I haven't been updating in the past few weeks due to what we call "breakdown season" here in university land. However, I certainly do not intend to abandon this blog, and recently several interesting things have occurred that I'd like to write about. 1. Actor Out of Work - St. Vincent The new St. Vincent album, Actor , leaked. I've been a big fan of Ms. Annie Clark since I encountered her debut album a few years ago. This time around she's as seductive as ever. Continuing to juxtapose strings, flutes, and [...]
Shaking Hands - Women Chaos and the Dark - Braids The other night I saw some friends from back home. The green room was packed. To the rafters, one might say. Everyone I knew was either on stage or in the front row. This is what it is like every time a band from Calgary plays Montréal. All the ex-pats show up, and we talk about Carpenters Union Hall, and Hot Little Rocket, and how "We're Gonna Lose The Multi!!!!" Special noise were finishing [...]
Crawlspace - Caspian On my way home from work, I heard the sounds of the city radiate out through foggy glass. A hundred noisy bars. Thousands of noisy patrons. I stopped in at one, and became one of many. The show is almost over, you can head in for free A crowded room. Filled to the rafters with distortion and applause. Five dollars at the bar A hundred happy faces hewn together by the majesty [...]
Devastation - The Besnard Lakes And You Lied To Me - The Besnard Lakes The other night, I went to a rock show. A rock show in an art museum, to be precise. The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (or MACM for short, if the title didn't already give that away) is an interesting place to see a concert. We lined up in the circular lobby for over an hour. The line spiraled around the outside of the room until its front and tail began to merge. Proper preparations [...]
Carey Mercer has a blog. It is called Clouds of Evil. It is the best blog I have ever read, bar none. Read it now. That will be all.
Beware Your Only Friend - Bonnie 'Prince' Billy The moment we've all been waiting for. A moment of completion, Of release. A time to evaluate the build up. Deconstruct the hype. Understand and question exactly what it was we waited for, so intently, so... Was it unwarranted? Was our reasoning incorrect? Do we diminish this moment merely by virtue of anticipation? Or is the wait a worthy part of the experience? A way to lengthen Expand. [...]
Wrong Ride - Growing Lens Around - Growing A man is walking down the street. Black coat, black umbrella. There are faded salt stains on his boots, from here they look like leather. Unpolished. The road is wet, every car that passes makes that slick swishing sound; every tire spitting up symmetrical spatter. The temperature is dropping; the buildings on either side of the road form a wind tunnel. The freezing rain bounces off his umbrella, caught not quite glittering in the flat gray light. It forms the rhythm section: a consistent [...]
Am I a Nice Guy? - Shit and Shine Yeah man, Rock on. Excellent. [I'm really a sucker for the eight minute short story narrated over a noisy jam. I think I'll try and write one.]
Money Feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, & Z-Trip - N.A.S.A. Spacious Thoughts Feat. Tom Waits & Cool Keith - N.A.S.A. I don't even know what to say. Pseudo political hip hop, featuring an amazingly diverse group of musicians. Tom Waits RZA David Byrne Lykke Li Kanye West George Clinton Karen O. Just to name a few. The production is great, certainly not your standard 808 and sampled piano [...]
Drone Machine Test - Dorian Scheidt For the past several several days, I've been building a machine. Connecting the parts. Putting things together. Comparing interactions, detailed analysis. Creating synthetic wind, harmonic structure. Route, Oscillate, Ramp Up, Ramp Down. Complex filter theory. Brutal digital clipping. Overload the output section. Damage the speakers. Terrify the listener. Equalize. I've invented a brand new instrument. I think my father will be proud. [...]
Borderlands - Tim Hecker I'm having trouble with the lighting in this room. A single bulb, a two bulb fixture. The shadows are all wrong, failing to stabilize. The dust is moving too fast, I can't focus. All these colours, all these colours. My real question though, is what is happening behind the light. There is something going on up there. Some sort of spatial disturbance. Some sort of wormhole. Another dimension, perhaps? Meaning: I'm sure there is some. I [...]
Articulate Silences, Pt. 1 - Stars of the Lid Articulate Silences, Pt. 2 - Stars of the Lid Take a walk. It's snowing, I think. I can't quite tell, every colour in the sky is blending together. Every breath fills the air with steam. Every footstep an explosion of light. Climb upwards. Abandon all stairs, take the scenic route. - This might actually be really dangerous, I just realized. Soldier Forward. We have a mission here. A higher goal [...]
Sand Dunes - Tape It's dark out, but the streetlights are reflecting off the blanket of clouds, casting an orange glow over everything. A federal police SUV rolls past. Some college students holler at each other in the distance. It is snowing, but lightly. It's been warm recently, but I think the winter has finally returned in full force. No more rainy winter days await us. No more frozen slush coating the front steps in the morning, adding that first bit of excitement and daring to the morning, at least [...]
My Mind is a Muffler - Arab on Radar Birth Control Blues - Arab on Radar List: Forward. Perpetual motion machine. Constant revision. Constant innovation. Fight stagnation. Accomplish. Continue to lend credence to the belief that you are worth being. Contrast the inaction of others. Be sexy. Be scary. Impress. DO SOME SHIT! [Seven days and eight posts to go, and I will have successfully completed my month [...]
Last night, I made my radio debut. It's interesting the kind of things you end up saying and doing between 4 and 6 am when you decide to forgo preparation of any kind. Small Studio, Big personalities. I can see the ad campaign already. Live improvisation! Inane Babble! Hideously diverse musical selections! Selected Quotations: "I think radio is a place where you can play bad music with absolutely no repercussions" "Totally free form improve, we've never [...]
Choral - Mountains Building something this massive takes a very long time. Hard work. Dedication. Sacrifice Constant bombardment; one step at a time. Build upon what came before. Don't be greedy. Every addition may be minute, but remember that everything moves towards the greater goal. No history is ever forgotten. The actions of every single individual, no matter how small; Everything Matters. Only after countless efforts can our majesty truly be unveiled. Every partial [...]
Snookered - Dan Deacon Woof Woof - Dan Deacon New Dan Deacon record, here's what you need to know: 1. Dan Deacon has matured significantly since Spiderman of the Rings , and his compositions are growing up with him. Seriously, this man has hired interns. Sounds to me like he's putting his masters degree to good use. 2. Less crazy frenetic energy (but not much less). If Spiderman... was music for really cool eight year olds, then Bromst is for [...]
I Feel My Stuff - David Byrne & Brian Eno Strange Overtones - David Byrne & Brian Eno Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is what I think everyone was expecting to hear when Brian Eno and David Byrne first announced that they would be collaborating on an album back in 1981: Byrne's off kilter melodies complimented by Eno's glittering production. Instead, the two chose to go out on a limb and create an incredibly revolutionary record which stands out as a high point in the history of pop [...]
Prayer to God - Shellac Last night was valentines day. I washed dishes until 1:30 in the morning. Nine and a half hours. 'nuff said. [Here begins week #3.]
Last night, I was somewhere special. We walked to the warehouse district, up past the train tracks to a giant room full of people. The place was literally filled to the brim. People packed into corners, sitting on couches, chairs, the floor. Smoking, drinking; the background noise was deafening. I stood next to a Polaris prize nominee and a girl in a band to watch . That's when it started. 15 musicians, a wall of amplifiers, three percussionists. I was standing right over the keyboard players. I could read [...]
Last Night, I…
Old Photos of Adolf Hitler in The Period 1890-1929
Euro Chart 25 maggio 2013: primi i Daft Punk con Get Lucky
Louis La Roche – Say I’m Your No. 1
HAERTS – All The Days
