The Remix

If I were tell any of my friends that I own the latest releases from the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Paris Hilton I doubt any of them would believe me. If I were to tell them that not only did I pay cash for these songs but I even greatly enjoy them, I am fairly certain that I may just find myself in a much graver situation. These things however are in fact the truth and thanks to the remix I don't have to be ashamed.
As I build up my collection I find again and again that the remix truly makes anything cool. After two years plus of constant exposure to EZrock (and many months of therapy) I am still surprised to browse through my little collection and find artists such as Rod Stewart, George Michaels and Simply Red. Months ago it just wouldn't have happened. To all you anonymous remixers out there; keep up the good work. You know your doing a good job when you make me want to buy something from Rod Stewart then tell all my friends about it.

Words of Wisdom

I (like most sane persons) am not one for taking orders from my hotmail inbox. If I did I would surely be rich from all of these "exclusive" stock tips that I recieve on a regular basis . At the very least Id be able to afford all of that Viagra thats waiting for me. As you can see above there are exceptions to the rule. Needless to say I will be visiting my nearest ticketmaster retailer at my earliest convenience.

Fear Factory

Some of my friends are a little worried that I'd forsake my strict metal upbringing and abandon them for techno. Worry not. In fact (thanks to my recent club excursions) I find myself even thirstier for a little musical mayhem. Last night I braved the elements to be part of one of the more significant shows this year had to offer in extreme metal: the much anticipated Fear Factory concert.
The night started with Decapitated. I'll be honest, Im not actually familiar with their music at all. I even skipped the show so I could avoid that inevitable line up. That plan didn't work at all. That line was still there when I arrived and (like a good little fanboy) I waited it out for its entire length in -15 degree weather. I wonder if anybody saw the first act at all.
The most crucial part of my plan was to make it to the show just in time to see Hypocrisy. That plan worked. As soon as I stepped into the club Hypocrisy took the stage and the night truly began. Being a big big fan of Peter Tatgren it was a hell of an experience for me to see him in person. Peter and the crew laid the crowd to waste with a beautiful selection from their ten year history and reinforced their classics with choice cuts off their new cd. I've seen many clips of Hypocrisy on stage but nothing matches the experience.
Suffocation took to the stage next and even though Im not familiar with their music either I was not dissapointed. Before bludgeoning us all to death the lead "singer" announced the MIA status of his bassist who fell victim to our vicious canadian winter. The played on without him and the resulting sound was crisp, clean and punishing beyond all words. Im not going to decry the importance of a bassist in a band but the sound heard on the stage for this performance was by far the best all night.
Then came the moment I had been waiting for. This is the third time Ive seen Fear Factory and I can honestly say that this truly was their strongest performance to date. Due to the intensity of their shows FF at times can be a little sloppy but this was not the case tonight.
After starting the set with a devastating track off their new album FF went back to their earliest songs and worked their way up from there. Even though they were fully capable of slowing things down they never did. This made for one very intense evening and one very happy crowd. Burton C. Bell seems more comfortable on stage then ever before and his vocals have never been better. Suprisingly enough Christian Olde Wolbers pitched in with backing vocals. It was so convincing that I have to admit: it may very well have been a prerecording of Burton himself.
My favourite memory from this show will be Burton telling the crowd that we were the most intense, energetic crowd he has seen yet on this tour, a comment made by all bands preceding FF. Clearly I am not the only one who had the time of their life.

Napster

So as a dj I was put to shame at a recent trip to the club. The resident dj had a binder full of cd's that I could only ever dream of owning. I did notice one thing about that binder that really opened my eyes; (the exact same observation I made at the Cosmic Gates concert) all of the cd's were burned.
To date I have been getting all of my dance singles off ebay. I don't particularly trust mp3's and I figure by owning the actual singles I don't have to worry about quality. Clearly burned cd's can be trusted if everyone has binders full of them. So naturally I became really interested in all of those music subscription sites that I have been avoiding the like the plague so far.
There are only a couple of things that I want from such a service: the chance to preview my music first, the option to use paypal and of course not having to pay out of the ass for a song. Some sites were absolutely amazing but every single one of those sites demanded as much as a whole finger for a single song and in some cases even a thumb (One site boasted 2.00GBP per track which comes to over $4.00 Canadian!) .
So when I decided to try Napster I was completely blown away. They advertise a flat monthly rate that gives you access to their entire 2 million song database. Of course it sounded a little too good to be true so I decided to give their free trial a spin to figure out the catch. The downloads were swift, the quality was excellent and the selection was amazing. To be extra sure I checked my harddrive to make sure I actually owned the mp3's and even tried them out on winamp. It all worked, I was in heaven.
Then I tried to commit my newly acquired songs to cd and thats where I discovered the catch. If you want to take "your" mp3's off your computer then you have to purchase them. Though not terribly surprised I was still devastated. Not as much though as when I found out that I had to pay $1.99 per track, making Napster one of the more expensive site availabe. Especially after paying for a subscription to use the service in the first place.
After much consideration I decided that I couldnt avoid having to pay out of the ass for music and the at the very least I was able to preview the songs and buy only the songs that I wanted. So I gave in and bought the mp3's to start my first disc. Let me rephrase that:

I tried.

Of all the songs I downloaded, over half could not be purchased individually. In order to burn the one song that I wanted, I had to buy the entire album. My very first reaction to this discovery was to immediately get on paypal and cancel the billing agreement I had with Napster and remove every trace of it from my computer.

Napster: Fuck You. Im trying iTunes.

My Hero

Cosmic Gate

Today I suffered through work after only having two hours of sleep. Why? Last night was the Cosmic Gate concert. Thats right, I caved in and bought the ticket to that show as well. That means I spent over $80 in tickets this month. I haven't been to a good show in quite a while so I justified my purchase from that point of view. I will tell you this much, it was well worth it. Not only did I miss out on a lot of sleep but I even risked my life to see this show.
Early yesterday morning there was a police advisory all over the news calling for drivers to stay off the road at all costs. To say that the weather was rather uncooperative would be a massive understatement. As a result of this unsavoury weather the entire city fell into pure chaos (The real issue being our world famous suckass drivers) and instantly my memorable night was in jeapordy. Such an advisory was not to be taken lightly though and I began to consider missing the show in favour of keeping both my car and my limbs intact. However I had spent the money already and I've been developing a bad case of cabin fever for the last couple of weeks. I decided to risk it and I have yet to regret it.
The opening dj's were fantastic and in an effort to conserve energy I did everything in my power to not go completely nuts. A good call. Cosmic Gates set was insane. Despite there being two members of the band only one dj took command and with such skill that security had too literally keep the ladies from falling all over the guy. I kid you not. (Also kudo's to security for completely owning a fight that had barely even started.) I cannot even begin to describe the fun that was had that night, you'll just have to take my word for it. It was a blast.

wtf

lmao

4real

I Heart Edmonton.

Here is a picture of Armin Van Buuren playing right here in Edmonton back in May of 2005. If your like me and your kicking yourself for being an ignorant, narrow minded, musical elitist and missing such an appearance, then fret no longer. He returns December 28th.

Its actually been a good year for Edmonton and our little club scene. Consider Benassi's show back in July (another is being considered for January) and Lisa Lashes appearance last Thursday. If you know anything about trance music then also consider Cosmic Gates show coming up this thursday.

Spin

Parkour

I am a big Parkour fan, so as soon as I was through watching this video I knew I had to post it. Im also a big fan of Vancouver so I was extra pleased to see some parkour action happening over there. Everytime I see a video like this I briefly consider giving up the decks and even giving up my job to pursue the art of needlessly endangering life and limb.
For those of you not in the know: Parkour (aka free-running) is the art of moving through the urban enviroment with skill and grace by utilizing mixed elements of dance, martial arts and gymnastics to overcome obstacles. Wikipedia is a great place to start if you want to know more. I also highly recomend District 13, a movie that uses parkour in its action scenes and stars the man credited with starting the movement in the first place.

Revalucion!

My fellow Superstore employees:

We are no strangers to hardship. On a daily basis we put up with blocked garbage compactors, that cranky guy in recieving, a coffee machine that rarely spits out actual coffee and 100 Huntley Street on the lunch room tv. Superstore has finally denied us our our last bit of dignity and our right to a sane and happy work place. Around the clock christmas music at the start of november is immoral and unjust. We must band together and free ourselves from this oppression. Tommorow morning lets show superstore what we are made of. Let our voices be heard across the city so that all may know our struggles!

Oh yeah, Somebody bring coffee.

Justice

I'm doing my best to not get all political on this blog. Even though I'm affected by politics I'm still not very knowledgable on the subject, therefore I don't feel all that qualified to have too many opinions. However this post isn't about politics. Its about justice. Saddam getting a death sentence (regardless of obvious political backlash and reprisal on the global scale) is justice. Execution by hanging is justice. If I were to have it my way, I would set him loose in the desert and drop his own gas filled bombs on him. That would be justice.
"Ha Ha" - Nelson Muntz

Touched by a Groove

Some beats come from the oddest and most unlikely of places but still manage to move and inspire me. I hear it and I want to hear more. I wish it were mine. That I created it and could do with it as I pleased. Sadly two of the latest grooves to set up camp in my head come from the saddest and most pathetic of places. One is a simple acoustic guitar lick set to a minimalist dance beat. The other is a sweet hiphop number that picks up energy by adding a punk guitar line to the mix. Both are insanely infectious and are just the type of thing I would have done. The first song is the background music for a "please turn off your cellphone" message at the theater. The other ends with the McDonalds theme. Geez.

Whoa.

Anybody who knows me knows I'm a touch on the impulsive side. Todays impulsive decision: A shameful $5.00 cup of something-or-other at Second Cup. Those same people also know that I'm fully and completely caffiene powered. This of course makes it really hard for me to get a good caffiene high going. Im not sure what Second Cup puts in their coffee but let me tell you: I am flying. Was it well worth sacrificing five of my hard earned dollars for? Oh yeah.
Unrelated Qoute of the day: "Hey! Cannibal is offensive, we're Human Eating Americans!."

Its at times like these . . .

. . . I have to wonder if Im on the right side of the world.

Note: Its hotter on the streets of HK than it is in my own house.

St. Joes

Some friends of mine recently went to a reunion back at my old high school, which is how I found out that my old choir teacher still works there. Mr. Olsen helped me embrace my creative side and got me completely hooked on music. I do what I do because of him.
Today I went back to shake his hand, do a little catching up and possibly hook myself up with some recording opportunities with his choir class. I was completely taken aback by the changes when I got there. The poor old school that I attended is now a state of the art facility. The music department, that had only a handful of second hand equipment, now had a full orchestra, a top of the line recording studio and even its own radio station!
I was almost sad to see that there was no evidence of the life I had in this shool when I found a corner of it that had not been affected by the passage of time at all. My favourite spot in the whole school even. The drama department sat in the deepest and oldest part of the whole school and many decades ago was once a gymnasium. In my first year there it was still a gym and a massive dividing wall seperated it into two sides. One being the drama department and the other an old unused television studio. It was here that I discovered and explored music and escaped to with all of my friends at every possible opportunity. Much time was wasted here. We were never denied access, never disturbed by anyone, and we could get away with anything our twisted little minds could think up.
The following year saw major changes to the sub basement. The old studio was seperated permanently and turned into the music department, where even more memories were made. Besides the sad removal of an old wooden two story stage, perhaps the coolest structure Ive ever seen in a school, the drama room remained exactly the same. The only changes made since then were new posters of recent productions that adorned the old walls.
While looking around I saw something that darn near made my heart stop. Three beautiful paintings of different flowers paired with very well painted chinese characters. I didn't even recognize the paintings until I saw the signature in the very bottom right hand corner. Tomenas signature. I was instantly taken back in time. My life since graduation was completely lost. Had I not known better I would have taken a seat and waited for my friends to show up, trouble hot on their heels.
I almost cried when I left that room. Almost.

Note: Mr. Olsen was no longer part of the music program but I was introduced to the current teacher. He was more than willing to lend me his time, equipment and even his own students to help me out with my own recording projects.

Vanessa Mae

Dear mom, while wasting my precious time surfing the internet I came across this video. It was while watching this video that I came to realize that I'm in love. Her name is Vanessa Mae and she is something of a classical musician based in the UK. Would it surprise you that her chinese name is the character for "Beautiful"? Anyways, I'm off to the UK. So I guess Ill be missing supper tonight. I promise to send you a wedding invitation soon.
Your son,
-John
PS: Do you have any cash?

December 1st:

FEAR FACTORY IS COMING TO TOWN.

WITH HYPOCRISY.

IN A PRIVATE CLUB.

Death Match

The Bear has been a mainstay on my radio for years. I love the Deejays and Im going to miss them, but if I hear one more Nickelback song I'm gonna wig out. So far I've got nothing but respect for Sonic, especially for playing tracks otherwise not heard on the radio. Examples? Off the top of my head:
-Fatboy Slims "The Rockafeller Skank"
-Ministrys "Jesus Built My Hotrod"
-The Prodigys "Breathe"
Could this be the reason why the Bear played Nine Inch Nails "Closer to God" this afternoon? Of course it was a very heavily edited version, but it was still played. I can only hope that the two stations battle it out, playing cooler and edgier songs in the ultimate battle of supremecy that only leaves the listeners as the one true winner.

Kelowna

So this past week I lost an uncle. He and his family have always been very close to ours, even though they lived in Kelowna. Thats why every chance any of us gets, we travel out to visit them. So when we learned of his passing it didnt take much to get us out once again. I was fully prepared to leave my job had they not let me go and Ive heard the same statement made a couple of times while being there.
There could not be a better word for this gathering then bittersweet. Even under such a sad occassion it was still so nice to see the whole family come together.
Kelowna itself was a complete dream. The weather was absolutely perfect. The earth remained green, as if fall had not yet found this place. The tempature was estimated to hit 27 degrees the first day and it wasn't even the nicest day of that trip. The nights were calm and crystal clear. I could have spent every last minute on my aunts balcony taking in that incredible view of the lake, the city and the hills that closed it off from the rest of the world.
There is a cycle that I go through everytime I find myself in Kelowna. The first day I am awestruck at actually being there. I dream of this all year long and won't be able to sleep the first night. The rest of my stay will be as if in an impossible dream. One I pray that no one wakes me up from if it is. The last day will be the absolute worst. The reality of having to leave this all and face the world again hangs over my head and makes it terribly hard to enjoy whats left of my stay. The trip out is once again made in utter disbelief, but this time in a state of sadness.
I only have one thought.
I don't want to go.
Even though Id be leaving my friends and lots of opportunity here in Edmonton I will always dream of being able to go to Kelowna and never having to leave it again.

Fearless

Overheard while leaving the theatre after MI3:
"I thought there was too much talking"
Overheard after a showing of Superman Returns:
"I thought there would be more action."
Oveheard today while leaving Fearless
"I thought there would be more fight scenes."

Have we been so deprived of plot and character development that we can't even recognize such things when they are presented to us?

Also would it be such such a bad thing for a Jet Li fan to review a Jet Li movie? Who else will go to see this movie other than a fan?

Of course I am going to say it was awesome. It totally was. You can even say you saw that coming long before the movie was even filmed. I will even admit to liking it before even buying the ticket. The fact that this movie still managed to completely blow me away is greatly worth noting. Im not even going to bother doing up any fancy review. If you are any kind of a fan, this is a must see. If not, why see it at all?

Coldplay

"If I ever get the chance to make my own video, I totally have to look up this Director" I told a good friend of mine. She is one of the few friends I have who will actually sit down and watch an entire concert dvd with me. Coldplay and Van Halen were the last two she had yet to see. I've already been dying for some time to watch Coldplay recently, so I made the decision when the question "Now what do we watch" came up.
There was a discussion at work about how listening to Coldplay makes you automatically gay if your a guy and your not trying to make a girl horny. The topic came up after we noticed that Superstores in-store radio plays Coldplay a couple of times a day, every day. Trust me, Im straight as you can get but Chris Martin's songwriting talent can not be denied.
Thats the major factor that makes this dvd absolutely amazing. Im not the bands biggest fan and Im not familiar with a lot of the songs on this dvd. That makes every new viewing a rather exciting experience for me. There is not a song on this dvd that I don't like. Everylast one is amazing and well performed.
The other factor that makes this dvd so perfect is the unbelievable editing. This film is the very definition of a slick production. Pure eye candy. My only vice is that the camera never stays on a subject long enough for you to fully enjoy the scene. Thats just part of the genius of this particular editing style though. You never get a sense of atmosphere, as if you were watching this concert take place in a dream instead of a stadium.
As conclusion, for the rest of you straight guys, may I mention that my friend did admit to getting pretty worked up.

You are what you eat

Today I am so tired I only have enough energy to accomplish one task. Get the poor bunny some food. This is a task I do not want to have to repeat twice, so I make sure to get the proper names of the different types of food he eats. One is called "Extrusion" and the other "Rabbit Pellets" which explains why Oreo has been frequently extruding rabbit pellets all over my living room.

Vancouver Rocks

This is what I call Graffiti.

I love Ebay

I have been the biggest Fatboy Slim fan since I started listening to his work a couple of months ago. If Im near a cd player, one of his albums is not to far away. His affinity for all things groovy is addictive and his ability to put it all together is awe inspiring. Of all his releases my absolute favourite is without a doubt "Live on Brighton Beach" simply because it showcases those very attributes. His talent is not in question when you listen to this album. I would've payed serious cash to have been there and would've probably spent just as much to own it on dvd. Then it occured to me that I don't actually know for sure that it wasn't released on dvd. I came across a video on videocodezone.com which would definately suggest that one exists. I immediately checked ebay and found "Big Beach Boutique II - Live on Brighton Beach". Needless to say; its in the mail. I probably won't sleep until its in my hands.

Note: Anyone interested in viewing this with me need only contact me.

Happy Fun Song

Many blog incarnations ago I linked to the following item. Periodically I get this song stuck in my head and to this day I can still remember all the lyrics to the chorus. Out of curiousity I decided to see if it was still up and was very pleasantly surprised. Therefore I shall once again pass this along for all to enjoy.
Do so responsibly.

Respect

Why Tiesto will always be number one:
"There are so many new great young DJ's out there that I feel it's time to give them a chance. I appreciate all the love and support I get from all over the world but I won this award (The DJ Magazine top 100) three times so if I would win it a fourth time, it wouldn't make a difference for my career.For the new talented DJ's around the world it could make a difference, so I would like to ask all the people who support me to vote for new talent. "

Benassi

I never got around to posting about my experience at Benny Benassi's little birthday blast at the Fever nightclub. Its already been a couple of months since that show (before I even started this blog) but its a memory I still enjoy to this day.
To describe it in all in a word: Insanity. One word would not do it justice though. I should mention, being raised a metalhead and all, that this was my very first club experience. Not your typical friday night top 40 club thing. I mean an actual noteworthy club dj doing a signature set. To be honest I doubt an experience like this will ever be topped.
It was already after midnight when Benassi first appeared on stage. His mere presence made the crowd go crazy. The cheers over powered the music if he made the smallest gesture. As soon as he hit the decks the place went nuts. A short set of stairs that led to the stage from the dance floor became a stage itself. All the best looking women in the club converged there to shine. The same thing happened to the speaker stacks to either side of the stage which had room for another three girls on each. One girl in particular got on a stack and never left. In no time she was literally soaked in sweat and looked ready to pass out from exhaustion at any moment. She never did and was still there when I left.
Benassi's latest single "Who's your daddy" was the highlight of that nights set. It couldn't have been more perfect. For at least an hour he worked up a complete fever (no pun intended) by mixing together high energy instrumental trance tracks overlaid with vocal samples from the single. The samples, I should add, he laid down by hand with a sampler as he was mixing. He then topped it off with the actual single which proceeded to set the whole place on fire. The entire club was jumping. From the stage to the bar to every wall. Not a soul sat still. It's a sight I will never forget.
By that time it was three in the morning (I think) and Tomena, my "date" for the evening, couldn't take anymore. We had been there since nine enjoying the previous dj's who did an absolutely amazing job. By 1am she was completely wiped out but patiently stuck it out for my sake. After "Who's your daddy" I could barely take much more either and we left. Even at that point Benassi was still going. I can only imagine how long he kept playing.
Before returning home we enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Humptys on Whyte where we watched the sun rise and tried to have a conversation over the ringing in our ears. Upon returning home I had a shower and a nap before heading off to work. I was still half deaf when I clocked in.
Ive never been to a metal show and had this much fun or seen so many things. Ill probably end up like an addict, spending the rest of my days trying to get that high back.

The New Black

Nothing cheers you up like finding out one of your favourite bands has a new and unexpected release out. Nothing bums you out more then having to wait until you can actually afford to go out and get it. Canada's very own Strapping Young Lad have released their new album entitled "The New Black". As excited and anxious as I am to hear it, I am also a little fearful. Last years "Alien" was (in my arguably twisted opinion) the absolute pinnacle of the SYL library. I dare say even more artistically realized then 1997s acclaimed "City". Another one of my all time favourite records.

A qoute from SYL's page on Wikipedia regarding the Alien Album:

"Devin himself has said on multiple occasions that Strapping Young Lad functions also as a conduit to pour out his "darker side" (as he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder) . . . For example, he himself said that in order to get the mood for the "Alien" record, he stopped taking his medication for the disorder for a length of time, and the lyrics on that record are supposedly a reflection of some of his feelings during that time."

Hows that for artistic dedication.

The Wedding

Darryls wedding was a complete blast. It didn't start so well however. Organizing that music was so much more of a chore than I had even remotely anticipated. The morning of the wedding found me without sleep and without hope. Despite working all night long I had still not completed half of what I had intended to accomplish when the sun began to rise. I was afraid I may miss the ceremony but thanks to a pot of coffee (or two) and a whole lot of willpower I managed to get it done.
The ceremony was great. I will never ever forget little Veronica running around the church, having the time of her life, while her parents tried to say their vows without laughing. Or my friends and I ambushing the newlyweds with seeds after they finally made it to their car.
After the ceremony I followed Owen to the hall to set up the equipment. I only had enough time the previous night to burn the music onto cds and not enough time to put together any kind of setlist. I hadn't really worried about it up to this point, having quite a bit of faith in myself. I seriously began to question that faith when the crowds started to arrive. The original plan was to start djing as soon as the dinner started. Mixing the finest music had to offer while the crowd enjoyed their dinner. Instead I let a cd run while I quickly put together some lists. The cd was conveniently labeled "instrumental dinner music" and featured a lot of classical music including the ever present "Adagio For Strings". This version however happened to be remixed by Tiesto. When that song played, the kids (who had been warming up the dance floor already) went completely bananas. I let them have their fun for as long as the grownups could handle the driving bass beat. One person who recognized the song was dissapointed when I cut it short. The kids terrorized me for the rest of the night.
The moment of truth came. The first dance was qued and I was ready to pee my fancy new pants. Despite having a couple of general setlists I was still essentially winging it. The first dance played, the people danced. We did a polka (or two) and, of course, the chicken dance. Once that was done the dance floor immediately cleared. It was as if someone dropped a bag of anthrax right in the middle of it. Though not terribly surprised I was still crushed. The night had barely even begun. From there on in I did my very best to get at least a couple of people back on the dance floor but no one responded. Owen saved me at one point and got a rather impressive crowd to do a group dance. Everyone sat back down afterwards and slowly but surely the whole room began to empty. Was I that bad? I tried every trick in the book!
The room did not empty completely. All us young people were still around. I took one single request and the night turned around in the blink of an eye. People danced! Lots of people danced! I took a second request and the crowd stayed! Instinct kicked in and I knew exactly how the rest of the night should go and it couldnt have gone better. I dabbled in some oldies, some techno and even finished the night with a short death metal set (Seriously). At one point the bride and groom headbanged and generally rocked out to Korns "A.D.I.D.A.S." I had the time of my life. For the rest of the night I recieved compliments and even scored myself another wedding and a possible house party. Needless to say I am now completely hooked. If I wasnt a dj before, I sure was now.

Heaven

Darryls wedding is coming up this weekend and I have the pleasure of handling the dj duties that night. Because I have a such a limited library to draw from Darryl has (bless his soul) encoded a massive portion of his, Owens, Deans and Kates cd collection. I am right now going through roughly 30 gigs worth of sweet, sweet music. I am so wired I couldn't possibly sleep if I wanted to. Thankfully I got plenty of shuteye after another terrible day at work and have lots and lots of coffee at my disposal.

Death Trance

Thanks to a coworker, make that two, I was in the worst possible mood yesterday. The kind of mood you just can't shake or get over, no matter how hard you try. Unless of course it involves alcohol and a good escapist movie.
My alcohol choice was weak, literally, a vodka chocolate concoction that contained a mere 5% of goodness.
The movie was infinitely better. Probably one of the coolest things Ive seen in ages to tell you the truth. Ive read the cover a couple of times at Blockbuster but every single time it was rented out. Yesterday was my lucky day. There is not an action movie hollywood has put out this year that is this cool. Its beyond words, really.
If you checked the link you'll see its a Japanese movie. It has an english version but the thought of it gives me shivers. Its classified as an adventure movie and I guess that would be the best way to describe it. At first you could mistake it for a typical fantasy. It has the mystical forest, the monks, rogues, martial arts and the flashy sword play. Then one of the characters pulls out a revolver (loaded with a billion shots of course). If that doesn't screw you up wait until another character rides in on a motorcycle. Seriously. Its sounds a little campy but its the kind of campiness (?) that makes the Kill Bill movies so cool.
Its been a while since Ive seen anything this entertaining. The unconventional ending is so perfect it almost makes me want to immediately start the movie again. If a Hollywood writer could come up with such an idea he wouldn't dare run with it.
Just see it. Ill pay for it if I have to.

Festival City

There is nothing I enjoy more about Edmonton than its status as festival city. Thursday I made the decision to completely ignore all responsibilities and just go out and have fun. The original plan was to go down to Whyte and check out the crowd at this years Fringe festival. I doubt there is another area in Edmonton that attracts a more vibrant and diverse group of people than Whyte. Having picked up a newspaper to enjoy with a coffee before I left I noticed another event taking place that same afternoon. An aboriginal arts fair taking place on Churchill Square. Having woken up much earlier than anticipated, despite the fun I had the previous evening, I decided I was going to make a whole day of my outing. The only factor to endanger this plan would haven been the weather but thankfully it could not have been more accomodating.
I forget the official name of the aboriginal arts fair deal mostly because its a brand new addition to the Edmonton scene. Because of this the event was rather small, but when I arrived there was a surprisingly decent turnout. The prerequisite teepee was there, placed in the center and surrounded by a handful of stalls selling native arts and crafts, clothing and jewelry. When I arrived there was even a dance circle going down complete with costumes and a drum circle. Tourists, office workers and bums alike took hands followed the leader and did their best to keep the rythym. It was quite the sight.
Though always changing, the Fringe remained the same. Ive never actually gone to see a play yet, but just to go down to Whyte and enjoy the festivities is good enough for me. The usual eccentrics were out in full force accompanied by every other walk of life with their yippy dogs in tow. The buskers busked, the hawkers hawked and the crowds ate mini donuts. As a friend received a foot massage at a reflexology booth I ventured off and ended up under a tent enjoying a non alcoholic margarita and a childrens play telling the story of Noahs Ark. The animals were played by the children in the crowd one by one the parents started getting reluctant roles too. Yet another sight I won't forget for a while.

Attack of the Techno Remix

I am very tempted to get this. Clearly it will be very cheesy and I probably won't be able to use it in my set but Im still very curious. To be honest I had the same feeling about a remix cd I recently purchased that features, of all things, ACDC's Thunderstruck. It ended up being very well done and is even a highlight of my set. Of six songs featured on that cd I can easily incorporate three. Ah, why not . . .

UPDATE: I lost it! There really is somebody out there crazier than I. Clearly this person also has more money to spend too.

Enter Sandman

Could it get better; After six consecutive days of complete insanity and very little sleep I have rightfully earned my three days off. My weekend, if you will. I was even allowed to leave work early due to too much staff and too little work. This would be the first such incident I've experienced since being hired I might add. Better yet I have accomplished so much in the last couple of days that I have few responsibilities left to worry about. The best part is that I finally recieved 13 cd's recently purchased on ebay. Therefore I will still be loosing sleep but this time in the good name of FAT BEATS.
What could be a better way of kicking it all off then with a movie and a friend. I went to see "The Illusionist" with Edward Norton and Jessica Beil. Not actually with them, sadly, they merely starred in it. Currently only one theatre in Edmonton carries it and, as I am told, only for a single week. Of course it was Jessica Beil that I went to see but as an added bonus the movie ended up being quite good. I thought it was a touch on the predictable side but it was very well done and a pleasure to watch.
Now, to those beats . . .