Oh, ya....

I know, I know, two posts in one day - I'm such an attention whore. But I was running and thought of something that I had been meaning to blog about.

I cannot for the life of me figure out who the hell is in charge of choosing theme music for sporting events. It was something that I realized really bothered me last week while watching the Super Bowl, and then we went to a hockey game on Wednesday and it came up again. SB doesn't seem to understand my outrage, but let me set the scene for you.

Super Bowl. A commercial comes on for the NFL draft - they ran several throughout the night. I don't know any of the players, but they were apparently showing pretty key guys during their moment of their NFL draft year. Putting on the jersey for the first time, shaking hands with the owners, blah blah blah. And what song are they playing?

Wake Up, by the Arcade Fire.

Think about it for a second.

Does it seem strange to you that they are celebrating and promoting a very pivotal moment in an athlete's career, the moment where all the hard work and dedication and all that jazz culminates in earning them that shot at the dream, that they are celebrating all this with a song about being emotionally beaten down as a child and growing up mal-adjusted. Huh.

Next scene:

Habs game.

The visiting team skates out to boos and the like. Then to bring the Habs players out two young kids (maybe 10-13 yrs old, I can't be sure because, kids, who needs 'em?) take the ice (which has been darkened and there are swirling spotlights) and what song are they playing to get everyone pumped up?

Fix You, by Coldplay.

Yes, let's get this party started with a song about dealing with a loved one trapped in the clutches of a dangerous depression.

Does it really take so much effort to LISTEN to the lyrics, to see what the song actually says? Stop being so lazy sports marketing people!!!!

Because, seriously, at the hockey game I got goosebumps, but not for the right reasons.

Still waiting

Still nothing happening on the next Big Thing. I know it's very tedious that I keep mentioning it and then not going into details, but I just really dislike fielding questions about stuff when I can't control when they happen. So, you'll get to know when it happens, and until then, I get to whine about how it's not happening fast enough.

In other news, I was ecstatic to find out that Wolf Parade is doing a mini-tour in April, so we scooped up some tickets to the show in Quebec City on April 1st (we better not show up to a fake concert - I am not a big fan of April Fool's day). I'm not super stoked that we have to go to Quebec City to see them (they are from Montreal, so the only thing I can imagine is that all the good venues were already booked on the dates they needed....otherwise it's just annoying). But we're going to take the opportunity to spend the night, then check out Old Quebec the following day, which I think we've only done together once, and only for like half an afternoon.

I think it will be a fun little mini-trip, and I could never express how excited I am to see them live again. I feel like one new album every two years is just NOT enough!!! I'm hoping that since the new CD is not out yet that this means this tour is a test run of new stuff, and that they will do a big tour in the late summer/fall. Fingers crossed! Two shows in a year would be amazing!

My short attention span, why I'm going straight to hell, and what's wrong with the youth today.

I get tired of things quickly.

That's a lie - I get tired of news stories quickly. Things happen every single second, but when something big happens, I get really really into it for about five minutes, and then very very annoyed when everyone keeps on it for another 5 days while I am so over it.

So, today, Michael Jackson died. My mother could attest to the fact that when I was four years old I was literally OBSESSED with him, but not 1983 him, I was obsessed with Little Michael, who was "Little Michael" many many years before I was four. But The Jackson 5's Greatest Hits was the first real tape that I owned, and I listened to it incessantly. I also vividly remember watching Thriller with my aunt and Uncle around the same time and not believing he was the same guy.

I had a Glove. I also had a pleather pant/jacket set.

So, back to today. He died. I haven't been a fan of his music for many many years. That is, I haven't liked his new stuff. I still like the old stuff. Anyway, so it was news, and then it was confirmed news, and now, four hours later, CNN just keep going ON and ON and ON. Really, enough already.

So, I'm watching Angels in America and drinking wine.

Also, I was on a discussion board before where people were insisting it was IMPOSSIBLE to explain to their children who Michael Jackson was because it was IMPOSSIBLE to point to any modern day celebs who could ever compare.

I not only beg to differ, but I outright protest this statement/inference. Because it is totally all relative. Our grandparents never thought anything could compare to the likes of Elvis, or the Beatles etc. Then came Madonna and MJ. And our grandparents thought they were crap and our parents disagreed. Now there is Justin and Britney, The Jonas Brothers, etc. The hype is still there. The only thing that remains to be seen is the staying power, and who will last. I think it is so ignorant to think that only YOUR generation has relevant musicians/artists/actors/writers. These things are fluid and evolve. I think the best thing to do is foster an appreciation in what came before, and not crap on what you don't get, or have the foresight to believe in.

I'm not saying that either JT or Britney are this generation's legacy, I'm just saying that we won't know for another 10-15 years. It could even be that slutty Cyrus girl.

Karma hates me

I just don't understand.

A month ago, I visited the Running Room and bought my mom a Nike+ iPod running thingy. It's a little apparatus that you put on your shoe, and it sends signals to your iPod about how far you've run, etc. While I was at the store I also got some socks, some Yaktrax, and talked to the guy about why I can't log into my online account.

So, when I got home, SB realized that the guy had put not one but TWO Nike+ units in my bag, but only charged me for one.

I hummed and hawed, but decided that my karma didn't need the hit and I returned the unit the next day. The manager was very thankful, and gave me a coupon for 20% off my next purchase (yay new runners!). Plus, I felt good that I had done the right thing.

Cut to last week when my iPod went missing. Gone. Lost or stolen, who knows, but it is nowhere to be found. I really can't afford to buy a new one, so my sister is going to lend me her old one for a while. Hopefully mine will turn up in some random place, but holy eff, do I really deserve this? Really? I think if I knew what EXACTLY I did to throw things off balance I would feel a lot better about constantly getting shafted.

Daily Doldrum

We've been back for over a week now so I am back in the old boring routine. I do feel like I have a better attitude after our nice relaxing break, but I still can't help but be mopey about being back to work. Things there are slightly tenuous. All I can say is that I am so sick of dealing with everyone else's problems. Tired of it.

The good news is, I have tickets to see two of my favorite bands this summer! Wolf Parade will be here in August, and although it's a general admission show we're going. I hate general admission, mostly because I hate people, and hate when people get pushy. I like having my seat so at least they stay out of my personal space. But, I love Wolf Parade, and the last GenAd show we saw with them was pretty great.

Next weekend we are driving to Toronto to see REM! Woohoo! It will be our third REM show, and this time we will be 10 rows back! I had a chance to by second row tickets, but wasn't sure how enjoyable it would be to sit that close. I mean, ya, being close is obviously awesome, but I don't want a sore neck. I want to enjoy myself. Hopefully I won't regret it, but I think it will be great either way. We will be so tired, though, since we will drive there on Saturday (6 hours), stay over at my uncle's, have the concert Sunday night, then drive straight home because we both have to work on Monday. Ugh. But I know it will be worth it, and this will be my birthday present :)

That's all the news here. So boring compared to Paris posts, right?

I fell down today

Literally.

Really hard.

It was on that ice that looks like snow that is leftover on the street, and you take your step too hard, because you are sure you will squish right into it, but then whoosh, away you go. It hurt real bad - I scraped both hands and my left shin/knee. It hurts way worse than it looks, though. I didn't even bleed at all. And my hands aren't bruised or anything. Although I think I have a rock stuck in my palm, but it's tiny.

I was terrified to look down at my leg - I thought for sure I had ripped open my pant leg and would find blood gushing everywhere. But no. It's not even bruised yet, but still hurts a lot.

That's been the most exciting thing in my life so far this week. We had to send our business computer away to be fixed, which is seriously fucking with my life in a very bad way, but it will be so great to have wireless again with that computer.

I was very near a mental breakdown a few weeks ago, but seem to be back on track now. I don't think my meds are as effective this time, and am going to try to get in to see a new doctor. I'm sure the weather is having a major effect on me, but I know that it can't be all that's up. Relatedly (not sure that's a word, but I like it), I have found I love Pascale Picard and recommend that everyone listens to 'Smilin' when you are feeling down.

Last of all, we are about a month away from our trip, which I am both looking forward to and really anxious about. I am going to have a really hard time forgetting about work and all the things that could be going wrong, but I know it will be so worth it that I just need to get over it all ready.

Hot Tubin'

Miracle of miracles we have had a very busy day and are having people over in about an hour, but here I am, still remembering to blog. Thank you NaBloMoFo - I am now an automated robot - blogging has become a part of my circadian rhythm.

But, I am kind of phoning it in slightly. I have nothing that interesting to say, so I thought I would link to a few of my favorite music youtubes.

I recently saw Arcade Fire on PBS and realized that I actually like them a whole lot. I had heard one of their songs on the local pop station wedged between Britney and an overplayed Nelly tune, and liked it, but never really looked into the band to see what the rest of their stuff is like. Then when I saw the PBS show by accident one Saturday night, I was pretty blown away not only by their sound, but the whole concept of a pseudo-orchestral band. So, here is a clip of probably my favorite song I've heard them play.

I first heard about Wolf Parade while reading Dooce, and instantly fell in love with them. I warbled along with them in my car for about a year before I got a chance to see them play and discovered I went to school with one of the guys briefly. Wolf Parade was also founded when Arcade Fire asked the guy if he had a band who could open for them and he said ya - even though he didn't have a band, or any songs, or anything. But they got together and voila. This song. Which makes me cry 87% of the times I hear it. That link is from a show this summer in Montreal, which was in the same round of shows I saw. Watch this one to see the video for the same song. I also really dig this song, and who knew they got to play on network TV?

So that's what I'm youtubin' lately. It totally blows my mind that all of these dudes are my age and from my community. I am such an underachiever.

I'll build a house inside of you

After three months of scanning craigslist like a fiend, I was actually able to score tickets to see Wolf Parade. I noticed an ad for someone who wanted to trade her tickets for Saturday night's show for any other night, so I emailed her and said if she had no luck that I would buy her tickets at a mark-up.

Then I forgot about it.

Then on Friday, she emailed me and asked if I still wanted the tickets. Hells ya! It was a bit short notice to find a friend who wanted to come with, so I asked SB and he said cool. Even though he doesn't listen to them much, he's heard them on my truck CD. Although on the way there he kept screaming "Wolf Lover - WHOOO" to which I had to explain that we were on our way to see Wolf Parade, not Wolf Mother, and Wolf Lover is, as far as I know, not something that exists.

The show was pretty amazing. The first opening group was a duet of a guy and a girl playing 70s and 80s rock covers. Whatever, they were okay. Then there was a group called Holy Fuck, and I guess you would describe them as instrumental - they had a drummer, a bassist, a keyboardist, and a guy who played what SB and I call "The Table". It appeared to consist of many many gadgets and plugs and knobs for twisting, and it made all kind of noises. It all looked very complicated, and they kept having "technical difficulties". They were actually very good, SB was very into them, which surprised me.

Wolf Parade blew my mind, as I knew they would. Not only were they amazing, but the crowd had fabulous energy. I have generally been known to avoid any shows that do not involve seat assignment, and that was probably the only thing that bothered me about this show. We stood in our spot for 3 hours, waiting patiently, and forming polite boundaries with the other people around us, then five minutes before WP came on, 4 loud, annoying, stoned guys pushed through and squished themselves in front of us. Everyone was annoyed and pissed off, but made the best of it. SB was not pleased, and I think that ruined the whole show for him.

They played lots of old stuff, and lots of new stuff, which sounded pretty great. It was at La Sala Rossa, which holds about 225 people, and has a small stage. I wish that the room had some risers or something - just gradual "stairs" - because then the space might be almost perfect. Or if the stage was higher. But I don't think the room is tall enough to lift the stage.

Anyway, during the set they played Shine a Light, You are The Runner and I am My Father's Son, Fancy Claps, and a few others from the first album. Fancy Claps was probably my favorite. Then the encore was This Heart's on Fire, which I can give or take, but then I'll Believe in Anything to close things out. This one BLEW MY MIND!!! It sounded amazing, the crowd was amazing, I just do not have the words this early Sunday morning to describe how spectacular it was.

On a side note, I totally didn't realize, but I took my first writing class with the keyboardist from Wolf Parade. I love their music, but I'm not the type to look up everything I can about the band. But when I saw him, I recognized him right away. So weird. I remember his writing was really great, but a bit too poetic for my prose tastes. Music seems to suit him much better!