1982 and counting

Since I'll be reading 1001 Albums for a while, I figured periodic updates were required. I'm at 1982 now - finished with punk, California rock (=Eagles) and heavy metal. New Wave is just beginning, as is "post-punk," which seems to be a catch-all phrase for bands that seem smarter than The Sex Pistols, which is pretty much everybody. Rap and hip-hop are also burgeoning: I just read about Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. But the most interesting synopsis of a 1982 album is also the most obvious:

"Thriller is surrounded by a cloud of statistics - the biggest album in history, it sold more than 40 million copies on its first release; it shifted a million copies a month in the first half of 1983; of its nine tracks, seven were hit singles.
It does not stand up as well as Off The Wall overall, but some of its meticulous fusions of pop, rock, and R&B manage to improve on even that template. Ignore the ridiculously camp title track - a song that drains the life out of the record at the end of side one - and concentrate on the undisputed masterpieces. The funk opener "Wanna Be Startin' Something" serves the same funtion as Off The Wall's "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" - a minimal, riff-based framework for Jacko's hyperkinetic hiccups. It also "borrows" rather heavily from Manu Dibango's "Soul Makossa" (Jacko's lawyers made a large out-of-court settlement). Elsewhere you will thrill to the airbrushed funk-rock of "Beat It" (Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo was cut and spliced from 50 different takes); while "Human Nature" is a digital ballad so beautiful that Miles Davis covered it.
But the star turn is "Billie Jean," on which a creepy, electronic bassline gets under your skin while the dubious lyric asks you to side with the paranoid millionaire superstar rather than the impoverished single mother. Like the rest of Thriller, it is machine-tooled pop that has been painstakingly crafted by state-of-the-art session men for months, but there is not a note out of place.
Jacko's increasingly freakshow lifestyle should not detract from the brilliance of this album." - John Lewis

Ahhh the good old days. I've actually reached albums that I remember listening to. I enjoyed Thriller, both the album and the song, of which I think the reviewer failed to account for its popularity among five-year-olds. Don't forget to watch the Olympics. Another medal for Canada today.

the Homepage of Mr. David Hutton

As a former editor of the U of S student newspaper, Hutty has certain views on "freedom of the press"; I'm delighted to see that that includes linking to those incendiary cartoons. Power to the people, Dave!

My Buddy Kenny

Be sure to watch the Olympic bobsleigh event in the next couple of weeks - a friend of mine, Kenny Kotyk, is on the 4-man team (thanks for the link Jamie!). Kenny starts on the 24th, so be sure to watch!

Check out CBC's bobsleigh site here.

Revolver is the greatest

I'm reading this great, great book right now called 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (edited by Robert Dimery). Though I normally don't dwell on death (I'd call the book 1001 Albums That Make Life Great), this book is a great read. It's more in depth than Rolling Stone's Top 500 albums, and it's ordered chronologically to give a less subjective feel. The descriptions give, I think, a good idea about why the particular album is on the list, as well as what other albums are linked to it and thus should also be listened to. I've only reached 1973 (Stephen Stills and The Byrds appear a lot, surprisingly, along with the usual suspects), and I started at 1961, so I've got a bit to go. I have tried to put on the albums that I own after reading its review: Music From Big Pink, Moondance, Led Zeppelin III, All Things Must Pass, The Velvet Underground and Nico, Who's Next, Bridge Over Troubled Water; so far the best listen, and review, belongs to Revolver:

"Once The Beatles were fab and gear; now they oozed self-assurance. It is there in the mysterious black-and-white cover, a line drawing-cum-collage created by Klaus Voorman, whom The Beatles knew from their Hamburg days. It is there in the ambiguous title - so much cooler than the mooted Abracadabra, Magic Circles, and Beatles on Safari.
And it is there in 14 unimpeachable tracks. Or 11 if you were American in 1966, since Capitol put "I'm Only Sleeping," "And Your Bird Can Sing," and "Doctor Robert" on Yesterday and Today, a hodgepodge of album and single cuts that Revolver actually knocked off the top of the Billboard chart (again, very cool).
Revolutionary at the time - 'I am sick,' declared McCartney, 'of doing sounds that people can claim to have heard before' - Revolver resounds down the decades. Earth Wind and Fire brought the brassy strut of "Got To Get You Into My Life" into the disco era. The Jam carbon-copied the rifftastic "Taxman" for their UK chart-topping "Start!" And The Chemical Brothers based a career on "Tomorrow Never Knows."
Revolver is cited as the point when The Beatles broke up: they played their last paying gig weeks after its release, Lennon and McCartney were no longer writing together, and Harrison was rumbling with resentment.
The payoff was astonishing, and summed up by its sole single, "Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby": one side a children's song that will outlive us all, the other a string-driven lament that even today sounds nothing at all like pop music - yet is still, like its parent album, simply brilliant." (Bruno MacDonald)

I hadn't listened to this album in a while and was blown away all over again: "She Said She Said," "For No One," "I'm Only Sleeping," "And Your Bird Can Sing," "Eleanor Rigby" - the rest of the songs are great, too. Give it a listen next chance you get. Then read 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Knoop admits false identity of writer JT LeRoy

More identity forgeries in the world of literature. This is becoming scandalous: the literary world is well on its way to being as reputable as baseball or wrestling. Or, in the defense of authors, editors and publishers are becoming lazier. I'm sure that most publishers insist on meeting an author face to face. Perhaps a valid driver's license should be required before signing a contract. Of course, authors are resourceful if not nefarious and could easily obtain the proper identification. Gee, sounds like a novel.

CBC Arts: Knoop admits false identity of writer JT LeRoy

A Chance Meeting With the PM

I guess I should've reported this last week, but I was too excited. On Friday I was working at Chapters when who else but (now former) PM Paul Martin comes in. He's got his goons with him and everything, and he browsed the Social Science section before heading to the Travel section, which happened to be in my general direction. In fact, he walked right toward me. I took the opportunity to say hello and shake his hand. I also thanked him for his (seemingly) honest final press conference; I appreciated the candor, I said, and he responded with a (I'd like to think) genuine thank you. What I didn't say was that he could've used such polite manners during the campaign. He might still be in office had he done so. Anyhoo, apparently he picked up some books on Turkey, so perhaps that's as far as he has to go to get away from the embarassment that was the Liberal loss. Also, he's much taller than I guessed: at least 6' 3'' in my opinion. I don't know why that's important, but there you are.

Confessions...

I've been listening to a lot of interesting music lately and I thought I should share my list of favourite songs with everyone since I'm not posting about anything else (insert apology here). I'm not sure what to call this list; there is no unifying theme other than they're on my hot list this week.

Local God - Everclear. This gem from the Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack is a true rocker released before they got too big for their britches.

Morning Bell - Radiohead. Both versions have been on repeat. I recommend listening to the Kid A version first and then kicking it up a notch with the Amnesiac version.

One More Cup of Coffee - The White Stripes. This is a Dylan cover from The White Stripes' first album.

Helpless (live) - Neil Young and The Band. I recently picked up The Last Waltz, a concert film about The Band, and determined that this version of "Helpless" is one of the best performances on the DVD. Neil never fails to impress.

Snowbird - Anne Murray. This may surprise some, but if you've never heard it before, I recommend that you take a listen before you pass judgement.

Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt - We Are Scientists. This new cut is pretty catchy.

Sirena - Calexico. Another catchy tune, this time with horns and a "south of the border" sound.

The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash. The title track from Cash's last studio album is the best song on an album that includes covers of "Hurt," "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Personal Jesus."

You Only Live Once - The Strokes. The latest album from the Strokes is still in heavy rotation.

Movies of Myself - Rufus Wainwright. Rufus's voice is a little bit much at times but here it's just right.

Publish My Love - Rogue Wave. All you fans of The O.C. know this song.

Hung Up - Madonna. {no comment}

What They Really Think About Monkeys

Read Craig Taylor's article at CBC about The Arctic Monkeys and Britain's pop machine.

Oprah soap-rah continues

CBC.ca on Oprah; Slate on Oprah

Yesterday James Frey appeared on Oprah's show to apologise for "lying": "Frey said Thursday that 'most of what [the site] wrote was pretty accurate,' and that the Smoking Gun writers who found the discrepancies did "a good job.'" Oprah is pissed and regrets any words that defended Frey: "I made a mistake and I left the impression that the truth does not matter and I am deeply sorry about that. That is not what I believe." So, the truth does matter. But why does Oprah feel that she had confront him publicly? Couldn't she have condemmed the book or the author in a press release? I've got two words in response: publicity stunt. Let's see how many copies of Million Little Pieces are sold now.

Snow threatens election day

Political analysts were optimistic about voter turnout for Monday as most of the country was enjoying unseasonally balmy temperatures. However, in Ottawa and, I suppose, most of Eastern Canada, disaster: Well, not really, but it is definitely the worst blizzard I've seen this year. If the snow continues until Monday and it is extremely difficuly to get about town, half-assed voters might just think it isn't worth it. It's too bad, really, especially since the hearty Westerners, who are used to such weather, will probably still vote in droves and will probably vote Conservative. Ideally, only NDP voters will continue to vote in force and Jack Layton will become "The Snow Scandal" Prime Minister. It must be a boring election campaign if this is how I amuse myself. Going back to the Conservatives, even though I disagree in principle with much of Harper's social policy, he seems to be the only leader worthy of leading this country. Martin is embarassing himself with every speech, Duceppe is not in the running and Layton, though he would do some good, bases his platform on the premise that he won't get in. It is sad to see Martin fall so hard. I feel a little bad for him, but then I remember that he is the head of a crony network who will do anything to stay in power and is so arrogant about his worth to Canadians that he campaigned on a platform of fear rather than real policy. Remember to vote, even if the weather is the worst weather you've ever seen: it will always be worth it!

First Noteworthy Album of 2006

I picked up the new Strokes album, First Impressions of Earth, a couple of weeks back but I didn't blog about it for various reasons; actually, only one: I was lazy. But now I am blogging about it to tell others that it is a very good album, one that should be mentioned come year-end list time next year. I say "noteworthy" and not "great" because it isn't a great album: it's a solid album that won't disappoint current fans but likely won't attract new ones. It's more aggressive, as though Julian Casablancas is through with his bouncy, happy-go-lucky songs of the past and now deals with harsher things. Rolling Stone will tell you that he comments on "God and fate and the meaning of the universe" and Spin reports that Casablancas "may incur accusations of terminal flameout." The lyrics are conveniently vague, but the music is darker, heavier, harder ("beefier") than the previous two albums; this album has some weight to it. Key songs are "Juicebox," "Heart in a Cage," "Razorblade" and "Ize Of the World." I'll give it three and a half meditative singers out of five.

Million little topics of discussion

I know this is an old story, but if you haven't read about the controversy surrounding James Frey's Million Little Pieces, read The Smoking Gun article here. It raises many questions about authorial intention blah blah blah, but if you like to see what gets Oprah squiriming, read all about it. Slate's take can be found here, or read about the book's "emotional truth" here. I really have no opinion, except that a good read is a good read, even if the author seems to misrepresent him-/herself. Would you enjoy a book any less if you knew more about the life of the author? Should you?

Update, finally

Sorry about the lack of posts lately - we've been a bit busy. My dad visited us from Manitoba last week. We showed him the sights as best we could, but due to unpredictable weather, we mostly stayed in and watched the first season of Lost (thanks Jess and Mark!). Now, we've stayed away from Lost for a few reasons, the main one being that we missed the first episode. This show is good. At least, it kept our attention for six straight nights. Now we have to catch up on Season 2. My dad and I also went to see Munich on Friday. It is a great film. Some people don't like him for his "Hollywoodization," but he makes enjoyable films: that's the bottom line for any paying customer. Anyhoo, it was a great visit with my dad. It was really good to see him and we enjoyed having him at our humble abode. I've also been working a lot in the last few days, and as such am a bit rundown: I've got that nasty cold everyone seemed to get over the holidays. Not to worry, the blogging should be back to normal now.

The Biggest of 2005: The 200 Bestselling Books of the Year

As an employee of Chapters, I am familiar with most of these titles. It is an interesting contrast to any "best of" list, though there will inevitably be some crossover. Check it out, but kindly disregard the incorrect use of "it's" in the first paragraph - I'm sure the editors of this site need not be reminded of the irony of a grammatical error on a top-selling books list. Or perhaps it's indicative of the growing divide between "literary" and "popular". You decide.
The Biggest of 2005: The 200 Bestselling Books of the Year

Quick! Buy books!

The advent of the Sony Reader may change the book industry - for real, this time. For years, book purists have been lamenting the "death of the book" in the face of digital technology; for years, the paper book has thrived nonetheless (evidence at Chapters is overwhelming). The drawbacks of digital technology, such as the low-quality reading screen of computers, have prevented ebooks from replacing published books. I, for one, feel that the paper book will never become obsolete. However, Sony is making me question my confidence. The new Reader, a hand-held screen about the size of trade paperback, may just change the way people think about books and reading. Read this article from David Derbyshire of The Daily Telegraph; then check out the Reader's main site. Will the book become obsolete? I hope not.

Starbucks revealed

I used to think that Starbucks was just an overrated product, an easy and convenient way to get coffee without much consequence. However, two things have changed my outlook: one, I now work for The Second Cup; two, I've had some decidedly bad cups of coffee at Starbucks lately. Since I also work at Chapters, it is difficult to not go to Starbucks, but I feel that even the trip to Tim's is worth it over a cup at Starbucks. Tim Harford, I think, agrees with me: his recent Slate article examines the economics of the "tall" cappuccino. At the Second Cup, our regular size is smaller than the SB's tall, making it a better drink (we also add a touch of love). Coffee drinkers and economists, and especially coffee-drinking economists, will enjoy this article.


Starbucks Economics

Yay Canada!!!

We may complain about the weather, but we're not complaining about Canada's junior team - a perfect 6-0 for the second straight year and a second straight gold medal. The Canadians beat the Russians soundly, convincing those naysayers that Canada is always in the hunt for the gold. Yay hockey!

Farewell, Irving

No, not John Irving but Irving Layton - one of Canada's most important - and controversial - poets. He was a Jewish writer from Montreal, contemporary with Mordecai Richler, A.M. Klein, Al Purdy, as well as mentor to later poets, particularly Leonard Cohen. He is a great favourite of mine, as he is, I feel, the Canadian equivalent to D.H. Lawrence. Read more about him here and here. In tribute, here's a favourite Layton poem of mine:

Whatever Else Poetry is Freedom

Whatever else poetry is freedom.
Forget the rhetoric, the trick of lying
All poets pick up sooner or later. From the river,
Rising like the thin voice of grey castratos - the mist;
Poplars and pines grow straight but oaks are gnarled;
Old codgers must speak of death, boys break windows,
Women lie honestly by their men at last.

And I who gave my Kate a blackened eye
Did to its vivid changing colours
Make up an incredible musical scale;
And now I balance on wooden stilts and dance
And thereby sing to the loftiest casements.
See how with polish I bow from the waist.
Space for these stilts! More space or I fail!

And a crown I say for my buffoon's head.
Yet no more fool am I than King Canute,
Lord of our tribe, who scanned and scorned;
Who half-deceived, believed; and, poet, missed
The first white waves come nuzzling at his feet;
Then damned the courtiers and the foolish trial
With a most bewildering and unkingly jest.

It was the mist. It lies inside one like a destiny.
A real Jonah it lies rotting like a lung.
And I know myself undone who am a clown
And wear a wreath of mist for a crown;
Mist with the scent of dead apples,
Mist swirling from black oily waters at evening,
Mist from the fraternal graves of cemeteries.

It shall drive me to beg my food and at last
Hurl me broken I know and prostrate on the road;
Like a huge toad I saw, entire but dead,
That Time mordantly had blacked; O pressed
To the moist earth it pled for entry.
I shall be I say that stiff toad for sick with mist
And crazed I smell the odour of mortality.

And Time flames like a paraffin stove
And what it burns are the minutes I live.
At certain middays I have watched the cars
Bring me from afar their windshield suns;
What lay to my hand were blue fenders,
The suns extinguished, the drivers wearing sunglasses.
And it made me think I had touched a hearse.

So whatever else poetry is freedom. Let
Far off the impatient cadences reveal
A padding for my breathless stilts. Swivel,
O hero, in the fleshy grooves, skin and glycerine,
And sing of lust, the sun's accompanying shadow
Like a vampire's wing, the stillness in dead feet -
Your stave brings resurrection, O aggrieved king.

"O Layton, your dead feet will never be so alive now that you are one with the earth. Breathless! It is the mist and the wind, blowing the mist across my face with such aggression and jealousy that I do not fall and bow. Whatever else, Layton, your poetry is freedom, and we your subjects."

Great news for the New Year

The previous post documented some of the moments that made our weekend so great. But one such moment requires its own post. Lindsay and Monique came back from Australia (where they spent Christmas) engaged to be married. Congratulations! Bonnie and I are extremely happy for the happy couple, who will most certainly have a wonderful life together.

New Year's festivities galore!

This year's New Year's celebrations were by far the best I've ever experienced. We had a full house - the Prairies were well represented by Bonnie, Scott, Lindsay, Monique and I. We went to three major museums: National Art Gallery, Canadian War Museum, Museum of Civilization. We hit a hockey game, walked around Parliament Hill, went to a Scottish pub, replete with piper, for New Year's Eve. Everyone left today and Bonnie and I are certainly sad. We will never, ever, forget this year - our first Christmas away from home was joyous and fantastic (though we still missed going home for Christmas). As I said, we'll never forget it; with the following pictures, nor will you:

This is the War Museum. The building is tremendous - a great tribute to our past, present and future soliders.

Here's Bonnie putting on her happy face at The Highlander. She pretty much smiled the whole night, except after doing those tequila shooters.


Here's me, Bonnie, Lindsay and Monique shortly before New Year's. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.


This is Scott's happy face talking to Ben at Saskatchewan New Year (we celebrated twice).

Well, there you have it. Those are just some of the moments of our weekend that made it most memorable - Bonnie and I are lucky to have such wonderful friends. Happy New Year, everyone!