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Wednesday, June 29, 2005

calgary: get your gig on...

God bless the long weekends and the extended non-work wonderfulness it brings. While I'll be hitting the books 24/7 over the Canada day weekend (MEH!) on the West Coast, Team Calgary is getting some ultra-pleasing gig action.

Vancouver's own Andy Collins' western Canadian tour stops through Calgary on Friday (July 1st) and Saturday (July 2nd). Andy's playing two night stand at FATS in Kensington (5th ave & 10th St). Sheri and Jayden also performing sets as well... my intuition tells me that:

long weekend + local Sheri & Jayden fanbase + tour ready Andy = a full house and a super fun show

I'd suggest getting your ass down there, I'm assuming cover is minimal and drinks will be dirt cheap. Also, Andy will have a tour exclusive EP for sale. RAWK.

Andy's set starts around 10:30pm.

Here are a couple of Andy Collins mp3ves:

Andy Collins - Breathe In [mp3]

Andy Collins - Thousand Flowers [mp3]

elsewhere

15 minutes with bloc party | itunes now does podcasting

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Tuesday, June 28, 2005

help, yo...

I've claimed to be a lot of things, but I've never claimed to be a master of html and so on. I have a burning question for you bloggers out there, if anyone can help out, I'll reward you with my superficial-pseudo-undying love, hyperlinkage, and of course, an autographed Garth Brooks CD.

riddle me this:

- Why did the font on the front page posts change from stylesheet-dictated veranda, to an ultra-played out times new roman font? Keeping in mind that the post titles have remained in their original font face. How does one fix this? Is this related?

Get on it, son.

elsewhere

pitchfork... revealed | david vs goliath podcast | saul williams mixtape

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Sunday, June 26, 2005

weekend review: photo style

I'm exhausted, yo.

elsewhere

someone get this for dave | aidin vaziri

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Thursday, June 23, 2005

thesis pieces…

School-world (that’s a fancy way of describing my life) is currently absolutely fucking bonkers. Lemme tell ya, writing a thesis is, in fact, as painful and tedious as it sounds… and let me tell ya, things go pear-shaped when you get within 72 hours of your first submission deadline, simply because you lose the opportunity (i.e. time in your day) to properly sleep. Running on 4 hours sleep for the last week has apparently “turned my skin a different colour” according to Tk (I assume this isn’t as awesome as it sounds). Also, it’s caused minor hallucinations (the unfun kind); the other night I really thought my ceiling was melting. Most concerning is the fact that I think my common-sense judgement is off. For example, I caught a few minutes of Dancing With The Stars and thought that shit was brilliant TV programming. Seriously, if Mr. Peterman doesn’t win this be-atch, I'll have definative proof that the whole world’s priorities are wrong.

Anyhoo... here are some very hyperlinks...

- Daily Refill has an mp3 for download of the new Arcade Fire track, "Cold Wind" featured on the 6 Feet Under Soundtrack. While I adore the AF, this track seems to be missing the trademarked eclectic excitement which really made the band so buzzworthy.

- Stereogum has a new New Pornographers mp3 for download. I’ve posted an even more choice new New Pornographers track on the vanmega streaming radio player.

- The Onion got rad... quasi-futuristic style. Too bad, it's only for one week.

- BEST: That National Geographic special about fire trucks... revealed (and streamed)!

- BESTER: David Hasslehoff paper airplanes.

(I'm going to bed now... I feel sketchy as hell)

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Tuesday, June 21, 2005

weekend fever, 5 days prior...

True Hollywood story: Colin BB is moving back to Calgary next week. It's a part of his masterplan to get his thangs together before he gets his travel-on, eventually landing himself somewhere in Brooklyn, NY.

Thus, this weekend will see a farewell bash for Colin.

Apparently, this bash is taking place at my place. I'm game, and since it's taking place at my place, I'm gonna blogvertise it to further ensure it's well attended. So, if you know me/tk, or colin, or any of my roommates, you're cordially invited to get down on the goodfoot on Saturday night at my house. Email for directions, if need be. Things get started around 6-ish (I'd state that things will get underway at a more normal 9-10 pm-ish hour... but who are we kidding? People will show up uber-early, regardless). Also, noteworthy: I'll be DJ'ing that night (read: I'm gonna build an iPod playlist and leave it running on shuffle).

See you Saturday.

elsewhere

- SUICIDEGIRLS.COM chats with the music supervisor from the OC. This person is singlehandedly responsible for fueling weekly hipster backlash against all kinds of wonderful bands. Meh.

- Pinder directed me to gigocracy: the hierarchy found at indie rock shows in New York. You see... It's funny, because it's true (and holds up at the shows in vancouver too).

- Tapatio: The Magic of Hot Sauce. RAD.

- the busblog gave vanmega some random linkage yesterday, and of course I happily link back. May I suggest you check out his jury duty post. It's, uhhh-howyousay?, "classic pierce".

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Friday, June 17, 2005

mixtape: much better late than never...

Ok y'all(s)... a new downloadable mixtape is available for pilfering. I'll spare you the lengthy preamble... the latest and greatest in indie and quasi-indie music and little bit of mainstreamy stuff just for good measure.

Perhaps the most stand-out track on this mix is a version of "Not Tonight" performed by Matt Sharp and Maya Rudolph. Yup... that's right, the ex-bassist from Weezer and a SNL cast member covering Tegan & Sara. The end result is a completely fresh and surprizingly gorgeous take on the 3 year old song. Word.

Anyfuckinghoo... click here to download the mix. Comments are welcome.

(As always, this is a very very very limited time offer. Get it while ya can.)

elsewhere

outsource a friend | conversations about famous people

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Tuesday, June 14, 2005

vancouver concert listings: best best best

House of Blues just announced this morning that August is gonna be an ass kicking month for live music. Well... they didn’t announce that literally, but that’s my interpretation based on the following gigs:

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals will be performing at the Commodore Ballroom on Tuesday August 9th(!). While previous touring efforts for his Love Is Hell disk were kinda so-so at best (and cut short due to falling off a stage and shattering his arm), initial reviews of the live performances in support of the Cold Roses disk have been overwhelmingly positive. Not only is the material and performance substantially more focused tighter, Ryan et al have been performing two full sets at each show... and apparently the 2nd set goes on and on and on... and if you’re a fan boy like me, you’re beyond fucking pumped.

The White Stripes will be hitting the Orpheum Theatre Sunday August 7th and Monday August 8th. While I’m not yet totally feeling the new album (Ohhhh! You’re using more instruments!), everyone and their purse-sized dog know that a live Stripes show is gonna be full-on bonkers. Thus, my attendance is mandatory.

Tickets for both gigs go on sale this Friday (the 17th) at 10am. Tickets for both shows sit around the $35 range… but after the ticketmaster fee rapeage, per ticket costs will be closer to $1 billion dollars. That’s teh worst, but the gigs will be teh best. Hells yes.

I feel at this time it is only appropriate to post an mp3 of Ryan Adams coving a White Stripes tune. Whomp, there it is:

Ryan Adams - Dead Leaves & The Dirty Ground [mp3]

elsewhere

daily dancer | turn your neighbourhood into mario land

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Monday, June 13, 2005

rock lobster...

Weekends have been getting a bit lame as late, on account of the growing number of term papers and crap. Thus the previously promised mixtape is a little bit delayed. I’m sure you’ll be patient, ‘cause, you know, you do have stuff to do at work other than peruse blogs.

With that said I have two weekend related things to discuss:

- This weekend, due to lack of video rental selection, I was forced to watch “Be Cool” on DVD. Unquestionably, this film is concluding proof that Hollywood is out of ideas. Never mind the aqueous script (Yes, contacting the lead singer of Aerosmith is a sure fire way to launch the career of a young aspiring r ‘n’ b singer) or the blatant product placement (Black Eye’d Peas – Hurrah!), the most painful attribute of this movie was, in fact, the acting done by Andre 3000 from Outkast. From what I understand, Andre 3000 is packing up his overly successful rap career in order to become a “real actor”, so much so that he’s taken endless acting lessons and has permanently moved to LA. If his one-sided gangsta cliché is any indication of things to come, homeboy may be pulling a career wrecking move the likes of which hasn't been seen since Kick Cameron left Growing Pains.

- I got a phone call at 4:30am on Sunday morning. It was roommate Nick calling from the hospital. Apparently, Colin has had a throat infection for a couple of months, apparently things got fierce somewhere between booze round number 15 – 20 on Saturday night. Colin’s tonsils actually started to swell and push up in his throat to his mouth, restricting his ability to speak or breath. So off to the hospital they went. While waiting for the doctor’s assistance Colin (drunk) asked Nick (drunk) to call me and let me know what was happening, so I could post it on vanmega. Whoever claims that my generation has their priorities all wrong is clearly mistaken.

elsewhere

iPod man's iBig Day | soundboard: losing my edge | hotter

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Wednesday, June 08, 2005

quickie: it's a small district after all... [updated]

From The Kits Tips Blog:

Through a friend of a friend, Mikey and I heard that there are a couple groups of guys that frequent Hell's Kitchen on West 4th on Wednesdays so religiously that they have "streaks" going - kinda like a games-played streak in the sports world. Interested in finding out who these guys are and what brings them to Hell's Kitchen, we checked it out last night. No sign of them. So it looks like Mikey and I have the new current streak of one week. [More..]

Yeah... I can guess with 97% confidence that they're talking about Colin BB and Roommate Nick. Well done boys, you're quasi-pseudo-sorta-local blog celebrities! Too bad this still won't get you past the line ups and the hostess with the halter top and icey attitude.

quasi-related kits update: Robin Williams randomly showed up and performed at another kits bar (the urban well) on Wednesday. Cripes, that would have been rad. (via)

elsewhere

everything in life can be learned from kid n play | teen drama

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Tuesday, June 07, 2005

thoughts which emerged while listening to an advance copy of the new Foo Fighters disk…

- Man, Dave sure has upped the yell/scream/singing thing.

- “Best of you” kinda sounds like the soundtrack to a pepsi commercial. Ugh.

- Ohhh… nice riff. (“No Way Back”)

- Some of the songs on the acoustic album sound a bit like The Eagles (“Cold Day In The Sun”, etc). I wonder if that’s on purpose?

- Did they really just sing that chorus – composed of all of 11 words – over and over for well over a minute (“Another Round”)?

- Yes!… a track from the Pocketwatch demos, circa 1990. Nice. (“Friend of a Friend”)*

- “Virgina Moon” = Best. Who’da thought they’d rock out jazz guitar style?

I should point out that as one thought entered my head the previous disappeared. Seriously, I don’t know what to think of this disk. The whole one disk “rock” and one disk “acoustic” concept is commendable... I just don’t know if it was pulled off as I’d expected. Perhaps I hoped for more polarity between the “rock” and “acoustic” performances… like Mortorhead to Dave & Tim type-stuff. The new disks are ok… just not awesome - which is a shame, because when these guys are in top form they’re beyond brilliant and exciting and important (Hellooooo, "The Colour and the Shape" – which, if you recall, was an even blend of acoustic and rock songs).

Meh, keep in mind, I reserve the right to change my mind on any of this at any time.

Foo Fighters – In Your Honor is released Tuesday June 14th. It’s fun to buy CD’s.

* FUN DOWNLOAD BONUS: The original 1990 Late! - Pocketwatch version...

Dave Grohl - Friend of a Friend [mp3]

elsewhere

yeeeah | fame tracker | pinder

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Monday, June 06, 2005

Burned feeds and such...

Hi. I'm a total laggard.

I just downloaded a feed reader program (Sharpreader) and started checking out blogs via their respective RSS/XML/ETC feeds. Why? Cause I've noticed that the XML feed that this website offers has been getting an increasingly large amount of traffic over the last few months.

While I conceptually understand the whole reading blogs through a feed aggregator thing... I can't understand why anyone would actually want to use this tool (other than to take a fun / enjoyable thing and making it cold and mechanic).

It would be totally fantastic if someone out there in the blogiverse could be a lamb and contact me via the superduper commenting system below or via email and bring me up to speed on what's actually a good feed reader to use and why the hell anyone would want to turn blog reading into a task as painstaking as reading emails. In exchange for your help I offer linkage, autographed pictures of Steve Buscemi, whatever. Kthanks.

Non-nerd related: there will be a new downloadable mixtape later this week. Whoot, there it is.

elsewhere

credit card prank 2 | celebrities-eating.com

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Sunday, June 05, 2005

The McDLT was both hot and cool... oh, and crappy

Do yourself a favour and write off the next hour of your life by heading to this website packed to the brim with streamable 80’s childhood era TV commercials. What a frigging difference 20 years makes - commercials which at the time seemed flashy and cool now playback like horrifically naive, politically incorrect TV spots with production values so piss-poor that they would even make the interns at your local cable access station blush. So best.

If you don’t have the patience to go through the commercial archive in its entirety, allow us to provide a highlight reel of sorts. These spots are highly recommended:

- George from Sienfeld (aka a substantially younger and more gleeful George Alexander) pushing the merits of the McDLT.

- A pre-StarTrek post-Reading Rainbow LeVar Burton telling us why "Crack is wack".

- A slightly less tubby William Shatner plugging the Commodore Vic-20, back-dropped against some quasi-futuristic background.

- Non-descript baseball players scarfing back mounds of Big League Chew as if it were real cancer educing chewing tobacco.

- Teen dream boat Michael J Fox cloning himself while guzzling gallons of Pepsi.

- Random child actors (who, at the time, I probably felt blinding fits of jealousy towards) overact while playing / promoting the awesomeness that was Star Wars’ The Millennium Falcon.

Note: I have reason to believe that most of these commercials were made with a handi-cam and the various soundtracks were created employing only a bass guitar and Casio keyboard.

Either way, get to viewing, aging gen-x-ers. Some say that there hasn’t been web-based retro goodness of this calibre since those GI Joe remixed PSA’s.

elsewhere

someone literally remixed the GI Joe remixes | you = hitler

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Wednesday, June 01, 2005

regarding internet strategy, or lack there of…

warning: this post is for the music nerds who take interest in all that post-napster era music business stuff… if you’re not into that kinda stuff, just scroll to the bottom. As form of appeasement to you, I’ve posted a picture of Lindsay Lohan at the end of the post (from back in the days when her diet DIDN’T consist strictly of yayo and nicorette patches). Get yer scroll on.

The new Coldplay album has leaked.

I’m not posting this to debate if the new album or the band is good / relevant / worth your time (although if you ask me, they’re kinda like the Starbucks of the music world… their product is overhyped, overdone, yet some how soothing). I’m posting this fact because if you look at the source of the leak, it’s clear that EMI (and arguably, in turn, "Big Music") still has no clue about digital distribution / disruptive technology / internet induced changes in consumer behaviour.

EMI is relying heavily on this new Coldplay disk as a revenue source; So much so, that when they announced the disk’s release would be delayed the company’s stock price went down. Pressure like this spurred the label to be very diligent about stopping pre-release leakage of the album (the logic being a leak would negatively affect actual album sales once it was released). EMI actually did a bang up job of stopping any attempts at leaking the disk, until now, one week prior to the release.

What’s the reason / source of the leak? EMI, while positioning the band as a "global ~~brand~~ band" and creating world-wide hype, failed on execution and released the album with a one-off regional strategy and shit went tits up. That is, they released the album early (this week) in Japan… and now it’s being pirated all over the world.

Was EMI that clueless? Do they not understand that as a multinational company they’re dealing with multinational markets? Do they not realize that national barriers are irrelevant on the web? Do they really think that people in Japan aren’t going to file share and communicate via the web with others in other markets?

This causes me frustration to no end. Its one thing for the labels etc to cry fowl at online piracy, but it’s another thing to remain out of touch with the market and not learn, understand, and address the underlying forces which are shifting your business model.

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Now as promised for the non-music dorks:

Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.

elsewhere

monkey in a box | the birthday game | faux-U2

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