Take one.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Happiness is...
a new video from The Charlatans! So lucky for me that they've always been a favourite and they're still around. You can download this single,"Oh! Vanity," for free on xfm.co.uk starting on the 25th February.
It was a nice clear day today, after a wild snowstorm yesterday. We got half a foot or so, and I had some interesting views of snow flying every which way from my 20th floor work perch. The boots I snagged a few weeks ago were just in the nick of time. I actually managed to get on a streetcar this morning, but was stuck on the first step for the duration of my fairly short journey...
A big shout out to A&A, who are in Siberia right now (somewhat colder than Canada, even) on the most meaningful trip they will ever take. Sounds like all is well so far, which is fantastic...
It was a nice clear day today, after a wild snowstorm yesterday. We got half a foot or so, and I had some interesting views of snow flying every which way from my 20th floor work perch. The boots I snagged a few weeks ago were just in the nick of time. I actually managed to get on a streetcar this morning, but was stuck on the first step for the duration of my fairly short journey...
A big shout out to A&A, who are in Siberia right now (somewhat colder than Canada, even) on the most meaningful trip they will ever take. Sounds like all is well so far, which is fantastic...
Sunday, February 10, 2008
From The Jam & Jones of the Stones
First of all, it's bloody cold. 7 degrees F, with the wind chill -16 F. Winds 25-35 mph. I thought my nose was going to fall off on my six-block walk back from lunch. And the high tomorrow is 16 F...
Had a good work week, and followed that quickly with dinner/drinks with a friend on Friday. Later that night I went to a weekly event at Lee's Palace called Biff! Bang! Pow! OK, it's named after a song by The Creation, that's promising. And it's described as mod/soul/indie rock. Even better, I thought. And... they played tunes such as "Don't You Want Me" by Human League and "Play That Funky Music" by whichever band graced this earth with that tune. Not exactly what I was expecting. I was there a little over an hour, and the only song really fit for a mod/soul night was "Heat Wave" by Martha & the Vandellas. Ah well, maybe I can DJ again somewhere.
On Wednesday, after a basketball victory (finally) and in the midst of a snowstorm, I went to said Lee's Palace to see From The Jam, which consists of 2/3 of The Jam, AKA the 2/3 not named Paul Weller--Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton. They're on top form, as are their hired gun guitarists/singers. They opened with "In The City" and "This Is The Modern World," and went on to play a fantastic set. Besides obvious choices like "Town Called Malice" and "Eton Rifles," they also played covers by The Kinks ("David Watts") and The Who ("So Sad About Us"). Alas, no "Beat Surrender." The crowd loved the set, too, and it made for a great night.
Here's The Jam near the end of their existence with a different cover, "Move On Up" by the late, great Curtis Mayfield:
I dug out my DVD of The Rolling Stones Rock 'N' Roll Circus this weekend, which was filmed in 1968 but not released until the 90s. It has some interesting performances, but it's painful to watch an out-of-it Brian Jones in his last public appearance with the Stones. I was reminded of this promo clip (from when only a few bands were starting to do promo clips) of "We Love You," reflecting the drug arrests that Mick, Keef and Brian had recently experienced. Brian was fast drugging and alienating his way out of the band he'd formed and named, which is pretty obvious considering the clips of him that Mick and Keef put in the video. He was off his head on quaaludes, a downer. It's a quirky song that features Brian with a weirdo Mellotron part and a great piano riff from session man Nicky Hopkins. Notice Marianne Faithfull's appearance as well:
I've always liked Brian Jones, for a bunch of reasons. First and foremost, of course, he founded The Rolling Stones. Also, I admire versatility in others, especially musicians, and Jones could play almost anything. He was a great slide guitar player, and taught Mick how to play harmonica. When he got bored with guitar, he'd find new things to play. This would grow to include sitar ("Paint It, Black"), marimba ("Under My Thumb"), dulcimer and harpsichord ("Lady Jane"), recorder ("Ruby Tuesday"), and the list goes on. He managed to play a saxophone part on a Beatles B side. Now, he was known for being a bit of a jerk, which got worse as he became a hopeless drug addict, but I must admit that another factor in my appreciation of him is that he's the only well-known musician to whom I bear some resemblance, according to others. Mind you, I hope that's based more on the mid-60s Brian Jones than on the version in the video above! Last but not least, the odd but intriguing modern band The Brian Jonestown Massacre combine his name with the final act of the Jim Jones-led death cult...
Had a good work week, and followed that quickly with dinner/drinks with a friend on Friday. Later that night I went to a weekly event at Lee's Palace called Biff! Bang! Pow! OK, it's named after a song by The Creation, that's promising. And it's described as mod/soul/indie rock. Even better, I thought. And... they played tunes such as "Don't You Want Me" by Human League and "Play That Funky Music" by whichever band graced this earth with that tune. Not exactly what I was expecting. I was there a little over an hour, and the only song really fit for a mod/soul night was "Heat Wave" by Martha & the Vandellas. Ah well, maybe I can DJ again somewhere.
On Wednesday, after a basketball victory (finally) and in the midst of a snowstorm, I went to said Lee's Palace to see From The Jam, which consists of 2/3 of The Jam, AKA the 2/3 not named Paul Weller--Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton. They're on top form, as are their hired gun guitarists/singers. They opened with "In The City" and "This Is The Modern World," and went on to play a fantastic set. Besides obvious choices like "Town Called Malice" and "Eton Rifles," they also played covers by The Kinks ("David Watts") and The Who ("So Sad About Us"). Alas, no "Beat Surrender." The crowd loved the set, too, and it made for a great night.
Here's The Jam near the end of their existence with a different cover, "Move On Up" by the late, great Curtis Mayfield:
I dug out my DVD of The Rolling Stones Rock 'N' Roll Circus this weekend, which was filmed in 1968 but not released until the 90s. It has some interesting performances, but it's painful to watch an out-of-it Brian Jones in his last public appearance with the Stones. I was reminded of this promo clip (from when only a few bands were starting to do promo clips) of "We Love You," reflecting the drug arrests that Mick, Keef and Brian had recently experienced. Brian was fast drugging and alienating his way out of the band he'd formed and named, which is pretty obvious considering the clips of him that Mick and Keef put in the video. He was off his head on quaaludes, a downer. It's a quirky song that features Brian with a weirdo Mellotron part and a great piano riff from session man Nicky Hopkins. Notice Marianne Faithfull's appearance as well:
I've always liked Brian Jones, for a bunch of reasons. First and foremost, of course, he founded The Rolling Stones. Also, I admire versatility in others, especially musicians, and Jones could play almost anything. He was a great slide guitar player, and taught Mick how to play harmonica. When he got bored with guitar, he'd find new things to play. This would grow to include sitar ("Paint It, Black"), marimba ("Under My Thumb"), dulcimer and harpsichord ("Lady Jane"), recorder ("Ruby Tuesday"), and the list goes on. He managed to play a saxophone part on a Beatles B side. Now, he was known for being a bit of a jerk, which got worse as he became a hopeless drug addict, but I must admit that another factor in my appreciation of him is that he's the only well-known musician to whom I bear some resemblance, according to others. Mind you, I hope that's based more on the mid-60s Brian Jones than on the version in the video above! Last but not least, the odd but intriguing modern band The Brian Jonestown Massacre combine his name with the final act of the Jim Jones-led death cult...
Saturday, February 2, 2008
should I take this as a sign?
From an Icelandair press release, late 2007:
Icelandair will shift the focus of its North Atlantic operations next year. Scheduled flights to Toronto will start in May, while Baltimore/Washington will be taken out of the network this winter. The morning flights to Boston and New York out of Keflavik during the summer will continue this year and capacity to London will be increased slightly. Icelandair will terminate the Baltimore/Washington service effective January 13, 2008, while Toronto flights will begin May 2, 2008.
“Our schedule for 2008 will be similar to our 2007 schedule but we are changing our North Atlantic operations by moving to Toronto in Canada from Baltimore/Washington. We have expanded considerably over the past few years, so the focus in 2008 is on making adjustments to our network. We have a strong focus on serving our domestic Icelandic market and visitors to Iceland and we are fine-tuning the Icelandair network and our capacity in order to increase its profitability,” says Jón Karl Ólafsson, CEO of Icelandair.
Toronto is Canada's largest city and transportation center. “This city has the potential to become a very popular destination for Icelanders as it's a thriving multicultural city. It also offers possibilities for inbound tourism to Iceland as Toronto is the key Canadian transportation hub for millions of people. Last year we started flying again to Halifax, so we have a strong focus on Canada at the moment,” says Jon Karl. “We say goodbye to Baltimore/Washington now after flying to the city for years. Unfortunately the route became less profitable recently, following the departure of thousands of U.S. citizens from the U.S. military base in Iceland.”
Lots of snow in Toronto at the moment, and the city looks fantastic.
I've been listening quite a bit to the long-dormant southern Swedish band Eggstone. Here's one of their top tunes, "Never Been A Better Day":
Icelandair will shift the focus of its North Atlantic operations next year. Scheduled flights to Toronto will start in May, while Baltimore/Washington will be taken out of the network this winter. The morning flights to Boston and New York out of Keflavik during the summer will continue this year and capacity to London will be increased slightly. Icelandair will terminate the Baltimore/Washington service effective January 13, 2008, while Toronto flights will begin May 2, 2008.
“Our schedule for 2008 will be similar to our 2007 schedule but we are changing our North Atlantic operations by moving to Toronto in Canada from Baltimore/Washington. We have expanded considerably over the past few years, so the focus in 2008 is on making adjustments to our network. We have a strong focus on serving our domestic Icelandic market and visitors to Iceland and we are fine-tuning the Icelandair network and our capacity in order to increase its profitability,” says Jón Karl Ólafsson, CEO of Icelandair.
Toronto is Canada's largest city and transportation center. “This city has the potential to become a very popular destination for Icelanders as it's a thriving multicultural city. It also offers possibilities for inbound tourism to Iceland as Toronto is the key Canadian transportation hub for millions of people. Last year we started flying again to Halifax, so we have a strong focus on Canada at the moment,” says Jon Karl. “We say goodbye to Baltimore/Washington now after flying to the city for years. Unfortunately the route became less profitable recently, following the departure of thousands of U.S. citizens from the U.S. military base in Iceland.”
Lots of snow in Toronto at the moment, and the city looks fantastic.
I've been listening quite a bit to the long-dormant southern Swedish band Eggstone. Here's one of their top tunes, "Never Been A Better Day":
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