Could there be a better way to ring in a New Year?

So I've just had to change my New Years Eve plans . . .


"If you find yourself in Toronto this New Years Eve, come to the Phoenix where Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning and Jimmy Shaw of Metric will be hosting a dance party for the ages."


It seems I will be ringing in 2009 with a bunch of 17 year olds whilst looking for the ghost of Rory O'Shea in the Parlour . . . ahhhh the Pheonix in the 90's . . .

Top 10 Favourite YouTubes of 2008

So as 2008 comes to a close, I give you my favourite YouTubes of the year - in no particular order.



















And last but certainly not least - definitely most embarassingly though, sadly I am addicted to this show . . . but come on - this shit is awesome!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

The next month:

Nov 27


Nov 28


Dec 2


Dec 5


Dec 9



Dec 11


Dec 12


Dec 13


Dec 16


Dec 18


Dec 23

Battle of the coolest band(s) ever

Love George Vale's work, and once again I am not disappointed. Kev's hair made me laugh a bit though.

If I had a million dollars

I was having a conversation with some friends the other night about what extravagancies we would splurge on if we won a million dollars. Some people had noble ideas like donating the majority to Habitat for Humanity or Doctors Without Borders (it should be noted I think those people are full of shit - they would be on a world cruise so fast your head would spin), others suggested helping out family members with mortgages/loans and some were absolutely homest and said they would buy an obscenely ridiculous car and go on lavish holidays. In pondering what I would honestly do with a sudden windfall I have come to a conclusion, which lead to everyone else in the room coming to an entirely different conclusion about me.

My conclusion:
It did not take me long to decide that in all seriousness, I would give my winnings to Jeffrey Remedios in exchange for a seat on the bus for the next tour. There are deeper issues there that I am not going to get into now (another post for another day) that made me choose this, but let's just say that some people dream of running away to join the circus, I dream of running away to join a band. Well, not a band, the band. There's a difference.

Their conclusion:
I am crazy.

Seriously? Who would not want to share this stage?





Did I mention I play a mean bell tree?

Steaming pile of shit

Seriously?!?!?!?!?!?! This is what we've been waiting 16 years for? Axl sounds over engineered within an inch of his life and the drums are simple, boring and far too repeptitive. Now at lest we know what they've been doing for the past decade and a half - they've been fucking around with Axl's vocal tracks for 5475 days! The only saving grace is a cool riff from Buckethead - not technically astonishing though, just different and unfortunately not enough to forgive the overall shittiness of the track as a whole. Dr. Pepper should unpack the 300 million cans from the fridge and put them back in the warehouse. This sucks, and I really wanted it to kick ass. Grrr . . .

You only live once

Today has very quickly become the most expensive day of my life thus far (if you don't count the day I bought my house).

The second that I heard that Stars were opening for Coldplay I began calculating in my head logistically how I could swing going. The show is in Ottawa (a 5 hr drive from Toronto) and on a Monday night, I do not have the option of taking tomorrow off of work even if I was so inclined (which I am not). So here is the ridiculousness that we have come up with. We are flying to Ottawa at 5:30 pm this afternoon, where we will then cab it the 1/2 hr to the actual stadium and see Stars open for Coldplay from what are the best seats I have ever had for a concert. In lamenting over the skyrocketing price for the evening, I have come to the conclusion that sometimes we all have to indulge ourselves and that this is a once in a lifetime experience that I cannot afford to miss. It does seem somewhat indulgent and absolutely crazy that I am going to get on a plane to go somewhere for what will amount to a total of about 5 hrs. What some have pointed out makes the whole event even more ridiculous is that I am not spending all of this money and doing the crazy turnaround flight for Coldplay - I am going to see Stars open for Coldplay - there is a difference. I will probably be the only one who is more interested in the opening act. I am unsure how I feel about Stars at an arena though - I would love them anywhere, but I fear that this show may fall into the weird category that seeing Feist at a large venue did - inorganic and unnatural. I am used to seeing Stars at venues that have max capacities of 300 or 500, not an arena that houses 20,000 for hockey games.

Anyway, if you have not had the chance to see Stars live - at a small venue or an arena, you should definitely do so - they are an excellent example of how Canadians have saved music for us all. It's like the whole world stops when Amy and Torque sing, magical.

How much information is too much information?

So I have yet another dilemma (bad week for those). I am attending a psychic reading tomorrow and have always been anti Psychic in terms of having a reading myself. I am willing to admit that it is quite possible that there are people out there that have a certain 'sensibility' if you will and can hear/see/sense/divine things that I cannot. My uncertainty comes in when I ponder the prospect of knowing anything about my future. My past has been, well, let's just say interesting and challenging for lack of a better characterization. There are also certain elements of my past that have the potential to cause my life to suck royally again and possibly forever. This is information that I don't want. I am more of the "What I don't know can't hurt me" school and would prefer to continue to live in blissfull ignorance. However, if I was some kind of Egyptian royalty in a past life, that would be cool to hear about. I am concerned that even if I ask not to hear anything about my future, what if the Psychic picks up a vibe of some sort - would I not be able to read her expressions and see 'bad' news written all over her face? The internal debate that is being waged in my brain is giving me a headache!

Disappointing news

I read some rather disappointing news about Feist this morning in Google News . . . Feist does not see a place for herself in BSS once her tour winds down.

In discussing her future, she said "I don't really know how involved I feel (with the band) anymore, so much time has passed ... at this point. For me it's not what it was"



Though she has been busy between touring her solo works Let it Die and The Reminder, I always kind of had the thought in my head that she could show up at a BSS gig and we could witness the magic that she brought to the group - and every once and a while she did just that. Now it seems that that particular hope is dead in the water and more unlikely than not.

I am loving the current BSS Presents Kevin and Brendan albums, but I am also desperate for a classic BSS show with lots of YFIP and S/T material. I need a time machine.

What to do . . .

So I am having a dilemma. I have been trying to get my sister out to a BSS show for years, and after the last time I saw them, she made a promise to me that the next time they did a local show, she would be there. I have recently been making inroads in converting her to the world of Arts & Crafts artists and was excited at the prospect of introducing her to the magic that is BSS live. So here comes the dilemma part of the story - they are playing a show in November, however, it is an all ages show at a crappy venue and it is part of Brendan's tour.
This is not the live BSS experience that I want to present to her!!! How do I turn back time to 2005 and take her to a show from that incarnation of the band? It's not that I think that the current line up is bad, but having seen BSS with as few as 6 and as many as 19 memners on stage, the latter is definately an experience that I think everyone should have and the one that I was hoping to present to her. I realize that the chances of a 19 strong show are slim to none these days, but I am torn as to if I actually want her to see this version given the size and material of the current tour or if I want to wait and hope that with the new album promised for next year, the lineup will be bigger and the touring material will be more BSS and less Kev and Brendan's solo work. I want her to see Cause = Time, Windsurfing Nation, Almost Crimes, Pacific Theme, Superconnected, Bandwitch, Anthems, Jimmy, MLD, Stars and Sons, Shampoo Suicide . . . oh, and did I mention that I wanted her to see all of this with at least 2 of the original ladies (Amy, Feist and Emily)? I didn't imagine that the first time I drag her out to a show that we would be fighting our way around high school kids in what is possibly Toronto's worst live venue. I am quite certain that the last time my sister saw Kevin with a bunch of high school kids, it was at our high school graduation. What is a girl to do?




THIS is what I want her to see!!

Who are you?

I am the bee.

Top 10: Volume 2

Top 10 quotes made by musicians (some from actual interviews, some just random ramblings)

"Too much information is a fucking bad thing. Go look at a tree, appreciate it." (Kevin Drew)

“Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength, move on.” (Henry Rollins)

"For what you know and learn, you are responsible." (Stevie Wonder)

“Before you judge me, take a look at you.” (James Hetfield)

“If you sing, you will be heard.” (Raine Maida)

"What bands like Ministry and KMFDM did with industrial, that's what we're trying to regurgitate for you, only friendlier, and with less leather." (Brendan Canning)

"My life does not suck." (Tommy Lee)

"You can't be greater than Elvis, change things as much as the Beatles, or be as original as Led Zeppelin. All you can do is rip them off." (Billy Corgan)

"I just got an award given to me by a Beatle. Have you had that happen yet Kanye?" (Vince Gill)

"A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do." (Bob Dylan)

R.I.P 1983

Things I did this week:
-made dinner on the bbq 100 ft from the ocean almost every night
-read 2 entire books (both of which made me laugh at least once every 5 pages)
-went whale watching (MUCH more on this later)
-spent a day walking around Boston
-went to the Patriots pre-season opener game (American football fans are absolute lunatics by the way)
-slept in EVERY day (more on this later too)
-spent 7 entire days with my sister (also more on that later)
-discovered that THEY (whoever the hell they are) were right, you really can't go home again

So here is the fabulousness part of the week:
I went on vacation this week to the place where my family used to vacation when I was little. I probably spent at least a month each year on the Cape from the time I was 3 until I was about 15. I went back once after by myself with my grandparents when I was 18. This time, I went with my sister. As we started to cross the Sagmore bridge onto the Cape, the radio switched songs (by the way - Boston has a kick ass radio station - 104.1) and 'Today' by the Smashing Pumpkins came on, so as Billy sang "Today is the greates day I've ever known" I was in fact crossing over into my childhood - perfect. The trip was fabulous in many ways, it has been years since I spent that much time consecutively with my sister, and for that fact alone, the trip was magical. Also, on this trip I went whale watching. I don't think there is any way to explain my love for this activity. It was definitely the best day of my year and will most probably make the top 5 of the decade. There is nothing I find quite as exciting as hanging over the side of a large boat to get a closer look at a humpback whale. They are truly beautiful and majestic creatures and if I were the captain of the vessel, we would have just found a pod and followed them into eternity. Sadly, we did have to turn around and return to the harbour at the end of the afternoon.

I saw the carousel that we rode on Main St. in Hyannis, I saw some of the old stores that are still there, we went to what was our favourite restaurant when we were kids and ate a deliciously gluttonous meal, we slept late every morning (a feat I am completely unable to accomplish at home), we walked around the ridiculously fantastic homes of Hyannisport (including the Kennedy compound), I collected shells on the beach where we used to make sand castles, basically - we had a fantastic week.

Now the not so fabulous parts:
I went to the Cape looking for something. I went in search of my childhood. I naively expected that time would have stopped back around 1983 and that I could just go back and relive those summers spent with my family. I loved walking down Main St. and seeing the Army Surplus store that has been there since I was 3. I loved seeing the bike rental place along the side street that I remember my parents renting bikes for themselves and trikes (!!!) for my sister and I because we were so young, I was excited to see the kite store where we bought a kite each year to fly on the beach with my Dad - a kite that inevitably never made it back to Toronto with us because we invariably got it stuck in a tree or someone let go of the string . . ., then we were standing in front of what should have been the kite store and it was . . . an ice cream parlour. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against ice cream parlours, we even went there and got home made ice cream that was delicious, but I kind of needed it to still be the kite store. As we walked further down Main St. I saw that the grocery store was gone, the restaurant where we ate brunch on our way into town every time before even checking in at the cottage was also gone. Provincetown is an absolute zoo - it is completely touristy and not anything resembling the quaint artists community that it used to be. The beach we used to go to that we would have pretty much to ourselves had a 45 minute line up for parking. Basically - the quiet Cape Cod that not many people knew about in the 1980's is now a booming hotbed of tacky tourism. On the subject of tacky - what the hell was with all of the airbrush tat booths that seemed to be everywhere? Seriously???

I was hoping to relive all of my childhood memories with my sister. It turns out, my sister does not share my memories. She does not remember the day when we were walking up Sea St. and she fell and skinned her knee and the man who owned the general store came out and cleaned her up, the apartments at Main and Sea St. where we said we were going to live when we grew up, and that we always stayed in cottage 6A. I on the other hand, remember all of it - every last detail, which is kind of a double edged sword for a couple of reasons. The last time I was there was with my grandparents - both of whom are no longer with us, which made it hard to think about memories of that visit. Also, all of my memories of the Cape are so tied to my parents, whom my sister and I have not spoken with in years, making all of the memories somewhat bittersweet. And as we were taxiing on the runway preparing to take off from Logan airport in Boston to return home, I had my iPod on shuffle - which I rarely do because I always know exactly what I want to listen to, and Fleetwood Mac's 'Don't Stop' came on, it almost made me cry.

So the short version of this tale is the following: you CAN go home again, but when you get there, you will find that your home is no longer a kite store, it is an ice cream parlour. I have decided that I shall not return to the Cape ever again, because in as much as there were some things that were disappointing, it was a fabulous week and I would not trade a single second of it, enough things were the same that I was OK. But I feel that if I went back and even 1 more thing were different, it would break me. So I said my goodbyes to my childhood and all the memories that go with it as we drove towards Boston over the bridge on the way off the Cape - coincidentally - the Smashing Pumpkins 'Today' was also playing this time we crossed the bridge.

Oh - and after being delayed in Montreal for our connecting flight home to Toronto because of shitty weather here and once we finally took off 2 hours late, we circled Pearson Airport in the sky for 35 minutes waiting for a runway to land. So just as I was ready to be all "Home sweet blah, I just packed my childhood in a box and waved goodbye to it for the last time so fuck off people", we finally touched down and got in a car to come home - were there not 2 rainbows crossing the highway like arches? Mother Nature man - she's fucking awesome.

I did not mean for this post to be so long, but I needed to get some things out into the ether.

A side note - if you like any kind of music at all - you should read everything that Chuck Klosterman has ever written, he is fantastic and provided much comic relief over the course of the week.

Whales J (cuz I know you're reading this even though you're not supposed to be), whales!!

So tomorrow I leave for what will be my first 'real' vacation in 8 years and I could not be more excited about it. I am going back to where my family used to take holidays when I was little and fittingly, I am going with my sister. We decided that we wanted to revisit our childhood; walk in the same sand dunes, splash in the same tide pools, stay in the same cottages, go mini golfing at the same place, take the same ferry to the Vineyard, visit the same lighthouses, walk the same streets as we did when were younger. It has only been in the past few years that I have truly come to realize how freaking amazing my sister is and I truly regret that we were not closer in the past. Spending the week on the Cape with her is truly the best way I could imagine to spend my holiday and all I can say is that I hope that Stellwagen Bank is ready and the whales are well rested!!

Magic

So I am about to hit the road for the Hillside Festival and I have been having trouble containing my excitement over BSS, Jason Collett, Belle Orchestre, Islands, and Sarah Slean all in the same place!! What I am expecting to be the highlight of the weekend is the fact that Bourbon Tabernacle Choir will be reuniting (a bi-product of many of their members being there with their subsequent projects) for the occasion - a reunion 12 years in the making. I was too young to see them live before they disbanded mid 90's and I am looking forward to some fantatic vocals from Kate Fenner and Dave Wall and some killer Chris Brown Hammond action. Anyway - out the door and I leave you all with my 2 favourite Choir tracks. And yes, that is a very teenage Whitey you see.

Top 10: Volume 1

Since I have nothing monumental to say today, I thought I would let other people do the talking for once.

Top 10 most bodaciously awesome musical quotes not including the 16 bar one from my previous entry here because it's too damn long and not including the two I have tattooed on my body (“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.” Bob Marley, and “Life is waiting for you.” OLP), cuz otherwise I couldn't narrow it down to 10. Phew, I'm outa breath! **Please note, these are quotes that are contained within songs, quotes artists have said in interviews or in passing is an entirely different list for another day.

"They say size doesn't count, but my heart is a house." (Kevin Drew)

"Convinced our voices can't be heard, we just wanna scream louder and louder." (Queen)

"Welcome to the cruel world, hope you find your way." (Ben Harper)

"Music's the reason why I know time still exists." (Elisa Toffoli)

"May your heart always be joyful, may your song always be sung and may you stay forever young." (Bob Dylan)

"Regret nuthin' move on I say fuck it." (Transplants)

“Live a life less ordinary, live a life extraordinary.” (Carbon Leaf)

“Let me show you what I’m made of, good intentions are not enough.” (Chantal Kreviazuk)

“Live through this, and you won’t look back.” (Stars)

“Nature is a whore.” (Nirvana)

A bonus: "Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts." (Floyd)

Summer School

How awesome is this?

Sweet Baby James

So I don't think I have ever posted what would qualify as an actual review of a concert here, and I guess this isn't exactly that, but it comes close. Fair warning to all - if you do not appreciate 'sappy' - stop reading now - turn around and don't look back!

The soundtrack of all of my earliest memories is James Taylor (and Van Morrison).
The song my Dad used to sing to me at bedtime is Sweet Baby James by James Taylor.
My first concert (with my parents when I was about 7 yrs old) was James Taylor.
The first songs that made me fall in love with music were James Taylor.
On days when the world all seems too big and everything seems too much, I reach for James Taylor.

He inhabits the warm corner of my soul where I am eternally 8 years old; sitting on a grassy hill with my parents and sister eating a picnic lunch, driving overnight in the car to a family vacation taking turns keeping my Dad awake, where all boo boos can be kissed better and all broken things fixed. He is, for lack of more appropriate characterization - my 'happy place' and he has been for about 25 years.

Last night I went to see James Taylor with my sister. It is probably about the 6th or 7th time I have seen him in the past 10 years, however, it is the first time my sister has seen him since our childhood and the nostalgia of that factor was not lost on me. His music is truly beautiful to listen to, no matter what your taste in music. His arrangements were fabulous - his harmonies have always been an excercise in genius - with the more than capable assistance of Arnold McCuller, Andrea Zonn, Kate Markowitz and David Lasley.

I was moved to tears several times - for those keeping score, Sweet Baby James (of course), Shed a Little Light and Your Smiling Face (the breakdown was AMAZING). He proved over and over again that at age 60, he has still 'got it' - particularly noteable during Steamroller - the man has skills people. Despite our periodic joking about the probablility of him breaking a hip if he jumped again, contemplating if either of us ever remember him having a full head of hair or the fact that last week a friend of mine emailed me this youtube from the late 70's and commented that I probably saw this when it originally aired because I would in fact have been the target audience for Sesame Street at that time, the man is an artist in the truest sense of the word and was just as relevant and talented last night as he was when I was 7 years old.



The fact that I was there with my sister, and she is present in my earliest memories and by extension, my memories of falling in love with the art that is James, made the night that much more magical. Also, Mother Nature decided to let her presence be known by dumping rain in monsoon fashion and provided the addition of a natural light show with fantastic bolts of ligthening (which made me thankful that we did not have lawn seats).

I could go on all day and I do in fact need to go to work, so I will wrap this up. I love my job and the people I work with about 355-360 days of the year. The other 5-10 days of the year, I think my job sucks because I would so rather hit the road with an artist like James Taylor. On this particular day, I sense the oncoming feeling that my job sucks.

If you have never seen him live, or even if you have just never heard any of his music, I suggest you do both. Once again, I say music is magical and live music is transporting. Even further, reliving the music of your childhood live sitting beside your sister is a profound experience.

"And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women
Living on the Earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together
In our desire to see the world become
A place in which our children
Can grow free and strong
We are bound together
By the task that stands before us
And the road that lies ahead
We are bound and we are bound"

**It should be noted that the two and a half bars of Bob Marley that are tattooed on my arm are indeed there because the above 16 bars simply would not fit.

High School Confidential

So I felt the need to share some love for my high school today. I was having a conversation with an acquaintance about choosing a high school for her daughter and how it was such an important decision that will play a huge role in who she inevitably becomes in her later life.

On to the love . . . to everyone (staff and students - in particular to those who like me, lived in the music hall) at Etobicoke School of the Arts who taught me, helped me, listened to me, encouraged me, supported me, challenged me, and most of all - let me be myself, I am humbly indebted to you all for life.

There have been very few places in my life that I felt at home and like the people around me truly "got" me and ESA is definitely the winner for making me feel the most comfortable in my own skin. I acknowledge that I am indeed a freak, however, never before or since have I felt so 'normal' in my abnormality - my undying gratitude and love to everyone who had a part in that. You all resuscitated my soul.

On a related note, to North Toronto Collegiate Institute, a big huge fuck you for doing exactly the opposite and killing my spirit in the first place.

So to all those making such daunting choices for themselves or their children - I urge you to think carefully - because being OK with who you are is a powerful feeling not to be underestimated. Do your research, it's time well spent.

And finally, the thing I must thank ESA for the most is introducing me to the person who truly has been and will be my best friend for life. I could not get through a single day without her - and I thank ESA for every day that I will never have to try.

Stars & Sons (& clouds)

So this has been a very weird week so far for me. I have been working out of the same office for 7 years and recently got a promotion that has me moving to a new office tomorrow. It's not that I am not pumped about the new position and the new projects I will be involved in, but the issue is that I in fact abhore change with a passion and do everything in my power to make sure that nothing in my life is unplanned or 'out of control'. So that is where my head has been at for the past couple of weeks and with the move actually happening tomorrow afternoon, I think I may actually be having palpitations.

Having now gone into detail about my hatred for all events unplanned or unexpected, and in conjunction with the fact that though I will admit change is my number one nemesis, number two is other people being late for things, followed closely by precipitation of any variety, I had a rather wonderful, however unexpected experience as I came home today. I was walking home listening to BSS (shocking, I know) and I got caught in the rain.

For about 15 seconds, I was the Queen of all annoyed and pissed off, until all of a sudden my mood entirely changed. I was about to make a run for the nearest bus shelter when the song on my iPod changed and I was then listening to Stars & Sons (from Olympic Island 2006 - and yes, it does matter)and I stopped running and started walking again, getting totally soaked and not giving a shit, in fact, I think I started laughing. Then, I got about a minute and a half into the song (if you've ever seen them perform the song live you know what I am talking about) and I actually stopped walking all together and I stood still until the song was over. I've said it before and I'll say it again until I take my last breath - music is magical, live music is transporting.


For the uneducated . . .





Now I will go and sit on a wet and muddy lawn to listen to more fabulous live music. The things I do for music . . .

Reasons to love summer in Toronto

Most of the year, I am ambivilent at best about the city that I live in. I could really care less about it (except for the obvvious perk that I see more BSS than most people)and find that it has very few redeeming qualities. That all changes in June every year. These are just a few of the reasons that in the summer I actually love the city where I live.

10 reasons to love summer in Toronto:

1. The best thing about Toronto at any time of year is the Olympic Island Concert (though this years pales in comaprrison to past incarnations that have included BSS)
2. Beaches Jazz Festival
3. Kensington Pedestrian Sundays
4. Harbourfront Centre World Routes
5. The Dream in High Park
6. Luminato
7. The Fringe Festival
8. Caribana
9. Patios
10.Downtown Jazz Festival



Sadly, for the first time in years I will be missing what is possibly the best weekend in the city of Toronto - Caribana. But it is for a good cause - I will be off revisiting my childhood with my sister in Cape Cod and most importantly - seeing whales!!!

Road Trip reflections 08

So this past long weekend, I took what now looks like it will be an annual event - a road trip to New York. I have to say, locked on a bus with 51 people, some of whom I know, some I did not - makes for an interesting ride and handfull of stories that will keep me laughing well into my 90's.

I did this road trip last year and if I can find my old blog about it I will repost it sometime, but last year I found the soundtrack of the journey to be pretty much exclusively The Band.

This year, after making what turned out to be the hardest bet I have ever won in my life NOT TO LISTEN TO ANY ARTS AND CRAFTS ARTISTS ALL WEEKEND (painful), the soundtrack of my trip was Classic Grunge. Mind you - I did win, because, well, I am in fact more stubborn than death - quite literally.

At the time of it's original appearance on the scene (early-mid 90's), the mystique and significance of Grunge escaped me. At that point, I was pretty much only listening to Queen and could not be convinced there was anything else worthy of my time. It has only been over the last few years that I have really come to understand the whole movement and get it's social significance as well as truly appreciate how awesome some of the music was/is. Here is MY definitive Grunge playlist:
Evenflow
Everlong
Testify
Heart Shaped Box
Glycerine
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Plush
In September
Lithium
Bulls on Parade
Tonight Tonight
Crazy Mary
I Alone
Today
Better Man
Come As You Are
Bad as They Seem
Guerilla Radio
Comedown
All Over You
Ava Adore
Creep
Alive
The Man Who Sold the World
1979
In Bloom
Machinehead
Black Hole Sun
Jeremy
Zero
All Apologies
No Rain

A few musings resulting from looping said list:
1. Eddie Vedder is a genius. Pearl Jam in general are a unique and fantastic example of what a gift music truly is.
2. Billy Corgan WAS a genius (let's face it people - comparitively, Zeitgeist sucks ass).
3. Everyone should drive into New York City to the sound of Testify at sunrise - perfection.
4. I have another reason to hate Gwen Stefani (didn't need another one what with her shitty music and all, but I got one anyway) - what the fuck did she do to Gavin Rossdale? He was wicked.
5. I like Nirvana, I LOVE Dave Grohl.
6. I am burning everyone I know a copy of Mental Jewelry tonight.
7. Desser needs to tune back down. That shit was hot.

So there you go. Lock me on a bus for around 25 hours over 3 days and this is what you get.

Mental health weekend

So why does it always seem at this time in the school year that time speeds up and the amount of 'stuff' I have to do in a day multiplies exponentially? Somehow, magically, we are once again poised at the precipice of the end of yet another school year and I am yet again, wishing that this time of year didn't fly by so quickly (between being bogged down with report cards, staff evals, admin to close out this year and start a new year . . .) so that I could really appreciate how far we have really come since back in September. I was struck today as I stepped out of my office into the yard with the children and watched as their relationships and interactions unfolded around me - such different people than the ones I met just 9 months ago. When and why is it that we stop learning and growing at such an alarming speed? It really is remarkable to watch - and on a side note, I was also reminded why I much prefer children to adults as I saw a 3 year old go and slide on our 'old' slide (much smaller and far less exciting than our 'new' slide) because she thought it looked sad and lonely. Nine times out of ten I would rather talk to a 3 year old than anyone else on the planet. The simple facts are; they are smarter than all of us combined, they are nicer than most of us, they are happier than - well, let's face it - all of us, and they are far more honest than any of us have been since we stopped measuring how old we are in half or three-quarter years.
Who tells little girls it’s not OK to pull their dress up over their head anymore? Who tells little boys to stop jumping on the spot for fun? If anyone out there knows who the person is who makes children stop being children – send them my way, we're gonna throw down.
So on the heels of my afternoon observations and the disturbing fact that this year and these children have once again whizzed by me at warp speed, I bid a fond farewell to the Big Smoke for the weekend to head for the Big Apple. Hey, I'm a girl and I love shoes. I have a feeling that poor Roy (our once and former tour guide soon to reprise his role) will immediately run screaming into the street and retire once he sees that we are back and this time there are not 7 of us, but there are 42 of us. Yup, now I get to go make someone else feel slammed at work the way I am poised to be for the next 4 weeks. Hey - gotta balance it out.

On the previous journey to the Big Apple, I found The Band to be the perfect soundtrack to driving through upstate New York on a sunny day, so . . .






P.S. Levon is the man.

How the hell . . .?

OK, so in a follow up to my last post, how the hell did I not know that BSS were playing a last minute show at the Dakota last week? Given the amount of time that I spend on the inernet and all the blogs I read and updates I get, how did I not hear of this until a week after the fact? People are supposed to tell me about this shit!! I would have skipped all of my other shows to see that. Are you allowed to have a temper tantrum at age 33? If you are, this is me havin one :(

A week in the life of a Canadian music-aholic

Sometimes I find my addiction to music (particularly Canadian music) hard to handle. Why is it that all of the artists that I love are in the city in the same week? I am far too old to handle 7 shows in a week and a half, but I have no choice unless I skip someone, which I cannot bring myself to do. So to The Constantines, Peter Katz, The Trews, Bill Priddle, Sweet Thing, Chilly and Feist I issue a challenge: next time, can we try and space it out?? I'll be the one trying very hard not to look old and tired and begging lots of children to keep it down over the next week! But, the reality is, I find weeks like this very inspiring and ridiculously fun, even though they suck the life outa me.

HELLA FUNNY

This is how we do it in Canada

How many years have the Juno Awards been a complete and utter joke of epic proportions with slim to no representation of the true Art that has recently come out of Canada? Doesn't matter, all was made right last night when Feist won 1,2,3,4 . . . 5 Juno Awards. Much deserved, and by far the best performance of the night also went to the lovely Miss Feist.
We won't mention the suspisciously absent nomination for Kev for Alternative album of the Year (not saying he should have won, but definately should have been nominated), that's another story.

If you wish for something hard enough . . .

Best news I've heard all year - from the A&C site:

"Olympic Island 2008
On June 7th, Stars and Young Galaxy will be joined by Death Cab For Cutie and Rogue Wave at this years Olympic Island festival in Toronto. Tickets go on sale Thursday, April 3rd at Ticketmaster and more details about the show will follow in the coming weeks!"

Start the happy dance!!!!!! So far no BSS, but a girl can dream.

And now a blast from the past . . .

There are not words for how funny this is!

What can I say about this really? I'll just post it and continue with my laughing fit!!! Enjoy!

The Number of the Beast

There are not words to describe how freaking phenomenal last night was. I saw Iron Maiden live last night after years of looking for someone to go with me. There are not words to describe the raw talent of Bruce Dickinson - his vocals were amazing and he did not disappoint for an instant. Doesn't matter wht genre of music you are into - it is a show that is not to be missed. I have spent the entire day saying "pardon" and asking people to repeat themselves because I cannot hear a fucking thing, but it was more than worth the next few days walking around asking people to speak into my good ear.

On your marks . . . get set . . .go!!!!!!!!

Just when I was getting bitterly jealous of Australia and New Zealand for having BSS around, the silver lining to my grey cloud arrived. Kev at Lee's and tequila . . . what more could a Toronto girl ask for? This was far and away the most fun I had with 599 people who were all younger than me last year!!!

Beautifully shot and totally worth the wait - love George Vale's work (he has done lots of A&C videos - worth checking out). Enjoy - and if you don't, I don't wanna hear about it.




On a somewhat related note, I was pleased to see this - looks like the break up has not affected Kev and Feist's ability to make phenomenal music together.

Sublimely ridiculous

This picture has been making me deliriously happy all day, also, I am willing to own up to at least 50 of the 2300 plays of the Lucky Ones video posted yesterday on myspace. I am fully aware I need medical attention, but . . .

Happy Family Day

I have very few regrets in my life, but after spending a good portion of the day on Saturday as well as this afternoon with my sister, I realize how much I regret that I did not appreciate what a fantastic sister she really is until the past few years. Unfortunately, it took something sad for me to really see how freaking fantastic she is and I have since been constantly amazed at how strong and wonderful she is. She is really and truly my hero for life and I cannot possibly ever tell her exactly how much all the things she has done for me (many of which I did not even know about until recently) have meant and continue to mean to me every day. There was a time in her life when she really got the short end of the stick and although there was nothing I could do about it, I am truly sorry for the things that she missed because of what was going on in my life at the time. So on this, the very first actual stautory holiday known as "Family Day", I wish all of you a sister as fabulous as mine and I wish my sister all the joy and happiness in the world - she deserves it. And in her honour, I leave you with the King of all folky boys. Happy Family Day.

False idols

OK, so Vince Gill is my new hero - and I generally hate country music and all individuals involved in the making of it. Who in their right mind does not want to knock Kanye down a peg or 10? I am even willing to chip in for Vince's new bodyguard - one for him and another for Herbie Hancock - about freakin time. It's called karma folks - and it is moments like this that restore my faith in the universe. Kanye is a tool.

Never the twain shall meet

OK, so I had a conversation today that I have had many times in the past with many different people over the course of many years. The topic of said conversation was how any person blessed with the magical powers of hearing and the ability to count to 8 (don't even need to take off your shoes and socks for that one) could possibly not find the 1 in a piece of music. There are two kinds of people in this world - those who can find the 1 and those who sadly cannot and never the twain shall meet. It drives me absolutely insane when people clap on the wrong beat to a point that I actually grind my teeth - which I know is extreme, but it actually causes me physical pain to hear it. How can a person possibly not hear the difference between the 1 and the 4? Is there something missing in their brains? Is there something extra in my brain? I don't get it. I have tried to 'teach' people to find it but have had no success. This endeavour only serves to make me incredibly angry and test my patience.
How is it that I am able to teach a child of 3 years old to read, but I cannot teach a reasonably intelligent adult to properly count to 8? Can there be an island where only people who can count can live? If so, can I live there and guard the shores from the likes of dyslexic counters? For my part and in order to stop the insanity, I pledge to never engage in this ludicrous conversation ever again because it only serves to piss me the fuck off.

Unfair

OK, so I was wrong. His name is Trevor Hall, I think he is about 20 years old and he is ridiculously amazing, more evidence that life is so not fair. Everyone should go out and buy 'Trevor Hall Live' Geffen 2005. If the album version of this particular track (You Find Me) does not make you cry you are a heartless human being with no soul and I want you to leave my blog right now. No, really. Go. The door is to the left. See ya.

Cuz they were soooo much more than THAT song

It appears I am tracing my musical roots this week. I guess that means if we are following chronology, Bob is up next and then Metallica? Guess we'll see!!

Let it snow????

OK, so the first thing you need to know is that I fucking hate snow with a passion. Having said that, I had an almost apocolyptic snowy experience yesterday. This past weekend I was reminded again how much I adore classical music after listening to nothing but all weekend. The power, the synchronicity, the crescendos, the bell tones, the percussion (something else you need to know about me - I have a severe percussion fetish). . . it's the stuff dreams are made of.
I was standing on the street listening to Finlandia (Sibelius) and huge fluffy snowflakes were falling on me and it felt almost like I was in another place - it made me smile this ridiculously giddy smile I don't think I've smiled since when I played the beautiful flute solo in that very piece of music about 20 years ago. As I continually tell people - music is magical and can transport you to another time . . . another place. As I stood in the fluffy snow listening to all of my favourite classical music (all pieces I have played at one point or another in my childhood), I was reminded of what it was exactly that made me fall in love with music when I was 10, and I decided to walk all the way home to prolong the magic. It even has me wishing that it snows again soon! There really is nothing more incredible than being able to pick up a piece of metal or wood and create something beautiful, and I was truly inspired to do just that when I got home. Again I was reminded of how much I owe a certain music teacher who created the person that I have become and I am eternally grateful that our paths crossed and that he took the time to set me on this path.
A bell tone and a fluffy snowflake . . . who knew!! It's the little things.

Oh, and then I found this very a propos video of snowy Sibelius . . .

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

This is what it sounds like in my brain when I am not listening to music . . . somehow, I have this on an internal loop. Fantastic.

A day 5 years in the making!!!

Had to share my momentous news. After raving about BSS for 5 years now to everyone I know/meet, and because I am strongly against forcing my choices in music (no matter how superior they may in fact be) without solicitation upon less musically intelligent individuals - I never share music with people unless they ask for it. To my utter and extreme surprise and amazement - after 5 years - my sister finally asked me for a mix of what I would consider 'The Definitive BSS'. Little does she know she asked for 1 CD and she will indeed be getting 5 (can't be done in less), but I actually cackled I was so unbelievably happy. She has NO idea what she has gotten herself into . . .

So I took a break from listening to Untitled 33 on a loop (I cracked play # 300 in less than 3 days early this afternoon - clearly I have issues . . .) to watch this again. Every time I feel completely uninspired, I watch this. This kind of brilliance is exactly what musical instruments were made for - it is an exercise in true beauty. As a result, I will be breaking out an instrument or two when I go home to try and do something that comes close to this. I will fail miserably, but I will feel better having made an attemp, no matter how pathetic and unworthy. I wish I could sit in the middle of this amazing circle of individuals . . .

WELCOME

So this is my first post, if anyone is reading this - hello stranger! You will find I have what can only be referred to as a one track mind. That track is music. More specifically, music released by Arts and Crafts Records. Even more specifically, music by Broken Social Scene. Most specifically, the music of Kevin Drew. I am addicted to music and have been for my entire life - I play a few instruments, but none well enough to actually make a living through music. In an alternate universe I would have a cool job somehow involved in the music industry, but alas, no such luck. As such, I predict most of my posts will be musically inclined, probably mostly of a BSS nature - but we'll see.

2007 musically speaking was a bit of a sleeper for me. The one of course notable exception being Kev's album which officially dropped in Sept, but that I got back in June. It was fantastic. In the age of 'the single' and 'the hit', it truly is refreshing to see an artist who is not only capable, but more importantly fully committed to providing a solid full on album. Each song seems like a part of the preceeding and following song. It's like a book unfolding in chapters. The production was amazing - no shock there either though. Stand out tracks for me were Big Love (very Do Make-ish) - huge sound and great vocals, Gang Bang Suicide - again, great vocals, best song to wake up to since Guilty Cubicles (that's saying a lot coming from me), Broke Me Up - awesome instrumentation, phenomenal horns and of course, Backed out on the - J has cornered the market on the most raw guitar sound going. Leaps and bounds above any other music to hit the streets this year if not longer. Say what you want about the whole "Is it BSS", "Isn't is BSS" debate - it's great songwriting played by excellent musicians - that should be enough for any true music fan. I still urge anyone who wants to experience something truly inspirational to give it a try - you won't be disappointed.

Other honourable mentions this year - The Reminder(Feist), National Anthem of Nowhere(Apostle of Hustle), Neon Bible(Arcade Fire), You, You're a History in Rust(Do Make Say Think) and Cease to Begin(Band of Horses).

The other major musical development in my year was that I fell in love with Amy Millan and Jason Collett this year. I have always appreciated both of them as members of BSS, and also always liked Stars, but this year during what was a really tough time, Amy's voice and Jason's words were like lights to me in a field of darkness.

I am very excited and inspired by recent discussions of a post Brendan tour BSS album that Kev has said he would like to see out before the end of 2008. I gotta say - this hiatus was a bit rough on me and I was skeptical about the future but recent comments as well as a phenomenal show a few weeks ago have me feeling like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyway, I don't know how often I am going to post or even if anyone is going to read this, but if you do - welcome to the madness that eats my brain!!

I leave you with something beautiful . . .