Ankle show
So apparently Old Navy has begun an ad campaign to tell the world just how awesome I am. we all know, all the ladies want Ankle.
Please Kill Me
Some months back, the Blogger Brunchers were having a Yankee Swap, and with much cunning and skill, I was able to secure myself the copy of Legs McNeil’s Please Kill Me, which is subtitled “the uncensored oral history of punk.” A better subtitle, I cannot fathom. This book tells the story of New York’s punk rock scene with no holds barred. From the early days of the Velvet Underground, Nico, and Andy Warhol’s Factory, as told by those who were there, including the band members themselves. The stories are of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Crude, hilarious, disgusting, and entertaining. I think as this is far from my life, or… Read More »Please Kill Me
Dancing Guy Needs To Dance
Peter Elkas is having a good series of Tuesdays. Last week he released his third record Repeat Offender on Joel Plaskett’s New Scotland Records. Last night, Elkas played his first night of his five week residency at The Dakota Tavern in Toronto west-side. For the next five weeks, Elkas will be performing every Tuesday, along with many guests, including Wayne Petti, The Pinecones, Christine Bougie, Alanna Stuart, Al Tuck, Ben Gunning, Rebekah Higgs, and a special guest. There’s rumours this special guest is Bruce Springstein, but I somehow don’t believe that. The Dakota Tavern is one of the best bars in the city, always a great place to hear music1, and the… Read More »Dancing Guy Needs To Dance
Incendies
I want to say that Incendies was robbed at the Oscars, but the fact that I’ve seen none of the other “Foreign Language”1 films, I can’t judge well, however I must state how amazing and wonderful this film is. Denis Villeneuve is not a newbie to Franco-Canadian cinema, his previous films Maelström and Polytechnique have received huge praise, which I can easily pass on to the former. I’ve yet to see Polytechnique, but I’m looking forward to that. Incendies tells the story of two twenty-something twins who’s mother dies. During the reading of the will they discover her wish to have the son deliver a letter to his brother, and the… Read More »Incendies
Attack!
Last night during the Oscar broadcast, the Conservative Party of Canada ran this advertisement. I’ll let you watch it before we continue. I’m tired of these attack ads, but not because they’re rude and base-politics, but because it’s insulting to me specifically. The Conservatives are mocking the leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition for saying, “I wish my country were a little better.” I too wish my country were a little better, and it has nothing to do with who is leading our nation, it’s not a question of Harper vs. Ignatieff, it’s the simple fact that Canada is not, has never been, and will never be perfect, and so… Read More »Attack!
Oscar 2011
This year, ten films are nominated for the award of Best Picture. I present to you in order of worst to best. 10. Winter’s Bone This film is the reason why the Academy Awards should not have been extended to ten films. Here we have a boring film about a girl wandering from house to house asking, “Have you seen my daddy?” 9. The Social Network Meh. It’s an okay film, but it’s surely not as AMAZING as everyone was saying it is. It’s an interesting tale, and it’s well filmed, and it’s well acted, but nothing in there is special. Worth watching at least. 8. 127 Hours I wrote… Read More »Oscar 2011
Jackie Lomax on Apple
Jackie Lomax was playing in the Merseyside area while the Beatles were up and coming. He knew the band while Stuart Sutcliffe was playing bass. He signed with Brian Epstein’s management company NEMS, and was convinced by John Lennon to go solo. After signing with Apple Publishing, George Harrison heard Lomax’s demos, and promised to record Lomax’s debut record when he returned from India. Jackie Lomax writes good songs dripping in the tradition of American R&B with a smooth voice that could be pulled right out of the late ’50s South or is it Motor City? Harrison’s production is a heavy-handed wall of sound layered and muddy. Eleven of the… Read More »Jackie Lomax on Apple
The Green Hornet
I didn’t even know that the Michel Gondry directed Green Hornet had already made it to theatres, let alone playing in rep cinemas. So I was happy for the opportunity to see the film on the cheap. I’m generally fond of Michel Gondry films, and Seth Rogen films, I was curious how the two would mix. I was pleasantly surprised. Gondry’s style works great for a superhero film, and the relationship between The Green Hornet and Kato was well constructed and fun to watch. Jay Chou and Seth Rogen were great in their roles, and even better were Christoph Waltz as the German baddy, and Edward James Olmos as the… Read More »The Green Hornet
Shimmering Lights
The Meligrove Band’s latest record, Shimmering Lights, is inoffensive. While I went into this record hoping that I’d fall in love, I didn’t. Perhaps that’s my problem. I go into Meligrove Band records with high expectations, as their live shows, are such great parties, but the albums never live up to the fun experience of their concerts. The record consists of 10 good pop songs, but of those ten songs, there’s nothing extraordinary, there’s nothing fabulous. It’s good background music. It seems to be a consistent theme.
There But For Fortune
Playing now in Toronto is the new documentary on Phil Ochs’ life, There But For Fortune. The film tells the tale of the subtle rise and drastic fall of “the singing journalist.” There But For Fortune is a portrait of a man who always wanted to change the world, a man who stopped looking to change the world, and spiralled into mental illness. Watching the story of a man struggling with mental illness is not an easy thing to watch1, but with music so beautiful as Ochs’ it’s hard not to enjoy this film. Watching this film made me think of my love of Phil Ochs’ music, and the places… Read More »There But For Fortune