Lack of originality V 1.0

A long time ago a read a post somewhere that was bitching about how much of a rip-off artist Jack Johnson is, particularly with his album cover for In Between Dreams. It was compared to a Sam Roberts album cover with a similar lookin tree.


Granted, he is an unoriginal bastard who recycles the work of others, but to compare that album cover to We Were Born in a Flame is somewhat hypocritical.


Just have a look at k.d. lang's cover from Hymns of the 49th Parallel. And that album was released prior to Roberts' album.


It's tough to say who came up with the tree first, but it's kinda funny that within a year 3 albums came out looking almost identical. Except for Johnson who threw us a curve by adding the yellow.

He's a cunning and deceptive bastard, ain't he?

Duck Hunt

if there's one mystery in my life, it's gotta be duck hunt

i mean seriously, how the fuck did they do it?


you've got a shit-assed 8 bit system, a few cables, an orange and grey gun that shoots magic, and any television set under the sun
throw in a smiling dog and you've got yourself a party

but how the fuck did they do it?

how does the tv know when it's been shot, let alone where it's been shot?
how is it possible for the system of such abysmal quality as the original Nintendo able to decipher a message that travels through thin air?
how does it know where the duck is when you shoot the fucking thing?

things like this keep me up at night...

She's got a hat and all the hat says is "asshole"

Joel Plaskett Emergency

Ashtray Rock

For a follow-up to the mini-EP that came with Make a Little Noise, I gotta say I expected more from this album. In my mind this record should have been released early in the band's career. It sounds polished, but the subject matter is just too juvenile. There's even a track called "Drunk Teenagers", and at this point Plaskett ought to be moving forward, not looking back at his highshool days. Despite the theme of a band breaking up (a throwback to the demise of Thrush Hermit?) this record just lacks intensity and passion.
I've read reviews saying it's Plaskett's best record yet - they're idiots. I've read reviews saying it's his worst yet - they're idiots too, but less so than the former critics.
Maybe it'll grow on me. Who knows.

Best Tracks: Face of The Earth, Cruisin', Nothing More to Say

Kings of Leon
Because of the Times

Their most produced-sounding record to date, Because of the Times still delivers what I love from the Kings - a unique sound that sets them apart from the crowd. So many songs get you doing the head-nod, your damn neck is sore after it's played through. They keep things pretty simple, but also pretty solid. McFearless is arguably the greatest name ever applied to any song ever. And these brothers just have such confidence in their music and their style you can't help but hear it on every track. The lyrics though... better bust out the liner notes for those. As usual.

Best Tracks: Fans, True Love Way, Ragoo, On Call

Modest Mouse
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

To me, this record is even better than Good News, and it surpassed my expectations. I listened to it once and tossed it on the backburner in favour of the raucous Kings of Leon album, but when I gave it another listen I picked up on alot of stuff I had missed the first time around. Now I'm on the 57th time around and I'm not even close to bored with it. I love the random noises, the odd transitions mid-song, and the catchy stuff too. Can't wait to see em again in concert.

Best Tracks: Missed The Boat, People As Places As People, Dashboard, We've Got Everything, Florida

Arcade Fire
Neon Bible

Yet again, a nice surprise to see these guys follow up an awesome record with another one. Gotta love that. Though I haven't listened to this album as much as the aforementioned, I still think it's worthy of a write-up at this point. Unlike their last album that centred around death, this one focuses on discontent in the modern world, and the angst that builds up when you feel that you can't escape any of the bullshit that lingers in everything you do. These guys also have a sound that defines them, and they definitely brought conviction to this record. Highly respectable, definitely worth a listen from start to finish.

Best Tracks: Keep the Car Running, (Antichrist Television Blues), Intervention

The Fine Art of Falling Apart in the Stanley Cup Finals

Let's be realistic. Anaheim did not deserve to win the Stanley Cup.

They deserved to win one series.
Minnesota was a complete joke from day one. Vancouver was so tired from their first round battle that they had nothing left. And I'm convinced that Detroit was only eliminated due to bad luck and poor officiating. (The 3rd and tying goal by the Ducks in the 4th game of that series, the one where Hasek was literally shoved into the net with the puck sitting on his leg, never should have counted. And it all went downhill from there.)

Ottawa on the other hand, did deserve to win the Cup. Well, at least 3 of the 4 rounds anyway.
They saved their choking for the fourth and final round this year, unlike so many years in the past. Nothing seemed to be going their way, and Spezza and Heatley were out to fucking lunch the entire final series, despite romping the league in the lead up matches.

Niedermayer got the Playoff MVP title, and though he did play well, he wasn't deserving of that trophy either. I'm glad they didn't do the cliche thing and give it to Giguerre, because he was less than spectacular. (Much like Emery in the finals. He looked amazing in game 2, but besides that he gave up a weak goal in every one of the 5 games.)
Personally, I think Daniel Alfredsson was the MVP of the playoffs. For years he's been eaten alive by the press and fans, and always took the blame for the Sens bowing out of the playoffs early. But this year he lit the lamp the most out of any player (including 4 game winning goals), and lead his team with ridiculous penalty killing and solid play, pretty much every game. I think a big reason he was denied the Conn Smythe was that shot he took at Niedermayer in game 4. Beyond that stupid play, he was everything Ottawa needed in a leader.

But now it's finally over (shit, it's only June) and I know what's next - months and months of Leafs Nation laughing about how Ottawa failed.
But guess what fucko's - the Leafs couldn't even make it into 8th place in the conference! Then again, most Leafs fans are too stupid to understand the concept of a glass house.

I'm pretty pissed that the Sens lost, but I look on the bright side:

• We got to party in Ottawa for the only Sens victory
• The Cup will spend most of its time North of the border, what with all the Canadians on the Ducks
• And I won my hockey pools. Let's hear it for beer and money!
  

Be Red

I just got home last night from a weekend trip up to Ottawa for the Sens' first home game of the finals. It seems like half of our time was spent on the road, but we had a great time regardless. Steve, Bry, and I were the only ones to make the trip, as James bailed at the last minute (probably cuz he's a Maple Leafs fan and can't stand Ottawa) and Mike had already lined up a Jays game on Saturday.

After an hour delay on my train, we settled into Bry's blue '96 Buick Regal (Custom Edition) and headed for the nation's capital. We pulled up to our friend Kristen's place at midnight and hung out with her for an hour or so befor ecrashing. They set us up pretty nicely with matresses and comforters and everything, so we had no complaints at all.

Saturday we wandered the town in our Sens t-shirts and saw all of the parliament buildings and everything. I'd never been to Ottawa before, save for one time we passed through to get to Hull, so it was cool to see all of the oldschool buildings in town.


After spending the afternoon checking out appartments for Bryan in the fall, we settled into a bar down on the main strip and started drinkin. That was about 4 o'clock. We were pretty loaded by gametime, and we had all signed up for credit cards to get these sweet Senators blankets. Our group at the bar included us boys, Kris and Graham, along with her sis and her husband, a few friends of theirs, and a couple of Kristens friends too. We all got shitfaced.

My favourite part of the bar wasn't when Ottawa scored, but the national anthem that everyone sang at the start of the game. it was pretty funny, I bet the whole city was singin it along with that minto who belts out the anthems for the Sens at the arena.

And after the victory the street was total chaos. Gow and I wandered up and down for blocks at a time just giving high-5's to any-and-everybody we saw coming towards us. We even ended up running into a girl named Nadine that we had met this year in Cuba.


And after a long bus ride back to Kristens we crashed for the night. And by 10 a.m. Sunday we were heading back down the highway towards Toronto.

All told - a mint weekend.