feel the earth

___________________________________________________________

Bad Trick

as you've noticed

when this gnome hits

we'll be known for denial

you get stoned, it's

past a bad trick

you find out it's

just around for awhile

now you've found it

we can't throw this

but you think

I'll be down like a child

___________________________________________________________

Crashache

We're playing that one again. Is that recording?

She's like:
when will we see the end?
when I hide my share?
I don't want to see the end
even when the time is right
if you feel the earth
the kind mother

I've never been the sun
why don't you call
I don't care about nothing but you
one forced word, you might just fall
fall, fall, fall

___________________________________________________________

she calls my name, long after work

Guangzhou, China

__________________________________________________________

The spirits chase him from the pack
trapped by the voices he commands
trying on the mind
when fraternal strings weaken
the wind blows harder
this cold time of the year
when answers seem muddy
and the fog envelops

__________________________________________________________

eat the wheel you little hamster

let go of what you're leaving
it's been awhile since you could
put denial in your heart
for a night always true
put denial in your heart
and kill --- babe
put denial in your mind
telling, it won't shake out

the cops aren't always with us
eat the wheel you little hamster
put it on hold
stay up all night
no matter what you do
you can't put up a fight

why won't you say it?
your friend turned green
I know what you wanted
I just watched all the scenes
refused to watch them against the wall

__________________________________________________________

Space Cowboy

Postmaster calls the difference of opinion a moot point
He wanders around the topic at hand
With deftness, his calloused finger slides down
Hitting the wall, a switch turns
Something to sprout from the ashes
Tales of adventures beckon
The change in the air won't lose its breath
___________________________________________________________________

Some things are insignificant in the greater picture

Wordsmithing has come slowly if at all in the preceding months. It is of no consequence. Take each breath and enjoy that you have it. Word that a relation of mine has unexpectedly lost both hands and feet to perils of vacationing has struck a dissonant chord within me. Through no fault of her own, she is now forced to face the future with severe handicaps. Such is the dice roll of life, unexpect to live the future as it seems destined, because there are no guarantees. It is hard to accept some things.

"Some people know the price of everything, but the value of nothing"

Dream of the Sun

I watched the movie "Sexy Beast" the other day. It's a hell of a watch. I like the more subtle version of gangsterism that European movies evoke that is so different from the American ones. No rambo still kill 'em all mentality here. Just a man trying to get away from the heist life with his ex-pornstar wife. Following the thread of Jonathan Glazer the director I realized that he was the vision behind some really great music videos:

-The Universal - Blur
-Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai
-Rabbit in your Headlights - UNKLE ft. Thom Yorke
-Treat Me Like Your Mother - The Dead Weather
-Live with Me - Massive Attack

Check 'em out, home biscuits.

Land of the rising Sun? 

Bob Marley tunage has made the monotony of a Joe job more bearable. Dreaming of a month in Japan is another handy trick. Airfares are fairly reasonable now...

_______________________________________________________
Dark and delightful music videos of the day:
Massive Attack - Live with me
Radiohead - Knives out

Call me Musashii. Jino Maru!

SEE YOU SPACE SAMURAI...

Ride the rails through the storm towards a power outage of welcome. Listen to the thunder pound the metal, the streaks of raindrops scraping the glass. Your destination creeps closer, and yesterday is behind you. The memory of your joints in steady motion for days remind you of a recent past that feels more distant than the observer assumes. The dials on the wall separate the internal motions you feel from the external mechanical clockwork of the universe. Time responds to only a greater power than you control, a steady direction forwards, with hardly a flicker behind.  Waking from this point, you wonder where you were just a moment before. Flying lucidly through the throes of ecstasy until the lifting of a tiny muscle transports you somewhere impossibly close, which bears no relation to your previous moment. The experience is so familiar that you hardly raise an eyebrow. Step, step, twist, splash, scrape, smear, wipe, step away. You have entered the realm of the living flesh.
______________________________________________________________________

Listen to the electronic universe, session 10.29 (self-serve): CocoRosie - Rainbowarriors

As I sit in motion

You think of a past

That has yet to happen

The wheels spin like they have before

Her chest heaves rhythmically

Packed tightly among strangers

The night passes quietly

While a magnetic dark shield

Extinguishes the spark

Tires rotate to specifications

Calculations meet their companions

In deep space sector six

Where a game waits to be played

_____________________________________________________________________

TRANSMISSION END

Exhausted by the hustle towards mealtime?

As the scenery flies by, I can't help but feel the desire to step outside of this boxcar and wander through the woods. The trees have begun their transformation in preparation for the winter that awaits. The lone house on the hill stands guard against the forest mongrels. This private wonderland is briefly interrupted by the detritus of castaways. Pools of fog collect near the abandoned outpost of a former generation. Neat rows of colour stare at the sun, carefully arranged unblinkingly. The steady pulse of fresh inspiration. A red sun stands vigil to a waking world. The birds have left us, yet we remain peaceably content to sit this one out.
________________________________________________________________

Give yourself a listen, part twenty-six (self-serve):

The Radio Dept. - It's Personal
Grand National - Cut by the Brakes
Beach Fossils - Adversity
Neon Indian - Polish Girl
Tame Impala - Lucidity

_________________________________________________________________

Sit back and look up
Melt into your cushion
Raise a glass and sink

Sweat through a dream
The coherence of this morning
Reverses the trend

While in motion
You let yourself bend
Lucidity comes back to me

Sleep is overrated (says those who can't dream)

reflecting back
coloured mazes
blinking in the sun

generations told to become
aware of nothing
we celebrate the pawns
to misleed ourselves

once and always again
searching forwards
inside the hedge
waving in the wind
)+____________________________________________-(


Ahh yes, the internet. It's still around isn't it?

We haven't conversed in awhile. A shameless soliloquy moment. Brought to you by our proud sponsors. Customer service is our number one priority. Your call is important to us. Aging by leaps and bounds, fighting time with hair care products and hockey meditation. Will you find enlightenment in those yoga pants? Chase the rabbit down the hole, and find yourself knee deep in   gothic horror. Dark woods entrance spiritual adventures, hiking towards a river that has been known to exist but heretofore been undiscovered. Travelling with a companion to the nearest mecca of cool. I wouldn't do that. What is true for me is absolute. Enamoured by the female spirit. Exhausted from the hustle towards mealtime. Brief acquaintances corrected by spellcheck. Old connections re-discovered amidst dribbles of poison. Art shows concocted from pails of frenzy. Hop on a train. Snap calculated frames of places you'd rather be. Listen to stories from people who dampen their lessening moments in acts of diminishment, embodying the modern obsessive-compulsive destroyer.

Ich danke Ihnen für Ihre Geduld

Travel plans are very difficult for me to assemble. There are so many opportunities, and just as many constraints. All week I have been on the verge of purchasing a plane ticket to Europe, but as of yet I have not. The prospect of spending every last dime in the bank for a near aimless solo wander through foreign lands is both exciting beyond measure and terrifying beyond belief. My foreign language skills are very limited. This time frame of travel would financially prohibit me from playing in an ice hockey league this season. And yet I can't shake from my mind that this is a very necessary trip to make. 

Financially it makes the most sense to go to Asia, where I could pick up a job teaching English as a foreign language, make a respectable income and have enough free time to explore and learn things on the side. Yet the unseen force that pulls the strings of desire within me don't take me there. 

Frozen Lake

The disaster of letting someone poisonous into your life so deeply is crushing one of my friends. I hope that he can free himself from the depressing cycle that she is pulling him down.

Thank you for your patience.

The Western Sun is Approaching

I've joined an online community of couch surfers, and so far I've had a great amount of contact. I feel like a cultural ambassador. The concept is great, despite the potential for abuse. That people establish references and feedback does enough to convince me to participate. Besides, my couch is pretty comfortable! It takes trust on both ends of the equation to happen.

I've been reading Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murikami, and it is thoroughly a gobbler of a read. It's a shame I have to trot to my paid-workplace instead of continuing through the pages.

September 11, 2012 Bloc Party is playing a free show @ Sugar Beach, 7:30pm. The one listen I gave to their new album didn't much impress me, but maybe it will grow into something. The Silent Alarm album was killer, so lets have hope.

Lucid states of the deep mind

Last night I had an excellent dream. At some point while walking in Dufferin Park, I became aware that I was in a dream-state and realized that I could manipulate things in that beautiful alternate reality we call dreaming. The lucidity was incredible. I felt like I was in complete control of a perfect opportunity. Clearly the first thing I did was decide to fly above the park. It was cool because I didn't fly straight and fast like superman, but rather slowly and more like a feather caught by the wind. I looked eastwards towards Dovercourt st., but it was like an older video game with a limited draw distance, as there was nothing but black beyond reasonable boundaries. Phones were ringing, but I couldn't get anyone on the line. I wish I could remember more, but my memory fails me.

Labour day has passed us by, meaning that the Summer feels over. I'm okay with that, I prefer sweatshirt weather anyways. Decisions must be made regarding the future. Should I remain in Toronto, working for a cheap corporation towards management, do some minor travels to Montreal and on to the East coast, or something more drastic? I'm starting to feel a pull towards Vietnam, but I'm not yet certain. I quite enjoy the comforts of my urban North American city, but something tells me that this can wait.

Ghosts

I'm still searching for the elusive mermaiden of Ontario. We might have passed in the street once and exchanged smiles, but I'm not sure.

Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV. Hell yes. Dark, dreamy, and heavy. Just my ticket.

A beautiful rainy day off. Things to do: craft music, go outside, meet sustenance requirements, figure out how to spell sustenance without spellcheck, listen to NIN, hug cat and dog, decide whether to purchase sweet mountain bike from roommate.

I was droning around on the internet last night and found my way to a list of excellent movies available on netflix Canada, of which 'Brick' caught my eye. Of course, when I actually went on to netflix, it wasn't available. So instead, I watched a pretty trashy Resident Evil movie.

Time to take a walk? On the wild side? Thanks Lou. I'm stuck in a cycle.
_______________________________________________________________________
NIN - Ghosts I-1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA5rc4M-YrA
_______________________________________________________________________
Gitar CD release party at the Silver Dollar Room Thursday August 30, 2012 starting @ 9pm.

Post Title

I spent today running errands, retrieving my old bass from a shop I had left it in on consignment - only to receive a parking ticket. Sneaky ass sign on the side street said no parking 12am-6pm, but I read it differently in my hurry. The parking police are a fucking cartel. I noticed my neighbour had received a huge ticket for parking "within 3m of a fire hydrant" before I left my parent's place. What a croc of shit. There was at least 5 feet between the back of his car and the hydrant... How large is the fire hose that needs to connect to it in case of emergency?

My roommate's parents took us out to the Picasso exhibit at the AGO earlier, which was pretty sweet. Call me a cunt, but a lot of the stuff was pretty whatever to me. One of my favourites was a rough sketch of a jolly fat man next to a topless woman with a severed head, strictly because of the smile on the sitting man's face. Another cool one had a couple making out, but again the expression on his face was silly as hell and pretty amusing. A couple of bronze sculptures of goats were pretty dark and intimidating, with nails protruding across the skull. I'm not a big art gallery kind of guy, the crowds of people detract from the art. oooohhh ahhhh I feel like a cattle marching  along. Fancy.

We went to an Alsatian restaurant on Baldwin afterwards. Everyone else got dainty-ass portions, but I ordered the sauerkraut and got about 5 sausages in a huge bowl. I'm a slow eater to begin with, but felt bad that everyone had to watch me continue to stuff my face long after they had finished. I felt much worse for the people that had to smell my indigestion afterwards. Not everyone loves their own brand.

Unmet Expectations

Troubles abound with the Vensets. I'm pissed off that I sunk a year into a musical project, and now that we finally got the ball rolling by playing a show (to decent applause) it all seems to have crumbled. It has been fodder for my solo acoustic jams at least, lending anger towards unmet expectations. No success comes without hard work, and nothing good is all fun and games. It is good to be a dreamer, but reality has to be remembered, and those conflicting attitudes are at the heart of the clash.

I've been thinking that it is time to get out of town again. A good friend of mine is game to sublet my room for a month or so, in a month or two, which has me feeling good about the prospects. This adventure may turn out to be a solo affair, which might be good for me. Seems like life is a solo affair to me anyways. I need to make sure my finances are in order, but with some time I should be able to make it work. The destination isn't certain, but finances will dictate where is possible. I have always dreamt of touring Europe, but I doubt that will be possible, given my budget. Maybe all I need is a week in Montreal? A couple of weeks in the Rocky Mountains? Maybe something more drastic?

I'll do my best to keep you updated, internet world. (Despite my absence here, I have been writing steadily with a pen).

Honest Forest Rangers

So my age-celebration day came and went and now I can more firmly describe myself as entering fogey stage one. This should bode well for my hipster credentials. Hopefully as my babyface subsides I'll pick up the air of an older man and get promoted at work. My co-worker just recently got bumped up in status out of left-field, which is encouraging because nobody gave him a chance for it. Good on him. 

Last night I managed to stick to my plan of staying up all night making a new dance tune with Reason/Garageband. I'm very pleased with everything except my awful singing... I'm learning how to arrange notation around the beats much better, copying and pasting simple lines and then modifying the notes afterwards to keep steady rhythms (because I'm shit at playing live keyboards, but much better at poking around with computer keyboards and programs). My dad would probably be horrified that I choose this route to make music rather than spending the hours actually learning how to play keys, but I'll save that painstaking process for my guitar and bass guitar playing. 

The debate rages in my head over the benefits vs. drawbacks of purchasing a gaming PC. 

Benefits:
-Badass gaming 

Drawbacks:

-Loss of social life/time

-Money pit

listen to this:

El Caco - The Glow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWkqF1LYN_g

Vensets

http://vensets.bandcamp.com

We're online. Click it, listen to it, tag it, share it, bombastically blast it or just shake to it. Vensets is up. Thursday July 26th at Duffy's Tavern is our debut show.

Where else are we going to pilot this mothership?

The moon rises from the darkness to pull on the strings of our foolish dreams. The trouble with trouble is that it is exhilarating and all too much fun before the consequences set in. What illness slowly breaks you? Healthy doses of skeptical resolutions run amok in the unclean streets...

Surrounded By Toys

My friend Jess has encouraged me to continue writing here, proving that it is not only robots from the Ukraine that read these words. SHOUT OUT!~ I have been absent from inking the internet for a few moments, but I have not been idle. My band Vensets has been putting in good hours tweaking our energy into something that ought to be worth a listen. Tentatively, the 26th of July might be our debut (at Duffy's Tavern). Next stop Berlin. =) Last night I discovered that Garageband will automatically make Reason into a slave, allowing me to record live instruments along to a drum machine... Forest Tree might just take a turn for the hectic.


My shoulder blades feel like they are falling out of my back. What a dumb feeling. I want to be a cyborg and avoid all these aches. Superhuman strength and conditioning would just be a bonus. I've busted my body (and soul) working for a large corporation and now all I get besides a paycheque big enough to survive is a quickly failing body and expectations of more and more bending over. I don't want to be a bossman anymore. I'm quite content clocking in and out, doing honest work and then spending my free time feeling alive. Exploiting people is not me, so why did I ever want to be a bossman anyways? Money is nice in that it allows you to do and acquire nice things, but too much of it corrupts the soul in my mind. Having all that power doesn't mean you are inherently superior to anyone else; you're still going to eat, shit and die like the rest of us. Maybe your toilet bowl will sparkle more, your food will be served in more seclusion and your funeral will cost more, but acclimatization will distort your perception of it all anyways. More important are things like: feeling well, sharing love, spending your short life experiencing/creating wonders, and health. YEAH.

stupid us

Italy beat Germany 2-1 in the Euro Cup and College st. is honky. I managed to sneak a three hour nap in after work, but all the honking got me thinking about what a lazy way of celebrating it is to drive around in a car draped in the flags of distant lands honking like the angriest hallucinogenic road rager out there. When the Leafs knocked out the Senators in the second round of the playoffs in 2004, my friend and I ran 4km screaming like idiots towards the rest of the delusional and rabid sports fans descending on downtown. It seems like we all get lazy as we get older. Stupid us. With the Euro cup final on Canada day, I'm curious to see the display of nationality in effect around here.

The dude abides

This heat wave means summer is here, and that means fun times. Technically it's summer because the summer solstice has passed, but I'll use my anecdotal evidence anyways. Several sweat-stains later and this city is still a good place to be. I miss my dog and cat. What the hell is up with internet dating sites? It's like shopping facebook for a mate, and it's queer as fuck. But still I find myself occasionally up in that world. Sending a message to a complete stranger with no body language to break the ice is so completely odd. Video games are losing much of their allure to me, but reading paperbacks is picking up the slack. Jpod is excellent (Douglas Coupland). Perfectly quirky, out of left-field, engaging, relatable and with strange sections where the author inserts himself into the plot as an asshole. Vensettes as a rock 'n roll band name? Twin Shadow on July 30th? NYC in September to walk the streets eating questionable street food and drinking flat suds after staring inside museums and galleries? The world of the future is not firm. But it is worth waiting for.

Canine Devotion

If you inhabit Toronto for Friday June 15 2012, you owe it to the gods of coolness to head down to Wrongbar to catch some of their worshippers by the names of DZ Deathrays, Bass Drum of Death, METZ and The Death Set. Don't be fooled by their clever monikers, these arrangements of humanoids are capable of rocking out like it's 2012.

In other news: alcoholics still like booze.

The weather outside is not frightful.

Sunset Grill on Dundas & Gladstone = not bad at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyO7P6LE7nA
Twin Shadow - Slow

Moons, Stars and Beans

Apologies for the lack of contact. Until the distant celestial body had safely traversed between our rock and the flame-y hot one that gives us life, I felt it safer to hide from the internet. I have relocated from my safe house to this other one, which is filled with loud ape people like me. We dance and sing with our voices. People hear us and say things like "hey that sounded like vibrating strings in your fingers and throat" or something.

I've joined the twatty crowd with @bankcults in order to furthur my domination of the internet.

My genetically similar but slightly aged compatriot has taken a spaceship from his current residence over to this side of our planet in order to drink decent coffee while hiding behind protective solar lenses. We have discussed ways in which to expand our respective influences on the minions that surround us. The next step is to take a land speeder to the woods north of us to make an offering to the insect gods.
<transmission lost>

Cults

http://cults.bandcamp.com/

Cults - I found out about these dudes from the newspaper this morning. I like their retro-pop vibe. Give it a listen if you dare. 

Crazy Cats Coerced into Cooperation

King Cat

Time keeps passing, smiles come and go and the sun has risen again. My new place is only a few blocks away from the old one, so I'm thinking of training my cat to strut the route between by walking him on a leash to and from a few times. I've never much cared if my neighbours thought I was weird, because I find most of them weird to begin with. A cat with two palaces? That is completely regal.

My friend's acrobatic cat Archie (he jumped up there without encouragement)

An acquaintance of mine who sometimes walks her dog with my father wrote a poem that she said was inspired by me, and she gave me a copy yesterday. She's not a romantic interest, but it was a pretty flattering piece. If she gives me permission I'll publish it here. 

Music Vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PnOG67flRA&feature=related

Metronomy - The Bay

Psycle

The new bike is a speed demon. I'm not normally the type to ride the brakes down a hill, but this thing is nuts. Out of the gate the thing is so light that it picks up to speed in no time... so sweet. I can't really take much credit because it feels so easy to get speed with all those gears. The serious riders are definitely riding way faster. It will take a lot of time for me to get to their speeds and endurance levels.

The Humber Pedestrian Bridge

I listened to most of the Hurley album by Weezer today. I wasn't very impressed... when did they become super cheesy? They were always pop music, but there was some bite to them before. Now it's all bubblegum heart-cries, half-assed whining and lame chord progressions. The Blue album and Pinkerton were awesome, the Green album had a few good tunes, but after Maladroit I gave up. It looks like I did so just in time, because since then they've released five albums and four ep's, none of which made any splash on my music radar besides the song Hash Pipe (which I'm not a big fan of). 

Dear Weezer, I write you in spite of years of silence. You've cleaned up, found Jesus. Things are good oh so I hear. This CD, Blue Album awakens ancient feelings. Like others, those others, new sound is drowning in the flood.

New Directions

I finally got a chance to take the new bike for a spin last night, and shit damn is it easy to go fast on that mama. With the intention of hitting up the waterfront bike path, I made the mistake of riding down Dufferin south of King... what a shitshow. That pavement might as well be a minefield. I'm not yet used to avoiding every bump in my cycling path, so that mistake won't be repeated. It's too bad that there isn't any kind of pedestrian/bike bridge over the tracks anywhere between Dufferin and Strachan.

My good friend pointed me towards this awesome music video that recaptures all those times as a kid battling it out with nerf guns and the imaginary battles. IS TROPICAL - The Greeks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwrbyVaC6EU&ob=av2e

Good Showing, Mr. Jools

Today I learned two things: that young-ish alocholic men can develop gout and blame it on spicy food, and old crackhead men pee their pants semi-regularly.

Writing new songs feels really good.

I think I should probably go to punctuation rehab for excessive and inappropriate use of ! exclamation marks. Sorry everybody.

Shadows cast from tape on a friend's window. Missing a couple of S'

Probably the best way to respond to a compliment: "Tell everyone about me"

My cousin was telling me about this cool british music show, which pointed me towards this sweet deuce of live Arcade Fire songs (Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) + Rebellion (Lies): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTttNdw2zVI
They have really great stage presence.

That encouraged me to keep looking, so I found a badass live version of The Bends by Radiohead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG-adf3Z7_A
I wish they still wrote tunes more like this.

Road Bike

I've clearly slacked off considerably with writing these entries, and am sorry to my loyal readers for doing so. It's been a funny few weeks for me, as I'm going through a big life change in finally moving out of my parents' house. It's been a long time coming, and isn't the most prudent financial decision, but you can't place a proper price on growing up. I've been sheltered from reality in some ways by escaping the serfdom of bills, and that has allowed me to establish habits that are counter to personal growth. Living with two other dudes will bring its own brand of madness, but I'm looking forward to a stimulating change. I have this feeling that I really need this, and I've resolved to trust my gut feelings more than I have in the past.

Bicycling has been on my mind lately, and I'm seriously considering treating myself to a proper road bike. My biggest reservation is that I don't want to be confused with those douche bag bike couriers and the rest of the holier-than-thou crowd who feel entitled to be an asshole because they choose to ride a bike and not drive a car. The infrastructure for cycling in this city is quite lacking, and that causes a lot of friction between riders and drivers, but to lash out at honest drivers without taking responsibility for your own actions is shamefully rude.

Cyclists generally feel that drivers don't share the road with them. This is often true, but while saying that it must be acknowledged that a good majority of cyclists feel entitled to follow a different set of rules of the road. Going the wrong way down a one way street, swerving unpredictably, not wearing proper safety gear, not using front and back lights, blowing through stop signs and red lights are all examples of things cyclists typically do and then flip out on drivers who have close encounters with them.

I play for both sides and understand how it feels to be on either side of these situations. I strongly support the idea of licensing cycling in order to require a basic knowledge and respect of road rules and safety. That is not to say that I expect quite the same standard between a cyclist and a motorist, as rolling stops are permissible in my opinion (if the way proves clear...). But we could all benefit from a little compromise from the current situation. It seems that right now most people are firmly in one camp or the other, and are unreasonably firm in their stance on road ownership. A shitsack mayor doesn't help, and the physical infrastructure needs a lot of work, but lives could be saved and peace could be made if members from both sides came to the table and worked out a systemic change. Here's hoping. My biggest reservation is that given the current political climate, this whole idea could hugely backfire if enacted in a way that is unbalanced in its execution.

Dreams Crushed By Waking Up

Three TV shows have occupied my eyes for the past few days, and are worth a watch if you're interested in any of: brutal medieval/fantasy power struggles, mid-90's biker gang shenanigans, or post-apocalyptic zombie hoards vs. Americans. I'm talking about Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead. Watching these shows back to back is making me fat. That, and my laziness, which has been preventing me from hauling my carcass around at a velocity sufficient to burn off the excessive amount of energy I consume as a lethargic ape-creature. I went out skating the other day, and surprised myself with the amount of control I still have for the board, and then put myself out of skateable commission by hurting my legs without even falling. The youngest old man?

Completely and Utterly

Regardless of complete lack of, or any kind of incessant enthusiasm towards continuation, and largely in spite of; this madness shall continue. I heard once from a wise slug who mentioned that ear canals posses the capability to navigate the infinite circles of crazy. Three witches united to enslave the populace of rice, who rebelled in unison towards sanity. With clean fingernails, I once wished for clarity. With good intentions, we succeeded in enrolling goodness into frenzy. And that is all.

By the way: http://foresttree.bandcamp.com/

Flames of the Overworld

There once was a land where the people didn't know about demons and insisted on burning everything. They learned that by melting things and setting them on fire, they could produce what they called chemicals. With these, they amassed great riches and built extravagant castles with fantastic gimmicks, which the barons constructed in order to compete with one another, in a game of one-upmanship that pushed the very boundaries of physical possibilities. Towers were built so high that from their tops you could look down upon fireworks and aircraft.

With their knowledge of combustion, the people produced jet propulsion, and hopped across continents en mass. However, because these people were frenzied by the explosion of physical dominance that science had unleashed, they overlooked the wicked force of the demonic hoards. For even a child should know that whenever you burn something, a small demon (known as a 'Syet') slips through the hole created in the fabric between the realms of the overworld and the underworld.

Given enough time and misuse of the terrific power of flame, once a group of not less than fifty Seyts gather together, they perform a summoning ceremony (with the combined power to summon a true demon in the form of a 'Hralx') . It takes a while for the Syets to cross between the worlds, and longer still for them to reunite, but time passes more quickly than most admit. Within decades of misuse, the first Hralx's crossed over, and began toying with the unsuspecting populace (whose complete faith in their religion of science left them completely open to attack from the realm of the fantastic).

They started small, by tampering with weather systems and gathering power by destroying wildlife that the people didn't care about enough to protect. 

As the decades became centuries, the Hralx's had multiplied enough, and gathered enough power to bring across the worst demon that had ever been seen in the overworld. His name was Throg, and he especially hated people who didn't burn incessantly, which slowed the seeping of power over to him. In order to speed up the process of change from lightworld to darkworld, he added salt powders to the flames, which released gasses that entranced the people and made them attack each other.

____________________________________________________________________

CONTINUE? 

Synthesize

Yesterday was another pretty mundane day, I cleaned some trash out of my room and sold some brews to some trashy people. No, that's a lie, most of my crustomers are super classy. Rick is an example for the masses. "I'm going home for supper" is his tagline. He describes panhandling as 'workin'. The constantly morphing burns on his fingers hint at his true affection in life. My workplace is doing a charity drive this week to raise funds to help solve blood cancers. His 'workplace' involves hassling people for money on the grounds that he looks pathetic, and using that money to buy crack and liquor.

It is seriously liberating to chuck out the junk that accumulates. My broseph had been on for years about the joys of living without much stuff, but it had been lost on me. Mind you it is cool to stumble upon a cache of old slingshots, but it's not quite as cool to stumble upon a dust kingdom underneath some shelving. Finding cool forgotten stuff: +1, death to the dust kingdom: +2. I guess cleaning is worthwhile.

Check out my friend's productions: http://hollywooods.bandcamp.com/

Forest Tree

http://foresttree.bandcamp.com/

That's the link to my new project. Setting up my studio and learning it has been occupying me for the past few days. Its enticing repetitions have drawn me into a new dimension. I learned how to sample yesterday, which is a huge deal to me. I've been listening to a lot of DJ Shadow and Caribou lately and am hoping it will make for some goodness on my end. Either way, I'm stoked. Next goal: solve how to make badass drum and bass runs and crank the tempo.

Beat Lands

I've slacked on writing this the past couple of days, but I won't say it's because I've been too busy with work. Because I haven't. I've been circling in my beat cave, grooving to the chilled loops that revolve at a cool 97 bpm. Q Tip hasn't called me yet, but with time, surely he'll be begging to spit some of his lyrical genius down and around these tracks. Maybe not. But it's good fun, and I'm starting to get away from the cheesy ass loops and into the dirty drum and bass. If I can figure out how to trip-hop anything like DJ Shadow in 1996 -- I'm set.

The Kaossilator had to go back to the toy-mill that it came from. It's novelty had worn off after three days, and it's limitations made it frustrating to use as an actual tool. It had one function that was pretty useful from a production standpoint though: the tap-tempo button would help me figure out the bpm of the track I was working on, making it easy to synch up my layers (because if I play the synth line first, then adjust the bpm of the drum machine to match it, it also adjusts the bpm of the synth parts...). It turns out that the metronome on my phone has the same ability.

While returning the under-used beat-pad to the store, I fatally asked a few questions about recording live instruments into my computer and of course found a useful tool with a floor-model price of 2/3 the MSRP. I couldn't resist, because with it I will be able to chain my friend to it and force the completion of our debut EP. The sound clarity is really good with it too, I'm very pleased. Amigo with all the voice talents (amongst others) called me the other night and will be returning to town within a week, so we're set to destroy ears soon.

Audiotunes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6s5xhcBiDw
DJ Shadow - Stem/Long Stem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whVtrLrTWwE
Nine Inch Nails - Down In It (live on Dance Party USA in the late 80's)

Melody Day What Have I Done?

Dog humps other dog in dog park and gets barked at. Goat-dog fails to jump fence. I can imagine these events making local daily papers and other nonsense. But also do productive things like putting together a new board with an old pair of trucks and wheels enabling me to jump around like I still listen to House of Pain. My old man lazy legs can't keep it up as long as they used to tough. Maybe with a heavy diet of pain and suffering I can recapture some of my earlier days of non-glory, busting hot flips on dirty banks and the like. I can't say I haven't noticed a lot of new street spots popping up all over the place. 

Proving Grounds

Listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_NvtAxmDEM&ob=av2e

The Roots - Break You Off (ft. Musiq) (Music Video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEdpyphqjL0

The Whitest Boy Alive - Gravity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t69IpPB0rA

Caribou - Kaili

That Was A Strong Kick

Would you willingly let a muscleman kick you in the gonads hard as he can? This guy associates himself with a baptist minister martial artist. Dancing leads to touching, which leads to funtimes, but for some misguided bravado and tv funds, kick him in the nuts. Listening to Rod describe his self-induced punishment is worth a wince...

"World Record Kick To The Groin" 

The latest Wrongbar gig for BBNG was a packed madhouse. I was pretty zombified and unable to partake well in the wild dance floor movements, but I couldn't help but bob my head with some shoulder swaying. I watched the singer for Kiz & Legin go diving for the crowd surf twice, but the crowd was not being a good surfboard.

Mask Mask Not Pig

Before that, this funny guy who probably ate enough E to be happy for a week was busting some hilarious trance dance moves at light speed to this music that just nobody else would've thought to dance like that to (some surprise mystery opening hip-hop guests). I wanted to film him and do a dance battle mashup of him vs. Ian Curtis edited to something like Tom Waits. I couldn't bring myself to pull out a camera though, as I was too busy laughing my ass off.

Speaking of which:

Check it Out! With Dr. Steve Brule (Brule on Sushi)

Clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F69dt5clGPo

De La Soul - Buddy (how a hip-hop music video should be)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5GgGa0SKRI&feature=related

Modest Mouse - Alone Down There (live in Kentucky, 2001)

Happy Body Sad Face

More love for the hometown than the stop signs

Friend and I have just returned from a free BBNG show down at Sonic Boom (now residing beneath Honest Eds). It was so good it got me thinking of crazy ideas like opening a store kitty corner, called Dishonest Ted's (or something similarly shitty). Those Bad kids have some real talent, and it was clearly on display. Tonight's official show should be top-notch. Why not drop out of music school if you've got the press all over you and an offer to play Coachella?

BBNG @ Sonic Boom

Last night's show was a pretty big disappointment until Dirty Mags took to the stage and played some very The Cure-ish tracks. It was not was I expected, as their lone youtube vid and name suggested a more gritty and raw punk ethos, rather than dark pop. But after listening to some shitheads from London whine about their girlfriend leaving them and their best friend hating them to cheesy chord progressions, maybe the bar was set too low. The filth clips use of reverb on the mic liberally, but to good effect. I'm not usually a big fan of people that only sing and don't play any other instruments, but this dude was pretty good.

After that madness we bumped into this girl I met on the internet, and had to explain to her that I didn't pursue her affections because she's a heavy smoker, but really I just couldn't admit to her that it was because of her profuse use of "le sigh". I couldn't be the social assassin last night. But with training... NINJA STRIKE!

Things That Occur In Places During Times

Tonight is a night of domestic rock plus some imported shenanigans from England somewheres (Londonish). It's going down at Lee's Palatial Cock Palace in the evening, as part of Kanehdeehen Moosek Fest. It should be pretty good stuff on display, if youtube examples are anything representative of what will occur. I unearthed my old gold whitey guitar from the confines of it's tomb behind my couch and was surprised at how fucking awesome it is, and it made me wonder why the hell I ever bothered with buying other ones. Stupid is as stupid buys?

Dirty Mags and Tribes are @ Lee's Palace - 10ish ($10)
Kiz & Legin are also banging out a show tonight at Neutral Lounge (College/Augusta - on at midnight)

Tunes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLG0ifCIKMc
Dirty Mags - Blood Sweats (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwAbCt5Hw_8
Kiz & Legin - Bed (music video)

Something Like It

Holy hot shit it's been proper summer weather out there all week. I've taken the liberty of cleaning out the copious amounts of trash and out-of-style clothing from my dungeon closet, in preparation for summer goodtimes. Stuff accumulates in a nasty way when you don't move addresses a lot and/or are a hoardy type. I found some cool jackets buried in the rubble, now that they're of no use.

"You think I ain't worth a dollar, but I feel like a millionaire"

I've been on a big QOTSA tip lately, thanks in large part to my amigo, who lent me a huge stack of his CD collection of singles, rarities and live takes, including one extra special one of a kind live at Lee's Palace with Dave Grohl on the pounds gem. Good weather and driving music make good company. Compadre Meesh will be returning to planet Toronto soontimes, and we will commence our liftoff from the overbearing gravity of dirty bars and sweaty clubs. Oh, and we'll make tunes too. 

Thursday: Tribes, and Dirty Mags play smash and bang at Lee's Palace

Friday: Lunice, BADBADNOTGOOD, and Zodiac crash through Wrongbar

Tunes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6j18Tn9Ics

Queens of the Stone Age - Back to Dungaree High (Turbonegro cover)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFYXP19e5KM

Turbonegro - Fuck The World (music video)

Queens of the Stupid Age

I'm not a hero. I'm just a guy who scored the overtime winner in an upset win during beer league playoff action last night. Take that "The Knights". I'm actually an exhausted turdbag of a man who needs to sleep.

Hombre Luciano and I just had celebratory brewskies and panzo/pizza, while watching the local entertainment of crackwhores reaching around the sneeze-guard of the local late night 'za establishment. It's a hard world out there, but being a sneaky sucker will catch up over time. I hope so. Scum are filthy representations of our crazy ape-like species. If only Mr. Clean worked on lowlifes. Maybe that's an idea for a spoof commercial? A cleaning product for scumbags, featuring some bald guy in a white suit, who sprays a cleaning product on weak people, and transforms them into decent folk.

Good Person

Tunes of the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11jsTNK72C8

Queens of the Stone Age - Walkin' On The Sidewalks (live in Japan, 2002 -with Dave Grohl)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TawSvT2hvQ&feature=related

Queens of the Stone Age - You Can't Quit Me Baby (live in Brazil, 2001, 

Snakey Island Day

I skipped out on St. Patty's day celebrations this year. Shamrocked out. I've got Irish blood flowing through my veins every other day of the year, so it's really a day like every other. Maybe it's even better to be Irish and not drunk on this day? Take that, stereotypes (although, for the record, I'm Canadian). It seems to me that bringing Christianity to Ireland maybe caused more bad than good, but theology clearly isn't my thing. I call bullshit on driving the snakes out too. I probably would've gone out on the town, except that last night ended a little bit late, and this morning started way too early. When the city is thirsty, I have more work to do. Thankfully an hombre of mine bailed me out so I could sneak in an afternoon nap. Naps and baths are generally frowned upon by young bucks, but I think old people are on to something. Tea too, what a great beverage (sorry coffee -- I still love you -- and my body still hates you).

The Patron Saint of Havelock St.

Tunes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3KuMFXm2xk

The High Strung - The Luck You Got

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJo9-PFNNqE

Frank Black - Pray For The Girls (Heroes and Villains)

Another Pretender At The Show

I've had such an uneventful couple of weeks, so I apologize if these writings have suffered as a result. It's difficult for me to pretend to be interesting when things have settled into the mundane -- although there are a lot of people that try (they are called douche bags). I suppose it's relatively interesting that I've got the music production software Reason back on track, and with my midi keyboard I hashed out the beginning stages of a new track. Very rappable, so if I knew how to pretend I was an emcee, I might even try.

Go Faster

Tonight ought to be interesting, what with an hombre gaining a year of age cred, the sunny-ass weather (because it brings the bums out), recently regained virility and my general optimism: "holy hot shit it's Friday people!". Next Friday is going to be even better, because I just scored a couple of BadBadNotGood tickets for the Canadian Music Festival ($22ea - @Wrongbar). Also seeing Dirty Mags and Tribes at Lee's Palace on Thursday ($12). 

Get in on the CMF action: http://canadianmusicfest.com/

YouTunes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOT2-OTebx0&feature=relmfu
James Blake - Limit To Your Love (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhPaWIeULKk
Gorillaz - Stylo (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiQoq-wqZxg
The Clash - Guns of Brixton (fan video)

Stair Challenge 3022

It should have been obvious that this game was not going to end well. The idea was, give your buddy a piggyback and see if you could walk down the stairs without falling.

 Surprisingly enough, we both made it, both times. Drinking games are always stupid, but strangely fun all the same. 

I've got to run to work, but we'll talk soon internet. I promise. 

Tonight Sexy Mathematics are playing a Gold Soundz show down at Nocturne, doors @9, bands@10. $5. http://sexymathematics.bandcamp.com/

Tunes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvxi0l8eKkg

The Whitest Boy Alive - 1517

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_PrT25o8Vs&feature=relmfu

The Black Keys - Next Girl (music video)

The Pizza Party Is Back

The return of the modern metal punk is underway and going at a clip. This city's penchant for fashioning plaid destroying indie-pop is about to be blown out by dark and heavy riffs driven by heavy pounds. You can't stop it. Why would you want to anyways? Joy Division meet QOTSA and have a musical orgy with Helmet while listening to the Offspring circa 1994. Shake your blood. Move out of the way if you're standing still, because this train is coming fast. 

I'm fixing up and reinvigorating our myspace today: http://www.myspace.com/pizzapartymassacre

After that, it's porch brews with the boys on this fine day.

Mayhem lying in wait.

Clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyv5JDNO3KY

Quest For Fire - The Hawk That Hunts The Walking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VagClx4LWGs

Helmet - Blacktop (live in 1994)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpddZhY4Fro

Queens of the Stone Age - Mexicola (live in the basement 2009)

Handsome Devil

Intense beer league playoff action went down last night. We managed a 6-5 win in OT to advance. Hooray. I whiffed on just about every shot in the warmup, but managed to score on my first shift thanks to a flailing goalie and an empty cage. Later, I potted one top corner, on the goalie that was as wide as he was tall (seriously). Before the game started I saw him sit down on a bench, and he was just as tall sitting down as he was standing up. Late in the third period, one of our guys took exception to their pest player's shenanigans and entered into a fisticuffs. Their guy seemed more interested in taking off his shirt than throwing blows, but no biggie. Just a little weird. You're supposed to wrap the guy's jersey over his head, not take it off. Get a room, eh. Hoser.

Handsome Devil

Bowz has had full reign over his castle this weekend, as his pest brother has been away up north bugging frogs, rabbits and deer instead. I swear my kiddo needs the dog to nip at him to keep happy though, as things are just too quiet without a nutso dog scurrying around constantly finding amusement in the same few things. Given our finally arrived spring weather, King Cat may have been too busy sunbathing to be bothered by the peace. Yesterday one of my hombres was telling me about the deviance of his cat, who mounts his dog for humps... Go figure the dog likes it, wagging his tail at the strange burst of attention from his pal. 

Sneaky Graffiti

Clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf_ZgPmT2WI

The Bronx - Knifeman (music video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2j-xR_wSAQ&feature=related

Cancer Bats - Hail Destroyer (music video)

Full Recovery

I skipped out on shows last night in favour of making a full recovery from this persistent flu. Seemingly my sense has prevailed for once, as I'm finally free from hoarking loogies. Rest does cure minor garbage from the system. Today was the first this year that I really wished I could spend it all outside, and with daylight savings time in effect now, it will last that bonus hour longer.

Goodbye, outdoor ice hockey.

Unfortunately, instead of basking in the glorious sun, I spent my day sorting through other people's refuse, and taking in the smells of fermenting cocktails of old liquor and cigarette butts. The rooftop patio has been locked down as my summer residence of freshness, so starting in late April I will contrast my reek store experiences with post-work chilled out goodness. My beer league playoffs start tonight, so here's hoping I make round things go in the net.

Clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojC0mg2hJCc

The Roots - The Seed (2.0) ft. Cody ChesnuTT (music video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYYeK6XD1QM

Queens of the Stone Age - Give the mule what he wants (live in Vancouver, 1998)

Run For The Hills

The guitarist in my indie band owed money to some people, so he skipped town for the far-reaches of the country -- so that he can make a ton of cash and come back and repay them, of course. It's bad timing for us because he's supposed to record vocal tracks. A month isn't so bad though, it just means that Sabez gets put on hold, and this crazy synth thing gets off the ground. I added another synth to my collection, this one a small box of madness called the Kaossilator. It's about the size of an old portable CD player, and uses a touch pad instead of keys. It has an 8 bar loop function, with the ability to put many layers together to create loopy electronica. It blows that you can't save your creations to anything, as they get lost when you power down, but it wasn't very expensive and is more of a funbox then a serious recording device. It works really well for playing live though, ignoring the loop function and just jamming out along with another synth. It is also sweet that it works on batteries, and can be jammed with on the bus/train/plane. 

Pretty Self-Explanatory

Tonight - Wade is opening for Moka Only at The Cave (College/Ossington) $15/door

Clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBLDffH0h-E

Arcade Fire - Vampire/Forest Fire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpaonSDPw7Y

Madvillain - Accordian (music video)

Elevator Stuff

A serious degree of slacking has occured regarding these pages of nonsense. I'll make up for my boringness by having an exciting weekend, I promise. These fingers have just had too much to occupy themselves with, what with basses, guitars and keyboards lying in wait for my return from work. Nothing much exciting has really happened for me to write about since our last encounter. I discovered this real life asshole making real life video game vids called Remi Gaillard. Some of them are funny, other times you just know you'd chase him down and hit him for the dumb shit he does -- if you were there to be victimized that is. The elevator stuff is worth a laugh, kind of like just for laughs gags, but Francais French, not Quebecois.

Apparently this is why Montreal > Toronto (I don't trust the source/verdict)

DJ Shadow is playing a gig at the Pheonix on April 1st, although it is probably sold out by now. Sorry suckers (which include me). My friend turned to towards this campy tv show called Shameless, which is good because it makes you feel accomplished in comparison to a family of fuckups. They're a pretty rad family actually.   It's pronounced Shi- Cah - Guh. My amigo thinks I've been avoiding rehearsals with him, but really I've just been doing my worst to recover from this nasty and overwhelming hacking of loogies. We will remedy both situations shortly. The winter sucks for staying healthy, doesn't it? Sunday will be big and double digits of temperature, so be on the lookout for pasty-ass freaks showing off their ghostly legs as a way to scare you back indoors despite the sunshine.

Clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InFbBlpDTfQ
DJ Shadow - Midnight In A Perfect World (music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIrvpn3k9A4
Remi Gaillard - Real Life Pac Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOKGcXfhOCU
Dan the Automator and DJ Shadow - My Guru

Micro Awesome

Le Dan got older today. We only count age in 365 day increments on this planet. His pounds will be harder tomorrow guaranteed. I gave him a half a bottle of Canuckler whisky for his celebratory getting older day because I was too busy obsessing about my new mini-analog synthesizer to do much else of use. The other half of the bottle was consumed by other people on other days, I swear. No really, it was. I went on a Craigslist rampage and found this gem for 2/3 the regular schmuck price. It has a faint smell of cigarettes, but that's okay.

Le MicroKorg XL

We celebrated age in style by pretending to not be hombres, heckled each other for no good reasons and listened to rock 'n stroll. We roll like that. With heavy toms. Go team.

He's now officially older, but the rest of us stayed the same.

Clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkJEuwuMJx4

Arcade Fire - Vampire/Forest Fire (live)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfuo-oBHoWE

Caribou - Melody Day (live)