I could do the whole 'wow, I haven't posted on this thing in a solid three months' thing and then try to explain and legitimize my absence from the blogging world, but I won't because that would be expected and boring. But woah, let's not get ahead of ourselves, that's not to imply that anything of what I'm going to post on here today will be of any interest to anyone.
I'm one exam away from being done with my first semester of Journalism at Concordia University and while I'm very happy at the prospect of being able to relax and not think of anything for a period of two weeks, I'm also very satisfied with how things went and with the overall direction my life is heading in. I'm loving Journalism school so far and I feel I'm doing well. I think I've learnt quite a few new things that I've managed to assimilate into my writing style and I definitely think I've grown as a writer as a result of that. There are however a few things that I'd like to rectify for my next semester; mainly my penchant for procrastination when ugly work rears its head. But I think such prospects are entirely in the realm of the 'doable'. I'd attribute allot of my negative work ethic to the considerable adjustment period with the shift to Montreal. Which brings me to my next point: Montreal.
I had a rough time adapting to life in this city. I won't lie to anyone, there were a few days that I honestly wondered if my being here had any purpose. There were days that I drove back from Gatineau to Montreal with a rather large lump in my throat. There were days when I felt like I had no one here, and to a rather large degree I don't, but more on that in a bit. There were days spent lying on my back staring at the ceiling. Days were spent sleeping in, they bled together and it often seemed that I was not going to get better. Thankfully, I did. I started really liking school, I finally got a job and I managed to take up enough hobbies to keep myself busy and ultimately sane. This also meant accepting that by and large, I'm alone here. I lost touch with quite a few people by moving here, and that's something that doesn't really sit well with me. I'll be working on trying to rectify those situations over the coming weeks.
Which brings me to this someone. This someone whom I also lost touch with because of the move here. I'm not sure how it happened. We were really close for a bit and I liked that allot. I really cared for this someone and I think I still do. I think I would've liked to tell that someone just how much I cared for her, but circumstances kept me from doing such a thing. Now we barely talk, which really bothers me. I think what we had for abit, whatever that might have been, was quite nice. It was good to feel like I mattered to someone again, to really get someone and to feel like maybe they actually even got me. I don't know where I'm going with this though, it's probably simply over, which is made harder by the lack of resolution.
In brighter, better and more current events, City of a Hundred Spires convened at my apartment last night for some intense partying. We simply got absolutely smashed and just had an all around great time. I love those guys and really, they are my brothers. I had one of the best times I've had in awhile and I'm really greatful to still be able to share moments like that with them, despite us living in different towns. Cheers to them.
Finally, speaking of the band, we will be having our reunion show at Mavericks in Ottawa on January 4th. The show will be 7$ at the door and is all-ages for you non 19 year olds. This will be Robot Kill City's last show. They were a really great band and you should definitely come down and help them exit with a bang and a bow. Also playing are the Curviture, Matthew Johnston and Bangkok Noodle House. Fun times, I expect to see allot of you there. I'll do a little feature on my music blog about this show next week, with links to music from all the bands and so on.
Okay that's it, I'm out. I have to go study for International Relations and then I bust it back to Ottawa/Gatineau for a few weeks. It's going to be lovely. Oh how I miss Ottawa's little big town charm. I'll update when I'll be home sometime. Till then, to quote the legendary Ed Murrow, good night and good luck.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Fuck not lest ye be fucked
Greetings bold and ever-dwindling audience! After what must surely be a multiple month absence, I'm back to the blogging world. Granted that's not something to write home about, but I must say that allot has changed in my tiny microcosm over the last while and I'm excited to have something to write about again, as well as a bunch of new prospects. Okay, I'll make a really long story short for now, I've become a citizen of Montreal, I study at Concordia University in Journalism and I'm just trying to keep my head up, keep myself busy and ultimately stay sane in this brand new environment.
For now though, I'd just like to draw your attention to these few things:
On the Cusp : This is a movie/music review blog/zine thing that I'm going to be working on from now on. Expect fairly regular updates with contributing writers everyonce in awhile. Sweet deal.
"One,two,three, is it snowing there Mr. Thiessen?" : What's this? Simply a place where I'll be writing about whatever goes through my mind in the areas of politics, socio-politics and philosophy. Again, expect a gaggle of my friends to occasionally chip in.
Francis Bacon stole my shoes : I have no idea how that title came to mind, but unfortunately the site deals with neither Francis Bacon the philosopher, Francis Bacon the artist or the pilfering of shoes... or any combination thereof. Rather, it's going to be a spot for me to put up some pictures I've snapped for all to see. I'm just getting into this, so please lend me some of your patience.
Well, that was exhausting. So where does this leave good ol' Too much thought, too little sleep ? I'll still write in it on occasion to go into the slightly more personal stuff and of course to do some thinly veiled rambling about girls when it's needed. I mean, what self-respecting blogger doesn't?
So that's it for now... I'll try and update all four of these beasts by tommorow, hopefully my word will be kept. Cheers.
For now though, I'd just like to draw your attention to these few things:
On the Cusp : This is a movie/music review blog/zine thing that I'm going to be working on from now on. Expect fairly regular updates with contributing writers everyonce in awhile. Sweet deal.
"One,two,three, is it snowing there Mr. Thiessen?" : What's this? Simply a place where I'll be writing about whatever goes through my mind in the areas of politics, socio-politics and philosophy. Again, expect a gaggle of my friends to occasionally chip in.
Francis Bacon stole my shoes : I have no idea how that title came to mind, but unfortunately the site deals with neither Francis Bacon the philosopher, Francis Bacon the artist or the pilfering of shoes... or any combination thereof. Rather, it's going to be a spot for me to put up some pictures I've snapped for all to see. I'm just getting into this, so please lend me some of your patience.
Well, that was exhausting. So where does this leave good ol' Too much thought, too little sleep ? I'll still write in it on occasion to go into the slightly more personal stuff and of course to do some thinly veiled rambling about girls when it's needed. I mean, what self-respecting blogger doesn't?
So that's it for now... I'll try and update all four of these beasts by tommorow, hopefully my word will be kept. Cheers.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
A toast to you, your whisper, your smile...
I keep amazing myself at how little resolve I seem to have to keep this blog up to date. It's not like it's a particularly taxing exercise, I sit down, reflect on the going-ons that have occured since the last time I decided to burden this page with my thoughts, think of witty ways of putting them to said page (all in a vain attempt at making me seem that small bit more interesting... to whom? I wouldn't know really...) and finally hit that little 'publish' button and hope that someone takes something from it. Kindof pathetic really, but oh well.. here we go again.
So here I am sitting in my backyard by the pool, it's about 1:30am, it's a cool night with a cool breeze, I got back from watching War of the Worlds not too long ago (go see it if Tripods wrecking shit, Tim Robbin's being creepy, insane and awesome all at the same time, and horrendous endings that nearly ruin movies are your thing..) and I'm sitting here at the computer trying to adequately sum up the last two or so months of my meager existence. Where to begin? Well, you all should know that I am done, finished and ultimately rid of CEGEP. I managed to barely crawl out of the fiery crimson wreckage that was my stint in Computer Sciences, and it seems like I'm going to make a full recovery. The marks are in, they are by no means stellar, but they guarantee me my DEC and honestly, I could not ask for more. Concordia University and a potential new career in journalism are the next things on my 'you're doing it, you're fucking doing it' list and I actually feel quite compelled to get through them. Oh, who am I kidding, I'm fucking giddy with excitement about it.
The big move to Montreal is happening relatively soon, I should be settling in around early August, with preparations for said operation beginning as early as this week-end (which is to say cleaning my filthy appartment.. ie: hermetically sealing off the room, pumping CLR into it, letting it rest for a few days.. wow that'd be ideal) Now honestly, this whole 'new city' thing has me quite intrigued. I'm looking forward to discovering new hang-out spots, new restaurants, meeting new people and also getting involved in a whole new music scene (and by that I don't mean rubbing elbows and knocking back pints with Win Butler and Efrim Menuck every night.. although I can dream).
Speaking of music, I guess I should bring up on here that City of a Hundred Spires is no more. To a certain degree, this was my decision and it wasn't an easy one to make, although I did see it coming. It just felt to me like the time had come to move on to something different, the dynamic and drive that I used to feel within the band was gone, and I wasn't having fun practicing and playing shows anymore. I figured it was best to end it there, and not let it drag on, especially with my moving to a different town. It would've killed us even more to invest more time, money, effort and heart into something that would've fallen appart at a later date. There will be farewell shows sometime in August, I'll keep you all posted on when and where. I guess I've been half-assedly working on some solo stuff that I might post on here if ever I get comfortable with my 'bedroom-pop' persona, but don't expect anything too soon.
On a side note, has anyone ever noticed that hip-hop is virtually the only genre to feature explicit name-dropping and a detailed explanation of the intricacies of the genre itself, you know, shit like 'Yeah, this is the real hip-hop, dropping the sickest rhymes at ya from the west coast!' ? I'd have trouble imagining something like 'Yo, this is the OG post-rock crew, we be pimpin' the illest octave chords and craziest build-ups this side of the Mason-Dixon line..' Ok, maybe I'm just an idiot.
Is this getting long-winded? Bah, who cares if it is, I haven't written on here in ages, it's still really nice out, I'm not that tired and I still have some stuff to say.. I've noticed over the last while that my self-confidence is basically shot to shit, which is somewhat strange since I sincerely haven't devalued myself in any way, and I still have the same basic outlook on who I am that I've had for as long as I can remember (that stability is something I am very grateful for). But it just seems that I find myself wondering 'what exactly, if anything, do I have to offer?' lately, and it wouldn't be entirely out of left field to assume that it's at the root of this 'lonely' feeling I've been getting farely often these days. Maybe I'm just jaded, possibly a smidge bitter and somewhat dissillusioned? Maybe my past experiences are taking their toll on my self-confidence. Maybe it's a little from column A and a little from column B. Maybe I'm full of it and that if I'd only lighten up abit I'd realize that I might be missing out on quite a few goods things (not that my life isn't filled with those already) ? I guess I'll just give it some time, it's not like I'd actually contemplate changing how I am to fit some undetermined criteria, I'm way too stubborn for such nonsense.
I guess I'll end all of this with a plea to everyone to just go out and enjoy the little things. Go for a late night walk and gawk at the stars, go explore some place you've never dared and make an excursion out of it, go out and have a great conversation about anything or nothing with someone, visit new restaurants and try new food, go on smallish roadtrips to whocareswhere, go out to shows that have bands on the bill that you've never heard of, read books and watch movies. Hell, just do something. So many of us go about our days taking for granted all these things that lie right underneath our noses, it'd be a shame to not take notice, even if it is only once in awhile. This is making allot of sense to me right now, hopefully it'll be as coherent when I wake up, and maybe just a tad interesting to whomever reads it. It's 3:00am now and I have to get up abit too soon, so I'm gonna head out. I hope everybody has a nice one, whatever that might be.
music that fueled this blabbering:
The Appleseed Cast - Low Level Owl Volumes 1 and 2
The Arcade Fire - Funeral (why the fuck am I not tiring of this record?)
So here I am sitting in my backyard by the pool, it's about 1:30am, it's a cool night with a cool breeze, I got back from watching War of the Worlds not too long ago (go see it if Tripods wrecking shit, Tim Robbin's being creepy, insane and awesome all at the same time, and horrendous endings that nearly ruin movies are your thing..) and I'm sitting here at the computer trying to adequately sum up the last two or so months of my meager existence. Where to begin? Well, you all should know that I am done, finished and ultimately rid of CEGEP. I managed to barely crawl out of the fiery crimson wreckage that was my stint in Computer Sciences, and it seems like I'm going to make a full recovery. The marks are in, they are by no means stellar, but they guarantee me my DEC and honestly, I could not ask for more. Concordia University and a potential new career in journalism are the next things on my 'you're doing it, you're fucking doing it' list and I actually feel quite compelled to get through them. Oh, who am I kidding, I'm fucking giddy with excitement about it.
The big move to Montreal is happening relatively soon, I should be settling in around early August, with preparations for said operation beginning as early as this week-end (which is to say cleaning my filthy appartment.. ie: hermetically sealing off the room, pumping CLR into it, letting it rest for a few days.. wow that'd be ideal) Now honestly, this whole 'new city' thing has me quite intrigued. I'm looking forward to discovering new hang-out spots, new restaurants, meeting new people and also getting involved in a whole new music scene (and by that I don't mean rubbing elbows and knocking back pints with Win Butler and Efrim Menuck every night.. although I can dream).
Speaking of music, I guess I should bring up on here that City of a Hundred Spires is no more. To a certain degree, this was my decision and it wasn't an easy one to make, although I did see it coming. It just felt to me like the time had come to move on to something different, the dynamic and drive that I used to feel within the band was gone, and I wasn't having fun practicing and playing shows anymore. I figured it was best to end it there, and not let it drag on, especially with my moving to a different town. It would've killed us even more to invest more time, money, effort and heart into something that would've fallen appart at a later date. There will be farewell shows sometime in August, I'll keep you all posted on when and where. I guess I've been half-assedly working on some solo stuff that I might post on here if ever I get comfortable with my 'bedroom-pop' persona, but don't expect anything too soon.
On a side note, has anyone ever noticed that hip-hop is virtually the only genre to feature explicit name-dropping and a detailed explanation of the intricacies of the genre itself, you know, shit like 'Yeah, this is the real hip-hop, dropping the sickest rhymes at ya from the west coast!' ? I'd have trouble imagining something like 'Yo, this is the OG post-rock crew, we be pimpin' the illest octave chords and craziest build-ups this side of the Mason-Dixon line..' Ok, maybe I'm just an idiot.
Is this getting long-winded? Bah, who cares if it is, I haven't written on here in ages, it's still really nice out, I'm not that tired and I still have some stuff to say.. I've noticed over the last while that my self-confidence is basically shot to shit, which is somewhat strange since I sincerely haven't devalued myself in any way, and I still have the same basic outlook on who I am that I've had for as long as I can remember (that stability is something I am very grateful for). But it just seems that I find myself wondering 'what exactly, if anything, do I have to offer?' lately, and it wouldn't be entirely out of left field to assume that it's at the root of this 'lonely' feeling I've been getting farely often these days. Maybe I'm just jaded, possibly a smidge bitter and somewhat dissillusioned? Maybe my past experiences are taking their toll on my self-confidence. Maybe it's a little from column A and a little from column B. Maybe I'm full of it and that if I'd only lighten up abit I'd realize that I might be missing out on quite a few goods things (not that my life isn't filled with those already) ? I guess I'll just give it some time, it's not like I'd actually contemplate changing how I am to fit some undetermined criteria, I'm way too stubborn for such nonsense.
I guess I'll end all of this with a plea to everyone to just go out and enjoy the little things. Go for a late night walk and gawk at the stars, go explore some place you've never dared and make an excursion out of it, go out and have a great conversation about anything or nothing with someone, visit new restaurants and try new food, go on smallish roadtrips to whocareswhere, go out to shows that have bands on the bill that you've never heard of, read books and watch movies. Hell, just do something. So many of us go about our days taking for granted all these things that lie right underneath our noses, it'd be a shame to not take notice, even if it is only once in awhile. This is making allot of sense to me right now, hopefully it'll be as coherent when I wake up, and maybe just a tad interesting to whomever reads it. It's 3:00am now and I have to get up abit too soon, so I'm gonna head out. I hope everybody has a nice one, whatever that might be.
music that fueled this blabbering:
The Appleseed Cast - Low Level Owl Volumes 1 and 2
The Arcade Fire - Funeral (why the fuck am I not tiring of this record?)
Sunday, April 24, 2005
It's rare to feel this expensive, but next to a girl like her...
Greetings to the few who read this, how've you all been? Myself, I've been doing good and I'd like to offer my apologies for that uncontrolled outburst of melancholy last week. Shit happens, I was feeling pretty sideways and that's what came out. Bah.
So what's new, I hear you half-heartedly asking? Well, let's see.. Things at school have been going moderately well, I've been doing some quality work and I think I'll be able to have a coherent and at least satisfyingly functional program to hand-in to our client by semester's end. Honestly, I'd like to have most of it done sooner than later, so that I can then tackle with aplomb the other two remaining projects I'll have to drop by May's end. So much work to be done in such a rapidly dwindling time period. But I'm satisfied, I've realized that these things must be accomplished for me to move on to prospects fresh and exciting. Montreal awaits, with it's new apartments, new schools, new jobs, new people and yes, of course, new challenges. And I can't fucking wait.
Next saturday will see me and Daph heading out to Montreal with the bright glimmering hope of finding an absolutely lovely apartment that somehow manages to be cozy, beautiful, well-situated and of course, fairly affordable. I'm really looking forward to it, but not quite as much as I am to spending my first night there, crashing on my couch/futon/beanbag chair/whatever and watching movies or listening to some records. Sweet.
Speaking of records, I got an early birthday present, a brand new record player! Fantastic. Now I'll be able to enjoy these LPs and 7"s that I took from my parents this week-end, including but not limited to: Stevie Wonder (older stuff), Lionel Ritchie, the Commodores, Shanana (oh hell yes), Huey Lewis & The News, Bad + Thriller era Michael Jackson, Barry White, Dean Martin... oh and the Ghostbusters Theme Song 7" single. Ah, plastic gold. I also managed to find a few nice newer LPs last week-end, namely the Sunny Day Real Estate Live record, which is amazingly powerful, Texas is the Reason's Do You Know Who You Are? and The Sea and Cake's Oui. Great, great finds.
Last friday, City of a Hundred Spires played a very brief set (10 fucking minutes) at the Heritage College Awards Banquet. Highlights were: 10,000$ worth of sound/lighting equipment, the temperature on stage being akin to that of a blast furnace, me unplugging my gear multiple times as a result of my running around the enormous stage, great response from everyone and lastly, COAHS winning a nifty 100$ prize for "creativity/originality"... nifty.
In band matters, things are alright enough, but I'm feeling a certain unease about it all lately. I believe a nice band discussion is in order to put a few things into proper light, namely upcoming shows, summer plans, long-term goals and musical direction, of which I feel we've unjustly pigeon-holed ourselves. Last week, I was listening to our Straight, No Chaser and I concluded that I absolutely love that record, that I'm amazingly proud of it. And for what reason? Because it dared to be absolutely everything it wanted to be. It was everything and anything we felt like doing at that point in time, and there was no need to think twice about it. It's what made us who we were. I'll always remember when some kid on a message-board referred to us as "all-over-the-place instrumental stuff".. fuck yeah. We've lost that drive and perspective. If we're to find it and mesh it with our newfound abilities for song-craftsmanship and melodicism, then I'll be damned if anything can stop us. No shit.
Alright, time for me to retire for the night. Oh and first thing tommorow, go, run the fuck out and buy the new Jaga Jazzist record entitled What We Must. It's stupendously fantastic. The song Stardust Hotel will make you dream of wandering strangely exotic, yet enticingly beautiful locales, all while taking in the cool night air and being absolutely intrigued at what you might encounter next. Seriously.
Good night and cheers.. oh and leave a fucking comment if you read this, I'm bloody lonely.
Oh, and for those of you wondering, there is no titular "girl like her".. The song Let's Play Clowns by Minus the Bear is amazing though.
So what's new, I hear you half-heartedly asking? Well, let's see.. Things at school have been going moderately well, I've been doing some quality work and I think I'll be able to have a coherent and at least satisfyingly functional program to hand-in to our client by semester's end. Honestly, I'd like to have most of it done sooner than later, so that I can then tackle with aplomb the other two remaining projects I'll have to drop by May's end. So much work to be done in such a rapidly dwindling time period. But I'm satisfied, I've realized that these things must be accomplished for me to move on to prospects fresh and exciting. Montreal awaits, with it's new apartments, new schools, new jobs, new people and yes, of course, new challenges. And I can't fucking wait.
Next saturday will see me and Daph heading out to Montreal with the bright glimmering hope of finding an absolutely lovely apartment that somehow manages to be cozy, beautiful, well-situated and of course, fairly affordable. I'm really looking forward to it, but not quite as much as I am to spending my first night there, crashing on my couch/futon/beanbag chair/whatever and watching movies or listening to some records. Sweet.
Speaking of records, I got an early birthday present, a brand new record player! Fantastic. Now I'll be able to enjoy these LPs and 7"s that I took from my parents this week-end, including but not limited to: Stevie Wonder (older stuff), Lionel Ritchie, the Commodores, Shanana (oh hell yes), Huey Lewis & The News, Bad + Thriller era Michael Jackson, Barry White, Dean Martin... oh and the Ghostbusters Theme Song 7" single. Ah, plastic gold. I also managed to find a few nice newer LPs last week-end, namely the Sunny Day Real Estate Live record, which is amazingly powerful, Texas is the Reason's Do You Know Who You Are? and The Sea and Cake's Oui. Great, great finds.
Last friday, City of a Hundred Spires played a very brief set (10 fucking minutes) at the Heritage College Awards Banquet. Highlights were: 10,000$ worth of sound/lighting equipment, the temperature on stage being akin to that of a blast furnace, me unplugging my gear multiple times as a result of my running around the enormous stage, great response from everyone and lastly, COAHS winning a nifty 100$ prize for "creativity/originality"... nifty.
In band matters, things are alright enough, but I'm feeling a certain unease about it all lately. I believe a nice band discussion is in order to put a few things into proper light, namely upcoming shows, summer plans, long-term goals and musical direction, of which I feel we've unjustly pigeon-holed ourselves. Last week, I was listening to our Straight, No Chaser and I concluded that I absolutely love that record, that I'm amazingly proud of it. And for what reason? Because it dared to be absolutely everything it wanted to be. It was everything and anything we felt like doing at that point in time, and there was no need to think twice about it. It's what made us who we were. I'll always remember when some kid on a message-board referred to us as "all-over-the-place instrumental stuff".. fuck yeah. We've lost that drive and perspective. If we're to find it and mesh it with our newfound abilities for song-craftsmanship and melodicism, then I'll be damned if anything can stop us. No shit.
Alright, time for me to retire for the night. Oh and first thing tommorow, go, run the fuck out and buy the new Jaga Jazzist record entitled What We Must. It's stupendously fantastic. The song Stardust Hotel will make you dream of wandering strangely exotic, yet enticingly beautiful locales, all while taking in the cool night air and being absolutely intrigued at what you might encounter next. Seriously.
Good night and cheers.. oh and leave a fucking comment if you read this, I'm bloody lonely.
Oh, and for those of you wondering, there is no titular "girl like her".. The song Let's Play Clowns by Minus the Bear is amazing though.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Towing the weary down river like rudderless wrecks...
So it's been what, a bit over a month since I last jotted down some of my thoughts in this thing? It seems that as per par, I failed to deliver the goods... I can't quite grasp why I have such a hard time finding the incentive and motivation to write down a few simple words in here, but here goes nothing yet again.
I am a wreck. At this point it seems like the only phrase I can come up with that adequately sums up how I feel. I'm sitting here trying my hand at writing these witty or clever lines to properly explain myself, and honestly I keep falling flat. I am a mess. Yeah, that one works as well. And now my attention is diverted by this absolutely beautiful distorted riff in Mineral's Unfinished, and no matter how hopeful and inspiring it is, there's simply no hipster indie way for me to word any of this.. And I am disappointed. Disappointed that my resolution to put enormous effort into my school projects hasn't fully worked out. Disappointed that I'm still working the same job, even after resolving that I was going to obtain a new one, in an effort to change at least part of what has made me so jaded. Disappointed that I gave up on a few situations that could've led to something genuinely nice, new and positive. Disappointed that I've become so boisterously emotional. Disappointed that I have no one to share with. Disappointed that I am now such a reclusive loner, ultimately distancing myself from some of my best friends, from some people that I truly care about. Disappointed that I misspelled "disappointed" so many times in the first version of this entry. Disappointed that I can't write guitar parts as good as that fucking Mineral riff.
Now is that to say that I'm disappointed in myself? Honestly, I am not. I am proud of who I am and of the few things that I've accomplished. I am a flawed individual for sure, but I'm very grateful to be aware of these blemishes; it affords me opportunities for bettering myself.
What's this I hear? "Great, fucker decides to write a new post just to whine about how he hates himself!?" No, that wasn't quite the point. This post is a reminder of where I was, and ultimately of where I'm heading; so that I can look back on all of this in a few months and be proud of where I'll be. And I mean that in the most positive way. Time to get to work. Cheers...
I am a wreck. At this point it seems like the only phrase I can come up with that adequately sums up how I feel. I'm sitting here trying my hand at writing these witty or clever lines to properly explain myself, and honestly I keep falling flat. I am a mess. Yeah, that one works as well. And now my attention is diverted by this absolutely beautiful distorted riff in Mineral's Unfinished, and no matter how hopeful and inspiring it is, there's simply no hipster indie way for me to word any of this.. And I am disappointed. Disappointed that my resolution to put enormous effort into my school projects hasn't fully worked out. Disappointed that I'm still working the same job, even after resolving that I was going to obtain a new one, in an effort to change at least part of what has made me so jaded. Disappointed that I gave up on a few situations that could've led to something genuinely nice, new and positive. Disappointed that I've become so boisterously emotional. Disappointed that I have no one to share with. Disappointed that I am now such a reclusive loner, ultimately distancing myself from some of my best friends, from some people that I truly care about. Disappointed that I misspelled "disappointed" so many times in the first version of this entry. Disappointed that I can't write guitar parts as good as that fucking Mineral riff.
Now is that to say that I'm disappointed in myself? Honestly, I am not. I am proud of who I am and of the few things that I've accomplished. I am a flawed individual for sure, but I'm very grateful to be aware of these blemishes; it affords me opportunities for bettering myself.
What's this I hear? "Great, fucker decides to write a new post just to whine about how he hates himself!?" No, that wasn't quite the point. This post is a reminder of where I was, and ultimately of where I'm heading; so that I can look back on all of this in a few months and be proud of where I'll be. And I mean that in the most positive way. Time to get to work. Cheers...
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Fuck your slow dead scene, we want a riot for romance!
The days bled into weeks and my resolution of maintaining a steady stream of quality content on this thing became but a vapid, insincere pipe-dream. Shit. As much as I try to condition myself otherwise, it seems I have to be in a very specific frame of mind to apply myself to writing in this thing, especially given the rather leisurely nature of it's specifics. So what's a quasi-compulsive procrastinator to do about such an impedance to productivity? That's dead simple. Convince his impressionable self to believe that writing a few paragraphs on some webpage read by a handful of people and three genetically engineered, hyper-intelligent porpoises located in New Zealand, can actually lead to him being less disenchanted and ambivalent towards all the other, possibly... no wait, assuredly more important things in his life. You know, sortof like a translation of interest and motivation? That makes sense right? I'm not completely loony am I? Either way.. onto some ramblings.
As most of you know, The Perfect Dystopia is dead.. it's funeral having taken place on February 25th 2005, at Club SAW, where a gaggle of people participated in a drunken barn dance to honor it's memory. Good times, my sincerest thanks to all who attended. But as you're all also aware of, City of a Hundred Spires has just sprung from the womb, alive and very much kicking. So you all know the deal by now, same line-up, same songs minus most of Straight, No Chaser, a slightly prettier, more atmospheric melodic slant and, brace yourselves kids, the inclusion of vocal parts! We'll be playing our first show as CoaHS in the coming weeks so keep an eye out on the old TPD site for news and show dates. The new songs we've been working on are sounding delightful, wrought with beautiful melodies, interesting dynamics and epic goodness. Seriously, I'm very proud of our progression as songwriters. I'll have more information on all of this very soon.
So it's around 3am right now, signifying that we're well into sunday and a few hours away from having dried out my vacation time. My last semester of studies in computer sciences shall be resumed tommorow, and serious... no... fucking downright biblical measures will be taken to insure my use of the word "last" in this sentence isn't straight fallacious. Sure, I despise computer sciences and I have a certain lack of interest for my end of session project, but I enjoy studying, I enjoy learning, reading, writing, critiquing, discussing, informing.. all positive things I have to look forward to once I'm through with this, and as stated before: that should be more than enough motivation to cleave through it with vigor and passion. Let this be my manifesto.
Finally, there's this other situation that's been looming over me for a certain period and for reasons of integrity and tact, I will not go into the immaculate details here. Blogs have a tendency of becoming the breeding ground for vile speculation and petty over-dramatizing when it's writers indulge in the all-too personal. I've mostly stayed clear of that and I shall continue. I feel there are more creative and fulfilling methods of confronting a subject than outright open-book ranting. Anyways, all I wish to iterate is that after what seemed like a snarling, vicious, obscenity-laden knife fight between my ego, id and super-ego, I've come to grips and have become comfortable with that which has been bothering me. All that is left is to make this clear to the parties involved, and see what results that ultimately brings. Someone wiser than me said it best: "... either way, we're here..." . Forgive my being so ambiguous, but I don't think I'd have it any other way. However, I am curious as to how many people will read this paragraph and wholly misinterpret it.
Okay... it's late and all these halos around the bright objects in my room are starting to annoy the hell out of me. I hope everyone has a nice and pleasant March 6th and I will be back with something on Wednesday, no shit. In the meantime go listen to the Album Leaf, Lou Barlow, the new live Mogwai record, Bloc Party and Mono. Oh and go watch I (heart) Huckabees, it'll cheer you up. Cheers.
As most of you know, The Perfect Dystopia is dead.. it's funeral having taken place on February 25th 2005, at Club SAW, where a gaggle of people participated in a drunken barn dance to honor it's memory. Good times, my sincerest thanks to all who attended. But as you're all also aware of, City of a Hundred Spires has just sprung from the womb, alive and very much kicking. So you all know the deal by now, same line-up, same songs minus most of Straight, No Chaser, a slightly prettier, more atmospheric melodic slant and, brace yourselves kids, the inclusion of vocal parts! We'll be playing our first show as CoaHS in the coming weeks so keep an eye out on the old TPD site for news and show dates. The new songs we've been working on are sounding delightful, wrought with beautiful melodies, interesting dynamics and epic goodness. Seriously, I'm very proud of our progression as songwriters. I'll have more information on all of this very soon.
So it's around 3am right now, signifying that we're well into sunday and a few hours away from having dried out my vacation time. My last semester of studies in computer sciences shall be resumed tommorow, and serious... no... fucking downright biblical measures will be taken to insure my use of the word "last" in this sentence isn't straight fallacious. Sure, I despise computer sciences and I have a certain lack of interest for my end of session project, but I enjoy studying, I enjoy learning, reading, writing, critiquing, discussing, informing.. all positive things I have to look forward to once I'm through with this, and as stated before: that should be more than enough motivation to cleave through it with vigor and passion. Let this be my manifesto.
Finally, there's this other situation that's been looming over me for a certain period and for reasons of integrity and tact, I will not go into the immaculate details here. Blogs have a tendency of becoming the breeding ground for vile speculation and petty over-dramatizing when it's writers indulge in the all-too personal. I've mostly stayed clear of that and I shall continue. I feel there are more creative and fulfilling methods of confronting a subject than outright open-book ranting. Anyways, all I wish to iterate is that after what seemed like a snarling, vicious, obscenity-laden knife fight between my ego, id and super-ego, I've come to grips and have become comfortable with that which has been bothering me. All that is left is to make this clear to the parties involved, and see what results that ultimately brings. Someone wiser than me said it best: "... either way, we're here..." . Forgive my being so ambiguous, but I don't think I'd have it any other way. However, I am curious as to how many people will read this paragraph and wholly misinterpret it.
Okay... it's late and all these halos around the bright objects in my room are starting to annoy the hell out of me. I hope everyone has a nice and pleasant March 6th and I will be back with something on Wednesday, no shit. In the meantime go listen to the Album Leaf, Lou Barlow, the new live Mogwai record, Bloc Party and Mono. Oh and go watch I (heart) Huckabees, it'll cheer you up. Cheers.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Review: Buried Inside - Chronoclast
A few posts ago, I promised I'd write up a review for Buried Inside's newest, Chronoclast. Here it is. I hope it winds up being more coherent and informative than your average obscure Pitchfork-esque indie-rock name drop exercise. Long? Yes, very. Sincere? Most definitely.
Chronoclast: Selected Essays on Time Reckoning and Auto-Canibalism
Buried Inside
Relapse Records
released: November 9th 2004 (Canada), February 1st (Everywhere else)
The use of the word "objectivity" as something factual and tangible is something that has a tendency to irk me quite abit. The very existence of that word and concept baffles me to no end since there is no such thing, it's quite simply a glaring fallacy. Subjectivity on the other hand is something very real, something real life decisions consistenly hang on. The fact that Buried Inside are from what I more or less consider my home town (Ottawa), that they're some of the nicest chaps I've ever met and that one of their guitar players (Andrew Tweedy) is responsible for doing an amazing job on the mixing and mastering of my own band's record, are all factors that would serve to make this review lean considerably on the subjective side. So it's with quite a bit of regret and disdain that I'll assure you that I tried to make this piece as 'objective' as possible. Ouch, that hurt.
So how does Chronoclast, the band's Relapse Records debut, fare? Well I honestly believe it to be one of the most epic, moving and uniformly coherent 'heavy music' records in quite some time. The album is basically built as one gigantic 40 minute song, divided into 10 defined tracks, with consistently recurring themes on both the lyrical and musical fronts throughout. Lyrically, Chronoclast is a study and analysis of time as an imperial construct for the regulation of capitalist economy and of time as the primary societal control. In the hand's (or voice) of a lesser vocalist, the lyrical content, while brilliant and masterfully written, might've come off as slightly pretentious or even self-indulgent, but Nick Shaw's impassioned vocal delivery manages to give his socio-political rhetoric great heft, weight and relevance. He simply sounds genuinely fucking pissed-off. There's even a logical flow to the ideas that are conveyed, each song illustrating a different facet of time's hegemony on modern culture (i.e. religion and imperialism). Ultimately, the band's message strives for a certain emancipation of conscience among individuals, for people to simply question and potentially critique this man-made paradigm, something that isn't anchored in fact, but merely taken for granted.
Thankfully, the band's music comes off just as incendiary as it's politics. Buried Inside manages to mesh both blistering and conceptually epic heaviness on Chronoclast, downplaying the agression at times for passages of brooding, uncertain calm. The sound is ultimately their own, but comparisons to a sped-up Isis or an insanely dark and violent Explosions in the Sky could be made for the sake of bland categorization. The first thing to leap out of the soundscape is Mike Godbout's absolutely spectacular and truly deft drumming, setting the stage with frenetic energy and creativity rarely seen among bands in the hardcore/metal genre. Andrew Tweedy and Matias Palacios Hardy build intricately woven harmonized melodies and monolithic walls of sound with their guitars, opting for texturing, coloring and amplifying the compositions over your standard rock riffing. Holding all of this together is Steve Martin's nimble bass playing. He is the main driving force behind these songs, his riffs tugging the guitars along through every structural twist and turn, every peak and valley and ultimately adding a rythmic complexity that is rarely seen in rock music, let alone hardcore. Finally, Matt Bayles' (Botch, Isis, Minus The Bear) production on this record leaves very little to be desired, everything generally sounding crisp, clear and thick, even amidst the intense chaos that the band tends to stir up at times. It might not be his best work this year (for that, check out Isis' Panopticon), but it's still more than respectable.
Honestly, I have very few gripes with this record. The lyrics are powerful, the music is devastatingly epic and the package is lovely (brilliant artwork, lyrics and litterary quotes accompanying all songs, all in a beautiful quality booklet). My one complaint lies with the lack of variety of technique used in the guitar playing, mainly it seems the band relied too much on the fast strumming of octave chords to set up their melodies. Although admittedly, the repeat use of a single technique gives Chronoclast the cohesion Buried Inside was striving for, it's something I view as a minor lacking simply because I have a musician's perspective on it (regardless, I could never write such memorable music, even given the widest breadth of skill). Chronoclast is a true achievement, a brilliantly heavy, melodic and intelligent piece that even the most jaded of indie-music snobs would appreciate (this reviewer most definitely included) and it is entirely deserving of your time. Go pick it up. Now.
- Jean-Michel
Chronoclast: Selected Essays on Time Reckoning and Auto-Canibalism
Buried Inside
Relapse Records
released: November 9th 2004 (Canada), February 1st (Everywhere else)
The use of the word "objectivity" as something factual and tangible is something that has a tendency to irk me quite abit. The very existence of that word and concept baffles me to no end since there is no such thing, it's quite simply a glaring fallacy. Subjectivity on the other hand is something very real, something real life decisions consistenly hang on. The fact that Buried Inside are from what I more or less consider my home town (Ottawa), that they're some of the nicest chaps I've ever met and that one of their guitar players (Andrew Tweedy) is responsible for doing an amazing job on the mixing and mastering of my own band's record, are all factors that would serve to make this review lean considerably on the subjective side. So it's with quite a bit of regret and disdain that I'll assure you that I tried to make this piece as 'objective' as possible. Ouch, that hurt.
So how does Chronoclast, the band's Relapse Records debut, fare? Well I honestly believe it to be one of the most epic, moving and uniformly coherent 'heavy music' records in quite some time. The album is basically built as one gigantic 40 minute song, divided into 10 defined tracks, with consistently recurring themes on both the lyrical and musical fronts throughout. Lyrically, Chronoclast is a study and analysis of time as an imperial construct for the regulation of capitalist economy and of time as the primary societal control. In the hand's (or voice) of a lesser vocalist, the lyrical content, while brilliant and masterfully written, might've come off as slightly pretentious or even self-indulgent, but Nick Shaw's impassioned vocal delivery manages to give his socio-political rhetoric great heft, weight and relevance. He simply sounds genuinely fucking pissed-off. There's even a logical flow to the ideas that are conveyed, each song illustrating a different facet of time's hegemony on modern culture (i.e. religion and imperialism). Ultimately, the band's message strives for a certain emancipation of conscience among individuals, for people to simply question and potentially critique this man-made paradigm, something that isn't anchored in fact, but merely taken for granted.
Thankfully, the band's music comes off just as incendiary as it's politics. Buried Inside manages to mesh both blistering and conceptually epic heaviness on Chronoclast, downplaying the agression at times for passages of brooding, uncertain calm. The sound is ultimately their own, but comparisons to a sped-up Isis or an insanely dark and violent Explosions in the Sky could be made for the sake of bland categorization. The first thing to leap out of the soundscape is Mike Godbout's absolutely spectacular and truly deft drumming, setting the stage with frenetic energy and creativity rarely seen among bands in the hardcore/metal genre. Andrew Tweedy and Matias Palacios Hardy build intricately woven harmonized melodies and monolithic walls of sound with their guitars, opting for texturing, coloring and amplifying the compositions over your standard rock riffing. Holding all of this together is Steve Martin's nimble bass playing. He is the main driving force behind these songs, his riffs tugging the guitars along through every structural twist and turn, every peak and valley and ultimately adding a rythmic complexity that is rarely seen in rock music, let alone hardcore. Finally, Matt Bayles' (Botch, Isis, Minus The Bear) production on this record leaves very little to be desired, everything generally sounding crisp, clear and thick, even amidst the intense chaos that the band tends to stir up at times. It might not be his best work this year (for that, check out Isis' Panopticon), but it's still more than respectable.
Honestly, I have very few gripes with this record. The lyrics are powerful, the music is devastatingly epic and the package is lovely (brilliant artwork, lyrics and litterary quotes accompanying all songs, all in a beautiful quality booklet). My one complaint lies with the lack of variety of technique used in the guitar playing, mainly it seems the band relied too much on the fast strumming of octave chords to set up their melodies. Although admittedly, the repeat use of a single technique gives Chronoclast the cohesion Buried Inside was striving for, it's something I view as a minor lacking simply because I have a musician's perspective on it (regardless, I could never write such memorable music, even given the widest breadth of skill). Chronoclast is a true achievement, a brilliantly heavy, melodic and intelligent piece that even the most jaded of indie-music snobs would appreciate (this reviewer most definitely included) and it is entirely deserving of your time. Go pick it up. Now.
- Jean-Michel
Monday, January 24, 2005
Friday, January 21, 2005
A brief update before I return...
Well woah... I haven't been around these parts in quite awhile. I figured I'd just specify that I am still amongst the living (albeit barely) and that I'll be doing a nice lengthy update of this in the coming days. One of my many New Year's resolutions is to practice writing more, so I'll be updating this entirely more often, with constructive, informative and immensely thrilling content on a semi-regular basis, rejoice! So yeah, cheers to everyone and I do sincerely hope everyone is doing good. Oh yeah, although I'm very conscious that I am very much behind on this, everyone should go listen to Mineral's The Power of Failing right this instant. Yes that's right, close this window, fire up soulseek and download away, you can all thank me later.
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