When I started this I had originally planned for 10 cd's to duke it out in a round robin style... but I quickly realized that after the first round I'd be left with the uneven number of 5 for the second round... so I bumped it up to twelve, which, as we saw last time, means that after round two, we're left with three, another uneven number for duelling.
So this morning, thinking about it, (yes, THINKING, that's what it's all about) I realized that battle royales of 16 was the way to go. Of course, following traditional battle royale rules, it wouldn't matter how many players there were, just that one was left standing at the end... but I digress...
Today it's:
The Saint Soundtrack vs Lisa Germano: Geek The Girl
Autechre's Amber vs. the In A Cocktail Mood lounge comp
Slint's Spiderland taking on Ovuca's 2-disk set, Onclements
Craig Mack's Project:Funk Da World challenges Marty Simon's Lexx soundtrack
Liquid Liquid versus the A-Team: Who Framed The A-Team
Run Lola Run st hits Clinic (the three ep comp)
Das Efx: Hold It Down vs Amon Tobin's Supermodified
and
Fugees' Blunted on Reality has a go at Orb: Orbus Terrerum
ding!
Round 1
from the Saint st: the Sneaker Pimps' 6 Underground (Nellee Hooper edit) vs Lisa Germano: Sexy Little Girl Princess
Haunting and cool with the violin sequncers and metronome percussion, as well as Germano's whisper of a voice, Sexy Little Girl Princess is as beautiful as it is eerie, but it can't properly sit beside the equally chilling 6Underground, which has a engaging beat that makes you nod your head or sway in rhythm.
Concerto For Love by Jerry Wiggins vs Autechre, Foil
We all have our own preferences for lounging. Some of us like a smooth coctail jazz, some of us like a sonically engaging ambiant-electronica. Some of us like both, but some of us think Foil is just too much fun.
Slint, Nosferatu Man vs Ovuca, Yakface
Like comparing apples to pears this one. But Slint's deft mix of dronology, spoken word, and fuzzed out early-90's garage punk just has a huge edge over Ovuca's brief Aphex-Twinish endeavours
Craig Mack, Project Funk Da World versus Marty Simon's Feppo's Party
While the Lexx soundtrack is amazing as a whole, a completely digital orchestral production, mixed with fuzzy electric guitars, it just doesn't hold up to the Puffy produced (circa 1994) Funk Da World, which opens with Mack busing into a high tech information system and busting a phat rhyme (did I just say that?) over some innovative (especially for their time) samples.
Liquid Liquid, Optimo vs The ATeam: Who Framed The A-Team
Unfortunately Acey Alone (here as Acey the Faceman) couldn't bring much of his great freestyle to a lacklustre track on a dismal album (it's kitch only because of the A-Team reference). Optimo wins by default.
It's a consistant dance album, that Run Lola Run, but with endless remixes of similar songs, it doesn't quite have anything that can vye for standout song... The Running One remix has shades of greatness that are just overpowered by all that's similar around it. Clinic, on the other hand, tosses nine songs, all similar and unique at the same time, many standout for different elements amongst eachother, IPC (subeditors debate our youth) the instant grab on track one with a deceptive intro beat which quickly changes pace.
Das EfX, Real Hip Hop vs Amon Tobin's Four Ton Mantis
How to you match one of the mid-90's best hip-hop songs agains one of the late 90's greatest (and pioneering) electro-jazz songs? Easy. Judging them is the hard part. But Four Ton Mantis just really makes my ears smile.
Fugees' Shouts Out From The Block vs Orb, Occidental
Back up with a commodore 64 Pitfall sounding keyboard loop, with an odd splash of horns and scratches, Pras, Wyclef and Lauryn piece it all together into a smooth, enjoyable, head nodding song. Orb, on the other hand, presents an audio soundscape which just doesn't quite engage as much
DING
Round 2 - random pairings
Clinic/IPC vs Sneaker Pimps/6Underground... Clinics clever beat shift wins out
Liquid Liquid/Optimo vs Autechre/Foil ... as much as I love LL's cowbell hook, I like the texture of Foil better.
Slint/Nosferatu Man vs Fugees/Shout Outs From The Block... easy, Nosferatu Man is miles more innovative
Craig Mack/Project Funk Da World vs Amon Tobin's Four Ton Mantis... oh, the mantis, definitely...
DING
Round 3 - obvious contrasts
Nosferatu Man vs IPC... hmm, Nosferatu Man, still miles more fun, maybe... it's tough but yeah, I'll go with the impulse.
Four Ton Mantis against Foil... ouch... so tough ambiant brilliance versus breakbeat brilliance... ooh... I'm doing an eenie meenie on this one... Apparently Autechre's not the very best one.
DING
Round 4
Four Ton Mantis takes on Nosferatu Man... the insect against the vampire. Grrrmmm.... Listening to them over and over, Four Ton Mantis really encourages repeat listening. No, it forces it upon you, whereas after Nosferatu Man you feel like you've just read a book. It's a good book, but you're done reading it. You'll definitely go back to it, but not today.
DING
Winner: Amon Tobin's Four Ton Mantis
So yes, fingers do walking, lips do the talking, but other people, they do the research:
such as Jen's peek behind the world of trepanation
or
or, if you're too lazy to click on those links to find other links... then you can just click here or here or here or even here, here, here, here, or here.
or, you can do your own goldang search.
On the streetcar today I saw a strange little man
He wore of strange hat and tweed jacket
and spectacles that darkened day
He talked to himself, accent thick, muttering on and on
Unawares of intelligable intelligence or really
of the world that surrounds him
His bag was black, hardcased, and on wheels
slung over his shoulder it looked a strain
but he didn't mind the pain
There was writing on his bag, and this is no word of a lie
It said on white paper "ACTOR/SUPERDANCER
SUPERSTAR" in black ink under tape
The handwritten font on his bag, matched the glittery pin
decaled on his twill chest spouting "I AM DER AMERICAN"
in gold against black
A strange curiousity to witness mid-morn
He's likely used to the stares, this superstar
He welcomes attention in any form.
Based on a true story
Tonight's bouts begin with:
Ramones: Adios Amigos vs The Cramps' Big Beat From Badsville
(I swear these happen at random)
Stars: comeback ep take on Soul Coughing: El Oso
Unrest: Cath Carroll ep battles Jurassic 5: Power In Numbers
El Gran Baile con Senor Coconut versus Mean Red Spiders' Stars & Sons
The Low Pressure compilation dukes it out with the soundtrack to Angels & Insects by the Balanescu Quartet
and
Winnepeg's Noviller (The Brindleford Follies) rags on Bell & Sebastian: Fold your hands child, you walk like a peasant
And hey! I just rid my computer of Windows Media (big FUMS)
DING!
Round 1
Picking a standout Ramones song is like tossing a dart, you know you're going to hit something, it could be what you're aiming at, but you just never know, cause honestly, nothing stands out. What a horrible analogy.
Ramones cover of Tom Waits' "I Don't Want To Grow Up" vs the Cramp's Hypno Sex Ray
Hmm, it's pseudo-punk vs pseudo-Elvis-with-a-sex-fetish... mmm, lesgo wit' the Cramps here
Stars: Krush vs. Soul Coughing's Misinformed
Krush is such a cool, smooth, arid track that really gets in your pores, you feel slightly dirty because of it, but you also feel kind of high. Its easly On the other side picking a Soul Couging track out of an album of amazing and distinct tracks is such a difficult task that Krush really does overshadow my current favorite SC song Misinformed (subject to change)
Unrest: Vibe Out vs. Jurassic 5: What's Golden
Golden is an astounding track which first caught me by J5's live appearance on Conan OBrien. Vibe Out, on the other hand has been sitting on a mixed tape of mine (taped from Brave New Waves) since 95, and when I found this cd last year, I couldn't believe the chills Vibe gave me, and still do. Vibe Out still in.
Senor Coconut's jazzy-mambo-glitch-beats are dearly interesting, especially Supertropical, but versus the lilting dronology power of Mean Red Spider's "Left" it's really nothing but hyper noise.
Governor Bolts's Wednesday vs Balanescu Quartet's Coppice
the Balanescu 4 is typically highly innovative and challenging in their neo-classical-revisionist music, and yet on the Angels and Insects soundtrack, they abandon their traditional style-neuveau for, well, soundtrack music. Damn good soundtrack music, but soundtrack music no less. Plus Wednesday is one of the best hip-hop songs of 2002.
Novillero: Stumble On vs Belle & Sebastian: Nice Day For A Sulk
Duotang's Rod Slaughter takes on big band 70's music with great delight and Stumble On, with it's high impact really rolls right over all of B&S's Carpenters-esque lullabies like Nice Day For A Sulk.
DING!
Round 2:
Vibe Out vs Left... ooh, tough one, but Vibe Out will take it
Stumble On vs Hypno Sex Ray... ah, as Antonio would say, I am the sex, yes?
Krush vs Wednesday... another tough one, but after constant relistening, I still couldn't decide, so we went to the throw count and I remembered that the last Stars gig I was at I couldn't stan the male lead's attitude... so Wednesday
DING
Round 3:
Vibe Out vs
Hypno Sex Ray vs
Wednesday
Unrest, Vibe Out... an easy decision for some reason, probably sentimental.. but that's the best kind of reason.
I owe you no answers
"Do what now?"
You ever meet someone who has a voice that for some reason just doesn't register. You know they're speaking, and you hear some kind of noise, but you really can't make out what they're saying. Their voice range is either too low to or perhaps it just reverberates at a rate that your eardrum just cannot handle.
There's a guy that comes into work like that. I catch roughly 10% of what he says at any point in time because he speaks low and deep and my brain just will not take to it.
On the flipside, I knew a girl whose voice caused my ears to hurt. When she would talk sometimes, there would be loud clicking or popping sounds in my ears. It was quite annoying and made it hard to focus on conversation.
Ah, the body human, a strange and curious thing.
Tonight's contenders are:
Star Wars Breakbeats by Supergenius vs Jad Fair & Phono Comb's Monster's Lullabies ... and the occasional flying saucer
Hosemusic by Lederhosen Lucil vs Supergrass
Peanut Butter Wolf's Jukebox 45's vs Tank Girl Soundtrack
Negativland: Escape from noise vs Mighty Mite's Tighty Whiteys (a cd comp of my own invention)
De La Soul: 3 Feet High and Rising vs Hayden's Skyscraper National Park
the two newbies: Nigo: Ape Sounds vs Mum: Finally We Are No One
DING
Round 1:
Jad Fair and Phono Comb: Dreamy Eyes
pos: nostalgic early 90's + ex-Shadowy band members and style
vs
Star Wars Breakbeats: Admiral Ackbar Please
pos: "classic" Star Wars Nostalgia + a fun, funky beat and cool loops
it's tough, but Admiral Ackbar can smell a trap a mile away, and noone calls Fish Eyes dreamy. SWBB wins.
Lederhosen Lucil: Fidelio Carnivalis
smooth english to french + keyboards + tamborines + banjos + strings + snare = ohmy
vs
Supergrass: Your Love (it was a toss between that and Pumping on Your Stereo, but I'm a little tired of that one)
pos: cowbells, great intro
it's another tough one, and I love Lucil, but Your Love is such a great, neo-classic pop song... and cowbell.
Peanut Butter Wolf/ Quasimoto: Microphone Mathmatics (it's hard picking a standout song from a comp that's so solidly good that it no one song stands out)
pos: picked cause it has some cool scratches, an interesting sample, and Dave from De La Soul
vs
Devo: Girl U Want
It's the Title card song from the Tank Girl movie and kicks major ass
The Girl I Want way overpowers the microphone mathematics... it energizes me whereas mic math relaxes me... and energy rules
Negativland: Over the Hiccups
c'mon, it's a little kid singing over the rainbow with hiccups, it's cute
vs.
Gamers In Exile: I Am A Decent Man
Negative land is intriguing listening, but it's not good music. "I Am A Decent Man" on the other hand is both intriguing and good music, a fine fine example of modern ambiant-techno layering. An audio ballet for your mind.
De La Soul: Eye Know (I've been living with 3 Ft for well over a decade and it is one of my most beloved albums so picking a favorite is hard, but Eye Know is an easy standout, and the fact that it still holds up after thousands of listens really speaks to its identity)
vs
Hayden... umm, sorry Hayden, with that said, there's not even a chance... in fact, we can just skip the entire analysis of the remainder's right now and pronounce Eye Know as the winner.
I never said the battles wouldn't be /ahem/ skewed.
on tonight's appropriation docket we have:
Nigo - ape sounds: because I like monkeys
and
Mum - finally we are no one: as it is one of the best albums of the year.. soo relaxing and lulling. The perfect bedtime album.
coming soon (ie.the next post), the great song countown, wherein I decide to look at ten of my cds every day (and mixed tapes when I get around to them) and choose a favorite song off of each of them, and let the songs battle it out battle royale style until there's only 1 left. And the way these kinda bonspiel-style things go, a lot of the time not even the best (or my favorite song as it were) will win... but alas, this little test will decide my favorite song for me...
As for future acquisitions.. well every ten will be measured by the last remaining ten... who knows, there can always be new champions.
Remember though, this is all purely subjective, no decisions are final, and all complaints/criticisms will be ignored.
But comments, + or - are accepted.
Everything I know about society today I learned from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Such as today, I learned that Henry Kissinger has to consult with lawyers before he leaves the United States because he's wanted for prosecution of war crimes in four different countries including another G8 country, France, and, of course, Chile! Plus, he slept with Candice Bergen (you do realize that Kissinger did coin the phrase "power is the ultimate aphrodesiac"... ew).
these are words you never want to hear your girlfriend say:
"I like Bill Maher, he appeals to women"
Have you SEEN Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death??? I mean honestly. The guy seems like such the wannabe womanizer. And quite frankly he's annoying as piss. And he's not smart, just opinionated.
It's like in Office Space when Peter finds out that Joannah slep with Lumbergh. Ugh. How do you get over something like that. That's like me telling her I have the hots for, I dunno, like, my boss or something. You just don't say that kinda shit, you know?
today:
I got a headache
today:
I met someone who has worked on a porn site
today:
I laughed inappropriately
today:
I used the term riff-raff
today:
I bought bread
today:
the cat pissed me off, but didn't know it
today:
I had many good thoughts and lost most of them
today:
I plan on staying awake until tomorrow
today:
is the greatest day ever, according to the Smashing Pumpkins... I won't agree
today:
I saw a commercial for Lord Of The Rings, the Two Towers, and realized that they are using the same music from Requim For A Dream, which I also realized that I first realized that when I was talking with Josie and Liz when we saw the trailer at the Ring.
today:
I didn't have a drop of liquor but thought about it about 3 times
today:
the cat will learn to use the keyboard (go Bailey!!)pv kllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll9oikkkkkkkkkkkkkkiucifgcfgvvvvvvvvvvvv
today:
I realized cats don't have much to say
today:
I read that God took away cats, and all other animals' gift of speech because a cat pissed him off (as per Dave McKean's "Cages")
today:
will cease to be for eternity at 11:59:59
today:
was once tomorrow, and will soon be yesterday
today:
some washed up rapper will think about relaunching his career, but will finish his cigarette and forget about it for a little while
today:
was approximately the 9684th first day of the rest of my life.
Hi!
I just choked on a coconut macaroon.
How's your day?
Whilst I sit here waiting patiently (not patently, although my waiting-fu could outmatch your waiting-fu any day) for Lala to get my redesign done (snap to it woman... just cause I'm lazy and wont redesign my own site doesn't mean you can be lazy too and not redesign my site... sheesh!!!) I've decided it's time... yes, three months-ish later it is time to start appropriating Gary's impressive cd collection into mine own.. the illegal way, because, I figure, now that t'other GK has landed himself a pad in NuYawk, well, he's going t'be wanting thems back... eventually.
Andyway: The first victims of the /ahem/ ripping friends were:
Groove Armada: goodbye country (hello nightclub) - not only do they have a crappy, CRAPPY band name (which has kept me away from their music for years) but they also have a pretty crappy album title selection... fortunately, their music, on this album in particular (thanks in part to many great guest vocals) is huvva-fine!
Nick Holder: still on track - Never heard of "him" before, but golddang, that some smart, laid back jazzy disco techno funk going on there.
Next on the chipping block:
Wagon Christ: Musipal - because Ninja Tune will never steer you wrong, not like letting the penguin drive you Lada... that's just bad news.
...okay, the first attempt at musipal didn't take, but I think I know where I went wrong... (*mallet to side of head*)... there we go. Is all better now.
this is making my head hurt...
is there any way for me to separate the old spider stuff, and the new trepanning stuff, and yet still keep it as one cohesive whole?
Wait... nevermind... I just checked the archives and they all still say "the spider behind my toilet"...
I just have to remember that when updating I don't refresh everything... just the index pages.... damn... I should take screenshots of the various adaptations to my blog, such as the old spider site, the older spider site, and the olest blogger spider site (with the blue ginham and e'eythang).
Maybe if I'm adventurous I'll see if I can reclaim them from some archive or something.
MM, nope, looks like a "not" falls into place there.
For those that are thinking this "site redesign" is:
a) brighter and therefore better
b) not black and white anymore
c) pretty much the same shitty layout but with different colours
d) easily as mundane as it was before
e) still not detracting enough from the awful content
well, I say...
FECKOFF!!!
I was looking for a sound byte there, and couldn't believe I couldn't find a soundbite of Father Jack just saying "Feck Off"
Of course I found the brilliant repartee betwixt him and Mrs. Doyle:
Mrs. Doyle: and what would you say to a lovely cup of tea?
Father Jack: Feck off, cup!
It's funny when you understand that Father Jack is the prototypical louse of a Catholic priest, an alcoholic and completely out of his skull... catatonic 80% of the time, and surly like a constipated Ralph Kramden (that reference is outdated even for my parents... sheeyit).
Hmm, explaining jokes. A new low.
What I found incredibly funny was, whilst searching for .wav files I came across a site obviously put together by a dedicated individual... I mean look at the hard work and research and constant hours of watching the show he put into it. Here's his list of soundbytes:
Fr Dougal - "I'd love a poptart Ted"
Fr Dougal - "God I love being a priest"
Fr Dougal - "I've been drinking like a mad eejit"
Fr Dougal - "I'm no good at judging the size of crowds..."
Fr Jack - "Drink!"
Fr Jack - "Gobsh*te!"
Fr Jack - "What the hell is this?"
Fr Jack - "Hairy Japanese bast*rds"
Fr Jack - "Feck off cup!"
Fr Jack - "That would be an ecumenical matter!"
Somebody Else - "You doirty fecker!"
Mrs. Doyle - "Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on"
Ah, yes, the infamous "somebody else". I alway love it when "somebody else" pops up on my favorite programme on tele. Oh, how it makes me gasp with glee. In fact, I think "somebody else" has been on, well, every programme, ever!
Hm, go figure.
BTW. The character was Father Finton Stack.
FIN-TON.
I'm going to name a cheesy sci-fi alien after that man.
Take 1:
title...
subtitle(Latin ellpsis, from Greek elleipsis, from elleipein, to fall short)
Nah, too pretentious.
maybe
titlesoumokaylikewellyouknowit'suhreally...yeah
nah, too mid-nineties. was already done as a tv show ("It's Like...you know"), and hard to abbreviate
I've Got Two Holes Started By Mistake
Kidding, emma just said this in the background... umm, she's drilling into the wall.
JESUS MURPHY!
it's a battle cry of sorts...
Laura Dicken's Wankle Rotary Engine
This would be an "in joke".
Gary laugh now.
Holy ____ing Monkeys
Mrph, already doing monkeys over at Dirty Monkey Bugspray Fun and now Chris is in mondo monkey picture mode.
In Lieu Of Something Good To Say
hmmm... I think I'm getting warmer
Hardcore Nerd... AND a Complete Freakshow
Again, more words bandied about, this time by William, who has finished up helping emma with her mastercraft 3-in-one spin saw.
One of Us, One of Us, Gooble Gobble, Gooble Gobble
because Tod Browning's Freaks is one cool-ass movie, and scary as hell... especially the torso dude.
GK the Dog-Face Boy
if only so I can use the pictures once again
Everything you don't like in yourself, you see in me
argh!!!
Hairy Products Gone Bad
Sham...poo
Kurt Voltheim's Favorite Band"
Tis the Vienna Boy's Choir you know....
Popcorn
Faux-taste, how about No-taste
Again, more words bandied about.
Whine and Cheese
Beware Los Hornytoads
I'm running on empty here.
Someone stop me.
These are all fun, but it's down to these two:
I Blame You
Trepanning for Fun and Profit
I think I'm going to have to sleep on it...
looks like I've cheated, jumping over posts, ignoring my position in life, and in general, just getting sick to goddamn of trying to force blogs out like the contents of my belly after a night of coke-and-baileys.
I have one left and then I'm not under any obligation to myself and myself only to blog within time contraints and in general prattle on about whatever it is that maybe gets in my head sometimes, like the time Mixmaster Mike was appearing at Future Shop.
In my final 200th post of this series of 100 in (now 24)days, I will be revealing the new blog title I've come up with... which I actually havn't come up with yet.
Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields/the Sixths/Future Bible Heroes/Gothic Archies is working with novelist (and accordionist) Daniel Handler, who also writes immensely popular children's novels under the name "Lemony Snicket". They are collaborating on a film-musical, tentatively titled "The Song from Venus"
COOooooool.
*excuse me whilst I go change me pants*
Lala asked "whatever happened to that other Jonze/Kaufman movie Human Nature?"
well, that wasn't exactly a Jonze/Kaufman film, so much as it was a Gondry/Kaufman film. You were getting your Bjork video Directors mixed up (although Jonze did produce).
To sort it all out:
Spike Jonze directed Oh So Quiet for Bjork, and he directed Being John Malcovich and Adaptation from Charles Kaufman's Scripts.
Michel Gondry directed Bachelorette, Joga, Hyperballad, Army of Me, and Isobel for Bjork, and he directed Human Nature, and upcoming Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind from Charles Kaufman's Scripts.
Now, Kaufman also has another film coming up, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind starring Sam Rockwell and Drew Barrymore, directed by George Clooney. Jonze was looking to direct this before Clooney decided to make this his testing gound.
Funny note: Kaufman was also a writer on Get A Life, starring Chris Elliott, one of the funniest un-funny tv shows ever.
Time was I had some favorite geek sites I'd peruse on weekly, or even a daily basis, including Dark Horizons (for upcoming movie news), Roger Ebert's film reviews, Comic Book Resources (the best magazine about comics available, online or not), Epitonic (for free MP3s), DVDFile and DVDAngle (for, duh, DVD news) and Apple.com's Trailer Park (cause I sometimes love the trailers more than the film itself.)
Unfortunately, I don't have time to visit these sites as often as I used to, or even enough to say I'm a regular reader anymore, but I did manage to put in some time over at the trailer park today, and here's what's going on, of note:
Daredevil: not a bad trailer, sporting some way cool action scenes, but unfortunately it's hindered by a) Afflek's wooden portrayal of a blind person and b)stupid catch line "Take The Dare"... what the hell does that mean? Really, hollywood, you have to stop with the fucking catch lines.. ooh, clever pun, using part of the title in a cliched tagline. *W*
Ripley's Game: A follow up to The Talented Mr. Ripley. It's 20 years later, and Matty Damon has turned into John Malcovich, who seems to be even less animated in the trailer than the blind Afflek in DD. But I love Ripley, and this has Sexy Beast's Ray Winstone, so it should do alright by me. And at least they don't have a tag line like "Play The Game"... not yet anyway.
Final Destination 2: the first FD is a guilty pleasure. A teen horror with brains but some questionable direction. FD2 looks to be at least on par with the previous, if not correct the mistakes and surpass it. Cheap thrilling mindless fun.
Love Liza: Todd Louisio ("Dick" from High Fidelity) directs this tale that THANK THE LORD has nothing to do with Liza Minelli. It stars Philip Seymore Hoffman in what looks to be a tour-de-force perfomance, as his character's wife commits suicide and he goes kinda wacky! It's a dramatic comedy that should prove to be a standout film, whenever it arrives.
Anger Management: OMG!!! I actually laughed at an Adam Sandler trailer. Why, whyfore I do that? One reason is, this isn't one of Sandler's films. Sure he stars in it, but he didn't write it, so it may actually be on the level, in terms of not being the same formulaic Sandler dreck we're used to seeing (Punch Drunk Love partially excluded). Sandler and Nicholson, hm?
Johnny English: so he's not quite as over-the-top as say Undercover Brother or Austin Powers, but Rowan Atkinson as a secret agent: pure hilarity... hopefully. Trailer is promising.
Speaking of over the top: Charlies Angels: Full Throttle... you can bet Cameron Diaz is going to be shaking her bony ass again...
Intacto: now, you've probably been asking yourself for many, many years, why oh why has there not been a high-drama-suspense-thriller following the all-or-nothing stakes of professional russian roulette? You know, a film getting deep into the underbelly of the secret society of high rollers and high stakes... perhaps starring Max Von Sydow (the man who has made 20 films per year for the past 20 years, and, in all likelihood, signed a pact with the devil not to get any older back in '87). Interesting looking though. Although it does come with the tag-line "All Bets Are On" (what the hell does that mean?)
Take Care of My Cat: a japanese coming of age story about 5 girls, sharing 1 journal yet growing apart. Looks, very cool. And someone please tell me who did the song for the trailer... please?
My girlfriend said this over on her website:
I'm not sure if Graig really knows how to use powertools (he'll be offended I said that) so I may end up calling on William to show me how it's done. I think I'll start with the simple (miterless) frame to start. I already have a bunch of things I want to try for decoration including some Japanese paper. The Signatures show was very inspiring on the frame decoration front.
BooYAH! Women who like powertools unite!
First: of course I know how to use power tools. My Dad is a rather handy man and I've helped him more times than I can count. I just don't *like* using power tools, and I am *not* a handy man. There's no offense taken.
And guess what. William is here, now, showing her how the mastercraft three-in-one spinsaw not only works, but also how to make a picture frame for some art "we" bought from my friend (his first sale, oh how hard it was for him to let go) back in Thunder Bay.
As for women with power tools... Guess who's my current "droolover" celebrity
But I've got the real thing... BOOyah!
The odd perception of driving at six am on the regularly busy streets of downtown Toronto, mainly Queen Street, is the noticeable lack of, well, anything. Perhaps it was the cold, or perhaps it was the cold, or maybe it was the cold, but nobody was walking, the streetcars were empty and I saw maybe six cars between Lansdowne and Jameson.
But, it's not like that now, boyhowdy.
from Information Highways magazine (is free for professionals, and free online):
A concise little article about using blogging for business, includes links to almost all blogging tools.
Heh. Tool.
http://www.informationhighways.net/mag/mcurrent/02dec06.html
My friend Mar (she of producing Radiosonic and all round coolgrrrl) was in town for a trio of days starting Thursday, passing through before taking a solo trip to jovial olde England where she will be visiting family and raising hell Ewoks-style.
We didn't manage to hook up for a show or anything as the contact info got all askew (and I missed Lederhosen Lucil AGAIN!!! #*@!), but I did manage to wake up at six:30 this morning to give her a jaunt to the airport, Lumina-style. wee
Had we met up earlier I would have gotten the chance to burn a copy of the unrelease Ewoks album, as well as Joel Gibb's (he of Hidden Cameras) new solo effort (which apparently has been picked up by Ruff Trad over in the UK!)
Mar is also in the vying for a position at MuchMusic, and although she would surely lose her indie cred by doing the anti-Sook-Yin (switching FROM the CBC TO Much) she would move to Toronto, and that'd be cool.
I wish Mar a fond-voyeur and she seemed appreciative of the ride, that is until she saw the line-up for International at the airport. Jeebus.
Ahhh, there's nothing like stepping out of a warm shower and wrapping yourself in a hot towel coming straight off the radiator... ahh
I never knew what I was missing before, but dang, I couldn't go back. I thought leaving the high-pressure spray of the shower at the old dungeon (the home of the Spider Behind My Toilet) was going to be traumatic, but I've almost forgotten all about it.
VanDang!
-a new 6-song ep by The (International) Noise Conspiracy (f***the vines, the strokes, the hives etc. they're the real deal, next to Kim and Kelly that is.. go Breeders!"
-Julee Cruise (she of Twin Peak's infamous soundtack fame) has a new lounge album out ("the Art of Being A Girl") that should prove interesting
-Richie Hawtin and Sven Vath: The Sound of the Third Season: "A joint mix CD by Richie Hawtin and Sven Vath (sorry, can't find the umlat), featuring the season's biggest tracks inspired by Sven Vath's seminal Cocoon monday night parties in Ibiza"
-I Am Robot And Proud: You Make Me This Happy ... a complete remix album
-GI Joe Killaz--- bwahahahahaha... looks like Kool Kieth got hisself a posse
-Upcoming: Massive Attack: 100th Window: February 11, 2003
and Common: Electric Circus on Dec 10.
- Oot now, Gorillaz: phase 1: celebrity takedown DVD
-Mr. Show's David Cross has a comedy album... uhoh... SHut up you fucking baby.
- If you care, Sports Night is getting released on DVD... ohno... and GWAR too!!!
-Coming Dec 6: Being John Malcovich team of director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charles Kaufman reteam to bring Adaptation.
-OH, and just forewarning: Sum 41 has a new album out so you should stop even trying to watch muchmusic nnnnnnnnnnnnow!
why read the damn thing, I do all the work for ya.
Tops for 2002:
1. DJ Shadow: The Private Press
2. White Star Line: White Star Line
3. Blackalicious: Blazing Arrow
4. Lederhosen Lucil: Hosemusic
5. Future Bible Heroes: Eternal Youth
special mentions: Royksopp: Melody AM; Amon Tobin: Out From Out Where; RJD2: Deadringer; Jurassic 5: Power in Numbers; Clinic: Walking With Thee; Mum: Finally We Are No One; They Might Be Giants: No!; Badly Drawn Boy: About A Boy s/t; Imperial Teen: On; Enon: High Society; DJ Spooky: Optometry; Atomic 7: Gowns By Edith Head
Biggest Surprise:
Lederhose Lucil; Lack of interesting concerts in Toronto during the summer months; White Star Line's immensely enjoyable album
Biggest Disappointment:
Badly Drawn Boy: Have You Fed the Fish Today..., NxNE, Apples in Stereo live, Underworld and Amon Tobin playing the same night and missing both
Best Shows:
Easily, De La Soul at Kool House, RJD2 & DJ Shadow @ Kool House, a couple Hidden Cameras shows (one at Trinity Square Church ranks high)
Best Films:
Bowling For Columbine, the Ring
quantify this ,.|..
The most recent issue of Exclaim Magazine has within it's flimpsy newsprint covers it's various tops of the year picks within its various categories (of course the on-line version hasn't been updated yet.)
For the quick summary:
Frequencies (ambient, electronica): Akufen came out on top, with Jazznova, Cinematic Orchestra, Ladytron, and Boards of Canada rounding out the top 5 (Ladytron???more on this in a mo)
Next Shit (rap/hip-hop/dj): Blackalicious rightly reigns supreme, with DJ Shadow, Jurassic 5, El-P, and RJD2 rounding out the top five (a grand list methinks, with a slight skew towards a particular genre of hip-hop though)
Pop-punk-a-roll (well, it's pop, punk, and rock and roll): Wilco topped it off, followed by spoon, Queens of the Stone Age, Interpol, HotHotHeat, Mum, Sleater-Kinney, Clinic, Beck, and Elvis Costello.
Stop here: I'd like to point out how curious it is that such a glitch-tech-pop like Mum was placed on the PPaR list, whilst Ladytron, clearly a Space-pop/techno-clash rock band, made it on over in the frequencies list. Seeing as both ranked 4 and 6, there should be an easy switch over. But that's just me.
I always find it interesting in the "Big Disappointments" that some of the top albums in the various categories also wind up in there. Beck made 9 on the PPaR and also a big-dis. Boards of Canada made 5 on the frequencies yet also got a big-dis nod. But truly Jam Master Jays death was a big dis, and we're all sad for it.
Over in the orderly chaos, Do Make Say Think and Godspeed You Black Emperor! once again jockey for the top positions of white bigband noise.
At the Concerts of the Year, I made two of them, including the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra/Hidden Cameras show, and the DJ Shadow show at the Kool Hous. Can't believe Underworld slipped through my fingers... like so many others after them.
In the top movies, Bowling For Columbine was an easy choice, followed by Punch Drunk Love, Insomnia, Y Tu Mama Tambien, and Fubar.
in the next post, Graig will get Gigli with his selections of the year, cause really, December doesn't count for much.
It's 12:15am Dec 01 as I start this, and, well, quite frankly, I didn't make it...
Whilst trying to set up her wireless network, my better half punched out the net connection and seriously tripped up the router. She's normally quite adept at fixing such things, but Emm had a wild night out and decided it was more nap time than netcrap time (woot, check out that rhyming slang! Me so hip)
Thusly, since the last post until now I've been remedying the situation, consisting of appx 200 router resets, 80 computer resets, and a quart of vodka.
How much exactly is a quart anyway. I don't drink nearly enough to know the Imperial system (ha!... the imperial system's been dead ever since Luke overthrew the Emperor, Vader, and their minions... mmm, minions and celery.)
All is good, but I'm going to modify and finish up these remaining 13 blog entries... culminating with "switched to movable type post #200", upon which I will announce my new blog title and soon after I will receive a much needed blog redeco...
I don't have anything planned yet, but believe you me, in the next day, it's going to be brilliant.