Last year, I saw the Mountain Goats and met John Darnielle, my favourite lyricist, on my birthday. On August 1, the Dandy Warhols' breakthrough third album Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia turns thirteen-years-old. They're touring in celebration, playing the entire album, and come to Vancouver on my birthday. Will I once again spend my birthday seeing one of my favourite bands of all time and meet Courtney Taylor-Taylor this year?:
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Rickshaw Theatre + Waldorf Hotel = Fox Cabaret
http://globalnews.ca/news/409260/vancouvers-last-porn-theatre-the-fox-to-become-live-music-venue/
A thirteen-minute walk from my house vs. thirty minutes of being in transit. If the Fox Cabaret hosts the same caliber of shows and other events as my former favourite venue the Waldorf Hotel, things aren't lookin' bad at all.
The Thrills, the Kills, the Stills, the KillERS
I remember the early 2000s. And Snow Patrol, Travis and Dashboard Confessional:
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
A Conquoring Feeling: The Decemberists - "Sons and Daughters"
It's sunny today. It's my first day off in six. I stood on my balcony and soaked in this song, an optimistic work-song of determination and rebuilding. Clouds clearing after the long voyage. Gotta thank the latest episode of The Office for reminding me this song existed.
Go with Guts! + Blog Status Update
For my first Van Weekly album review, I narrowed down my choices from a provided list to the Strokes' new album Comedown Machine (RCA) and Wax Idols' Discipline and Desire (Slumberland Records), both due March 26. I really wanted to review DaD for a few reasons: Wax Idols' previous/debut album No Future was one of my favourite albums I heard last year (though it came out in 2011 on Hozac Records); they're from Oakland, CA and newer, so they're more relevant and present than the Strokes in both a regional and contemporary sense; and because Wax Idols are new and great, I want them to receive as much exposure as possible. Most enticingly of all, reviewing DaD would have required research, something I've never really done when it comes to music-writing because I usually write about topics/musicians/etc. I already know about. But DaD was largely inspired by lead Idol Heather Fortune's 24/7 lifestyle as a fetishist and dominatrix and thus, as she described to VICE, delves into "satirical social commentary ... a lot of references to fetish and sexuality and death—you know, the good stuff."
In the past few years, I've gotten pretty good at forcing myself out of my comfort zone - to take risks and to try new things, especially when it comes to things I'm passionate about, like music and writing. But I've also gotten pretty good at forcing myself to go with my gut. And though DaD's fetishist angle flashes glaringly like a big, red beacon, and I'd really like to tackle a subject so taboo and for the large part misunderstood, my gut feeling overrode my desire to seek a larger challenge. It told me to write my first published album review about one of the most important bands of one the most musically formative periods of my life. So for mainly sentimental reasons, I've chosen to review the Strokes' Comedown Machine over what I'm sure would have also been an exciting album to review, Wax Idols' Discipline and Desire. Plus, I'm sure as an obvious talking point, everyone who reviews DaD will be talking about BDSM. And it's not like Comedown Machine doesn't have its own daunting challenge, having been hyped to hell and back like all Strokes albums.
So to Wax Idols, I say maybe next time. And to the Strokes, I say just bring it.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Musicians Writing About Musicians, Eh?
And unlike the 33 1/3 series, it's mostly musicians I care about including Andrew W.K., Robert Pollard, Melissa Auf der Maur, Flying Lotus, Richard Hell and Bowie. Duff McKagan also writes about KISS which appeals to at least a few people I know ... Check out the latest read which is by White Lung's Mish Way on Waxahatchee.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)