Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Ugh....
Head... hurting...
Throat... aching...
Legs... cramping...
Brain... farting...
Body.... freezing...
Yup! It looks like the Ho is sick. Just in time for Chinese New Years too! Motherfucking fucking fuck.... FUCK!!!
NP: my whining
posted by Hanson |
10:12 PM
Dang It
Damn Blogger wasn't working yesterday. I had a whole diatribe ready to go, but then *poof*: gone. Ah well... time for my music class.... time to go!
Oh yeah! Belated Happy Birthday to Sarah McLachlan-Sood! She bez 35 yesterday! May her next album not suck like Surfacing!
NP: Conor Oberst - Willow Road (live)
posted by Hanson |
10:37 AM
Monday, January 27, 2003
4 Nights for 1 Ho
On Thursday, it was The Organ, The Walkmen, and Hot Hot Heat. Good show, but it was also a night of punk-ass kids doing their best imitation of music fans (MTV-style), breaking out the faux-moshing and an array of poser shit not seen since the last all-ages show.
On Friday, it was karaoke. The Salmon of Knowledge ruled with our rapping of Ace of Base's All That She Wants, and I've shamed myself for blanking on Nina Gordon's Now I Can Die.
On Saturday, it was Our Lady Peace. Big rock show, big audience participation. You know the crowd was into it when we did all the singing for the last song of the encore, 4 AM.
On Sunday, it was WORK such that WORK is defined as Writing O'plenty and Researching Kyoto. Shit... I just made that zany acronym up on the spot! Who's house!?!
NP: Ben Kweller - Sha Sha
posted by Hanson |
12:57 AM
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
Resistance is Futile
More spending from me. Yes yes, music again. This time, it's the solo from Sarah Shannon (the girl in Velocity Girl), the first Rilo Kiley full-length, the last Dismemberment Plan non-fan-remix LP (more on that later), and first split 7" from Ben Gibbard's Bedside Recordings label that features Dave Bazan (aka Pedro the Lion) and some other guy. The bill: 40 bucks US, but hey, I get free shipping from Barsuk!
Speaking of The Dismemberment Plan, they just broke up. FUCK! I had a chance to see them last November when they opened for Hot Hot Heat at the Commodore, but did I go? No! I went karaokeing instead cos that was about the same week I saw Emm Gryner, Tegan and Sara, and Low. I have to admit though... belting tunes out off-key is wicked fun, but dude! Ah well.... I guess it wasn't meant to be....
Speaking of Hot Hot Heat, I get to see them tomorrow, with The Organ opening up to boot! That'll be my third time seeing them, the Organ... hmm... I really should pick up their EP cos it's really good....
Oh yeah: did I mention I picked up some Holiday Flyer at Scratch before class today (they didn't have the Sinking Ships)? Oi! The addiction is killer!
Hmm.... and I need me some Ladytron tickets.... and I heard The Gay and The Cinch are playing this weekend too.. gotta find out more info....
NP: The Daily Show
posted by Hanson |
11:30 PM
Girls Gone Wild
Back-to-back brand new Mutant Enemy jolts tonight. Yay!
The Good: Angel getting its/his epic-on; slayerettes becoming less annoying; Andrew talking about Dragon Ball; "I like the feel of wood in my hand" - Rona, "Lost me there" - Kennedy
The Bad: More Dawn crap.... ug.
The Ugly: Certainly not Ms. Gwen Raiden in those pants! Yaozers!
NP: tick, tock
posted by Hanson |
12:50 AM
Monday, January 20, 2003
I Wonder....
-Why did Lara Flynn Boyle wear a tutu to the Globes?
-Why does Pepsi Blue suck so much?
-How did Kangaroo Jack make $17m in its opening weekend? (If you say "by selling tickets," imma smack ya!)
-Why didn't the Blue Jays trade Jose Cruz Jr. when the had the chance?
-Why haven't I seen the only big winner from last night that I actually want to see (Chicago) yet?
NP: Camera Obscura - Happy New Year
posted by Hanson |
10:25 PM
Sunday, January 19, 2003
More Random Ramblings
- The Pianist was good because it wasn't sappy. That one shot of the desolated Warsaw... stunning.
- Couldn't return my CD nor get a new one today at Scratch cos I got there late. And that's not to mention the mini pre-movie jog! ;-)
-Ah ha! I beat my brother in Go on a 9 board (with a 3 handicap)! I still suck, but I'm sucking less and less with the passing of each day!
- Just finished watching SNL, and I must say, Donna C looks mighty good on there banging the drums. Wish I could've caught them when they were in town a few months ago!
NP: Clover Honey - Summer Song
posted by Hanson |
1:23 AM
Friday, January 17, 2003
Random Ramblings
-Almost picked up the Dirtmitts' Get On today. Not that it would be a bad disc by any means, it's just that I'm planning to get the new Sinking Ships tomorrow at Scratch and I still have some Delgados and Operation Makeout yet to listen to.
-Got talked into starting a Buffy club at school yesterday. Maybe it was the afro I was wearing at the time that made me do something that silly.
-Saw The Two Towers again today. The count's at four now, tied with Fellowship. Gawd.... can't believe I *only* saw Fellowship four times on the big screen!
-And yay! I get to see the Pianist tomorrow! For me, it'll always be the PEE-an-IST and not the pee-AN-ist :-)
NP: Marine Research - At the Lost and Found
posted by Hanson |
11:59 PM
Thursday, January 16, 2003
Alas, It Has Come To Blows
My belly is full of 7-Up, prawn crackers, and Haagen-Dazs, so I may be a little under the influence. Perhaps this is the reason I'm doing something as stupid as writing this entry. Fuck that though. My readership is limited, so why the heck not? I mean, what has prudence ever gotten me?
OK. I've been noticing a lack of (not-just-peripherally) personal stuff in my blog lately. Now, this is rather unusual seeing that I'm a heart-on-sleeve kind of guy (or in a more literal sense, heart-on-t-shirt). It's understandable too, I suppose, since I'm a point-and-laugh kind of guy too. Either way, I thought I'd rectify that with this little doozy. Put on a fresh pot, ma'am, cos this'll take a while!
Bruce sent me this Onion article yesterday, and it got me thinking: do I want women to see my CD collection just so they'd know I'm not like the other guys? Satire aside (and forgive my upcoming double negative), the situation alluded to in the article isn't all that unappealing. I mean, it *would* be cool if a girl would walk up to where I was sitting, point to my Brenda Weiler CD case, and said "hey, you like her too?" Nice little fantastical scenario, innit?
The truth is, I don't listen to the music I listen to to get chicks. Hell, if I do, I'm one dumb fuck, cos it ain't bringing home the bacon, if you know what I mean. Women aren't into guys that like wussy/emotive music and pretty girly-pop! It's all well and good for *them* to fawn over tortured souls and breathy voices, and it may even be a good conversation starter: casual conversation, that is. But when it comes down to it, that type of music isn't (usually) conducive to a confident personality, something that most assholes have'a plenty and nice guys don't. FWIW, this, and likely not looks or any of the other shit that men think women want, is probably the number one reason why nice guys finish last and assholes get to second base with stand-up doubles (after a few tries). The thing is, assholes aren't afraid to swing away Joaquin-style while nice guys are too scared of potential consequences to even go up to bat. Sad is the truth, but is that ample justification for not rolling the 20-sided die? Your THAC0 ain't that high, bro! I don't even know what I'm saying here..... Elliott, just pass the Johnny Walker Red....
I know I might regret writing this in the morning, but I'll cross that bridge when/if I get there. I mean, what harm could it do? To quote the protagonist of the article, "god I'm lonely."
NP: bzzzzzzz
PS: They mentioned Weezer on Gilmore Girls... hehe!
posted by Hanson |
12:58 AM
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
Oh So Geeky
In all reasonable worlds, I should be in bed by now. Hell, I should be in bed a half an hour ago, but I wasn't, and here's why.
Well, I was cleaning out my backpack and getting it ready for my trek downtown tomorrow for my CNS 398 class. After purging it of all of its unnecessary stuff, I realize I was missing something: my B'ehl CD case with my copy of Bright Eye's Letting Off the Happiness in it. The last time I saw it was at the Business Mentor Trivia night on Monday (where I ran a version of my audio recall contest, Exit Music), but I was sure it was in my bag. Discovering the harsh reality that it wasn't the case (no pun intended), I ran frantically around my house looking for the CD/case, forgoing my plan of reading about music and hegemony.
After a fruitless search that consisted of going up and down stairs several times, I decided to look in my car. So, in my PJs, out in the cold, I dug through my backseat and found the CD/case there. Phew! Disaster mitigated!
So now I can comfortably go to sleep, knowing that all of my precious little round discs are safe and sound. Ah yes.... sooooooo (musically) geeky :-)
NP: the sound of silence (no, not Simon & Garfunkel, foo!)
posted by Hanson |
1:02 AM
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
Something to Talk About
The Bachelor, puh-leaze
but can't resist the fun of
Joe Millionaire
NP: Rudi talking about Pete Townshend
posted by Hanson |
11:05 PM
Saturday, January 11, 2003
It's Not "He Hate Me," But...
I don't generally watch (American) football, but I'm finding myself cheering for the Steelers and their comeback-story-of-the-year, Tommy Maddox. What's with me and underdogs? XFL in da house!
NP: grunts
posted by Hanson |
4:42 PM
Friday, January 10, 2003
Gordo Scandal Redux
The Liberal Premier of British Columbia, Gordon Campbell, was arrested early this morning (or was it last night?) in Maui on a suspected DUI. He later released a statement saying he wasn't going to contest the charges. Again, scandal has rocked the premier's office, not to mention the BC Liberal Party.
As some of you may remember, former-Liberal-head-turned-PDA-founder-turned-NDP-lacky Gordon Wilson resigned the party leadership when scandal hit, his vice being an adulterous liaison with former MLA Judy Tyabji. Will *this* Gordo face a similar fate? I doubt it.
OK, I'm going to explain why I don't think he should resign, but let me qualify that first. You see, I was a "Campbell Hata" waaaay before it was cool. I called him a usurper for talking Wilson's job so many winters ago, and I've held a grudge (fairly or unfairly) against the SOB since then. I made a vow that I would NEVER even CONSIDER voting for the BC Liberals if he were in charge, and I plan to follow through with that. Basically, I hate his guts pretty damn thoroughly.
Now, with that said, I think anybody calling for his resignation is full of shit (yes, that means *you*, hippie idiot TV interviewee!). Legally, the Premier is no different from you or me, and he should be held accountable (and to the same standards) just like anybody else. If Joe Average were caught and charged with a DUI, would he be forced to resign whatever job he's got? Of course not!
Now, you may say that "blah blah blah, he's a public figure and a role model and so he should be held to a higher standard." Big fat pile of horse shit. Where in his job description does it say *that*? The sanctions that he's about to face ought not differ from those faced by anybody else in the same situation. Yes, he made a boneheaded mistake, and he'll pay for it in accordance to the law (and his public standing will take a big-ass hit too). To heap anything on top of that would be unfair. I mean, we're trying to pretend we're living in a just society after all!
But let me just say this: seeing his mug shot on the news... oh that was hilarious. Nice one, chump!
NP: Spoon - Lines in the Suit
posted by Hanson |
11:58 PM
Rush!
I found out late last night that my "returning student" application for co-op is due TODAY! Somehow, I thought the 15th was the drop dead date, but I was wrong. That revelation led to a late night scramble to fill out an application form and get my resume updated. I think I also need some sort of plan for what I'm going to take in the upcoming semesters cos I have more than 90 credits (128 after this semester!). Screw that though. I'm gonna talk to Eija the CS co-op program guru to see if I can get out of it.
And oh yeah, I'll also need to explain to her my "one-job plan" too. You see, I don't *need* to do co-op this semester. The only job I'm interested in is an internship as a program manager at MS, and if I don't get it, then I'm just going wait til later to try again instead of just doing a term for the sake of doing it.
MS has been a target of mine ever since I fucked up the second interview last year. Being *that* close and failing left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I swore I'm going to avenge that defeat at a later date. Well, this is the later date, and this time, Imma gonna charge in Redmond and win them over! No more of that telling them "I don't know if I can do the job shit." This time, it's over-confident Hanson leading the charge!
NP: Dressy Bessy - If You Should Try to Kiss Her
posted by Hanson |
10:57 AM
Tuesday, January 07, 2003
You Gotta Have Faith
Ah, the foreshadowing has begun on Buffy for the return of the One... err.... the other One. You know, the One doing hard time in LA!
"[paraphrase] There's another Slayer, you know." One of the whiney wannabe-slayerettes uttered something to that effect on tonight's episode (I saw it early on WSBK Bawh-ston!). Obviously, this was a set up for the return of Faith in the latter part of the season, which will be a nice little deja-vu for us oldies.
Now, I've never been much of a Faith fan, per se, but it'll be cool to see Eliza Dushku again reprising her role as the slightly trampy Faith. In the Buffy Universe, she has been imprisioned for a while. How will Joss deal with her return? What would she be like? Will she say "five by five?" I guess we'll have to wait to find out!
NP: Operation Makeout - First Base
posted by Hanson |
7:07 PM
Jo! Anne! Jo! Anne!
Yeeee ha! Joanne Malar is on Off the Record again! It's because of guests like her (and Kim Gellard, Tara Slone, etc.) that I still put up with that COTU/leaves-centric show: that, and the people who make fun of Landsberg.
NP: OTR
posted by Hanson |
3:20 PM
Sunday, January 05, 2003
Top 30 Part VI: 1-5
Finally, the top 5 is here. What could be better than Bright Eyes, Patty Griffin, and Kay Hanley? Well, here's the answer:
5. All-Time Quarterback - s/t
Unlike other 2002 solo projects like those from Doug Martsch and Rhett Miller, this one from Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard is actually a re-release of a bunch of old 4-track recordings that he did a while ago using broken instruments. Obligatory bonus tracks are thrown in there for good measure, and what resulted was the most brutally lo-fi and beautifully simplistic set of off-beat pop songs that I've heard all year. Ben Gibbard is my hero.
4. Sarah Slean - Night Bugs
This album should be subtitled "The Growth of Sarah," cos on her major label debut, the Sleanster unleashes a musical whirlwind. From the opening notes of the reworked Weight, it's clear that she has gone a long way from her days of belting out "Climbing Up the Walls" on Universe. In terms of her confidence and overall suaveness, this Sarah is lightyears beyond the one that sung the Glenn Gould song way back when. The weirdo (in a good way) Hawsley Workman also did wonders on production, fully actualizing (I can't believe I'm using this word) Sarah's sound. The result is her fullest sounding, most layered album to date. Kudos to all!
3. Emm Gryner - Asianblue
Pop is a curse word is come circles, but Emm Gryner certainly doesn't think so! Asianblue is so full of hooks, you'd think Emm has taken up boxing! With the exception of Divine Like You, every track is a standout, which sort of defeats the purpose of standing out. Emm has really outdone herself, and if Canadian top-40 radio doesn't play the shit out of this, they're completely insane. (I mean, it's Can-Con too!)
2. Phantom Planet - The Guest
Usually, if a band has an actor in it, it usually sucks. Well, Phantom Planet has *two* (Alex Greenwald and Jason Schwartzman), and they're the best thing to happen to power-pop since, uhm, shit... OK... so I don't know the history power-pop... so frickin' sue me! All I know is that this is really, really good. It shows that rock can be fun without being (overly) kitschy, and it's just what the doctor ordered for a market saturated by the pseudo-anger of Limp Bizkit and all the other shitty "nu-metal" acts. Go Planet Go!
1. Mary Lou Lord - Live City Sounds
[Note: Technically, this was self-released in 2001, but it was repackaged and re-released in 2002 by Rubric]
So you might be thinking, after listing all these CDs, I pick a *live* album as my favourite of the year? What the heck am I thinking? Well, this album captures Mary Lou at her best: when she's busking on the street with her guitar as her only backup. Extra production just gets in the way of her stripped down material as well as her unique covers. On this mostly-covers release, she is simply fantastic, doing Big Star, Richard Thompson, Heatmiser, The Magnetic Fields, Billy Bragg, The Green Pajamas, Shawn Colvin, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and many more. This is perhaps a better introduction to Mary Lou than any of her other albums. Best Live Album Ever!
NP: Heavenly - Shallow
posted by Hanson |
6:14 PM
Saturday, January 04, 2003
I'm Actually Not From Here
It's the weirdest thing. The people I meet at school who speak Cantonese always assume that I don't, and when they find out that I do, they're like "huh?". What, do I not wear the right clothes? Do I not have the right hair? Do I not driving a rice-enough car? (yes on all three)
My first year of Canadian schooling was grade 4, and in elementry school, I usually hung out with the other kids from Hong Kong in my school. When I got to junior high, I suddenly became this Chinese kid who hung around white people! This, I think, mainly had to do with my falling out with the Chinese mainstream that dominated my school. There was a little altercation between a bunch of those wankers and me, and when it was all said and done, I was ostracized. I mean, it was either that, or the fact that I had lost my accent, unlike a good number of them. And no, it can't be that.... can it?
Also, I guess I didn't try too hard to fit in either; I was never one to do that anyway. When it came to popular culture, I was fed a primarily local diet. While I watched a lot of Chinese TV series and HK movies, and read a lot of Chinese-translated manga, I never got into the Hong Kong music-and-celebrity worshipping scene, which left me in the dark for a lot of things. At that point, I haven't come into my music geek self yet, but I guess the seeds have already been sown.
And I guess in a way, HK and I have slowly drifted a part. I haven't seen a movie from HK for a while now, nor have I been watching Chinese TV all that often. I still keep up with manga, but as far as pop culture goes, I feel rather disconnected from that side of the Pacific; and the thing is, I don't give a flying fuck. The shallowness of Hollywood and the press that covers it pales in comparison to their HK equivilents: and I mean by a wide margin. And the "music" that comes out of there? Don't even get me started!
So, here I am, fully fluent in a language that I use at home and with my family and old friends. When I meet new ones, ones that are capable of using that language, they don't, which is fine with me because I'm much more creative swearing in English anyway. Swearing in Cantonese inevitably involves various body parts, called and arranged in a myriad of different ways, and that just gets tiring after a while.
NP: Marine Research - Parallel Horizontal
posted by Hanson |
4:09 PM
Friday, January 03, 2003
The Fat Man Sings!
Les Savy Fav. Les Savy Fav. Les Savy Fav. The wowing was so intense I had to type their name three times.
I saw the most incredible live show yesterday, and yes, it was a band by the name of Les Savy Fav that did the impressing. I originally went to the show, which also feature Hint Hint, to see Pretty Girls Make Graves, who were the second band on a three-band bill. Their lastest/first LP, Good Health, made it into my top 30 of the year, so I was really looking forwad to the show; the fact that Les Savy Fav had a good reputation didn't factor into my buying of the $12 ticket, but heck, why not, I thought.
So after filling my stomach with squid yakisoba and a tropical fruit smoothie, Priscilla and I went to Richards at 8:30 thinking the doors were already opened. Wrong! For some reason, the *doors* were open, but doors weren't open! So we stood there in line for, oh, a while, before slowing trickling in with the rest of the crowd. Apparently, they were checking ID reallly stringently. Anyway, during our time in line, I formulated the 4 Groups of Music Fans that explains why bands fall in and out of favour with certain crowds. I'll write more on that in a future post. Oh, it'll be a doozy.
So, back to the show. Ok. So we got there, and everything was good. We sat for a bit and when Hint Hint came on, we went up near the stage (after the first song that is when I was banging my stool like it ain't no thang). They sounded as good as an opener's opener can be expected to sound; with a line up of consisting of two keyboards, a guitar, and drums, they had a configuration that I've never seen live before. It was refreshing, actually! The sound had a retro tinge, but the band itself looked (as Priscilla pointed out) like they walked straight out of the campus of UW. Hell, their guitar player kind of looked like Ryan Kyle from UW's quiz bowl team!
So, after their engaging set, the wait was on for Pretty Girls Make Graves. They changed drum kits and mics during the break, but soon, stuff was happening on stage. Nope, it wasn't Andrea and co. yet; rather, this large bald guy with a big red beard (who looks like he should be called Olaf) came out with an mp3 player and some speakers. He proceed to put the speakers up to the microphone (they were playing some sort of techno track), got someone on stage to hold the mp3 player/speakers set in place, and danced around the venue (on stage, on the bar, and among the crowd) like a exile from loonie island! It was the funniest thing I've seen a in long time! After a five minutes performance, I dismissed him as an enthusiastic roadie and Pretty Girls came out; the show I was looking forward to the most had started.
And boy did it start. Andrea, the lead singer looking not out of place at a Kelly Osbourne impersonator contest, started wailing on the mic while the rest of the band played. And they were loud. No, no, I mean LOUD! For the most part, I couldn't hear any vocals at all even though Andrea seemed to be shouting into the mic. I guess the really really hard hammer of the bass, drums, and two guitars drowned out her voice, or maybe it was some sort of mechanical problem that screwed up the vocals. Either way, I had to imagine the lyrics to songs like Liquid Courage, Sad Girls Por Vida, and Speaker Push the Air, so it was a bit of a let down. Everything sounded excellent; I just couldn't hear any vocals.
After PGMG left the stage after their blazing set, Olaf the Bearded Crazy came out again, this time, armed with the DJ Sammy "cover" of Bryan Adam's Heaven. He dedicated the song to the fine Canadian artists out there, and after placing the mp3 player and speakers on a stand, next to the mic, he proceeded to dance some more, this time involving members of the audience in his craziness. Not long after, 3 members of Les Savy Fav came out to set up. As they were getting in place, I thought to myself, when will this guy get off stage and let the band play!
Then it hit me. As the bass player, drummer, and guitar got into position, so did Olaf. He took the piece of fabric around his neck and wrapped it around his face, ninja style. He then took the mic.
Holy mofoing shit! Olaf is none other than Tim Harrington, the crazy leadsinger of Les Savy Fav that I've read so much about! In all my reading, I've never once seen a picture of him! While the rest of the band looked like your standard issue indie kids, Tim was a big, blad guy with a big ass red beard! He looked more like my old woodworking teacher Mr. Ott than an idol worshipped by record store clerks all around North America!
And then the peformance began. I know it's impossible for me to describe the whole show in detail (I *do* have classes to go to), but here are the highlights:
-He ripped one pant leg off a guy's jeans who was sitting on the balcony, took off his shoe and sock, and started sucking his toes.
-He threw the mic on the balcony and started singing up there.
-He used the lighting fixtures as monkey bars and hung there on the roof.
-He got people from the crowd to grab his legs and hung upside down from the railings.
-He toppled a speaker and sang on top of it.
-He orally pleasured a hanging lamp.
-To end the set, he rolled out a big white sheet, and stripped behind it while a pulsating light was lighting the background.
-He did this thing with his big fat belly around like a belly dancer on stage.
And oh yeah: they played some pretty rocking music too! Tim (and the rest of the band) was pure energy. I mean PURE. I'm sure there are a whole bunch of things I forgot to mention, but it was the most incredible live show I've ever seen. I've been to better show musically, but the show aspect of a show, this was topped by none.
Let me just say this: I doubt I'll pick up any of their CDs any time soon, but if they every play here I again, I'm so there.
NP: Phantom Planet
posted by Hanson |
11:21 AM
Wednesday, January 01, 2003
Welcome 2003! Remember to Tip Your Waitress!
So, here we are. Here are we. 2003! Here we be! And I can't get Nina Gordon's 2003 out of my head! I *do* wonder what the future can bring to me! But I guess I should ask not what the future can bring to me, but rather what I can bring to the future. There's one thing I *know* I can bring though: methane. Besides that, we'll see.
Oh yes. I now have 364 days to break the new years resolutions that I don't have! Why don't I make them? Well, cos I can breakthem. I do have new years goals though, and goals I can't break ;-)
Let see... unmeasurable goals for this year: 1) get more music; 2) learn more about music; 3) acquire decent ability on the guitar; 4) see more shows; 5) not finish last at NAQT Nationals; 6) get my internship with Billy Gates' little shop; 7) read more; and, lastly but not leastly, 8) expand my horizons!
And yay! Pretty Girls Make Graves tomorrow!! (not to mention school *groan*... new years eve recap will come later)
NP: Velocity Girl - Sorry Again
posted by Hanson |
11:41 PM
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