Blog: We Hate Your Hate

Illustration by Nathan Navetto Whu...huh...wait, it's WHAT year, you say? So I went to sleep back around August 2010 and suddenly woke up hooked up to a bunch of monitoring machines and it's July 2011 and I have no idea where the middle time went . O_o In between the inevitable nausea that deep chemical hibernation seems to cause (I'll be ok...gimme a minute), I have been brought out of stasis for a particular reason. Or so this random dossier that's been slid under the door [...]

So, with the adage in mind that brevity is the soul of wit, I'll keep this short and to the point: Ramona Falls's album "Intuit" is easily one of the greatest albums I've heard in a long, long time. "But how's that possible?" you might ask. "I thought music like that was a myth these days...like unicorns, and 12 grain bread that doesn't taste like squirrels?" I was beginning to think so too, but apparently I was being preemptively cynical. The closest analogy I can think of for what listening to this album [...]

If you were to happen and look around at the lobby in which you are sitting here at WHYH, you might notice four other people in the room with you. One is a kid on a cellphone who can't stop telling his friend all about his personal life over the music playing, two are doing the cuddly couple thing and paying no mind to anything other than their grossly inappropriate PDA, and the third is a crazy homeless guy wearing a box hat who just happened to find his way in when he smelled the mini donuts. If [...]

Day 2 of Sled Island saw us at The Republik, a local venue with a complicated history reading as a local, lamer version of the very movement its name implies, that has nevertheless re-emerged as one of the most likely to host touring indie bands. Larger than most other local pubs/bars/clubs, it's the natural choice for shows likely to attract big audiences (such as The Melvins on July 3rd, and Wolf Parade on July 22nd). The layout is relatively well-suited for accommodating a large audience while allowing more than half of them to actually see what's happening on stage (a [...]

It's that time of year again; the week or so at the end of June that every semi-cultured person in Calgary prays for all year, and the memory of which they then hold onto with both hands during the ensuing horrors of Stampede. This is the fourth annual Sled Island Music, Film, and Art Festival in Calgary, and possibly its most mature incarnation yet, will well-rounded and incredible lineups in all three areas of interest. The festival has always been great from its very first year, but it seems to finally be settling into its most fully developed [...]

The usual apologies aside, I figured I'd just jump right into this one by explaining a little bit how things happen behind the scenes here at WHYH. It goes a little something like this: I get a torrential flood of e-mail in my inbox. Some of it is music-related. Most are mass newsletter-type deals from various indie record labels, half of which I never signed up for (and, oddly, a lot of them are from the UK). And, I'll be honest, these press release-type e-mails probably only get read about 50% of the time. Why? [...]

So, I won't even bother making excuses over how long it's taken to update this thing, since you all know the drill already. Suffice it to say, this blog is a much-enjoyed yet definitely hobbyist endeavour. Thus, it was something of a surprise to me just how many record label mailing lists and press release e-mail things make their way into my mailbox all the time. I don't take it to mean we're special or anything, but I will admit that I'm filled with guilt on a regular basis, seeing all these lovingly detailed updates when I can't [...]

• Standard Fare - Tinsel Politics

So, if one were to peruse all the way down to the LAST live review this blog did, one might get the impression that churches are the new 'it' venue. And while that review was done over a year ago and by someone not writing for this blog anymore, this impression would still be correct. Churches are in. Hip. Cool, even. Not so much when there's churchgoers IN them, maybe, but who can blame the indie scene for wanting to pillage those considered acoustics and (probably) lower rental fees in an almost *gasp* ungodly and impure [...]

So, I now know why writers keep little notebooks stashed about their persons; it keeps you from forgetting things like where you put the prune juice and whether or not you've left your glasses ontop of your head again. In this vein, I totally had something interesting and meaningful to say about the state of music/a point to make on the debate going on over at http://www.x929.ca/shows/newsb oy/?p=1417#comment-911 about whether or not the Calgary music scene is stagnating, but it seems to have vacated my brain like the concepts of simple human interaction, decency, and taste [...]

*looks around* What? I'm actually updating in a decent amount of time. And no, the world isn't going to end. To the point! If you think far, far back into the annuls of your memory, you may remember a band by the name of Unsparing Sea. Then again, in blog time, it's only two posts back that I reviewed their album A Cloud in the Cathedral , but I assume most people reading this will be too ADD, disinterested, or senile to actually RE-READ anything on here. Well, your eyes don't deceive you, [...]

• mp3 » 01-Unspaing_Sea___Wolves_at_a_Wedding.mp....mp3

*scene: a dark stage. suddenly, a single spotlight flickers to life, illuminating...an empty chair. From somewhere, a familiar voice begins to speak.* Ju: ... *sounds of shuffling, and one sharp microphone squeal* Ju: -this thing on? Hello? Okay, we're good. Sorry everyone. Sheesh...here I was going to be all dramatic...I guess Chad Vangaalen is the only person that can make technical difficulties charming. *polite cough interrupts* Ju: Okay, got it...move this thing along. Here's the bit where I apologize for being largely absent from the blogosphere for ages, and give [...]

publicbroadcasting.ca: Will CBC Axe Radio 3? As a Canadian, this topic is close to my heart. As a fan of music in general, this topic is absolutely VITAL. "Why should I care?" you might wonder, especially if you're the type of person who: a) Doesn't live in Canada b) Thinks that all broadcasting is lame, anyway c) Has never heard of Radio3 Frankly, you should care because Radio3 is the only national support that the numerous stellar indie bands this country can boast about has (of which The [...]

This has been a long time coming, for which I apologize a million times over to this wonderful band; it's easy to get lost in the plethora of minutae that seem to make up life at large, and before you know it it's already 2009. I still have trouble remembering to write an '8' at the end of the date. >.> I know what you're thinking: "Man, you must be getting senile in your old age, the rambling is worse than usual." However, in this case, you'd be wrong; the preamble ties in, I promise! [...]

Hi all...I know, I know. >.> The disappearing act again. I know that saying the usual words doesn't make it any less disheartening for those of you still waiting on the final installments of our exciting musical adventures this summer, but fact is that real life gets in the way of the pleasures of blogging. If ACAD took blog posts as tuition credits, rest assured that this would be the most prolific blog on the internet. More so than FilmDrunk, even. O_o As it stands, however, the current rate is all that we can afford (financially) to do. [...]

Walking into Central United Church last Thursday, I couldn't help but be overcome with a sense of pride. For a city that, three years ago didn't even have one half-decent indie music festival, Calgary has matured quite a bit musically. As we shuffled into a pew near the back of the church, I paused to reflect on how lucky I felt. Okkervil River (THE Okkervil River) was playing this tiny little venue in my almost culturally devoid city. For a moment I considered kneeling and saying a prayer (God bless you Zak Pashak. God bless your children. God bless your [...]

How to describe it the atmosphere inside Central United Church, a sandstone building right on the C-train line, where the Consonant C are in the middle of their opening set. The church is smaller, but beautiful, in no way diminished by the sketchier area that the surrounding buildings have become. There is thrumming, a sense of anticipation; coupled with the sound coming from the church itself, it's almost tangible. We slip into a pew; late, but glad to have made it to the sounds of beautiful harmonies and an intriguing assembly of instruments. The Consonant C only play [...]

For those who have been following the map thus far, Sled Island isn't news, exactly. However, we here at WHYH are fully aware of how large the internet is. What is obvious and well-known in one area can be totally unheard of in another; local heroes who get tons of coverage and credit in one city might be virtually unknown or less appreciated in places where people can download a few tracks, but not necessarily witness the magic of said bands live. So, with this fact in mind, I believe a quick rundown of what, exactly, [...]

So, much like everything in life, personal music politics (yes, even those! Wait, it might just be me that has those, but anyways, I digress) are subject to slight hypocrisy every now and again. "What does this have to do with No Age?" you might wonder. See also: "What's this I hear about you guys doing endorsement deals?" See also: "Is this going to be another long anti-Pitchfork rant? Because then I'm leaving." The answer to all those points, and more, lies beyond this magical gateway of wonder you see just to [...]

So. It HAS been a while. >.> I know, I know...aren't we all getting tired of every post starting the same way? "Can't you ever think of some new and refreshing way to say it?" you ask. Or, better yet, "Why don't you just update WHYH regularly and avoid this whole song-and-dance altogether?" To which I answer: "No. Writing is a pleasure, and thus is denied me during the school year. Now sit down and read the damn post." Well, we'll leave the last part optional. See, this is a different [...]

"So," (you might ask) "What might WHYH have to add to the plethora of Lollapalooza 2007 reviews and retrospectives littering the blogosphere that we haven't seen before?" And the answer, in our fine, mature, and well-stated elegant prose is: Well...um...not much, really. No doubt by this time, the truly curious will already have lived the event vicariously through the coverage offered by large, mega-staffed, well-funded superblogs like the 'Fork *shakes fists at their budget and staff, the wankers*, but the fact remains that those jaded hipsters seem to forget just what an experience [...]