Escaping Time...

Ok, so it's been a while since my last post. Yet again, life seems to have whirl winded me into a none stop form of modern dronanite.... yes, I made that word up, but I think it sounds kool. Hence the prolonged absence(see day job Vs nightlife). The other night, up late, in front of my computer, I entered into a friendly debate via online chat with a stranger on the subject of time, as a concept. I argued that time didn't really exist until we invented it, though obviously it's a measurement of change, broken down into increments, it's a completely relative concept. Had it not been for us humans constantly trying to categorize and understand our surroundings, well, time wouldn't exist. Though quite obviously at some point, it played a crucial role that later became tantamount to our consistent evolutionary road. But as much as we rely on time, it doesn't ever rely on us? We calculate our days, in and out, with time. But if we all disappeared tomorrow, time would keep on going... at least, not in the sense that we use it... stop and smell the flowers right? Life is too short, I love that phrase, not because it seems to preclude responsibility quite well with certain "bad" ideas, but rather because it's a reminder that though time may seem to be on our side, the truth is, it never could be. We are finite beings, with a beginning and an end, but things like time, for as far as we can prove, have no beginning or end... Ok, so I don't actually think I'm making a point here, in fact, I'm quite certain this is a random ramble, but, if you've read this far, then let me end said ramble with this : Right now, you're alive, so do something that will remind you how awesome that is!!!!! <3

The Brothers worked it out!!!

Stepping out of said delorian onto st-catherines back on a cold November night in 1996, you would have witnessed the 17 year old version of me waiting in line outside of the Metropolis, hours away from falling totally in love with the Chemical Brothers. A love affair that has lasted to this very day(in some senses). Their latest album entitled Further is as, if not more experimental then We are the night. Venturing into warm synths encircled by strange noises, dipped in bucket of soothing melodic songstress Divas and divos, then thrown down the well of fast paced mesmeric banter beats accompanied by the occasional pounding bassline, this album is quite the journey. They were once considered to be part of the very definition of modern breaks, and now... well, frankly, I'm not even sure. They still sound break-ish, they still sound fun... I could easily say they were under heavy influence when producing this album, but I think that would be a cop-out, and furthermore, I'm pretty sure they were under some type of heavy influence for pretty much every other album they made. No, I think this album is a continued adventure into the absurd, even toying with the completely insane(do sane people listen to this?). Um, it makes me smile, some songs are great, some are not so great, but they are still fun, and mostly, their production quality as always is fantastic. I think what this album does most successfully is not shy away from using strange sounds, odd pads, bewildering banters and PTS rhythms... My picks for tracks : swoon, horse power, snow, escape velocity. I would recommend this album to anyone wants to try something new and rather different, people who like the CB and those into "heavy influence". I give this album 7/10

Fleeting feelings, Arcade Fires Rapture...

Ok, so a million and one peeps already blogged their stupid heads off about this, but hey, I'm behind the times on blogganating...(read extended hiatuses) Arcades most recent album entitled the Suburbs is nothing short of another indie, nouveau rock, melodramatic masterpiece. Invoking subtle tenderness through soft chords of delighted guitar, bemused piano and sauntering violins, the gang seems once again to be oh so comfortably numb in the shadows of a bewildered reflection on life in North America. How they capture it in their music is another story all together. Win and Regine seem like they have however traveled in a forward path, as in my opinion, Suburbs becomes a clean contrast of sorts when compared to Neon Bible and even Funeral. Incorporating symphonic like violin scores, concentrating more on lifts and falls, blending a harder rock sound. The evolution of their sound seemingly draws a parallel to growing up, as each album seems to show more and more maturity. I would definitely recommend this album to anyone who's enjoyed their previous works and/or is curious enough by my ramblings to give it a shot! My picks for songs would be : The suburbs, City with no children, suburban war, we used to wait. I think this is perfect fall music, so I guess the timing makes my review cooler than all the previous ones, right? I give this album a 8.5/10

Extended Hiatuses...

Though it's doubtful that anyone shed a tear, or my one reader thought I'd vanished off the face of our beloved planet, alas, I am back, and my stairs, they be messy! As the fall season sets in(love it) and the cold winter season approaches, I figured between destroying my hearing by making beats and sipping cold choice beverages, I'd return to my far lessor hobby of contributing to the already vast wasteland of online authors... You can expect some more updates about my actual messy stairs, as well as the fun life I lead, music reviews, album nods and generally bad punctuation wrapped in run on sentences with little to no value... self deprecation, I think so! That being said, I think it's beer o'clock, hazah!

So it has been a while since my last entry concerning my actual messy stairs, and I decided to give a full update, as I’m sure you noticed, my stairs are now uber messy! The first juicy donation that I’ve been rather happy about, showed up about a week ago, it’s my very own space age Styrofoam outdoor doormat! Then there’s the classic McD’s bag someone kindly tossed onto my stairs, though it does look odd next to the danon yogurt drink (healthy vs not so healthy). There’s a barrage of newspapers, some ziplock bags (I guess from those who couldn’t afford McD’s) and a piece of wallpaper (I think that is some nice icing). The leafs seem to blend all these contributions into a wonderful little cornucopia of nature vs waste, a type of serendipitous art. The secret was also revealed to me recently that the majority of these lovely things float onto my stairs via some type of wind tunnel created by the streets air flow. I noticed this one day a couple of weeks back when I had my blinds open and saw a ziplock slowly careening in mid air around the bend of my buildings top level stairs and softly onto mine! Though I remain unconvinced that it’s simply nature’s magic abilities, I think humans may also be involved in this ongoing art project (see direct littering). I may actually have to clean my stairs at some point soon however though, as the picture clearly shows, it may very soon be an issue to enter my place safely whilst navigating the increasing street waste :/

The Musical heart on the sleeve, it's Hot Chip

Being original at this point can often feel kinda pointless, a losing battle, and even in some cases an impossibility, which why hearing originality these days is so much more inspiring. Hated by some, adored by far more(imho), Hot Chip has been hot on the path of carving themselves into the annals of musical greatness. Considered as leaders of the British electropop sound, their new album “One life stand” continues their journey into experimental synthy slyness. The feel of Hot Chip has matured some what since their last album, and Alexis Taylors voice continues to surprise many as a true original, mixing feelings of melancholy and brightness into mountains of synth magic. This album seems to lend more emotion to it’s rhythms through the use of symphonic style compositions, toned down backbeats and as always, a decent prescription of bass. Though I have yet to pick one track in particular as per being the best, my current favorite off the album would be “Thieves in the night”, honorable mentions : “I feel better” and “Alley cats”. I strongly recommend giving this album a chance, it might not be your cup of tea, but it could very end up being the cup of what you were missing in your playlistl! I give this album a 8/10

Gorillaz, or the listless taste in your mouth...

So maybe I'm getting older and my mood swings are becoming more severe, but this anticipated album drop was for me, an almost total flop. Rehashing their once praised sound in more ways then I can count, the band just doesn't cut the mustard for me anymore, I'm sorry. With overtones of George Clintons last gasps, mixed with Moroder type synths, lack luster MC's rhyming about food, it made me wonder if the studio was occupied by interns filling in the guarantee on the groups record record deal(whom I should maybe credit for the interesting orchestral interludes). Between a seemingly disinterested Snoop and an almost asleep Wyclef, I felt lost in this albums toothpaste flavor. Tracks worth giving a listen : Empire ants, On melancholy hill, To binge... This album gets 4.5 on 10, but who knows, maybe I'll start smoking crack and change my mind after listening to it on repeat for several days while locked in my crackden...

Magnitude

With the scales tipping and the ground ripping, the first months of this year have been nothing short of "catastrophic" in many ways. That being said, every day is a new a day and peoples resolve seems to be unchanged(for the most part). Life goes on, and when it does, those who can live it follow in suite. Updates on these thoughts coming soon...

The Measurements of Success...

On a day where my favorite hockey team saw it's General Manager call it quits after 7 years of tough love and tougher fans, I couldn't help but wonder about the measurements of success... We live in an age where more and more, people are relying on each other for gratification and or praise. There was a time when actual experts existed who people relied on for their expertise, both in chastising and baptizing winners and losers alike in numerous fields. I guess what I'm trying to say is, there seems to be an endless supply of supposed experts, be it on music, sports etc. With the advent of blogging and twitting, everyone and their uncle seems to think that their own opinion matters the most and they are the best judges of success or failure. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means treating this as a new occurrence, however the latitude of these critics voices has gained some serious ground with the above mentioned tools. In the end, with all these voices fighting to be heard at the same time, the real question might soon become: is anything heard at all?

The future is coco?

With the finale of the Conan O'Brien show just barely behind us, one might wish to look ahead and wonder what the next move will be for that soft spoken ginger guy we all love... And rather in the same vain, I've been curious to see what the "industry" will spew this year out of radios and cd vendors alike and the early insiders say "I BLAME COCO"... I caught her video of "caesar" with Robyn and must say, at first glance, I saw flashes of promise... however upon further review, I wavered from my original stance and now am leaning towards the "it's crap" side of things... How do I feel about a cheeky 19 year boy-girl getting mouthy and telling me I'm hopeless? Not the best really... Robyn looks great though... I kinda want to start a pole, love her? hate her?

long transitions...

So though I do realize full well that it has been some time since my last post, one might understand this long stretch by the sorted realizations and challenges I've faced in the absence of content. To recreate oneself, is a daily at a micro level, but life never makes it easy to go full scale... Further evidence would also support that sometimes to create new art, you must smash the old easle and replace it with a new one. Life is art, thereby the process of creating, modifying and revamping must be artistic in nature, right? Art can messy... Like stairs? Re-learning how to live is a test of will for those not yet dead but not having felt alive for sometime.

On the ropes

So, now that the dust from the New Years bash has settled, now that most of the dishes in the sink have been cleaned, why could one possibly get the sinking feeling of being pressed up against the ropes? There's something to be said about this time of the year adding pressure to everyones already overloaded mental capacity. There's the tightening of expenses since xmas's irrational spending spree, maybe new commitments people are trying to uphold. Lets face it, the gloves are off and it's a new round in a new year, and somewhere, stuck in all that haze between the ringing of the bell and ref yelling, everyone needs to ask themselves, do you think you have what it takes to go another round?

It's a new year!!!!

So, it's 2010 and your stairs are contaminated with animals... what do you do??? Is it as simple as wishing them somewheres else to sleep? Or is there a deeper plot??? check my blog for more details...