Foxymoron

City and colour

I'm sorry. I've been too busy spending money to blog much. But I'm glad to be back in the city. It's only been three weeks since my return and few things have changed in this great city. I've taken a temporary job at my former place of employment while I search for a more permanent position in media. If anyone has any job leads, please let me know. I'm a nice, enthusiastic, hard-working and well-educated girl.

Last week, we saw Cat Power and the show was lovely, though perhaps slightly too long for a weekday evening of standing room only. I love her haircut and was amazed that she still sounded perfect even while inhaling the Camel cigarettes on stage. She wouldn't agree with me as she constantly apologized to the crowd for performance. Don't be so hard on yourself Chan! The jury's still out on who has the loveliest voice: Cat Power or Feist. Thoughts?

Monday night, I watched Fast Food Nation and although I haven't read the book, I've heard a lot about it. I guess I was expecting something wonderful since one of my favourite directors/writer Richard Linklater was the director and co-writer. It was just OK but it was a reminder to eat less fast food. I got free passes to see this ridiculous film tomorrow night. Don't be jealous.

More music to come later...

WorldChanging

This is what you should buy for the person with everything and even those without everything. I don't normally write about products on this blog but I really feel that everyone should read this book.

On Tuesday night, I attended WorldChanging's book launch/event stop in Toronto where I picked up a copy of the organization's first book, WorldChanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century. Both the event and book are inspirational. Like the website, the publication is dense with a plethora of ideas and reasons for how and why we can live better and created a more sustainable, healthy world. Don't be intimidated by the 600+ pages, it is beautifully designed and easy to read.

[mp3] Lily Allen - Everything's Just Wonderful [Buy]
[mp3] Bright Eyes - Old Soul Song (For the New World Order) [Buy]

Chapters.Indigo.ca is selling the book at 34% off, only $31.64CDN
Amazon.com has it for $24.75 USD (it's not available on Amazon.ca yet)

I can't turn my camera on without a fork

My camera is broken. Not just one part, but two parts, one of which was the power button. It fell right off. And even though I can turn on my camera with the help of a tool such as a fork, once on, the camera shows a black screen. This means there will be no original photography until a) I fix my camera or b) I get a new camera. Since I've been told the cost of option A is close to or equal to the cost of option B, there will be no original photography for the next few weeks. Sad, I know but at least there are still words and music.

[mp3] Spoon - I Turn My Camera On [Buy] (for Maggie)
[mp3] Jamiroquai - The Picture of My Life [Buy]

Fantastic is the romantic

It was a delightful weekend of odd puppet plays without puppets, Stranger Than Fiction, pho and Toronto's small west-end bars. Saturday night we ended our two-bar bar hop at Cocktail Molotov. The DJ won our hearts with his blend of indie rock and hip hop fun. The world needs more places where they'll play the Go! Team, Stars, Kanye West and Lauryn Hill side-by-side.

[mp3] The Go! Team - "Ladyflash" (Simian Mobile Disco Mix) [Buy]
[mp3] Kanye West - "Gold Digger" (Diplo Remix)

Sleeping is giving in

Despite some turbulence on my flight, traveling went well and I am now home safe. I have however, been fighting the worse jet lag I've ever had and so, I've spent much of the past two days sleeping or creating the illusion of awareness through Tim Horton's tea and coffee. The fresh air is wonderful and in the hazy morning of Wednesday, I swear I smelled someone burning firewood. It's good to be back, even if I'm just sleeping here so far.

[mp3] Apostle of Hustle - "Sleepwalking Ballad" [Buy]
[mp3] Belle & Sebastian - "We Are The Sleepyheads" [Buy]

One more night in town

I've been busy packing/pretending to pack while listening to old CBC Radio 3 podcasts. I'm not sure if my bags are under the 50 lbs. limit and aside from my empty closet, my apartment doesn't look like anything's been removed. It's going to be a long night. Grab a beer and turn up the volume. There is no more perfect song for this moment than this:

[mp3] Hot Hot Heat - "The Town" [Buy]

Other songs to move to:
[mp3] The Gossip - "No, No, No" [Buy]
[mp3] The Weakerthans - "This Is A Fire Door Never Leave Open" [Buy]

Violin pop songs

Matthew at I (Heart) Music has compiled the second annual Hottest Bands in Canada list. Topping the 33-item list is violin-toting Final Fantasy (aka Owen Pallet). This year, FF released his second album, He Poos Clouds to critical-acclaim and the first Polaris Music Prize (Canada's answer to the Mercury Prize). I don't listen to He Poo Clouds or FF's debut Has a Good Home very often, but I can't deny that the man is bringing a fresh and interesting sound to pop music. To see him perform live is even more astounding.

"Might actually be more impetuous than k-os. Not really a big fan of the music, but I encourage his success because it will inevitably be interesting." — Pop Wherry

"Only in Canada could a gay, violin-playing, loop-spinning elf become the darling of critics for an album that has a sixth-grader’s word for crap in the title."  — Pregnant Without Intercourse

[mp3] Final Fantasy - "Furniture" [Buy]
[mp3] Final Fantasy - "Many Lives -> 49 mp" [Buy]
[mp3] Final Fantasy - "Do You Love" [Buy]