this morning:
awake at 8:00, still way too tired, cuddle up with emma and go back to sleep
alarm goes off
shut it off
go back to sleep
9:10
yeah, should get up
shower
add contacts
shave
dress, partially
bowl of cereal while I make 2 "sammiches" consisting of pita, lettuce, cheese, mayo and mustard, german salami
finish dressing (finished getting dressed that is)
brush teeth
get jacket and bag and shoes on
kiss emma goodbye
forget sammiches on the counter
bike to work, hey, not as bloody fucking windy as yesterday (35 minutes to work, 12 back!!!)
do work stuffs, get hungry
go buy food, milk and cookies after realizing I forgot sammiches and throwing hissy fit
more work stuffs (grr)
more and more work stuffs (ggrrr)
phonecall, going up to St. Clair and Yonge... ach it's raining, oh what to do
lock up bike, take transit
get off one stop early cause I've never taken the route alone before (Sommerville?)
get turned around coming off St. Clair and go North a few blocks instead of south
dumass
go south
where's Jackes?
there it is
35 jacks... Thornhill College (?), ah, the old house amidst the towering and ugly apartment buildings
Is this the right place, ah there's emma and maryann
come for cheese and refreshments, sponsored by molson
mmm, cheese good... want strawberries, but we're allergic...waitasecond...
hi, strange man with strange woman who knows Pamela Wallen (apparently she's in New York like Gary... perhaps they should hook up)
strange woman asks me what I do and immediately looks disinterested as soon as she finishes her question (ie before I start talking)
oh, so you and pamela wallen wrote a book about cats. how lovely for you, I'm going to go sit beside my girlfriend now
strange introductions by irish decendants and exhuberant bookreadings
parking garage
hey, I'm locked in the car, my door won't open
drive drive drive, this city's fucked
dinner at Rhino, it's friggin more packed than I've ever seen it
burger with bacon and chevre, and damn fine iced tea
hey, there's Andrew
andrew has sad news, then he gets all out there and lively
mmmm, blueberry lemon cheesecake, let's share
hometime
hi kit-kat
email
blog
grand theft auto
sionara
My holmes from back the way got all inspired to write a letter to Grant at Radiosonic about a recent broadcast featuring all-girl groups, yet fatally omitting one big act, Mar, Jenny and Zofsi the Ewoks (Mar also being the producer of said show).
He harkened back to one of my moments in broadcast history, my utter diss of Grant Lawrence for not knowing who Massive Attack were (this when discussing Spin magazine's rather atrocious 50 most influential bands). Here's the let:
> re: your Spin top 50 discussion last weekend:
Grant, I have to ask... how,
how how how
did you get your job NOT knowing who Massive Attack is?
How?
They were Brave New Waves mainstays back in 95 when Protection was released, (and likely were in '91 when Blue Lines was)... and how could you avoid Massive Attack in 98 when Mezzanine was everywhere (It was on everyone's top 5 that year, if not best of the year.) Hell, it's still everywhere. ( Singles from it have and continue to appear in too many films to mention and on too many soundtracks to mention (including Guy Ritchie's Snatch and a little film called Matrix... surely you've seen those) and popping up in commercials everywhere.
They were the pioneers of Trip Hop, their status is iconoclastic in the music industry. Without them there'd be no Underworld, or Morcheeba, or Death in Vegas, or Tricky, or Leftfield, or Bjork (and if there were it wouldn't be as we know them).
They do belong on a top 50 list, probably in a similar spot to where spin put them but still, how, Grant, how did all this pass you by?
I'd not intended to harm the dude too badly, and I was trying to be tongue in cheek, but apparently he was a little offended:
This is Grant from RadioSonic. Thanks for your letter. In regards to Massive Attack, I had heard of them, but REALLY, REALLY, REALLY I knew nothing about them and TRULY can't remember having heard them. Call if a mental block. Can't name their lead singer - can you?
Actually I could, but seeing as they don't really have a lead singer... Reggae god Horace Andy being the only mainstay on all (four now) albums.
In the years that you bring up, I was fully and utterly immersed in punk
rock, touring with my band all over hell's half acre. Unless they played with us somewhere or wound up on a mix tape some kid made us, I coulda missed 'em.
I consider that I do know a lot about music, but I sure as hell can't remember everything! I can't remember every band that has made records, even ones that may seem obvious to you, and I'm sure as hell not afraid to admit it! I would hope that I prove that I deserve the job by being a knowledgeable host in most regards, and honest when my brain comes up dry on a band. And surely you're not claiming to know the stats on every influential band to exist in the history of pop?
Thanks again for the feedback - I'll be reading your letter on this week's mailbag -
Grant
RadioSonic
Anyway, Ryan decided to mention this little sticking point, which I hammered home when I gave Mar a mixed cd of MA tunes to give to Grant at last year's Canadian Music Week. Kinda funny. I think he hates me.
I am legend.
At the Dirty Monkey Bugspray Fun I have a few newish things blurbling outwards and offwards:
A review of the horrendous Poolhall Junkies, which actually isn't quite as bad as I make it out to be, only, it keeps getting worse in my head.
A review of the fun but aggrivating Röyksopp concert last friday. The concert was good, and I like the venue, but the crowd was ass-bitten-by-an-alligator annoying. Standing where we were, we were the gateway to all the people who couldn't stand still for the 45 minute performance (and it was the same damn 25 people too... holy fucking infant bladders, pissman)... not including the poor waitstaff who had to deal with drunken first-years, drunken frat boys, and drunken scenesters. Augh.
There's a review of Kind of New York, a 1990 film by Abel Ferrara, provocative director of such non-hits as Bad Lieutenant and the overrated cult hit The Addiction. It's a good piece of work that nobody's seen. Ferrara's Miami Vice roots show.
There's a big stink about the Hidden Cameras show from two weeks ago, and with reason.
Coming up on the Monkey will be a rev of the new Hidden Camera's album, a review of the Lederhosen Lucil/Fembots show this friday, an oscar run down on Sunday (even though I've probably seen two films up for awards... as David said (brilliantly) "I
have seen very few movies this year but I am full of opinions".
Amen brotha.
Hopefully I will get tickets to the Delgados (although they were all sold at the local disc snobbery store when I checked) and Josie and Carla are trying to win me over with Adult temptation.
Andy hasn't yet sold me on Rocket from the Crypt, but apparently Atomic 7 are performing on March 26, although I have Godspeed you black emperor on the 27 and a basketball game on the 28 which just may be too much for my aging system.
Finally, the GTA-Bloggers Movie Club will soon have it's first announcement, as soon as word wrangles free and a decision is made by the GTABMCM triad (Josie Carla and Graig).
And that's the poop. I'm like all way tired from my first biking foray since October (sheeite) yesterday, and pushing at it again today. Soon, soon I will be in shape once again and I won't have to use my arms to drag my tired ass up the stairs anymore.
I've got to say I wish I had last week and this week off to watch cartoons, but I'll have to be happy with the half dozen episodes of Static Shock I'm taping. Yeah, it's meant for a younger audience, but it's still a lot of fun, and some really great superhero action for a diverse audience.
American Idol has me hooked, I'm very sorry to say. I love getting involved in the yea-ing or nay-in of the various "contestants", but at the same time I'm all to consciously aware that as much as I like some of these people, once they get into the real world of performing new material, I'm going to liken them to the same status as Celine and Michael Bolton (ie. the radio which stays off at my place except for CBC2 sometimes)
My AI picks for top 4: Rueben, Clay, Ricky and Kimberly Locke
Now, I seriously think Rueben and Clay are top two. I think Ricky and Kim are going to be gone somewhere around 6 and 8 respectively.
People I hate and are probably going to go too far are:
Corey (dude, you suckass so bad. Your voice is shakey and you dance like you on one leg!)
Carmen
(Chickie, you got a warble that would work well on a turkey hunt, that's all I have to say)
Julia and Kimberley Caldwell
(I liked you both better when you were ready to cat-fight with eachother, which I think the rest of america was hoping you would continue to do... but neooooh! You had to pretend you were doing som'phin up in there..)
Next to go. Carmen. Definitely.
Shit I feel pathetic now. Like Chris and his McDonald's entries.