Top 5 of 2008

So I'm going to post what would have been my entry to a music contest had I actually entered. I could blame the blackout last week for me missing the deadline, but really, I have no one or thing to blame but my own damn self. I'm still kicking myself for missing the cut off date, but hopefully you'll enjoy my musical ramblings.

Also, I would probably switch my #5, now that I've had some time to change my mind and say, screw Cancon! (and sorry Sari and Romy) I know the new Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion was technically released in 2009, but I feel like I need to mention this record because I've been glorifying it lately.

Otherwise #5 would be a toss-up between The Dodos' Visitor and Shugo Tokumaro's Exit.

*************************************************************************************

When I found out about the contest, my immediate thought was to compare music to food. Both are integral to my life, and my choices for the top of 2008 this year are like well-prepared meals. The musicians take time and care to produce a fine album and they fill up my mind and leave me feeling incredibly satisfied after each listen. I know I'm only supposed to write something for the top album, but I felt like each one deserved a few sentences.

5) Ghost Bees - Tasseomancy is like a shot of schnapps after you've received a fright. The Halifax twins of Ghost Bees are spooky, little elfins making music that are like tales you tell around a fire. Everyone is huddled together wondering who is the next person to be collected by death. Their lyrics are fantastical tales and their voices are both creepy, sad and beautiful all at once.

4) El Guincho - Alegranza! is like a post-modern gazpacho made with crazy hot peppers and a manic chef on LSD. I love this album because it's like a uppity, ADD, Spanish Animal Collective.

3) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago is a thick, warm, hearty stew slow-cooked over an open fire using wood you've chopped yourself. You can hear all the care that went into making this album, all the quiet reflection of the three months of isolation folk singer/songwriter Justin Vernon spent recording For Emma, Forever Ago. This album truly warms my soul.

2) Erykah Badu - New Amerykah, Part One: 4th World War. Ms. Badu may be a strict vegan, but New Amerykah is definitely the soul chicken dinner of albums this year. I love the beats, samples and melodies she uses. They fit well with her smooth, groovy voice. Whenever I listen to this album, I feel like I'm being fed a loving meal with a large family gathered around. We may fight, but I always know I can count on blood. (I'm a vegetarian, but I've always said that if there were a meat to turn me back to being an omnivore, it would be chicken!)

1) Chad Vangaalen - Soft Airplane is a musical sandwich, plain and simple. Like the humble sandwich, which easily fills up hungry tummies, Vangaalen's 2008 release is like a sandwich that fills up my musical hunger. His lyrics are the bread of a song, providing the structure, the very essence of a sandwich. The strength of his story-telling leaves me completely sated. The production of the songs, the melodies and instruments are like the filler of a sandwich. They can be simple like a peanut butter sandwich or a bologna sandwich, or they can be dressed up like a fancy roasted eggplant, hummus and avacado toasted sandwich. I want to say that "Willow Tree" alone is enough to make me let Soft Airplane take the top of the 2008 cake. He's the King Daddy of 200Great for me.

I'm not going to talk about it...

I could blog about how integral the inauguration was to our lives and how history was made, but there are enough of those posts floating around the interweb. I will say this though: I got choked up watching the reactions of the American people during the speech. Sure, Obama is a great orator, but I damn near bawled my eyes out watching the reactions in the crowd. And that is exactly what Obama means to me. He is idealistic and gregarious, but he really represents hope to me. He won't be able to change everything and undo years of bad decisions but the most important thing he offers is a sense of optimism, passion and possibility for others, especially the young'uns. That's where real change is possible, in the future generations, and by god, I will be thankful if he's even able to inspire one good human being to be even better.


I know I said I wasn't going to talk about the inauguration, but goddamn, the First Couple's First Dance gave me shivers. Beyonce's voice was silky, sultry and smooth like freshly churned butter. I actually felt the shivers travel up and down my spine. Watching the Obamas dance made me believe that there is such a thing as everlasting love. I felt like I was at their wedding, and effin' hell, what a way to say hello to 2009.

And finally, finally, finally, Aretha Franklin's hat! I do believe the post on Oh No They Didn't sums it up so perfectly. I've been fierced.

It ain't right...

That's what Anni kept saying the whole time we were in New York City. But she meant it in the best possible way because there were so many things that were oh so right. I am in love with that city. This was my third time visiting, and each time my love for it grows and grows. There's no place like NYC, and the people are not like the wet mops of Toronto. They actually have some passion and directness instead of the wishy-washy, apologetic nature of so many fellow Canadians.

I keep expecting New Yorkers to be rude, impatient and downright mean. They never are. They're polite, good-natured and funny people. I've never felt it so easy to talk to people or have people approach me. They have a happy disposition that I sometimes find lacking here in Toronto. This posting isn't to slam T-Dot because there are plenty of great things about this city, but it's always nice to get out of your familiar surroundings and see other places. If anything, this trip to NYC has renewed my lust for travel. I have a new vigour and desire to go to a new place at least every couple of months.

Some NYC highlights included:
-Eating at Red Bamboo (this may be the most amazing vegetarian restaurant I have ever been, and I've been veg for 11 years. Red Bamboo serves soul food. This ain't right.)
-NYC Public Library (the building is incredible, from the detailing in the interior to the sassy older librarian ladies with their smart outfits and perfectly coiffed do's. Now that ain't right.)
-Bonita (Mexican restaurant in Brooklyn. Not only was the food delish, the servers were friendly, cute and full of laughter and silliness. And they rocked some Brooklyn hip hop so brownie points...Again, it ain't right.)
-Free pizza at the Charleston (a bar in Brooklyn on Bedford Ave. During happy hour, you can get a pizza pie to choke down with the beer. Brilliant.)
-Bowling at the Gutter (another bar in Brooklyn. Now that ain't right.)
-Macy's (this is a world-class department store with old wooden escalators. Yes, wooden escalators. It ain't right.)
-Seeing Yo La Tengo in Montclair, NJ on NYE (the whole evening was so low key and unpretentious. The audience was multi-generational, there was no countdown, the music was phenomenal, the performance was solid. The only thing was the commute out to Jersey. It's give and take I suppose.)
-hanging at Moe's near Mat's house (good music, uninhibited people with uninhibited dance moves)
-New Yorkers ('nuff said. And it ain't right.)

For Old Timer's Sake

I opened a Pandora's box. The other day I collected a couple things I had left at my friend's place after I moved away the first time. Inside were a bunch of photos and letters and buried memories. I ended up opening up everything and going for a stroll down Memory Lane. After a while, I just couldn't hack it anymore. Nostalgia and "what ifs" plagued my mind, and I needed to run away. The whole experience left me feeling somewhat numb.

It's weird how I've forgotten some things I swore I'd never forget. Or how I convinced myself that I wasn't going to be bothered by certain things anymore yet how easily that nagging feeling came back when I saw the mementos.

I sometimes find it hard to acknowledge how long life is. Sure it's short, and "they" always talk about how quickly it goes by and not to waste it. I agree, but when you stop and think about how much activity goes on in one person's life, how many people one meets, loves, hates, how many interactions and memories one person's life has, you'll understand what I mean. I used to regret when I lost touch with people or when relationships ended. I am the worst at letting go of dead relationships, constantly flogging that horse until I'm cranky and fatigued, but now I know better. I used to be very good at keeping in touch with people, but eventually it just got too exhausting to stay in touch with everyone. I have had luck reconnecting with people from my past, but there are still some that I haven't and wonder about. Opening that box only made me wonder more.

On a somewhat related note, Natasha sent me a link to Advanced Style, and I'm happily enjoying it. You gotta respect your elders, and these stylish seniors know what looks good. It's a relief to know that style doesn't have to go out the door as a person ages. Now what I really want to know is what kind of Pandora's boxes they have.

T'is the season, dudes

I had to work this weekend, so I'm a grumposaurus. Aside from having to work, I find the nature of my work makes me kinda grouchy as well. I got a job writing news headlines for a website, and while it's journalism-related I'm not doing much of my own writing. But that's not the point I want to make. The point is the news is depressing. Well, duh.

Bad news is news. I've been feeling down all week, and aside from the usual things like winter and me throwing myself a pity party, I realized a lot of my down-in-the-dumps feelings were also because of what's been going on in the world. Shit hit the global fan and splattered everyone. From the Mumbai massacre and the Nigerian election-related clashes to the economy and the Canadian government on the verge of collapsing to shopping-related deaths in the States and the David Frost verdict, it's a wonder I've gotten out of bed. The thing is, there's not much I or one individual can do about it other watch/listen to the news and discuss with our friends about how fucked up the world is.

I'm a huge believer in the whole "when it rains, it pours" phenomenon. Past life lessons has taught me that either nothing happens or it all happens at once. I shudder to think about what'll happen next week. Thank God I get three days off, so preferably it'll all happen Wednesday onwards.

Oh yeah, The Acorn, a phenomenal band from Ottawa, should just change their name to Babetown. I was lucky enough to score a ticket to their sold out show on Thursday. The Rural Alberta Advantage and Obijou opened for them. I left the show thinking that all was all right with the world. Apparently not though. :(

Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet...

Here is a list of people I would love to have as boyfriends. In no particular order:

-David Sedaris
-Ira Glass
-Chuck Klosterman
-Roald Dahl
-David Suzuki
-Oscar Wilde
-Jens Lekman
-Sook Yin Lee

That is all.

I'd like a ticket to Stylesville, please

At the risk of sounding horrifically materialistic and shallow, I got some sweet duds over the weekend, and I'm more than excited to show them off. House of Spy was having a fantastic sample sale, and I managed to score some key items as well as have the change room to myself! It's a communal change room and because it was pissing cats and dogs that day, it wasn't busy when I roll in soaking wet.

Anyway, all this ties in with my goal to change my wardrobe and develop a more "grown up" look. So far Operation Sophisticated Look has been a bust. I guess the not-getting-paid-until-recently thing was a big hindrance. I'd like to believe these purchases are send offs on the Grown-Up train en route to Stylishville, population: me.

I've been rocking the This American Life podcast lately. Ira Glass is a god, and it is THE best pieces of radio work I have heard in a very long time. Without fail, every single time I listen to that podcast, I want to cry. But in a good way. It's storytelling stripped down to its bare bones. No fancy sound effects, no screeching voices, only the one voice, maybe an occasional interviewee and stories that move, haunt, delight, entertain, amuse and frustrate you. I can't get enough of it.

Oh, and I don't care what any of you have to say about this next statement, so I'm just gonna say it. Vice's Do's and Don'ts are awesome. I've been reading for years and they're always consistent little arses. The writing is bitchy, mean, sometimes sexist, often downright rude, but dammit, do I ever enjoy reading them. Some say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. I say, so be it. I'll be laughing all the way down.

Here's something else I've been reading obsessively (besides David Sedaris of course): Norman Yeung's blog. He's a local dude, artist, writer, actor, all-around talented man. I first read about him in Ricepaper and love his graffiti and artwork. Now that I've found his blog, all I do is read it compulsively and try not to weep with joy over how funny and utterly random he is. Check it, yo.