It's snowmageddon, take nine, here in sunny Freddy Beach again, so it's a good day so sit in and do some reading about crazy science news. You should also listen to this great performance from Ben Caplan, who is from Halifax and happens to be playing at Folly Fest this year. It's another from that great Southern Souls website, but it's quite different from any other I've seen. Actually I think it's probably the best one I've seen on that post, not just for it's uniqueness in style and location, but as a single individual performance it's fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Very fine. Better than that. Fine is ok... who invited Statler & Waldorf to that party?
So the Academy Awards, aka the Oscars, are on the teletube tonight. Sadly (fortunately?) I have never had any interest in watching nonsensical and utterly pointless awards being given out to overhyped celeb types. It's bad enough watching it on the tube, can you imagine actually being in the audience? Cameras on you all the time, boring speeches ad nauseum, and no chance of an escape. Dreadful. I'm pretty tired but here are a bunch of alternative things you would be better off watching instead of suffering through that junk. Better yet, go watch a movie that wasn't nominated. Like this one.
Dunno what happened to yesterday. I think there was lots of snow and I was buried underneath, and then was forced to eat some delicious lasagna. It was torturous, I swear. Something like that. Thanks Katie. Woke up today with the shakes but after sleeping most of the day I seem to have made a rapid recovery, enough to head back to the decks tonight at the Phoenix. You probably won't hear this one tonight but it's a cool track that Shamos posted and I hadn't heard it yet. Rival Schools? Need to seek out more from them I think. Enjoy.
And I was doing so well too... ah well. Somehow between reading all the news about the conflicts in Libya, the earthquake in Christchurch, Justin Bieber's haircut, and playing Angry Birds for far, far, too long I managed to avoid blogging for a couple days. For the sake of productivity, some of this will have to go. I think it's gonna have to be the birds. For those who haven't played it yet, don't. You'll never stop.
There's so much going on in the world right now it's kind of hard to focus on the little things that surround us every day that make a difference. They seem so small and trivial and yet when neglected for too long they begin to feel like as much of an anchor as any other, slowing progress with unrelenting purpose. Entering my fourth decade of this existence, I still haven't quite figured out how to balance it all. I'm getting there, though, slowly but surely.
Back to music. The Shawn Taylor Hype Machine suggested that I blog The Stanfields, and who am I to argue with the great man? These guys are from Halifax, kind of a folk-punk group, and they rock. I recommend checking them out, but only if you're interested in having a great time. Hey, not everyone's into fun, just throwing it out there. Since I've taken a couple days off I'll even post a couple of their good 'uns for you to judge. To find out more of what they're all about, here's a little interview with the legendary Alan Cross that will give you the what's what. Enjoy.
The Stanfields - The Dirtiest Drunk (In The History Of Liquor)
Lenny Kravitz was one of those awesome rockers who I grew up on, particularly with his huge song "Are You Gonna Go My Way". Up until his 1995 album "Circus" I was really diggin' the Lenny, but ever since he went all digital he kind of got soft and lost his edge. I'm all about the love, peeps, but life isn't always smiles and chocolates and I feel that art should reflect that. It just seems like a shame that so many artists lose that edge somehow and just put out a bunch of sappy filler.
Speaking of art the massive Salvador Dali original "Santiago El Grande" has returned to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, so I think I shall have to go check it out, especially since I haven't been there in about a decade. Gotta admire his wackiness as much as his undoubted talent.
I was out all day so no time for blog or news but now I'm at the Capital and you should come listen to some sweet tunes from me and maybe the bands downstairs but probably mostly me cause I'm cool and I like songs like this one from Common.
I've taken a week off to recover from... well... nothing in particular? Maybe just to recharge the blog's batteries. So here goes.
Today is a big day for new music. Radiohead has released their new album "The King Of Limbs" a day early, and I have it. I haven't listened to it yet, and in fact haven't even listened to the single I'm about to post, but since this is one of my favourite bands, I am confident that it will be awesome.
Hey Rosetta! played at the Market last night here in Freddy Beach, and by all accounts they put on a great show. I just got their new album today, and am listening to it right now. It's good. Get it. It's called "Seeds". I dare say there is a hint of old Radiohead in some of the tracks.
Scientists Of Sound rocket the Capital last night, and although they had some technical difficulties, I gather it was a good performance nonetheless. I got a copy of the new EP "Wealth And Hellness" and was honored to be able to play the album for the first time in public anywhere. It's really good. Get it.
Now enjoy this stellar new Radiohead track that I've never heard, the cool tech-house remix of a Groove Armada classic, and enjoy all the crazy links. See ya tomorrow.
Well it's official, I'm going to UFC 129 in Toronto. Awesome. I've been before but this one, I feel, will be special. Particularly since I haven't been back to Toronto in ages. Well, not much to do now but bask in the glory of mountains of snow with a cool glass of my favourite fluoride-free Fredericton tap water while listening to Mark Ronson's brilliant cover of a Radioheadclassic. Have a good one.
"People think other people care about they have to say. Take it from a part-time blogger: They don't. No one cares what you have to say." - Unknown Author
That was posted on Julie's Facebook status today. I'm not sure what to think about it. I'll have to get back to you on that one.
February sunshine always seems to make me think that I've wasted a whole lot of time over the winter, and can't wait to get outside to get things done. I haven't really been that unproductive, but patience is a particularly difficult virtue to master.
No time for small talk. This is the new Rebel Emergency video hot off the press. After years of hard work and dedication these guys are finally starting to get their due. Mad props to guitar king Geoff and bass boss Mike for keepin' it real. Enjoy.
I had a bit of the sniffles yesterday and thankfully missed the Superbowl halftime abomination, but have recovered sufficiently to post a bunch of links today. Remember this great tune? Maybe not, considering it came out back in 1994. Youssou N'Dour is a world famous singer, composer, and social activist from Senegal. If you haven't heard of him, you're missing out, and hopefully this will change things for you. Neneh Cherry is Swedish-African, quite an interesting mix, and has been around for a while, mostly doing collaborations in recent years. Give this one a good listen or two. And heck, why not post another great track with Youssou featuring in it. Big it up.
Yesterday was dubstep, today's it's some deep house. I like deep house music. It's good. Better than dubstep. This is a new release from Stuffa, but it's an interesting video. They took all the tracks from the single, including the remixes, and mixed them all together to make the video. It's a cool preview idea, a cool video, and a pretty cool track in itself. I'm most looking forward to the Wolf & Lamb mix. Sounds wicked fresh. Oh look I found it. Bonus beats it is. Enjoy the beats and newsy links.
It's dubstep day on the blog, which means anything of any serious consequence will be kept to a minimum. Sort of. As I've said before, I'm not a dubstep fan. I'm still waiting to be "converted", but I'm not hopeful. It's kind of funny that the ones that I do like are often more drum & bass than dubstep, but maybe that's because it's what I think dubstep should have been. Less wobble bass, more creativity please. And how... HOW, I plead, am I supposed to dance to this stuff?
BONUS BEAST!!!
Skrillex - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites [Noisia Remix]
Miami Horror are actually from Australia. Fact. These guys are part of the disco funky movement that is gaining momentum these days. Mizz Maxine posted "I Look To You" a couple days ago and reminded me about this track I've been rocking at the Phoenix lately. Great tune, fun group, check them out.
No time to comment on anything right now, too busy dealing with snowmageddon while watching the Egyptian situation closely. I echo the sentiments of Charles Bradley. Debut album at the age of 62 and he knows exactly what's going on. Thanks to Meghan for the sweet tune. Check out some links and I'll see ya tomorrow.
Charles Bradley - The World (Is Going Up In Flames)
