9 degrees Fahrenheit right now. That's my cue to leave!
I'm off for a much-needed break. If I knows ya, maybe I'll see you down south soon.
Raptors victorious over those thugs from Indianapolis. Thug-style--that's how Indianapolis rolls!
Looking forward to reading my new book by Canadian writer Stuart McLean, who hosts The Vinyl Cafe on CBC Radio.
Right, time to mellow out with some Club 8. Happy holidays...
Friday, December 14, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Smokey
Here's a rarity, a TV "performance" from back in the day with live vocals and instrumentation, instead of lip synching. A classic from Smokey and the Miracles:
Speaking of which, I just picked up A Motown Christmas, and said Miracles have several tracks included...
Speaking of which, I just picked up A Motown Christmas, and said Miracles have several tracks included...
Thursday, November 29, 2007
I like this one
It's a few years old, it is. Mr. Tom Vek and his fantastic keys sound --->
P.S. - Happy St. Andrew's Day!
P.S. - Happy St. Andrew's Day!
Burrrrr
What the heck has been going on? That's right, I've been away for ages but I'm back. With a frostbitten vengeance. It's 27 F at the moment, with 20 MPH winds. Snow coming this weekend. Just what the Canadian Doctor ordered for a Southerner! Bring it on, I say.
I've been back to the states not once, not twice, but thrice since my last post. The first trip was to the Old Dominion for work and such, but it was great to catch up with family, Tadow, DM, RS and RV, amongst others. This past week I went back to the HOD for US Thanksgiving, as I'm now used to calling it (Canada's Thanksgiving is in Rocktober). Most of my family was there, so it was good to catch up with them. A certain football game cast a black shadow over Saturday, but it didn't spoil the visit, which for me included lots of Mello Yello, some Guthrie's chicken fingers and some Krystal's burgers. Mmmmmmmm.
In between those visits, I headed just over the border to Buffalo to witness the annihilation of the Bills by the New England Patriots. It was a surreal night--COLD, with an 8.15 kickoff. I witnessed fist fights in the stands after Belichick started going for it on 4th down whilst up by 40 points. The place went berserk, and with the Bills fans (who'd been drinking all day) getting riled up and the Patriots fans (also drunk) jawing back, all hell broke loose. The police were carting people off right and left. The game was a laugher, but it was still fun to see the well-oiled Pats machine steamroll (at least for the first half).
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings had the audacity to postpone their December show in DC, so no luck for me (the re-scheduled date is in January). Ah well. In other music news, the new Hives record is a good one. A lot of it was recorded in Oxford, Mississippi, and the second track features backing vocals from the Ole Miss cheerleaders. Yes! Swedish garage rock recorded in Mississippi with help from Ole Miss cheerleaders. That's got SITGWN written all over it. Here's the newest video, for "Tick Tick Boom" (they've disabled the ability to embed this one):
JM? He's started nine games in a row. Unbelievable. Winning fans right and left up here. Over and out!
I've been back to the states not once, not twice, but thrice since my last post. The first trip was to the Old Dominion for work and such, but it was great to catch up with family, Tadow, DM, RS and RV, amongst others. This past week I went back to the HOD for US Thanksgiving, as I'm now used to calling it (Canada's Thanksgiving is in Rocktober). Most of my family was there, so it was good to catch up with them. A certain football game cast a black shadow over Saturday, but it didn't spoil the visit, which for me included lots of Mello Yello, some Guthrie's chicken fingers and some Krystal's burgers. Mmmmmmmm.
In between those visits, I headed just over the border to Buffalo to witness the annihilation of the Bills by the New England Patriots. It was a surreal night--COLD, with an 8.15 kickoff. I witnessed fist fights in the stands after Belichick started going for it on 4th down whilst up by 40 points. The place went berserk, and with the Bills fans (who'd been drinking all day) getting riled up and the Patriots fans (also drunk) jawing back, all hell broke loose. The police were carting people off right and left. The game was a laugher, but it was still fun to see the well-oiled Pats machine steamroll (at least for the first half).
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings had the audacity to postpone their December show in DC, so no luck for me (the re-scheduled date is in January). Ah well. In other music news, the new Hives record is a good one. A lot of it was recorded in Oxford, Mississippi, and the second track features backing vocals from the Ole Miss cheerleaders. Yes! Swedish garage rock recorded in Mississippi with help from Ole Miss cheerleaders. That's got SITGWN written all over it. Here's the newest video, for "Tick Tick Boom" (they've disabled the ability to embed this one):
JM? He's started nine games in a row. Unbelievable. Winning fans right and left up here. Over and out!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Well, things had been mild, but tonight as I approached that last set of stairs that lead me out of St. Andrew station and on to King St, I felt a little draft, shall we say. And by the time I was above ground, I was freezing. Time for a real jacket tomorrow! In the meantime, I'll leave it to Ms. Sharon Jones to keep things warm.
Here's the fantastic new video from Sharon and her group The Dap-Kings, for "100 Days, 100 Nights." I love the new record, especially "Tell Me," which is a little more soul and a little less funk (just my style). I'll miss them in Toronto but hope to catch them again in December in DC!
How old does this thing look?
Here's the fantastic new video from Sharon and her group The Dap-Kings, for "100 Days, 100 Nights." I love the new record, especially "Tell Me," which is a little more soul and a little less funk (just my style). I'll miss them in Toronto but hope to catch them again in December in DC!
How old does this thing look?
Sunday, October 28, 2007
'bout time for an update, methinks...
Well, it's been ages, but here I am. Before I jump into what I've been doing, here are two quick forays into music:
First, here's a great interview I found with the late, great Desmond Dekker. RIP, self-titled King of Ska (who was a bit more of a Rocksteady guy, really). Ohhhh, Ohhhh, the Israelites! I had a chat about Desmond with the cable guy, a Jamaican native, last week.
Second, big news out of the Charlatans camp. With help from their new manager (creator of Creation Records and discoverer of Oasis) Alan McGee, they've partnered with XFM to release their new album... for free! The first single "You Cross My Path" is available for download here, with the full album coming early next year. Yeah, yeah, Radiohead, whatever. They still have a physical product coming out at some point. The Charlies' record will be MP3-only, and free of charge...
--------------
Now, some news. I'm in love. I know, I know, I've been here for just a few months. But, it's true. The object of my affection is none other than La Hacienda, on Queen Street West. Now, good Mexican food is hard enough to find in Toronto anyway--we are rather far away from Guadalajara, no? But this place?
- suitably low-key decor in a cool neighbourhood? Check.
- great chicken quesadillas with black beans? Check.
- a fantastic range of music played, thanks to the former musician owners? Check.
- whiskey sours (even available by the pitcher) made with lemon juice and sugar instead of bar mix? Big check. The best I've had.
Needless to say, I'm happy it's a 10-minute walk away!
--------------
So, what have I been up to? Well, my good friend Mr. Ta-Dow paid a visit not too long ago, which was great. We walked all over the city, made the obligatory trip up the CN Tower (my first since moving here), and went to some great spots new to me, including Fort York and Casa Loma. Ta-Dow also lent his mechanical expertise for some furniture construction, which was greatly appreciated. We also hung out in Little Italy, which is a fantastic area (and home to a great record store, Soundscapes).
Shows have been coming fast and furious, and in the last week I've seen Shout Out Louds from my favourite city on earth and also Figurines from the Kingdom of Denmark. Both good shows, especially the latter...
--------------
On Friday night the building next to mine was the site for a movie shoot. The location manager put fliers in my building just to notify everyone (it lasted until 2 in the morning). It's called The Love Guru, and if I'd looked it up before Friday instead of after I might have done some prowling around. It's the new Mike Myers film!
--------------
Also went to see the Raptors this week, courtesy of JM. They beat the Cavs easily, but it was cool to see LeBron James (and of course the Raptors too!). Hung out with JM for a few hours last weekend, and everything's going well for him with the team.
Think that's it for now...
First, here's a great interview I found with the late, great Desmond Dekker. RIP, self-titled King of Ska (who was a bit more of a Rocksteady guy, really). Ohhhh, Ohhhh, the Israelites! I had a chat about Desmond with the cable guy, a Jamaican native, last week.
Second, big news out of the Charlatans camp. With help from their new manager (creator of Creation Records and discoverer of Oasis) Alan McGee, they've partnered with XFM to release their new album... for free! The first single "You Cross My Path" is available for download here, with the full album coming early next year. Yeah, yeah, Radiohead, whatever. They still have a physical product coming out at some point. The Charlies' record will be MP3-only, and free of charge...
--------------
Now, some news. I'm in love. I know, I know, I've been here for just a few months. But, it's true. The object of my affection is none other than La Hacienda, on Queen Street West. Now, good Mexican food is hard enough to find in Toronto anyway--we are rather far away from Guadalajara, no? But this place?
- suitably low-key decor in a cool neighbourhood? Check.
- great chicken quesadillas with black beans? Check.
- a fantastic range of music played, thanks to the former musician owners? Check.
- whiskey sours (even available by the pitcher) made with lemon juice and sugar instead of bar mix? Big check. The best I've had.
Needless to say, I'm happy it's a 10-minute walk away!
--------------
So, what have I been up to? Well, my good friend Mr. Ta-Dow paid a visit not too long ago, which was great. We walked all over the city, made the obligatory trip up the CN Tower (my first since moving here), and went to some great spots new to me, including Fort York and Casa Loma. Ta-Dow also lent his mechanical expertise for some furniture construction, which was greatly appreciated. We also hung out in Little Italy, which is a fantastic area (and home to a great record store, Soundscapes).
Shows have been coming fast and furious, and in the last week I've seen Shout Out Louds from my favourite city on earth and also Figurines from the Kingdom of Denmark. Both good shows, especially the latter...
--------------
On Friday night the building next to mine was the site for a movie shoot. The location manager put fliers in my building just to notify everyone (it lasted until 2 in the morning). It's called The Love Guru, and if I'd looked it up before Friday instead of after I might have done some prowling around. It's the new Mike Myers film!
--------------
Also went to see the Raptors this week, courtesy of JM. They beat the Cavs easily, but it was cool to see LeBron James (and of course the Raptors too!). Hung out with JM for a few hours last weekend, and everything's going well for him with the team.
Think that's it for now...
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