Hell of a busy year...
Top 5 movies
1. Ex Machina
2. Deadpool
3. Star Wars VII
4. Room
5. The Revenant
Top 5 Songs
1. El Vy - Return to the Moon
2. Ryan Adams - Feels Like Fire
3. Josh Ritter - Where the Night Goes
4. Wintersleep - Amerika
5. Pete Yorn - Undercover
Top 5 Albums
1. Josh Ritter - Sermon on the Rocks
2. Chvrches - Every Open Eye
3. Matt Good - Chaotic Neutral
4. Brandon Flowers - The Desired Effect
5. The White Buffalo - Shadows, Greys, and Evil Ways
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Saturday, August 08, 2015
Top 5's 2015
Top 5 Albums
5 - The Gaslight Anthem - Get Hurt
4 - The Rural Alberta Advantage - Mended With Gold
3 - Joel Plaskett - The Park Avenue Sobriety Test
2 - The Hold Steady - Teeth Dreams
1 - Modest Mouse - Strangers To Ourselves
Top 5 Songs
5 - The National - Demons
4 - Ray LaMontagne - Ojai
3 - Jack White - Lazaretto
2 - Them Crooked Vultures - Gunman
1 - Fall Out Boy / Elton John - Save Rock & Roll
Top 5 Movies
5 - Being John Malkovich
4 - Fury
3 - Her
2 - The Count of Monte Cristo
1 - I Origins
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Hell Broke Luce
Randomly came across this vid... probably the most badass thing I've seen in a few years!
Then I stumbled upon this "cover" that's equally as epic:
Then I stumbled upon this "cover" that's equally as epic:
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
We'll never be Royals
I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I tend to pay attention come playoff season. This year MLB fans get the bonus of watching game seven tonight between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants, to decide who takes the title.
The Giants are perennial playoff contenders; the Royals... not so much. Personally I'd like to see KC win it tonight, especially since the underdogs are playing at home.
At the start of the final series I came across a story that mentioned the city of San Fran was going to ban the song Royals by Lorde in some sort of solidarity with the Giants. A Kansas City radio station then "retaliated" by claiming they'd be playing the song once an hour for the duration of the series.
Now, this is all well and good. Harmless fun, whatever. Unless, of course, you have a brain between your ears that is taking in that particular song. Much like the horribly misconstrued Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen, this song does not mean what you think it means.
Just because a song's got a title that might possibly mean what you hope it means, that don't make it true friendo. Lorde is happy NOT being a royal. Springsteen is calling out the government on Vietnam and poor economic prospects. But that won't stop people from misusing these kinds of things to support their own ill-gotten opinions.
When it comes to baseball, each city has the entire thing backwards. San Fran should be chanting "we'll never be Royals" while KC should boycott such a phrase. Yet they gleefully do the opposite. I suppose in a generation that's preoccupied with nothing at all, that only reads/listens to the opening quip or title of anything put before them, this isn't all that surprising. It's sad as hell, but not unexpected. Twitter, shortform everything, yadda yadda.
Then again, Born in the USA was released in 1984. So I guess this proves that no matter the generation, you can always count on the echoing stupidity of America.
The Giants are perennial playoff contenders; the Royals... not so much. Personally I'd like to see KC win it tonight, especially since the underdogs are playing at home.
At the start of the final series I came across a story that mentioned the city of San Fran was going to ban the song Royals by Lorde in some sort of solidarity with the Giants. A Kansas City radio station then "retaliated" by claiming they'd be playing the song once an hour for the duration of the series.
Now, this is all well and good. Harmless fun, whatever. Unless, of course, you have a brain between your ears that is taking in that particular song. Much like the horribly misconstrued Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen, this song does not mean what you think it means.
Lorde:
And we'll never be royals (royals).
It don't run in our blood
That kind of luxe just ain't for us.
It don't run in our blood
That kind of luxe just ain't for us.
Springsteen:
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
Just because a song's got a title that might possibly mean what you hope it means, that don't make it true friendo. Lorde is happy NOT being a royal. Springsteen is calling out the government on Vietnam and poor economic prospects. But that won't stop people from misusing these kinds of things to support their own ill-gotten opinions.
When it comes to baseball, each city has the entire thing backwards. San Fran should be chanting "we'll never be Royals" while KC should boycott such a phrase. Yet they gleefully do the opposite. I suppose in a generation that's preoccupied with nothing at all, that only reads/listens to the opening quip or title of anything put before them, this isn't all that surprising. It's sad as hell, but not unexpected. Twitter, shortform everything, yadda yadda.
Then again, Born in the USA was released in 1984. So I guess this proves that no matter the generation, you can always count on the echoing stupidity of America.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Ice Bucket Challenged
Since the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge made big headlines over the summer, I've heard a number of people talking about this infographic about where people are donating their money these days.
At first glance it looks like we ought to be donating more to heart disease, COPD, and diabetes. People on social media have been echoing that idea, but I think most of those fools are missing the point. There's a reason that cancers get the most funding - nobody chooses to get cancer.
Heart disease stems from a lack of exercise.
COPD is caused by smoking.
Diabetes is the result of poor diet and lack of exercise.
The bottom line is that people really don't like to donate to causes when simply eating better or going out for a daily run could drastically reduce the prevalence and mortality of these diseases.
The more effective way to cure all of the above would be to get consistent funding, which is regularly being slashed by North American governments. If only this issue received the same media attention, advances might be made decades sooner. Meanwhile, I'm gonna hit the gym to stave off life threatening issues, so keep keep those Benjamins tucked in your pockets...
Saturday, August 16, 2014
30 Years of Dirt
Top 5 Songs
5. Imaginary Cities - Bells of Cologne
4. The Hold Steady - Spinners
3. The 1975 - Sex
2. Weakerthans - Aside
1. Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?
Top 5 Movies
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Top 5 albums
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Sweet tasty justice!
Yesterday I came across an article confirming what most NHL hockey fans already knew - Chris Pronger will never return to the ice.
I, for one, couldn't be happier.
If there's one player that I've watched in my lifetime that deserves this beautiful karma of lifelong concussion symptoms, it's this prick. The way he used to throw vicious elbows, be it in the open ice or trying to drive a head through the glass, was something that should've had him permanently suspended from the league years ago.
But in many ways this outcome is much more poetic. Rather than being suspended for a deserved amount of time, he'll have to live with the exact problems he so gleefully gave to other players in the league. Unsportsmanlike BS, hits from behind, wicked elbows, charging, and even stomping on legs are in (were in) his repertoire.
Bon voyage, you won't be missed!
I, for one, couldn't be happier.
If there's one player that I've watched in my lifetime that deserves this beautiful karma of lifelong concussion symptoms, it's this prick. The way he used to throw vicious elbows, be it in the open ice or trying to drive a head through the glass, was something that should've had him permanently suspended from the league years ago.
But in many ways this outcome is much more poetic. Rather than being suspended for a deserved amount of time, he'll have to live with the exact problems he so gleefully gave to other players in the league. Unsportsmanlike BS, hits from behind, wicked elbows, charging, and even stomping on legs are in (were in) his repertoire.
Bon voyage, you won't be missed!
Saturday, October 05, 2013
Annual Rant
It was just brutal. I knew that M Night Shayamalan had written and directed it, but was optimistic that he'd finally turned the page on all of those other junkers he's put out in recent years. I also knew that they'd left his name off the posters and previews for that very reason - to hide the fact that he's become quite terrible. I'm not sure how the film did at the box office, but you can bet that hiding his name made them a few extra dollars.
The terribleness of this one resided in it's ridiculous conveniences. Father and son live on a human settlement planet, see each other for the first time in years, take off the next day for an intergallactic trip with a monster in tow, mystery storm wrecks ship, slip through a wormhole to end up on Earth, ship crashes with everyone but father and son dead, father has broken legs, kid has to run 100 km to find homing beacon while evading monster, finds beacon and kills monster, help arrives, father and son live happily ever after. That's basically it. Save yourself the time and the cash.
The other glaring flaws were logical ones. Supposedly every single thing on earth has evolved to kill humans. But humans had long since abandoned earth... so how the fuck does that work? And if that were even true, everything on Earth would be a capable predator, which clearly isn't even true within the film itself. At night the whole planet literally ices over, except for select spots of geothermal heat. You'd think that all of the plant life would die on a nightly basis, but nah, it's all good in the morning! The monster in the movie is also blind but has the good sense to impale his victims on trees to scare people. Right...
And then comes the scene where the kid finds the homing beacon, but it won't work due to "ionic interference" in the atmosphere. So what does he do? He climbs a fucking volcano to transmit his signal THROUGH the ash cloud and into outer space.
After that gem, the signal goes up and calls for help. Within minutes other spaceships (that are a wormhole jump away from Earth) arrive and save the heroes. Apparently light speed is just forgotten entirely, and magic ensues.
It's becoming painfully apparent that Will Smith needs to stop forcing his kid down everyone's throat. He usually has better judgement in films, and this one is an example of deluding yourself into thinking you're doing something of quality, just to push your kids ahead. If the kid really will have a career, movies like this will quickly turn him into a C-list actor.
Monday, August 12, 2013
29 trips around the sun
Favourites from the past year
Tunes
5. Michael Jackson - Man in the Mirror
4. Decemberists - Calamity Song
3. Elliott Brood - Hold You
2. Joel Plaskett - When I Go
1. Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears - Mustang Ranch
Records
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Vids
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Bluesfest 2013
Despite my initial ho-hum impressions of the Bluesfest lineup this year, it turned out to be a solid week and a half of music, sun, and far too many beers.
I did the volunteer thing again this year, and we finally got some cool shirts for once. Every other crew was jealous, since theirs were all shit, but it's about time, I say! But pouring a billion beers was no easier than it had been before... so tasty looking... om nom nom
As usual I got to go to all of the concerts I wanted, and I made use of that privilege every single day this year. I even got to work a few shifts with cool bands to entertain me, so that was a definite bonus.
The first night started off with a cluster-fuck of me printing a ticket for Cait, and walking 90% of the way to the gig, only to realize I'd forgotten the damn thing at home. (Too many pre-game white russians I suppose.)
Anyway, I left her outside the gates, ran home shirtless, got booed by a friend passing by who didn't approve of my chest hair, then biked back like a maniac to get into the show. Saw this on the initial walk to the grounds, pretty badass eh?
Jimmy Eat World rocked out pretty hard, but when it came time for the much anticipated Black Keys, the volume was ridiculously low. The whole crowd kept chanting "turn it up, turn it up" between songs, but they never did. Everyone eventually just had to hush the fuck up so the crowd could hear the band. They were pretty awesome, I do declare. But I thought it was quite ironic to come across this little gem at the merch tent:
Oh, irony, thou art the Black Keys sound tech (who was quickly tossed under the bus by Bluesfest, who claimed they only require a minimum decible level, the rest is left up to the individual bands. Might wanna adjust that policy...)
As the festival rolled along, I worked my shifts, drank my burrs, and got to see all of the following at one time or another:
A bunch of friends also joined for various nights, which were all a ton of fun. One highlight was desperately trying to find a ticket for a buddy of mine down at the grounds. I had my free pass, so we only needed one spare ticket. Scalpers were demanding $60 a pop, but a half an hour of asking strangers finally paid off when a volunteer sold us an extra for only $15. We tried to give her $20, but she told us to throw the extra into the volunteer donation bin, which we did with pleasure. Salt of the earth, these here volunteers.
Mr. Hand-on-Ass brightened one of my days.
And a matching murse lit up Cait's evening as well!
If there's one thing I learned this year, its the value of prescription sunglasses. Even got to see me some bonafide topless boobies.
But for all that Bluesfest has, it still makes me nostalgic for Edgefest and the Warped Tour back when they were hosted at Molson's Park in Barrie. Before it was a fucking parking lot.
You never see the kids crowd-surf anymore (probably cuz they don't want to lose their iPhones), the epic bowl beneath the main stage just isn't easy to recreate, and the weed and beer just don't go down with the same degree of free-loading for days/nights on end.
Maybe we took those days for granted; sure feels like it now. At least I'm trying my best to appreciate the present, lawd knows what ten more years will do to us.
I did the volunteer thing again this year, and we finally got some cool shirts for once. Every other crew was jealous, since theirs were all shit, but it's about time, I say! But pouring a billion beers was no easier than it had been before... so tasty looking... om nom nom
As usual I got to go to all of the concerts I wanted, and I made use of that privilege every single day this year. I even got to work a few shifts with cool bands to entertain me, so that was a definite bonus.
The first night started off with a cluster-fuck of me printing a ticket for Cait, and walking 90% of the way to the gig, only to realize I'd forgotten the damn thing at home. (Too many pre-game white russians I suppose.)
Anyway, I left her outside the gates, ran home shirtless, got booed by a friend passing by who didn't approve of my chest hair, then biked back like a maniac to get into the show. Saw this on the initial walk to the grounds, pretty badass eh?
Oh, irony, thou art the Black Keys sound tech (who was quickly tossed under the bus by Bluesfest, who claimed they only require a minimum decible level, the rest is left up to the individual bands. Might wanna adjust that policy...)
As the festival rolled along, I worked my shifts, drank my burrs, and got to see all of the following at one time or another:
- She & Him (avec Zooey Deschanel)
- Justin Townes Earle
- Dixie Chicks (that concert was PACKED, heaps of rowdy jailbait)
- Wu Tang Clan (wat?)
- Tegan and Sara
- Eric Burdon
- Diamond Rings (ridiculous)
- Rush
- Mother Mother (amazing cover of Nirvana, a truly unexpected highlight)
- Weezer
- The Tragically Hip
- Matt Good
- Great Big Sea
- Stars
- Bjork (wat? lasted about 2 songs then bailed)
- Alice in Chains
- Yukon Blonde
- BB King
A bunch of friends also joined for various nights, which were all a ton of fun. One highlight was desperately trying to find a ticket for a buddy of mine down at the grounds. I had my free pass, so we only needed one spare ticket. Scalpers were demanding $60 a pop, but a half an hour of asking strangers finally paid off when a volunteer sold us an extra for only $15. We tried to give her $20, but she told us to throw the extra into the volunteer donation bin, which we did with pleasure. Salt of the earth, these here volunteers.
Mr. Hand-on-Ass brightened one of my days.
And a matching murse lit up Cait's evening as well!
If there's one thing I learned this year, its the value of prescription sunglasses. Even got to see me some bonafide topless boobies.
But for all that Bluesfest has, it still makes me nostalgic for Edgefest and the Warped Tour back when they were hosted at Molson's Park in Barrie. Before it was a fucking parking lot.
You never see the kids crowd-surf anymore (probably cuz they don't want to lose their iPhones), the epic bowl beneath the main stage just isn't easy to recreate, and the weed and beer just don't go down with the same degree of free-loading for days/nights on end.
Maybe we took those days for granted; sure feels like it now. At least I'm trying my best to appreciate the present, lawd knows what ten more years will do to us.
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