Music: Basia Bulat - The Shore
http://www.blogotheque.net/Basia-Bulat,5264
There are so many fantastic singers and musicians and songwriters out there that often some get overlooked and lost among the shuffle. It may be that you have heard of Basia Bulat and that she is much better known than I thought, but I do not think that that is the case - at least not for now. I had and album of hers before and had heard a few other songs, but I get so much music that often I will add something to my computer and then only ever listen to it once or sometimes not at all. I believe that was the case here.
Then my sister played the link to this recording of hers and I was spellbound. The songs I had heard and then forgotten in passing came back to me and I immediately sought out whatever else of hers I could find. She has one of the purest and most beautifully haunting voices I have heard in a while. Her music ranges from orchestral to country and folk, all the while hitting gospel and several other types on the way.
Among all of the great (and terrible) artists out there, Basia is one you should without a doubt be listening to. If you need convincing, listen to the performance of her song "the shore" through the link and then try to tell me I am wrong. Something in her voice just gets inside you and demands attention until it fades away.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Theatre (of movies, not actual theatre)
Music: happy the man (the cure)
It's strange. I don't go to see movies in the theater that often. I will usually wait for them to come out later, rather than pay exhorbitant amounts to see them on a big screen. But for some reason, this summer has been different. Not only have I been to see four different movies in the theater over the past 3 months or so, but three of those movies, I went to see twice each.
First there was Inception, which is one hell of a damn fine movie and if you haven't seen it yet, then go see it right now. Probably two or three times. Well, I was gonna try and get the guys to go see it one week back in July, but just before I could, they went and saw it while I was out of town camping. So, cause of this I then went to see it myself a few days later. Then, not two weeks later, my family went to go see it when my half-brother Stefan was in town, so I went to see it again.
Then a few weeks later Scott Pilgrim came out. Now, this is one of my favourite comic series and even though I was a little reticent about Michael Cera playing Scott, of course I would go see it. However lots of people I know love it, so I ended up going to see it with my workies on the Saturday after it came out, and then with the guys the following tuesday. Then, on the friday, my other half-brother Tycho was in town and the two of us decided to go see a movie and have a guy's night. He hadn't see it yet, so Scott Pilgrim was the first choice, but it ended up being sold out so we went to see The Expendables instead. But I was this close ( ) to seeing it three times in the first week it was out. And all credit to Cera, he did a pretty decent job as Scott. The entire rest of the movie was phenomenally well cast, though, so he seems to not fit as well in comparisson.
Now, as for the Expendables, that is such a bad piece of garbage dumb action movie, but goes almost far enough that I am not quite sure if it is funny-bad or just bad-bad. But this didn't stop me seeing it again. I was out getting dinner with the guys and they wanted to go see it, and I figured "eh, it's cheap movie tuesday, it's just four buck, why the hell not". and so even though I can't decide if I even like the movie or not, I ended up seeing it twice.
The fourth movie was was brought all this up in my mind. Went to see Easy A a couple of days ago, and I am pretty much positive that I will end up seeing it again, maybe even two more times, it is just that damn good (although the expendables set the precedent that quality doesn't mean much for my watching habits, i guess).
Gonna write up an actual review of Easy A tonight or tommorow, but for now, this is getting long enough.
It's strange. I don't go to see movies in the theater that often. I will usually wait for them to come out later, rather than pay exhorbitant amounts to see them on a big screen. But for some reason, this summer has been different. Not only have I been to see four different movies in the theater over the past 3 months or so, but three of those movies, I went to see twice each.
First there was Inception, which is one hell of a damn fine movie and if you haven't seen it yet, then go see it right now. Probably two or three times. Well, I was gonna try and get the guys to go see it one week back in July, but just before I could, they went and saw it while I was out of town camping. So, cause of this I then went to see it myself a few days later. Then, not two weeks later, my family went to go see it when my half-brother Stefan was in town, so I went to see it again.
Then a few weeks later Scott Pilgrim came out. Now, this is one of my favourite comic series and even though I was a little reticent about Michael Cera playing Scott, of course I would go see it. However lots of people I know love it, so I ended up going to see it with my workies on the Saturday after it came out, and then with the guys the following tuesday. Then, on the friday, my other half-brother Tycho was in town and the two of us decided to go see a movie and have a guy's night. He hadn't see it yet, so Scott Pilgrim was the first choice, but it ended up being sold out so we went to see The Expendables instead. But I was this close ( ) to seeing it three times in the first week it was out. And all credit to Cera, he did a pretty decent job as Scott. The entire rest of the movie was phenomenally well cast, though, so he seems to not fit as well in comparisson.
Now, as for the Expendables, that is such a bad piece of garbage dumb action movie, but goes almost far enough that I am not quite sure if it is funny-bad or just bad-bad. But this didn't stop me seeing it again. I was out getting dinner with the guys and they wanted to go see it, and I figured "eh, it's cheap movie tuesday, it's just four buck, why the hell not". and so even though I can't decide if I even like the movie or not, I ended up seeing it twice.
The fourth movie was was brought all this up in my mind. Went to see Easy A a couple of days ago, and I am pretty much positive that I will end up seeing it again, maybe even two more times, it is just that damn good (although the expendables set the precedent that quality doesn't mean much for my watching habits, i guess).
Gonna write up an actual review of Easy A tonight or tommorow, but for now, this is getting long enough.
Monday, September 20, 2010
win/win/win
Music: Dance Little Liar (the arctic monkeys)
Went out saturday night with a bunch of friends and had one hell of a time. Well, they are a "bunch of friends" of mine now, but at the start of the evening I only knew two and had met another three or four a few times, and none of them very recently. It was a going away party for my old friends Mark and Cheryl who are taking off to England for a year so that Mark can do post-grad work and so that Cheryl can.. well.. be on vacation in England, basically. We used to be really really tight between 4 years ago and 2 years ago, but the thing is, we hadn't seen each other in nearly two years. When I got an invite to this on facebook I was quite surprised since we hadn't kept in touch, but figured that I would go to even just have a one night reunion before they took off. So what if I wouldn't know anyone else.
Well, it was friggin' awesome. So glad that I did. Met something like 30 other friends of their's that had come to see them off and they are one hell of a bunch of people. It was a great time and now I know another 20 or 30 brand new amazingly interesting people. And sure, likely many of them I will not see again or at least not for a while, but if I stay in contact with even one of them, then that is a brand new friend, and making new friends gets harder and harder as you move through life. And even should I never see any of them again, then we all had a great night and that is all that even matters.
So, whatever the outcome from it, the decision to go out and see them again is already thoughroughly in the "win" column and anything past this is just bonus.
Went out saturday night with a bunch of friends and had one hell of a time. Well, they are a "bunch of friends" of mine now, but at the start of the evening I only knew two and had met another three or four a few times, and none of them very recently. It was a going away party for my old friends Mark and Cheryl who are taking off to England for a year so that Mark can do post-grad work and so that Cheryl can.. well.. be on vacation in England, basically. We used to be really really tight between 4 years ago and 2 years ago, but the thing is, we hadn't seen each other in nearly two years. When I got an invite to this on facebook I was quite surprised since we hadn't kept in touch, but figured that I would go to even just have a one night reunion before they took off. So what if I wouldn't know anyone else.
Well, it was friggin' awesome. So glad that I did. Met something like 30 other friends of their's that had come to see them off and they are one hell of a bunch of people. It was a great time and now I know another 20 or 30 brand new amazingly interesting people. And sure, likely many of them I will not see again or at least not for a while, but if I stay in contact with even one of them, then that is a brand new friend, and making new friends gets harder and harder as you move through life. And even should I never see any of them again, then we all had a great night and that is all that even matters.
So, whatever the outcome from it, the decision to go out and see them again is already thoughroughly in the "win" column and anything past this is just bonus.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Hey look, the blog is still here.
So, just checked the last posted date and I can't believe that it back in july, and that was really only just a rant that I wrote because I needed to vent some anger. But that doesn't really count. So starting here on today, the 18th of September, that most auspicious of dates, we begin again and will try to keep up some semblance of continuous writing. Maybe we will try to make a bunch of posts about music and the new bands I find.
Once more into the breach.
Music: Like a hitman, like a dancer (A.C. Newman)
Went and saw the New Pornographers a couple of months back and what a show that was. AC Newman and Neko Case were perfectly on form and the rest of the band were right up there with them, all throwing themselves into the performance one hundred percent.
All except for Dan Bejar. He seemed to have decided that his role in the band should be that of the whiny, entittled diva. The show began and he was not there for the first few shows, but I neither really noticed nor minded all that much since I'm not that big a fan of his. Then one of his vocal songs was about to start, so he wandered (would shambled be more accurate?) onto stage and up to the mike and sung the song. And while he was singing, he was pretty decent, but the showmanship was non-existent.
With his song finished, he grabbed his guitar and remained onstage to play rhythm guitar for the next song. At least supposedly. The entire song he spent with his back to the audience and for all we know he could have just be standing there moving his arms slightly and not actually playing anything. There was nop real way to tell since he woul moodily stand there facing the drums instead of the crowd of fans who are paying him to be here.
Then he left the stage. After the one vocal and one song of guitar.
He remained off stage for a song or three, and for the rest of the show followed this same pattern. He would lurk offstage for a few songs, then come out, sing one, play one, and then leave again like some moody guest artist who is deigning to do everyone else a favour by being there. Unbelievably unprofessional.
Newman and Neko and the rest of the band, I still love you all and you totally rocked out the whole show even without him and reached such astonishing levels of excellence.
But one fact remains.
Dan Bejar is a Douche.
Once more into the breach.
Music: Like a hitman, like a dancer (A.C. Newman)
Went and saw the New Pornographers a couple of months back and what a show that was. AC Newman and Neko Case were perfectly on form and the rest of the band were right up there with them, all throwing themselves into the performance one hundred percent.
All except for Dan Bejar. He seemed to have decided that his role in the band should be that of the whiny, entittled diva. The show began and he was not there for the first few shows, but I neither really noticed nor minded all that much since I'm not that big a fan of his. Then one of his vocal songs was about to start, so he wandered (would shambled be more accurate?) onto stage and up to the mike and sung the song. And while he was singing, he was pretty decent, but the showmanship was non-existent.
With his song finished, he grabbed his guitar and remained onstage to play rhythm guitar for the next song. At least supposedly. The entire song he spent with his back to the audience and for all we know he could have just be standing there moving his arms slightly and not actually playing anything. There was nop real way to tell since he woul moodily stand there facing the drums instead of the crowd of fans who are paying him to be here.
Then he left the stage. After the one vocal and one song of guitar.
He remained off stage for a song or three, and for the rest of the show followed this same pattern. He would lurk offstage for a few songs, then come out, sing one, play one, and then leave again like some moody guest artist who is deigning to do everyone else a favour by being there. Unbelievably unprofessional.
Newman and Neko and the rest of the band, I still love you all and you totally rocked out the whole show even without him and reached such astonishing levels of excellence.
But one fact remains.
Dan Bejar is a Douche.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Dear World. Fuck Off
Music: Cheap like Sebastien (Apostle of Hustle) (on repeat to try and keep myself from smashing things)
So, I just had a great weekend. Nice weather that was used to have a barbeque on the beach wich a bunch of friends, some of whom I haven't seen for a while on Saturday. And then today included pancakes, hanging out with friends, then going to see a weird-assed Akira Kurosawa movie with my mom and then going out for beer and really good pizza afterwards.
Everything was awesome.
Except that while watching the movie, some little bitch of a cancerous tumor on the world, came and clipped my bike lock with some bolt cutters and ran off with my bike which has had a lot of time and about $160 worth of parts and repairs put into it in the last few weeks. And there I was left. Standing on the curb without a bike but with a cut bike lock, almost wishing that I would find whoever took in standing around, if only so that I could beat them to death with the broken remnants of the lock.
Probably best for us all that they were not around. I would likely regret that.
....
I have been noticing lately that I might have some anger issues.
So, I just had a great weekend. Nice weather that was used to have a barbeque on the beach wich a bunch of friends, some of whom I haven't seen for a while on Saturday. And then today included pancakes, hanging out with friends, then going to see a weird-assed Akira Kurosawa movie with my mom and then going out for beer and really good pizza afterwards.
Everything was awesome.
Except that while watching the movie, some little bitch of a cancerous tumor on the world, came and clipped my bike lock with some bolt cutters and ran off with my bike which has had a lot of time and about $160 worth of parts and repairs put into it in the last few weeks. And there I was left. Standing on the curb without a bike but with a cut bike lock, almost wishing that I would find whoever took in standing around, if only so that I could beat them to death with the broken remnants of the lock.
Probably best for us all that they were not around. I would likely regret that.
....
I have been noticing lately that I might have some anger issues.
Friday, April 9, 2010
This is why I can't have nice things
Music: Mogwai. Really loud Mogwai
Well, damn.
Evidently, Arthur loses at life. This sucks.
Just got rejected for going to U of T next year, and now I have absolutely no idea what I am going to be doing . Well, aside from going and yelling (politely of course) at the registrar on monday. Seriously, I would alwasy tell people I didn't know if I would get in, to try and not get cocky and screw it up for myself, but I was always pretty confident that I would.
Shows what the hell I know.
Well, damn.
Evidently, Arthur loses at life. This sucks.
Just got rejected for going to U of T next year, and now I have absolutely no idea what I am going to be doing . Well, aside from going and yelling (politely of course) at the registrar on monday. Seriously, I would alwasy tell people I didn't know if I would get in, to try and not get cocky and screw it up for myself, but I was always pretty confident that I would.
Shows what the hell I know.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Uuuuuuugh
Music: Natureboy (they're really good - especially Heart to Fool)
This is so much suck. Unbelievable quantities of suck. Woke up this morning with like stomach flu or food poisoning or some crap like that. Spent my first two or three hours up alternating between lying on the couch and hovering over the toilet bowl.
If it's food poisoning, what the hell have I eaten recently that could have given me that?
If it's flu (which I kinda doubt since I thought flu season was over by now mostly), then gahh! Stupid flu. Although, come to think of it, I did have a really long, involved and weird dream all last night that I kept thinking I was waking out of, only to still be in it over and over.
Woah, maybe I was having crazy fever dreams?....
This is so much suck. Unbelievable quantities of suck. Woke up this morning with like stomach flu or food poisoning or some crap like that. Spent my first two or three hours up alternating between lying on the couch and hovering over the toilet bowl.
If it's food poisoning, what the hell have I eaten recently that could have given me that?
If it's flu (which I kinda doubt since I thought flu season was over by now mostly), then gahh! Stupid flu. Although, come to think of it, I did have a really long, involved and weird dream all last night that I kept thinking I was waking out of, only to still be in it over and over.
Woah, maybe I was having crazy fever dreams?....
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