fyfeblawg

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2010-09-10T19:20:00.003-04:00

Hi All!

The blog is moving on to bigger and better things! The next post can be found here!

I'm moving my blog to fyfeblawg.wordpress.com, so make sure to continue following it there. If you are receiving this through email, please be sure to sign up on the new sight for email a new email subscription.

Thanks for reading!

-dav-

alex is having a...wait! i'm not telling you his day here. you have to go find out what it is at the new location!

The Weakerthans: Reunion Tour

2010-05-08T08:15:00.006-04:00

Album of the Week #36:

So I spent a weekend in early May visiting Winnipeg. I was able to crash at Alex's sisters place for a few days, so that worked out awesomely. Aside from the OLP concert-related post from earlier, I was thinking the city itself deserved a post. It's one of those places that everyone knows about but no one really knows, or ever will know. Like, who has been to Winnipeg before? Who plans on going to Winnipeg in the future, ever? Who wants to read a blog about Winnipeg? Who cares? That's what I thought. I spent the weekend there and I still dont know what to write about it.

But maybe its the intriguing nature of this reason alone that I am going to give it a shot anyways.

And what better way to tell a story about Winnipeg than through someone that knows how to tell stories. John Samson, for example - originally from Winnipeg, and lead singer of the Weakerthans. This is a guy that can not only tell a story, but make it into a chart-topping song. Civil Twilight is about a bus drivers thoughts on a shift, Tournament of Hearts is tribute to the great sport of curling, two songs are about a guys life through the eyes of his cat named Virtue. The list could go on. But I'm going to skip to One Great City, the song exploring his love/hate relationship with his hometown, that big faded dot on the map labeled with a W. (well actually there are 16 canadian cities of this description, but you know the one I'm talking about). Scattered throughout it are references to this unique city. "The Guess Who sucked, the Jets were lousy anyway" commemorate the Winnipeg band from the 60s and 70s, and the cities once had professional hockey team. Phrases like "A darker grey is breaking through a lighter one" or "The driver checks the mirror seven minutes late / The crowded riders' restlessness enunciates" really set the background atmosphere for the cities quiet existence.

Anyways, that's Winnipeg in a nutshell. Or.. in a song.
Now you know.

Eyeball.fm link: The Weakerthans

Album Singles: Civil Twilight, Tournament of Hearts

Dav Suggests: Virtue the Cat Explains Her Departure, Sun In An Empty Room

Other Songs (on other albums): The Reasons, Plea From A Cat Named Virtue (Reconstruction Site), Aside, Watermark (Left and Leaving)

fff

"And up above us all / Leaning into sky /Our golden business boy / Will watch the North End die /And sing, “I love this town” / Then let his arcing wrecking ball proclaim..."

Before I actually went to Winnipeg, I figured this was just metaphorical. But as I explored the cities sights, I realized this 'golden boy' is real. He sits on top of the Manitoba Legistlative building looking over the city, just like the song says.

bbb

Formed in 1997, these guys have been releasing an album steadily every two or three years, each time receiving more and more amazing reviews by critics. Reconstruction site is their best-selling album to date, and Left and Leaving was said to be one of the ten best Canadian albums of all time in Chart magazine.

-dav-

alex is having a nervous day. he thinks he broke my parents fireplace.

Our Lady Peace: Clumsy

2010-05-01T13:24:00.006-04:00

Album of the Week #35:

The creation of an album is a very complicated task. It is not just about writing a bunch of songs and throwing them together on a CD and slapping an intriguing picture for an album cover on the front. That’s like saying to build a house is to take a moving truck full of all your stuff, dump it upside down on a pad of concrete and then building 4 walls around it. It’s beyond useless.

Instead, there is structure to it. Design. Blueprints are made, rooms are adjacent to other rooms according to their purpose, and entrances and exits are planned to where they will be most convenient. Likewise, there is a reason Billy Talent 1 opens with This Is How It Goes. There is a reason Modest Mouse has The Stars Are Projectors clumped in the latter half of The Moon and Antarctica. There is a reason the Raconteurs finish with a story like Carolina Drama on Consolers Of The Lonely. Everything is specifically structured, made to guide you through this journey of music and emotion.

I bring this up because of Our Lady Peace. Their 2010 tour of the latest album Burn Burn is a once in a lifetime experience, revolutionizing concerts as I know them. Most bands, no, all bands do the same thing on tour: sell out the biggest venue they can and stumble through a messy list of their fan-favorite tunes compiled into a 90 minute show, and then get on a bus and do it again the next night in the next big city. Whatever, it works.

OLP is taking my album rant you just read and bringing it to a concert setting. Front to back, they are playing two of their albums live on two separate nights. Instead of taking the ‘journey of music and emotion’ alone in your headphones, you take it with a venue full of people who all know and love the album as much as you do. You take it with the song writers themselves, and watch them perform it right in front of you. In this, they are brought to remember the time in their life that was responsible for this musical creation, and you are brought to remember the time in your life you fell in love with it in the first place.

I can’t even begin to explain what this is like. I mean, the contrast between the first set (playing of the album front to back) and the second set after intermission (a run through of fan-favorites and new songs like most concerts do) is absolutely stunning. The first half is soft calm lighting, the screen behind the stage plays through trippy videos aligning with the music, and the band members are all concentrating hard and trying to recreate the album experience as closely as possible. The word I would use to describe it is intimate. I was in the second back row of the whole venue, by myself, and I’m still using the word intimate.

Then came the second half of the show. Flashy screens emerged from the background, intense light shows started, band members started moving around and just having fun. Their concentration was lost, they’ve played these songs a million times before and this is just another night to them. They played fan-favorite after fan-favorite, and it almost felt dirty. Like, ugh, this is a concert again. Everyone around me just listens to the radio and doesn’t actually know this band at all. I can’t believe that this is what every concert I’ve ever gone to has felt like. Just, incredible contrast.

Album of the Week #35 goes to OLP for this amazing experience last night on their album Clumsy. I can’t wait for tonight when they play Spiritual Machines!

Eyeball.fm link: Our Lady Peace

Album Singles: Clumsy, Supermans Dead, 4am

Dav Suggests: Story of 100 Aisles, Carnival, Clumsy, Big Dumb Rocket

Other Songs (on other albums): Whatever, Life, If You Believe (Spiritual Machines), Naveed, Starseed, (Naveed), Where Are You, The World On A String (Healthy In Paranoid Times), One Man Army, Waited, Theif, Is Anybody Home? (Happiness Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch), All For You, Not Enough (Gravity)

fff

OLP originally formed through an ad former band member Mike Turner placed in Now Magazine. Micheal (now Raine) Maida, a UofT criminology student at the time, was the first to reply. This relationship not only created what is now Our Lady Peace, but also the reason Micheal Maida changed his name to Raine, to avoid confusion with the two Mike's.

bbb

1991 - present, OLP has made 7 studio albums, 1 live album and 2 compilation albums. An 8th studio album is in the works for 2010 or 2011. As far as band members go, Raine Maida and Jeremy Taggart have been there since the beginning. Their sound has drastically changed from Naveed to Burn Burn, but because of this tour, Maida says fans should expect"a lot of stuff (from pre-Gravity albums) creeping its way back into our music."

Wouldn't that be AWESOME??

-dav-

alex is have a hotel day. its the end of the month and i had to kick him out of the condo.

No Warning: Suffer Survive

2010-04-26T00:43:00.011-04:00

Album of the Week #34:

I'm going to need you to open your minds for this week's music choice. I've been holding out on featuring this album because they are slightly off the beaten path of what I usually post; the beaten path being catchy upbeat canadian pop-punk-alternative etc. -(and no, just because I can summarize the majority of my other 33 weeks worth of music in one line doesn't mean I'm two-dimensional). When in the right mood, I can do hardcore too if I'd like.

Album of the Week #34 is No Warning's Suffer, Survive. The first band I ever saw in concert. They opened for Sum 41 in Calgary back in 2005 (if i did my math right). My first impression was probably similar to what your first impression is going to be. Loud, lots of yelling, lots of drums, lots of noise. They are classified as hardcore, so what do you actually expect. I was not familiar with their music, so it all came rushing at me and I had no idea what to think of it until it had already blown past. But somewhere, deep down, the tune of a chorus had stuck with me.

Months later, on some late night american radio show, I heard it. I recognized it from the show. Without the concert setting, I could actually hear it for what it was. And I was impressed. What had actually grabbed me was their strong influence from Sum 41 and Linken Park on this latest (and final) album of theirs. They merge the two genres and create a bridge so a fan of one could appreciate the other and vice versa. For me, I think these kind of bands are the best, as they are doorways into other styles of music you wouldn't normally see yourself appreciating. Who knows what subtle workings these guys did to my subconscious to influence my music personality over the last 5 years

Now just because I wasn't ready for their style of music at the concert doesn't mean I didn't totally enjoy it. No Warnings performance as a band was as tight as it gets, right up there with shows like The Hives. They had 3 guys each on a mic, two of them also multitasking a guitar, and you literally couldn't follow what was going on. They were all over the place, one person cutting in on a verse so close behind the lead you couldn't fit paper in that gap. Then the other guy was sliding in words edgewise between it all somehow. It was truly the term "hours of practice" in the flesh. Spectacular.

So just because the energy and noise levels are cranked up a notch this week, don't let it spook you. Let it play, find that chorus that grabs you. Maybe the next time you hear it you'll see what I mean.

Eyeball.fm link: No Warning

Album Singles: Bad Timing, Back to Life

Dav Suggests: Bad Timing, No Don't Think So

fff

The band was originally under the name As We Once Were. Must I point out the irony? Or should I have just left it..

...too late.

bbb

Formed in 1998 out of Toronto. Before Suffer, Survive was released, they had three more 'Hardcore' album releases, including their first three song demo on a cassete, and the full length album Ill Blood, which some fans consider a monumental piece of the hardcore era.

-dav-

alex is having a waffle day

The Search Is Over!!

2010-04-23T16:18:00.007-04:00

As long back as I can remember, I've loved the trilogy Back To The Future. Countless weekends when I was young, I would go out with my Mom and rent it on a friday night. Saturday morning, 6 - 12, was my BTTF marathon. All three movies back to back. Why I did it during those hours I'm still not sure. But it was awesome.

I of course bought the trilogy on DVD years back. But my obsession wasn't going to stop there. I have been regularly checking the soundtrack section of any music store I've been to for years looking for the BTTF soundtrack. Vancouver to Nova Scotia, London to Hong Kong, my search has been fruitless.

UNTIL

Tom informed me just yesterday that my local HMV I always visit has a 4th floor I never really knew of. Naturally, I went to check it out. Mostly out of curiosity to see if it actually existed, and just to see what was up there.

Soundtrack section! I knew the drill. Wander over, start ranting about how I never find my Back To The Future soundtrack. Just as I was in the middle of saying something along the lines of "someday, just you wait, I will find---" Shanna pointed to it. I finally found it. It was right here, all along. In the store I always go to!

Super stoked. 10 songs that accompany some of the greatest moments in Hollywood history all in one place. All one one CD.

I just hope I don't over listen to it.

-dav-

alex is having an A&W day. he didn't answer my text and thats where he is. so thats his day.

EDIT: wait, theres the text. alex can taste the bubbles. ...?

Hot Hot Heat: Elevator

2010-04-19T13:42:00.010-04:00

Album of the Week #33:

The way I see it, songs playing on the radio fall into one of three categories.

1. The radio station's fundamental playlist. These are the 30 or 40 go-to songs that define the particular station itself. They always have been in the rotation, and always will be in the rotation. Bread and butter.

2. This next category, for me, is the most exciting one. It's those old amazing songs from artists you forget about, or the rare less popular songs from the artists you haven't forgotten about. Basically, you all of a sudden exclaim: "This song! I haven't heard it in forever!" and start pointing frantically at the radio dials, as if everyone around you should stop what they are doing and be equally as enthusiastic about it. Those songs.

3. Finally, we have the ever changing 'Top 20' category. Here, the songs hit the top of the charts, are overplayed until even the radio DJ himself hates them, and then all of a sudden they disappear. Like a firework. It's in your face one moment, all loud and bright and whatnot, then it's just gone. All that's left is invisible dust camouflaged in the night sky left to fall to the earth, and we instantaneously stop thinking about it. We don't even realize that it's gone. There is a whole sky worth of other fireworks distracting us.

Some of my favorite artists fall into this unfortunate 3rd category. Project Orange, The Waking Eyes, The Marble Index, The Fratellis, The Hives, IllScarlett. My list could go on.

Actually, my list will go on. I have another band to add to the list this week as Album of the Week #33.

Hot Hot Heat.

The bands 3rd album Elevator fits the bill perfect for showcasing my point. It has one or two super catchy songs for the radio, as expected. Then there are a few slower songs that follow up the first few for the sappy effect. Standard format. But hidden through it all is a full length album that deserves much more credit than to fall victim of the 15-seconds-of-fame pattern so many albums already do. But what has happened? A summers worth of airtime, and then gone. Off the map, never heard of or talked about again -generally speaking, of course. im sure someone talked about it once or twice since. But you get my point.

This is why there are bloggers like me, bringing it back from the dead for the few seconds that you take to read this, and then the minutes you take to listen to it, and finally the hours you later learn to appreciate it with. But for now, just start by clicking the link:

Eyeball.fm link: Hot Hot Heat

Album Singles: Goodnight Goodnight, Middle of Nowhere, Island of an Honest Man

Dav Suggests: Jingle Jangle, Shame on You, Pickin' It Up

Other Songs (on other albums): No Not Now (Make Up The Breakdown), Let Me In (Happiness Ltd.)

bbb

1995 to present time, this band has been adding and subtracting band members, and their sound has been modifying accordingly each time. Opening for such bands as The Killers, The Foo Fighters, Sloan, Weezer, The Hives, I can say with personal experience that these guys have what it takes to loosen a stiff crowd.

fff

Hot Hot Heat has songs featured in 5 movie soundtracks, 8 tv shows, 4 tv commercials, and 7 video games. That has to be a record or something. Does anyone keep track of these sorts of things? No? Well I'm going to say that breaks a record of some description.

-dav-

alex is having a weird day.

Napping House

2010-04-12T16:03:00.005-04:00

The Sound Project: take a children's book, read it in a quiet area, take it to the editing lab and add some music/ambiance/sound effects to it.

I've uploaded mine, so press play, close your eyes, and let the sounds form a picture in your mind. Have your minds eye explore it as if it's a camera on a slow-moving track, dollying itself through this room.

It actually works really well, considering I only spent 1 to 2 hours in the lab on it layering the sounds on and structuring the overall pacing.

Oh, and nice job Kurtis on the reading.

Mediafire link: Napping House

-dav-

Wolf Parade: Apologies To The Queen Mary

2010-04-10T23:28:00.008-04:00

Album of the Week #32:

Album of the Week time again already? Wow, time flies when your schedule seems to be bursting at the seams. Just spent the week in the editing lab finishing up the big project for the year, this weekend I'm volunteering at the Toronto Screenwriting Conference, and this upcoming week I'll be heading to Vegas for the NAB Show (National Association of Broadcasters).

But enough about me. Let's talk about....Album of the Week! You'll definitely be wanting to checking this one out. Chances are you've never heard of it, but trust me, you're in for a gooder this week. (that word works so well verbally, but in writing it just looks weird. ah well, I'm using it anyway).

First, let me introduce this album by drawing attention to the big name associated with it. Isaac Brock, the voice of and genius behind Modest Mouse, was producer on Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary. The connection is self evident when I now tell you Wolf Parade was first introduced to me by my friend Jack after a discussion we had about how freakin' jealous I was that he saw Modest Mouse in concert last year. He was 100% correct that I would dig them, but it isn't just because I'm a Modest Mouse fan. It's because I'm a fan of plain old, solid, awesome rock'n roll. (again, another word that works verbally but it just feels weird to type it out. sort of. maybe. ignore me.)

...moving on:

This is one of those albums that starts strong and doesn't slow down for a second, straight through to the last note. If it were possible, it almost grows and builds every second further into the playlist. But it already peaked at the beginning, so it's essentially just a complete 40 odd minutes of perfection. Like (quite) a few of the bands I write about on here, Wolf Parade has a somewhat unique and unmatchable sound. They kind of stand apart in a really good way in the whole indie rock genre.

Think Modest Mouse with a rough edge. Actually, don't think. Just listen:

Eyeball.fm link: Wolf Parade

Album Singles: Shine A Light

Dav Suggests: I'll Believe In Anything, Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts, It's A Curse

Other Songs (on other albums): California Dreamer (At Mount Zoomer)

bbb

Formed in 2003, this band is a basically just a huge collaboration by experienced people from other bands. Members histories expand over at least 8 different bands, including some as big as Hot Hot Heat.

fff

Album of the Week is titled Apologies To The Queen Mary. Queen Mary refers to an ocean liner named the Queen Mary, and Apologies refers to an incident involving them getting removed from it for "breaking down the door of a ballroom and staging a violent séance." ...uhhhh, hmm...

-dav-

alex is having an enormous day.

Film Project #6

2010-04-08T11:46:00.007-04:00

(youtube link at the bottom of the page)

6th and final film project of first year is done! Does this mean its way better than my first one? Well actually, I think my first and last projects of the year turned out the best, so no, its not 'way better'. But this last one was way more complicated to put together. I needed to learn a lot in order to pull it off. I'll quickly go through the details so you know the story behind what you're about to watch.

Script - after suffering through 3 major rewrites, I finally got it to flow. To make sense. To achieve what I wanted it to achieve. Does this final one work? Did it get the point across that I was originally trying to make? Well thats for you to decide.

Preparation - I completely transformed my whole room into a set. I had Tom fly out from Calgary to act. I made the poker table itself from scratch. Oh, and after all this prep work, I was this close to forgetting that my friend had the poker chips still at his place. 1am on the night before the shoot, I was phoning him up and walking over there to pick them up. Close call.

Shooting - Overall the shoot went well. All three scenes were filmed in one afternoon, so I wasn't too annoying for my actors, having to drag them out here a million times. The acting itself was really good, I got the facial expressions and reaction shots I needed. All of it only took 1 to 2 takes, so that was nice as well. Directing was weird because all it consisted of was "ok now you put the card here" or "you look at your chips and put some in the middle" over and over again. At this point I was actually worried for the outcome - that it would have been a terribly boring movie about three guys siting there going through the motions of an extremely boring poker game. And I'll be honest, thats exactly what the original footage looked like. It wasn't until I added the following four things that it actually took shape.

Voiceover - When we first were given this project, our profs warned us that the V.O would make or break the overall outcome of the film. When I told Tom this, he instantly suggested I have Connor do it, and I was on board with the idea before he finished his sentence. Connor was the one person we knew that could not just read the script, but act out the script through the microphone. Before I shot anything, I was on a plane to Halifax to get this recording. Two takes reading through the script (one for safety, naturally) and he was done. In retrospect I probably should have recorded a 3 minute roomtone, and maybe even unplugged his fridge and a few other devices adding to the roomtone there, but overall it was a clean recording, and the fact that it is chopped up and scattered throughout in the final cut is almost unnoticeable. Only Garret Kerr (sound prof) will (unfortunately and probably) be able to hear it.

Stop Motion - Of the reviews I've got about it already, everybody seems to like the stop motion I did for the opening credit sequence. I know you are all wondering how long it took, and my answer is an hour. 60 minutes for 20 seconds of footage. It was really just a learning experience, more about myself than about film actually. I learned that I have a hell of a lot more patience than I thought.

Editing - When I showed my prof the rough cut, I was told I had to restructure the whole thing. The way I had it in the beginning didn't grab the audiences attention, and therefore lost it for good. It was tricky to restructure, especially for it to still make sense with a V.O I couldn't re-record. Cutting a few pieces of it here and there and re-arranging a few scenes was the best that I could do. I hope it fixed the problem. If you watch more than the first minute, I guess that's proof that I did.

Sound - This last step was extremely tricky. There are only three small sounds in the entire film that are actually recorded on-location: the footsteps at the beginning, the sunglasses hitting the table at the end (and kurtis' swear under his breath), and the crumpling of the paper bag the pizza came in. The rest is ALL post production. Every time a card is flipped, a chip is bet, a chair squeaks, someone checks by knocking on the table, a door is closed, etc etc. That was all completely reconstructed and overlaid in the editing lab. If I don't make it as the next Spielberg, at least I'll have a chance at being an awesome foley artist. Upwards of 15 hours in the lab were spent working on the sound in this little 4 minute project, so at least pretend to appreciate it.

That's my story of the last month or so. Now here's the link, as promised:

Youtube Link: Between Cards

NOTE: CONNOR IS NOT OFFICALLY LISTED IN THE CREDITS FOR THE VOICEOVER, BUT THIS WILL BE FIXED BEFORE I PRINT THE FINAL VERSION

-dav-

alex is getting pity money from the government. if only they knew he was a french Duke that made 20 grand in australia and only worked 7 months of the last year.

Cake: Fashion Nugget

2010-03-26T00:28:00.006-04:00

Album of the Week #31:

If you were ever under the impression I know what I'm talking about just because I write a music blog, you couldn't have been more mistaken. I am always playing catch-up. Bands like Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Cake, The Tragically Hip, The Decemberists, Matthew Good, Metallica, etc...the list could go on. I've heard songs from them, I hear amazing things about them, I obviously know they are all legendary in their own way, but I just haven't properly given them a chance to win me over. I haven't been completely (for lack of a better word) 'into' them.

But with music, you can't force it. You can't decide, like, OK I'm gonna listen to nothing but Led Zeppelin next week and by the end they are going to be my favorite band ever. It just doesn't work like that. You need to stumble upon them in your own way, learn to appreciate them at your own speed, when the time is right. I can't explain it really. (or, maybe i just did. depends on if you got my point or not i guess)

SO, recently I was able to stumble upon one of these bands my own way and appreciate them properly. This band is Cake. Inventing one of the most original and unique styles to come out of the 90's, these guys take a refreshing perspective on alternative/independent rock (well, only refreshing if you aren't a culturally up-to-date person and never need to play catchup like myself). They have been said to mix a vast number of genres to create this sound, and I agree completely. But for me personally, the jazz influence stands out above all others. The whole attitude of their music is very free-flowing, almost to the point where the tune is trailing the time signature ever so slightly on a rope. It's up to speed, but just has the illusion of taking a little bit longer to get there somehow. This I know I can't explain.

...well, I could try.

Listen to the original version of I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor, and now listen to Cake's cover of it. It's just, behind, somehow. And it works. So well. This is their whole sound. It's free. It plays when it wants, regardless of time signature..and yet with full awareness of it. It's like, jazz.

I don't know. I think I failed at describing it again. Just take a listen, it's cool.

Eyeball.fm link: Cake

Album Singles: The Distance, I Will Survive

Dav Suggests: Nugget, I Will Survive, Open Book

Other Songs (on other albums): No Phone (Pressure Cheif), Never There (Prolonging the Magic), Long Skirt/Long Jacket (Comfort Eagle)

bbb

Since 1991, Cake has released 5 studio albums, each with at least one fairly (or very) successful single. There is a messy history of who joined the band when and why the other guy was replaced, so I don't feel like getting into detail. But it happened.

fff

Their newest album is currently being made using ONLY solar energy.

Is that a first? I don't know...Probably.

Is it awesome? I don't know...Yes.

-dav-

alex is having a creeped out day.

The Yogurt Guy

2010-03-23T00:32:00.003-04:00

Through the power of strong visuals and well constructed plot, some movies are able to make us feel emotions we would never think possible. Same goes for books, when written in a descriptive and captivating manner. But blog posts??

Well, I can give it a try:

Once upon a time, there was a yogurt container. It was purchased, among others, by Tom on his last trip to Toronto. Unable to finish this one last container, he leaves it in the back of my fridge. Today this lonely unopened yogurt container is retrieved once again by Tom. Only now it is 2 days expired.

Tom comes up with a plan to exchange it for a newer container. The plan is to buy a new one, switch it with the old one, take it back to the store and claim he just bought the expired one, then replace it with another new one. 2 for 1.

Sure, its not the most moral of plans, but the store is probably gonna throw out a few expired ones anyway, so this just lowers that number. Or adds to it. However you look at it...

SO, here's the story. He goes to buy the first container of yogurt. It's sold out on the shelf, but there's a guy refilling that exact shelf luckily. So he grabs one from the yogurt guys cart. All good so far, right?

Right.

He buys it, swaps it, and goes back to the store. He shows the yogurt guy that his container was expired, and the yogurt guy lets him grab a new one. Mission accomplished.

With only one catch: The yogurt guy has to unload the whole shelf and double check every expiry date to make sure there aren't any other expired containers 'from' his cart.

How terrible is that? Like, it's probably one of the saddest endings of a story ever. That poor yogurt guy, just doing his job properly, and then has to go through it all again just because Tom wanted a 2 for 1 deal on 3 dollars worth of yogurt.

And that's my story.

Did it work? Did you feel sorry for the guy? Did my post make you feel that heartstring-tugging emotion movies and books do??

Almost, not really, but kinda?

I can deal with that.

Anyway, after I heard this story myself, I told Tom that I hope karma comes around and something equally terrible happens to him as what happened to the yogurt guy. But then I realized that that would require someone in the world to be equally as evil. And last I heard, Adolf died 65 years ago.

So no such luck.

Tom beat karma this time. Yogurt guy's night will just have to be ruined in vain - for the sake of the world. Small price to pay, really. Good-on-ya yogurt guy. Deep down somewhere, I hope you realize it wasn't actually your fault.

-dav-

alex had one of those days.

...what a depressing post

Dropkick Murphys: Blackout

2010-03-20T20:15:00.007-04:00

Album of the Week #30

So I was listening to a lot of this band this week, particularily this album. And in case it isn't already obvious why, I am going to write the rest of my post in green font and just hope you get the hint.

Irish. Celtic. Hardcore. Punk.

Four words, no more no less, that completely describe this Massachusetts based band. Looking at the wikipedia page on these guys, there is a lot of things I could write about, but I like simple blog posts that are short and to the point, so I shall do likewise.

If you like one Dropkick song, you like all Dropkick songs. And I know you like all Dropkick songs, because you already love one Dropkick song. The one that you heard in that Departed movie a few years ago:

Remember it?

Good. Now you can go check out the rest of their stuff, because it is all equally as awesome as this.

Eyeball.fm link: Dropkick Murphys

Album Singles: Walk Away, Fields of Athenry

Dav Suggests: Black Velvet Band, Kiss Me I'm Shitfaced, Fields of Athenry

Other Songs (on other albums): The Gauntlet (Sing Loud, Sing Proud), I'm Shipping Up to Boston (The Warriors Code)

bbb

Formed in 1996, these guys have been revolutionizing irish rock (as well as transforming traditional Irish folk songs into punk anthems) across 6 studio albums in the last 14 years. They have been part of many punk tours, such as Vans Warped Tour for years, as well as headlined a few tours themselves, and opened for bands such as Bad Religion.

fff

Among many theories behind the naming of the band, band member Marc Orrell said:

"The Dropkick Murphy will come and get you if you don't go to sleep tonight. It's a rehab center, I think it's in Connecticut. I think it was the guy who used to come around late at night for all the drunks, like if you were too drunk to drive home, he would come and get you and put you in this hole that you couldn't get out until you were sober enough, I don't know. There's a bunch a stories, it's also a boxer, a bunch of things, a rehab center in Connecticut, grandparents used to scare kids with it."

-dav-

alex is having a euthoric day. i think he means euphoric.

and then I go and knock over the dvd stack. LAME

It's in my EYES

2010-03-15T20:05:00.005-04:00

We used to have a way to describe everything. Like, if the movie was good, we could say "that was entertaining." Or if the weather was nice, we could say "wow its hot out there."

But now we have this thing called 3D. And what do we say about it?

"ooh, thats very 3Dish" -no. never use the word you are describing in the description.

"whoa, its coming right at me" -except, its not. next...

"AAAHH" and then scrunch in your seat and close your eyes. -well if that works for you, then go right ahead. drama queen

It seems the english language has hit a barrier here.

So, if you can't figure out what to say, resort to the next best thing. Leave it up to the children of the world to verbalize it for you. This little kid, who mustn't have been older than 5 years old, sat beside me in Alice in Wonderland last week. We put on the 3D glasses, and he was quiet for the first few minutes. Probably baffled by what was happening, poor kid. I'm assuming this was probably his first 3D experience though, so I guess I would be baffled too. Actually, if I remember correctly, I think I first tried to reach out and touch it. Anyways, back to my story. This little kid finally decided something had to be said.

"Mom, mom! It's, it's, it's...."

It was at this point he was stuck at the same question I am trying to answer in this post. Then he said

"...it's in my EYES!!"

I know. It doesn't make much sense, but I think he's gone further to describe it than I ever will. I see big things for him in the future. A poet maybe...

Most of the time, I have a negative opinion on all this 3D bs lately. But this just made me laugh, so I figured it was worth a post.

-dav-

alex is having a hoes before bros day

Pedestrian: Ghostly Life

2010-03-12T23:32:00.006-05:00

Album of the Week #29:

So I think I got sick today. I blame Toronto's rain soaking me from head to foot while i walked back to my bus stop this afternoon.

It's that kind of sick where I don't exactly have a cold, or a headache, or feel nauseous, or anything really. just tired. and out of it.

-dont worry, this has something about album of the week this week, I'm not just using my blog to complain to you.

When i feel this way, my musical distraction is almost always the same. It just fits my mood and I get away, watch myself from a distance, all those wonderful metaphors.

So....join in with me, crank the volume....and clear your mind.......

Youtube link: Overwhelmed

Album Singles: Overwhelmed

Dav Suggests: (off their Electric album): Temporary, Plucked

fff

This album in particular was inspired by "art, politics, love, hate, life, loneliness, chaos, and Scotch." Beautiful.

bbb

Formed by Joel Shearer back in late 2002 in LA, all band members backed in bands like Gnarles Barkly, Damian Rice, Alanis Morissette, Dido, and Our Lady Peace on tours to gain the publics attention. This is where I first was introduced to them, at an OLP concert. I was out buying merch when Joel Shearer took stage in his solo act, only occassionally accompanied with drums. In retrospect, I wish I didn't miss the preformance, but at least I gambled and bought their CDs! Following their 2008 release Seidgeist, they were named Deli LA's Band of the Month in September 08.

If anybody knows where I can get their latest album, Sidegeist, I would be very interested!!

fyfeblawg@gmail.com

-dav-

the alex day was claimed by aaron already. and since i dont own the rights to his 'days', it would be considered plagiarism if i posted it.

..or, at least that's what aaron said

T24 - Home Sick

2010-03-09T01:20:00.009-05:00

First, let me put something into perspective for you. Then I shall explain the T24 contest.

(dates are approximate)

13 Dec - 5 minute monologue project is introduced on a semester 2 outline

8 Jan - we are encouraged to start thinking of ideas for a script

2 Feb - rough draft of script is due

4 Mar - final draft of script is due

13 Mar - two weeks of no school to shoot

24 Mar - (some) rough footage due. two more weeks off school to edit

13 Apr - Official screening

This is all for creating 5 minutes worth of completed film. Now imagine creating 7 - 15 minutes of film in 24 HOURS.

This was my friday night / saturday morning. A few of my friends had entered a Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival contest (t24). I had missed the boat for this, so I was lucky enough to be able to tag along and help them out. 7pm we were given a topic, and 24 hours later, we were to hand in a dvd of our short film.

The topic was Toronto. All the people living in Toronto. All the neighborhoods surrounding Toronto. Essentially, translating from confusing page long University-style essay question, the topic was: What does it mean to be Torontonian?

This vague topic was the go-ahead to make a wide variety of fictional narratives to all 9 groups involved.

The second we started walking to my place, we started brainstorming script ideas. The following 13 hours involved writing script outlines, planning out scenes, ordering pizza, collecting props, shooting, drinking coffee, lugging camera equipment around toronto, timing shoots just right with the sunrise, etc. etc.

etc....

etc.

8am hit, and Spencer and Anthony finally started putting a few rough scenes together. They had 11 hours to sleep, edit it, and and it in. As for me, my job of acting was done, so I got the chance to sleep all day.

Script is by Anthony and Spencer. Acting by Spencer, Chris, myself, and Anthony.

It was a fun project. Good learning experience. If you watch it and are slightly thrown off by the plots motivating points, just remember it was a 24 hour project, and most of the decisions were made by people (us) that had been awake for 20+ hours already. So yeah, other than that (and by that, I mean other than asking unanswerable questions and complaining), let me know what you think:

Youtube Link: Home Sick

Personally, my favorite part about it is the foreshadowing of the red pillow in the middle of the floor of the extremely green room . It's kinda hinting something bloody is going to go down eventually.

If you ever thought analyzing ridiculous meanings out of the smallest things in films is all BS, well, this is just proof that sometimes, just sometimes, it isn't

-dav-

alex is having an entertaining day. i think.

Mother Mother: Touch Up

2010-03-07T01:59:00.007-05:00

Album of the Week #28:

I haven't exactly proven it yet, but my theory is that one can only write so many good words in a given period of time. I'm thinking, like, 2000/week or so. Airing on the side of caution, I'm going to say this is true, and therefore make this a short post. So I can write my important 1500 word film essay this week.

Imagine hitting the 2000 mark only 800ish words into my essay? The ONE real piece of work I've had to do (and will have to do) all semester? That would be terrible.

So anyway on with my blog.

Just in case you weren't already tired of hearing about that Canadian city on the west coast these last few weeks, I'm going to talk about it some more. Vancouver. Home of the 2010 winter games.

And Album of the Week artist, Mother Mother.

All I've heard about this band has been positive reviews left right and center, so I've broken down and made them Album of the Week. It's the least I could do, really..

Forming in 2005, this band has made a quick rise to the top with their clearly impressive song writing abilities and talent. They take influence from so many different sounds and produce this very unique and never before heard style. Jumpy, fun, free.

I've had many recommendations to see them live lately, and finally got the opportunity last weekend in Vancouver on the second last day of the games. On top of everything I expected from the show (high energy, tight sound, etc), there was one new quality that really came through for me. Effortlessness.

Now that I listen to their music again, I notice it there too. These songs I was tapping my feet originally seemed easy and simple. But if you listen closer, they are layered, time signatures are all over the map, so many instruments and sounds adding to it. And its all bundled up in this effortless sounding debut album, Touch Up. In my opinion, this effect makes it that much more enjoyable. Check it out. Hear the easy.

Photos from their Olympic concert last Saturday

Eyeball.fm link: Mother Mother

Album Singles: Touch Up

Dav Suggests: Polonesia, Oh Ana

Other Songs (on other albums): O My Heart, Hayloft, Arms Tonight (O My Heart)

fff

The band actually isn't from Vancouver, but instead, a small island off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island called Quadra Island. (remember King Karl?? he's on the neighboring island, Cortes island. what a crazy lol)

bbb

The band got their first big break being named one of the top 5 BC bands. From there, they've been everywhere. Broadcasted nationally on CBC, playing at both the Vancouver and Montreal International Jazz Festivals, full page review in the Toronto Star, etc. It wasn't until they were signed with Last Gang Records that they added the second 'Mother' to their name (legal reasons, as usual). Since then, they've been on tour with bands such as Metric, The Killers, The Most Serene Republic, and released their second (equally awesome) album O My Heart.

So, how am I doing on my goal of not wasting precious words? Hmm, just over 500. Guess my 1500 word paper is going to be a bit short.

Oh well. You're welcome.

-dav-

alex hasn't had a day yet. guess it was a late night last night

Film School Project #4

2010-03-04T21:57:00.011-05:00

A whole week with no blogs. Although, it's seemed like so much longer. I feel so unaccomplished.

Weird.

Of all the things I thought one could get addicted to, spitting out 500 words of random garble onto a website every 3-4 days was definitely not high on the list.

Guess I was wrong.

But anyway, in my defense of this absence, it was a busy week. Spent the weekend in Vancouver for the end of the Olympics. That was an experience, to say the least. I'll let the eye of my iPhone tell the rest of the story.

Anyways, I figured since I promised you the link to the documentary project I did a few weeks back, I should post it.

Before I do though, I'm going to give my usual pre-link rant.

Umm, let's see. It was a documentary. How exciting can it be?

The one guys identity is 'hidden' because he wanted it to be. We thought that would kind of add to his 'character', so we ran with it.

The Criminal Records Manager, Josh, was great. You can tell this wasn't the first interview he's had to do for pesky film students. *cough*

Quick shout out to Pheonix, whose song neatly frames it.

Thats enough out of me. Here's the link:

YouTube link: Criminal Music

Album of the Week tomorrow! Stay tuned, I've lately been surrounded by raving reviews on these guys, and finally broke down and wrote a blog about them.

(and i know i missed it last week, but, like,

remember?? yeahh)

-dav-

alex is having a thirsty day. for no reason in particular. just because

Film School Project #5

2010-02-25T22:04:00.006-05:00

While naming this post, I realized that I don't think I did a Film School Project #4 blog. Well first I gotta upload it to Youtube. I'll get on that. Sometime. (you aren't missing out, it was a documentary, nothing special)

#5 is a commercial. Ours is selling the fictional product called the Fight Club Party Pack. We had a lot of material to squeeze into 30 seconds, but somehow we fit it all in. This kept the pacing fast and ended up actually giving it that 'commercial' feel. That part turned out well. Also, there was an unexpected number of people who showed up that were willing to act in it, so that also turned out well.

What could have gone better? Well the narrator recording was too quiet. And some of the scenes could have been lit better. But hey, Fight Club was a dark movie anyways, so we can say we did that on purpose.

Here's the link. Don't watch it if you haven't seen Fight Club. You won't get it at all.

Youtube Link: Fight Club Party Pack

Oh, and on a side note, remember that bird I saw and blogged about back in november? It looks like someone caught him on video finally! --> Commuter Pigeon Goes To Work

-dav-

alex is having a happily confused day.

Common Ground

2010-02-22T22:41:00.007-05:00

Here's how this will work. I give you a setting, then you ponder about the question following it. It's an easy one, I promise.

Setting: Think of the last time you were standing in line. Any line will do, maybe one that was relatively short, full of strangers, etc.

Question: Did you have any urge to start up a conversation with the person in front of you? Is there anything that would make you want to start up a conversation with them? I mean, otherwise you'd only have to look at the back of their head for a short minute or two, so what's the point, right?

Wrong!

What if I told you there is something in this world that would tempt any average person to interrupt, engage, and be eagerly welcomed into the conversation being had by the strangers in front of them in line. Would you believe me? What if I also told you this 'something' could be described in one word. This one word was once an adjective, but now is almost unanimously known as a noun:

I was in Subway today (the sandwich place, not the underground transit system), and Kurtis and I were discussing our opinions on LOST season 6. The girl in line behind us must have recognized a few key words in our conversation and figured out that we were talking about LOST. She piped up right in the middle of our conversation, voicing her opinion and theories on the show as well. Without missing a beat, we gladly accepted her into our debate and continued on like we she was a friend of ours. This lively discussion lasted all the way till we got to the cash register, making it extremely difficult for the Subway workers to grab our attention to ask if we wanted pickles (etc) on our subs.

After we all paid, she shouldered her book bag, said "nice talking with you," and left.

When else, I ask you, can a random 3 minute conversation with a stranger be as complete and fulfilling as that? I'll most likely never talk to her again, but while in that lineup, the group of us talked like we knew each other for years. I personally cannot think of any other example where this social phenomenon could take place. Sure, CSI, House, or Two and a Half Men could have just as many viewers as LOST, but you wouldn't jump in on a conversation about House with random strangers in a Subway line, it just isn't that kind of show. Similarily, shows like Glee or Dollhouse wouldn't attract random happenings like this because their fanbase just doesn't have the size LOST's does.

I feel I should end a post with the classic reminder "Don't miss the all new episode airing tomorrow night at 9/8c on ABC, called Lighthouse", but if you are a fan, then you already have it in your calender, and made sure to clear your schedule for that hour, so it's a useless reminder.

This is also why I don't see the point in advertising the show at all, since it's not like they are going to gain any new viewers in these final 12 episodes of the series.

oh well.

my fingers are all typed out. happy tuesday fellow lost fans

-dav-

alex is having a worried day

Billy Talent: Billy Talent III

2010-02-20T12:16:00.007-05:00

Album of the Week #27:

My blog usually focuses on amazing (small) bands, and need to be shared with the world. (and by 'world' I mean you, the small beautiful fraction of the world that is reading this.) Other weeks have me reminiscing about a certain albums from our past that deserves remembering. But this week, I am going to try something new. I am going to try and redeem an album. Resurrect it. Bring it back from a fate worse than death: being overlooked.

I know, Billy Talent III is still relatively fresh on your mind, and you may want to argue that you haven't overlooked it yet. I mean, it only hit the HMV New Release racks mere months ago. Go ahead, tell me that it isn't on the bottom of your CD pile; argue that it hasn't moved off of your iPod's most recently played list. Lie to me all you want, but we both know it's true. You bought it, took it home, listened to it twice, and then decided it didn't have the screaming passion of Billy Talent I, or the fast pace of Billy Talent II, so you tossed it aside.

I know this is true because I witnessed countless discussions go in this direction. I know this is true because that is what every music blog has written since it came out.

I know this is true because it was my first reaction too.

I gave up on it after about two or three listens of it, much like most disappointed fans did. It wasn't up to our expectations, it didn't meet our standards. But unlike everyone else, my subconscious didn't let it go so easily. A few memorable moments stuck with me, and occasionally got stuck in my head. There was just something about it that I wasn't able to forget.

So I decided to go back and give it a second chance. This time, I went about listening to it without expecting another Billy Talent I, but instead I tried seeing it for what it was: an album on it's own, and not a sequel. This changed everything. All of a sudden it had this depth to it. The amazingly written lyrics were able shine. The manipulative song structure was able to work through me and reveal it's energy, this time without Kowalewicz screaming it into me like he does in Billy Talent I.

You need to be in the right mood, but trust me, there is more to Billy Talent III that meets the eye. It just doesn't give the best first impression. Do me a favor. Go dig it out from under the pile of 'better' CD's you have sitting on it and try it again. Turn up the volume and find that underlying genius to the album. It's there, right behind the wall of false hopes and obstacles of pre-decided expectations you have for it. See it??

Eyeball.fm link: Billy Talent

Album singles: Rusted From The Rain, Devil On My Shoulder, Turn Your Back

Dav Suggests: Saint Veronica, The Dead Can't Testify, Diamond On A Landmine

Other Songs (on other albums): This Is How It Goes, Try Honesty (Billy Talent I), Red Flag, Perfect World (Billy Talent II)

bbb

Out of Mississauga (just north of Toronto), and originally under the name Pezz, the band now known as Billy Talent is one of the biggest Canadian bands out there today. With 4 albums out, Watoosh (under Pezz) and Billy Talent I to III, they have recieved 16 awards from 42 nominations across a number of competitions, including the Juno Awards.

fff

The name Pezz attracted lawsuit threats from an American band of the same name, so they were forced to change their name. Billy Talent comes from a character (guitarist) Billy Tallent in the novel Hard Core Logo by Micheal Turner, which was later turned into a film by Bruce McDonald.

Hmm, could be worth looking into, just for curiosities sake.

....there, it's on my Ziplist.

-dav-

alex says "so long and thanks for all the fish"

let's pretend it's just a reference to the movie Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

That's Crazy

2010-02-18T05:07:00.003-05:00

Yesterdays word of the day on Urban Dictionary was 'that's crazy.'

Then the definition is as follows:

It's the perfect response when you haven't been listening at all.

It works whether the other person has been saying something funny, or sad, or infuriating, or boring....

Think about it, it's true! Try any situation, and it works.

But then this got me thinking. I say "that's crazy" a lot.

Does this mean I'm never really listening? Or does it mean that I actually think everything is slightly crazy?

....and that only begs the question, which is worse??

So I might zone out every once in a while (ok, maybe a lot). But at the same time, the world is pretty crazy. I'm going to say both are true half of the time. That way, next time I say "that's crazy," you won't have any idea if I'm listening or not.

...

Are you still reading this?? Or have your eyes glazed over, and you are just going through the motions of reading as I continue rambling on about nothing? Don't worry, if you are, just think to yourself "that's crazy" and go about your day. I won't be offended.

-dav-

alex is having a monk day.

--don't look at me, I don't even know the story behind this one..

Collective Soul: Collective Soul

2010-02-13T21:15:00.008-05:00

Album of the Week #26:

So I've been thinking about these posts a bit, and I decided there isn't much structure to them. Somewhere down a non-linear path of words I get around to either telling a story about why I like the band, or briefly describe their style, or sometimes I just sit here listening to the Album of the Week and before I know it there is a 900 word blog in front of me that doesnt talk about anything in particular.

Kind of like now.

So, Collective Soul. Their self titled album is their second of 10, and is my personal favorite. That being said, I haven't heard all 10, but I'm going to claim this as their best anyways. Hey, at least I'm exercising full disclosure with you. I could just lie and say I know their whole discography front to back. I'd sound much more knowledgeable and generally well rounded in terms of alternative rock history, but then I'd be lying to those of you who actually bother reading these things. That would be just rude.

I'm going to make my way back to being on topic here, but it may take a paragraph or two, so bear with me:

Back in 1996, my music knowledge or appreciation was next to none. In retrospect tho, I can kind of see why. All I was exposed to was occasional Country 105 on the radio and a weekly piano lesson, which quite frankly probably wasn't my favorite activity. It wasn't until my best friend Daniel and I started listening to his older sisters CD collection that (good) music stood a chance at entering my life. Well, I'm twisting the story again, so let me offer another full disclosure moment. It was mostly Dan who would listen to the music and appreciate it for what it was. At the time, I just sat there listening to it because I was there.

I remember meeting up with Daniel outside school, and he had just come back from his first concert (yes, it was Collective Soul, keep up people!). A crowd of our friends had gathered around to hear him talk about the experience. He said something along the lines of how it was one of the best nights of his life, and then something along the lines of how his ears were ringing. During all this, I remember specifically thinking that it was really awesome. But I also remember specifically thinking that I would never be one to understand and appreciate music enough to actually go see it preformed live.

Ha! Silly little grade 2 me, if only you knew then what you'd became today.

You know those plants that, if you water and sun them correctly, they grow like mad in all directions? That's my my music appreciation today. And it's all thanks to the seed Daniel planted in a pot of what seemed like unforgiving dry soil all those years ago. (it's a metaphor guys. just pretend you are understanding). What I am getting at, is that only recently have I gone and explored that leaf (Collective Soul) that is oh so deep down, close to the original stem. It was buried under a forest of newer leaves I grew on my own, and as a result, it was forgotten. It is only now that I am giving it the sunlight it needs, the appreciation it deserves.

I don't care who you are, Collective Soul is a solid piece of your 90's. I mean, I didn't even like music in 90's and the are still a solid piece of mine. Go take a listen. Remember. If not for me, at least do it for your 90's self. They'll appreciate it.

Eyeball.fm link: Collective Soul

Album Singles: December, Where the River Flows, The World I Know, Gel, Smashing Young Man

Dav Suggests: The World I Know, Gel, She Gathers Rain, Where the River Flows, Untitled

Other Songs (on other albums): Shine (Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid), Heavy (Dosage), Counting the Days (Youth), New Vibrations (Afterwords)

bbb

Emerging from the low-key club scene with their hit single "Shine", Collective Soul never looked back from there. Their self titled album after that had 6 singles in the top 10. After that, they band was hit and miss for the next few albums. Early 2000's had them finding a new lead guitarist, as well as a new independent record label. From there, they've been releasing a steady stream of singles popping up on charts throughout the decade.

fff

The song 'December' as well as their whole 3rd album, Disciplined Breakdown, was influenced by the struggles they were having with their manager. He had claimed publishing rights on their music, so despite selling upwards of 5 million albums, they were living off of $150 a week while on tour. Thats almost as bad as my Buzz Lightyear Budget!! The whole thing went to court, but both parties were instructed not to discuss the outcome.

Imagine that though, being one of the biggest rockstars of the day and getting absolutely nothing for it. I'd be pissed.

-dav-

alex is having a luxury-of-toilet-paper day.

in memory of it, as it seemed to have disappeared lately. tom having 7 chipotle burritos in 4 days may or may not have been a factor.

leaving you with that pleasant thought, i wish you all a happy valentines day.

oh, and i have just been informed that alex will be crying himself to sleep because of it.

--valentines day, that is.

Marilyn Manson: Lest We Forget

2010-02-04T19:34:00.011-05:00

Album of the Week 25:

25 is a big number. Double it for 50, quadruple and it's already at 100. I only have do 25 posts 39 999 more times to hit one million Album of the Week posts.

Ok, maybe 25 isn't really THAT big of a number. But still, it's a milestone nonetheless.

So I'm going to have fun with it. Stray from the path a bit. Throw a curveball, perhaps.

But before I get into this album, I am going to start out defensively. Knowing what I know, and a quick glance of research of this artist has made me realize how easily this post could get awkward. It could start making you wonder about me, wonder when I went all emo on you guys, wonder how long I've been supporting this ...er, stuff. Well I'll say it now. The music is amazing, but the rest of it questionable, to put it lightly.

I mean, bodysuits? Well, I guess his clothes aren't any more normal. And as for his face? Who know the last time it's properly seen daylight without a thick layer of goth makeup covering it. Ugh, too much for me, guy. Cree-pyy.

Now that I am done posting a lovely collage of exactly what I was trying NOT to post about, I shall begin:

Marilyn Manson's Lest We Forget is a 'greatest hits' type album. While I am not overly enthusiastic about his whole discography of 7, I am quite intrigued by the crème de la crème. As a whole, this compilation is actually an interesting sample of his unique style. A surprising amount of songs on here are covers, and in my opinion, are some of the best covers of these songs. Tainted Love, for example, or Sweet Dreams, are two he is famous for. Both of these songs have been recreated again and again, and we all have our own version of these songs we prefer. I just think his style fused with these classic songs works really well. Kinda like how Paint It Black was never meant to be sung by the Rolling Stones in the first place, and instead by that new metal-ish version airing on the radio these days.

Most of his lyrics are a little off the deep end in the pool of angry, but really, what would you expect. The music itself is heavy in style, but well done nonetheless. Everybody's heard Beautiful People, or Personal Jesus, so despite his wardrobe and reputation, he still made a few hits acknowledgeable by the general public, and not just his gothic following. That in itself is an achievement worth noting I think.

I feel I'm being too defensive about actually seriously digging this album, so I'll shut up now. Here's the link. Put your opinions and the scarring images i just showed you aside for a second, and just take a listen.

Eyeball.fm link: Marilyn Manson.

Album Singles: Personal Jesus

Dav Suggests: The Fight Song, This Is The New Shit, Rock Is Dead

Other Songs (on other albums): If I Was Your Vampire, Heart Shaped Glasses (Eat Me, Drink Me)

bbb

Besides his band (started in 1989) reaching platinum status with 3 of their albums, and gold with another 3, Marilyn Manson himself has also sprinkled his career with film and even painting. He made various cameos in movies throughout the last decade, as well as being interviewed by Michael Moore in Bowling for Columbine and even being reportedly an inspiration for Johnny Depp's character Willy Wonka in the film Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. Quite the bio for someone just expressing anger with too much makeup.

fff

The name Marilyn Manson actually originated out of combining the names of actress Marilyn Monroe and convicted murderer Charles Manson. The person behind the ridiculous stage personality's name is Brian Hugh Warner. Huh, he doesn't really come off as a 'Brian' to me. You?

...wow. What a messy post. Describing Marilyn Manson's greatest hits with a classy term like crème de la crème? Then, slightly bashing the Rolling Stones?? I'm quitting before I get myself in trouble.

-dav-

alex is having a slipper-envy day.

Buzz Lightyear Budget

2010-02-03T15:36:00.007-05:00

So just short of posting to the world my every financial detail, I am going to go through how the next three months are going to play out for my poor little credit card.

May 10th, I am on a plane to Europe for 9ish days with a school-related trip. somehow, I am going to keep a solid 300 tucked away for spending money on that trip. I was looking at my bank account the other day, and after rent and all those other expected bills, I am left with a number.

Let's call it X.

At first glance, X seems like a fairly reasonable number. X needs to pay for my food and any other miscelaneous spending that is most likely going to happen over the next 3 months. so I took X, put aside the 300 dollars going to Europe, and divided the rest evenly among February, March, and April.

Let's call this number Y.

Y is slightly more intimidating than X. Keeping in mind TTC passes went up in price in 2010, Y is looking rather unfriendly actually. This is when I came up with my BuzzLightyear Budget!

Yes, there is logic behind this and it is not just a fancy title. I'll explain. Normally, I let my bank freefall and hope for the best landing. but this time the landing looks like an unforgiving slab of concrete with no spending money in europe and starting the summer in a nice pile of debt. Not this time. Now, I am going to watch those numbers start "Falling With Style"!

Dividing up Y one last time by 4 into a weekly estimate of spending money (let's name it one last time Z, for buZZ) keeps it managable and within an easy-to-keep-track of timeframe. Every week, I have to limit my spending money to Z. With the help of a simple (free) iphone app to keep track, this comfortably leaves room for food and a bit extra to keep in my pocket for those pesky everythings that life seems to charge you for. But what it doesn't do is let me blow dollar after dollar on that overpriced cup of bubbletea or that 6 dollar movie I only kind of like on the clearence rack.

so, Falling With Style: My money will now be balancing on the hotwheels car as it shoots to the bouncy ball that rockets it towards the toy spinning-plane on ceiling, that spins it around at super speeds. The helmet turns intense colors and makes unrealistic jet-engine noises as unclips from the plane and it flies successfully back to me, landing softly back on the mattress beside me.

Well, let's see if this actually works. I think that just being aware of it will help me get there. Hey, even Buzz was able to fly himself and Woody past the moving van going highway speeds to finally plop neatly through the sunroof of Andys van in the end. Happy ending garanteed.

I think..

-dav-

alex is having a new passport day. It needs to be broken in.

Quiet Company, Everyone You Love Will Be Happy Soon

2010-01-31T13:53:00.006-05:00

Album of the Week #24:

So, I don't know if any of you keep track, but I usually post one of these every calendar week, Saturday night being the deadline. But the last two weeks, I've gotten busy and not posted until early the next week, like Sunday, or now, Monday?? . Terrible. I should start calling them Album of NEXT Week. Ugh.

Well actually, now that I think about it. I'm pretty positive none of you noticed. And now that I tell you, you probably still don't think it matters at all. At this point, I'd imagine you are thinking, what is he even on about??

K, so enough bad jokes about irrelevant topics. I shall move on.

Album of the Week: Quiet Company.

A funny thing has happened over the last 6 months that I've been posting this. People have been telling me about all sorts of good music. My musical sources seem to have quadrupled themselves. Not that I didn't already have a list of way too many albums to blog about already, but the list seems to be growing rather than diminishing as I continue posting these. Just goes to show, giving is receiving. I tell the world about music, and the world decides to tell me about equally as awesome music. I'll take it!

This particular album, Everyone You Love Will Be Happy Soon, was given to me in early December or so -thx Sam!, and since then it has made a fairly regular appearance on my playlist. A little more on the mellow end of my usual Album of the Week list, it is definitely not any less genius. This piano-rock band at first, sounds like all the others, but as you keep listening, it reveals itself as something more. The songwriting has a knowledge to it. Instead of an album that lucks out and stumbles upon one or two catchy tunes, the tracklist takes a bunch of average songs and builds them into really well done pieces of music.

Each song with it's own personality, the album moves along by keeping you interested in the moment, and before you realize, it's done. The lyrics go well with their calm style. Don't get me wrong though, they can turn on the energy, but just when it's needed. Try it out. It's definitely worth a listen.

Eyeball.fm link: Quiet Company

Album Singles: Seal My Fate

Dav Suggests: It's Better To Spend Money Like There's No Tomorrow Than To Spend Tonight Like There's No Money, Well The Truth Is..., Congratulations Seth & Kara

Other Songs (on other albums): Fashionabel (Shine Honestly)

bbb

After the many projects Taylor Muse had going on in Texas, he moved to Nashville where he picked up a few new bands. Quiet Company is his personal side project he has going on.

fff

Wikipedia is down. I got nothin guys.

Unless you count the fact that I claimed eyeball.fm's 40 000th's search with this band today. Yea? yea?

naw...hardly a fyfeblawg 'fun' fact. I'll do better next week.

-dav-

alex is having a missing day.

The MTV Generation

2010-01-25T23:54:00.004-05:00

I have to confess something. I'm not one of you.

I'm not part of your generation. The 'MTV generation' as they call it.

Well, I am, but I'm not. I never actually watched MTV growing up. It's a wonder really that I'm as much of a music person that I am. But anyways, yeah, not an MTV kid. And I've realized what this detail has done to me. I can't watch a music video and listen to the music at the same time. Im literally incapable.

It could be that I'm a film student, and I can't help but back-seat direct anything I see. Haven't ruled that out yet. But either way, it's true. If I see it visually, I don't hear it properly.

Confirming this theory was easy. I was shown -by, of course, tom the new Ok Go single (WTF?) first on Youtube, mainly because the music video is pretty crazy. But during the many times that I watched it, I never once picked up on the fact that it's actually a really good song. All I saw was the crazy video. It wasn't until I bought the CD and actually listened to it without the visuals did I notice the song itself. It's one or the other, I'm telling you.

Sight, or sound.

Curse, or blessing? I dunno. I was never really a fan of the music video thing. Sure, if you like a song, its kinda neat to see what they've done with it visually. But first impressions need to be made with a nice set of headphones and absolutely nothing to concentrate your eyes on. Otherwise, the song just doesn't sink in. You don't properly connect with it; you don't understand it; you don't hear it for what it is.

There's a fyfeblawg life lesson for you. If you learn nothing else from me, then at least learn this:

Appreciate your music to its fullest. It is one thing that you will never, ever regret.

-dav-

alex is having a graceful day.

--ask the shopping cart that ran him over. sorry, that he ran himself over with, rather.

Emery: The Question

2010-01-24T12:19:00.006-05:00

Album of the Week #23:

Now here is a band that I have been wanting to include in this golden list of Album of the Weeks for a while now. Having no idea when or where I actually heard about them, (let alone bought their album), they literally just crept up on me. I remember the exact moment I first gave them a listen though. Kinda like love at first sight. Except with your ears.

It was may 2008, exam week was in full force upon us, and I was in the basement of my rez building studying for a calculus exam. My iPod was in shuffle, and the song Returning The Smile You Have Had From The Start just randomly came on.

I thought to myself, 'Wow this is amazing. What is it??' Turns out Emery had somehow snuck onto my iPod without me realizing. I must have bought their album off a recommendation forever ago and just forgot to actually listen to it when it got pushed lower on the priority list than the more-anticipated buy at the time.

My mistake.

This should have been at the top of the priority list. The album is solid. You could relate it to Alexisonfire for their style, but it stands apart in so many ways. The songs are slightly more, umm, catchy i guess. Its hard to describe. There's a lot more of the 'singing' and less screaming, but the screaming is still in the right places for intensity. What really does it for me is the drums. They really take center stage on this album. I know I comment every other blog about how the drums are amazing, but they really are this time. Here's the Eyeball link.

Eyeball.fm link: Emery

Album Singles: Studying Politics

Dav Suggests: Playing with Fire, Listening to Freddie Mercury, The Terrible Secret, Returning the Smile You Have Had From The Start

Other Songs (on other Albums): The Party Song, You Can't Stop The Killer (I'm Only A Man)

bbb

Originally from South Carolina, the band moved to Seattle, WA for a more music-friendly environment. It worked too, they signed with the Tooth & Nail Records soon after the move, and released 4 Albums since then: The Weak's End, The Question, I'm Only A Man, and ...In Shallow Sea's We Sail. I personally can only speak for the middle two, but they are good enough for me to look into the other ones.

fff

So it's called 'The Question', but what is the question? Written on the backside of the jewelcase is the sentence "Where were you when I was..." and each track title provides a unique second half to this question. Ex: Where were you when I was.... Returning The Smile You Had From The Start; Where were you when I was.... In a Lose, Lose Situation; etc.

Huh.. cool!

Speaking of revealing reasons for things, I thought I'd mention what bbb and fff stood for:

bbb: Brief Band Bio

fff: Fyfeblawg Fun Fact

Now you know.

-dav-

alex is having a small shoe day

1000 words

2010-01-21T15:14:00.005-05:00

Double-takes are funny things. Your eyes scan an area, and your brain processes thousands of pieces of information. Most of this information is automatically labeled as useless and uninteresting, so it doesn't even reach conscious thought.

But then there is one piece that gets flagged as possibly interesting. The information processing comes to a screeching halt and instead your brain analyzes what it has flagged. A split-second thought that can only be described in 1000 words figures out why it was 'interesting', and during this split second, your eyes slowly rewind to focus on whatever it was in the first place.

This happened to me today.

I aimlessly scanned the crowd waiting for a train downtown. The 1000-word thought in the middle of my double-take could be summarized as follows: whoa, was that Mary Lynn Rajskub (aka Chloe O'Brian) from 24??

I actually believed this for a split second in my head. Don't ask me why, but I did.

Turns out the girl looked nothing like Mary Lynn Rajskub. Well, I thought, then what made her image get flagged in my aimless scan? --It was her posture. And her expression. It's funny how a character on a TV show can be so well developed that some random person waiting for a train reminds you of them just by standing a certain way.

Anybody that has watched 24 knows what I'm talking about. That stiff-yet-slouched posture with the scowl on her face that is somewhere between scared and frustrated, but neither of the two at the same time. Here,

another thing that is said to be 1000 words. A picture. Saves me trying to describe to you what I'm getting at. The only difference between this picture and the girl at the station, besides the fact that they look nothing alike, is that instead of a cell phone, there was a coffee in her hands. Well that, and she was in a train station, not CPU Headquarters.

For the record, I am not watching the new season of 24. To be honest, I don't know who is. But hey, there has to be an audience or it wouldn't be airing, right?

I tried. I really did. But just like last year, the first hour just didn't grab my attention enough to make me come back the following week. So it isn't happening.

That's ok though, I have LOST to watch this year. Both the new season and my fast paced re-watching of the series with Lauren to catch her up....cuz, lets face it. If you are dating a LOST fan, the only choice you really have in the end is to join them, right Lauren? ;p

-dav-

alex is having a natural colored hair day. --guess the (random) red hair dye didn't work as expected.

Sudoku

2010-01-18T09:31:00.009-05:00

So....Sudoko. Not to be confused with Sodoku, a bacterial disease you get from rats scratching and biting you. -some combination of math squares and rats brings this visual to mind:

Anyways..

What's the deal?? It's a big magic square. It's that bonus question on the back of the crumpled piece of math homework we forgot to do in grade 5.

It's the big new thing.

Besides featuring in some french newspapers in the late 19th century for a decade or so, some nerdy magazine in 1979, and japan in the 80's, Sudoku has only really 'hit the fan' in the last 5 years. -another visual for you:

The backsides of funnypages worldwide have been taken over by this phenomenon of a logic puzzle. I ask you this though...since when do games become 'hits'?? Weezer Songs are 'hits'. Tarantino films are 'hits'. Hell, lets even call Harry Potter books 'hits'. But logic puzzles? Not really fitting in for me.

I'm not completely hating on it. I've filled out a Sudoku puzzle in myself moments of complete boredom too. I even have the free iPhone app. Just..afterall, I think deep down, even tho I know I'm wrong, I hope it's just a fad. In 1924, there were people like me expecting (hoping) for the same thing when crosswords took over the backs of funnypages too. But alas, they are still here today. Just like Sudoku will be 85 years from now.

What gets me about it (and what inspired me to write this blog post actually) is the vibe you get from the people filling them out on the train next to you. They have this i'm-smarter-than-you thing going on ever so subtly in their body language (crossworders have this too, but thats ok because they are smarter than me), mixed in with the ooh-look-at-me-i'm-being-cool-by-doing-the-newest-trend air about them. And what's worse, is the older generation (who, I might add, have the majority of their population stubborn enough to proudly never learn something as straightforward as how to send an email) will pick up the newspaper and take the time to learn how to do this puzzle.

I know this statement quite obviously won't reach the relevant audience it's directed at, but I'm going to say it anyways:

Trust me senior citizens, computers are much simpler than Sudoku. Just saying.

-dav-

alex is having a small feet day.

Ok Go, Oh No

2010-01-15T20:58:00.004-05:00

Album of the Week #22:

Ok. I am going to give you this link, but after you click it, you have to come straight back. Not because I want you to read the rest of my blog, I could care less. I am calling you back here so you don't play the game too long. 5 minutes of it makes you seriously dizzy. I decided I would write my Album of the Week right now solely based on the reason that I couldn't take it anymore.

But yeahh, here's the link. Don't get sick on me. Or, on your computer I guess..

Album of the Week #22, another one of my extremely catchy, high energy bands. What separates this weeks band from other extremely catchy, high energy bands I've reviewed (Week #2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13 and 15), is their creativity. They shot themselves to the top by the instant success from the viral nature of their music videos of A Million Ways, and Here It Goes Again. The band is Ok Go.

The proof behind my theory doesn't end here either. When I saw them play at the House Of Blues in San Diego on my way to Australia was something else. Song after song, the screen on stage played crazy videos of blurry raindrops on a windshield driving around a city at night, videos of band members spinning a high-impact camera around on a 15 foot rope. For their song What To Do, they preformed it completely with a set of about 20 bells, each band member responsible for 4 or so. Check out the video someone posted of it. This is again, just proof that they are super creative.

Even though they just released their latest album (last tuesday) Of The Blue Color Of The Sky, its too early for me to actually talk about it like I know what I'm talking about. So I'm going to talk about their previous album. Oh No. It has everything from high energy radio singles to slow emotional ballads. The singing style is unique and grows on you. Definitely worth a listen. Or a watch, since it is Eyeball.fm, afterall.

Eyeball.fm link: Ok Go

Album Singles: A Million Ways, Here It Goes Again, Invincible

Dav Suggests: Do What You Want, It's A Disaster

Other Songs (on other albums): Get Over It (Ok Go), WTF? (Of The Blue Color Of The Sky)

bbb

12 years ago, the band Ok Go emerged from Chicago. Since then, they have released 3 albums, Ok Go, Oh No, and Of the Blue Color Of The Sky. Each album has a unique yet consistent sound, reaching as far as 25th on the US Rock charts. The two music videos I mentioned above have received many awards, including a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video.

fff

Ok Go appeared on the film I Love You Man in the end credits as the band playing at the wedding alongside Jason Segel and Paul Rudd. CRAZY

-dav-

alex is having a normal feeling day. abnormal as it sounds.

Public indecency? ..almost..

2010-01-11T22:09:00.009-05:00

I am back in Toronto. I am back to school. I am back to spending 10 weekly hours on the TTC, thinking only about you. My blog readers. My blog topics that will best entertain you. The blog entries that will help you do whatever you are doing reading this. Searching for a rare laugh. Procrastination. Obligation. Anything.

So, storytime:

Sitting on the subway, and I'm tired, as usual. The game on my phone isn't quite killing the time like I hoped it would. I look around to see what everyone else is occupying themselves with. Some are reading a book, others are staring blankly out into the dark tunnel ahead. All of a sudden, the guy standing in front of me undoes he belt buckle. His pants drop, and he quickly shoves them in his bag. There he is, in his boxers, casually waiting for the train to come to a stop so he could get on. You look around and half a dozen other people are doing the same thing. The train stops, and they all get off. It starts moving agian, and another half dozen people take of their pants and repeat the process. I think to myself, what is going on??

Wait. Let me quickly correct the narration standpoint for the continuation of the blog. I am one of the ones taking off my pants.

We all met at Queens Park. ImprovEverywhere's Facebook group says there was almost 2500 confirmed guests showing up. Quick, basic instructions were given to all of us, and we quickly headed to the nearest train station.

Once we were all on the platform, the whole group boarded their assigned traincar. We played tetris, held innocent conversation, and stared boredly out the window, as any passenger would. Gradually, station by station, people stared taking off their pants, shoved them in their bags, and walked off the train, just to catch the next one with no pants for shits and giggles. Soon it was our turn.

We got off the train as expected, receiving the weird looks we were hoping for, but stayed in character enough not to respond to them. Just as our train was leaving, Alex (who had all our pants in his bag) decided to jump back on the train we (Lauren, Tom and I) just got off of.

So there we were, at a random train station with no pants. No bag that could have had our pants. Just us, and our coats. This was my second favorite part of this whole experience. The fact that the three of us plainly had no pants, and nothing to show for it. We weren't holding them, we didn't have a stuffed backpack, we simply had no pants on the TTC and no excuse for it.

My first favorite part of the experience is as follows. We board the next train, highly populated with pant-less people already. As we rode through the next few stations, the ratio was getting worse and worse for the people wearing pants. It got to the point where you swore the people that got on that were wearing pants, felt rediculous. Like they shouldn't have put on a pair of pants that morning to begin with. These expressions were extremely priceless, and actually quite unexpected. I was expecting more 'WTF' related expressions. but hey, who can predict these things.

Here's the official Flickr pictures from the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hc916/sets/72157623060568337/

So anyways, back to our story. Luckily, I live directly above a train, the platform only separated from an elevator to my floor by a small ground level mall-type thing. And by 'luckily', I mean that all we had to do was walk through this mall-type area with no pants, after we left the TTC station.

After we got bored of riding the train full of pantless people, we decided to get off and board the next train, where we were the only pant-less people. Here, we only got confused looks. Guess it didn't make as much sense if there wasn't a train full of us. hahaha.

It wasn't as embarrassing as you'd think, actually. The funny looks we got were amazing. We even had one girl take a picture with the three of us. Like we were Mickey Mouse and his gang in Disneyland or something.

ImprovEverywhere is a pretty interesting group. For further entertaining projects like this, check out this link (where I first found out about them) and maybe even add this site to your RRS feed reader, right alongside my blog.

right?? ;p

-dav-

alex is having a pancake sunday day. well, yesterday. since it was sunday. and we were hungover from the crazy party we hosted.

Greenday: Nimrod

2010-01-08T14:27:00.007-05:00

Album of the Week #21:

The first 2010 Album of the Week is (poetically) dedicated to the first album I listened to this year. Not on purpose tho. It just kinda came out of left field and hit me like a rock. No, not a baseball. A rock. You'd be expecting a baseball coming out of left field.

New Years Eve, we hit up the local concert, had our drinks, did the whole countdown/kissed my girlfriend thing, went out and found a good fix of late night chinese food, dropped Sam off back home, and that's when it happened. Lauren fell asleep, and I was left with the long drive home and an extremely good sound system turned up as loud as I wanted (Lauren can sleep through anything. I'm starting to think, the louder the music is, the better she doesn't hear it.)

Worry Rock comes up on shuffle, and I think to myself, now there's a good song. Let's listen to the album in it's entirety. I realized I hadn't done this in forever when I was baffled at the tracklist. Song after song, old Greenday classics are just lined up in a row effortlessly. Nimrod is like a greatest hits mix of the 90's. Except it was just Greenday's 5th major album release. There was a lot riding on them to follow up their albums Dookie and Shenanigans, but in my opinion, they did better than anybody expected. Double Platinum in both the States and in Canada.

Eyeball.fm link: Greenday

Album Singles: Hitchin' A Ride, Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), Redundant, Nice Guys Finish Last

Dav Suggests: Scattered, Worry Rock, Uptight,Prosthetic Head

Other Songs (on other albums): Basket Case (Dookie), Brain Stew (Insomniac), Minority (Warning), Holiday (American Idiot)

bbb

Formed in 1987, Greenday has mostly been consistent with three main members. Billy Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool. They were part of the huge punk scene coming out of California in the 90's, including Blink 182 and The Offspring, for example. These were their peak years, in my opinion. Say what you want about their latest few albums, but my blog - my opinion. But yeah, anyways. The major success story starts with their debut label album Dookie, and strongly followed up with Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning, each reaching multi-platinum levels in Canada, the States, Australia and the UK. Basically, a huge band of our time, proving over and over agian that they know how to make popular music.

fff

the song Reject is essentially the response to a complaint letter Billy Armstrong wrote to the Grandma of one of his young fans who bought their last album Insomniac. Apparently she didn't like him singing their 'explicit' lyrics around the house.

Some peoples Grandma's.

-dav-

alex is having a 'arguing with his liver' day.

Impact Outfit

2010-01-05T17:57:00.005-05:00

One year ago tomorrow was an interesting time in my life. I had recently gone through with a last minute decision to drop engineering a year and a half into my program. Another thing that was happening in my life was I was in a band called Impact Outfit. No, these two things aren't related. I wasn't one of those people that thought school was below me. I didn't think my band was all I needed. It just happened to all take place at the same time. I swear. It made for a great Facebook status tho.

David Fyfe signed the papers to drop out of university and is now on his way to band practice...how many times can one truthfully put that as their fb status in their life

The next day was our first (and only) gig. It was a battle of the bands for UofT. We didn't place in the top 3, but Jake got an honourable mention singing the first two songs. Each band was only given 20 minutes of stage time...and, this was probably a good thing, since we only had 3 concert-ready original songs.

Here are the YouTube links. My personal favorite is the last one we did, Buttons Batteries and Vitamins.

The Moon

Fading Away

Buttons, Batteries, and Vitamins

It was actually insanely fun. Unfortunately, after this, Aaron got super busy with the engineering and I kinda lived mostly in Calgary for the semester.

Hmm. I can't believe it's been this long. We should jam again sometime.

-dav-

alex is having a fat leg day

Rise Against: The Siren Song of the Counter Culture

2009-12-31T10:02:00.004-05:00

Album of the Week #20:

First.

It was christmas. So I was allowed to miss last week's weekly post of Album of the Week. Fair? Fair.

I apologize. It won't happen again.

Second. It is now New Years Eve. Radio Stations are playing countdown tapes of the top [insert FM frequency of the station here] songs of the year. We are bombarded by the songs that were overplayed and artists we've heard too much from already this year. So to stay consistent with this theme, I'm going to review a fairly popular (almost overplayed) band as well.

Rise Against.

Here is a band, formed in 1999, that has taken the last 10 years and made them their own. Band of the decade, if you will. Not convinced? Here, let's (alphabetically) look at the other contenders.

Alexisonfire - great band, huge following, and those who like them love them. But their music just isn't geared towards a big enough audience. Its the genres fault, not theirs. Australia loves them thought, that has to count for something.

Arctic Monkeys - Favorite Worst Nightmare was solid, but the two albums surrounding it only had good moments

Billy Talent - Strong debut album, but slowly lost it in their efforts on their latest 2 albums.

Blink 182 - Gotta love them, but just too 90's punk to be a millennium band. That, and they broke up for a while. Not cool.

Foo Fighters - Too many overplayed songs per album. And despite being decent music, there is just too much of it, and they got boring. Plus, they peaked in the 90's

Greenday - Again, peaked in the 90's. And they kinda were selling out recently. When I say recently, I mean American Idiot onwards.

The Hives - Very close contender, but just not the chart-topping, venue filling name to be widely recognized as band of the decade.

Incubus - Lots of talent in this band, but their fan base is split between their material from the late 90's and the material off their latest two albums.

The Killers - Again, amazing debut album, but after that they slowly wandered into the 'pop' genre, and that is unforgivable.

Kings of Leon - Um. Fan haters. 'nuf said.

Linkin Park - Another very close contender. Minutes to Midnight just didn't do it enough for me, didn't have the same energy as Hybrid Theory or Meteora.

Metric - Good, catchy, consistent. Just not big enough to be 'decade' material.

Modest Mouse - If I was king of the world, they would be band of the decade, century, maybe even all time. But its not my world....I dunno. I'm just going to say that 'decade' is too small of a title for them.

Muse - Ok they are big. They sound like nothing else before or after them. They are the best live performance ever. When it is this close though, it just comes down to personal preference. and this is my list. So it comes down to my personal preference. No offense Muse fans, go make your own list and put them ontop.

Our Lady Peace - Cool group for sure, but, there's something to be derived from the fact that their 09/10 tour is based on playing full albums from 97 and 99. Justsaying.

Pearl Jam - Yeah they had some good stuff this decade. but they formed in 1984. Come on.

Queens of the Stone Age - Overall a solid band. None of their albums stood out to me though. Just bits and pieces.

Radiohead - Like I said for Muse, they are huge, they could be your band of the decade. But they aren't mine. I have to say tho, they are growing on me lately.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium was amazing, but Californiacation was made in the 90's. This list is about post-2000 bands. Give the little guys a chance

The Strokes - I'm going through the list and there are so many close contenders. The Strokes, with 3 solid albums, fit the time frame and everything. So I'm going to have to give them 2nd place.

Waking Eyes - Too canadian. too small. Still worth mentioning though, in my opinion. I guess thats why I did.

The Weakerthans - Maybe the canadian band of the decade. However, it's only been the latest two albums that really grabbed my attention.

Weezer - I feel like a broken record. They peaked in the 90's (94 to be exact) with The Blue Album. That voids anything they've done this decade.

Yellowcard - last but definitely not least, Yellowcard was a big band this decade. Ocean Avenue was unbeleivable, and the two followups, Lights And Sounds, and Paper Walls were decent, but they set the bar too high early on, and are paying for it now. Well, right now they're on hiatus, but you know what I mean

Hmm...This blog was supposed to be about Rise Against. Well, I can quickly sum it up for you. Rise Against didn't fall to any of these other bands faults. All three (mainstream) albums were consistent and solid. (i can't speak for their previous two independent recordings, since I haven't actually heard them). They didn't break up (or go on haitus). They didn't peak in the 90's. They are big enough to actually call them the band of the decade.

I assume most of you are familiar with The Sufferer & The Witness and Appeal To Reason, so I'm going to take the opportunity to talk about their less popular album Siren Song Of The Counter Culture. Released in 2004, it was the bands first project with a major label. The album is equally as good as the following two. Their strong point is mixing loud energy with catchy tunes and intriguing lyrics. Their live performances are as tight as they sound on the CDs, and they can draw a crowd when they want. On each of the albums, they are able to contrast fast loud and upbeat songs with acoustic works that make you hang on every word and note. In the example of this album, fast songs like To Them These Streets Belong contrast pieces like Swing Life Away. Check it out. Here's the Eyeball.fm link:

Eyeball.fm link: Rise Against

Album Singles: Give It All, Swing Life Away, Life Less Frightening

Dav Suggests: To Them These Streets Belong, Tip The Scales, Swing Life Away, Dancing For Rain

Other Songs (on other albums): Prayer of the Refugee, Worth Dying For (The Sufferer & The Wittness), Savior, Entertainment, The Dirt Whispered (Appeal To Reason)

Ok. Happy New Year for real this time. See you on the other side.

-dav-

alex is having a small day.

10 years in the making

2009-12-30T20:46:00.006-05:00

Sometime between the years 2002 and 2006, there was a bird that somehow crawled into a wall in the middle of my old house. Chimney to attic, attic to small crack, small crack to inside the wall. We heard him every night, flapping around, for a few days. Finally it stopped. Maybe he made it out.. but I doubt it.

I'm starting my last blog of the decade with this story of a bird for a few reasons. Among them, one reason is to reminisce. Two of my favorite blog posts this year (both to write, and to read) are about birds. So why not do a shout out?

Anyways, it is now 7 odd years after the bird stopped moving, and we are renovating the old side of my house. All the walls are coming down.

I will most likely find the bird. Not today though. No, not even this year. Finding out if the bird made it out will be one of my first adventures in 2010...in the next decade.

This got me thinking, what else happened to me in the first 10 years of the 21st century? Well, among other things,

I remember growing up.

I remember traveling an hour into the city just to go to junior high.

I remember learning french in 2 years, and forgetting it even faster.

I remember dissecting a frog.

I remember driving home after first getting my license.

I remember my aunt teaching me to drive standard for 10 minutes every day after school.

I remember buying my first car.

I remember my first (and only) speeding ticket.

I remember taking apart the whole engine with my dad to replace the clutch.

I remember the day Alex rolled it.

I remember working nightshift for a summer.

I remember spending every friday night in high school going to the movies.

I remember getting a job at the Cochrane Movie House.

I remember throwing my first party at my house, with over 150 of my closest friends (as my dad likes to say).

I remember moving to Toronto.

I remember jumping on the bandwagon.

I remember the being part of the sea of red in the Saddledome

I remember watching the Calgary Flames make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

I remember them losing it on my birthday.

I remember buying my first CD with a gift card my grandma gave me.

I remember my first concert. Sum 41.

I remember buying my drumset.

I remember learning Jet's 'Cold Hard Bitch' as my first song on them.

I remember playing at Lee's Palace with my band.

I remember winning a math competition and placing extremely well nationally in grade 11.

I remember taking this confidence and letting it guide me into starting a career in engineering.

I remember trying to put that life behind me and telling my two (electrical engineer) parents that I was purposefully dropping out of engineering to go to film school.

I remember my first week at Humber.

I remember getting lost with my sister in China.

I remember traveling all over Europe after high school.

I remember going to see Teja's home in India after my first year in engineering.

I remember flying to Australia to check out what Alex had been up to for a year down there.

I remember the open bar in Jamaica with Tom, Lauren and Kelly.

I remember drawing comics and posting them on the internet.

I remember playing RollerCoaster Tycoon.

I remember downloading MSN Messenger for the first time.

I remember my uploading music to my first MP3 player.

I remember joining Facebook.

I remember the bird flapping in the wall.

I remember starting a blog.

As the sound of this decade flapping its wings disappears, a whole new set of adventures begins. We will rip down wall and see what last decade has done for us. At the same time, we will rebuild another wall and let a whole new story begin. The platform to build our new stories is here. We just have to wait and let them happen.

Happy New Years everyone. Thanks for reading.

-dav -

p.s...I lied. This isn't the last blog of 2009. Album of the Week will be posted tomorrow.

Alex is having a thin finger day.

Dear woman-in-her-20's-or-30's-driving-a-Mazda-pickup...

2009-12-22T17:22:00.008-05:00

Dear woman-in-her-20's-or-30's-driving-a-Mazda-pickup,

That is all I know about you. It's probably all I will ever know about you. But this year, I have a Christmas gift for you.

As I was eating lunch with Lauren at the Noodlehouse, one of people at the other table informed us that you had preformed a nice hit and run on my (mom's) BMW in the parking lot. They didn't get your license plate number or anything, all they knew was that you are in your 20's or 30's, that you are female, and that you were maybe driving a Mazda pickup truck.

The damage was minimal, just a few scratches. The car was really dirty, as I'm sure you saw, so I couldn't really tell how bad it was at the time. For insurance reasons, I decided to fill out a police report. It was nothing against you. I'm sure you were busy doing Christmas stuff, and didn't think it was worth your time to look and see what you did. The eggnog in the back of your car couldn't possibly afford a second to spare on its way to the fridge to stop for you to and leave your information on my windshield. I understand. But what if it was a big dent? What if we had to replace the panel? For all you know, we may still need to. Does it make you feel bad? Did you ever stop and think about that part of today where our lives collided (no pun intended), and wonder if you should have done something different?

..sorry. It was starting to sound like I was guilting you a bit there. My original objective here is to explain my Christmas gift to you. Well here it is:

In the spirit of the season, I am going to put this behind us. I'm going to choose not to care. The flustered afternoon you gave me by dominating my thoughts, having me wondering what the consequences of your ignorance would be; the time I spent at the police station filling out reports. All of this, wipe it clean from your conscience. It's fine. Go about your busy schedule, and have yourself a Merry Christmas.

From me, To you.

-dav-

alex is having an excited disappointed day. excited to be getting on a plane. disappointed because it's only taking him as far as calgary.

Them Crooked Vultures

2009-12-19T19:31:00.004-05:00

Album of the Week #19:

'Tis the season, once again, and I know all of you are still in the middle of getting your Christmas shopping done. Don't kid yourself. The only ones that have finished their shopping already are the type-A individuals thinking it would reduce their stress levels. But type-A personalities are stressed 24/7 no matter what, so really, it was pointless.

Where am I going with this? Well, I was thinking I'd help you out with your Christmas shopping this week. Reduce stress levels. Etc.

Music fanatics are everywhere. You all know one. You all probably plan on buying them the usual gift certificate for HMV, as you do every birthday and christmas. Well stop right there. Gift certificates are always good, but they can be repetitive. Why not actually buy them a CD for a change. Let them know you care about them more than a "i -don't-know-what-to-get-you-so-you-can-get-it-yourself-with-this-piece-of-plastic" gift.

Now you are wondering how you will know what CD they will like. Thats where Album of the Week #19 comes into play. Them Crooked Vultures are the new super group, consisting of members from bands like Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, and even Led Zeppelin. Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, John Paul Jones. Three people that have proven over and over again they know what they are doing. I almost guarantee your music fanatic likes at least one of the three bands I mentioned above, so they are sure to find this band worth a listen. On the off chance your music fanatic doesn't like either one of those three bands, then I am curious what they do like. And you should buy them this CD anyways. They have to start listening to good music at some point. Might as well be all thanks to you.

Well, and me, of course.

While you're at it, check them out yourselves. Scumbag Blues has what can only be described as a 3 way solo. A must listen, in my opinion. And really, who better to pull it off than a lineup like this.

Eyeball.fm link: Them Crooked Vultures

Album Singles: New Fang

Dav Suggests: Scumbag Blues, Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up, No One Loves Me & Neither Do I

The Album has a very heavy Queens of the Stone Age feel to it, but that is mostly due to Josh Hommes' vocals. In terms of music tho, John Paul Jones keeps the sound a bit more upbeat and catchy, and Dave Grohl just does what he does best on the drums: completely rock them. It is a solid album overall, and yeah, the Christmas gift you can't go wrong on.

you're welcome

-dav-

alex is having a scrooge day. bah humbug.

When history surpasses imagination

2009-12-18T00:57:00.004-05:00

I feel this post needs to open with a brief backstory.

So, there's this house. And then there's another house. A bigger house, attached to the first house. An extension of it, if you will. We live in the bigger house. But we used to live in the smaller house. Follow me so far?

No? Well thats alright...I realized halfway through trying to explain it that it isn't really important to my story.

What is important are the words Remote Control and Contacts Case. And now let's add the adjective 'first EVER.' These are just a few things I found while cleaning out the smaller house. Here, pictures before I go on:

First EVER remote control. With a cord. Would you ever think remote controls for
TVs had cords at one point? I sure didn't. For a second, I thought it defeated the purpose of it being 'remote' and all. But then I realized that it didn't.

Thats how much it blew my mind.

(just a side note, check out the CHANNEL button. there isn't an UP or DOWN, just CHANNEL. All I want is to change the CHANNEL. I don't care what CHANNEL, but I'm sick of this one, so I press the CHANNEL button to get rid of it.) -im sure life wasn't this awesome back then, but it should have been.

First EVER contacts case. or, at least, a very special contacts case. It cooks them for you. Why you would want your contacts cooked is beyond me, but this one does it for you anyways. Maybe its just what the technology called for back then. Or maybe it was some kind of luxury. Ooh, warm contacts.

I dunno. Either way, you just don't see that nowadays.

So this is my week. Discovering crazy items as I clean out the old house.

Now excuse me while I go shoot some golf balls down the hill with this crazy sling shot I found.

Album of the Week will be posted tomorrow. Be sure to check it out. It'll be a Christmas Special. woot.

-dav-

alex is having a dead day. at least, this is the rumor going around anyway. -lmao aaron

30 Seconds to Mars: A Beautiful Lie

2009-12-14T17:08:00.007-05:00

Album of the Week #18:

Happiness is an emotion. We feel happy. Sadness is an emotion. We feel sad. But what about music? What if I was to call it an emotion? Sure, we download music, we hear music, we play music, but do we feel music like we feel happy?

Let me just ask you this. What do you call it when you turn up the volume when that insane bridge of your favorite song comes. What do you call the expression on the musicians face when they are lost in their own solo. What is that feeling? I'll give you a hint. It's not happiness. It's not concentration. It's not any emotion defined in the english language. It is the emotion of music. Like happiness and sadness, we feel music.

So what does this have to do with Album of the Week #18? 30 Seconds to Mars' second album A Beautiful Lie takes this emotion 'music' and exaggerates it. It plays heavily on contrast in the songs. Quiet bits that have an almost 'underwater' sound to them, and then it explodes into loud parts with static effects on the vocals to make it seem louder than it is.

Last week (when I should have posted this Album of the Week) was exam time. Studying seems to lead my playlists consist of this 'exaggerated emotion' type music. Still not sure why, but bands like 30 Seconds to Mars or Emery always seem to come forward for me. I think it has to do with my levels of concentration. I'm less focused on what I'm hearing and more on what I'm studying, so running this music in the background is easier to 'feel' without focusing on it.

Anyways, give it a listen. I'm curious if you can see where I'm coming from with this whole music emotion concept.

Eyeball.fm link: 30 Seconds to Mars

Album Singles: The Kill, A Beautiful Lie

Dav Suggests: Attack, The Kill, Was It A Dream?

Actor Jared Leto is the lead singer and songwriter for this 3 (sometimes 4) member group out of LA. Most of you would know him as the guy in Requiem For A Dream, or the really blonde character Fight Club. I didn't think too much of their first album, and I haven't given their latest album (This Is War) a shot yet. It's on my to-do list. Maybe even my Christmas list.

I know I missed out on Album of the Week last week, so I will be posting 2 this week. I wasn't letting myself off that easy.

-dav-

alex is having a 'feel like death' day. food poisoning i think?

Grounded

2009-12-08T00:21:00.003-05:00

For as long as mankind has been in existence, we have looked up at the night sky and been mesmerized by it. All the distant lights put a trance on the mind. Mouths are silenced; all preoccupying thoughts are temporarily forgotten; our consciousness wanders through an indescribable fog.

Little did we know, we mimicked it. Only, we didn’t realize it until recently. Looking down on civilization from 39000 feet, we are equally as memorized. The city lights put a trance on the mind. Mouths are silenced; all preoccupying thoughts are temporarily forgotten; our consciousness wanders through an indescribable fog.

These were just some of my foggy wanderings of thought as the plane flew through Toronto’s night sky. Nothing could snap me out of it.

..until I was brought back to earth.

literally.

-dav-

Tommy Sparks

2009-12-04T14:10:00.010-05:00

Album of the Week #17:

Before I begin, let me explain how I usually write my Album of the Week.

To start, I get really into an album that has been on my ipod for months, (or years). The album usually is stuck in my head as I wake up in the morning. It is played on high volume during my commute to school. The drum beat pulses through the bottom of my shoes as I sit in my lectures. Each song is analyzed, and the artists style is studied in the back of my head all week. I turn to wikipedia and find any interesting facts I might want to include. Finally, I let the album play one last time and the music flows through my fingers as I type. Easy enough right?

Not this week. I couldn't get into the pure mindset of any album this week. Try as I might, I just couldn't drown myself in one. It was one of those 'Shuffle Songs' kind of weeks :s. So where does that leave my Album of the Week post this week?

Before last night, I wasn't sure. But then an iPod commercial came on as I was watching The Office, and it clicked.

the artist: Tommy Sparks.

the song: She's Got Me Dancing

If writing Album of the Week was murder, this one definitely wouldn't be first degree and premeditated. Its more like second degree. You know, spur of the moment...but with the same end result of AWESOME being pumped through your speakers. Or in the murder example, a dead body.

Album Singles: She's Got Me Dancing, I'm A Rope

Dav Suggests: Weekends Over, She's Got Me Dancing

Tommy Sparks, originally out of Sweden, released this first major album just a few months ago in August. Since then, the hit single has been an instant hit, appearing on iPod commercials and (apparently) FIFA 2009 and stuff. iPod almost always has good taste in music, (gorillaz, the vines, jet, etc.) so you know its good.

The rest of the album has a cool alternative/techno sound to it, at times reminding me of the Killers, the Fratellis, and even The Cars.

One side note. I looked all over toronto for this album, but it seems it isn't big in Canada yet. As in, HMV doesnt have it in their system at all. So unfortunately iTunes is the only place to find it for now. But its definitely worth checking out!

Eyeball.fm link: Tommy Sparks

alright. 3 blogs in 3 days. I'm taking the weekend off.

-dav-

alex is having a nice weather day.

basically I'm taking the opportunity to complain about how terrible calgary's weather is this weekend.

Film School Project #3: Special Surprise

2009-12-03T17:18:00.009-05:00

It was the first group project I was involved in for this filmmaking class. Let me just say right away, that this was a nice break from the previous two individual projects. I had originally thought this 'group' situaton would limit all three of our personal creativity in order to compensate for the other two group members', but it was the exact opposite. Being in a group divided the work nicely, but at the same time all three of us were able to throw ideas back and forth and create something that was individually our own and at the same time all of ours.

I know I know. "yay for teamwork...yada-yada....back up a bit and stop teaching grade 1 dav". Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I'll move on.

When we were first split up into groups, Jack and Kurtis had already come up with a few ideas and even part of a screenplay written up. So that bit was easy. Within a week, Jack already had actors and indoor locations lined up. Kurtis had outdoor locations and ideas for directing covered. Again. Easy for me. I had my say in it here or there, but for the most part, they already had it all figured out. I just had to go through the motions of helping out.

That was until it hit the editing room. Then I had both hands on the wheel :D. -or, mouse and keyboard. whatever. For two or three full afternoons, I hid in the editing room playing with footage, our homemade sound effects, and a Burn After Reading soundtrack song. This was the end result.

YouTube Link: Special Surprise

It is somewhere along the lines of a darker psychological short, with a bit of action at the end to wrap it all up. I won't tint your opinion by saying much more about it, so i'll just let you watch and have your own thoughts.

Anything I would do different next time? Maybe use 'real' fake blood instead of ketchup. Maybe grain up the first three black and white scenes for consistency. Maybe....well, no. Everything else came out exactly how we intended I think. Woot.

But yeah, anyways, we were proud of how it turned out. Hopefully you think so too.

-dav-

alex is having a "dav, it is too early for people to be up" day. "the day should start when alex starts instead."

that is the alex day because that is prettymuch the only think I heard him say today as he was leaving for work. at 8:45am....rough, right?

Fast Clock, Slow Clock

2009-12-02T18:24:00.008-05:00

In life, there are obvious changes, and less obvious changes. For example, you could buy a bigger TV, and when you go to watch it, you will notice an obviously a bigger image. On the other end of the scale, you could look at your hair one day, and the next day, even tho your hair is slightly longer, it is not obvious enough to be noticed. Obvious changes vs less obvious changes. Got it?

Ok, well I had a revelation of one of these 'less obvious changes' about myself today (kinda like when you wake up one day and say "damnn, i should get a haircut").

A janitor was changing a garbage bin in the foodcourt downstairs, and as I walked by, he pulled out his cell phone to check the time. The look on his face as he did this is what brought on my revelation. The look was one of complete despair. One which would be translated into the english words "why isn't my shift over yet? It's only been ___ hours?? It feels like so much longer...." We all know that feeling.

I thought to myself, that look is so familiar, and at the same time, so distant and unfamiliar. Like an old friend (or enemy in this case). You recognize it but only as a memory. This is where my revelation comes in. I haven't looked at a clock thinking those thoughts of impatience in forever. That feeling has gradually disappeared. Why? Is it a good thing? ..or a bad thing? What has brought this change on? Unlike the natural process of hair growth, the questions in this case took deeper pondering.

I concluded a few possibilities, all somewhat related.

1) I have hit the age of 20, and this decade is said to fly by. -ok. cliche, but plausable.

2) Maybe I have rid my life of all situations where time stands still. -if so, good for me..?

3) I am really busy and found something I actually enjoy doing every day. film school FTW

I dunno. Thats just me. But take a minute to think. How fast do the hands on your watch spin? Figure that out, and then ask yourself, why?

-dav-

p.s...reading through my post for (inevitable) spelling mistakes etc, I noticed I could totally use a bigger TV.

and a haircut.

alex is having a fat day. says his facebook status.

don't we all at one point tho? -well except for those of you with metabolisms like me. then we couldn't if we tried

It Beats Flying

2009-11-28T17:29:00.005-05:00

When someone says, "oh I see all sorts while taking public transit," they are usually referring to the crazy people sitting across from them on the bus. Not me tho. I see ALL sorts.

Today a bird walked on the train at one of the stations. It didnt fly on. It didnt get scared on. It simply walked aboard on its own accord. Like it meant to.

I watched the doors close, and the bird does everything but panic. Completely calm. If I didnt know better, i'd say it was there on purpose. The bird just wandered around, glancing around occasionally, pacing up and down the traincar. People started looking at it, a few smiled. I pulled out my phone and snapped a few pictures.

The train comes to a stop, and the bird keeps its balance extremely well for only having two skinny legs and nothing to hold onto the poles with. The doors open, it glances around one last time, and calmly walks out like it was its stop. I sit there laughing to myself as it slowly makes its way down the platform, still not even thinking about flapping a wing.

One of two things could be true. Either he is going to be one confused bird as he tries to get his bearings when he steps outisde again, or he meant to do it, and he's just extremely lazy.

Both conclusions entertain me.

-dav-

alex is having a jaw-hurting day

Supertramp: Retrospectacle

2009-11-27T14:22:00.007-05:00

Album of the Week #16:

Before I begin, let me make one thing clear. I am not normally a fan of 'greatest hits' albums. They are just compilations of overplayed radio singles thrown together on a CD for quick and easy money. Sometimes the band will throw on one new song or something, just to make it sell, but overall, they are unnatural. The artists did not intend for you to listen to the songs in that order. They are afterthoughts, basically destroying the whole concept of an album. Albums are made to be listened to straight through, beginning to end, without skipping over the less popular songs. An exaggerated example of the point I am trying to make is that it's like watching those movie scene compilations instead of just the movie itself.

Now, after saying all that, I am going to talk about Album of the Week #16, which is, hypocritically of me, a greatest hits release.

I can explain, I swear.

Retrospectacle, The Supertramp Anthology, is what has made me realise how amazing Supertramp is. It has inspired me to go out and find their actual albums and listen to them properly, beginning to end, as these songs was originally intended; in these songs' natural habitat, if you will.

Supertramp is among the great bands we remember pre-1989 (why 1989? well I was born then, so its as good of a reference point as any, I'd say). 50 years down the road, there are very few of today's bands that are actually going to be remembered. I mean, probably 90% of my Album of the Week artists are going to be unheard of by our grandchildren. Sad, but true.

What I am getting at here, is that something is to be said about a band that can stand the test of time; that can stay solid as everything and everyone around it is washed away into the unforgiving sands of time. Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, the list could go on. But I chose Supertramp because they are my favorite of them all, and personally, I think they are, in general, underrated. Think about it for a second: School, Bloody Well Right, Dreamer, The Logical Song, Breakfast in America. All unbelievable songs, and those are just the songs being overplayed on classic rock stations. Retrospectacles two disc set has 32 in total! And again, thats just their greatest hits anthology. I am definitely moving onto their originally released versions like Crime Of The Century, Breakfast In America, Even In The Quietest Moments....

I know there are obviously Supertramp fans out there going "umm, yeah, you should do that already!" but for those of you who arent, start like me. Check out Retrospectacle. Realize as I did how good this band is. And go from there.

Eyeball.fm link: Supertramp

Singles: (well its a greatest hits. I'm not naming them alll)

Dav Suggests: You Win I Lose, Another Mans Woman, Your Poppa Don't Mind, Crime Of The Century

One more thing while I still have the spotlight on Supertramp. And this is just a little story to tell you how far I have come, in terms of music. 5 or so years ago, I hadn't even heard of Supertramp. Bloody Well Right was playing on the radio, and it sounded vaguely familiar. Alex and I are out in the rain working on some construction project, and we decide it was familiar because the singer sounded like Kermit the Frog. The muppet.

Yeah, now because I let you in on that little secret from forever ago, none of you are going to trust my opinion on music.

I've grown, I swear! Seriously, I've done a huge blog post alll about Supertramp to make up for it!

-dav-

alex has a job now. so I dont know what the alex day is today

Kids These Days

2009-11-24T20:39:00.005-05:00

You know when people have discussions in the elevator and you don't really know what to think? You are left there wondering what just happened?

So I'm standing in an elevator going up to my friends place to film our next film project, and these three girls, couldn't have been older than 12, are in the back. Their conversation goes as follows:

GIRL 1: What if I said you are a stupid ass

GIRL 2: A stupid ass?

GIRL 1: Yeah. Is that a funny word? Stupid ass?

GIRL 3: *giggles*

GIRL 1: (spurred on by the giggles of GIRL 3) haha yeahh, you are a stupid ass

GIRL 2: oh hehe, well you are a bigger stupid ass

The elevator dings, and all three girls get out giggling and continuing this ridiculous conversation. As the elevator closes, the three of us holding film equipement glance at eachother, eyebrows raised. Slightly shocked, but without missing a beat nonetheless, we act out the conversation amongst the three of us exactly how it went seconds earlier. We get out of the elevator laughing (much less like a group of 12 year old girls, but more as a sarcastic chuckle) 22 stories later. I look back at an older chinese man in the far corner of the elevator, just staring at the floor. I am still, to this moment, wondering what he thought of the whole ordeal.

That chinese man knows exactly what I meant in my question above. He was the perfect example of when you are left standing there, wondering what just happened.

-dav-

alex is having a Ford Prefect day. Like from the book Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy. What I mean is, he is confused why humans always have to state the obvious.

The Miles, Blood On My Blazer

2009-11-21T09:46:00.008-05:00

Album of the Week #15:

By attending a competitive film program in Toronto, I am most likely rubbing shoulders with (if I have any faith in my classmate’s talents and determination) some leaders in the film industry of tomorrow. On another front, a few friends I have made over the years, going as far back as elementary school even, have shown serious potential to go far with their lives.

Despite all those potentially famous people I know, I think it is safe to say that right now, as it stands, my friend’s friends band who’s show I went to this past weekend is the closest to fame, in terms of people I know (well, by 2 degrees of separation. close enough). They have the most potential to make it big. (I said as it stands, so don’t go hating me for not having faith in you….you just missed my whole point. put a leash on that ego, geez).

Basically, what I am trying to say, is that this show blew my mind!!

The band is called The Miles. My expectations were fairly positive going into it, since the show was recommended by a good source of mine –aaron. But ‘positive expectations’ and what actually went down in the MOD Club that night were two very different things. What did it for me was the quality of the show. This show was free for anybody on the Facebook guest list, and the cover at the door was only 5 or 10 dollars. But all that aside, it made show’s I’ve paid as much as 30 dollars for in the past look like shit. This had an energetic set list. The band members had personality. The performance was tight as ever. The lights made it visually insane. The songs themselves were fun, creative, and memorable. What more could you ask for. And for free?? I am a full time audience member at any of their shows from now on, rain or shine, any ticket price. It was that good.

The whole experience was topped off when I bought their CD after the show. It came attached to old pieces of records as a ‘CD case’, if you will. Very cool.

Right when I got home, I downloaded it to my computer, and instantly recognized most of the songs from earlier that night. If I had any original complaints about this debut album, Blood On My Blazer, they would be that it does not do the show justice. It is still amazing, definitely, but their live show is just something you cannot replicate in your headphones. Unfortunate, but true nonetheless.

Besides that one complaint, the album is flawless. Extremely catchy tunes. Original sound. There are moments on it that quite simply need to be played over and over again. If I had to describe them, I would say they go from sounding like anything from The B52’s (Rock Lobster), to the Tokyo Police Club, to the Arctic Monkeys. Their lyrics consist heavily of love triangles and lust, but at the same time they are able to keep it original. Overall, I give it 5 stars, 10 out of 10, full marks -however you rate albums these days. Highly recommended.

Dav Suggests: Not At All, Murder, Can I Speak To Shawna, Stingray

For some reason, Eyeball.fm was unable to find them, so I will link you to their Myspace page. Take a listen:

Myspace link: THE MILES

If you like what you hear (which, how can you not??) and are interested in getting ahold of their album Blood On My Blazer for just $10, send me an email (fyfeblawg@gmail.com) and I will see what I can do to hook you up!

-dav-

alex is having a thin arm day

Small World

2009-11-17T13:45:00.006-05:00

Everybody has, at one point or another, pondered the question "what would the world be like if everyone was like me?" I'm sure Sesame Street told us once that the world would be boring, and we are all special. Something along those happy lines. But these days, most of us don't turn on the kids channel when we wake up in the morning *cough* alex. So today I have a more accurate answer. One simple word answers this pondering -- of course, if I were the person in question here:

Oblivious.

Extremely oblivious.

(ok two words. but really, when have adjectives ever counted?)

I know for a fact that at this point those of you who know me are thinking "yeahh.. tell us something we don't know." Well, let me get to it. I am just leading into a story.

My story takes place (again) underneath my condo building as I am walking home. My mind was once again, wondering. Any conscious thought was lost between lunch and this weeks upcoming Album of the Week playing in my headphones.

In retrospect, I knew my peripheral vision saw someone approaching. In retrospect, I knew they changed their course to run up beside me. In retrospect, I knew they were tapping me on the shoulder. In retrospect, I knew they were trying to snap me out of it.

But in reality, it took me a good 3 or 4 solid paces before I actually clued into this.

I realize it was my friend Stugs, that just happened to be downtown today. And, I mean, he isn't your average guy that blends into a crowd. Think X-men's Beast, mixed with X-men's Wolverine. With red hair. Anyone would instantly recognize him a mile away.

Well, anyone except for me apparently. Of course, today he was a little less 'dyed purple' and he had a shirt on. But you get my point.

So I return to my question. "What would the world be like if everyone was like me?" We would all keep walking along, lost in our own world. Nobody would be even remotely aware of their surroundings. You would never randomly meet up with an old friend on the street. We would all be extremely oblivious.... How boring would that be???

Hmmm.....maybe Sesame Street was right all along.

-dav-

crazy Stugs...what a legend

*pictures from halloween 2008. good times, good times

alex is having a "my feet are a far way away from my head" day.

don't ask me... it is what it is.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia

2009-11-12T21:50:00.011-05:00

Maybe it's just because everyone is subconsciously slightly more paranoid because it is friday the 13th, but, -no? just me? anywayss... I noticed something for the first time today.

You know that feeling of discovering something that has been there all along? Like finding a secret new pocket on your backpack. Or stumbling upon a new, more direct path around a building you've been taking a class in for 3 months already? -still just me again? damn.. What about finding an artist on your iPod that you don't ever remember putting on there. Josh knows what I'm talking about.

Well my story today makes all those seem average.

I was walking through the mall type place after class, (my thoughts wandering, as they do) just watching my feet take me home. My feet walk by an electrical plug. My thought process was exactly this, I swear: "Hmm, thats interesting. I didnt know there was a plug in that lamp post before....Wait a second. A lamp post?? Where am I?" Like I said before, I was in the mall type place underneath my condo building. "What is a lamp post doing inside a building." Yes, there are weirder things in the world, I know. But still, You would think I'd notice something as random as that. I mean, I have been walking down this hallway since September 2008 to buy groceries every day. Twice a day I walk by it to take the train to and from school.

The whole experience was mind blowing, so I thought I'd tell you about it. Oh, and I have pictures to prove it.

For those of you that have been to my basement, these have been here all along right?? They can't have just gone up overnight..

oh, and notice: I'm posting my 31st blawg entry on friday the 13th as well.

..ok, i guess i do have a mild case of Paraskavedekatriaphobia.

-dav-

alex is having the same kind of day as me. well, yesterday. apparently he only really caught on that they were there a day before i did. and didn't tell me.

Bowling For Soup: Drunk Enough To Dance

2009-11-11T17:01:00.009-05:00

Album of the Week #14:

Is it too 'junior high' to be listening to Bowling For Soup? Is it too pop punk of me to be reviewing Bowling For Soup? Am I straying too far off the amazing genre that is alternative rock when I make Album of the Week #14 Bowling For Soup? Maybe.

What can I say. I review the albums I stumble across during the week that I really get into. And if that means I make you read about cheesy yet amazing bands that I lived for in grade 9 every once in a while, then so be it. A little reminiscence of the good old days never hurt anyone.

Speaking of reminiscence, I was having a conversation today with alex about these good old days. These were the days spent sitting around all day playing video games, watching Friends episodes, and biking down to the Cochrane Movie House every friday for the latest Hollywood release. School was easy, and we'd spend half the classes either killing time on the internet or watching 'educational films'. Summers were full of some tedious job like testing to make sure the light blinks on thousands of little computer chips. And of course, we would be listening to music like Bowling For Soup.

We would look forward to the future, to when we would hit our twenties, and one day grow up from all this. But we are 20, and look at the parallels to now. We spend or days sitting around playing video games, watching Friends reruns, walking down Yonge Street to the AMC Movie Theater for the latest Hollywood release. School is easy, I spend all my classes learning about the internet or watching great film classics. Summers are spent doing some tedious job like selling popcorn at the Cochrane Movie House. And here I am, writing a blog about Bowling For Soup.

Maybe we'll grow up when we hit 30.

Back on topic. Album of the Week #14 is called Drunk Enough to Dance. Of all their albums, I chose this one not because it was the one that put them on the map (ughh, Girl All The Bad Guys Want), but because of the songs that weren't famous. Out the Window. Cold Shower Tuesdays. Scaring Myself. Punk Rock 101. Even covers like I Ran (So Far Away) -original song by A Flock of Seagulls. So many great tunes.

Originally out of Texas, the group formed in 1995. The peak of their careers to date was during the years 2002 to 2004, during which they released both this album and a follow up: A Hangover You Don't Deserve. Personally I think these are the two albums that have most tunes worth checking out. That being said, every one of their CD tracklists has at least a few great numbers. Their style kind of goes along side the immature days of bands like Blink 182, but their lyrics always surprise you by a clever line here or there.

Eyeball.fm link: Bowling For Soup

Album Singles: Girl All The Bad Guys Want, Emily

Dav Suggests: Cold Shower Tuesday, Star Song, I Ran (So Far Away), Scaring Myself, Out the Window, Punk Rock 101

Other Songs (on other albums): Get Happy, Sad Sad Situation, Down for the Count (A Hangover You Don't Deserve), SuckerPunch (Lets Do It For Johnny!), Undertow (Bowling For Soup Goes to the Movies)

-dav-

alex is having a thurs-day.... its wednesday.

Faster Fast Food

2009-11-08T18:16:00.008-05:00

In the beginning, food was ordered, drinks were served, food was cooked, and finally food was served. In that order.

Then people became impatient; the world got itself in a rush. So this order had to be modified to fit our schedules: food is cooked, ordered, and served --all at once.

This was the birth of the fast food industry. Food available right when you want it. Small changes moved it along by creating shortcuts in how they cooked food, what they made available, etc.

But was this enough? Is it fast enough?

No.

You have to wait as most places make the food right after you order it -so its as 'fresh'. You have to wait in lineups. You have to spend time explaining certain order details (extra bacon, extra cheese...hold the pickles). You have to take time to pay.

These (apparently) are still unacceptable delays. Society demands that these be eliminated, and food is literally in your hand when you want it.

Like most of todays problems, this was solved through the iPhone. The Chipotle application.

This takes care of all those problems I mentioned earlier. Before I get to Chipotle, I can tell them exactly what I want, tell them when I'm going to get there, and tell them my credit card information. That way, the time I actually spend in the store is a matter of seconds. Does food get faster than that? seconds??

I didn't think so.

Now after that whole rant, I'll be honest. I'm not the busiest person around. I am rarely ever in a rush, if at all. But purely out of curiosity, I gave this app a try the other day. I get off the train downtown, and place my order. After I spend the next 15 minutes stopping at a few stores in the eaton center, I make my way to Chipotle. 1:20 in the afternoon, the lineup is out the door. I awkwardly shuffle my way inside, and go up to the side of the cashier. I tell them I ordered online, and without missing a beat, she turns around, grabs a bag out of a warming drawer, hands it to me, and says "you must be david." I stand there a little bit baffled, acknowledge I actually am myself, and thank her as I take the bag and start my shuffle back through the lineup out the doorway.

Unbelievable. I saved myself a good 45 minute wait purely because I was curious about this application. Sweet!

Well now you know. Next time you find yourself wanting to have the fastest food possible, and possibly the worlds best burrito ever, at the same time, Chipotle iPhone app is your answer. I know I will next time I don't feel like making dinner at home.

Altho, making dinner myself means I can make my awesome green stuff.

Chipotle doesnt make me green stuff..

Mmmm. Green stuff..

-dav-

alex is having a hungover day

Cage The Elephant

2009-11-06T17:13:00.010-05:00

Album of the Week #13:

Don't you hate it when people say "oh I knew that band before they were popular"? Well start hating. Because I knew this band before they were popular.

I'm sure most of you have heard of Cage The Elephant, as they have released a few singles that have been crawling over the charts for the past few months. But before they hit the radio, before almost anybody cared who they were, 26 months ago, I saw these guys in concert opening for Queens Of The Stone Age. 26 months. Thats back in the middle of 2007. (on a side note, that is a notable feat for my memory -actually retaining information for that long.)

After witnessing what I thought was a killer performance, I turned to the internet to find out more about this unheard-of group. They weren't on iTunes, YouTube, Wikipedia, and as for typing them into Google, well, I might as well have typed elephants in cages.

Wikipedia now claims this was right around the time they signed with EMI Records, and a year later they released this self-titled debut album. Maybe it was just how I saw it, but it seems that this album took a while to actually get picked up and become popular. The music itself doesn't hold any evidence towards this tho. Track after track, their unique sound prevails and slowly grows on you. It's a strange yet intriguing mix between laid back and energetic, sounding anything in between Aerosmith and what is now modern alternative rock.

One thing I remembered from that concert forever ago was the song Ain't No Rest For The Wicked. I'm pretty sure it sounded very different at the time. Darker sounding, slightly more structured and less free-flowing. If I had to guess, I'd say they changed their sound around quite a bit, experimenting around until people finally started catching on. And then thats when they knew they found it. The style that would bring them to the top. The style that kept them apart from the rest.

Well, it worked, didnt it? Check them out:

Eyeball.fm link: Cage The Elephant

Album Singles: Ain't No Rest For The Wicked, In One Ear, Back Against The Wall

Dav Suggests: Tiny Little Robots, Lodus

-dav-

alex is having a midlife crisis day. being 21 and all.

Halloween

2009-11-04T12:55:00.005-05:00

2009 is gaining speed on the slippery slide of time and disappearing into nothing, and we are being forced along with it. We recently passed the Halloween landmark, the changeover between month 10 and 11. Thanksgiving is a thing of the past, and Christmas is becoming threateningly close. But lets not think about that. Let's just focus on the now. On Halloween.

I am first going to give my opinion on seasonal items being sold around this time of year. I know, everybody has an opinion on this, and its an annoying over-talked-about but stick with me here. I am going to go further than most of you, and actually ACCEPT that christmas stuff will be hitting shelves before halloween. Ok? I'm alright with this. It happens every year, so why complain about it like the weather. It's just a fact. It is going to snow. Summers are going to be hot. Christmas items will be available before halloween. Learn to live with it.

What took me off guard this year, was when there was no separation of these items. Between the zombie mask and the werewolf outfit was a Santa hat. Between the gravestones and the spiderwebs are Christmas tree ornaments. It's confusing. Are they suggesting to be Santa for halloween?? --actually, thats not the worst idea. I'm keeping that on a maybe list for next years halloween. Santa. Whens the last time you saw that?

Dibs!

Speaking of costumes, this year, the girlfriend and I had a interesting one. Dirt cheap too. A few dollars worth of paint, mardi-gras beads, iron-on letters and hair dye. Really simple. Yet, the result turned out really well. Especially on camera:

Unfortunately it didn't place in the costume contest because most of the votes were made before we got to the party. A good night other than that. Had a few steamwhistles, caught up with friends I haven't seen in a while, and I'm going to leave the story at that. The rest of that night didn't happen. And I don't know what expresso-vodka tastes like!

...what?? I said it didn't! And I don't!

-dav-

alex is having a baggy pajamas day.

Film School Project #2: Get A Life

2009-10-29T17:39:00.005-04:00

As all things do, this started with an idea. This idea was generated from an assignment. And this assignment was: create a story line involving an exchange. Anything, anyone, anywhere.

So I start my thinking, what is exchanged? What is a common medium for things to be exchanged? Mail. Ok, cool. So now I have the basic structure.

Now, what is an interesting thing that could be mailed. Bills, letters, parcels...meh. It seems too boring. Is there anything abstract and intriguing, yet at the same time understandable? hmm. How about something that would turns someone's life around. That seems interesting enough.

Next step, whose life could be easily and obviously turned around. Let's go for the extremes. A hobo on the street, that can be turned around fairly easily.

All that's left is a story arc, turning points, and follow up. Basically, asking the question 'what if' a million times until you find a chain of events you like. I can't go into much further detail of this process without giving away the whole video.

so, it is at this point I shall present to you the link:

YouTube Link: Get A Life

The preparation of filming this was about the same as last time, but the filming went a lot smoother. I'm not sure if I was just more used to it, or if it was that I had fellow film student (Kane) helping me out a bit, or if it was just a more straightforward story, but it was smoother nonetheless.

Taking it into the editing room, I ran into a few challenges. First of all, the only sound recorded throughout all the clips were the few lines of dialogue. The rest of the clips were completely mute. no background noise, no nothing. I had be creative with my use of music to cover this up, and make it still seem natural.

The second challenge I ran into was lighting. During the costume change (rags to suit), the sun didn't stay put for me. As a result, the latter half of the movie was much darker. To make it seem as seamless as possible, I had to go inside every 'after' clip and colour correct.

Other than those two little speedbumps, everything went fairly well. Some minor changes between script and final cut were expected, so that didn't bother me too much. The music I had previously found, so editing that in was no problem either.

On that note, before I forget, I want to take back all that complaining I did about YouTube not allowing copyrighted songs to be used. All I had to do was tag the artist and name of the song in the video description and they allowed it, as long as I was ok with some minor advertising on the bottom of the screen. Why didn't I try that earlier?? I wouldn't have lost two years on my life from all the stress that problem caused me on previous videos. Oh well. We're all gonna die anyways right?

Well thats about all I'm going to blab about for this project before it becomes boring.

...if it hasnt already...

......but then why are you still reading???

Make sure to watch for my next one in a 4 to 6 weeks. This time, it'll be a story told in 3 acts. All in under 3 minutes. Hmmm...

Oh, one more thing before I go though. Are you tired of always having to look for my blog link on facebook or twitter, and you don't have it set up as an RRS feed? I now give you an easier solution. On the right side, I have installed a widget that allows you to have my blogs sent to you by email! How awesome is that? --Well, i guess that depends on the magnitude of which you find my blog entertaining or interesting.

...i'm going to stop while i'm ahead on that one....

-dav-

alex is having a full day.

-because he can't handle his own spicy cooking. so he drinks too much water. so he's full.

Ratatat: LP3

2009-10-28T21:18:00.007-04:00

Album of the Week #12:

I'm trying something new for this week's music review. For the first time, I'm writing a review by request, and not just because I was just really into the album this week.

--wait, thats not entirely true. Let me rephrase that. For the first time, I investigated an album that was requested to appear on album of the week, and because it was awesome, I'm writing a review about it. Yes. That's much better.

I am also changing it up this week by straying slightly from my usual genre. I do enjoy exploring new sounds, but sometimes it takes me a while to get into them. This, however, was not one of those cases. Right away, it was easy to adjust to. Right away, the sound was likable. Right away, I knew this could lead somewhere, and I would be adventuring further down this path of music.

The band is called Ratatat. Their latest album, LP3. This New York electronic group (consisting of two members) has been creating mostly instrumental music (unofficially) since 2001. The laid back, yet upbeat tracks are well done and you can tell these two boys know what they are doing. The first time I heard this band was this summer speeding around on my friends boat while my family was house boating. There is no better music for days like that. Anytime you need music running in the background that isn't demanding, but at the same time isn't dull, this is the stuff.

That being said, here's the eyeball.fm link. Keep it running in the background. Ratatat is a good listen. I mean, their song Wildcat features the sound of a cougar roar just because it's awesome. You know you want to click this link just to see what im talking about:

Eyeball.fm link: Ratatat

Album Singles: Shiller, Shempi, Mirando

Dav Suggests: Falcon Jab, Mirando,

Other Songs (on other albums): Wildcat (Classics)

On a side note, the first single off this album is in my second film project. Expect a blog about it tomorrow for the YouTube link!

-dav-

---there's your post connor, thanks for the suggestion! oh, and happy belated birthday---

alex is having a non-day. it means there wasn't an alex day. you can't force days out of people. it just doesnt work like that.

Eyeball.fm

2009-10-26T00:27:00.008-04:00

So my cousin Ryan has been working on a very cool project over the last little while, and has finally launched it just this past week. He has taken internet radio to a whole new level.

Eyeball.fm, although still in BETA version, is definitely worth a visit. Even if you aren't the usual 'internet radio buff,' I know that you will find it useful one way or another. One week old, and already the site has so much to offer.

I won't get into details, because really you need to explore it for yourself and see what you find works for you. I'll just to go over the main features so you have an idea:

1) -and this is my favorite part so far... Right away when you create an account, you can export all your itunes song information and upload it to the site. Now, no matter where you are, you have access to your library information. It automatically finds your songs (and music videos) on youtube for your listening pleasure. (I wasn't a last.fm user, but it also works with importing this library)

2) Each artist page contains overviews, biographies, available music lists, photos, lyrics, and similar artists pages. Hours of internet research, fighting with 10 tabs of different pages and sources, completely done for you. BAM. A click of the mouse and all you want to know --all there is to know, is right there in front of you. No hassle whatsoever.

3) Huge organizational props. The overall layout of this site is very well done. Not only that, but it is customizable to your own preferences. Visually, it stands out from anything else out there. In terms of navigation, its fairly intuitive and easy to get around. Especially for the amount of information it provides, the presentation and organization of it all is superb.

4) Everything you listen to (watch) is remembered, so you can go back through it and see what you've listened to, gauge your listening patterns, etc.

5) There is literally nothing you cannot find. If it exists on the internet, Eyeball.fm will find it.

In the next week or so, I will be converting all my Album of the Week song links from YouTube links to Eyeball links. With such a useful tool at my disposal, why wouldn't I use it? Why would't I share it?

For such a new site, user feedback is crucial, so let me know what you think about it! Comment in this blog, email me (fyfeblawg@gmail.com), or leave your thoughts directly on the Eyeball.fm contact site. I shall pass any comments on to Ryan myself, and he thanks you for it. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Go forth. Check it out. Explore it. Use it.

Enjoy it.

-dav-

alex is having a big feet day.

what? they actually are huge. size 16 or whatever? when is the last time you saw a shoe that big.

...

yeah, thats what i thought

The Marble Index

2009-10-21T11:50:00.009-04:00

Album of the Week #11:

Think of the last song you heard. Actually, go back and listen to the last song you heard. What do you hear? Music? A tune? Maybe some lyrics to go with it? Just one big piece of art.

Now lets break it down. There's probably a guitar strumming some chords. A bass walking over the underlying tune of the song. Drums keeping a simple yet suiting beat. Maybe a keyboard or other instrument accompanying it all. But did all this go through your head when I first asked you what you heard? I didn't think so.

What is interesting about the Marble Index is that their style of music makes you hear everything. In each song, there is a part (usually the beginning, but also throughout bits of the song) that do the breakdown I just did for you on their own. The crisp guitar chords define the song for what it is. The drum beat, in its unique pattern, sets the pace. The bass sets the mood like the lighting of a room or the background of a picture. The lyrics tell the story. But as all three are presented, they are as separate as the primary colors red, green and blue. Each one belongs, but stands apart from the rest. Once you have a grip on them, they are thrown together for the chorus (or verse, or bridge, it depends) and the song is made. You hear everything at once, but neither of them individually.

The best way I can describe it is that their songs are like a smoothie. You have your berries, your banana, your yogurt, whatever you put in a smoothie. They are all there sitting on the counter. You notice each of them on their own, but also as part of a group. The next step is throwing them in the blender. You see the smoothie inside, but you cant pick out any of the ingredients anymore. They are thrown together. You see everything at once, but neither of them individually.

Listen for it. You'll see what I mean. And I'm not saying other songs by other artists don't do this. I'm just saying that this is what The Marble Index is good at.

Eyeball.fm link: The Marble Index

This Canadian bands self titled debut album was released in 2004. It was recorded in England, and took 3 weeks to complete. For those three weeks, the band was constantly getting sick since they lived in some barn with no hot water. Talk about living for your music. And really, this passion shines through in their music. Give it a chance. You won't be disappointed.

(btw, look at the song titles in this album if you get a chance. Pretty funny when you know the circumstances of which this album was recorded)

Album Singles: I Beleive

Dav Suggests: I Believe, We Can Make It, Days Seem Longer

Other Songs (on other albums): All That I Know, Let Me Be The One, I Don't Try To Change Your Life (Watch Your Candles Watch Your Knives)

Definitely tune in for my next blog. There is a new way to listen to music on the internet--and I am your source for finding it.

-dav-

alex is having a small arm day

Crunch Time

2009-10-20T20:33:00.007-04:00

Everybody knows this season. The list of friends on Facebook chat seems twice as big as normal, everybodies twitter complains of stress and unmotivated attitudes, and the only conversation you have with any of your classmates is on repeat: "ughh, I have 4 midterms next week, 3 on the same day, and my essay is due the day after."

This season is midterm season. If we were to define it in the dictionary, it would go something along the lines of:

Midterm Season, [mid-turm] [see-zuh n] -noun : Usually found in the middle, between the beginning and the end of a term, hence the mid; a period of time where classes and exams intermingle, and the tasks required of students are seemingly impossible to accomplish in time; similar to seasons like fall or spring, differing only by containing no beauty or happiness whatsoever

We have all been there. We are all there right now. I mean, don't flatter me. The only reason you're reading this post is because it is simply a means to accomplish yet another 3 minutes of procrastinating. Hell, the only reason I'm writing it is because I'm only 811 words on a 1000 word essay, and I've run out of original things to talk about. (ha. ironically, my topic is on originality. inside jokes with yourself are so great)

So anyways, since you are spending important minutes of non-studying on reading this blog and unfortunately costing yourself countless wrong answers off of your next test as a result, I shall do my best to make it worth your while. (gee, after putting it that way, I really don't think i can step up to the plate..)

First lets talk about today. Production day. As a film student, we get the day off of classes to prepare and/or shoot our projects. As much as I know you want me to go on about how my filming went, I shall save that for the blog when the final cut arrives on YouTube. Instead, I am going to talk about my acting debut. Not once in my life have I considered acting one of my strong points. In fact, not once have I even considered acting, period. But in need of some acting assistance myself, I volunteered myself up for an exchange. Act for act, performance for performance.

There was a catch tho. There's always a catch. What I didn't realize was that the acting role I signed up for basically determined how well the project turned out. The short film was based on a good performance. Great.

So, on the train to the shoot this morning, I memorized all 6 lines I had, thought about what body language I was going to use, and overall got a grip on my role. Did i mention this was a solo act? the only other 'character in the clip is a tree. How do I bounce confidence vibes and get 'in the scene' with a tree?? Especially since I've never acted before.

When I actually stepped in front of the camera, all that preperation on the train vanished. 6 lines turned into a mumble of words. Body language turned into an awkward gesture here and there. Expressions were -- in comparison for what I was planning were -- non-existant. I did, however, learn in editing class, that a good editing job can save a performance. I just hope my friends can edit the s#!% out of this.

On a side note, I will be (reluctantly) posting it on youtube if i get the chance, so you can all judge for yourselves in the weeks to come.

Second (and last, as I am aware you all have studying to get back to), I just want to share a link I stumbled upon this past week. I haven't actually confirmed it as funny with anybody else, but somehow it just found a way to entertain me. I'm not sure if it was the extreme state of procrastination I was in. Or maybe it was the ridiculous southern accent. Or the complete lack of grammar involved. Or maybe it was just how irrelevant every single video was to my life and everything I've ever been interested in. But it somehow really struck me as funny.

http://www.youtube.com/user/matt78tv

Scroll down to his older videos. Watch a few. I still havent figured out if I'm laughing at him for thinking anybody actually wants to watch these, or if I'm laughing at how proud I am that someone can make so many pointlessly awesome videos about his life. I mean, there's a series of 4 where films himself in the mirror after getting his head shaved bald, and he updates every two weeks on how much his hair has grown. Seriously?? how has this guy gotten 14000 views on how much his hair grows??

It is beyond me. But I watched it anyways. Twice. So there you go. I contradicted myself, and answered my own question at the same time. But seriously, don't get me wrong. I'm not making fun of him. I am plugging his channel because it was awesome. Just--awesome in a weird way.

Have I wasted enough of your time? Good. Now get back to work.

-dav-

ps. I know that whole blurb about midterm season is total BS to some of you are taking real degrees and not something awesome like film studies, because you think I really cannot understand your pain of how midterm season really is. But I was an engineer at one point. I suffered through 3 midterm seasons, and I know how rediculous it is. I mean, midterms are just as hard as finals, except you have to attend class all day instead of having time to study like you do for finals. Believe me, that whole rant was a sympothy rant. and in no way am I complaining that film school is difficult. because in comparison, it isn't. i just told you how i had to take the day off just to play around and shoot films!

tough life

alex is having a clean freak day. this is from observation, not him telling me. I woke up and everything smelled clean. and he was wiping down every inch of the condo. it was crazy

The Tunics: Somewhere In Somebody's Heart

2009-10-16T13:16:00.008-04:00

***Album of the Week #10:***

In the world of an engineer, or, to anybody with somewhat of a mathematically inclined brain, 10 is a big number. Even tho math has nothing to do with my blog, and I have left my engineering life far behind, I still think 10 is still an important number. Isn't it? Pearl Jam, Sir John A. Macdonald, neon, the decimal system, the Vancouver Olympics...must I say more? Anyways, the 10th Album of the Week should be equally as important.

So, important is exactly what I am delivering. This post is about, by far, one of the most important bands Fyfeblawg will ever cover: The Tunics.

Let me explain how The Tunics are a very small band on the rise..

First. My friend Tom stumbled upon them in some internet game. A fluke find. (on a side note, this was before they released their first CD, and when it was released, tom was the 43rd (EDIT: 42nd) -thx tom owner of their CD from buying it over the internet. We really were among their early fans.)

Second, almost all of their popularity is in Europe, so a North American fan base is yet to be had. (ok ok, I'm working on it)

Third. They don't even have a wikipedia page. Who doesn't have a wikipedia page??

Fourth. Have you heard of the famous U.K. band the Kooks (~26 000 myspace friends)? Or the Arctic Monkeys(~171 000 myspace friends)? I expect most of you have. But the Tunics(~7 000 myspace friends)? No--but they are the other U.K. band that is just as good or better than both. And no, I do not know why you haven't heard about them.

All I am doing is fixing this terrible tragedy.

Somewhere In Somebody's Heart is among the (few) ultimately top-played albums on my iPod. Released in 2008, this album has already been catching attention all over Europe, and there is not a bad review out there. I mean, if you throw Oasis, the Arctic Monkeys, and the Kooks into a mix, add a ton of originality and awesome, how could you possibly go wrong?? Listen--

YouTube Link: Cost of Living

Listen again--

YouTube Link: Shine On

Listen a third time--

YouTube Link: Fade Out

And listen one last time---

YouTube Link: Whatever Happened

yeah?? OK. Go find the album. amazon.com, torrent it, whatever. And tell your friends. These guys ARE the next big thing, and YOU are on the cutting edge of knowing about them.

you're welcome

-dav-

---special thanks to tom for telling me about them---

---lol, ---and for his west jet flight privileges-----

p.s. don't forget to check out their Eyeball.fm page.

Eyeball.fm link: The Tunics

alex is having a tall day. he thinks he grew.....wait..GREW??? MORE????? i don't believe it.

Batman, Google, and Turkey

2009-10-13T21:18:00.005-04:00

So, long time no talk it seems....bloggers can take long weekends too tho, right?

3 things to talk about today. In no specific order, and in even less relevance to one another, I shall begin:

1. Thanksgiving. Overall it was an awesome weekend. Partying was good, the food was even better. (juicy turkey that had a lemony way about it, wow, and then green beans cooked with bacon?? probably the best most unexpectedly amazing side dish ever). The only thing that could have been improved this weekend was how I felt after all the partying was done :S

--for the record, after 3 nights of being intoxicated in a row, your insides just decide to hurt. I don't know how, where, or why. But ask alex. Or me. They just do.

----and no, I did not say I am getting too old for this. because I'm not.

2. Batman. Well, my rant is not exactly all about Batman. Its about wow moments on Yonge street downtown Toronto. There is just no dull moment walking down there. There's always someone forcing you into taking a book for a 'donation,' or giving out pamphlets advertising black history month or someone trying to convert you to their religion atop a milk crate. Or in this case, Toronto's very own Batman. I wasn't there to witness this personally, but now that I am a fan on Facebook, I think I will make a point of doing so. These wow moments on Yonge are a two way street tho (no pun intended). But I mean, you see a few, so you have to go make a few. All it requires is making someone passing by think "huh, you don't see that everyday". Like last night, for example. 2am, Lauren Alex and I went to Mcdonalds in our pajamas. Or, one of my better wow moment creations, filming this Psych Project for my friend Jay.

and finally,

3. I stumbled upon something rather interesting this week, and to no surprise whatsoever, Google is yet again responsible -they just have the craziest most useful ideas all the time. Anyways, this time its Google Reader. So it wasn't enough they keep your Youtube, Blogger, and Email accounts all unified, but it also lets you organize your whole internet viewing experience making sure you are up to date with everything important. Let me give a few examples. You (naturally) need to know when I update a new blog post, but you don't always check my facebook page for the link. Google reader will check my blog page for you, and simply let you know when I update it. Essentially, its an 'RSS' feed, for all you technologically slow people out there. (I know 99% of you reading this dont have a blogger account, but just saying--all your blogs you follow on a blogger account are automatically added to this list.) So then, say there's another blog you want to follow that isnt on blogspot.com, say ThingsTakenLitterallyOnAWhiteBoard, you can add that to your list as well. btw, I highly recommending adding that link to your Google Reader page, its good stuff. That being said, I'm not here to tell you what you should add to your own Google Reader page, I'm just getting you started on the right foot. I'll leave it up to you to figure out how it is most useful to serve your interests.

well thats all 3. album of the week will be posted in a few days... altho, I shouldn't have to remind you, because Google Reader will remind you for me. Right?

Good.

-dav-

alex is having a pale day. kinda like, all canadians. all losing their summer tan and turn ghostly white for the winter.

Gob: Muertos Vivos

2009-10-09T21:13:00.007-04:00

Album of the Week #9:

I have a somewhat different style of album for this week. One of those follow up albums everyone makes the same joke about. The whole "that band had their time. they are just back to make money for drugs" joke.

I am, of course, talking about that bands in the 90's that were part of the huge punk wave. Sum 41, Blink 182, Greenday, NOFX...the list goes on. They all have similar stories. Hit the top of the charts in the mid 90's. Continue their success through the millennium change maybe. But then they disappear. Radio stations forget about them. They were only played occasionally, usually on special shows like 'The 90's at 9' or other such examples. (and on a side note, can I comment how intertwined these bands become?? its like a bad sitcom. Members of Gob becoming solid members of Sum 41, Sum 41 marrying Avril Lavigne. Travis Barker playing on Avril Lavigne's new album. Members of this band guest starring in that other bands gig. Etc etc.)

Then, like clockwork, they all start popping back up again. Greenday's "American Idiot", Blink 182's self titled album, Sum 41's "Chuck" and "Underclass Hero", and finally, Gob's 'Muertos Vivos."

Why am I writing about this attempted 'come-back' album from Gob then? Good question. I feel it stands out from the rest. Not because its better, not because I liked it more than the others, but because it was different. It was original. It didn't label the band as a sell out. Greenday is the worst example. They sacrificed their talent of making good music to make popular music. Or maybe they just ran out of decent ideas, and American Idiot was just their attempt at finding themselves again. Whatever the case, I didn't like the outcome. And I mean the follow up "21st Century Breakdown"? Don't even get me started. (I could go on about similar stories about the other bands, but I'm trying to get to the point --and for the record, I actually don't have a problem with Blink 182's self titled album)

So, Gobs Muertos Vivos. It's a whole new sound. The band went away and came back with a completely original idea. They didn't try to re-invent their old sound. They didn't try to stick with their old sound. They simply made something else. And, for me, that is worth acknowledging.

This new sound is a kind of darker genre. The lyrics are a bit more powerful than, say, their 'Give Up The Grudge' phase. The album definitely grows on you if you give it a chance. I'm not saying its the best album on my iPod, but when you are in the right mood, it is definitely up there.

Eyeball.fm link: Gob

Album Singles: We're All Dying, Underground

Dav Suggests: Face the Ashes, Still Feel Nothing

Other Songs (other Albums): Ming Tran, Bully, Everybodies Getting Hooked Up (Foot in Mouth Disease), 144, For The Moment (The World According to Gob)

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! --and can I suggest, for those loong drives home to see family and then again on the loong drive back to school, take a stab at one of my Albums of the Week. Take a pick, give it a listen, and see if you are able to enjoy it like I have. What do you have to lose?

-dav-

alex is having a small ankle day.

Twitter: its big for a reason

2009-10-07T18:00:00.013-04:00

So I'm going out on an edge today and talking about one of todays more controversial topics...

Twitter. Good or bad. --we all have an opinion, I know. The only difference is that I'm the one writing this blog, so this post is about my opinion on the subject.

Over the last few weeks, my view of twitter has been all over the map. Everywhere from thinking it was a stupid site for teens to follow Brittany Spears, to almost coming to terms with it only to decide I couldn't use it because I didn't know enough people on it, to being back thinking it was just a place where people mostly talked about what they are eating, and finally to actually seeing what it is good for. I credit this whole roller coaster to my Emerging Media class.

The turning point for me was realizing that twitter is the cutting edge for accessing new media on the internet. And since the world is becoming more and more reliant on the internet, it is important to keep up with it. Out of personal experience, I have come to the conclusion Twitter is good for sharing interesting links and occasional news articles with your friends. And the Trending Topics are sometimes useful for keeping up with the latest media buzz. The talk in my media class basically said that if you are creative enough with how you use it, a twitter account is a quick way to gain a following. This following could become a priceless network available at your fingertips. Lets be honest, those are some very convincing reasons get onboard with this service. I mean, its free, so what is the worst that can happen??

When you sign up, I'll follow you: http://twitter.com/fyfedawg

Also, if you are new to it, check out this page, it will bring you up to speed on all the twitter language and functions.

Otherwise..what else is new.....oh, I lost my cell phone today. I don't have a home phone line, and alex was out, and had his cell phone with him. So I had no way to call my lost phone. Then I had an idea. What if the internet could phone me? I googled 'call my phone' and the first website that came up was WheresMyCellPhone.com. Sure enough, it asked for my number, and it suddenly called me. Of course my cell phone was just under my chair, but thats besides the point..-The internet just called my cell phone! do you realize the world of possibilities this opens up? Prank calls in particular. And thats just a start.

well thats enough out of me for today. Album of the Week will be posted friday again. Still debating on exactly what album I will talk about. don't worry tho, I have a team of specialists working on it.

well, a team is pushing it. more like two specialists working on it. more specifically yet, my left ear and my right.

ok thats definitely enough out of me now. I am losing readers with each passing word, i just know it..

-dav-

alex is having a sad, jobless, internet flash game addiction day. in his words, pathetic.

The Fratellis: Costello Music

2009-10-03T00:03:00.006-04:00

Album of the Week #8

Wow this is like my third blog this week. I’m popping them out almost as frequently as bad jokes, and for those of you that know me, that is saying something.

Considering my last few blogs have aired on the side of being rather long-winded, I am going [try] to change things up and see how quickly and to the point I can spit this one out.

I’m sure most of you have heard the song Chelsea Dagger. If you haven’t you need to get on that asap. That song is (stop me if I’m wrong) a song that you don’t easily let slip by. It’s presence in a room does not go unnoticed. It brings you along on a journey of carefree musical bliss for 3 minutes and 35 seconds, and leaves you reaching for the replay button. Those of you that have heard it know what I mean.

…and those of you that haven’t, well, you are about to join the cooler half:

YouTube Link: Chelsea Dagger

Don’t stop there though, because the whole album has identical traits. Every single song has that sound to it. The sound that re-defines catchy. The sound that makes you wonder how the world has gone this long without anybody already putting that sequence of notes together. If you liked Chelsea Dagger, and iff I were responsible for distribution of the album, I would put one of those “guaranteed satisfaction or your money back” lines here. Here's the usual link to the Eyeball.fm page as well:

Eyeball.fm link: The Fratellis

The Fratellis, with their debut album Costello Music, released late 2006, has been one of my most listened to albums since it was added to my collection. While pondering what I was going to write about it this week, I first thought I was going to claim it is much like my previously reviewed album ‘Video Sound’ by Winnipeg’s own Waking Eyes. Listening to them back to back though, I realized they had many more differences than I anticipated. While they are both very energetic, catchy and extremely aware of the limitless boundaries of how awesome music can be, this one is a whole different brand. They depend on the chorus of the song to catch your attention, to reel you in. Once they have this attention, you are a lost cause. You’ve hit the point of no return. I’m not trying to scare you off, I’m just telling you my experience, and with any luck, your experience as well.

Short enough for you? No?? haha. Sorry, I guess I can attempt writing a short one next time.

-dav-

and because I am on a plane to Calgary at the moment, all I have is alex’ facebook status to go off of. Apparently, he’s “getting on it”

Film School Project #1: The Maze

2009-09-30T15:45:00.004-04:00

I know all you all clicked this link just because you wanted to watch the video, but I'm gonna make you read my thoughts before I give you the link.

--(just an entertaining side note, but i'm writing this blog in class right now. My justification for it is that my prof is talking about blogs and twitter and all that, so technically I'm working on relevant stuff...right? yeahh, you gotta love media class)

So, we were given two weeks to make our first video project, and I used every single day of those two weeks. Preparation included everything from brainstorming idea's, to working out scene locations, to transferring a few ideas to storyboard form, to having Shanna draw me a mouse (and then printing it on a tshirt), to finding people to act in it, to listening to my ipod for literally a week thinking about what song would be perfect for it. And thats pre-production alone. Then I had to set up shooting times, actually shoot it, edit it, find out some of it needed to be re-shot, reshooting, re-editing etc etc. Much more than you would think for a 90 second video that is going nowhere but to my filmmaking class.

OK, i'll stop, and you watch it. before I influence your open mind and corrupt any chance of a normal opinion. here's the link, and I'll continue my rant after.

YouTube Link: The Maze

My first worry upon completion of this short clip is that it was confusing. Having come up with the idea myself and going through the motions of making it, I knew what I was trying to convey and what the story itself was way too well, so it was hard to judge it from an outside opinion. So far, I have gotten positive feedback tho, in the sense that it was followable. (is that a word?? it should be...)

I know it has that very 'newb' look to it, and is very rough on the edges. At least that was my first opinion when originally threw a draft together in the editing lab. Well, to be honest, my opinion was that I wasn't at all pleased with it. There were a few parts that I re-shot and changed up a bit, but that wasn't the main thing that changed my opinion. What did it for me was the music. Adding the music, and syncing it up so to flow seamlessly with the video is my favorite part about the editing process. I beleive this is where my strength lies, and the overall impact and experience is much more effective because of it. In the past, my (random, not at all rehearsed or planned) videos were created using the songs as a baseline and I put visuals on top that seemed to match. This time, I was working backwards, because I had a set story line and sequence of events that had to be shown, and then I had to mold music to that. Altho a very different process, it turned out equally as good or better. I think so anyway. The clip itself is still somewhat rough, but I thought the music masks that and lets you focus more on what is going on than my shortcomings from lack of experience.

One thing I am actually very happy how it turned out had almost nothing to do with me. It is the tshirt teja is wearing in the video. I asked Shanna (when I first came up with this idea for my project) to draw a mouse from the front, as well as the back. When these drawings came to me the following week, I was completely in shock. They were too perfect. I mean, I have been completely baffled by her skill before, but to actually produce PRECISELY what I was looking for with little explanation on what that was exactly, totally amazed me. I mean, look at these, how much more awesome can it get??

(btw, somewhere in that last paragraph I should have also said thanks to all the people that gave input and ideas over the last two weeks, -lauren -alex -etc. It wouldn't have been what it is without those)

Ok ok I'll get to the end of this, I just have alot to say alright? geez.

so..Where am I going with all this? Basically, I am just surprised it took two weeks to create something so short, so simple, and yet I am not 100% happy with the outcome. I expect over the next 4 years, I will practice and prefect this process, and will become much more comfortable with it. Let me tell you right now, during the hours of actually filming this, I was more flustered and unorganized than I have ever felt, and at the same time, I loved every minute of it.

My next project involves an exchange. That's all I get for guidelines. An exchange. Anything, anywhere, anyone. Maybe throw in a few lines of dialogue, but thats it.

Ideas? Who knows. Give it some thought, pitch your idea in the comment section of this blog, and maybe in 3ish weeks time you will see your idea materialize through me and your name in the credits on a video almost guaranteed to get 2 or 3 hundred hits on YouTube! Its worth a shot. And I'd love to see what you come up with.

Well thats my blog for the day. Album of the week will be posted friday-ish, and it features (one of) my favorite find(s) in the last year or so. (I have to be careful how I word that, because my opinion on these things is very unstable haha)

-dav-

alex, mostly so you know who this 'alex' person is, is having a 'putting a black mouse through a maze' day, if you catch my drift...

A Big Day

2009-09-29T21:31:00.009-04:00

So I have an interesting story, and then I have a story that makes the first one sound like a very boring story. But I think they were the same craziness value. Thats probably just me tho..

Story 1: I was at subway today for lunch. (side note, but weren't pizza subs really good back in the day? i was thoroughly dissapointed in mine today). Anyways, I was washing my hands in the washroom at the back of the store, I turn on the left-side tap, and the water came out cold. I thought, OK, whatever, its just another one of those places that has a bad water system and it takes forever to get hot water. No biggie right?. No. Today was different. A part of me wasn't going to be satisfied with that answer today.

A small C caught my eye when I was turning off this left tap. It didn't click right away....but...isnt the C tap supposed to be on the right side? I sat there wondering if i was going crazy. My first jab at thinking this through was that someone pulled a prank and switched the taps. But then I remembered my unpleasant experience with the cold water. And decided what the hell, there might actually be something going on here. So I reach for the H tap on the right side. I was actually more surprised than you think when hot water came out. It's one of those moments you just have to be there for, and in the right state of mind to be baffled by it. This did make me think tho, how many times have I settled for cold water when the hot water tap might have just been hiding on the other side?? sad...

Ok, now for my second story: Have you ever just sat somewhere and wondered how the hell you got there? I had one of those moments today. One of my bigger ones.

Where was I? A board of directors meeting for Humber college. No joke. An hour beforehand, I would have told you tonight my plan was to go home, upload my new video project onto YouTube, and sit in my chair beside the TV relaxing and having a normal, uneventful night. But instead I shook hands with pretty much every important person there is to know in my college. Deans, presidents of this, heads of that, you name it. I don't think I've ever sat in a room full of so many important people. And they were all just so excited to talk to me. I guess after having a program in the making for two years and finally just now being taught, it's exciting to have a real live specimen (student) to show for it and tell you about it. I was one of only 4 students at this thing. The other 3 were asked by course coordinators to be there two weeks prior, but I was just a last minute sub for someone that was sick. No real reason for me in particular, mostly because I was just in the right place at the right time. I'm still a bit shocked I stood in front of a whole board of directors and talked about the last few years of my life and why I chose film school. Craziness.

Overall it was an interesting night though. I got to know my professors really well, and vice versa. Probably not the worst thing to have happen, considering I'm going to be taught most of them lots over the next 4 years. And to top it all off, we got a free jacket, bag, and amazing meal out of it. Oh yeah, and they paid for our cab ride back to wherever we needed. Sweet deal, I'd say, especially since all I had to do was show up, and talk for a few minutes.

I dunno, personally I think my first story is just as good. Maybe even better. You?

soo, my first film project is done today and is currently being uploaded to youtube. Watch for tomorrows blog, for it will contain links and my ramblings about it. Very exciting.

(btw, i'm not actually as stuck up as i made myself out to be in the first story, pple who actually care if the water is hot or cold are weird. i just thought it made for a good story....right?)

(...you believe me.......right?)

-dav-

alex is having a ginormous day. --influenced by an elevator ride he took with 3 tiny asian girls. the walls in our elevators are covered in mirrors, so his hight over them was staring them in the face any way they looked. makes sense...he is 6'6" afterall. not to mention asain girls are really small, so his wristbone alone was probably twice the size of any two of their ankles.

Treble Charger: Maybe It's Me

2009-09-26T18:13:00.011-04:00

Album of the Week #7:

For the record before I start my blog, make a mental note to yourself. And be honest. If you had to choose one of the following choices, which one is you?

a) oblivious, somewhat stupid

b) averagely knowledgeable, or

c) quite knowledgable. to the point of being an almost know-it-all. I mean this in the best way.

got it? ok, i shall continue.

Now i'm not sure if this trait is common with everybody and they just pretend it never happens, but it happens to me all the time. It's the feeling of stupidity; of actually wondering how much you really know. Usually its brought on by learning something major; learning a seemingly obvious fact. And when you ask around about it, you find that everybody already knew it. Hence the 'seemingly obvious' part of it.

--right now, you are just thinking, "wow, he's admitting being an idiot right in front of me." Well no, wait, keep reading. I'm gonna come out of this spiel on top, just you watch.

K, my theory is it all comes down to how many new things you learn, and the percentage of it that you find interesting. If you are constantly surrounding yourself in a comfortable box, where you have a good idea about everything in it, you feel confident, knowledgeable, and generally smart. On the other end of the scale, you could be surrounded with always new information. Out of that comfort box. But say this information is boring. It sparks little to no interest in you. You aren't going to give it the time of day to process it, let alone have it make you wonder why you didn't know that before. Right? Still with me?

Finally, there is the third scenario. You are out of this comfort box, constantly surrounding yourself with new information. Only difference this time is that you are interested in it. Like, completely soaking it up. Now you give it the time of day. You process it. You let it make you wonder why you weren't aware of it before. Why you didn't look into it earlier.

This feeling, right here, is obliviousness. It is stupidity. .... Think about it. what was your answer at the top of the page?

Phew, that took a lot more words than i was expecting. It was just supposed to be an introduction to my blog today. Don't worry, i'll keep the rest short and sweet.

And because I didn't make the segue as obvious as I was hoping, I'll state it bluntly. I was leading into the fact that I didn't know Treble Charger is Canadian. How crazy is that?? I totally pegged them as American. Altho earlier this week I lost a 5 dollar bet because I pegged Morgan Freeman as a canadian. I really am oblivious :S haha.

So Treble Charger. Album of the week #7. I know what you are thinking. "Treble Charger? Really? Everybody knows them." Yeah yeah, you all know American Psycho and Hundred Million. Don't even lie. I might even give you the benifit of the doubt that you were a 'fan' at one point way back and bought their Detox or Wide Awake Bored albums. But you don't really know Treble Charger. Sure those two albums are not bad, but I can't help but feel a little bit dirty listening to them. I'm gonna say its like having the feeling of 'dirt on your shoulder' in the context that listening to the Backstreet Boys or Jonas Brothers is like having a dumptruck fall on you. Upside down. It's just slightly too pop-punk for me.

But Maybe It's Me, their first major record album released in 1997, has the true Treble Charger sound. Its hypnotizing almost. Calming to say the least. Nice and slow. Nice and simple. Just good quality music to zone out to for an hour. The two newer albums have this same basic sound as well, but theres something about the song structures that feel forced. This album just flows like Treble Charger is supposed to. There are some upbeat songs too, but they are similar enough to stay consistent with the album as a whole. Anyways, they are definitely worth the listen. you really drift off. Try it:

Eyeball.fm link: Treble Charger

This link's sound quality is terrible, but at least you have an idea.

Album Singles: Friend of Mine

Dav Suggests: Red, Mercury Smile, Scatterbrain

Other Songs (on other albums): Drive (Detox), Cheat Away (Wide Awake Bored)

I have tons of things to blog about this week, so watch for them. But this post is long enough, so I will spread the rest out a bit this week.

happy listening.

-dav-

alex is having a day of wearing custom made duct tape clothes. don't believe me? ...

Proof. Haha what a crazy. (this was actually yesterday, but whatever. devils in the details.)

ATTENTION: iPhone App Users

2009-09-21T00:07:00.007-04:00

Quick post tonight. A new type of post. This one is more of a give and take post. I give you a topic to post about, and we all take from your inputs. Don't worry I make my questions simple. Ok? Ok. Lets get on with it.

iPhone Applications: what are hits, and what miss? I'm not one of those pple that have pages and pages of apps to scroll through, but I have a few. Some I haven't really found a use for, but it would be amazing if I ever did, like Mixology (a drink suggesting app) or Rimshot (an app giving your life a sitcom soundtrack if used properly.) If you are drunk, or according to my sister, a 16 year old girl, the best application ever is SmackTalk. I'm not going to say anything about it, because this application you need to discover for yourself. And make sure you are in one of the two mindsets mentioned above (drunk or a 16yr old girl.)

But all that aside, this post is mostly to discover what awesome apps people know of.

I'll start...

The 'must have' app: Bump. Because if you don't, you are a pain in everybodies ass that has it.

The most useful app: Shazam. If i have to explain that one to you, i disallow you to ever read any blog of mine ever again. ever.

And finaly, my favorite 3 games (in this order): 3) Geared, 2)Unblock Me, and 1) Rope'n Fly. The first two are just great strategy games, perfect for those moments you are bored waiting for the bus etc. and then Rope'n Fly because it is just like being spiderman! And spiderman is amazing. Right?

K, one quick mildly entertaining story before I leave you to comment. These apps are ridiculously addicting. So much so, on my way back from the airport tonight, I pulled out Unblock Me to pass the half hour train ride. The best way for you to really understand how ridiculous this story is, I'm going to use a visual aide:

I got on at the BLUE dot, my stop was at the GREEN dot, and I got soo distracted on my iphone that I didnt realise I missed it until the RED dot. 9 stops. Seriously, someone should start making those applications less addicting. Luckily, my phone wasnt charged properly all weekend and died on my way back to the GREEN dot. otherwise, who knows, i'd probably still be on there!

k well thats my part of this. I entertained you, I shared with you. Your turn. If you have an iPhone, lets hear what you found; what you miss train stops for. the 'inputs' button is right down there. like, right below this sentence.. see it??

The Salads: Fold A to B

2009-09-17T20:27:00.009-04:00

Album of the Week #6:

6? I've been doing this for 6 weeks already?? I'm surprised this has lasted so long without someone telling me to get over my bias obsession with random bands and albums that, for the most part, are not overplayed on the radio and get a life. Oh well, in that case, I shall continue having fun hearing the sound of my own voice, or, fingers typing rather..

..you know what I mean.

This weeks album is a feel good album. No, not in a lame way, like rainbows and happy squirrels in a park, but feel good album in the sense that listening to it puts you in a good mood no matter what. What, this isnt enough for you to go out and try it by just saying that? I'm not selling drugs here, I'm inviting you to listen to music! Much cheaper. Much more rewarding. Much legaller too I might add. Still not sold?

Ok. The lyrics are generally a party, 'have fun' type of message. The tunes are catchy enough to make anybody want to move even a bit. It just invites you into this world where no one is around and you are just nodding your head or airdrumming at the back of the bus. When the song ends, however, you open your eyes and pretend all those people aren't looking at you. Not that I have any experience with this. But it happens.

Eyeball.fm link: The Salads

Their second album, Fold A to B, is by far their best album. Up until today when I was getting my facts straight on wikipedia, I had no idea they had a first album. Hmm, perhaps I shall look into this now...

Anyways, back on point. Fold A to B was released back in 2003, and since then, has had major success on movie soundtracks (Eurotrip), TV comercials (labatte blue), and obviously, canadian music charts. I stumbled across one of their shows last year when they opened up for Gob in Toronto, and they totally stole the show! I now understand why their album is so happy. The lead singer, Darren Dumas (or Mista D as he calls himself in the songs) is probably one of the happiest looking people I have ever seen. Seriously, look how big his smile is:

They just don't come happier than that. He was like that the WHOLE show, just having a blast. But yeah, for a garanteed good time, go listen to the Salads. I usually want to put this for every album I write about, but I actually am going to say it for this one. When you listen to it, really pay attention to the drums. They are so amazing (like in 'Who's that Kat', or 'Forever & A Day'), and it will enhance your experience.

Album Singles: Get Loose, The Roth Kung Fu

Dav Suggests: Who's That Kat?, Forever & A Day, Whachewlookinah?!

Other Songs (on other Albums): Growing up (The Big Picture)

Thats my blog for today. Oh, and if any of you are interested, there is a brand new word in the world:

Muffin Hater - anything distracting on TV that prevents you from eating a muffin. For example, you are playing Gears of War. While it loads, you attempt to eat your muffin beside you. Mid-muffin eating, it loads and everything starts shooting at you. Here, you are forced to completely drop anything you are doing (aka eating your muffin) and run for cover. The bad guys shooting at you are the previously mentioned Muffin Haters.

True story. So much so, that I am putting it on urbandictionary.com as soon as I post this. And that makes it official!

k, well before I lose my train of thought (damn that sneaky train, always getting away) I'm off to do that now.

Until next time

-dav-

alex is having a muffin-hater hating day