tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95709672024-03-13T11:04:18.029-07:00PauleywoodIt's been a long time coming but finally I have a cool blog that I can call my own. Most people reading will already know who I am. Discussions of hip hop and life will usually take place here when I have things to talk about.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-88433370033057467492011-01-03T15:44:00.000-08:002011-01-03T16:12:25.648-08:00Some Music to enjoy.<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/l5VaRSEvq8U?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/l5VaRSEvq8U?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />It's a Shame was one of a few hit's that Motown group the Detroit Spinners had in the 60's and early 70's. Probably their biggest hit and also an early indication of the songwriting talent of Stevie Wonder who wrote the song for the group with then-fiance Syreeta Wright. Some more info on the song can be found <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Shame_%28The_Spinners_song%29"><span style="font-weight:bold;">here</span></a>.<br /><br />Moving into Sports, it is interested to look at the attendance figures for NHL and compare them across the board with NBA games. In Vancouver we hear no end of talk about how bad the NHL is doing against the other big sports in the U.S.A. Well if you look at the numbers between the NHL and NBA (the closest thing to compare to) the NHL looks pretty good. In the NBA the Bulls are averaging 21,500 fans a game through the first 30 games or so. At the bottom we have the Nets averaging around 13,000. In the NHL we have the Canadiens averaging 21,200 with the NYI (who are wose than dirt) at 10,000. In the NHL we have 12 teams operating at 100% (or over) for Capacity with another 7 teams at 95% or higher. In the NBA only 7 teams reach the magic 100% with 7 teams hitting in and around the 95% mark. Now this doesn't go into the Television ratings or ticket prices and such, but it's a encouraging sign to see, particularly in a lot of U.S. markets like Chicago, Philly, and Minnesota that the NHL is beating it's NBA cousins. Keep up the good work. This article appeared about a month ago on the yahoo<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/NHL-vs-NBA-Hockey-winning-in-attendance-fan-e?urn=nhl-123904"> blog.</a>Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-16591804690943674192011-01-03T04:00:00.001-08:002011-01-03T04:31:38.081-08:00Looking Back on 2010As a Canadian and especially as a Vancouverite, 2010 was memorable for the obvious little function that happened in February. The 2010 Winter Olympics were here in Vancouver and Canada proceeded to do what they never could do before....Win! That's right, Canadian athletes not only won gold on home soil for the first time ever (a long time embarassment for us) but proceeded to win a record 14 Gold medals for a single Winter Olympics. That's pretty good. Now I know Canada didn't win the most medals overall, but the debate starts with how do you judge a victor? I think the benchmark is total Gold not medals, not to mention the Americans have 10 times as many people as us.<br /><br />Canada brought it in music too. You may not like these artists or you may love em, the fact is Canada tore it up on a lot of levels. Call it the Candian invasion.....we had some critically aclaimed acts make international inroads this year like Broken Social Scene, Wolf Parade, Shad, and Caribou. K-Os and K'Naan were pretty large this year, with K'Naan's Wavin Flag becoming the official song for the Fifa World Cup. Drake was one of the biggest mainstream artists in any genre to drop all year. The Arcarde Fire hit #1 on the Billboard Charts and continued to cement their critical legacy with the Suburbs hitting most of the best of lists for the year. Michael Buble is still holding it down for the wet coast. Deadmaus, was the year's electronic sensation. It's not hard to say that in just about every genre of music Canada held it's own and more on the international stage. And of course there is Justin Beiber......love him or hate him he was everywhere for teen girls to oggle over. Definitely not my steez but little girls need there cute sex symbols just like guys need their Playboy magazines....or something like that. Either way Canada rocked in whatever you wanted....we provided. Your Welcome.<br /><br />Which brings me to my little rant and it's about a month too late. The Grey Cup in this country had BTO perform at the halftime show. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't they play there a few years ago, and didn't the Guess Who also play not too long ago. With all the talent Canada is serving up do we really have to drag out these old fossils for the official party. Some variety would be nice....heck even Rush would be a welcome change. It seems that if we decide to do anything offical its BTO, Spirit of the West, Blue Rodeo (whom I quite like) and Loverboy. Give us K-Os, give us the Arcade Fire, give us the Tragically Hip, give us K'Naan, Rush, and Shad.....let's give the old horses a rest. and no we don't want Simple Plan or Hedley either....I'd rather take 48 hours in an isolation chamber with Nickelback cranked to 11 than have them represent my country at one of these events. Peace...til next time. Happy 2011.......long life for all and the end of the 15 minutes for Kesha and Gaga.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-65877304495098574942010-10-04T16:53:00.000-07:002010-10-04T18:19:07.140-07:00Sufjan Stevens - The Age of AdzIs out for the general public in all good record shops and Itunes on October 12th but that doesn't mean that you have to wait to hear exactly what Mr. Stevens has been doing for the past 5 odd year since the release of his last "proper" album Illinoise. You can listen to the album <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130049247#playlist">here</a>.<br /><br />Essentially to sum up the record it is an egcentric mix of electronic sounds, skittering drum loops, and casio lines with the classic layered instrumentation that defined his classic work on Michigan and Illinoise. It's a bit hard to chew and will definitely divide fans over it's merits. For some it'll be a little too straighforward (I heard a few people compare the single "I Walked" to Owl City), and yet for others too eclectic (If you can even use that term in comparison to his past work). A lot of people would be happy to see Illionoise Pt 2 (or was that Avalanche). Sorry, but Illinoise it ain't, but it's still a very good record. I heard one person call this Sufjans Kid A if Illinoise was his Ok Computer. Lastly 11 songs ranging from 2 to 25 minutes might make this an daunting task.<br /><br /><strong>Futile Devices</strong><br />Might be the prettiest thing on here. A simple guitar loop is augmented by a piano and nice vocals. The only knock against it is that it is too short at 2:13. I would of be nice to see him build this up a little more. 8/10<br /><br /><strong>Too Much</strong><br />The electronic production begins here with watery blips and casio synths layered over the loop. It's a nice song but with a melody similar to fireflies by Owl City isn't gonna help to prevent unfair comparisons. There is just too much (forgive the pun) here to dismiss as teeno (teen/emo) pop, particularly at the end when he launches the whole arrangement into outer space (perhaps literally). 7/10<br /><br /><strong>The Age of Adz</strong><br />An epic journey through the career of Sufjan. The drum loops and synth blips are here, but this is secondary to the horns, epic angelic vocals, and whatever else Sufjan throws into 8 minutes of epic chamber pop. Can't really describe it more than that, you gotta listen. 10/10 <br /><br /><strong>I Walked</strong><br />The lead single that was released a month ago. It's a fine song....catchy enough. It's pretty straightforward for a Sufjan song with a basic electronic loop and Sufjan vocalizing over top. 6/10<br /><br /><strong>Now That I'm Older</strong><br />I think classic Disney cartoons like Bambi when I here this....especially with the vocals floating over the top of the arrangement. Then Sufjan warps it into a lament so perhaps Bambi and Thumper just met their maker. 8/10<br /><br /><strong>Get Real, GetRight</strong><br />Another electronic track with nice flourishes over the top. Let's face it, if you don't like what you've heard so far there isn't gonna be too much here to convince you otherwise. I'm looking for a hook on this and can't really find it....it just kind of meanders on. The scenesters will eat it up. 5/10<br /><br /><strong>Bad Communication</strong><br />Not much happens here really and I'm kind of glad it's only 2:24. A skip track for me. Think "I Walked" slowed down and no drum loop with freaky vocals around it. 3/10<br /><br /><strong>Vesuvius</strong><br />A nice acoustic number that builds the electronic elements in later to compliment it. Helps to restore the album after the past two weaker songs. 8/10<br /><br /><strong>All For Myself</strong><br />I really like this song, so much that I may sample the opening choral. Still very electronic but a great hook, melody, and wonderful acoustic elements make this memorable. 10/10<br /><br /><strong>I Want to be Well</strong><br />The drums although heavily distorted drive the song forward which makes this a nice and lively number. It would be nice if a hook was here. I really don't understand what is wrong with having nice hooks in a song....are we afraid of selling out or something. The build at the end is very good. 8/10<br /><br /><strong>Impossible Soul</strong><br />At 25 minutes this is more of a mini-suite rather than a song. It meanders through electric pop, to lush synth melodies, to balladry, to a full blown scenester rave up, before settling into a nice acoustic ending. Hard to rate it on first listen because it's a mammoth of a thing. I will say it held my interest for most of it, which is a plus. 7/10<br /><br />So in whole "The Age of Adz" is an interesting listen. One that might not totally come together on one, two, or even a dozen listens....if at all. I like the album from a first listen overall, but I'm not in love with it. Credit to Sufjan for trying to do different things with this album and such and when it works....more often than not it's a great ride. 7/10Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-48149197570604607122010-09-13T15:09:00.000-07:002010-09-13T16:24:33.940-07:00It's been a summer!......and summer mainstay T.V show Entourage wrapped up it's final episode of season 7 last night and was it a doozy. For those of you that have yet to see it, or are still working on the series ***warning spoilers***.<br /><br />Anyway, with season 7 down and one shortened season 8 to go I'm not sure how we are gonna pull out of the behemoth of a gutter that Vincent Chase and his entourage are in at the moment. Between Vincent, Eric, and Ari there are some serious questions left unresolved, but lets at least focus on the positives for the season.<br /><br />Throughout the series it seems that Johnny Drama has had opportunity, only to through it away on stupid decisions. The guy that should know better has been, at times, the most unfocused, immature, and self centered. Well in season 7 Drama had a lot of growing up to do and did so admirably. So much so that I actually like the guy, which was hard for me to do during seasons 1-6. He's been cast in a potential hit cartoon show and, where it seems responsibility is totally lacking in Vincent's situation, is actually the guy who shows the most genuine concern over his brother's personal problems. He's the one that organizes the intervention and the one to come to his defence at the eminem party. I see him continuing to be his own man in season 8 with possibly a relationship in the works (courtesy of Eric's secretary Jennie). With season 1 having him as a broke out of work actor living off of Vince's charity, these two characters are in strong position to switch roles when the show wraps after season 8.<br /><br />Although, I wondered about the storyline Turtle has had room to flex his business savvy and it seems for the time being all is well, with his Tequila business prospects being saved and in a relationship with hottie Alex. Of course in the interest of drama he will find some way to screw it up in season 8, but for now all is good.<br /><br />You thought all was well for Eric come season 6, but all is not right with E after the events of season 7. Vince's troubles not-withstanding, the guy has been pulled into a turf war at his place of employment. His storyline ends with him agreeing to participate in a company coup, something that I have a feeling will backfire come season 8. Not to mention his relationship with Sloan is on some rocky ground after she let slip about Vince's problems to her father (Ari's former boss Terrance).<br /><br />Ari has taken blow after blow this year as we see him on top of the world episode 1, and a complete wreck of a man come the finale. Through mostly no fault of his own forces have conspired to strike at what Ari prizes the most, his family. Last night we see Ari and Mrs. Ari on the verge of splitting, with Mrs. Ari needing some time away. I see reconciliation in the future but it looks like he gonna have to choose between his empire of an agency and his family. Not to mention Vince's problems that overshadow the entire story arc.<br /><br />Unlike Ari whose unfortunate turn of events was largely outside of his control, Vince's problems have been entirely self-inflicted and is a question of how fast can you throw your career away. Unlike the previous Vince career crisis in season 5, in which he was dealing with professional insecurities, this season has focused more on the personal. Vince has always had his issues mind you, he parties a little too hard and sleeps with just about any girl he meets but this is different. Vince was always the cool one able to be calm and relaxed through any circumstance. This year we saw him slowly go unhinged to the point of very serious issues now affect his personal and professional career.<br /><br />On the personal side, we see Vince's drug habit spiralling out of control through the season. Again he's smoked his weed and done shrooms in the past, but this is different. It clearly seems that he's got a problem with Cocaine and also a serious drinking problem to. I do feel that on a personal side that his issue may well be an odd play out of the empty nest syndrome. Vince was always the guy to his friends (entourage), the provider, the de-facto leader (even though E was his manager). During the past few season we've seen Eric become a player in Hollywood management outside of Vince's career (not to mention he is getting married), Johnny star on a hit T.V. show, Turtle open his own business, and even Ari becoming a huge star in the agent game. When he has his pissy fit "screaming you guys need me more than I need you" in last night's episode, it is really the exact opposite. He really is asking "were are you guys when I need you". Of course Vince is too much the man to admit it, and all his abandonment issues he soaks up with Tequila and Coke to the point where he realises in his warped moving star sense that all is not right. The question is whether or not it's too late.<br /><br />On the professional side we see Vince covered in blood after getting his ass handed to him by Eminem in a fight hence seriously putting his film project Airwalker (a movie that would have been Vince's biggest payday) in jeopardy. The cocaine issue has now involved the law as Vince is busted for coke. With the mess of things to clear up he has just blacklisted himself in Hollywood for a very long time, not to mention possible jail time. This story could play itself out on many different levels. Best outcome is that Vince rises up from the ashes and becomes an A list actor/movie star again. Worst outcome is we find Vince dead in a hotel room Ala Heath Ledger. I tend to think that it will end up somewhere in the middle in that Vince loses his star appeal and becomes an ordinary guy again, but realizes that his friends are all there for them because they are friends and not hangers on. <br /><br />So for future predictions to where the cast will be come the final episode of season 8.<br /><br />Drama - Will be the buzz of the television world as his new cartoon "Johnny's Bananas" becomes a huge success leading to a lucrative career in voice work, and he will also get his own late night show. Not to mention he will sell part of his stake in "Johnny Drama's Pub" in Queen's to Turtle.<br /><br />Turtle - Will lose his investment in Avion Tequila though some shady business dealings with Mark Cuban and eventually take the money and become partners with Drama in the Pub business.<br /><br />Eric - I just sense that Eric will be the best off. He will continue to be Drama's manager through all of his success and will marry Sloan. The business coup will be partially unsuccessful but Eric and new business partner Scott Lavin will form a new management group that will be successful.<br /><br />Ari - Will sell out his stake in Millar-Gold for a large sum of money realizing that power does not match a loving family. He will reconcile with his wife and kids and go into semi-retirement...while working as a consultant for Eric on the side.<br /><br />Vince - Will sober up and realize who his friends are. He will also go into retirement and find a nice girl and settle down. Possibly he finds religion in the process too. With that he ends up working as a bartender in "Dramas" and living off whatever money he has left from his acting career....biding his time until he can make his comeback (that will be for the movie).<br /><br />as for the bit players<br /><br />Lloyd will be at Millar Gold and eventually become the new head of the TV department thanks to Johnny's success.<br /><br />Billy Walsh will become a very successful film director again and will at some point be instrumental in orchestrating Vince's comeback with a juicy role in a successful film.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-12475875343251130242010-09-09T00:40:00.000-07:002010-09-09T01:13:04.038-07:00Vancouver 2010 DVD set reviewSo here it is. A Chance to relive memories of february when the world came to my hometown. For a slick 60CAD you can purchase this 5 DVD set and keep this memento of perhaps the most exciting event to come to this part of the world since Expo 86.<br /><br />I have yet to watch a lot of it, but it is nice to see Charles Hamlin winning double gold, or Jasey Jay Anderson. I will point out some caution before you decide whether or not to buy.<br /><br />1.) Performances are heavily edited involving generally Canadians in contention and immediate competition. I actually didn't mind this too much because really do we want to see some Joe Somebodyvich from Latvia skiing moguls (prolly not). However they could have given the Canadians a little more screen time in the process. Whole races/events are explained in a matter of seconds with the pivotal gold medal matchup the only thing shown in full a lot of the time (and sometimes not even that). With all the focus they seem to give on the medal ceremony, can they maybe edit a minute or two out of that and show us a few more minutes of the actual event?<br /><br />2.) If your buying it for opening and closing ceremonies BE WARNED. Again the opening ceremonies are heavily edited. I haven't seen the closing ceremonies yet, btu I'm sure it is heavily edited as well. Again can we forego the pomp and circumstance of speeches and Canada "Blah" this and "Blah" that and actually show more of the actual performance. The only place where the edits actually worked in favour of the viewer was during the always tedious Parade of Nations. Also no commentary (not even an option).<br /><br />3.) No skips or chapter split on the events. This is especially true during the opening and closing ceremonies. Edited as they are, they still each come in at around an hour, a long time for no chapter breaks, particularly if West Coast First Nations dancing really is not your thing.<br /><br />4.) The opening theme song. You know the one by that nice teenage girl with the killer voice. Love or hate the song, you'll have it played to death both in fanfare format, and in pop version. I understand it's your network song, but can we not have it beaten to death on every menu option or in every highlights package.<br /><br /><br />With the nostalgia factor pretty high for Canadians and especially Vancouverites, this DVD set will bring back warm memories either way and sell loads of copies. It's too bad however that CTV took the scissors to the tape and edited a lot of the life out of it. If they were so concered with time constrants on each disc they should of added an extra disc. The opening and closing ceremonies are the most disapointing of the proceedings and if your buying for that purpose along I would say pass and see if you can find a nice torrent to download the full broadast. Here is hoping that an unedited version is around the corner.<br /><br />Nostalgia Factor A+<br />DVD Package DPauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-62485163045356058582010-07-31T19:14:00.000-07:002010-07-31T19:31:38.436-07:00Random Bits and Pieces of InformationTaking summer off has been a little interesting. Actually I've been busy working and really haven't had the time to collect my thoughts together for the blog. Short posts would be good I know but I get these grandiose Ideas about what I want to post but can't really seem to get them together. Anyways, a few things about what has been on my radar for the summer so far and what is to come.<br /><br />Summer means a new season of Entourage, which I think is brilliant for several reasons. One, the guest cameos it has from everybody in the business and the stereotypes it allows them to work with. For instance the recurring guest spots that Seth Green pulls on the show playing an asshole incarnation of himself are great (I don't know, maybe he really is an asshole in real life). Last weeks episode with John Stamos and Johnny Drama going at it in Ping Pong was awesome because I used to love Full House as a kid and will always love Ping Pong.<br /><br />The other reason why I love the show is that the wide variety of music that they use is great. I have discovered some great music just by watching the show. Clearly the guys responsible for clearing the music have a clue. Even if it is poppy music, the music seems to fit the mood at all times.<br /><br />The only thing that has never happened yet is the fact that a Vincet Chase sex tape has never leaked. You figure that with the amount of ass thing guy gets that a sex tape episode dealing with the PR fallout would be a must. Well, wait no more because apparently an upcoming episode in season 7 will deal with a encounter of an explicit nature involving Mr. Chase and porn star Sasha Gray.<br /><br />Slum Village's latest album has just been release and in sparing listens so far it is good. Slum Village has been the group that just couldn't cut a break. Flashback 12 or so year when I first started hearing about this dude Jay Dee who had produced the Pharcyde and Tribe Called Quest. Then Fantastic Volume 2 drops and I am hooked. Jay Dee (now going by Dilla) bails shortly after and the tumultuous history of Slum Village descends further into chaos. Original members freak out and go crazy, Dilla and Baatin both pass away within a matter of years of each other. It might be on of the saddest tales in Hip Hop, but they endured to leave us a legacy of 6 great albums with Villa Manifesto (with contribution from all the members past and present, living and desceased here) just dropped. Gonna peep it this weekend.<br /><br />Anyways, that's all I got. Peace til next time.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-57319712687304213272010-06-21T14:43:00.000-07:002010-06-21T14:53:46.744-07:00The Drake DilemmaIs there room in this world to appreciate Drake for what he is? Is he good, ok, terrible...etc. I've heard many things to describe him from those attacking his street cred to his singing style to his rapping style, but I have also heard begrudged respect coming from all corners of the underground.<br /><br />So is liking Drake a question of selling out or did something happening to the mainstream to move it closer to the underground. I don't know, all I know is that Drake released a pretty good album....or at the very least an interesting listen.<br /><br />So what about this mainstream vs. underground mentality. Well the two exist on opposite ends of the spectrum. If a certain style of hip hop is common that generally means that another style is being marginalized and therefore "underground". The fact that the underground is a response to what is happening in the mainstream seals the deal. If singing/moody hip hop is mainstream then lyrically focused old school beats hip hop will be underground. If mainstream is about money and hoes, then the underground is about broke/no girls. I know this sounds pretty dumbed down and it is to a certain extent, but you get the idea i'm saying.<br /><br />So does Drake suck because he is mainstream and as someone in the underground we are programmed to hate the mainstream, or does Drake suck simply because he sucks. One thing I know for sure....he's got a few underground heads thinking.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-72698950313926127352010-06-13T22:44:00.001-07:002010-06-13T23:39:23.824-07:00Ranking the U2 albumsHard for me because I think all of them are great so don't get mad if your favourite is not ranked highly or whatever. It doesn't mean it sucks or anything.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Great</strong><br /><br /><strong>Achtung Baby:</strong> Spin ranked this album #1 for best albums of the last 25 years over Nevermind and Ok Computer. At the time U2 was washed up, your older sibling's group. Then this drops with it's industrial edge and electronic tendancies and still holds up today. It has perhaps the greatest U2 anthem "One", grooviest single "Mysterious Ways", plus some killer album cuts "Acrobat" and "Ultraviolet".<br /><br /><strong>The Unforgettable Fire:</strong> Like with Achtung Baby, U2 were looking for a new sound. Enter Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois who pushed U2 into making the moody ambient record that they had been trying for a while. It is for some the rough blueprint of what they would accomplish with Joshua Tree, but Unforgettable Fire has a more interesting feel and subdued. U2 after dark so to speak.<br /><br /><strong>Boy:</strong> What a debut! For a band that could barely play their instruments at the time this album wails like the best punk rock records do, but there is definitely something more than 3 chords and the truth on here. U2 had this innate sense of the lound/quiet dynamic even at this early stage. "Out of Control" is an early highlight with "Twilight" dark and brooding. With all the hits of the following years to choose from, the fact that U2 still make a point of regularly playing stuff off this album is a testament to it's greatness.<br /><br /><strong>How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb:</strong> Vertigo was probably the best single they've put out in years and the whole album is finely crafted anthemic rock. Bono is definitely in save the world mode here, and the group proves that U2 isn't ready for the scrap heap yet.<br /><br /><strong>Good</strong><br /><br /><strong>Zooropa:</strong> Perhaps the most misunderstood U2 record, and not really pop material. Let's see, we have an almost 7 minute electro funk ode to a lemon, another electronic gospel hymn sung by the late Johnny Cash, and a lead single that doesn't feature Bono but rather the Edge in some weird hypnotic rap. It was so weird that when I first heard it I couldn't believe that it was U2 that had done it. U2 were really free to do as they pleased at the time and took Achtung Baby further and debunked the U2 myth. It seems like each one of the songs do a little bit at tearing down what U2 had done to date and in the end a subdued masterpice is born.<br /><br /><strong>War:</strong> U2 really needed to come up big for this record. The first couple albums had done ok but there was crisis along the way. This was a band on the verge of breakup and in the end they were able to channel that energy into their first mainstream success. Many of the songs you know such as "New Years Day" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" but the album's strength in in the fact that there is very little filler. U2 would follow this with the live at Red Rocks concert video where Bono really steps into his own as a frontman.<br /><br /><strong>The Joshua Tree:</strong> It's been called many things but it is still their mainstream high point. Lot's of great songs on here and some that have been played so much you may never want to hear them again. Side A is the hits starting with "Street Have No Name" still U2's finest moment. "Bullet the Blue Sky" may be U2's heaviest number predating something that Rage Against the Machine would do years later. Side B has some nice songs and a few clunkers, not a perfect album, but you can't deny its legacy.<br /><br /><strong>No Line on the Horizon:</strong> Their most recent album is a more expiremental affair similar to The Unforgettable Fire. It has great anthemic moments but in the end quiets down and becomes very inward looking. Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois are brought in a full time songwriters on this one and you can hear the results in something like Fez/New Born that had Eno stamped all over it.<br /><br /><strong>For the Fans</strong><br /><br /><strong>Pop:</strong> U2 have admitted that they didn't have enough time with this record and went to the trouble of recording a number of the songs for the Best of the 90's compilation. That is the difference with Zooropa. Zooropa was a no pressure exercise in trying to create something...where as Pop had a booked tour waiting for them. Some great moments on this record but it is usually when U2 stray away from the electronic sounds and get back to just creating good songs.<br /><br /><strong>October:</strong> Another hasty situation with a religious dynamic brought into the mix. Bono and company where heavily into evangelic christianity at the time which alienated non-christian bassist Adam Clayton and Manager Paul McGuiness. Add to it the old notion that you have all life to write your first record and two weeks for your second and this album falls a little short. Even the good songs are lacking something here. In the end it is U2's least accepted album and virtually hitless.<br /><br /><strong>All That You Can't Leave Behind:</strong> A little bit of a mess of a record. I don't know, a lot of people like it I guess. Songs like "Walk On", "Elevation", and "New York" are strong. Heck I even like "Beautiful Day" but songs like "Grace", "Peace on Earth", and "Wild Honey" may be some of the worst songs they have ever done. The skip track quotient is high on this one.<br /><br /><strong>Rattle and Hum:</strong> U2 got a little corny with this one, not intending to. It turns out everyone was laughing at them instead of with them because we all know the 80's U2 members never ever laughed. A hodgpodge of live tracks and studio recordings that total over 70 minutes leave a lot for the listener to get into, but not a lot really sticks. Most of the new studio songs are hit and miss, and the live songs have been done better. Two exceptions with the studio songs, the song Heartland which is lovely, and "All I Want is You" that closes the album on a high note. Of the live tracks "Silver and Gold" was a nice live rendering on a Joshua Tree B-side that prolly should have deserved better justice.<br /><br /><strong>Other U2</strong><br /><br /><strong>Under a Blood Red Sky:</strong> A strong live mini-album that highlights the early material. Worth Checking out in the special edition pack with the "Live and Red Rocks" DVD.<br /><br /><strong>Passengers:</strong> U2 and Eno and several others work together on several ambient instrumentals along with a few interesting songs. The best known track from here is Miss Sarajevo. Other songs are the wonderfully seductive "Your Blue Room" and the interesting Bono rap "Elvis ate America". When this album came out it wasn't advertised as U2 and hence has become their worst selling affiliated album. Definitely not for the average fan, but for the completist it is worth tracking down, though you can probably find a few in second hand record shops.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-34976484615226572692010-06-12T23:19:00.000-07:002010-06-12T23:36:55.706-07:00You and U2It seems things haven't been going particularly well these past few weeks for U2 despite the release of their commemorative 360 Degree Tour Concert Film. First up came the news that Bono hurt his back and U2 had to cancel their tour, then this past week came the news that U2 producer and collaborator Daniel Lanois was seriously hurt in a motorcycle crash (PS Get well soon). Then today Adam Clayton has sued U2's accountant for mishandling the group's funds. This might be reading into things a little bit but if this was a group problem then the group would deal with it. In the end it looks like Adam might be at odds with the rest of the group on this issue. Top off the "in development hell" spiderman musical and it has been a spring to forget for the world's biggest rock band.<br /><br />The good news is the release of the concert filmed at the Rose Bowl in October. Now I actually haven't seen the film yet, but I did attend the Vancouver show and also saw the youtube broadcast of the Rose Bowl concert and it should be fabulous. If you saw the 360 tour then you know what i'm talking about, if you had tickets to the North American tour this summer it will tide you over till next year.<br /><br />Also in the meantime we have been promised new music soon from the group. There is this little album called "Songs of Ascent" that has been in gestation for the past year. Perhaps this little touring setback will allow the boys to go into studio and finish up this record. Also, apparently there is another record out their of songs recorded with Rick Rubin, and the Spiderman soundtrack...whenever that comes out.<br /><br />For a hint of things to come we have the officially released version of "Soon" that is familiar to fans that attended the 360 tour as the song they took the stage too. Here it is in all it's recorded beauty. It's short, much like an intro to another song but the ambience to it is awesome.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xRL9FbJXVXM&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xRL9FbJXVXM&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-84885396872640749802010-06-11T09:04:00.001-07:002010-06-11T10:31:07.087-07:00World Cup Soccer Timeor Football if you are outside North America.<br /><br />It's one of those things where the world stops every four years and goes bonkers for the one truly international game in the world. One just has to look at the fifa soccer rankings to see how many countries, territories, and principalities have soccer federations. When the final game is played in a little more than a month, an estimated audience of 2-3 billion people will be watching. The opening match just ended with South Africa and Mexico playing to a 1-1 draw but the big story was the sound of the fans. You know those annoying plastic horns that inevitably someone has brought to a sporting event. Well try 60000 of those, a never stopping humming, like a swarm of bees ready to attack. It Must be nerveracking for any opposition. Anyway, I'm down for breaking the tournament down which I will attempt to do here. P.S. I am an England and Hollad fan if that means anything.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Big Guns:</span><br />You know the ones, each of these teams have a legitimate chance every year and most have won it before. One thing to note about these big gun is that one will win it all and one will flame out in the first round (please let it be Italy).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Spain (Rank 2)</span><br />Spain is considered the best team in the world to never have won the world cup and have traditionally looked good only to break down at key moments in past tournaments. However, with a win in the 2008 Euro many people believe that Spain have the monkey off their backs and can finally shake the tag of best of the nevers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Brazil (Rank 1)</span><br />Like Canada and hockey, the world cup for the past 50 years has traditionally been Brazil's to lose. Brazil is loaded with a creative offence and might just have the goaltending to do it as well this year. With appearances in 3 of the past 4 final games (and winning 2 of them), they look to be a lock to get there again.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Germany (Rank 6)</span><br />Like Brazil the German's have delivered on the biggest stage time and time again. Although they haven't won since 1990, they have frequently made it into the final 4 in both the Euro and World Cups since then. Look for them to get at least that far, after that it remains to be seen.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Holland (Rank 4)</span><br />The biggest knock on the Dutch is the level of talent vs. killer instinct. The Dutch have tons of swagger when it comes to style, but when push comes to shove time and time again they just can't deliver. Playing a good team game and cooling the egos that have been a problem for them in the past will go a long way in helping the Dutch out of the "Best Nevers" catagory.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">France (Rank 10)</span><br />It's been 12 years since France won the world cup on home soil, and many of the stars of that team are retired or over the hill. Still, France surprised a few people when they made it all the way to the finals last time out. They can either fold over and choke or pull of a stunning run. You really can't tell with them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Italy (Rank 5)</span><br />As much as I don't like Italian soccer, I recognise the success of the program. Four World Cup wins, second to Brazil is the proof of that. Also, they are the defending champions. While I don't think they can pull of the repeat, they do have the easiest draw out of all the top guns, so it is possible.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">England (Rank 8)</span><br />England is home to perhaps the best league in the world, so you would think that they would do more at the national level. England does have a lot to prove having missed qualifying for the Euro in 2008, and their qualifying for this cup has seemed to address the urgency of performing well. The fans want nothing more than this team to succeed to put to bed the chants of 66 (the last time England won the world cup).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Argentina (Rank 7)</span><br />Home to perhaps the greatest soccer player right now (Messi), and another soccer god coaching (Maradona), Argentina always plays tough and does well. Will it be enough to get them over the top to their 3rd cup win? Well they have as good a shot as any.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Portugal (Rank 3)</span><br />Placed in the group of death with Brazil is not kind to the Portugese who have traditionally come close, but no cigar. Ronaldo is their difference maker, and maybe this is the year, but I kind of hope not.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Teams in the Mix</span><br />These team are good, usually good enough to qualify into the round of 16 and further, but are just not quite there historically to go the distance.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">USA (Rank 14)</span><br />It's still relatively early in the development of American soccer, really only coming to prominence since 1994. With the MLS taking on a legit soccer status, it remains to be seen how long it will be when the Americans will go all the way. It's only a matter of time and money. This year it's still a little too soon. A final 8 will be a good show for this squad.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chile (Rank 15)</span><br />A lot of people have proclaimed Chile a dark horse in this tournament. A good junior squad years ago have graduated into the senior program that may surprise. Do they have the guns to win it all? Probably not, but they might take a few of the traditional powers down along the way to a final 8.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Uraguay (Rank 18)</span><br />Uraguay has won two cups, but really hasn't been a soccer power in well over 50 years. They still have some surprises, and continue to deliver, but a tough draw might leave them on the outside looking in when the final 16 comes around.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mexico (Rank 17)</span><br />It seems that Mexico should be a lot better than they are, but for some reason they've never really delivered on the world stage. Placed in the same draw with Uraguay and France, they are gonna have to knock one of those two teams out to get to the final round of 16. With a 1-1 draw against 90th ranked South Africa, they didn't do themselves any favours.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Greece (Rank 12)</span><br />Greece came out of nowhere to win the 2004 Euro so they have the ability to surprise. Will they be able to put it together for another miracle run in 2010? Probably not and a draw with Argentina and Nigeria, not to mention 2002 semi finalists South Korea will make this a tough tournament for them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Slovenia (Rank 23)</span><br />Solid enough to do well. I don't know a lot about them, but will battle with England and the USA in pool C. A final 16 is not likely, however you never know.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Nigeria (Rank 20)</span><br />Playing the tournament on your home continent has got to be a boost for all the african teams, who always seem to be there, but never much more than that. A good shot at sweet 16, but after that it is anyones guess.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Serbia (Rank 16)</span><br />In with Germany and Australia means that the serbians have a good shot of making it into the round of 16. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cameroon (Rank 19)</span><br />Again having home continent advantage means that Cameroon should have a good tournament, and also have a pretty good draw to sneak into the round of 16.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ivory Coast (Rank 27)</span><br />Ivory Coast has no luck whatsoever this time out. If losing your star player is not enough, getting place into a draw with Brazil and Portugal is almost impossible to overcome. If they can pull that off, look to them to do some damage.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Australia (Rank 21)</span><br />The Australians have never had the reputation of being a great soccer power, but there they are at 21 and a shot to get to the round of 16. Also of note, they gave Italy their most difficult game in their 2006 run.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Aint's</span><br />The just happy to be here teams that will most likely be going home in two weeks. Although a special not, one of these teams usually pulls off some big cinderella run into the final 8 or even 4 like South Korea did in 2002.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">South Africa (Rank 90)</span><br />A host country has never gone out in the first round and the South Africans certainly proved they could stay with Mexico today. Still the second lowest ranked team in the tournament means that the odds are stacked pretty heavily against them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">South Korea (Rank 47)</span><br />Could 2002 happen again? Well it might, but they will have to get over Argentina, Greece, and Nigeria to qualify into the round of 16.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Algeria (Rank 31)</span><br />I like the Algerians and i'm not sure why, but they might be the Cinderella team this year. Could they be a match for the Americans and the Serbians for number 2 in Pool C? I think so. Again the odds are stacked against them, but I like the draw.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ghana (Rank 32)</span><br />Not a count out, but the road is step for them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Denmark (Rank 35)</span><br />Usually the Danes have pretty good defence which may get them over into the round of 16. It'll come down to their match against Cameroon.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Japan (Rank 45)</span><br />Will be in tough in whatever they do. Did pull off a few surprises in 2002 as the co-host coutry, but those days are long gone.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Paraguay (Rank 30)</span><br />Actually has a good shot of making it into the round of 16 just on the fact that they only have Italy to contend with in that pool.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Slovakia (Rank 38)</span><br />As reasonably easy draw means that Italy will probably take #1 but #2 in pool F is wide open.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">New Zealand (Rank 78)</span><br />Another longshot but also in Pool F which means anything is possible.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">North Korea (Rank 106)</span><br />Never say never, but i'm saying it. The lowest ranked team in the tournament having to deal with Portugal, Brazil, and Ivory Coast. The odds are not whether they get through, but whether or not they score a goal.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Switzerland (Rank 25)</span><br />Can they go into the sweet 16? sure they can but they will have to take Spain or Chile down to do it which i'm thinking is not likely.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Honduras (Rank 40)</span><br />I don't think they have enough to do it, thanks for coming.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-77056584594147868802010-05-20T13:21:00.000-07:002010-05-20T14:01:19.916-07:00Movies PostWhen your broke it isn't the end of the world, as I have found out. Stuck pinching pennies for the last few months means whatever you can get for free, go for it. Well the Library has provided some source of comfort in my broke days offering me a whole library of music, movies, and books to borrow for the low low price of zilch. It's great too because they have some movies that I may have skipped over in past, but now I am interested. This week I borrowed some movies to see them, and some I haven't seen in years.<br /><br />The Rookie<br /> It's your classic feel good sports, based on a true, story that has been done several time before in Hoosiers and Remember the Titans. The story revolves around a teacher/baseball coach who had aspirations to play in the majors but through a chain of events never did. When his team goes on a winning streak he is encouraged to give his dream one last try. This being a feel good story, you kind of already know what happens in the end. I enjoyed it for that, and it's a good family movie that your kids can enjoy too.<br /><br />Cloverfield<br /> This movie was hyped out at the time for doing something a little different. A monster movie from the perspective of an amateur camcorder perspective. It's scary as heck in some bits, and in others almost nausea inducing due to the camera bobbing up in down. Blair Witch part 10, when Godzilla strikes I guess. I didn't like the whole premise of the movie. We have no idea where it came from or who the monster is and why it is tormenting the city. Also the ending is quite abrupt, almost like a Hitchcock ending, but with any resolution of anything. It's ok and it's short which is good.<br /><br />The Last King of Scotland<br /> From one Monster to another. This partly fictional documentation of Idi Amin's rule in Uganda is quite compelling and I believe Forrest Whitakker won the Oscar for this role. He is quite amazing, and looks the part almost too well when the footage of him is interspersed with the real Amin at the end. In the end the movie paints an even more disturbing view of Amin as a classic sociopath. A real charmer to his people and media, but also as an animal who murdered his ex-wife and killed 300,000 of his own people.<br /><br />Days that Shook the World (Season 1)<br /> A TV series by the BBC that looks into specific events in modern history that changed the way we view it, from advances in communication and transport, to shocking horror like the assassination of Kennedy and Hiroshima. Season 1 has 13 hour long episodes that usually deal with two related subplots. For instance one episode documents Kristalnacht as the powder keg that starts off the Holocaust then moves into the birth of the State of Israel. Another deals with the Wright Brother's flight, and then the Moon landing. I haven't watch all the episodes so far, but the ones I've seen are very good. The filmmakers are very good at mixing archival footage next to recreations of specific events to create an overall picture of the event. Another interesting aspect of the series is the use of perspective, usually tailing 3 or 4 people who were caught up in the events of the time and their recollections of the event.<br /><br />Sesame Street presents Follow That Bird<br /> I saw this when I was a child and out of curiosity borrowed it to see if it was as funny or as good as I remember. It feels kind of funny watching a movie that was clearly intended for a preschool audience but the nostalgia trip was a blast. You have Oscar doing a cute rendition of the Grouch National Anthem and Cookie Monster eating everything in sight before he went on a diet. This is a movie that I can't wait to share with my niece, when she is old enough.<br /><br />The Three Caballeros<br /> Another nostalgia trip as well. An early, and often overlooked, Disney animated feature starring Donald Duck. The premise of the film is that it is Donald's Birthday and he receives a number of presents from his bird friends in south and Latin America. That is used to propel various segments of the story forward that could easily be chopped up into shorts. Donald learns about penguins, gauchos, and take a trip to Brazil and Mexico. Another interesting thing about the film is that it is one of the first cartoons to mix live action in with the animation (a neat feat from 1945). Obviously the movie is dated too particularly in the use of the word "gay" which is something totally different now.<br /><br />Anyways, I have also borrowed Pineapple Express which I hope to watch today. I heard it's quite stupid, or funny, or both. I guess we will see.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-76484427284659546202010-05-17T12:04:00.000-07:002010-05-17T12:15:51.057-07:00The Learning Express<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GNJ1mwkhSSI&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GNJ1mwkhSSI&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />As someone who enjoys Hip Hop as an artform and is yet frustrated by the abundance of ignorance and the lack of originality, this is a nice reminder that Hip Hop can still be used to enact positive change in kids. It was put together by a few jazz musicians in the Detroit area and the idea is to use music and simple rhymes to help children learn. The emcee, Othello, has worked with different groups such as lightheaded, lojique, as well as his own solo stuff and happens to be a friend of mine. Knowing him and just the fire that he has to use hip hop to invoke positive change is great. We need more people out here doing what he is doing. Anyway, watch the mini-doc.<br /><br /><br /><br />Here is a link to some music, and some more information on The Learning Express.<br /><a href=" http://www.krisjohnsonmusic.com/learningexpress/demo.html"><br />http://www.krisjohnsonmusic.com/learningexpress/demo.html</a>Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-28925751845930505392010-05-17T11:24:00.000-07:002010-05-17T11:53:55.366-07:00For the Attention Deficit<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9Z1IGjr2cT0&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9Z1IGjr2cT0&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />Apparently the worlds shortest song. Just so you know, the world's longest song is open to some debate so I will list a few of them that are long. For those with a lot of time and patience.<br /><br />The Mars Volta have a song known as Cassandra Gemini that runs over 33 minutes long, which is a fair chunk of seconds. Pink Floyd and Genesis have had songs run into the 20 minute range. Jethro Tull had Thick as a Brick which is over 40 minutes. Goldie has a song called Mother that runs over 60 minutes. Chris Butler has a song called the Devil Glitch that runs over 68 minutes that was recognised by the Guiness Book of World Records as the longest POP song. Several classical movements have gone over multiple hours. I've heard of improvised Jam's going on for days and sometimes weeks, but I haven't come across any physical evidence. Which leads us to...... <br /><br />http://longplayer.org<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Longplayer is a one thousand year long musical composition. It began playing at midnight on the 31st of December 1999, and will continue to play without repetition until the last moment of 2999, at which point it will complete its cycle and begin again. Conceived and composed by Jem Finer, it was originally produced as an Artangel commission, and is now in the care of the Longplayer Trust.<br /><br />Longplayer can be heard in the lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, where it has been playing since it began. It can also be heard at several other listening posts around the world, and globally via a live stream on the Internet.<br /><br />Longplayer is composed for singing bowls – an ancient type of standing bell – which can be played by both humans and machines, and whose resonances can be very accurately reproduced in recorded form. It is designed to be adaptable to unforeseeable changes in its technological and social environments, and to endure in the long-term as a self-sustaining institution. <br /><br />Longplayer is composed in such a way that the character of its music changes from day to day and – though it is beyond the reach of any one person’s experience – from century to century. It works in a way somewhat akin to a system of planets, which are aligned only once every thousand years, and whose orbits meanwhile move in and out of phase with each other in constantly shifting configurations. In a similar way, Longplayer is predetermined from beginning to end – its movements are calculable, but are occurring on a scale so vast as to be all but unknowable.</span><br /><br />So apparently this piece of music has been playing for over 10 years now, and it is simply not a loop as the pitch, timing, and strike impact all change slightly. I've heard bit's and pieces of it (obviously it's a little difficult to listen to it in it's entirity). If it stops now I think it's record is pretty safe, if it keeps going for 1000 years.....well.....hard to fathom. Apparently you can visit it in London, too bad I discovered this after I was there.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-72185058918739605512010-05-14T11:08:00.000-07:002010-05-14T11:09:35.634-07:00Time to learn your counting.Fresh Remix and Vid of the Classic Pinball Number Count from Sesame Street.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FJbetfA3lCw&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FJbetfA3lCw&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-28356430293317281322010-05-13T12:01:00.000-07:002010-05-13T12:05:01.131-07:00New VideoIt's something I put together over the course of about 4-5 hours Tuesday night, using the A-Skillz mashup "Beat Don't Stop". The video quality is not the greatest, I compressed it for loading time and such, but it's ok for the small screen.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tYwGAfgm-tE&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tYwGAfgm-tE&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-9296610504829332352010-05-10T10:58:00.000-07:002010-05-10T11:10:53.752-07:00Quick notesWell my beloved Canucks staved off elimination for another day. Unfortunately I missed the last bit of the game cuz my brother knocked himself unconscious and had to be rushed to emergency. It actually was a pretty scary moment, but he's doing a lot better now. He's gonna go get some more tests at the doctor's today just to be sure everything is ok.<br /><br />It's looking like a good year more albums coming out. Just a few that I am looking forward to. Some of these are already out but I'm broke.<br /><br />Shad - TSOL<br />Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record<br />Fly Lotus - Cosmogramma<br />Roots - How I got Over<br />Keane - Night Train EP<br />Holy F*** - The Latin<br />Tracy Thorne (Everything but the Girl) - Love and It's Opposite<br />Kele Okereke (Bloc Party) - The Boxer<br />Stone Temple Pilots<br />Drake - Thank Me Later<br />Chemical Brothers<br /><br />All these are coming out May and June so a good couple of months of listening going on right now.<br /><br />Not to mention albums from these people coming sometime in 2010.<br /><br />New Big Boi and Andre 3000 solo albums<br />Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee<br />U2 - Songs of Ascent<br />Lupe Fiasco - We are Lasers<br />and a new Common and Coldplay record.<br /><br />Save your pennies, remember to support good music and record shops around the world and buy your music instead of burn.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-19504327660268529512010-05-06T15:17:00.000-07:002010-05-06T15:28:16.012-07:00Something just occured to me.....A few days ago I announced that I had recently became an uncle, and now I realize that I didn't even post up a pic of my niece Abrielle. Well here are a few you can admire. Some of the pics were done professionally when she was a week old. The rest were the first few days in the Hospital. Oh yeah and she is now 23 days old, creeping fast up on a month.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KuXPP2PPPwM/S-NBVdafhZI/AAAAAAAAAGk/HVn-DEfsSMw/s1600/Phoenix+and+Abrielle+238.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KuXPP2PPPwM/S-NBVdafhZI/AAAAAAAAAGk/HVn-DEfsSMw/s320/Phoenix+and+Abrielle+238.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468286209486718354" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KuXPP2PPPwM/S-NBU6xdWcI/AAAAAAAAAGc/Q2pkHuTpKiM/s1600/Phoenix+and+Abrielle+260.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KuXPP2PPPwM/S-NBU6xdWcI/AAAAAAAAAGc/Q2pkHuTpKiM/s320/Phoenix+and+Abrielle+260.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468286200187804098" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KuXPP2PPPwM/S-NBUCEN2OI/AAAAAAAAAGU/3ACR9Xw77KY/s1600/25548_10150179482635374_609320373_12134286_5154910_n.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KuXPP2PPPwM/S-NBUCEN2OI/AAAAAAAAAGU/3ACR9Xw77KY/s320/25548_10150179482635374_609320373_12134286_5154910_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468286184965658850" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KuXPP2PPPwM/S-NBToHbZWI/AAAAAAAAAGM/MBPUlqlRU6g/s1600/25548_10150179482660374_609320373_12134290_1857324_n.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KuXPP2PPPwM/S-NBToHbZWI/AAAAAAAAAGM/MBPUlqlRU6g/s320/25548_10150179482660374_609320373_12134290_1857324_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468286177999807842" /></a><br /><br />The other thing I have to post up is the new single/video from Bloc Party singer/guitarist Kele Okereke. The song continues the progression into dance rhythms that Bloc Party were experimenting with on Intimacy. It's pretty dope so I thought i'd share it.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bdQioZHYpvQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bdQioZHYpvQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-62509711595181058522010-05-04T12:06:00.000-07:002010-05-04T12:14:38.161-07:00Shad TSOLIt's three weeks to the day when the latest album from Canadian Hip Hop sensation Shad drops, but today he blessed us with an full leak of the record to listen to along with his comments on each track. You can listen here.<br /><br />http://www.spinner.ca/2010/05/04/shad-tsol-new-album/<br /><br />Now if you watched or read my post about Greatest Hip Hop albums of the 00's, you know Shad made the list with his last record "The Old Prince". If it stand up this might make he list for the 10's. Easily it's the best thing to drop so far in 2010.<br /><br />In the midst of thuggy, autotuned, materialistic Hip Hop its nice to hear an artist that is real and can out rap Lil Wayne 10 to 1.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-34815472028999170012010-05-03T22:39:00.000-07:002010-05-03T23:07:23.007-07:00Funny How Time Flies...........When Your Having Fun<br /><br />So in Honour of it almost being a month since my last entry we have a nice remix of a lesser known Janet Jackson cut from Control, her breakthough album.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SoOvVMBx_78&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SoOvVMBx_78&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />So in explanation of my absence I will just say that I have busy for a few reasons the biggest being that I became an Uncle for the first time on April 13th. My younger brother and his wife gave birth to a little girl and named her Abrielle Marjorie Chobaniuk. Abrielle is french for God's gift or blessing I think but i'm not sure, and Marjorie is because of my Grandmother who played a big role in my little bro's life. So there you go, lots of fun and changes your perspective on things a little. Maybe not the same as being a Dad, I have yet to cross that bridge, but amazing none-the-less.<br /><br />The second thing I have been doing is helping with these weekly music events at the local pub here doing video work and Djing, Judgeing etc. Lot's of good bands, and lots of bands I never want to hear from again but that's the nature of local groups....the chosen are few. Lastly it's playoff time and Canuck fever is upon us.<br /><br />Anyway, I hope in the next few days to post something up something of a little more substance but there you go.<br /><br />P.S. RIP GURU and Nujabes, both left this planet way too soon. You will be missed.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-90828864567064980782010-04-06T13:18:00.000-07:002010-04-06T13:50:34.221-07:00The List this Week......Radiohead AlbumsLooking from Pablo Honey to In Rainbows, it is hard to find another band over the past twenty years that has consistently defined how pop/rock is composed. A note on all these records....like Frosted Flakes They're Grrrreat.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pablo Honey</span><br /><br />The first uneasy steps. One killer song that got lumped in with the grunge wave at the time largely because of the self depreciating chorus "I'm a Creep". Radiohead and a lot of their fans have regarded Creep and Pablo Honey as the black sheep in the catalogue, the one you lock away in the closet when the guests are over. However, Pablo Honey does have some catchy tunes like the aformentioned "Creep", "You", and "Anyone can Play Guitar". A few half baked ideas fall in the cracks which is really something you don't get on most Radiohead albums. Then the closer "Blow Out" points the way to future greatness.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Bends</span><br /><br />The songwriting is better and instead of playing lip service to grunge, they tackle a number of interesting textures. The anthemic stadium rock of U2 is here in loads, the emerging Brit Pop scene is an influence (although Radiohead will never fully get lumped in with the like of Blur, Pulp, and Oasis). Twelve tracks, zero filler, and still regarded by many as the best Radiohead album ever.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ok Computer</span><br /><br />The Srgt Pepper for Gen X. Radiohead keep the songwriting up. Anthemic choruses and hook laden guitars are prevalent but are added to with strings and synths and off kilter sounds to create a wall of sound for the entire journey. I'm not gonna go too much into the songs because you've heard it all before, this record is a masterpiece.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Kid A</span><br /><br />With Ok Computer an stylistic high point, they go in a totally different direction and confuse a lot of fans in the process. Kid A drops the hooks and moves into minimalist techno grooves that end up being quite interesting (if that's your thing). The vocals are stripped down and buried in the mix and, in the case of the title track, unrecognizble. Pretty songs about here, but not what you'd expect from Radiohead up to this point. Over the years it has drawn considerable acclaim.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Amnesiac</span><br /><br />When Kid A came out, there was the original intent to make it a double album and instead the leftovers got held over to Kid B or Amnesiac. It is easy to dismiss this record as Kid A's B sides, but it really is a cohesive work on it's own. Pyramid Song is a fantastic ballad with shifting time signatures common in jazz. Glass House is a mournful New Orleans style Jazz ballad with horns. Dollars and Cents is an amazing bass led groove (much like the National Anthem on Kid A).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hail to the Thief</span><br /><br />Hailed as a return to their guitar sound, it more a half assed return with their finger still on the electronic pulse. 2+2=5 is about as guitar heavy as it gets. Piano led ballads, mixed in with some funky electro make this the most eclectic of all their records.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">In Rainbows</span><br /><br />Really a little over-rated. Honestly, I heard reviewers give it raving reviews simply for the way it was initially released and distributed rather than for any content on the record. Still "In Rainbows" is a good album and more of a return to their early sound than anything off Hail to the Thief. Though minimilistic structures still rule the day, everything here sounds like it was recorded by a band instead of a sampler, which is nice to have in the end anyways.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-5004723224427440282010-03-29T11:24:00.000-07:002010-03-29T12:57:09.195-07:00The List.....this week most underrated Genesis songs<em>I must at this point clarify for my fellow Christian friends that these are not songs about the book of Genesis in the bible, but rather songs by the progressive rock group that was popular in the 70's and 80's and led by Peter Gabriel and later Phil Collins.</em><br /><br />Ok, so I love Genesis. Many folks have heard their 80's MOR material and have balked without realizing just how good this band was in their 70's progressive rock peak with Gabriel at the mic-stand. A brief history.<br /><br />Genesis was formed in 1968 by Peter Gabriel (vocals), Mike Rutherford (bass guitar), Tony Banks (Keyboards), and various members on drums and guitar. The released an album "From Genesis to Revelation" that to their own admission wasn't any good and is reasonably difficult to find (although i'm sure if you looked on the file sharing networks you could grab it). They entered a more progressive rock phase with their second album "Trespass" in 1970, and with "Nursery Cryme" (1971)finally added the missing pieces of their band with Steve Hackett (perhaps one of the most underrated guitarists ever) and Phil Collins (a great drummer).<br /><br />This lineup was the classic lineup of progressive Genesis releasing in the coming years "Foxtrot" (1972), "Selling England by the Pound" (1973), and their double album opus "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" (1974). After the Lamb, Gabriel departed for a solo career and Phil Collins took over on vocals. Two more progressive rock albums followed before Steve Hackett left in 1977. The first album after Hackett's departure was aptly titled "...and then there were three" (1978) and showed the band moving into a more traditional rock format.<br /><br />With the release of "Duchess" (1979) and "ABACAB" (1980) the band moved fully into mainstream rock charting some big hits like "Turn it On Again", "Misunderstanding", and "No Reply at All". The 80's saw the release of their two biggest albums and stadium drawing tours. First came "Genesis" in 1983 with Illegal Alien, Home by the Sea, Mama, and That's All. Invisible Touch (1985) followed, with a successful solo career by Collins running parallel to it's release. The last album by the classic hit making trio was "We Can't Dance" in 1991 and contained more hits and sold out shows.<br /><br />Collins left after the tour and Rutherford and Banks (the last two remaining members) made an ill advised decision to carry on with a younger vocalist and record a new album "Calling All Stations" in 1997. It was a critically and commercial flop and the guys ended up calling an indefinite hiatus from the group. <br /><br />In 2007 the trio of Collins, Rutherford, and Banks re-united for a tour of Europe and North America culminating in a massive live show at Circus Maximus in Rome. The past month has seen the group be honoured by induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (only the second progressive rock group to be inducted). <br /><br />So now that you've got the history let's look at the songs. I'm not gonna go on about the hits because, chances are, you've heard them before or don't particularly like them (Genesis' clearly has two sides to it). I'm gonna focus more on the lesser known Gabriel work of the 70's with some notes on the 80's material.<br /><br />First up we have <strong>The Fountain of Salmacis</strong> that closes the album Nursery Cryme. The song sees Gabriel going on with Greek mythology, whatever. In progressive rock really it's pretentious as hell. What to listen for is his vocal delivery over the track that builds over smart keyboards, interesting time signatures on the drums, and guitar work that was years ahead of what Van Halen was doing with his "tapping" technique. Really this is a high point of Genesis' progressive work.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-NB9qU0Aqgw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-NB9qU0Aqgw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Next Up is <strong>Watcher of the Skies</strong> which is one of the two songs Phish played in tribute of Genesis at the RnR HoF induction this past month. Perhaps my favourite Genesis song, this comes off of "Foxtrot" (1972). The intro might be the best build for a song this side of U2's "Street Have No Name". Pastoral keyboards swirl around before the rest of the band slowly fade in with Earnest intensity. The rest of the song is a roller coaster of a ride that is over far quicker than it's almost 8 minute length (be it known it is prog rock and that means long songs).<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3u-L4YAdGkA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3u-L4YAdGkA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong>Dancing With the Moonlit Knight</strong> opens up "Selling England by the Pound" (1973) which is regarded by many their best album. Moonlit Knight is a hecka pretentious title, but the lyrics describe England at a place in the 70's selling their soul for commercial gain (hence the album title Selling England by the Pound). Moonlit Knight is extremely important for the record as a whole because it sets the tone for the whole record, and it's theme echoes across the whole length of it. The last two minutes of this song are absolutely beautiful.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r0Spl1cOf-o&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r0Spl1cOf-o&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong>It</strong> is the closing song on "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" (1974) and it was a song that they would frequently play long after Gabriel had left the group. At this time the songs are becoming a little shorter and more focused, and the energy that is in this track makes sure that the double epic that is Lamb ends on a high note. Gabriel riffs on the Stones "It's Only Rock and Roll" instead of rock and roll saying knock and knowall. The track here contains the previous song on the record as well. <strong>It</strong> starts about 2:15 in.<br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gSlMoYKfv5o&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gSlMoYKfv5o&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />Peter Gabriel leaves and Phil Collins is now the vocalist on <strong>Entangled</strong>. This is a nice quiet acoustic track with lovely 12 string guitar work from Steve Hackett. Again the guy is flat out amazing. This song comes from "A Trick of the Tail" (1976).<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/01CnBGWvBpE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/01CnBGWvBpE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />It's been a few years and albums later, which means that Genesis didn't change overnight but with <strong>Dodo/Lurker</strong> from "ABACAB" (1980) you can clearly seen the change. This song is heavily keyboard driven, with an industrial hard rock approach to it (also throwing in hints of reggae in the middle bridge and new wave). Although it is clearly different, it has some nice hooks and drives ahead with power. Probably my favourite song of the more mainstream material. I can't find the original album track to post, so I've posted the live vid from "Three Sides Live". It's a very worthy live rendition of it.<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4I7HLOi8k_U&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4I7HLOi8k_U&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />Lastly, and a song I really like, from an absolute mess of an album is <strong>Shipwrecked</strong> from "Calling All Stations" (1996). I'm not sure if the purists would even consider this Genesis due to the different lead singer and such (then again some purists don't consider Collins led Genesis as Genesis either) but it is a nice song (probably the best on it).<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sfqTYG6aOxU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sfqTYG6aOxU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-43099590385649126272010-03-14T18:03:00.000-07:002010-03-14T18:27:35.096-07:00FinishedThat is, I'm finished watching the Long Way Round doc that I mentioned before. It's quite good from top to bottom, though I would note there is some brief nudity along with the foul language. Some of the highlights of the trip were, the road of bones in Eastern Russia, and how they got their bikes and vehicles through flooded rivers and enormous potholes. There is a scene in Kazakhstan where they are invited to the home of a local and his buddy break out all these machine guns to show them off. The footage in Alaska is stunning as they were able to see a giant brown bear catch a jumping fish in the river with his mouth, plus the glacier footage is great. Overall highly recommended.<br /><br />I also broke out the movie The God's Must be Crazy and sat down and watched it. Debate to the merrits of this film have come under scrutiny in recent years, and it is largely dated. Still the film is a quite wonderful little movie, humourous not hilarious, simple and sweet. The story itself is a mish mash of plotlines that eventually coincide with each other. Plot A finds us watching the social decay that plagues a tribe of San (called "Bushmen" in the film) hunters when a coke bottle is tossed from an overpassing airplane. Due to the tribe's inability to handle the bottle (you have to see it to understand), the head of the tribe takes it away from the camp to throw it off the edge of the world. Meanwhile Plot B, guerillas have shot up half the country's cabinet and are on the run. Lastly, Plot C involves the decision of a urban journalist to seek teaching employment in rural africa, and her adventures getting there. If you haven't seen it, give it a try. It's prolly not for everybody, but if you give it a chance it is quite a fun movie.<br /><br />I also watched Finding Forrester which loosely takes the J.D. Salinger (recently deceased author of Catcher in the Rye) story, and builds around it with a very bright African American teenager who is also an amazing writer. Sean Connery stars as Forrester who wrote his only novel in the 50's and has lived as a recluse since. It's one of those emotional bonding stories for like Field of Dreams, or Hoosiers that won't leave a dry eye in the house.<br /><br />Lastly we have Be Cool. I'm not gonna comment too much as my time is short, but I will say that the Rock steals the show in this movie as the gay henchman. There is also a lot of star power in this movie from Travolta, to Christina Milian, Uma Thurman, Danny Devito. Heck, even James Woods pops in for a few minutes. It's a pretty fun movie so check it out.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-10870322886242183442010-03-12T23:45:00.000-08:002010-03-13T00:43:07.455-08:00So a new format, and a rant.I was looking at my blog today and realized it looked kind of lame. So I decide to get myself a new template that looks a little cooler and not so corporate. I hope you like, if not then DWI.<br /><br />So, being the music lover that I am, I do read Pitchfork from time to time, but I have come across the conclusion that Pitchfork totally sucks. The main criticism that I have, along with many others, are their elitist reviews and narrow sense of knowledge outside of their own little indie rock circle. Now there are good bands that they heap praise on (Radiohead is a good example), but if you fall outside the element of cool then they will savage you. The critics complain often about pretentious music, which is really code for "these guys are too serious of musicians for me to like them, and then dump their reviews with pretentious talk about why said artist is uncool. Mostly these criticisms leveled at said bands are simply because their popular, or not indie, and don't fit the profile. Rarely anything is mentioned about the music which for a music site should be a major detail.<br /><br />I could give examples here but really you know the bands that they are gonna hate and gonna like. Personally I think the whole album review thing has gone a little far to tell you the truth. In this day and age it is easy to find out for yourself through various devices both legal and illegal about band x. I think reviews need to be a balanced view of an album and more of a discussion about what is being presented than this pushing of an agenda. I guess people are insecure and want to be where the cool kids are, it's just too bad that 90% of music gets short shrift because of it.<br /><br />This is a brief example for an album that recieve a 1.6 review.<br /><br />These clusterfuck all-the-cooks experiments, more often than not, add up to way, way less than the sum of their parts. It might look great on paper to get weirdo visionaries like Kool Keith and Tom Waits on the same track, but if you actually do it, you’ll probably end up with Keith blathering non-sequiturs all over the beat while Waits makes sandpapery fart noises. And as for the impression of Donald Duck busting a nut that someone does at the end of “O Pato”, I can’t imagine that even looked good on paper.”<br /><br />So what was this horrible album? Well it was non other that NASA's "Spirit of Apollo" that was released last year to almost unanimous critical aclaim everywhere else.<br /><br />So for me and reviews. Look, I understand that i'm not gonna like everything out there, but there is such a thing as tact which pitchfork strangely lacks. I will weigh the positives and the negatives and if the band is not my thing, I will say so. I don't like Nickelback at all, but i'm not gonna insult the intelligence of my readers by dumping on. To each his own is my policy, and too many people get caught up in this clique mentality that they miss some amazing stuff right in front of their noses.<br /><br />Anyways, if you like groups like the Arcade Fire (Pretty Good), Vampire Weekend (OK), and millions of other indie type groups that appear and dissapear on a daily basis then pitchfork is your site. If you like any band with a degree of mainstream success (other than Radiohead), then your in trouble.......last albums ratings for U2 4.2/10, Kings of Leon 3.8/10, Bloc Party 5.8/10, and Muse 5.9/10. Latest review for some band you've never heard of Broken Bells 7.2, XX (which I have heard and is an intriquing one song idea spread out over 10) 8.7. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists 7.9.<br /><br />So if ptichfork media is a dud and your looking for something a little more open minded then I have two sites that are interesting. The first is www.adriandenning.co.uk that has very well written reviews over there. The other site is www.iso50.com where he posts up his music he likes instead of bashing the music he hates. I think it's much better for the love vibe anyways.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-28937263189085680572010-03-12T21:19:00.000-08:002010-03-12T21:38:47.119-08:00The ramblings of a po broke man trying to make it in Vancity.<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vAOzYz-Qs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vAOzYz-Qs</a><br /><br />First off, go there to watch the cool new video for the Gorillaz latest single Stylo.<br /><br />I enjoy Ewen McGregor, not a huge fan, but do like Trainspotting and watch him in the Star Wars movies where he prolly had the least cringe inducing dialogue of any of the main characters. I heard a few years back about his motorcycle trips that he documented, and then was reaquainted with them when I saw him on Letterman a few weeks ago. Well, I've been watching the first trip he made called Long Way Round and it is fantastic so far. The idea of the journey was to drive from London to New York travelling east on a motorcycle (specially made BMW's) and only flying from Eastern Russia over to Anchorage to continue the North American leg. I'm on episode 2 (of 10) and basically it details all the preparations that need to be made for a trip of this magnitude, and introduces us to the crew, including his friend and travelmate Charlie Boormann. So far they haven't even taken off yet and i'm hooked, so if your interested in following it check out the website at <a href="http://www.longwayround.com/">www.longwayround.com</a>. I also think you can watch it on youtube and prolly pick it up at your local library.<br /><br />Note: Although it is a documentary about motorcycles there is some colourful language that isn't bleeped, so although it doesn't bother me, it might not be the best for children. It's hecka interesting though (and educational).<br /><br />Here is the first part of episode 1 to get you started.<br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vnudTnKEiY0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vnudTnKEiY0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />P.S. The second trip involves travelling from Scotland down to Capetown and looks very interesting as well. I will have to check it out when I finish this one.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9570967.post-39533884143285797602010-03-09T11:36:00.000-08:002010-03-09T14:33:16.338-08:00Greetings, new video<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxzU64lNEH2uUpYQalObQuRasbhnVoeoSGIpu5k3Z13O13KLr4nsIIfP2y5EUkHJuZ9lDd1sgCO5Mk' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />It's been a while, but I thought I would share this with you. The story is that my friend shared a video with me about high altitude skydiving and the music, UNKLE & Moby was used. Well the music inspired me to do a little collage of scenes that I took in various locations around the world. Some of the places featured are the Cavern Club in Liverpool, Anfield in Liverpool (home of Liverpool F.C.), Abbey Road, The Old City of Jerusalem, Church of the Nativity (traditional site of Christ's birth), Sderot (the scene with the rockets), and Church of the Holy Sepulchre (one of the proposed locations of Christ's death and resurrection). The video was edited over the past few hours by myself on the crappiest video editing software known to man. A lot of the video footage is very grainy (most of the time intentional), and a lot of the clips flow in a out of each other. Either way it looks cool, slightly disoriented, and such. It's not too bad for such a crappy video editor (then again it does get the creative juices flowing). Enjoy, and see if you can pick out some of the places I mentioned.Pauleywoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15450212907477635039noreply@blogger.com0