The Duke

After going out for a public skate last night with a loop of hits from the 70's and 80's or something, and dodging little kids zig zagging all over the place, we went out to the Duke of Wellington, usually a good enough little pub, for a few drinks. By the time we were done, I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I understand that when you have live music acts at your bar, you tend to feature them. But having them so loud that the waitress won't even go through a few beers on the beer list is ridiculous. Especially when its a cover band. If I wanted to hear Honky Tonk Women rocked out, I'd go to the next Stones farewell tour.

Now, I know they are one of the hosts of the Go Festival next week. I understand that people will be filing in simply because of the local indie original talent, that's fine, play the music loud. Hell I even hope to catch an act or two at one of the venues. But lets not have cover bands jacked up so loud that people, apparently including the waitress can't hear themselves think.

When a waitress forgets an order of fries that she even asks whether you'd like gravy or curry sauce with, and then forgets again when you openly ask her if your fries are coming, you either need new serving staff, or to turn that shit down. And how about, instead of having the waitress try to yell out to the table what items are no longer available on their menu that's changing, you take a sharpie and cross out those items for the time being.

I can tell you I won't be back to see the new menus any time soon.

Crocodile Rock

After getting to sleep at 4:30 this morning, I dragged my ass out of bed again at 9:30 to hop on Ticketmaster in time for the 'onsale' of tickets to the Elton John show in town next month. Somehow, despite being a fan since she was 15, my mom has never gone to a show, and wanted to be sure to get in on this one. At 9:58 on my computer time (tickets were officially on sale at 10) I had access to buy tickets, and by then already could only buy a single ticket, not even a pair. I had thought about grabbing a block of 4, or two pair, and selling the ones my mom wasn't going to use on eBay, but when I could only get 1, I decided not to push my luck.

The show sold out within half an hour (the Aud isn't exactly a huge venue), and after that, there were already tickets for sale on eBay at 3 for $1800 for the cheapest seats in the place. I don't know what the market is like for single tickets, but I should have gone back for some more singles. I'm sure I could have gotten at least $300 more than I paid.

I'm sure I fared better though than people who were lined up outside the Aud last night already in hopes of getting tickets. 16 hours in the wind and cold and forecast 25 cm of snow, to maybe have the line move fast enough to get your tickets in the first half hour, or sit half naked at your computer, grab your tickets and be done with it. That's what you get for not having even a little faith in technology.

BlackD'yerRoll

8 hours driving, and 10 hours of actual dirty fieldwork in the past 2 days. Its nice when the time flies like that, though you can only play along with so many classic rock trivia call-in shows before you feel you should really call in with the answer and save the poor people. That is until you remember that the tickets they're giving away are for a Pink Floyd cover act and some Canadian 80's rock bands who, while catchy, are not great.

If only I could have remembered that drum outtro was from Rock and Roll, I would have been at a Loverboy show.

But instead, I'll be at the Matt Good acoustic show on campus tomorrow night. Small venue, acoustic show, and decent sound from every show I've ever seen there; it all promises to be a good show. And since I'm working on campus tomorrow, I may have to try to drop by and see if I can coerce my way into a sound check, though I won't keep my hopes up.

Guitar Hero Killed the Radio Star

Video never did kill it, but guitar hero just might. Sure the game might teach people to respect some of the greatest guitar riffs of all time, but why not actually learn the instrument for real. It'll be far more entertaining in the long run and more enjoyable than hitting some buttons on a plastic mock guitar.

Its not even as challenging as getting people together to play a game of hockey or football or something, where playing a game as a substitute seems to fit. The next thing you know there will be an Eating Hero set of games.

Hey press these buttons to eat your twinkies and cheetos. Hit the secret bonus sequence for all you can eat ice-cream bar!!. Yea, they're not real, but you'll set one sexy high score.

On second thought, Eating Hero might not be the worst idea for some lazy ass kids out there. They'll be too busy game-eating to real-eat. I guess the qualification shouldn't be limited to kids either as there are some damned lazy people out there who aren't simply genetically predisposed to these kind of things. Nonetheless, we can all just blame it on the government and let them tax us more to deal with the problem.

Who's Idea Was This Whole Work Thing Anyways

I'm feeling kind of dead after putting in a ton of hours already this week, but I'm sure I'll find some energy somewhere for tomorrow's Logan Day festivities. Its funny/sad that I was complaining about my thesis in the post from this time last year, and its still not done.

Anyways, the bar night is gonna be held in the former stripper room at the Huether again, and promises to be a good time. Dodging thesis supervisors at the day's activities might not be as much fun, but I did finally legitimately start looking at my project again, so I have that.

I could write a much better thesis on how much the Edge replays garbage music in a given work day after spending the past 3 listening to it while doing field work. But we all already know this. I swear if I hear that goddamned Silversun Pickups song one more time I am going to go postal. Most. Annoying. Vocals. Ever....and the rhythm isn't much better.

Although it did remind me to go check out the Barry Bonds homerun ball vote that was also discussed frequently on the radio in the past few days. Awesome on Marc Ecko for having the money, stupidity, and yet brilliance to pull this off; though I'm sure its not hurting the marketing department either.

Go Vote. That is all.

And on the Seventh Day I Rested

After a few weeks straight of working at it every day, there are a few more doors to be painted for my room, and I can wash my hands of this renovation project. But we're finally getting some proper summer weather, and in time for a long weekend for once, so its time to kick back and take a few days off, and instead of sinking money into tools and trim and pain, carefully invest in beer for the weekend.

I say carefully because I got a call this morning from Steve letting me know the details for meeting up with him and his wife at Algonquin in a couple weeks, and am not going to have a whole bunch of money to play with for that excursion. Not working for a calendar year is starting to hurt. So long as I don't go ahead and fuck myself over like last time around when I forgot, among other things, a sleeping bag, and spent a night shivering, an exorbitant amount of money on a blanket, and the rest of my trip feeling slightly jaded with the experience.

Not all of my money lately has gone to the renovation though. The latest White Stripes album is fantastically written, and complete with the typical catchy beats and riffs that they rock out so well. My favourites from it are Rag and Bone, which has a great fun energy, and Cause and Effect which can be interpreted any number of ways and to me is a great closing track for the album.

And of course, a legitimate candidate for album of the year so far, Matthew Good's latest, which I managed to score a signed copy of 5 minutes before selling out. Hospital Music, knowing the story leading up to the writing of the album, is one of the most open and honest collections of music you could ever expect to hear, with some excellent covers of Daniel Johnston's True Love Will Find You in the End (which was also covered by Beck on one of his recent albums) and Moon Over Marin by The Dead Kennedys. I honestly hadn't heard the Dead Kennedys version until after hearing Matt's version, so I'm likely biased in describing it as a much better put together rendition, but I'm saying it anyways. That's something that can't be said for most cover versions of songs ever done, with the Jimi Hendrix version of Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower and Pearl Jam's take on Last Kiss being other cases that come to mind.

I'm sure now I'll think of a number more though while I kick back with a few beers on the balcony for the weekend and attempt not to sweat it out as fast as I drink it. Dunno what this whole 'Civic Holiday' is about anyways, but I'll take it!

Poker in the Back

I need to stop drinking so much when I play poker. Sure I may still play well enough to win occasionally, but most often all I have to show for my efforts the next morning is a hangover. This morning was no exception, although we did split the fairly large pot from last night's big game between the final 3, covering some of my losses.

And my being out of action all morning really means nothing to my renovation progress as I've had to cake the drywall mud on extra thick and wait for it to dry in an attempt to mask the shoddy construction around the window and door casings. Its true what they say about old houses being a lot of work, but if nothing else, I know at least that its built solid, if not always square and even.

Speaking of solid construction, the new Smashing Pumpkins album holds up alright. Its not quite as epic as the Mellon Collie album was, but then to expect anything like that album would be setting yourself up for disappointment right from the start. That said, it rocks hard, and despite the loss of James Iha on guitar, the songs certainly aren't lacking. I think I'll be buying this one, along with the new MG when it comes out, and the Traveling Wilburys set will likely find its way on to this month's mastercard bill as well.

A job needs to find its way to me soon too, or those mastercard bills are really going to start becoming more of an issue.

Tape Select B - Side A

In cleaning out my room to do renovation work I came across a case full of cassette tapes, as well as some 8-tracks I swiped from my parents' collections when I was a kid. Some of the cassettes, I can honestly say, I didn't know I had, including gems from Rob Van Winkle, MC Hammer, and the king of pop himitself. On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with owning 8-track copies of Bat Out of Hell, or Supertramp's Crime of the Century.

Along with the legit (2 legit 2 quit?) tapes though, I also came across my collections of mix tapes, some of them with the tracks written out in neat handwriting as I had nothing better to do at 12 years old, others printed off from some of the earliest versions of MS Publisher. These were the tapes that were nearly worn out listening to All Apologies or Black Hole Sun or One. If you're picturing me now as one of those kids walking around in a plaid shirt and ripped jeans, a few years behind the actual 'grunge' peak, you'd be absolutely right. Don't forget the quasi Kurt undercut.

Anyways, I found my mix tapes, and having just put the stock radio and tape deck back into my old van before its as yet unspecified date with the junkyard, I decided to throw one in the other day. Its remarkable how many of the songs I actually still enjoy, even with the tone not fading in and out from heating and cooling of the tape sitting in the sweltering car or being constantly fast-forwarded or rewound.

It was almost enough to make me want to bust out a tape deck and make a new one for this era. Which brings us to the new Matt Good single, and how I'd consider registering on iTunes and buying it, if it weren't for all the digital rights management crap. I like to be able to move my music around, between my PC and my laptop, or occasionally a memory stick to listen at school, and on to mp3 mix discs which have taken over for me from tapes. See I buy mp3 capable DVD and CD players for my car and home entertainment system for a reason, and to have to worry about whether the song will actually play because of the DRM is just a big pain in the ass. I ran into a similar problem with the Foo Fighters two years ago with the copy protection on the actual physical CD.

Its no fault of the artists either in most cases, but the money grubbing execs, who I guess aren't making enough off the $100's concert tickets and $billions in music sales still, despite file sharing. Nonetheless, I will be grabbing a copy of the CD the day it comes out anyways, as I'm still a sucker for the tangible, and for album art, and so feel no guilt about acquiring a copy of the track in other ways, perhaps to make myself a mix tape circa 2007.

At a Medium Pace

Slowly, but more steadily now, my thesis is getting written. Much to my surprise, my unofficial transcript already has me listed as being awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours, despite the thesis being listed as in progress. Actually, I retract that statement about surprise, because the university admin from day 1 has never been on top of things quite the way they should be, so really it comes as no shock at all. Somehow managed to stay on the Dean's Honours List as well.

With all that said, I'm not feeling too guilty about sitting outside in the 30 degree weather, cruising the web and listening to music.

I've set myself up with a last.fm account to keep track of what I've been listening to, and find some new similar stuff. Always more toys to play with. In that light, I've also been thinking about getting myself an iPod finally, and maybe a Mac to play around with to go with it. Of course these things cost money, and despite my transcript saying I'm a hydrogeologist now, that's not official, and nor do I have any job fitting that, or any other description.

But this weather sure is great!

Fun Fact Friday III

House centipedes eat a variety of insects and spiders, and thrive in humid, warm environments, making them most active in the spring and fall in mid-latitudes associated with weather change. The conditions most conducive to these qualities are basements and bathrooms. Their rigid bodies make them very quick. Girlfriends, upon seeing a said quick moving house centipede in the spring, bolting across her boyfriend's basement floor may herself bolt up the stairs and wait for you to "do something about that thing eww eww eww", and proceed to shake out all blankets before being able to watch TV again.

The U.S. Department of Labour (via my Psych textbook) lists, among other things dope sprayer, bosom presser, cookie breaker, impregnator and impregnator helper in its Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Once again I've been shown that I am pursuing the wrong career path.

The samples from Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction in the Fun Lovin Criminals song Scooby Snacks were taken without legal permission, and so Quentin Tarantino has gone on to collect writing credit and royalties for the song.

My thesis deadline is April 6th, exactly one week away. I have not written a word. April 6th is also a recognized holiday (good friday), and setting due dates or exams on said day is against school policy. I'm wondering exactly how I might work this to my favour; perhaps by waxing born-again for a few days.

Reading Week

It had to come eventually. After such a mild December and January, the snowfall was due, and mother nature took a big white dump on us this week. On the plus side, the first big hurrah, may also have been the last big hurrah of the season, as the long term outlook is looking at weather getting up above freezing again soon. It will be nice to not creak when I go outside in the mornings.

Its officially reading week now, which for some people means flying off to nice white sand beaches in the tropics. For others it means trying to put together a Bachelors thesis in a week, while also playing catchup in actual reading and assignments. Its what I signed up for ultimately.

I also signed up years ago for the NIN mailing list, and unlike other bands whose mailing lists I've also been on at one time or another, there is very little garbage advertising that gets pumped into the account from NIN.com. So yesterday when I got an e-mail I was obliged to open it, and found that there is already a new full length album coming out in 2 months, and that two of the songs are posted on the NIN myspace page.

Of course for the slightly more initiated, the songs are available out there for download, though not in spectacular quality. The first single, Survivalism, follows a political tone more apparent in Trent's latest work, while still replete with biting sarcasm and enough variation in sound again to make it a decent single.

I'll admit I was slightly shocked to see the songs available a full two months before the album release date, but then Trent Reznor is known for embracing technology and inviting fan remixes, as well as providing various forms of media under the NIN name. And when there is invariably a leak of material before the official release of an album these days anyways, why not embrace the opportunity. I'm looking forward to the release.

I also heard on the radio in the lab yesterday that Chris Cornell has once again decided to fly solo, leaving Audioslave. I think Audioslave was getting tired anyways, and this just opens the door for a more permanent reunion of Rage Against the Machine, should their gig at Coachella in the spring inspire them.

Now about inspiring myself.

These G-Strings Ain't Shakin'

At the end of the summer I worked on my best Bob Vila impression, renovating the converted room in the back of my garage. At the point I left it off, there was some carpet down and an otherwise empty room. For the first bit of this term, while it was still warm, I let the room serve as a room for my buddy and I to crank our amps, or to host games of poker.
Since the onset of the cold weather however, the poor insulation back there, combined with the unrelated piling on of course work, has seen me go back there less and less frequently. I've since moved the weight machine that was acting only as a threat to toes everywhere as an obstacle back there, and not used it as much as is warranted either. I've found a little time to pluck away at my mid-range Washburn acoustic that otherwise hangs on display in my room, but other than that my guitars have been neglected. I haven't touched my electric since early October, or put new strings on either since perhaps late August.

But after I finish the lab work for my thesis on Monday, I plan on stopping at the music shop on the way home to grab new strings for both and doing something about all that. None of this means anything of course because I still have no intentions of ever playing for anyone but myself, but I still find my fun. Infact, I probably should have taken the time out from work more often this fall to plug in the guitar. Few things work quite as well for releasing tension as cranking the gain, and thrashing out some old school speed Metallica riffs, with no care for the quality.

Aside from the guitar, and its neglect, I've switched to Foobar for playing my music collection. Its a simple, plug-in oriented music player that I've known of for years but was unwilling to part with Winamp over. Winamp started pissing me off, and Windows Media Player is, in short, trash, so here we are. Foobar works well, with far fewer resources than either of the above, and has also lead to me re-tagging most of my collection, and starting to add track numbers to the tags to facilitate the excellent sorting options that it offers. The advent of mp3s has for most meant a lean away from listening to albums front to back, as some of the greater ones of all time were originally intended, but Foobar is getting me away from that again.

If you're not gonna give Foobar a try, at least buy/'legally' download the new Emily Haines (of Metric; I wonder how long that qualification will last) album, as its well done.

Oh, and I switched to 'Blogger beta'...we'll see how this goes.