New cam, New pics

Story Goes:

I bought a Canon Rebel XS on wednesday. I wasn't planning on going downtown to celebrate July 1st, but having it suddenly made the prospect of Canada Day more appealing, knowing that a) if i bump into someone i don't want to talk to (inevitable), I can hide behind it, and b) a good camera can make any boring old day 3 times as fun (error: 3 times zero is still zero, but you get it).

I walked around a bit, finding drunk people dressed obnoxiously in red and white flailing everywhere. Then i realized that the last place any of these people would be seen is out enjoying the calmness of nature, so i headed over to the bird sanctuary to take some pics.

Afterwards i discovered a small group of guys breakdancing by city park.

Bingo.

Basically i sat there for 2 or 3 hours taking pics.

It was a good opportunity to learn how to operate my D-SLR, and i think some of them turned out well. Here are some of my favorites

Check out the rest on my flickr page

*Edit - I finally figured out how to edit the HTML of my blog to allow me to make it the right width! Now photos and videos are full-sized, and not arbitrarily cropped by a piece of soulless code.

Sir Duke

i'm starting to think that writing a commentary before/after each video is completely immaterial.

Blah Blah Blah

Over the last year, since graduating, I'd almost completely disconnected myself from this Autotune/Techno/Dancehall craze. As long as I keep the radio off, and stay away from Flashbacks Night Club, I'm good.
But then Corporate sent us this DVD of all the top music videos today to play on repeat in shoe store I work at. And my one-year streak was ruined by a bunch of singers that I didn't recognize but instantly hated.

Why do people need to listen to club music while they're shoe-shopping?

Has Western society finally gone musically bankrupt?

I'm seriously considering putting the DVD in the microwave.

When future generations look back at us in disgust for our abuse of autotune, I don't want my grave getting spit on. So I'm saying on the record (to the unshakable pillar of truth that is the internet):
I'm not on board with any of this.
I in no way support Kesha, Justin Beiber, Will.I.Am, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, or any of their minions who, in their own way, make the world a little bit worse with every album.

I look at autotune like the promise of Communism, or the Futon.
It sounds like a great idea.

Go to Vietnam or Cuba and find someone who sleeps on a futon. Ask them about their quality of life.

Exactly.

Tell them about magical software that can make any person sing perfectly in tune. They'll be all for it. Who wouldn't want that?
Then give them a T-Pain CD.
They'll be left with autotune, a crappy couch/bed, and communism.

Thats a triple-whammy of crushed hopes.

< / vent >

Say It --My Impressions

I went out and bought 'Say It' by Born Ruffians, and I was pleased.
Songs like 'Come Back' have a new feel to them; different from Born Ruffians' older stuff, but still outstanding.
Luke's lyrics are just as autobiographical as ever, without being overly self-indulgent. And his vocals and guitar are just as mischievous as ever, cleverly playing off the bass and drums.
The album feels very natural, not over-produced or forced. And they still retain that playfulness that we all love, especially on songs like 'Blood, The Sun & Water', 'Retard Canard', and 'Oh Man'. These tracks also follow the band's tradition of wrapping darker lyrics up in catchy pop riffs and bouncy basslines.

I miss the call-and-response thing they used to do on tracks like Little Garçon, I Need A Life, and Barnacle Goose. And Say It seems to be lacking the foot-tapping jubilance delivered in songs like Hummingbird, Badonkadonkey, and Foxes Mate for Life. 'Nova Leigh' comes close, but it's not quite there. I was expecting to hear more songs along the lines of This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life and Hedonistic Me. But that's really all I was slightly disappointed by on this album. The more I listen to it, the more I like it.

And the inner flaps have really cool poems that go along with the songs. Some use lyrics from the songs, some don't.

This album is different from Red Yellow & Blue in that the songs seem to fit together better. It feels less eclectic (but just as eccentric). At times it can be a challenge trying to unravel all of the musical references used. But it's a great album, that makes you excited to see what they'll come out with next. I can already envision a music video for 'What To Say'.

Album reviews get spread around with cavalier precocity - I'm not a music critic.

Rose Garden pt II

People of the World:

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

All the Cool Kids are Doing It.

This is a song that every single bass-player on YouTube has covered.

This is a song I've known for a while, but never put up.

Mostly because of the near-impossible bridge that comes in at about 2:05 in the video.

So here it is, mistakes and all.

You know what else ∆ll the cool kids ∆re doing? Going to Québec.

To me, Montréal is like 1940's New York.

Enough said.

It's the bland leading the bland here in the Okanagan.

Culture is further afield.

I'm only slightly short of having enough money to fly there and back, but by the time I pay my deposit for college, I might have to work for a solid month and a half to have enough.

And that doesn't solve the issue of finding a place to stay.

But you take what you get.

Comme les Québecois disent: «Mange-toi du pain blanc.»

The ice cream truck isn't getting away this time.

Hopefully I can save enough throughout the school year to gain the financial heft necessary to make it out there next summer, if only for a couple of weeks.

At least that will give me time to brush up on my Franglais.

Rose Garden

The good people over at Shad HQ (shh, i'm positive that's a real place) gave me the go-ahead to put this on Youtube, even though the album isn't even released yet.

I have major respect for that.

I didn't promise you a rose garden

along with the sunshine

there's gonna be some rain sometimes.