Tom Waits "Hold On"

Sweet! I now know how to put videos on my blog. Well, here's a video by Tom Waits if you click on the link. Enjoy.
Hold On by Tom Waits

Metric - "Monster Hospital"

I'm just experimenting with adding media to my blog. Here's Metric's video for "Monster Hospital", courtesy of PCPlanets.com. I hope it works.

Monster Hospital by Metric

Franz Ferdinand

So I am pretty stoked. On April 23rd, April and I are going to Winnipeg to see Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab For Cutie. As most of my friends know, Franz Ferdinand is by far one of my fave bands of the last 5 years. Both their albums are great from top to bottom and they get rave critical reviews as a live band so now I get to find out first hand what their live show is like. Another great thing about this show is that it gives me an excuse to see Sarah and Dave again. Look out Winnipeg!

Happy April's Day!

For most people, today is Valentine's Day... a day for couples to be ultra sweet and lovey-dovey to eachother (and for card companies, restaurants and florists to make tons of money)...or a day for single people to loathe. I guess April and I fall into the former category, but more importantly today is April's birthday, so happy birthday honey! Unfortunately April works most of today, but we do have plans to go for a quick supper tonight and then we will head out to McNally's for a fun-filled night with a bunch of our friends. So while today may be a day when every person in a relationship may feel the pressure to do something special for their significant other, I don't want to make this day a once a year deal because it has been designated "Valentine's Day." Doing something nice and sweet for your loved one and spending lavish amounts of money one day a year does not make up for the other 364 days that you spend with your loved one. I think too much has been made of this day. Lots of people in relationships feel unnecessary pressure to do the stereotypical Valentine's acts: flowers, mushy cards, romantic candle-lit supper, etc. It is also a day designed for single people to feel inadequate because they do not happen to be in a relationship during those 24 hours. April and I exchanged gifts last night (including her birthday present), and April felt that her gifts to me would be underwhelming because of what her mom, sister and friends had said to her about my gift. I know lots of people have gone through this same dilemma on Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day should not be about one-upmanship or who can woo the other person more. I love spending every day with April. I love going out with her, I love staying home with her, I love talking on the phone with her, and I love missing her when she's gone. So while presents are nice, they are not everything. So I want to make this day more special for April because it is her birthday. So I see this as being April's Day... not Valentine's Day.

Stars

Last night April and I saw an incredible show at The Distrikt. Montreal's Stars played a wonderful set, preceded by a stellar opening act The Thurston Revival. Vancouver's The Thurston Revival were a great surprise. They consist of two singer/ multi-intstrumentalists who create a lot of wonderful and eclectic noises for just two people. At various points in their set, they reminded me of a beat poet performance, a psychedelic Elvis on acid, The Clash, and a rockabilly Lou Reed. A really unique band. Rolling Stone named Stars' latest albums one of the top 50 albums of last year and deservingly so. Their epic, orchestral pop music translates really well to the stage. Last night they played as a seven-piece, texturing their songs with horns, violin, keyboards, guitars, bass and drums, with some electronic dance loops thrown in for good measure. Their songs range from slow movie soundtrack pieces to crazy arty electro dance pop. It was nice to see a near capacity crowd attend this show. The Distrikt has pretty much the same layout as the old State did, but it remains the best club venue in town to see a live band.

Here's Stars' video for "Ageless Beauty"...
Ageless Beauty by Stars