill me in so I can obsess about him properly. Later in the show she played a couple of Dresden Dolls songs, including 'Coin operated boy', 'Girl anachronism' and 'Half jack'.

It was probably the longest concert I've ever attended: it lasted for roughly 4 hours. They put on quite a show, it wasn't just your regular rock gig. I was incredibly impressed. I'm not that big a fan of her music, but I did like some of it and I really respect Amanda as a person. She came out into the lobby afterwards and signed tickets and took pictures with everyone who wanted to. Very nice of her, if you ask me.

The obligatory fan photo:

Then the night after that I went to Petrol (club) in Antwerp, because Autokratz were DJing there. Petrol is supposedly a 'cool' club, aka a club with a lot of 'indie' kids checking each others outfits out. It wasn't too bad though, mainly because there was plenty of male eyecandy. What I hadn't expected to find was the most bizarre shoegazing/noise/experimental band ever: Indian Jewelry. 4 boys and girls playing their instruments really loudly and singing incoherently. All their songs were the same, which it made even harder to listen to after a while. Then around 2 am Autokratz started and they were amazing. I danced and danced and danced until I was exhausted. I had such a great time. They stopped around 2.45 though and the djs that played after that weren't to my liking at all. They played this really repetitive, hard techno music. Not my cup of tea.

& To end with, an amazing song accompanied by an insane video:

'Heartbeat' - Late of the Pier

There are so many ghosts on this stage!

2008-10-25T15:37:00.002-04:00

I just clued into the song on the Virgin Mobile commercials - it's Sea Wolf's 'You're A Wolf' after about a month of trying to figure it out (without online assistance!) and always going "Hey, that sounds familiar". Cue laugh track.

Anyway, I went to see Feist on Friday. Now, there were a few things working against me: I was in one of the boxes at the JLC, and there were several middle-aged drunks with rather funny haircuts talking through the entire thing. I'm serious - they were incredulous while observing the background projectionist show ("OH! It's a ship!"), and had this tendency to yell out non-sequitors and random lyrics. Then my stomach started to ache quite badly, and I was trying to focus on her without passing out.

After reading The Decibel Tolls, I realised that he's right when he writes that most concert reviews are besides the point. So, in that spirit: Feist has a lovely voice that took her a while to find. She is, at times, a rockstar; she is, at times, that sundress and huge hat-wearing member of Broken Social Scene; she is, most of the time, that chanteuse I had a crush on for a while when her first album came out. Thankfully, she played a good selectrion from both albums - turning 'Let It Die' into a veritable swansong to end the night, 'Secret Heart' into a rock and roll caper, 'Mushaboom' into a warbly swoon and 'Gatekeeper' into a sweet rendition. Of course she played The Reminder's staples 'My Moon, My Man', '1234' and 'I Feel It All', my personal favourite, 'Past In Present', most of the album, and even threw in a few covers for luck.

Hayden opened and, uh, he was nice. Apparently it's just him, and the band is totally separate but applaudable for breaking out his compositions. The surprise came when he revealed the band to be...Cuff the Duke! I wasn't sure if I recognized them, but upon heairng Wayne Petti's name it clicked. The songs were slightly forgettable, but my god, the pedal steel was incredible.

Crookers.

2008-10-22T09:07:00.001-04:00

This song isn't exactly new (it was released in February 2008), but I only just discovered it and it's AMAZING. So much fun and so great to dance to. I had to share it, even though I know most other contributors/readers aren't that fond of this kind of music. I'm still giving it a try!

Crookers - Knobbers

LET'S PLOW

2008-10-21T00:27:00.003-04:00

i just decided a second ago that the perfect male being would be a mix of

Humphrey Bogart

AND

Phil "Duckie" Dale a.k.a Jon Cryer

why?? well Bogart is suave as hell he proved that no matter what age you were if you knew how to put your words together properly you could have any girl swooning like the Beatles were in town, don't believe me? watch The Big Sleep, Lauren Bacall could back me up in a second.
Now comes my ultimate love Duckie, anyone esp. girl, who's seen Pretty in Pink (and if you havent i cannot have a conversation with you because im a huge 80's film geek) secretly wishes they had a Duckie. He's devoted, hilarious, wears the most amazing 80's outfits, can pull off any type of shades you put on him, will beat up a square for you, hell he'll even die for you but most important he will out of nowhere bust some serious moves to an Otis Redding song which could uplift anyones day...Andy had some serious issues (i really do love molly ringwald though)
I'm very convinced of these arguments
that is all for my midnight ramble

See, kids, those are actually records. You know that music comes flat? OR: I am alone...I am utterly alone...

2008-10-19T19:12:00.003-04:00

Working on a tree farm has it's benefits. For one thing, I am helping the local economy and the environment. For another, I work with ridiculously foul-mouthed individuals that are never short on rather hilarious stories. But what is not a benefit of this particular employment is getting a sandbur stuck in your pointer finger and having it grow into an abscess so that typing is a brutal chore. Multiply the suckitude by four as I have to write a short story for tomorrow. Children, procrastination never pays.

See how pretty they are:

I have one of those stuck in my fingers :D

Enough whining, especially since I inherited a fair-sized collection of records today. A good friend named Jeff let me take his collection, provided I treat it well and store them upright and took them all. Fine by me, really, because look at what I got:

Judas Priest - Point of Entry
Duran Duran - Rio/Seven and the Ragged Tiger/Duran Duran
V.A. - SIT ON IT: Fonzie's Favourites
Grease OST
Staying Alive OST
A Flock of Seagulls - Listen (THE HAIR!)
The Alan Parsons Project - The Best Of...
Boney M - Nightflight to Venus
Blade Runner OST
David Suzuki Narrates Space Child
Strange Brew - Excerpts from the Official Soundtrack
Pat Benetar - Get Nervous/In the Heat of the Night/Crimes of Passion
CARL SAGAN'S MUSIC OF THE COSMOS
2001: A Space Odyssey OST Vol.2
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
REO Speedwagon - Hi Infidelity
ABBA - Super Trouper
Diana Ross - Diana
The Monkees - The Best Of...
Elton John - Greatest Hits/Reg Strikes Again
Supertramp - Breakfast In America
The Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue
The Steve Miller Band - Greatest Hits 1974-78
Lionel Richie - Can't Slow Down
Loverboy - Get Lucky
V.A. - Top Hits of the 70's Vol.2
John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra - Star Wars OST
Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell
Michael Jackson - Thriller
V.A. - Party Rock Vol.3
Genesis - Duke
Berlin - Pleasure Victim
Battlestar Galactica OST
Star Trek OST
Men at Work - Business as Usual
Rush - Moving Pictures
Paul McCartney - Give My Regards to Broad St./Pieces of Peace
Wendy Carlos & Journey - Tron OST
Neil Young - Trans
Ted Nugent - Double Live/Gonzo!
The Beatles - Love Songs/20 Greatest Hits
April Wine - First Glance/One For The Road/Power Play
Martha & the Muffins - Metro Music
Styx - Kilroy Was Here/Paradise Theatre/Cornerstone/Pieces of Eight
Bob Seeger & the Silver Bullet Band - Against The Wind
Queen - News of the World/Jazz
Journey - Escape/Departures/Frontiers
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon/The Wall
Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age of Wireless/Blinded By Science
The Silver Beatles - The Complete Silver Beatles/Volume Two
Air Supply - The One That You Love
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial OST
Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band - Live 1975-85
Creedence Clearwater Revival (ft. John Fogerty) - Chronicle 20 Greatest Hits
Ghostbusters OST
The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy Pt.1
Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Movie On Record
Laserium Presents Crystal Odyssey
George Harrison - Cloud Nine
John Cougar - American Fool
The Police - Zenyatta Monatta
Superman OST
Billy Joel - 52nd Street/Glass Houses
AC/DC - For Those About To Rock/Back In Black
Chris De Burgh - The Getaway
Star Trek II The Wrath of Kahn OST
Jim Croce - The Jim Croce Collection
Def Leppard - Pyromania/High 'n Dry
V.A. - James Bond's Greatest Hits
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War of the Worlds
The Knuckleheads - The Curly Shuffle
Eagles - The Long Run/Live
Electric Light Orchestra - Discovery
Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti

My finger is throbbing now. Anyway, I am pleased that it's almost Hallowe'en because that usually entails several good movies making their appearances. Beetlejuice has already popped up a few times, and The Addams Family was on today. I'm waiting patiently for the horrorfests to begin...and while on this topic, a list:

TOP TEN SCARIEST HORROR MOVIES AS OF THIS SECOND (in no particular order)

1. Psycho (the original; sorry Gus)
2. Suspiria
3. The Blair Witch Project
4. Eraserhead
5. Rosemary's Baby
6. Audition
7. Se7en
8. Suicide Club
9. Running Scared
10. El Orfanto

That's Heurtebise for you.

2008-10-16T13:47:00.004-04:00

The annual Film Festival Ghent is taking place right now and as usual, there's a cornucopia of cinematic excellence to discover and admire. As I'm very busy with classes and other obligations, it's difficult to catch any of it, but earlier this week I did get to see Jean Cocteau's 'Orphée'. 'Orphée' is a 1949 black-and-white film of mythical and bizarre proportions, to say the least.

It's basically a 'modern' (aka 1940's) version of the classical myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, which I assume everyone knows. In the film, Orphée is a succesful poet and happily married to Eurydice. One day a young poet gets killed at a café where Orphée happens to be and it's there that he meets Death. Death isn't the regular grim reaper we know, but a sophisticated, elegant lady -- a lady who, against all the rules, falls in love with handsome Orphée. It's for this reason that she takes the life of Eurydice, against her orders. Death's driver, Heurtebise (which is the most fantastic name I've ever heard) guides Orphée to the afterlife in an attempt to win back his wife. I'm going to leave it at that so as not to spoil the (suprising) ending.

It all sounded really interesting when I first read the synopsis, but the actual film turned out to be quite a different experience from what I'd anticipated. My friends and I found it to borderline hilarious. I swear, at some part we were almost literally crying because we were laughing so hard. Mostly due to the sad special effects and the incredibly bad acting on the part of Jean Marais, who played Orphée. I don't think you're supposed to laugh at a Cocteau film, but we couldn't help ourselves. Upon its release 'Orphée' was a big winner at the Cannes Film Festival, so I'm quite sure it's meant to be taken seriously, something I cannot understand.

What I liked about it most --and yes, I know this is going to sound horribly superficial-- are the dashing good looks of François Périer, the actor who played Heurtebise (I cannot get over that name, I'm so going to name my first-born child after him).

Don't get me wrong, it definitely wasn't horrid or unwatchable, it just wasn't nearly as good as I thought it would be. It had some really good lines (e.g. "I am letting you into the secret of all secrets, mirrors are gates through which death comes and goes. Moreover if you see your whole life in a mirror you will see death at work as you see bees behind the glass in a hive." = touché). The cinematography was definitely decent enough as well. Overall though, it was suite a letdown.

"I'm not black like Barry White, no I am white like Frank Black is"

2008-10-15T15:28:00.005-04:00

Don't you just love finding things like this? I was looking through my band shirts and...

I didn't realize "ON" stood for both Ontario and British Columbia.

Mark McKay, where you at?

2008-10-15T14:17:00.002-04:00

Congratulations, Canada.

Roughly 60% of you THAT ARE ABLE AND LEGALLY ELIGIBLE TO VOTE actually did. Was there a sale on KFC or something? Did the gas pump hit you hard? Perhaps your local dealer cut you a deal on his epic stash of Bermudan ganja? Maybe Vincent Price returned from the grave to spook you shitless, and you were stuck without any clean clothes? Hmm?

40% is a shameful number. Because you aren't given (paid, in some cases) time off of work and hell, there's no such thing as voter pickup carpooling, right?

I was bummed something major because I couldn't vote in this election, as I am too young. There had better not be any complaining, bitchin', moaning or likewise.

On the other hand, there's a rather hilarious video for MGMT's The Youth making the rounds. Sparkle Motion meets Leslie and the Lys.

Oh Shadazz.

2008-10-12T18:36:00.003-04:00

The Horrors have a new song out.

It's a Suicide cover.

It's amazing.

On the first listen I was really taken aback, because it's so unlike anything they've created before - so out there, strange, mysterious. After listening to it a couple of times though, I can safely say I'm in love. You can actually hear Faris sing. Real singing, not his usual screeching and screaming. The band have said this song is not representative of their new material though, so it's too early to get all excited about this one tune - but I will anyway. I can't wait until their new album comes out. My Horrors love has been on the backburner recently because of the lack of new music, but it's been completely rekindled now. Love, love, love.

P.S. Here's what they themselves said about it on their MS blog:

"Thursday, October 02, 2008

Oh Shadazz

As I'm sure many of you are aware, we've been involved in a recent project to mark Alan Vega's 70th birthday..

To celebrate this joyous occasion, ourselves and a whole host of like-minded bands and artists have committed to wax a series of Suicide covers, to be released on the fine record label Blast First Petite. We chose 'Shadazz' and I have to say we are all very pleased with the result.

It's coming out Monday 6th October, there are only 3000 copies available on 10" and it shall be available in a few select independent record stores (I know Rough Trade are stocking it) and a whole multi-coloured galaxy of online retailers such as cargorecords.co.uk, normanrecords.com and boomkat.com.

The cover itself is a mass of primitive rhythm boxes, dubbed-out bass, vibraphones, percussion and twinkling synthesisers. This is not, however, the sound of things to come, you'll have to wait a bit longer for that."

oh how northly boring you are

2008-10-08T23:46:00.003-04:00

~~lately i have noticed that~~ the Canadian music scene is ~~quite well...~~dead
now I'm quite sure I'm not the only anglophile here and it's so obvious they've always come out with the better music, I'm not saying all of it is good or that no other countries have produced any good sounds but if you rule it out, the UK pwns us all.

I'm terribly proud of Canada and all of it's greatness and i like a lot of the music but i can't say Ive ever felt seriously immersed in it or felt as though there was a solid group of bands that i knew would constantly tour around the country and I'd make aure to see them every time they would stop in Toronto. All this being said, on my tight school schedule *sigh* i managed to do some sort of research. I now present to you 5 of the better sounds, from Canada, I've discovered in the past 2 weeks and i think you could lend your ear to for a second or two.

in no particular order

The Superstitions

Location : Toronto

Like they say themselves their sound does remind me of The Sonics if they had a female singer. They are one of the few bands i know of from Toronto who are heavily influenced by 60's garage and and show it vividly through their music. (They also remind me of The Rails another Toronto band I'm very fond of.)

Recommended 1st listen: Evil One

The Primordials

Location : Toronto

Again with the 60's garage theme but with, i find, a great homage to The Gruesomes, and if you are a huge Gruesomes nerd like me and have always wanted to see them live (even though they do the odd show here and there lately) this band his would be a great make-up. They sound exactly like they were pulled out of a time machine that came right from the 60's.

Recommended 1st listen: Keep A Hold Of What You Got

Slim Twig

made bigger for the girlies *sigh* and no he's not 15
Location :

ok so i cheated Ive known about Slim Twig for a while now but i didn't really listen to his music much until now. He reminds me of an upbeat Joy Divison, I'm just madly in love with his voice and if you like an avant-garde type artist then i think you'll be into his stuff, mind you it does take you a few listens to even begin to understand whats going on.

Recommended 1st listen : Whiite Fantaseee

Invasions

Location : Toronto

When a band from Toronto has Good Shoes (the band) in their top friends i automatically HAVE to listen to them (i have a sick intense love for Good Shoes). If I'm going to name drop some bands to be a lazy writer and help me describe their sound i would say Babyshambles/The Hives/(early)Razorlight/The Wireless. They're a nice little poppy indie band that everyone can dance to and i truly do find Canada doesn't have enough of, England does, but we don't and Invasions have come to my rescue.

Recommended 1st listen : Nothing Changes

Dance Electric

Location : Mississauga

They're the type of screaming punk you can definitely dance to which is always a great thing. Don't worry if you're not into the screaming type music, there isn't too much of it in their songs, so it's definitely bearable and you don't mind watching or listening to 17-18 year olds playing instruments then you're in for a good time

Recommended 1st listen : The California Song

alright so most of these are from the Toronto area but whatever T.O always gets bashed for never giving out and I'm just here to show there's still some little hope

Brian might open a flute shop or something

2008-10-07T20:54:00.018-04:00

This just in!: I'm still a fangirl for Brian Bell. Oh, that's not news. That's just a common fact. Moving on... (Photo by Karl!)

Okay so it's been a solid week since the Weezer concert. I haven't really stopped talking about it to anyone, yet it completely slipped my mind to post about it on my own blog.
Well, any reader that has even had one conversation with me knows I'm quite involved when it comes to this band. I'm not quite sure I could fully explain it in such a confined little space. I've liked them since I was 8. I'm 22 now. I suppose that sort of sums it up, slightly.
I wasn't very happy with the Red Album, so it was actually a bit of surprise when I realized how excited I was about the news of them coming to Toronto on tour. Plus, it's been a whole six years (!) since I last managed to see them. I think a lot of the excitement came from the nostalgic aspect of it. I was curious to see how much they've changed their show, as well.
Tokyo Police Club and Angels and Airwaves were the openers. I don't listen to TPC but I didn't hate the idea of seeing how they are live. The idea of seeing Angels and Airwaves made me crazy before I could even imagine it happening. I can't even explain my distaste for all things Tom Delonge.
We had arrived there a bit after door time, though the show started right away so we had already missed most of Tokyo Police Club. They were an enjoyable set to listen to, and managed to pull of playing in such a large venue. I imagine they're probably ten times better in a smaller environment.
Angels and... yeah. I took a nap, Autumn had some beers, my sister played Tetris. Tom is a dink. End.
Weezer got on stage about about 9:45. They were all dressed in white jump suits. They eventually zipped them off into red track suits- an homage to Rivers' obsession with the dream of being a professional football (soccer) player. It was quite an adorable look of them altogether as a band.
The set list opened with My Name Is Jonas, which is a great choice to appeal to both older and newer fans. It's also been featured on Guitar Hero recently, so a lot more people know it now than ever. After that they switched things up and played Pink Triangle was was much more of a send off to their more solid fanbase- although the bros we were surrounded by seemed to love the chorus.
They covered their entire catalogue quite well, especially because since the last time I've seen them they've released two albums. While like I said, I didn't initially like the Red Album, hearing tracks from it in a live setting made them sound a whole lot better. Such as a song like "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived"- I HATED this song when I first heard it. It eventually grew on me, and the live version was so impressive.
The highlight of my entire evening was SUZANNE. This is a song I never thought I'd hear live. I had heard it was back on the set list, but I was slightly worried they'd skip over it on our stop. This has always been one of my favourite songs, in general. It's a b-side to a single that came out 14 years ago! Brian sang lead on it, as opposed to Rivers, but it still sounded amazing. In fact, it started out acapella with all four members singing, just like when they first presented the song to the woman it was named after all that time ago. I wish I could post a video, but I haven't managed to find a decent version of it yet.
The best singalong of the night was definitely El Scorcho. It reminded me of basically every party I've been at, where at one point in the night someone would put it on and there would be an entire room of people screaming the words.
Out of all the times I've seen them, this was the most entertaining they've been. Especially Rivers. If you watch any live footage of him, he's sort of reminiscent of a nervous 12 year old singing the national anthem. Little movement, even less eye contact. Now, he was pulling out a headset mic (with which he dedicated a song to Miley Cyrus as she uses one) reaches out into the crowd, and well... he had a trampoline. A trampoline! I suppose when you have reached that point in your career, you can really do whatever you want. He even attempted to talk a bit, although there was still a hint of the familiar introverted man who admittedly called his stories lame right afterwards. He also managed to fumble one of his own songs when he said Undone was the opening track on their debut album (Jonas being the answer), but then tried to save himself by adding "... in an alternate universe."
A lot of people have been complaining about the switch in vocal duties on certain songs, because they want it to be like it was on the album. I'm a total fan of the idea. As I said, Brian was perfect on Suzanne. Plus, I never had the chance to see him sing in his former side project, the Space Twins, so this is close enough. Scott took over Perfect Situation, as well as a few others.
Tom Dinky Delonge came on stage for Undone, though. That didn't really bother me, what bothered me was that Rivers was NOT playing guitar on that track. It's one of my favourite guitar solos. Instead, he jumped on his trampoline while Brian did the work. I actually managed to record this, it was just too hysterical. Maybe when I have the patience I'll put that up.
Patrick made the most of his time in front of the stage. He grew up near the border, and managed to win over the audience by name dropping places like Guelph and Mississuaga (as he always "saw the weather reports on those places as a kid") as well as shouting out to CFTO and CTV. He sealed the deal with a short rendition of Tom Sawyer by Rush. I think that's an automatic pass for anyone trying to impress a room of Canadians.
Patrick got to perform vocals on their first cover, a rendition of Oasis' "(What's The Story) Morning Glory", which seemed to go down really well. Of course he dedicated it to the Gallaghers themselves due to their stage mishaps in Toronto not too long ago.
The first encore was the WHY-WASN'T-I-INVOLVED hootenanny, where a group of fans got to go onstage and play two songs with the band. Of course they picked the easiest choices, Beverly Hills and Island In The Sun. The solos were done with an accordian and a cowbell!
The second encore was done in quite a sweet way. Karl "5th member/webmaster/Karl Koch" Koch came out with a red record player and placed a copy of the bright red, red album. It played the track "Heart Songs" up until Rivers came back on stage and kicked it over. Then they played a cover of Nirvana's "Sliver" and of course closed the night with Buddy Holly.

Set list, innit:
My Name Is Jonas
Pink Triangle
Perfect Situation
Say It Ain't So
Suzanne
Keep Fishin'
King
Undone (The Sweater Song)
Pork and Beans
Dreamin'
Dope Nose
Troublemaker
Automatic
Hash Pipe
El Scorcho
Morning Glory
Greatest Man
Island In The Sun
Beverly Hills
Sliver
Buddy Holly

It was probably the best show I've seen in quite some time. Not nearly as great of a set list as the last time (Across the Sea! Falling For You!) but definitely the most fun. I tried recording a bunch of videos but they're extremely shaky due to me having a one man moshpit (that reference is for KT). My sister filmed a lot of it though, so hopefully she'll send some clips my way soon. As for now, watch this for old jokes/title reference. If you managed to read this all, congratulations, you were probably very bored.

Lick your stocking, excuse me?

2008-10-07T19:15:00.002-04:00

No one has posted in over a week, but we're all still alive. The economy is crumbling, pamphlets are flying for the Canadian federal election, and the weather is cooling off.

The 9th Toronto International Art Fair wound down yesterday (Monday, October 6th) - and it was just as good as the two I have previously attended. Plus I managed to examine Marcel Dzama's infamous bearsuit up close.

La Fours, take it away with your Weezer report!

O Katrina.

2008-09-29T17:01:00.004-04:00

As everyone is probably aware of: the western economy isn't doing very well. This whole crisis started a couple of years back but it's been exploding in the last couple of weeks/months. Up until recently it was mostly an American issue, but just now a Belgian bank, Fortis (which is incredibly well-known here), has been nationalised by the Benelux countries (i.e. Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands). There's an article about it on the New York Times website. Now there's talk of another bank that's big in Belgium, Dexia, receiving substantial government aid as well. I have to say it's all very worrying. I'm a bit selfish in that I've been aware of the American problems for a while now, but now that they've seemed to come to my doorstep, I'm getting slightly frightened. Of course the reasons behind the US economy failing and the troubles here are very different. For now most of the major European banks seem to be holding their own, but I doubt things are going to stay that way for very long, judging by the look of things.

One of my professors pointed out to us in class earlier today that we're witnessing a crucial period of time that could have major consequences for the future of our society. Of course nobody can know if he's right, but it does feel like it right now.

P.S. The title has absolutely nothing to do with this post. I just love that song and it's been stuck in my head all day.

While jacking off listening to Mozart

2008-09-25T19:46:00.002-04:00

Sorry about the double post, but I have to get this out.

Katy Perry, that famous for shit raspbox, purveyor of hypocritical image and singer of one of the worst, counterproductive songs I've heard in a while, has covered MGMT.

Is anything sacred? I mean, the woman has already dismissed her Christian upbringing, assisted with the continuing downfall of Warped Tour, and invaded every fucking radio station. SHE IS OUTPLAYING CHRIS BROWN ON THE BEAT.

What's next? Lights covering Final Fantasy? Isn't this crap enough?:

Don't just stare at it...

2008-09-24T19:22:00.002-04:00

Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho is being turned into a Broadway musical.

Imagine, a 'Sussudio' overture, dancing chainsaws, swinging axes...Can Lemony Snicket write the lyrics?

Een polka voor de durvers!

2008-09-23T19:51:00.004-04:00

Tonight I went somewhere I'd never gone before and never thought I'd go: Boombal. It's basically a folk ball that's organised all over the country about once a month. Now I'm not talking about the Devandra Banhart kind of folk, but Belgian instrumental traditional music. Two very different things.

I went there because one my best friends from high school plays in a folk band, Sakura. [Their Myspace can be found here.] They're actually becoming rather successful: they just recored their first demo, they were chosen by the government to enter a sponsoring programme and they're featured on several folk compilation cds. I'd never gone to see her before, but tonight they were playing right here so I thought I'd check them out.

Best idea ever.

When I first entered I was kind of sceptical because the place was packed with hippies and geeks, not exactly the kind of crowd I usually associate with. There were loads of people running around barefoot, wearing floaty dresses or huge orange trousers - not something I'm accustomed to.

I fought my initial instict to turn around and run for the hills, and watched my friend's band play. They were phenomenal. What was actually almost more important than the music itself, was the effect it had on the people there. Everyone was dancing and laughing, having a great time. There were people of all ages and backgrounds there who all danced with each other, no discrimination. My friend also pointed out that everyone left their bags and jackets unattended, which you would never dare do at a regular party, unless you were particularly thick. The atmosphere there was simply one of trust and friendship. Everyone, even those who didn't know each other, was nice to one another. Everyone was smiling. It was amazing. I couldn't help but smile myself. I had tears in my eyes because I was so touched by the whole thing. There were also some incredible dancers there. They danced like dancing was part of who they were, their movements fluid and bold. It was beautiful to behold.

I'm definitely going to go to more of these. They always organize a dance initiation a couple of hours before the actual ball starts - I'm probably going to try and make it to one of those. Tonight I couldn't join in on the fun because I didn't know any of the dances. They were real traditional ones, with a parner or in a big group. To better demonstrate this, I filmed a little bit of some of the dances. I'm quite shoddy with a camera so it's not perfect, but it gives you an idea.

At the end of the first video you can also hear my voice, is anyone's interested. :D

I would like you to have sing with us

2008-09-23T18:15:00.002-04:00

I don't know where to begin. I saw Sigur Rós last night, and I still cannot wrap my head around how amazing it was.

I should mention that I have a small obsession with all things Nordic. It started with Björk and was then followed by Lampshade, then by Sigur Rós and soon it became just an affinity for everything that is associated with those states.

Anyway, Jónsi (the lead for Sigur Rós) has a boyfriend who is part of a band. This band, called Parachutes, opened for them. I suppose that when you mix toytronica bands like lullatone and P:ana with Sigur Rós and Amiina, you'd get Parachutes. They were a bit too quiet for me - at the moment, mind, I was anxious - and in general, they had my attention because of their multi-instrumentalist members and use of xylophones.

The show began before it was scheduled - about 7:55, and Parachutes were finished by 8:43. And by 9, Sigur Rós made their way onstage.

There are about two songs they sing that I know the (English) lyrics, but when they open with 'Von' and go through at least one song from every album, hitting out a near-perfect 'Hoppípolla', a chilling introduction to 'Saeglopour' and ending with the entire crowd on their feet, clapping to the beat of 'Gobbledigook'...when they play a song that terrifies an entire audience with its intensity, and creep around the stage in reel of their own musicianship and passion...when confetti was the mot suitable thing to have flying around...

Amazing.

By the way, here's a 'Gobbledigook' music video (as the original has nudity and cannot be embedded); imagine an entire Massey Hall clapping and stamping and singing along:

too many mutha'uckas uckin' in my shhh

2008-09-22T10:03:00.002-04:00

If anyone isn't familiar with the show Flight of The Conchords, you need to familiarise yourself immediately, you don't even need to watch the show to capture their sheer brilliance, their songs are just whoa, they've totally taken advantage of my lastfm and my complete ear wave, for the past week or so all I've been able to listen to and singing around the house are their songs, it took me about 2 days to memorize 75% of their music catalogue because they are that addicting.
And the shows is amazing as well, it's about 2 New-Zealanders who go to the U.S to try and find success, and they call themselves "New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo" it doesn't get much better than that.
My simple words cannot express my deep love for these two so check them out for yourselves if you already haven't

myspace
official website
whatthefolk.net
youtube

Rizzo is 40 forever

2008-09-21T20:13:00.004-04:00

On Thursday night I attended Take Back The Night with my friend Dayna.
I wasn't quite sure of what was going to happen. I've never attended a rally or anything of the sort before. To be quite honest I was quite nervous as this was a police-escorted march through some of the busiest streets in London. I just told myself that if I was too scared, I could easily support from the side.
We arrived pretty early, there was only a handfull of people there other than the organizers. It wasn't too long until the entire peace garden was packed, though. They handed out some information about their cause, which also included a list of chants. Then we listened to a motivational speaker, who was really great. I can't remember her name, but she does a lot of work in Chile involving womens rights. By the end of it, the crowd had exploded and there must have been about 400+ women!
The both of us bought some candles for the march, and after hunting down someone to actually light them, we lined up to walk.
As I said, I was a bit nervous to be in such a thing. I'm not the sort of person to go shouting my opinions, especially in the street. We started off in the middle of the crowd, behind some signs. Once the escorts arrived, we started piling down the streets. There were people standing on balconies, watching from business offices, against the windows at restaurants, etc. Not to mention the local news team were following the entire thing.
There were men walking along showing their support. Unfortunately, there was also a small group of males with signs that said "Men against Womens protests" who are obviously just pissed because girls won't look at them. There were only about five of them, and they disappeared after five minutes so obviously their joke backfired. It didn't matter though, we outnumbered them by hundreds. Plus, a bit furthur in the march, there were a group of guys that was about ten times as large who were supporting us. They were holding signs such as "Men against violence" or just "We support you" which was just heartwarming.
The march overall lasted about an hour. We honestly took over the streets. By the end of it, Dayna and I had made our way to the front and were screaming as loud as we possibly could. It was honestly one of the most liberating things I've ever been involved in. I'm so happy I did it. I strongly suggest anyone who has the opportunity to be involved in this sort of thing, do!

Hm (no title inspiration).

2008-09-21T12:50:00.003-04:00

Last night was probably one of the most fun nights ever. I went to the local (in my tiny little town, so as local as can be) scouts party. It's called 'Het Grote Bosgebeuren' which, rougly translated, means something like 'the great forest happening'. As the name alludes to, it was basically a party in some woods, which is obviously quite befitting because the scouts did organize it. [On a side note, I was part of those same scouts some years back - I only went for a couple of weeks because really, I hated the whole climbing in trees, building forts, eating worms and getting dirty thing.] There was a huge campfire (which was more than welcome since it was a very cold night) and there were also 2 dance areas, one where they played the typical commercial party music and one where they played drum and bass. I spent most of my time in the first area because it's so wrong, but so much fun. The music was really bad: Flemish 'classics' that everyone pretends to think of as being really silly, but then everyone's able to sing along to the entire lyrics, and horrid 90s & 00's dance music. At first I was really uncomfortable, also because my friends and I were about the oldest people there. These parties generally only attract the local high school population, but my old friends and I thought it would be a nice idea to go anyway. And it was. After a while I loosened up and toward the end of the night I was dancing in the middle of the floor like a crazy person, not thinking about how silly I looked and what other people would think. It was the most liberating feeling ever. The only downside was that the music stopped at 3 am - which is excruciatingly early if you ask me. Oh well, I still had an amazing time.

This title must be chantable!

2008-09-21T12:19:00.002-04:00

I was saying to Alanah the other day that I wasn't sure what to write about. Then MK at Dlisted presented me with a perfect subject: Bill Murray. He is 58 today, so here's to you, Bill Murray. Cheers.

On the other hand, LOLA turned out to be a pretty good festival. I'm always amazed at what sounds can come out of Victoria Park, having been to a few shows there.

Review to come, as I am exhausted and stuck with a pile of homework.

rant

2008-09-19T10:45:00.002-04:00

What is art?
How can we judge art cross-culturally?

Those are 2 of the stupidest questions I've heard in the past two weeks, because I'm majoring in Film all fine arts student have to take a FACS class and i got stuck with Arts and Ideas and I HATE IT. Every class people are arguing in the lectures about why something is or isn't art, or why we should be able to judge another persons art or not.
I mean if theres one thing i hate it's rhetorical questions they are pointless to me, because there are no right questions, it's like arguing about what came first the chicken or the egg (i believe it's the egg by the way, but that's beside the point), one person can say the egg and the other the chicken and spend a life time talking about it, which we have, because it's one of the oldest questions.
All I'm trying to get at is that i just don't get how people can take themselves so seriously that they feel the need to take peoples time in a class arguing about stupid shit, it's getting to the point where im falling asleep everytime there or on the verge of yelling SHUT THE FUCK UP!
I get this is most likely the point of the class and I'm all for standing for what you believe in and throwing ideas out there, but there's absolutely no need to have a fit about what art is.
i hate philosophy, and it's questions.

Black Lips!

2008-09-18T07:46:00.003-04:00

So last night I went to Trix, a venue here in Antwerp, to see the amazing Black Lips play. At first I was sort of worried because Belgians tend to be the most boring people in the world when it comes to gigs. We just sort of stand there and watch, silently or talking amongst ourselves. That doesn't mean we don't appreciate the music, we just do so in a different way from say, English music fans, who are loud/drunk/wild. The crowd last night was different though, everyone was dancing and having a great time. There were a few too many hipsters for my liking, but once the music started that didn't bother me anymore. I don't really remember all the songs they played, but I do know they played 'Not a problem' because that's one of my favourite songs of all time. I didn't think they were going to play it, so I went balistic when I heard the opening chords. Danced like a madwoman those 2 minutes. They said it was going to be their next single and that they were recording the video for it. At least that's what I think they said, I was a bit too excited to really pay attention to what they were saying. They're really a joy to watch, they bring such great energy to the stage. It was all the more obvious because the opening band were really bad and boring. I don't even remember what band it was, it was just.. terrible, so we ended up leaving halfway through their set. I tried to take some decent pictures but failed miserably. My photographing skills, especially during gigs, are dismal. I'm usually too busy dancing and enjoying myself to really make an effort to get some good snaps.

So - amazing night. It was made even better by my company: my friend Nina whom I hadn't seen in about 2 years. We used to be best friends but then we got into a huge fight. It's nice that we've been able to put that behind us.

Some pictures of the night in question: here.

2008-09-16T21:35:00.003-04:00

I thought I'd post this here for good measure. I really hope it's a good turnout.

London's Annual Take Back the Night March: In protest of violence against women
When: 6:30pm/ Thursday, September 18 2008
Where: Peace Garden (York & Thames)
"Bring your friends, mothers, daughters, sisters, book clubs, women's groups! Bring a banner to distinguish your group or community! Bring your drums and noisemakers!"

Men are of course, also welcome to support the cause.
There will be an after-party at the Alex P. Keaton.
If you'd like to know more about the cause, please refer to
http://www. takebackthenight. org/index. html
http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Take_Back_the_Night

Radio fireworks

2008-09-14T16:26:00.005-04:00

I'm so into electro these days, I've hardly been listening to anything else. Watching 'Party Monster' again last night certainly didn't help any. It's the kind of music that makes me feel happy, strong, energetic. That has me dancing around the house like a fool. Some songs I've been listening to:

'Frank Sinatra' - Miss Kittin & The Hacker

'Cocotte' - Teenage Bad Girl

'Ghosts (the Toxic Avenger mix) - Ladytron

'I like to play' - Yuksek

'Next of kin (Todd Edwards mix)' - Surkin

Some people find that kind of electro to be a bit too 'heavy', but I personally love it. As long as chavs/jumpers don't listen to it, I'm fine. I also definitely recommend 'Darling' by Popular Computer, a song I couldn't find on Youtube but that you can listen to on my Myspace page.

And as a direct result of my late-night viewing of 'Party Monster': 'Two of hearts' by Stacy Q. I'm easily influenced by the films I watch, which sometimes leads to disasters (e.g. I've been getting into ABBA because of 'Mamma Mia').

It's very American Psycho - coke in the washroom, screwing on the dancefloor!

2008-09-13T13:06:00.002-04:00

Two very good things here: Charles Manson's songwriting and Devendra Banhart covering it. Aside from his choices in life and swastika tattoos, he actually was a fairly talented songwriter and musician.

I'm not an alcoholic, and you're not an ice skater!

2008-09-10T21:34:00.002-04:00

Gary Numan/Tubeway Army appreciation post!
I'd just like to say three things:
1) I want that synth.
2) I just discovered that Weezer covered this song. It's a bit ridiculous, but I do hope they play it on the 30th.
3) Anytime he's mentioned, my Mum always finds it necessary to bring up how my Dad idolized him to the point of dressing up as him. Hilarious. I need to find photographic proof of this.

"Let's shoot this fucker"

2008-09-09T22:04:00.003-04:00

first i feel the need to say that school is already taking it's toll on me, i just want Ed Wood and his aliens to kidnap me and take me out of here seriously i HATE school, apart from the classes I'm actually majoring in which is Film (i hate that they are forcing me to take stupid science, art and humanities classes, WHY??)

Besides talking of Ed Wood (I'm horrible at segways), I'm a pretty big fan of his, and his name might not be familiar to everyone but just to clear things up he's supposedly the "worst director of all time" now i BEG TO DIFFER. Ok the effects in 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' are pretty well...bad but so what that's what makes it so classic, and i know the people he chose to act in his films weren't really actors, apart from Bela Lugosi but that just added on to his charm.
If anyone has seen Tim Burton's film about him, Johnny Depp portrays him so well and you can see Ed Wood was a naive man who idolized Orson Wells and Bela Lugosi and really wanted to make films he liked and were true to him.

I just think it's unfair to say that he was the worst director ever because if you watch the shit films they produce now such as 'date movie', 'disaster movie', 'meet the spartans' i mean ive never seen such appalling rubbish in my entire life.
And i'd like to think Ed Wood made some of the best B-Horror films of all time, so check them out.