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If you were around me last weekend, you’ll know that my cell phone was on the fritz. Looks like the battery kept losing it’s connection. I brought this up to Mike and he said that if I fold a piece of paper and put it inside, it should push the battery against the connectors to maintain a connection.

Voila. Problem solved.

I find it ironic that the newest form of communication was saved by the oldest form of communication (other than vocal of course. Oh yeah, and those cave drawings.) Granted, I’m not using the paper to write down any information, but at least it came in handy for other things!

At long last…the moment you have all been waiting for…I present you:

The Morning Show

A webcam based show from my office along with my colleague in crime Phil, in the year 2001.

The collection follows Bob and Jethro through the trials and tribulations of hosting a morning show, and how you can only go so far with moose jokes.

Episode #1 – Download Here
Original Airdate: November 9, 2001
(tech notes: 8.09 MB, AVI File)

If you take a look in the comments section of Trish’s Rant, you’ll notice the topic of artists pushing their political views on people.

Granted, Bono pushes a lot, hence, you see a lot of him in the media.

But let me ask if there are any artists out there that haven’t pushed their views on their audience at sometime or another? I suppose there are quite a few.

Wasn’t the good old days of Rock n Roll about rebelling? Alright, maybe not every band rebelled against something, but I’m sure a lot of them did!

What about John Lennon? Speaking of which…25 years…coming up soon.

I enjoy a good political rant at a concert. I enjoy hearing about their views against the current political climate in the States, or the myriad horrible issues affecting Africa right now. I like how it informs people. I was very oblivious to current events until musicians took it upon themselves to inform me.

But back to my main point…I like it when rock n roll is rebellious. They want us to rock out. They want us to rock the vote. They want us to change something. I like when they speak between songs…you get to hear what they are thinking. It’s cool. It’s more than just the music. That’s what I like about a concert. You get more. You hear new variations on songs. You get to feel the energy in the crowd. You get to hear the band’s thoughts on stuff and see how it translates into their music writing.

You can keep the discussion alive in Trish’s Rant section…I don’t want to squash it.

Turns out that the Internet would rather that Eric stays away.

All Your Base Are Belong To Us

Your very own Ryan is making bread this coming Thursday. 50 loaves of bread for fundraising activities for work (needy families, etc.).

We have 10 loaves left for order if you would like to have one. They are $5 each.

Let me know!

iplaying: Somewhat of a Complication – Steve Cuch

Benoit managed to snag me a digital copy of Christmas in the Stars.

Excellent.

I cannot say I’ve listened to it yet, but there’s a song that’s called What Do you Get a Wookie when he already has a comb?

Classic. I’ll let you know how it is.

A great review of the album here.

In other news, Trish came through for Ben and Claude and they snagged two tix to the U2 show. At first, they were behind the stage, and now they have floor area tix. Man, those guys are lucky. I’m super happy that we are all going. We’ve been waiting for months!

Tonight’s mission – Go to some scalper’s and upgrade our tix to Floor. I’m willing to spend $100 to do so. Should be enough.

Everywhere I turn in this city, it’s all about U2.

I must admit that I am pumped. I felt that my experience at the Elevation tour in 2001 was a religious experience. Bono transcends the rock star persona to something more.

In other news, I’m trying to figure out how long are all-seasons good in the snow for? aka, how many kms? Dad suggested I look into getting winter tires…there goes my recording equipment fund down the drain. But seriously, I know the benefits of winter tires, yada yada yada, but with all-seasons with 36,000 kms on them, do I direly need them? Fill out the comment section with answer! I’m searching for the answer!

The lack of winter tires will allow me to purchase this:
http://fostex.com/index.php?file=products/digital/mr8hd

I’ve been looking at getting recording equipment ever since our trip to Boston last year where I found out that I wouldn’t have a warranty covered in Canada. I’ve waited a year and now that Mike is moving in, I’m thinking of picking up something. This little ditty has a built in hard drive AND four inputs. What does this mean?

Let’s say Mike and I are on the road somewhere touring. We can plug in two guitars and two mics into the system and record ourselves. Instant soundboard recording.

Let’s say Mike and I just want to jam at home and we get something good but don’t want to forget about it in a week’s time. Boom. Tape it.

What if I want to write Tributes to Michael Bolton for a night? Well, I would just laugh that one off and go record some good rockin’ tunes.

Something tells me this may be a long post and I have time to kill. Bear with me.

I’ve realized that with Vero, I’m not sure what music she has listened to. I have an idea of what she enjoys, but I have no idea if she knows the same music which has created a solid foundation of love.

I’ve given her a few albums when we first started dating…just trivial things such as Econoline Crush – Devil You Know, and Pearl Jam – Ten (pretty well they’re best commercial album.)

After hearing that she didn’t really know U2 at all, and didn’t even know THE U2 song; Where the Streets Have No Name, I decided I would take the next step in our relationship. We’re going to see what she thinks of my top albums.

How did I judge my top albums? Simply enough, I looked through my album collection and pulled out anything that either:

• touched a chord in my soul
• reminded me that there was not one bad song on the album

I have this theory that even though you may think the majority of the songs on an album are amazing, it can all go to hell with ONE song. That ONE song screws everything up for being the best album. Example: Master of Puppets – Metallica. It can be the killer album except for freakin’ Leper Messiah. Guh. I hate that song. The rest of the album is bliss.

I will be honest that I tried to create a Top 10 list, but there are way too many albums here.
(in no particular order)

• U2 – The Joshua Tree – My introduction to U2. The classic album. Ranked #26 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Albums list here. I cannot begin to describe my love for U2 from this album. Can I just say that Where the Streets Have No Name has more energy than the entire discography of the Rolling Stones (oooh…I can see the comments section flamed soon).
• Nirvana – Nevermind – No real explanation here. Actually, this album is ranked #17 on the Top 500. I’ll keep checking the site to see if my choices make it or not. What can I say about Nevermind that has never been said before? How about the fact that there is a naked baby on the cover? Nah…that’s been said.
• Lifehouse – No Name Face – A SOLID SOLID album. I’m not sure who introduced this to who, but Eric, Annie and I (and maybe Mike?) put this in our top 5 for sure. Every song evokes emotion. Everything is the greatest song put on this Earth. In fact, this is the song that Mike and I played at Eric and Annie’s wedding. And it kicked ass. Why? Not because we rocked the casbah…but because the song evokes emotion. Too bad Lifehouse sucks more and more with each new release. Stanley Climbfall…not bad. Self-titled album…gak!
• Sam Robert – We Were Born in a Flame – I have entered my rock n’ roll phase in the past few years. Sammy and the boys bring this feeling out in me. I would have to say this was my favourite album of 2003. I will follow this band to the grave.
• Mogwai – Happy Songs For Happy People – Lucy introduced me to Mogwai after I mentioned how I loved the guitar driven soundtrack of 28 Days Later. This album brings you to another place…all (or mostly) guitar-synth sounds all about. It creates an atmosphere.
• Matchbox 20 – Yourself or Someone Like You – Someone out there has borrowed this album and never returned it so I found it at a garage sale for $5. It’s worth another purchase. Good campfire songs here.
• Stabbing Westward – Darkest Days – I sense a theme here. I like albums that evoke emotions. What I love even more are albums that evoke ONE emotion. Ah, the classic theme album. This album is the greatest for after the breakups when you are full of rage. Industrial at its best.
• The Tea Party – The Edges of Twilight/Transmission – Where Edges take Eastern and Western…Transmission takes rock and electronics. These are such different albums, but so, so good. Edges got me into playing guitar. However, I don’t think I’ll ever pull off what Jeff Martin can pull off.
• Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here – Ah…the tribute album to Sid Barrett. From the bookend Crazy Diamond’s to the middle title track…there is nothing missing from this album. I love Floyd albums for the sole reason that they blend into one cohesive piece of music.
• Live – Throwing Copper – Memories of driving around in the car with Carol and Angele and belting out these tunes until we believed we were on stage. Probably their best album ever.
• I Mother Earth – Scenery and Fish – Same time period, but guitar goodness. Choice track – Earth, Sky and C (C is for Carlos ladies and gents)

At this point, heck, I’m tired of writing my thoughts on the albums, so I’ll come back to them tomorrow, but I’ll leave the list here:

• Theory of a Deadman – Gasoline
• The Arcade Fire – Funeral
• Silverchair – Neon Ballroom
• Pearl Jam – No Code
• The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness – here’s my comment. My all-time favourite album. Will be forever. Long live the Smashing Pumpkins.
• Collective Soul
• Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile
• Counting Crows – Recovering the Satellites

There you have it…my top albums.

If you’ve wondered how to get an idea of what I think and feel, listen to these albums. The answers are written right there.

What do I cherish more than life itself?

A hot apple cider…man, I’m addicted. I have been known to have one (or sometimes two) a day. I pride myself on the fact that I don’t have any common vices such as coffee or chocolate, but heck, when the cold weather hits, why not warm your insides with some hot goodness?

What are your cold weather delights? I know Duncan likes to pick up quarts of eggnog every time he gets the chance, as they are only offered during the holiday season.

Other cold weather delights:

• sitting next to the Christmas tree reading a book. Ahhh, the smell. Boo to the fake Christmas trees. They smell like metal.
• having a nice glass of rye after a big meal

I think I shall also have hot apple cider on hand at the Christmas bash this year. Not sure how to go about this…I’m assuming a huge pot with some apple cider should do the trick.

Can I just say that my week is getting better and better?

Turns out that The Arcade Fire is opening for U2 in Ottawa…originally they were not.

EXCELLENT! I am pumped.

In other news David Bowie and the Arcade Fire have teamed up for an EP release.

Dang…only available on iTunes. I may have to finally buy something off of that horrid site.