surprise of the year

When I first heard that there is going to be a movie about 9/11, thoughts that ran through my head were “oh god, not any based on a true event Hollywoodized/Americanized melodrama!” and “WTF, here we go, studios trying to capitalize on another tragic event.” If you don’t already know, I think that most Hollywood movies are crap and I HATE melodramas! Well, after hearing and reading more than a dozen terrific reviews on United 93, I finally caved in and went to see the movie last night.

I don’t know where to start with this review... well, let me just say that it is one of the most powerful films I have even seen. Maybe because I had such a strong memory of 9/11 and the film made me revisit that particular day. I remember it was during my break in either my first or second week at U of T. I was walking around and saw images of smoke coming out of the World Trade Center on TVs in the display windows of various electronic stores along Yonge Street. I went into the Futureshop near Yonge and Dundas seeing crowds of people gathered around the huge plasma televisions. I also remember that everything was shutting down; all the stores were closing in Eaton Centre fearing that there might be an attack in the core of downtown Toronto. Everything was crazy that day!

Anyways, back to United 93. What I loved about the film is the style. The movie seems like it was in real time; it follows three main storylines: the flight control centres, the military headquarters, and flight United 93. (very 24-ish, but without the split screens) We don’t know any more information than anyone in the film does; it shows that the people in the flight centres, the military headquarters, etc. found out what happened the same way all of us did – thought CNN. I like how it never tries to dramatize or recreate the crashes. The film is also very documentary-like, I felt like I was witnessing some of the scenes first hand. Another key feature is that it never tries to make us connect with any of the characters: there is no character development, and we were given very little to no background information of the passengers on United 93. It reminded me a lot of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant, another masterpiece!

I have never felt so terrible in a movie before United 93. My eyes were watery for more than half of the film and I had goose bumps through the entire movie. I felt helpless for the victims as the movie shown that no one on ground level really knew what to do. I also felt helpless as the military desperately tries to reach the President... my friends and I all have the image of Bush looking oblivious while reading in front of a group of children in our heads. Yes, this film might just be another manufactured movie script, with questionable dialogues and questionable depictions; however, with all the conspiracy theories aside, the event is real and very unforgettable to many, especially those around my age. United 93 does not try to patronize America, nor tries to pinpoint any blame or creates any hero or enemy; it just simply shows you how the events unfolded during September 11, 2001. I don’t know what else to say about the film except GO SEE IT!... it will definitely be a memorable movie going experience.

By now, you must either be annoyed or exhausted from reading. Sorry for this overly lengthy post, but the film is far too important to be described in anything less.

i heart pacman and tetris

I meant to post this a while back but the link got lost among the millions of bookmarks in have in my favorites folder. This is to all you video game nerds who are also into visual art. If that is you, you will no doubt enjoy this great post from a blog called Productdose. You can view all the pieces from the exhibition here. My personal favorite is "Megalost" by Thomas Han! Ok, I must go get really to go out now... enjoy those great 8 Bit pieces, nerds!

good weather for airstrikes

I recently downloaded the new Sigur Rós video for "Sæglópur". It is yet another stunning cinema-like music video; seriously, I have yet seen a bad video by Sigur Rós. They are all magnificently shot. There is certainly a sense of triumph and heroic feel to some of the videos while some convey social commentaries. I guess each video would fall under my [wicked-cool video] category. Ultimately, "Viðrar vel til loftárása" is my favorite for being the most emotionally charged while "Glósóli" comes in second because I have never seen a more fitting video for a song in my life! I have put of a link to five videos. They are all big file, high quality videos. If you know/have more Sigur Rós video, please tell me. Enjoy.

Viðrar vel til loftárása .mov file [super-wicked-cool video]
Untitled #1 .mov file [super-wicked-cool video]
Hoppípolla .mov file
Glósóli .mpeg file [super-wicked-cool video]
Sæglópur .mpeg file

visit the offcial Sigur Rós website here

rule #1: suing our fans is destructive and hypocritical

this is great, Canadian musicians fight back against record labels!

hold back the wind, hold back the rain, i want to live to see good weather

Go to Missuri Skies to see some of the most gorgeous photographs of natural effects in the sky. There are great pictures of sunset/sunrise, aurora, comets and my absolute favorite The Rainbow at Elam Bend gallery. I just wished that some of the pictures were bigger. Enjoy.

i sold your car for the shoes that i gave you

I found Björk’s live cover of "Gloomy Sunday" about a month ago and I actually just played it for the first time last night. So, why did I wait so long to play this song? Well, for those of you who are not familiar with the horrible origin of "Gloomy Sunday", let me share with all of you what my Anthropology of Popular Culture professor told me. The song was originally written by a Hungarian (don’t know his/her name), and according to my professor, something like hundreds or thousands of people committed suicide after hearing the song. There you go. I have never heard the Hungarian version of the song, although I’ve been very curious ever seen hearing the background story from my professor, but don’t know if I’ll ever get the courage to actually listen to it.

Gloomy Sunday (live)
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On a more cheerful note, it is that time of the year to pop in Our Endless Numbered Days. It is one of the most gorgeous records ever and in my opinion, it is the perfect music to play on a sunny day. Seriously, on the next sunny day, like today, go walk around downtown, in a park, wherever... put on a track like "Naked As We Came" on your ipod, and it will take you to a dreamlike space, worries free... you will most likely feel lethargic, but in a very wonderful way! In other words, it is like getting high, but without the illegal substances.

Naked As We Came [wicked-cool song]
Teeth In The Grass
Fever Dream
Passing Afternoon

Upward Over The Mountain from The Creek Drank The Cradle [wicked-cool song]
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buy Our Endless Numbered Days here

if i leave before you, darling, don't you waste me in the ground

From The Stranger by Albert Camus:
"A man had left a Czech village to seek his fortune. Twenty-five years later, and now rich, he had returned with a wife and a child. His mother was running a hotel with his sister in the village where he’s been born. In order to surprise them, he had left his wife and child at another hotel and gone to see his mother, who didn’t recognize him when he walked in. As a joke he’d had the idea of taking a room. He had shown off his money. During the night his mother and his sister had beater him to death with a hammer in order to rob him and had thrown his body in the river. The next morning the wife had come to the hotel and, without knowing it, gave away the traveler’s identity. The mother hanged herself. The sister threw herself down a well."

I read The Stranger over five years ago, however, for some strange reason, this passage reoccurs in my head every so often.

I feel like crap right now... partly due to Habs losing in overtime, but most likely due to sitting under the sun for more than three hours in front of Hart House... possible sunstroke? But it wasn’t even hot at all! ...I don’t really know. I am beyond exhausted and I must go to bed now.

saved by adult swim

Your favorite after school show Saved By the Bell is back in production! Click here to read the article.

ScarJo + song = WTF??!

This morning, I went to visit Pitchfork, anticipating them to bash another artist/album that I love. I scrolled down to the track reviews section, saw a photo of ScarJo, thought it was probably a review of a song featured in her latest film. But wait... no... it is a track review on a new Scarlett Johansson cover song!!!!!!!! WTF!!!!!!! So, for the past 30 mins, I have been trying to find that song, however, no luck so far (insert sad face here). Nevertheless, I did managed to find some information on the ScarJo track and the album it is on.

The album is called Unexpected Dreams: Songs from the Stars (phew!)

This is the product description on Amazon.com:
"A sparkling array of top film and television stars come together to sing delightful new versions of favorite contemporary night, love, and dream-themed musical selections, all accompanied by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Sweetly sung by celebrities including Scarlet Johansson, Ewan McGregor, John Stamos, Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, and more, the album benefits "Music Matters," the L.A. Phil's renowned educational programs and initiatives."

(by this time, I have vomited all over my keyboard!!)

I will post the ScarJo song up as soon as I get my hands on it... stay tuned. (contact me if you have the track, I will love you forever!)

this is where it ends

As I wait for the second overtime period to start between the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings, let me introduce you to another new band I’ve been listening to. I downloaded Apocalypse In Increments by Ryan's Hope after reading a very positive review (4.5 out of 5) from PunkNew.org (a site with very trustworthy reviews). After just a few listens, I immediately fell in love with the record. I have now heard the album for about 10 cycles and it only gets stronger with each listen! I haven’t heard such an impressive skate-punk album since the release of Millencolin’s Pennybridge Pioneers six long years ago. Apocalypse In Increments is loud, fast, and aggressive. There are countless memorable riffs along with extremely catchy lyrics. Everything just falls perfectly... another solid album to add to my 2006 list. Anyways, I have to get back to hockey now, if you want a more in-depth review, go to read it at PunkNews.org, otherwise, here are a couple of songs for your enjoyment!

Sounds like: The Movielife's This Time Next Year and early Millencolin

My Motivation: Your Demise
Exorcism [wicked-cool song]
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as you can see, I added a new feature: [wicked-cool song] simply means that I highly recommend the song... so you must download it! right now!

buy Apocalypse In Increments here

did you know you were going to shoot off the top of a 4 year old girl's head?

I had my first exam today… and dare I say, it was fun. What!?!?! 'Fun' and 'exam' in the same sentence? Yes, my exam was alright, not too hard at all. I could actually answer everything! The listening portion of the exam was awesome and pretty damn easy. I had to identify four mystery songs and answer random questions for each song. The songs were: Gloria Gaynor’s "I Will Survive" (ew!), "Fuck the Police" by NWA (haha, my wish came true), "I Can’t Get No Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones, and Alanis Morissette’s "You Oughta Know"... really how fucking awesome is that, I got to listen to Alanis Morissette during my exam!

Ok, now to the main point of this post: about a week ago, I got my hands on the Xiu Xiu and Devendra Banhart 7" split. Devendra Banhart singing "Support Our Troops Oh!" in a peaceful harmonic style, a vocal style closely resembles to Hank Williams. I know, for those of you have heard Xiu Xiu’s version of "Support Our Troops Oh!", you must be asking "how can anyone make such a violent and distrubing song into a peaceful gospel?" Well, Devendra Banhart did and he did it successfully! It is absolutely a mind-blowing cover! In contrast, you have Xiu Xiu doing my favorite Devendra Banhart song "The Body Breaks". Xiu Xiu completely murdered (in a good way) one of the most beautiful songs ever! Seriously, Xiu Xiu can take any song, even the happiest song ever and make it sound disturbing. The off beat sound along with uneven vocal dynamic levels transformed "The Body Breaks" in the most creative and unique way. Overall, an astonishing 7", probably some of the best covers I have ever heard!

Devendra Banhart - Support Our Troops Oh! (Xiu Xiu Cover) [wicked-cool song]
Xiu Xiu - The Body Breaks (Devendra Banhart Cover)
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buy the Xiu Xiu/Devendra Banhart 7" Split here

sketch away!!

You have to copy the drawing shown to you in 4 seconds or less... extremely fun, additive, and frustrating! Test your mouse doodling skills here.

god loves a liar

This weekend consisted of nothing but watching NHL playoffs (Go Habs Go) and studying for my Popular Music in North America exam... which for the past week, I thought is on Tuesday, but it is actually tomorrow!! ...and yes, I am taking a course in university called Popular Music in North America, and I may be able to used "Fuck The Police" by NWA as an answer for the final exam, how cool is that! Anyways, looking at the front page of this blog, I noticed that there is nothing but Patrick Wolf, Final Fantasy, and Feist posts. I think I have shown enough affection for those artists; as a result, I am going to try to feature different musicians for at least the next few posts. So, I am here to introduce A Wilhelm Scream – a punk rock/post-hardcore band that I have been listening to nonstop this past month and a half. I currently have two releases by A Wilhelm Scream: Mute Print and Ruiner. Both are great records, but in my opinion, Ruiner is far greater! Ruiner features memorable guitar riffs: catchy, but not poppy in a sense that it will make you get tire of the album after five listens; as well, it has lightning fast rhythms along with aggressive vocals. Seriously, I cannot put this album down. This is the closest to good old punk rock without being too poppy, not that there is anything wrong with pop punk (well, some pop punk). Please, if you like fast post-hardcore punk rock music, you absolutely have to check out A Wilhelm Scream. They are playing tomorrow night at The Opera House with Protest the Hero and Bayside!

Sounds like: Against Me, Hot Water Music, Propagandhi, Rise Against

Famous Friends And Fashion Drunks from Mute Print
The Rip from Mute Print
The King is Dead from Ruiner
Killing It from Ruiner
Congratulations from Ruiner ***file has expired, reload upon request
Less Bright Eyes, More Deicide from Ruiner (i highly disagree with the title... but a great song nonetheless) [wicked-cool song] ***file has expired, reload upon request

buy A Wilhelm Scream releases here

great great minds against themselves conspire

"To the Lighthouse" by Patrick Wolf is truly a spectacular song. The song is brilliantly composed: saddening lyrical content is backed up with ironic electronic dance beats. I don’t know what P.Wolf’s intensions are for this song, but it can easily be interpreted as a tribute to Virginia Woolf, hence the title. But continuous hints in the song like '…stop collecting stones and the river bed shall not be your home…', or '…now the bombs drop around our feet…' only strengthen this presumption.

Patrick Wolf - To The Lighthouse [wicked-cool song] ***file has expired, reload upon request

http://wolf.ratafacha.com/audio/live/Live_@_Benicassim_Festival_Spain_-_08-08-04/02_-_To_The_Lighthouse.mp3
http://wolf.ratafacha.com/audio/live/Live_@_Kulturzentrum_Nuremberg_2005/15_-_To_The_Lighthouse.mp3
http://wolf.ratafacha.com/audio/live/Live_@_Paradiso_Amsterdam_(05-04-05)/13_-_To_The_Lighthouse.mp3 [wicked-cool song]

Murder By Death - I'm Afraid Of Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf [wicked-cool song] ***file has expired, reload upon request


buy Patrick Wolf releases here

vote for Natalie Portman

Who’s the World’s Sexiest Vegetarian?

Go Habs Go!

If you are not a hockey fan, stop reading now. I posted this at the beginning of the season in my old blog. 5 of the 6 teams on that list made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Clearly, I want Montreal to win the Cup, but I think Ottawa and Detroit (damn I HATE the Wings!!!) have the best chance. I'm still not counting out the Sharks either! So, what are your predictions? Which two teams are making it to the finals? And which team will win the 05-06 Cup?

a post before i head out to school

I found yet another high quality live concert by the mighty Feist. This one is "The Black Session" live on France Inter back in 2004. I have also found two bonus tracks that are only available on the UK import of Let It Die. Enjoy!

Feist - Black Session, Live on France Inter

Amourissima from the UK version of Let It Die
Tout Doucement from the UK version of Let It Die
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buy Let It Die here

there might just be modern romance after all

Every time I talk to someone about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or the song "Modern Romance", I usually mention how much I love the hidden track at the end of the record. The response I get is always similar: "what?! I didn’t know there’s a hidden track!!!" or "I usually hit the stop button after Modern Romance!"
So, since I am such a cool and nice person, I have edited off the beginning of "Modern Romance", leaving just the hidden part... umm... I hope this is legal! Oh well, here it is:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - the untitled track at the end of Modern Romance [wicked-cool song]
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hmm... that picture of Karen O (thanks, millie) up there looks a lot like this one or this one...

here are the beautiful lyrics to the track:

baby I'm afraid of a lot of things
but I aint scared of lovin you
baby I know your afraid of a lot of things
but dont be scared of love

cause people will say all kinds of thing
that dont mean a damn to me
cause all I see is whats in front of me
and thats you

well, I've been dragged all over the place
i've taken hits time just don't erase
and baby i can see you've been fucked with too
but that dont mean your lovin days are through

cause people will say all kinds of things
that don't mean a damn to me
cause all I see is whats in front of me
and thats you

well I maybe just be a fool
but I know you're just as cool
and cool kids
they belong together

buy YYYs releases here

introducing...

lycanthropy v. 2.0!!!

love it? hate it? tell me what you think!

i have also updated two previous posts: upcoming concerts and top 50 indie films
i will be updating both of those posts periodically. there’ll be links under 'notable posts' so you don’t have to go search the archives.

featured artist

Sorry for the last post, I hope it didn't depress anyone. So, now on a more lighter note... today, I found yet another very cool artist. From what I have seen so far, a big part of Ronald Kurniawan’s style is combining surreal objects with realistic, heroic landscapes. This style is very conventional among surreal artists: disturbing reality by using surreal objects or creatures in realistic environments. In many of his paintings, he uses block letters and numbers to create some really smart and interesting pieces. For instance, click here to see "B Plantation"... I don’t think any explanation is needed here. Some of the themes that Kurniawan deals with are conflicts, fears, and isolations. He uses these themes, as well as beautiful imageries and colours to create some very mysterious narratives in his pieces. In addition, he utilizes all these techniques to create some extremely unusual sculptures. My personal favorites are "One could stand on its own", "I had a dream that I was on a boat with trees for sails", and the amazing "Birdhouse". Be sure to check out Ronal Kurniawan’s website, but beware, you will probably be stuck there for a long time as you will find yourself looking at every single one of Kurniawan’s magnificent work. Enjoy!

On a side note, some BIG updates are coming soon including a facelift to the entire blog as well as more live Feist tracks.

nobody plans to be half a world away at times like these

This is my 100th post since I started this blog. I want to dedicate this post to my grandpa in Australia, who has just passed away today. I have not seen him in over 10 years, but have talked to him every so often. From what I could remember, he was a very sweet, loving man. He gave me my very first coffee... he poured in extra sugar and milk because I could not stand the bitter taste of black coffee. I think I had like four or five cups that day because I loved it so much and he liked to spoil me. I feel extremely bad that I have not seen him for so long. Every time I talk to him on the phone, he would ask when I’ll be visiting. I was actually planning to go see him this summer since I’d be done in U of T, but it's now too late and I will never get a chance to see him again. I guess that is all I want to express right now, sorry for such a downer post.

dressing in drag your best friend's clothes, while boys kissed boys in hotel rooms

When Team Love first launched in 2004, I was extremely curious in finding out all the bands and artists Conor Oberst had on his roster. One of those bands was Tilly and The Wall. I downloaded their debut album Wild Like Children immediately and have been loving it ever since. I think a huge part of why I like the album so much is because I saw them live opening for Bright Eyes. They were so much fun. From what I can remember, their set did not consist of a drum kit; instead, members of the band would tap dance and clap. They sang in harmony along with an acoustic guitar, resulting in a very camp fire like atmosphere. May 23 is the release date for T&TW’s second album entitled Bottoms of Barrels. I think it may have the potential to surpass the amazing first record: I have heard three songs from Bottoms of Barrels so far and none of them were disappointing. The stand out track for me is "Bad Education". It sounds like something out of an Antonio Banderas film... wait, is that a good thing?? Anyways, I think "Bad Education" did a great job at capturing T&TW's live qualities; I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album.

Bad Education from Bottoms of Barrels
Nights Of The Living Dead from Wild Like Children [wicked-cool song]
Bessa from Wild Like Children

preorder Bottoms of Barrels at the Team Love store and get a limited 7" for only 99 cents. They did that for the Jenny Lewis release also, fucking great deal!!!!

anonymous phone call

Last night, I received a phone call at around 8:30, but bad receptions may have caused me to sound really rude to the person on the other end:

Me: "Hello"
Caller: "How’s going?"
Me: "Good, who is this?"
Caller: "It’s ----"
Me: "Who!???"
Caller: "----"
Me: "I don’t know who you are, bye."

I was at Wal-Mart buying hair gel... (damn, I just remember I swore not to ever buy anything from Wal-Mart due to the fact that they employ child workers overseas) the receptions sucked plus there were so many loud ghetto-ass people. Each time the caller told me his name, I could not hear what he said. So, I just assumed I didn’t know that person... maybe it was someone that I really didn’t know, but if you were the mystery caller, sorry for being rude and please leave a comment and let me know who you are.

happy good friday exclusive download

Everyone who knows me or comes to this blog knows how much I love Patrick Wolf. First, the name of the blog is taken right from Patrick Wolf’s album; second, I have posted countless P.Wolf related stuffs since I started this blog; and lastly, 95% of my recent art has been inspired by P.Wolf songs. So, to celebrate this amazing artist, I have collected a bunch of b-sides as well as a few remixes. This list is most likely not complete, but I think it’s a pretty good list, enjoy!

download Patrick Wolf b-sides and remixes here (warning: large file, 98mb)
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Tracks:
B-Sides
Afraid
Blue Bells (Live @ K4 in Nurnburg, Germany April 27, 2005)
Empress
Get Lost (Live @ Paradiso in Amsterdam April 14, 2005)
Godrevy Point
Godrevy Point (Live on XFM Session)
– amazing live acoustic version, he combined The Towans at the end of the song, very cool!!!!
Idumea
Idumea (Live on BBC 6 Music)
Magpie (Live @ Paradiso in Amsterdam April 14, 2005)
Penzance
Pigeon Song Demo
Polish Confusion (Live @ Benicassim Festival Spain August 8, 2004)
Pumpkin Soup
– probably my favorite P.Wolf b-side
Running Up That Hill (Live @ La Cigale in Paris September 12, 2005)
Short Stories
– this song inspired this
Souvenirs
The Hairy Song Demo
The Hazelwood

Remixes
Björk - Army of Me (Army of Klaus Patrick Wolf Remix)
Circlesquare - 7 Minutes (Patrick Wolf Remix)
Wind In The Wires (Clifftop Demo)

buy Patrick Wolf releases here

who wants one??

out of boredom, I made this tonight... someone please give me the money to make this shirt (credit goes to Tricia for the idea!)

daryl palumbo is my hero aka new glassjaw disc please!!

This one is for Nicholas from Odessa, Texas, who has recently said some really nice things about my blog. Thank you and enjoy!

Head Automatica: !!! Remixed (The Popaganda!!! Sessions)
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a look back at 2005

One of the most important things that make an album great is its ability to last. Good albums are released weekly, but great, timeless albums are very rare. So, I want to take this time and go back to my ‘best of 2005 list’ and see which albums I am still listening to and which ones are “so last year!”: (I know, this is a very self-indulgent post!)

1 patrick wolf - wind in the wires
I still listen to this album at least two to three times a week, probably one of my favorite albums of all time!

2 sufjan stevens - Illinois
Only listened to this a few times this year, but still a great album.

3 bloc party - silent alarm
Ok, here’s an album I loved last year, but I haven’t listened to it in a long time.Semi “So last year!”

4 final fantasy - has a good home
Only stopped listening to it a few days ago because I have got my hands on the new Final Fantasy disc, He Poos Clouds… which is an even greater album!

5 bright eyes - i’m wide awake, it’s morning
Still very into this record.

6 death cab - plans
“So last year!” This album is probably the worst DC album. It is very catchy and I listened to it a lot when it first came out, but cheesy lyrics really hart this record… it is no We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes or Transatlanticism

7 against me! - searching for a former clarity
Just listened to this today!!

8 antony & the johnsons - i am a bird
“So last year!” but wouldn’t mind seeing this band live!

9 spoon - gimme fiction
All spoon albums are timeless!

10 nade surf - the weight is a gift
11 andrew bird - the mysterious production of eggs
Best Andrew Bird album!

12 buck 65 - secret house against the world
13 boys night out - trainwreck
“So last year!”

14 xiu xiu - la forêt
I still preferred Fabulous Muscles

15 bayside - bayside
“So last year!”

16 pajo - pajo
17 alkaline trio - crimson
The album is “So last year!”, but A3 is still one of the best bands ever!

18 bell orchestre - recording a tape the colour of the light
19 mars volta - frances the mute
“So last year!”

20 the fiery furnaces - ep
“So last year!” To be honest, I don’t even know why this is on the list!


Here are some records released in 2005 that I didn’t get a chance to listen to until 2006 and they should all be on the list:

a wilhelm scream - ruiner
sigur rós - takk...
broken social scene - broken social scene
great lake swimmers - bodies and minds
jens lekman - oh you're so silent jens

song of the moment

just felt like posting this song up... this is for everyone who has to take the subway constantly, and being stuck in the dark tunnels on a beautiful day like today. Enjoy!

Great Lake Swimmers - I Will Never See The Sun
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i really need to stop posting random things on this blog and work on my essay that's due tomorrow!

P is for _ _ _ _ _ _ _

UPDATE I want this shirt!!!

I wasn’t going to post an update of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert until tomorrow afternoon, but I’m just too excited to share my experience with you all! The concert was damn good… again, shitty openings… well actually, the first act was pretty good, but I was only there for the last two songs. Karen O was so crazy!!!! She has such amazing and energetic stage persona. Some of the things she did: screamed into the mic while the head of the mic was halfway in her mouth; spun non-stop and sang perfectly at the same time; wore this really cool/weird skeleton outfit; wore a disco ball hat and spun it on her head. So, that was the YYYs show.

Now, here the highlight… So, I stood near the front at the far left side of the stage near an entrance to the backstage area. During maybe the second or third song, I noticed this girl in a green top walked out from backstage for like 10 seconds then headed back again. For the entire time, I was kind off looking at this girl and saying to myself “damn, she looks really familiar, where do I know here from?” Then, all the suddenly, it hit me… I went up to Millie and screamed, “OH MY GOD, I JUST SAW NATALIE PORTMAN!!!!!!!!!!!” Then, during the next song, I saw her again watching the show from the back… such a distraction! I think I was watching her rather than the YYYs during that entire song. So, that is not even the best part. Halfway through the show, she came out again, this time she was rocking out and dancing right beside me and Millie while the YYYs played “Y Control”… seriously, I almost died from excitement. I wanted to say something to her, just a “hi” or ask her to sign my ticket, but I didn’t want to bother her as she was just trying to have a good time like everyone else at the concert. So, that was my exciting evening. Now, I must go take a shower and go to sleep. I have to wake up in like 6 hours... class at 9am then workout after… I’m going to be so exhausted again!

old money stinking, send those faggots back to forest hill

Ok, where to start??... So, Final Fantasy last night was again, pretty great! It was my third time seeing FF live in 2006, and I must say, all three shows were quiet different and amazing in their own ways. (you can read about the first two shows here) Last night show was at the Music Gallery, which is basically a church. Seriously, artists and bands should do more shows in churches; the atmosphere is always amazing and they produce the best sound. So, like the New Amsterdams show, the opening acts sucked! They were all pretty boring, especially the second act: Matias. I swear half of the people were sleeping during their performance. They were horrible... totally unbearable! I think they only played for like half an hour, but it felt like 2 hours!!! Shit, talking and thinking about them makes me want to go to sleep. I don’t know if I want to see the opening acts for Yeah Yeah Yeahs show tonight?!?! Anyways, back to Final Fantasy. He had this whole projection art thing in the background throughout his entire performance yesterday. They were like random drawings and silhouettes of castles, kings, the CN Tower, etc. I thought those were very neat.



So, here’s the weird part: During the wait for Final Fantasy, this woman, who ended up being Owen’s friend, sat beside my friend Liam. She was filming the performance on her super8 or something. So, Liam gave her a glance and she started talking to him. So, to make this long story short, she was like, “do you want to come backstage after the show and I can get Owen to sign your CD...” I thought she a little crazy aka bullshitting, but after the show, she came to us and brought us backstage. (which was very nice of her) We meet Owen and Liam got He Poos Clouds signed. After, we just stood there, not knowing what to do... it was extremely weird and awkward!!!!
Nonetheless, go here to see pictures from last night show. They are kind of blurry as I was too scared to use the flash.

i don't want to go to jail

is this a warning to the universe of mp3 blogs? should i be afraid?

i'll trust as far as i can spit

The New Amsterdams at the El Mocambo last night started off the first of three straight nights of concerts for me. Both the opening acts were kind of bad, so Tricia and I left the venue, got hot chocolates, a poutine, went back to El Mocambo and played free foosball inside. After that, we made our way inside the crowd towards the front. The New Amsterdams hit the stage with “Hover Near Fame”, which I thought was a great opening track. Throughout the show, the band was funny and very interactive with the audience. During the encore, Matthew Pryor actually took requests from the audience and played a few old favorites: “Proceed With Caution”, “All Ears”, and “My Old Man Had A Pistol”. This show was slightly different than the one I attended a few of years ago. Well, mostly just the instrumentations: missing are a piano and an electric bass; while new additions included a cello and a slide guitar. Result: a more folk/country sound. Since the show was 19+, there were quite a few drunks, aka people yelling random crap at the band. There was this guy, who I swear was also in the last New Amsterdams concert, that kept yelling a bunch of shit out... it was actually funny at times, but mostly very annoying. It was only funny because the band actually paid attention to the guy and they were kind of interacting through the show. The guy kept yelling random Get Up Kids songs hoping the band would play them. So finally, Pryor said, “dude, no Get Up Kids songs, the band broke up, and if you missed it, too bad!” Later, during a quiet song, the guy yelled “turn down the bass!” Pryor replied with “turn down the heckler!” in which the audience responsed with the loudest applause and cheers. Good times! Oh, I also bought this children’s CD that Matthew Pryor made called If You Ever See An Owl… According to the merch guy (who was like the nicest merch guy ever… I actually had a whole conversation with him and he gave me four New Amsterdams buttons), the CD is probably not coming out till September because there is no label to distribute it yet. Anyways, here’s my favorite song on the disc: “We Can All Get Along With Dinosaurs” ***file has expired, reload upon request, enjoy!

go here to see pictures from the show

self promote time

This is one of the new graphics I've been working on for this blog. I know, it is a little cheesy, but it is inspired by "Short Stories" by Patrick Wolf.

"…The boy loves the wolf,
The wolf loves the boy,
They’re kissing in the forest…"

Copy the link below and post a smaller version of the banner on your blog, MySpace, etc.

<a title="lycanthropy" href="http://ifyouwanttosingout.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/41/124560875_c7ba852c8f_o.gif" alt="lycanthropy, jackman's blog" /></a>

UPDATE When I was working on my portfolio, I ran into the problems of not being able to find any of my rough work. From now on, I’m going to upload all my rough/progress works so I can never misplace or lose them… here’s a re-assembled sample of an early stage of the banner.

yet another exclusive download

Here's Feist performing live @ Park West in Chicago, IL on January 27, 2006:

Intro/Safe and Secure
The Build Up
Young Girl
Four Teenage Boys
So Sorry
Secret Heart
Fighting Away the Tears
Phantoms
Mushaboom
Sea Lion
Intuition
Major Label Debut
Let it Die

all files provided by www.rbally.net, thanks!

exclusive download

Ok, here’s the HUGE music update: Final Fantasy’s new album He Poos Clouds. I hope I don’t get into trouble by uploading this. Well, it’s not like anyone I don’t know visits this blog, so I think uploading this will be alright! Anyways, this is just for people who just can’t wait for the release of the album and absolutely have to listen to new Final Fantasy right now. Please, go buy the thing when it comes out on May 9! Support indie and local music!! Enjoy!

Final Fantasy: He Poos Clouds
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my face is on a shoe!

This week issue of NOW Magazine features one of the most amusing articles I’ve even read. The article's headline was: If the shoe fits… Adidas’s "Yellow" line mocks Asians with bucktoothed caricature. It talks about a new Adidas line called "Yellow" - and particularly about a shoe that features a Chinese cartoon character with buckteeth and slanted eyes. I am absolutely NOT offended by this at all! In my opinion, I think that it is funny as hell that someone (in this case, a giant shoe company) actually made this. It is even funnier that people actually buy this! I like how no one really cares when Asians and Asian cultures are 'made fun of' or 'put on display'. I’ve said this before, if those Harjuku Girls that Gwen Stefani has by her side were Africa girls, there would be an outcry among the black community. Likewise, if those Adidas shoes were called "Black" and featured a black guy with big lips and an afro, without a doubt, there would be boycott and outrage against Adidas. I just think it is crazy (and sad) how our society allows us to make fun of certain groups or be racist about certain groups; it really shows that there are still countless ignorant people out there!

go pick up this week's copy of NOW and read the entire article by Yee-Guan Wong on page 22

On a lighter note, I’m still working on new graphics for this blog and there will be a HUGE music update coming soon (hopefully).

iMac, iPod, iGeneration

It is pretty obvious that I am not a huge fan of hip-hop music. There’s only a handful of hip-hop artists/groups I actually enjoy: Madvillain, MF Doom/Viktor Vaughn, Buck 65, Atmosphere, Edan, Dizzee Rascal, The Streets, Wu-Tang, and Natalie Portman. Right now, I am totally into MC Lars’ new album The Graduate! I have been a member of Operation Lars since 2004, when The Laptop EP was released. Without a doubt, the highlight of that EP is "Singing Emo", which is also on The Graduate. This hilarious song looks at the lost meaning and authenticity of emo and what mainstream media had made emo to be. "Singing Emo" pokes fun at a fictional major label A&R scout named Marty who is in search for a generic 'emo' band to sell. He ends up signing a band called Hearts that Hate (haha, how 'emo') which features a ridiculously generic chorus. Another standout song is "Generic Crunk Rap": which states the fact that hip-hop music is going down the drain due to simplicity lyrics and pointless product placements. Brilliant track!! "Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock" is another hilarious song about kids spending their parents’ money buying shits from Hot Topic to try to be 'punk rock'. Almost all the tracks are flawless! One most likely needs to understand his references and lyrics in order to enjoy The Graduate. You may need to have a slight knowledge of the punk and emo culture; otherwise, you’d probably think the album is pretty stupid. For instance, if you don’t know the sample in "Download This Song", you may not understand the irony and humour. Likewise, if you are not familiar with Hot Topic, "Topic Is Not Punk Rock" will not make sense to you. MC Lars is smart, funny, and entertaining. Plus, he sent me a Christmas postcard back in 2004, so I am obligated to support him!

Singing Emo
Generic Crunk Rap
***files have expired, reload upon request

UPDATE I have uploaded "Internet Relationships". The song is way too good to exclude from this post.

Internet Relationships
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buy The Laptop EP here and The Graduate here

did I say how much I heart test(ic)icles!?

That’s the band Test Icicles, you perverts! I think I mentioned them a little when I posted how much I dislike the Artic Monkeys. But I think they deserved a post all to themselves. Their new cd, For Screening Purposes Only is so amazing! (and yes, I use amazing to describe everything) There is nonstop energy in their studio album, I can’t imagine what they are (were) live. But unfortunately, I will never find that out because Test Icicles have disbanded… only about a month after I discovered their album. So sad, there’re tears running down my face right now. Anyways, go check out For Screening Purposes Only, to quote from my pervious post: “the album combines the sound of hardcore and dancepunk, as a result, it is noisy and dancy all at the same time!” Haha, I’m so egocentric – quoting my own blog… whatever losers!
I don’t feel like uploading songs right now… but maybe later, I have to go eat now.

top 50 indie films

Jesse sent me this link today. I thought it’s pretty cool. I saw 33 34 out of the 50 films. There are still many to watch... guess I’ll be hitting the video store soon! See how many you have seen. Did you beat me? Anyways, I thought the list’s pretty good, but why are most of the films American? Where are all the foreign films? Or Canadian films? There certainly are greater independent Canadian films than Cube and Pink Flamingos should NOT be on the list, that movie sucks! Ew, and why is Passion of the Christ on the list?!!?... that is like one of the worst movies of all time!! I will post a list of movies that I thought should have been on the list in the 'comments' section. Check it out... add to the list!

UPDATE It is 2:30 am and I have just watched one of the scariest horrors in years! For those of you who know me, you are probably very shocked by this comment. And for the rest who don’t know me, I NEVER get scare in movies. For the most part, I go see scary movies for the comedy and reactions of the audience. However, The Descent is pretty damn scary. The story and concept is very simple and the scares are cleverly developed as the characters in the film move forward. That is all I can say, I know, it is extremely vague, but you have to trust me on this one, The Descent is scary and highly enjoyable to watch! Warning: if you are scared by simple Hollywood horrors, please do not watch this by yourself, gather as many people as you can and have fun with it!

i don’t know if b65 and bss can make up for the crappyness so far!

So, the Juno Awards show has only been on for about 25 mins so far, and there are so many things that pissed me off already. First, 'all your goddamn songs sound the same and the leadsigner is an idiot' aka Nickelback opened the show. Then, Michael Buble won for artist of the year. What?!?! No one told me that douche is Canadian. Oh, and his speech, oh... so fucking annoying! He’s like: “oh, artist of the year, artist of the year... I knew you guys liked my music, but to win for artist of the year means that you all liked my paintings too.” – fucking lame! Then, to top off the horribleness of the show, Black Eye Peas and Coldplay tied for international album of the year. Come again?!?! I wonder why they both won… maybe because they are both performing. I don’t know if I’m going to continue watching this lame-ass show, I just want to see the immortal Buck 65 and Broken Social Scene, the Canadian version of Wu-Tang Clan! Oh, and BRYAN ADAMS!!

contest

So apparently, Jesse told me that he left me a comment somewhere on this blog. Well, I can’t find it!!! So, the first person to tell me where his comment is located wins this++.

++the winner will indeed win the above item, but only in picture form. so essentially, anyone who clicks on the link will win the prize. you don't have to thank me. enjoy!