vanmega.com

dog years, blog years...

2008-11-18T23:50:00.000-08:00

Good gravy... last week vanmega.com turned 8 years old.

EIGHT. EIGHT? EIGHT!

This is where I thank those of you who've been reading and/or contributing to the site over the years.

It's absolutely insane that this site has been around for so long. Also, absolutely insane: the amount the focus of this site has changed over the years... this thing started as a over-sharing E/N type blog, moved into a team keep-in-touch blog, a travel blog, a music blog, an mp3 blog, a personal blog. I'm not saying all the content was good... just that there's a lot of content (most of the embarrassing stuff has happily been wiped from the servers).

With all of that said, it's a fair question to ask where this site is going. Clearly the volume of posting has dropped off. There's 2 main reasons for this (1) blogger is the most archaic publishing system in the world, (2) I spend all my time on tumblr blogging there. This has been the case for the last year or so.

So, in the next week or so, I'm cutting vanmega.com over to the tumblr platform permanently. Don't worry... the monthly mixtapes and dj sets and media will all stay/continue, the rambling posts about bands and Vancouver and the like will stay/continue... I'll now be in a position to happily post multiple times a day about more things. Plus, the site gains all kinds of nerdy functionality like search and mobile browser friendly views. You know, normal stuff that non-blogger based sites have.

What does this mean to you?... not much, just keep reading and emailing and watch the look of the site to change a bunch. Feel free to provide feedback on the changes and be a total darling and let me know if you see any technical bugs. Also, if you access the site by RSS feed only add this feed to your reader:

http://vanmega.tumblr.com/rss

elsewhere

Death Of Autotune - Black Moon & ATCQ

adventures in fake dj'ing: quick mix edition...

2008-11-14T16:37:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the weekend... I DJ'd up a set for you.

This is a bit a redo of a set I did a few weeks ago for a house party. The original version was an hour and a half long, this time I approached it with a mission to make everything rapid fire... so the revised set is all edits and quick mixes, resulting in 21 songs playing in a span of 31 minutes. Lots of fun, lots of energy... an rather good weekend jump-off point.

Setlist:

Intro - Michael Jackson...
Daft Punk - Something About Us (EASTAR Remix)
Alan Braxe and Fred Falke - Intro
Mr Ozio - Steroids (ft. Uffie)
Pete Heller - Big Love
Lykke Li - Little Bit (CSS Remix)
Mr. Scruff - Get A Move On
Duffy - Mercy (Morsy Mix)
Basement Jaxx - Miracles Keep On Playin' (Red Alert remix)
Kanye West - Love Lockdown (Chew Fu Small Room Fix)
Hot Chip - Boy From School (Erol Alkans's Re-Work)
James Pants - Ka$h (Trizzy & XXXchange Remix)
Alan Braxe and Fred Falke - Penthouse Serenade
Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning (Cut Copy Remix)
The Ting Tings - Great DJ (Calvin Harris Remix)
Mr Ozio - Jo
Gusto - Disco's Revenge (Freemasons Edit)
Pest - Pat Pong (Switch Remix)
Champion - No Heaven
Mylo - Ottos Journey
Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane Remix Feat. Au Revoir Simone)
Fleetwood Mac - You Make Lovin' Fun (Trailmix Remix)

*Download the mp3 here* [58MB, right click & save-as]

Or better yet, subscribe to the fake dj set podcast here. (full details can be found here).

elsewhere

"this modern love" performed acoustic, live outside a german pub

november mixtape

2008-11-12T00:02:00.000-08:00

Really like some of the music that's coming out right now... maybe it's a pre-Christmas release thing, but it just seems there's lots of good stuff out there right now.

This month's mix seems to ping pong between organic rock and electric beats. Of course, I mean that in the best way possible.

Perfect for those winter nights where the sun sets at 4:15pm.

click here to download and/or stream the mixtape

elsewhere

understanding jewel, part I

hello, october mixtape

2008-10-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

This month's mix is 100% paired with this new, darker, fall weather. This isn't a negative thing... but when I got up this morning, looked out the window, sighed, poured a coffee, and made a mix to match the mood. Lots of great stuff like +/-, Kings of Leon, and Mount Eriee. Either way:

click here to access this month's mix

As always, it's a limited time thing. Giddy up.

elsewhere

F@%k the Rain umbrella

i married in the sun...

2008-10-07T00:15:00.000-07:00

Guess what... despite what it may seem, this blog isn't dead. I've just been away and been busy... really busy. Tk and I got married a week ago, far away, in the sun. It was 100% awesome. As a guy, I never thought I'd gushingly describe a wedding as "awesome"... but it really was. Sure people tend to fixate on things like table cloths, custom vows, or how pretty the bride was (she was flawlessly pretty b.t.w)... but the thing that blew me away was the overwhelmingly positive energy of having most of my close friends and family in the room. I've never experienced anything like that.

I was gonna write up a massive post on the whole thing, but I'm bagged... turns out planning a party for 85 people over a period of 6 months is draining.

Since this is a faux-music blog I should point out the songs used highlighted during the day:

Wedding Party entrance at the ceremony: Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats

Bride entrance at the ceremony: Bright Eyes - First Day Of My Life

Song played as pronounced married: Grand Archives - Torn Blue Foam Couch

First dance: New Pornographers - Go Places

---

Also, yes, I owe you a mixtape. Also, I've gotta integrate my tumblr account with the dot com site since that's where I'm spending a lot of my time posting. All of this very soon. Patience is sexy.

elsewhere

three terrible, terrible movie devices

begin like a violin, end like leviathan...

2008-09-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

Nas - It Ain't Hard To Tell (rob vanmega remakes it with ratatat remix) [mp3]

Yay! I remixed something! How 2005 of me!

Actually, despite the totally pretentious title of my mix, I really like how this turned out... a classic hip hop track with very 2008 sounding beats* (thanks, segments of Mirando by Ratatat).

* It's important to note that when I say "2008 sounding beats" I don't mean "I turned on every filter in Ableton" like most ~~bedroom~~ laptop DJ's do.

Anyways, enjoy and download.

elsewhere

dustinland: the music nerd's burden

september mixtape = good to go...

2008-09-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's a back to school thing or just some random coincidence, but there are a lot of new albums out right now. This is always a good thing 'cause tours always follow the album release.

Either way:

click here to access this month's mix

Oh, on a nerdy note, I've installed that self-hosted version of muxtape (which rules, by the way) so the mix can be streamed here.

elsewhere

restart: laptops go live

reviewed: the stanley park singing exhibition w/ the new pornographers, black mountain, stevie jackson, etc...

2008-09-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

This show was, obviously, a lot different than the Lerche show we saw 2 nights ago... but was a gooder (even, if grossly under-attended). This was the first year The Singing Exhibition had been put on. It was charity event pulled together by the New Pornos. Rumor is that this is going to become an annual event.

We arrived a bit late and were only able to catch the second half of the Sunday line up. Stevie Jackson started out a bit rough, performing solo. In the latter part of his set he moved into a full band set up and the music was significantly more interesting. Dude was on some old school Elvis Costello type vibe. Black Mountain stood out like sore thumbs compared to the rest of the line up, but killed it doing the dark metal/acid rock thing. This was the first time I'd seen Black Mountain live - which I realize is a major Vancouver scene foul - and was totally impressed.

The New Pornos closed out the night and reaffirmed that they're my favorite band around. This particular show was a touch sloppy, but this wasn't a bad thing. Everyone on stage seemed relaxed. It felt like a home town show, performed for friends. Oh, and we got Neko Case and Dan Bejar on stage for the entire set. Well, at least Neko. Either way, WIN.

elsewhere

How Will The Superfluous Character On The New 90210 Die?

reviewed: sondre lerche w/ sylvie lewis at st james hall...

2008-08-31T16:53:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one my favorite things about being a music dork is how easy it is to go through a phase or to get deep into a certain style or sound. Maybe it was the warm weather, maybe it was subconscious decision to stop taking things so seriously... but, this summer I spent a lot of time listening to wonderfully braindead hip hop, breezy R&B, and all sorts of electro. This isn't a bad thing, but the 6 string guitar in my living room has gathered a lot of dust as of late. I spent years singing and creating music (for better or worse) and opted to temporarily forget that in exchange for something a little more reckless and celebratory.

Saturday night, thankfully, reset all that. I was reintroduced to melody, sophistication, and how flat-out amazing one person and a guitar can be. I really missed that.

The whole show was kinda surreal. St James Hall in Kits is trapped in a time warp. It's an old, tiny, converted church, complete with creaky chairs and poor ventilation... but, the sound is outstanding, there's no way you can't pay undivided attention to whoever's on stage. Not that either act needed help.

Sylvie Lewis opened, accompanied by only her acoustic guitar and worked through a set of songs which I'd describe as half folk/half jazz driven (you might not agree, but that's ok). Either way, she was a delight complete with hyper-charming banter. She spent the entire set knocking the crowd out... in only the most gentle of ways.

Sondre Lerche was nuts. There's countless reviews about this guy online, which all seem to focus on his writing, his candor on stage... which is fine... but the thing that just killed me was the control this guy had of his guitar. Switching between an acoustic a barely distorted electric, he owned every line of every song by constantly flipping the dynamic of his guitar and his voice. He'd bait and switch... muting and pulling in quiet when expressing anger, playing to a point of nearly going horse during times of joy. He was performing alone on stage, but it packed the urgency and punch of a full band.

Inspired and amazing. I've missed you beautiful guitar music. It's good to have you back.

elsewhere

Nardwuar vs. N.E.R.D

adventures in fake dj'ing: end of summer edition...

2008-08-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer, I thought it made sense to put out one last summer mix for the long weekend.

The only tricky thing was that I've had no time to actually whip something up new... you know, 'cause I was too busy actually being outside and enjoying summer for the past bit.

I found a mix I made for my stag earlier this summer. At the time, I didn't post the mix on vanmega because it seemed ridiculous: blend over blend of older hip hop, rock... a couple of inside jokes, oh, and Toto. The funny thing is now that I've lived with this mix for a month or two, I really like it. It's loud, scrappy, and full of energy... perfect jump-off mix at your next party. Or commute on the bus to work.

The set list (total time = 40 minutes):

Intro - "Dave's on the spoons.."
Ludacris - Southern Hospitality
Toto - Africa
Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours
Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song
Ice-T - New Jack Hustler
Beastie Boys - Brass Monkey
Genesis - Land Of Confusion (Metal On Metal Edit)
Maestro Fresh Wes - Drop The Needle (Throwdown Club Mix)
Lil Mama - Shawty Get Loose (Instrumental break)
MGMT - Electric Feel (Nate Wize RMX)
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (Bibi & Dimitri From Paris Anthem from Paris)
rob vanmega - Sweat & Shoot (Horrible Mix)
Diplo - Work Is Never Over (Kanye West Redux)
Michael Jackson - P.Y.T.
Pase Rock - Lindsay Lohan's Revenge (feat Spankrock & Amanda Blank)
The Artful Dodger - Re-Rewind
Tomas Andersson - Washing Up (Tiga Mix)
Daft Punk - Prime Time Of Your Life (Night Facilities Remix)
Justice - DVNO (The Officially Unofficial DVNO Transformer Remix)
The Count and Sinden - Beeper (featuring Kid Sister)
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4 (Bird Peterson Remix)

*Download the mp3 here* [54MB, right click & save-as]

Or better yet, subscribe to the fake dj set podcast here. (full details can be found here).

elsewhere

the story behind "welcome to the jungle"

this weekend in rock in vancouver...

2008-08-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

This (long) weekend is looking kinda nuts for live music in the city. Turn off your laptop and get out there:

Thursday:

The Walkmen at Richard's
Beck & Band of the Horses at the Orpheum

Friday:
54-40 at the PNE (what? some people like to kick it really old school)

Saturday:

Sondre Lerche at St. James Hall

Sunday:
!!! at Richard's
Neko Case, Destroyer, Andrew Bird, Deerhoof, and the Evaporators at Malkin Bowl (Stanley Park)

Monday:
The New Pornographers, Black Mountain, Stevie Jackson, the 1900s, and Visqueen at Malkin Bowl (Stanley Park)
The Victory Square Block Party (full line up here... oh and the entire thing is free)

elsewhere

strange brew: vancouver's weird punk scene invents itself

2008-08-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to recover from this Olympic fever thing that I caught last week so you get links...

vancouver is awesome... these kids are gleeful... and that in itself is kinda awesome.

rules for my unborn son

hamilton 365... one new portrait a day of people in Hamilton, Ontario.

Rapper's salaries in 2008... how did OutKast pull in $10M so far this year?

Craigslist: Amateur Hype Man Looking to Enter The "Big Leagues"

Oh what the helll... a Daft Punk remix

none of these songs are just like the other...

2008-08-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Song 1:

I'll probably lose what little street cred I've got left, but, there's a second song I kinda love on the new-ish Sam Roberts' album. Here's why:

Some of you may remember (many, many...) years ago I went through my musician phase. I played countless instruments, and countless gigs, for countless hours, and of course... for next to no money. Along the way I met and collaborated with a lot of musicians... we'd all get together and pack a room; everyone with their instruments and voices trying to pitch in. The intent was to "jam" (hate that term) and create some sort of a baroque masterpiece. In reality, we just got noisy and muddy (and drunk?)... which wasn't the intent at all. Usually, by the end of an evening most of the crew would go home and only a few would remain and play. Usually at this point, we'd perform something so basic, defeated, and melodic that our vocals would feed of each other resulting in something much greater than the sum of the parts. This kinda feels like that:

Sam Roberts - Words And Fire [mp3]

---

Song 2:

This song has been stuck in my head since, well, the first time I heard it on CJSW in 1990. I still can't get over the bass line.

BOLD STATEMENT: This is the best bass line ever recorded by man.

The Stone Roses - Fools Gold [mp3]

UPDATE: wikipedia just kinda screwed with my head:

"The [Fools Gold] bassline was "inspired" by "Know How" by Young MC, which is a sample from the Shaft theme song, performed by Isaac Hayes."

I'm gonna pretend I didn't read that. Still... such a hot jam though.

elsewhere

the truth about lollapalooza

easy plateau...

2008-08-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

This has got mean something... I'm just not sure what.

elsewhere

why amazon mp3 will win

august mixtape = on time for once!

2008-08-03T22:16:00.000-07:00

Despite the July mixtape actually getting posted mid-month this month's is actually timely. Well done, me?

This particular mix is kinda mellow... the front end has teeth, but the later half is more sane acoustic driven stuff. Don't be scared... this isn't a bad thing. Kinda good for those far too hot summer days... oh, and August long weekends.

download this month's mix here

As always, this is a limited time thing.

elsewhere

which shoe company represents U?

I'm not comfortable with that term...

2008-07-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

Dammit, I wasn't going to comment on this Adbusters article... or at most I was gonna chime in with a TL;DR and leave it at that. But since the internets and tumblespheres are heating up over this and since the article has real holes... here's my 2 cents:

the article makes a few heavy handed assumptions: society can only have one - and only one - counter culture. A bunch of ill-dressed drunks in a bar is not counter culture... to me, people like cameronR with his bike valet thing for 10's of thousands of people appear to be engrossed in "authentic counter culture" (to use AdBusters' phrase)

it doesn't matter what scene/lifestyle someone identifies with at 17 years of age... they're going to be a useless little fuck. I'm sorry, we all were... in the 90's at 17 years of age I used fake ID's to go to bars, I wore baggy hip hop clothes, my biggest concern in life was getting wasted, looking cool, and touching boobs... pretty much exactly like the anecdotal example used in the article, which argues we're going to hell in a handbasket (on a fixed gear bike).

A single scene that's perceived as shitty or apathetic is not representative of a generation AND NEVER HAS BEEN. The mass majority of people in the world don't actually create change/art/greater good, it's a select few individuals who feel compelled to do so... these people span across sub-cultures... it could be someone who hangs at the Biltmore or someone who just hits the books at SFU or some suburbanite from Surrey.

elsewhere

How I Spread A Lie About Ghostface Killah, or Why You Should Not Trust Goddamn Wikipedia

faux-reviewed: the weekend in rawk...

2008-07-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

There were about eleventy billion bands playing shows this weekend in vancouver... I went to NONE of them. Why? Wedding errands kicked my ass. Don't worry... it's cool, Me and Tk always wanted to see the far obscure reaches of Surrey.

While I didn't see any shows, through the glory of Tumblr (which is way more enjoyable that regular blogging, BTW, and could explain why I'm wasting so much time on there) we can provide highlights. Isn't this ~~lazy of me~~ awesome? Anyhoots, to recap:

According to Quinn, Les Savy Fav w/ Jay Retard at The Commodore was awesome... not only for the music, but for the sad fights picked with the band

According to Charming Mandy, Shearwater at Zulu Records was good. Mellow, but good. Also, FREE BEER FOR ALL.

Oh, and the Pemberton Festival, according to Cam, it's totally overrated. So there's that.

elsewhere

free stuff from the go! team

a reminder...

2008-07-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't notice... this graphic is fantastic.

elsewhere

did the bush administration bankroll the dark night?

july mixtape = totally timely...

2008-07-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

I could explain to you in great detail about how my hard drive crashed earlier this month and how I just finally recovered my music and in turn that's why this month's tape is a bit delayed... but you don't care... content, of course, is king. Heh.

Originally, I had planned to make a very sublime, very summery mix for July, but I'm not sure that happened. There's a lot of guitars and a bit of melodic electric stuff on this month's tape. Mission not accomplished... but this might be a good thing. I like how this tape turned out. Download/stream away:

click here to access this month's tape

As always, this is a limited time thing.

elsewhere & related

summer mix series - the website

all your early adopters belong to us...

2008-07-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

(img source)

On the way to work today I passed my local Rogers store. It was lined up around the corner and right down the street. Looking out my office window now I can see another sizable line up at another Rogers store. Today must be iPhone day.

Blogosphere, can we please use this as a lesson in economics? For the past month there has been endless groaning and moaning about Rogers plans and pricing for the iPhone. People have cried out about the injustice of wireless monopolies. People have asked, "why is Rogers marketing the second highest costing iPhone plan in the world?"

Based on the line ups we're seeing today, the answer is "because they can".

I'm not agreeing with Rogers' approach at all... I think it sucks too! But I am kinda laughing at all the empty rants and threats about boycotts and fighting back when compared with the guys chanting "iPhone! iPhone!" at 8am this morning.

Updated/related:

Well played, someecards.

elsewhere

today is free slurpee day at 7-11

QUICKIE: a club called dixie...

2008-07-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

Is this Big Man from Trapped In The Closet actually working as a stripper in real life?!?

If so... Tk, your staggette just got a whole lot creepier.

elsewhere

status ain't hood shuts down

oh, hey... I'm not dead...

2008-07-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

Wow. 2 weeks without posting. That's gotta be a record.

Anyhoo... contrary to popular belief, I did survive my stag in Vegas... barely, but I survived (18 hours sleep on Monday night!). Since it's in my life plan to run for (strata?) president later on, I'm opting to not disclose all the details of my trip online (a first?). I didn't get a chance to fire a bazooka as originally hoped for, but I did manage to get to a shooting range and fire a glock (Little Vicious style?). It was pretty fantastic... I felt like Jack Bauer... Jack Bauer with incredibly bad aim. Good stuff.

I owe you a mixtape... that should be up in the next couple of days. I'm still re-hydrating... hang tight.

elsewhere

Jerry Seinfeld as compared to my mother

2 things...

2008-06-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

(img source)

1. The new Girl Talk album came out today online. You probably are either really excited by this or really could care less (there seems to be no middle ground). Either way, here it is. Pay what you want.

2. In about 2 hours I'm calling it a week and heading to Las Vegas for my stag. INSERT OBVIOUS REFERENCE TO IMPENDING LIVER DAMAGE HERE. But, seriously y'all(s)... yikes, my liver.

I've got a pretty solid team of boys rolling with me down there. There's 8 of us. Should be fantastic. I've been told we're going to a shooting range. I've made it clear that I want to fire a bazooka. Dave's come through on stuff like this before... so here's hoping.

Since there are a lot of guys who were invited and can't go for a variety of reasons, I've come up with the admittedly dumb idea of providing stag party updates via twitter. I'm gonna try to keep this up until either (1) I loose my phone, (2) I loose interest, (3) The Deuce reminds me that Twitter is the web equivalent of Randy Newman on The Family Guy.

Either way, follow along here.

elsewhere

iTunes soars Past 5 billion downloads

adventures in fake dj'ing: LAZR BASS edition...

2008-06-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

This mix kinda came outta nowhere...

This morning I upgraded my fake DJ software and then started playing with a bunch of random mp3s randomly left on my desktop. I wasn't really going for anything in particular, nor did I have plans of publishing this mix, but I like the way it turned out... it's a nice collection of electro de jour type tunes complete with lots of heavy distorted synthy-bass (aka LAZR BASS!!1).

Most of the bands in the mix are everywhere these days (and sorta done to death?). The set feels kinda disposable, but that's what makes it work... it's a nice, brainless, pick-me-up. It's the sorta mix that should be played on a Friday night at some point between when you leave work and when you (finally) go to bed.

The set list (total time = 40 minutes):

MGMT - Electric Feel (Nate Wize RMX)
A-Trak - Knucklehead
We Are Scientists - Chick Lit (Danger TV Remix Edit)
Blackstreet - No Diggity (Skeet Skeet Remix)
Digitalism - Idealistic (A-Trak Remix)
Justice - DVNO
Anoraak - Nightdrive With You (GRUM's New Wave Remix)
Martina Topley Bird - Poison (Van She Mix)
Revolte - Guess What
Klaxons - As Above, So Below (Justice Remix)

*Download the mp3 here* [54MB, right click & save-as]

Or better yet, subscribe to the fake dj set podcast here. (full details can be found here).

PS: If I ever put another Justice or A-Trak track/remix into one of my sets, you are welcome to stab me with a plastic fork.

elsewhere

most bafflingly awful song of the year

underachievers, please try harder...

2008-06-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Come on Rogers, you're about to launch the most coveted wireless device in the history of humankind* and all you can do is post a totally vague teaser image on your website. Not even an image of the actual product, just some generic device. No actual content about the device, or plans, or pricing, or how the sun will shine everyday if you own the phone.

You've got a license to print money for the next year (at least) and this is how you seize it? Yikes.

* not being a fanboy, I'm just being honest.

elsewhere

the endless march of time