| Adam Quarterly |
[08.3.2008 @ 01:23] |
Well, time for my quarterly post. There is a very good impetus for this one, and suprisingly enough it is not heavy metal based. I got to see Shugo Tokumaru tonight. He is a wonderful Japanese experimental pop artist (or that is how I hear his described). I know a few people who might end up reading this are big fans. He really has only played Japan before from what I understand so this is pretty big news.
He played at the Firehall Arts Centre, which I guess used to be a firehall. Makes sense. I got in for 10 bucks because I had a student ID, though about getting a drink beforehand, but just went and sat down instead. It was a small theatre that seated maybe 100 people at maximum capacity. I got there 10 minutes before the show started and had front row centre seats. This was part of the Powell STreet festival, so most of the 50 or so people there were older festival going types. Mia Doi Todd opened up, and was pretty good, although only two songs really made me want to look into it any deeper, and to be honest, I won't. She was quite cute though, and I am going to pretend she was making eyes at me near the end of her set.
So Shugo came on after, with a girl accompanying him. He played acoustic guitar exclusively the whole time, with a few pedals
that really didn't make any huge changes to the sound. The girl added some accordion (which sounded strangely ethereal), and played a bunch of toys. Toys of the sound making sort, like rattling horses and wind up birds. He is a much better guitar player than you ever would have imagined, and even threw out some completely superfluous two hand tapping in the encore (tastefully applied). He did not speak any english, and had a Japanese-English dictionary on hand for his few banter points (I quote verbatim "I need some time to think," "I will be back," and "Last song").
The set was heavy on Night Piece, which was awesome, and by the second song I was nearly exploding. The latest album, Exit got its fair share too. A lot of the songs were shorter and a few were medlied together, so I can't really recall all of the songs as they were played. I recognized all but one, though, even if I could not throw a name to it. It made me realize that some of these melodies are embedded in me. It was a good thing to know. They all sounded excellent. The songs I can remember were Such a Colour and Parachute to open, with Light Chair coming after. Also included were Saganichi, Wedding, Green Chair, and Button from the new one, Mist from LST, and Funfair, The Mop and Paparazzi off of Night Piece (Paparazzi being the closer). I have missed a few, but oh boy it was good. I have a setlist, but unfortunately I cannot read it. I asked his girl band member for it, but since she spoke zero english, it was a lot of exaggerated movements and smiling and thanks. She was also smoking hot. I also bought Night Piece and L.S.T (On a related note, email me your address, Micheal)
When I got out, I could see the fireworks display over that tall buildings, and it was once of the nicest times I've ever had waiting for a bus. He is playing again tomorrow at a park, and I think I may have to go.
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| Ohhh, I like Your Size |
[03.19.2008 @ 23:10] |
So I am listening to what is pretty much quantifiably the best rap song ever, Warren G's "Regulate." But that, I assure you, is not what I am here to talk to you about. I am here to talk about something else, after I relate semi-interesting events. First, Ellen (from Portland) and Stuart (from Australia) visited me. It was awesome. We drank lot and explored Lynn Canyon for a bit (in separate time periods, I assure you, otherwise I'd probably be dead. Later in the week, I went to the record store to buy some CDs and serendipitously happened to catch a Hawksley Workman in store set. I'm not a big fan, but that was still, if you ask me, pretty cool. A very pleasant 30 minutes, anyways.
But the reason for this, as the reason for most of my recent posts (its the only way I can justify my vague descriptions of life and general whingery these days), is to talk about some music. I'm here to very briefly tell you about the difference between Lair of the Minotaur and Brain Drill. First off, we can ignore the fact that Lair Of The Minotaur is a thrash sludge band (more thrash, less sludge), and that Brain Drill is hyper fast tech death. Not relevant. What matters is that Lair of The Minotaur wants to set off to war with you, kicking the shit out of things. Brain Drill does not bother with such petty things. Brain Drill just wants to kill you. That is why Brain Drill wins. 16 Brain Drill v 1 UNC? Brain Drill 9 times out of 10, and that one is because they got too many technical fouls (colloquially know as the Rasheed Wallace) for murdering the officiating squad. Brain Drill is the future. All hail Brain Drill.
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| Screech Owl, I Am The Chisel |
[03.6.2008 @ 23:10] |
Happenings of late - I started running, and I beat Guitar Hero 3 on expert. I am the unbeatable lord of the five buttons (perhaps the Lorde of the Fyve Magicks, if you prefer). However awesome as those two things may be, I am here to relate a brief story.
I went to the record shop in order to by the new Autechre and Ladyhawk albums (neither of which they had, which is strange because Zulu is excellent most of the time). Not to be deterred, I bought some used CDs ( a Blue Oyster Cult live CD, and the debut from Godspeed You Black Emperor, which is still their best, dammit)., and a new CD. It is an album by the Canadian band Wold. They are a black metal band. My love of heavy metal is fairly well documented. This is an album of particular note - it is incredibly poorly recorded and noisy, even by black metal standards. It is one of those gloomy, harsh noisy things that can be hard to listen to sometime. Nonetheless, I picked up a copy of Screech Owl because, well, it was reasonably priced and had neat art. I figure the worst thing that could happen was that I have extended the musical career of a Saskatchewan black metal band by 16 dollars. Also it was released on Profound Lore records, and they have released some neat things lately. I love small to midsized metal labels for some reason. Always had a soft spot for Hydra Head and Southern Lord. Any record label whose abbreviation is Sunn is okay by me.
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| Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate |
[02.9.2008 @ 01:06] |
I finished The Inferno today! I have been wanting to read it for so long. Now I can read the last two canticles of the Comedy, and be a little more cultured. Basically if I ever grow a pair enough to start a metal band, all the song names I'll ever need can be found therein.
I used a gift certificate I got for my birthday to buy Earth's debut album (the first full-length, at least). It is awesome. It is basically just drone that sounds like (and I quote) : "BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" but I like it anyways. I have only listened once so far, but I can see this being the kind of thing I could love. Also, there is something about the album cover that sends my heart a-titter.
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| None So Vile |
[01.15.2008 @ 22:08] |
So maybe I can consider this somewhat of an intervention. Maybe not so much that as a sanity check. I went to the record store to buy some Mountain Goats tickets. Okay, cool, mission accomplished. Unfurl the banner on the aircraft carrier, right.? not quite. I realised that I had left the store with 5 CDs in tow, all bought used. Nothing unordinary there - I like buying music. Call me one of the Great Old Ones if you will. 4 metal CDs and one Jazz. I got home and realised, holy crap, of the array of albums strewn around my room, a full 80% of what I have been regularly listening to lately is heavy metal - stop, pull back. Is this a problem?
I mean, I love heavy metal, but I am afraid I may be turning into 'heavy metal guy.' I mean, I like to think I keep up eclectic enough appearances and company and the like to avoid falling down that pit, but maybe I am wrong. I don't actually own a Goatsnake or Lair of the Minotaur T-shirt, but I would probably wear one if one came my way. I think that gist of it is is that while I like heavy metal and even some of the underlying values it epitomizes, I am not one with its culture, and I don't think I ever will be. I think I will be comfortably safe as always seeming like an outsider to the subject, even if I listen to it with a majority of my music time.
I was a lot more amped up when I started this post, but that;s faded, so I'll leave you with a post I found on the internet. It pretty solidly sums up why I like heavy metal. It is not just the songs (which slay, I'll admit), but also an underlying philosophy. A framework, if you will, that all good metal follows in some way or shape.
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| And the gunslinger followed |
[01.14.2008 @ 23:27] |
So, holy crap, I just finished Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Now, it is not a super amazing book, but it is something I remember starting, rather vividly, almost 10 years ago. Yeah, it has been a long time coming. I got the last 2 volume almost solely because I couldn't think of anything else to ask for for christmas. Basically everything kind of went off of the deep end, but once I accepted that it wasn't going to be what I had originally planned, I really liked it. I had some silly fun, at least, and got a little worked up over some of the characters. Oy is pretty wonderful, for what is essentially a raccoon dog. That's the report from the front line today.
I've been listening to a lot of music, but am quite distressed over how to aptly convey what I think about them. I am no good at explicating things (at least, I feel that way), and I don't want to just be another one of those dopes who just plunks off list after list (although I love them so!).
Oh well! I'll have to work on that.
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| Music! |
[10.20.2007 @ 15:41] |
Holy shit a new Shugo Tokumaru AND and a new Christine Fellows album in the same week? This is surely one of the seven signs of the apocalypse.
In other news, I got a new iPod. It is an iPod classic, and while it basically does all the same thing that my old iPod did, it does them a lot shinier, and with a lot more slickness. I could stare at the default screen for hours, if I didn't have to keep moving the scroll wheel so it didn't go into hibernate mode. It is pretty awesome. I also bought a very nice leather jacket, and saved like 300 dollars because of sales/in states. I am told it looks very good on me but I haven't worn it out because it is raining and I haven't sprayed it with leather protectives yet.
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[09.5.2007 @ 00:22] |
So someone on an internet forum wanted to know what everyone's favourite end of album songs are, o I made up a list of my top 25. If you want to know about them follow the cut! I am kind of sad to see that my favourite artists don't always have my favourite album closers. Especially the weakerthans, and kind of to Matt Good (although the last song on Underdogs is great and same with the last song on Beautiful Midnight). All their best stuff is usually in the middle of their albums, I find. Anyways,
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| I have a job now! |
[08.31.2007 @ 18:30] |
It is a real person job! More later!
I am moving now! Exciting times!
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| Wedding! |
[08.12.2007 @ 23:05] |
I went home this weekend, the major reason, as the astute reader will have probably figured out by dint of the title of this entry, was for a wedding. Now I have been to a fair number of weddings - probably about 6 or 7 in my lifetime. This, however, was the first one I had ever been to where the married couple (or at least any half) were friends of mine, and not just family or distant relations. So it was cool. There were people I actually wanted to see there, and being more of a "real person" than I have been at previous family weddings, I had a lot more fun at the reception than I had ever had at any other one before. So, in summary, it was awesome. The bride was gorgeous, the groom dapper, and the venue (a tiny chapel in Langley) quaint and awesome. The entire wedding retinue looked great. It was a small wedding, and to be honest I felt pretty flattered to have been invited. So, thanks a lot, Aimee! It really did mean a whole bunch to me that I got to be there.
So, In bullet form
- Ceremony violin was awesome, as is be expected when you have symphonically inclined bridesmaids
- A nice day! Sunny, but not too hot, and cool at the reception
- Delicious eats. Definatly the king of all buffets.
- Rude amount of drinking going on. I was very, very drunk by the end of it all
- I am a person who hates dancing but I think the combination of a friend being married + drinking + people just as awkward and nervous about dancing as me made things okay, and I honestly had a lot of fun and anyone who says they didn't is LYING
- So I guess we brought sexyback?
Dear Emily, Aimee - if you find any pictures involving me, please send them along. We all looked awesome.
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| Job hunting |
[08.9.2007 @ 11:06] |
Okay guys it is that time for me again where I need to look for jobs. This is the first time I've ever looked for actual actual jobs without the aid/safety parachute of the co-op office. Rest assured, I am pretty terrified! I want a job in really one of 3 streams
1) Developing, which probably pays the most, but is also the most work-intensive (I think), and it has been a year or so since I've developed something in school. It will be toughest getting my foot in the door here, so I guess an entry level position is what I need here. Pretty sure I could do it, but I am not sure how much leeway I would have in learning on the job.
2) Testing/QA - probably pays less, but I am imminently qualified for it. It would be easy, and hopefully I would be able to learn more about developing, and maybe make a jump into that stream after a few years, because I am pretty sure I would not be a bottom level tester for always, I hope. However, scared of getting caught in testing forever, which kind of blows.
3) Systems Analyst/Business Systems Analyst - This is kind of what require the least technical knowhow and doing things and the most meetings. I did it at TELUS and I am pretty sure I would be able to do it again. Don't know how well any company I am applying for would like my qualifications for such a job.
SO THAT SAID I have handed in a few resumes/trying to talk to people that I had used to work with and the prospects are as follows
- Took a logic test for the Active Networks for a position as a Software Tester. They are located in Burnaby. I am pretty certain I did very well on the test. I am hoping to get an interview from them.
- Got an invite to take a technical test with Business Objects. I hear they pay a tonne of money (Aimee does your dad still work for them y/n). It will be on August 23rd, but I haven't decided what time to take it at, yet. Basically I am horrified at this prospect, I haven't coded in Java in 2 years, and about the same for C++ (The two languages I have the choice to write it in). I am better in Java, but I have a C++ textbook. I am not the kind of person who sits around writing code in his spare time, but I think I am pretty proficient in either of them. Basically absolutely terrified and I guess I need to start studying again. Eek
- possibly talking to someone I used to work with, whose company is hiring. This has potential, since we did the same thing at WebCT, and I am fairly confident I can do anything that he does now, so the job wouldn't be intimidating, at least.
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| No Spoilers here |
[07.21.2007 @ 16:36] |
I just read Harry Potter 7
Man guys I liked it a whole lot
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| I guess I never finished this! |
[07.9.2007 @ 23:09] |
Guys I will be honest I could write for ages and ages about all the neat shit that I saw in London, but fortunately for you guys I only have a limited amount of space and you guys probably have a limited capacity for me prattling on and on about a trip to London. I will endeavour to be succint (and also talk like as much of a prick as possible, as you can see).
I WENT TO OXFORD
- I have a great aunt and uncle here! Also second and third cousins. They are very well off and have a big old gorgeous manor type house. They are a little bit more believers in high society and said funny things like how someone was "marrying up" or "marrying down." Some of my cousins are piano teachers. It was fun and the only things I drank were either alcoholic or tea. I can think of worse fates (but could I think of better ones? It is possible I could not)
- Oxford is a gorgeous old towne, except of course it is huge. Students were writing their last final exams and were therefore in full regalia. A sight, at the least
- They were also filming one of the Golden Compass movies there. Arguably it means nothing to me having never read the books, but it could mean something to YOU.
I CAME BACK TO LONDON AND THEN MY PARENTS WENT TO SCOTLAND
- before we left we went to what was an uber fancy fish place. I had no idea where we were going and no one else knew how upscale it was so we stuck out like sore thumbs in our blue jeans and sweaters. It was ultimately 400 bucks for 3 people wtf. The cod was tasty and the prawns wer great. Also the potato leek soup was pretty amazing.
- After my parents left I fell asleep, then covered the whole of central london on foot the next day. Walked across the wobbly bridge and looked at modern art at the Tate Modern. Interesting! Saw so much stuff, and walked for something like 6 hours. Got back skipped dinner and got colossally drunk at 3 different bars, one of which had a rotten heavy metal band playing until about 1 and then spun Johnny Cash CDs. I woke up at some goth couple's house in Arsenal. They pointed me back at my hotel, and then I checked out. I killed time at the museum, and then I went home
THE PLANE RIDE WAS VERY LONG
Any questions
I have pictures I will try and put them up soon
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| London Debrief |
[06.26.2007 @ 16:12] |
Well, I am back from London now. It was my first time ever in Europe, and it was pretty neat, even if the 9-10 hour flight is a very long flight and kind of aggravating towards the end, even though I read a few books (So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star, Ghost In The Shell, and American Gods,and then a few chapters of a book about postpunk called Rip It Up and Start Again) I am not so terribly jet lagged, and all that it is really hitting me for is that I am waking up early in the morning. Or at least, I woke up early in the morning today, since I just got back last night. I waited almost an hour for my luggage to pop out the chute. I always hate when that happens. So, as follows, an approximate narrative of Adam's first ever trip of the contintent of North America (and her related islands).
DAY ONE - MONDAY
My flight left at exactly midnight sunday night/monday morning (well, 11:55), and I got into London Gatwick after 9 hours at around 5 or 6 in the evening. I didn't sleep at all on the plane, as part of my solution to beat jet lag by being very tired. It more or less worked. I took the train into london, and then bought a weekpass on the transit system and went to meet my parents, who were staying in Kensington. Their tube system, when it wasn't broken or being repaired or what have you (and this is an important stipulation) is pretty rad. It got me where I was going really quickly, and then I went up and found my parents, and we drank some Port that they had bought at Harrod's and went to find MY hotel, which was a different one altogether because I kind of threw this thing all together in sort of a last minute thing and they couldn't book me a room in their hotel for any cheap amount of money (even relatively speak, by London standards - everything is a billion dollars, except for beer, which is only half that) Anyways, I checked in and we went to an Italian restaurant whose claim to fame was that the King of Jordan once ate dinner there. The Canelloni was REALLY damn good. The Broccoli, also tasty. Then I went to sleep, and had a fitful sleep trying to be up by 8 without an alarm. Much to my suprise, it actually worked!
DAY TWO - TUESDAY
This day was chockful of touristy things that my dad and Joanne (my stepmom) wanted to do. For the record, I came to London because they said they would pay for my hotel and other expenses while I was there as a graduation present, if I paid for my plane ticket. While I have not explicitly graduated, I have in fact finished all of my courses, which is close enough. We went to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace first. I thought it was kind of neat, at first, but then it went on for about 45 minutes and my final verdict was that, while an impressive display of military precision, it was actually kind of boring and there were too many dang people. After that we wandered around Green Park and St. James Park, which were nearby, and then went for one of those big bus rides. Once again, a little touristy for my tastes but got to see a LOT of cool shit. For the record, I don't mind seeing all sorts of neat stuff, but I hate the feeling of being conspicuously touristy. But yeah, we went all around London and everything there looked pretty cool. I have a whole bunch of pictures of famous things. Such is London towne. At the end of it we got on a boat (they called it a cruise but you don't "cruise" on a river like the Thames) and went to Greenwich. I got to go on the Prime Meridian! Oh boy! The farthest East I have ever been now has a quantifiable number! That number is 0 and change. After that, we went back a few hours later, had some food at a pub, also several beers, and then returned to the hotels. I was incredibly sunburned, because for the first and only day on the trip, the weather decided to stay constant the entire time I was outside, a constant baking hot until the end, and then pissed rain when the sun went down.
DAY THREE - WEDNESDAY
Spent almost the whole time inside, which was good for my lobsterish complexion that I was now blessed with. First we went to Parliament Square, where some guy was yelling at Parliament the entire time from a tent city set up on the other side of the road from the houses of parliament. Also, when you step out of the stairwell from Westminster station, you don't even haev a half second before Big Ben is thrust right in your face, all up in your grille. It is BIG. It is BEN. Also, the architecture on all the building is almost casually dazzling. Almost annoying, but then I realise that it is too pretty to bug me. SO we went across the street to Westminster Abbey, a building five or six times older than my country. It was neat! Poet's Corner and the king's tomb were only my second favourite parts, because right up at the nave, they had a whole bunch of mathematicians and physicists, and I am a NERD. Maxwell and Dirac and Green and Kelvin and Newton were all there. It was second year math all over again (except for Newton)! After that there was the British Musem, which had loads of stuff and my brain overloaded from seeing so much neat shit in such a short time. The best was God vs Monster, which was the name of some Assyrian wall carving that looked AWESOME. Also the Rosetta Stone I guess. And a shark's tooth sword from Kiribati.
I realise this post is now huge, so I will post the other 4 days later on! I will also add pictures at some point. I have a lot of crappy pictures of famous things, and only about 2 of me! Such is what happens when you have the camera, I guess.
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| I love it when this happens |
[06.13.2007 @ 00:51] |
Oh man, listening to Yo La Tengo's Painful, and on the last song, "I Heard You Looking," it just all caught up with me. Holy dang fabulous. YLT is a band I've been a long ways getting into, but I've always found rewarding. It is definately the moments like these. I would say more about how the squiggly guitar crashing up against the airy organ and constant riff is just mind-blowing right now, but it is 1 in the morning, and I need to go to bed so I can set up on-line credit card paying stuff in the morning.
Guys if you have this album you should listen to it, probably right now or some other time that is similarly late at night
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| Dear everyone who does not post on dumbrella |
[06.4.2007 @ 12:06] |
I am in a manner of forum game which loosely resembles D&D. I currently have a quest that requires me to bring 5 people to the forum who will post 10 times. So I am asking a favour of you guys. Everyone assume that no one else is doing it, and make an account please, and post 10 times in the newbie forum. that would be incredibly rad, and I would appreciate such noise. If you want to stay,then by all means stay, I think it is a pretty fun place that is more or less filled with like-minded people.
here is the thread for background:
http://www.dumbrella.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=11921&start=372
If you do, post the username you registered, and I'll get our admin-man to activate your account
Help me out dudesssss
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| Return! |
[05.29.2007 @ 00:27] |
I got back from Prince George late sunday night. It was a fun trip, and also the farthest north I have ever been, toppling the previous record holder, Quesnel. I saw a baby moose (moosling?), UNBC (small), and got pretty drunk. I am hesitant to say I was really drunk, but it was a good time nonetheless. It is kind of like all the other interior towns I have been to, but bigger.
On the way up, we listened to a lot of music. We alternated the iPod/CD's throughout the people in the car over the whole trip, to distribute fairness, but that thing always ends up with music that is not very fitting for the time of day/drive etc. In quick summation, the notable albums we heard (and how well they worked) were
- some Daft Punk singles and an Arrogant Worms CD - very nearly drove me batty. I didn't realise that I actually actively dislike the Arrogant Worms! The songs were boring and about dumb things! Oh well. Also, I don't care for Daft Punk very much ever.
- RJD2's Deadringer - "Ghostwriter" is a good song but the rest of this album is kind of dull. Didn't necessarily mind because we talked through most all of it
- Weezer's Pinkerton - was completely fucking rad on a nice sunny day driving through the Fraser Canyon. This album is just so good and was probably the best album/drive experience of the whole trip.
- Prince's Dirty Mind - covered the top half of the canyon, and was pretty sweet, if only because it was nearing the golden hour and almost every song on this CD is synthed out perfection, not to mention catchy as all hell.
- Naglfar's Diabolical - The only metal CD as the sun set around WIlliams Lake. I think it worked out pretty well, even if it was kept to a very reasonable volume and was not shaking the windows like it should have.
- Of Montreal's Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? - was pretty much completely rad and set the tone perfect for an late evening drive through the central interior. This was a close contender for most perfect on the trip. I was driving and dang was it fun. It made me really want to hear Low`s The Things We Lost In The Fire, but alas, it was not my turn after.
- William Shatner's Has Been - We got in a fight about this one. Eventually it was vehemently vetoed, and I cannot say that I disagree with the decision. It was switched off for the Gorillaz`latest one, which frankly I dont give a care for, and to be honest was absolutely terrible for the mood that the late night drive was giving off
The way back had less music because we were filming a video for Graham`s website, but it still had
- even more Daft Punk singles- holy jesus stop it already
- a big pile of Chemical Brothers songs, I don't think it was an album - more of the same, but slightly different. It pepped the people in the car up a whole bunch but seriously I can only hear so much of it before it all sounds like the same god damn fatboy slim song.
- Weezer' Blue Album - for the way back through the Weezer Canyon. It was night time and this album was great for the windy, foggy drive. Maybe I am just biased towards listening to Weezer albums, but I thought it was really good for the `We are tired, it is late` vibe that was happening.
- Boards of Canada's The Campfire Headphase - somehow got tagged onto the closing remarks of both going up there and going back, and while it is a pretty album that I liked it really is the worst for keeping drivers awake. Seriously stop putting us to sleep, we need to keep the car off of the middle of the road
And that is all I can remember. I borrowed some headphones that are better than my usual ones, and I am listening to the Avalanches right now. It is actually pretty good. It is doubtful that Since I Left You will rocket to the top of my favourite albums list, but I definitely find it pretty enjoyable right now.
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| Logs and pulp I guess |
[05.24.2007 @ 01:12] |
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I have never really been on a true road trip before but I guess I am leaving for one tomorrow! Kathleen is taking me/Graham/Brad to Prince George. I have never been there before, either. It will be a weekend of new, but not terribly exotic things (I gather a road trip is a lot like riding in a car except only for a long time, and I gather that Prince George is a lot like Quesnel except bigger). Pictures of the fun to follow. In event of a shitty road trip, a most unlikely event, pictures will follow anyways
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| bzzzzzzbzzzzzbzzzz |
[05.23.2007 @ 00:37] |
Goddamn when I plug my headphones (crappy ones, admittedly) into my speakers, I get a mean amount of background buzz. Le sigh, I suppose. If it is the only way that I can listen to the wrens at a fairly appreciable volume at 20 to 1 in the morning without waking my plethora of roommates, then so be it.
MY FEELINGS ON THE WRENS
(very specifically, The Meadowlands)
OK, the Wrens are rad. I hear a lot of people feel they are boring. I can understand that. I should probably elaborate more on my background a little more, to start with. I really only listen to the first 3 songs on the album ("The House That Guilt Built," "Happy," and "She Sends Kisses"). I have in fact heard the rest of them, but I could not pick them out of a crowd, and when I play the Wrens on my iPod, it is these 3 songs. that said, I can see someone, perhaps even you, thinking they are boring or dull, or that not a lot is happening in the songs. The songs are very subtle in the way in which they build. I thought they were pretty dull the first time I listened, too. But now holy crap do I ever love these songs. Content-wise, they are overwrought as hell and the vocals are really affected so I usually have absolutely no fucking clue as to what these guys are saying (but oh man, the delivery on "I walk it down/this tourist town" is just brilliant), but I think the lyrics are pretty good, for what it is worth. Me from about 3 or 4 or 5 years ago, me who was pretty continually being devastated by one girl or another, would have shit himself if he knew these songs. I am absolutely nowhere near that mindset now, but still, I guess I can appreciate where these guys are coming from, and damn if it doesn't resonate a little with me. So yeah, even if I am not necessary crying little tears along with these guys, I still appreciate a little open up the wounds boo hoo hoo mope rock. It doesn't hurt that they are wonderfully crafted songs, too.
Can the remaining songs be as good? I am almost too afraid to find out, really. I am so perfectly content with these songs being as good as they are I am not that curious. I know that "Adam" and "content with music" have not necessarily been all that compatible as of late, but that is the case here. Also I have been listening to a lot of heavy metal lately. I am a big dork, I'll pretty readily admit. It is a lot of fun and pretty fascinating to me, but that is really enough for a different post on a different day, I suppose.
As far as life goes I am not complaining too much, I saw a band from Prince George today. They were pretty fun, and the venue was this pretty cool little dinghy building with no realy purpose, yet was too small for me to consider it a warehouse. My favourite act of the night was a young lady would had pretty bad lyrics, but a wonderful sense of melody. I quite enjoyed her songs, even if the lyrics were not what I was too fond of. I had a few beers, which were sufficiently tasty.
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| Yo La Tengo! |
[05.15.2007 @ 00:52] |
You know those moments where you "get" a band? It is the absolute dumbest way to describe it really, because it doesn't describe it at all - I'm really just hoping that at some point in your life you have had a similar experience, and will read this and think "oh yeah, I know what he is talking about." To elaborate, it is for me where a certain song/CD/band goes from being something I find inoffensive but have heard all manner of kudos about (and you can really find all manners of kudos about all manner of bands on the internet these days), and then I have this certain moment or song where it goes from that to being a song that I really genuinely love. I have gone from "meh, it isn't bad" to "holy hell awesome."
So anyway, the context for all this is this just happened to me for every Immortal album that isn't Sons Of Northern Darkness. Now I love SoND. It is one of my favourite albums ever ever ever. I have had some of their other albums, and never really felt the same about them. They are rougher and uglier, and the drums make everything into one big giant cacophony, whereas SoND has some pretty thick production, while still being heavy and blistering and all those lovely things that black metal is. But just now, I am listening to Pure Holocaust, and holy cow am I loving it. Feeling slightly bad for my roommates that are going to be hearing me listen to "As The Eternity Opens" at 1 in the morning.
I also want to make a list of all my favourite black metal albums and post it here. I know nobody will probably care, because black metal is not a particularly high profile music (or even all the pleasant a lot of the time) and the band members are usully doing silly things in cold parts of the world. Nonetheless, if I do, I will write something about it such that people who do not like heavy metal at all might get some fun reading.
I am sorry to anyone who thought this post might be about the band Yo La Tengo. They are very good too, though!
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| I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet) |
[05.6.2007 @ 00:38] |
Hey dudes. You may have been wondering what I have been up to. Basically, I have been acclimatizing to my new digs. They are cool for many reasons. One, it is nice and cozy, and it is an honest actualy apartment, and not some place at school. I don't really know why, since I've always liked the places I've lived in at school, but I like that fact. It is clsoe to bus routes, one to downtown, one to school/the skytrain (in opposite directions). Travel times whereever I would end up needing to go seem pretty reasonable. The apartment building is kind of right on a main drag, but the neighbourhoods around it seem really quiet and nice. I walked around for about an hour today, and it was neat. My roommates are rad, and I am pretty good friends with them (from before I moved in - I am a pretty friendly guy but I am not sure I would be saying I was good friends with them if I only knew them for a week). There are cats. They shed a lot, but I can live with that. It gives me incentive for regular vacuuming. They are sleeping in and around my futon. Awesome/cute. Perhaps I will take pictures off my space. One wall of my room is all window, so it has a pretty neat view, but I usually keep the blinds closed for light/privacy reasons.
Other than that I've spent the last few days playing God Of War. I know I may probably some 2 years behind the train here, but holy hell is it a fun game. I will freely admit that for the level of nerd I am I do not play all that many videogames that don't contain the words "Final Fantasy," "NHL." or "Streetfighter" in the title somewhere (Baldur's Gate and SNK games being pretty much the only exceptions). I know it is a good game, because I am still having fun after playing it for like, 6 hours today (jesus how long has it been since I played this much in a day, let alone a week), and because I don't think an hour has gone by without me saying "Holy shit, that was neat." I can hardly wait to play the second one when I am finished.
I saw Spiderman last night, and I am not really even sure if I watched a movie or not. Basically every bit of my opinion is leaning towards it was dogshit, because, lets face it, in a spoiler free fashion, it was. I also thought Spidey 2 was crap, but this was crap on a whole other level. In spite of that, it did get some laughs out of me, but really only when it completely abandoned the facade that it was in fact, a film, and not just Tobey Macguire fucking around. Then they tried to make it a movie again and it was stupid once more. Oh well. The indisputable best part was the absolutely perfect trailer for Harry Potter 5. Emily. Aimee. This movie is going to be awesome. We need to see it. If it is bad, we can just go home and watch the trailer over and over again, because it was a real good trailer.
After I bid my movie watching party goodnight, I walked around downtown for a bid. There was a weird carnival atmosphere
on Granville, and it was kinda neat, at least until ran into the skytrain full of really drunk 14 year olds. Nonetheless, a pleasant evening. Finally, anyone who says they don't like Weezer, specifically Pinkerton, they are dirty liars
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| Goddamn it |
[05.4.2007 @ 00:38] |
Matt Good, you are so wonderful still.
To the Vancouver Canucks, I'm going to miss you this summer. Number 8 in the league, but number 1 in my heart.
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| Under The Sign Of Hell |
[04.29.2007 @ 22:59] |
Hey guys, I have finally moved out of residence for good. It did not take very long (aside from the obvious "it took five years" comments. I am not done with school, as I still have some classes left. They will be done in June and then it is wating for the graduation train to arrive at the convocation station.
I just watched a really neat documentary on Norwegian black metal, specifically, Gorgoroth, and even MORE specifically, the lead singer Gaahl, who is, as expected, quite weird. Norway is gorgeous, and with the exception of one part, it was really interesting. In its honour, I am listening to some Gorgoroth now. Check it out here, it gives a good short overview of the genre at the beginning of the show, if you have no idea what it is - it is also only about 25 minutes long, so it is pretty short. The people sound really silly, but their music shreds. If "shredding" and "destroying" are not actions you like to have your music perform, black metal may not before you. If you take everything SUPER SERIOUS then black metal might not be for you. Half of the fun is the awesome heavy music, and the other have is the juxtaposition with how silly the images are. The two are intertwined no matter what, but it is very possible to like the music without buying into the hella odd image.
I have lots of things to do tomorrow. Mainly shopping for food, coaxial cable, and organising my room a little further. Also, Cats. One is sleeping on my bed now. I really wish he did not shed so much, though. I got my tax refund in the mail today, so maybe I will buy myself something nice while I am out.
The title is a little misleading, I will admit. The Gorgoroth album I am listening to is Destroyer, not Under The SIgn Of Hell
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| At this point |
[04.7.2007 @ 02:50] |
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I would like to point out that the Canadians are officially champions of the world at Trivial Pursuit.
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| A poem |
[04.3.2007 @ 17:53] |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) quadro_ellen sez: April is National Poetry Month so when you see this, post a poem you like on your LJ.
So, I reply with
The Eagle, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
We watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
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| Didn't even have to use my AK |
[04.1.2007 @ 01:22] |
All things considered, not a bad day. Kathleen and I went down to kits and parked on 3rd Avenue, and then walked around one of the nicer parts of town for a bit. The cherry trees were stating to blossom and we looked at nice houses and I bemoaned the horrible fate of Real Estate Agents. We ad some Pad Thai at a place called Yummy Thai (it was pretty tasty, and there was plenty), and then walked over to Zulu records (first time I was in a record store in aaaaaaages). I almost bought Ween's White Pepper but then I saw a brand new copy of the Mountain Goats' The Coroner's Gambit for a VERY reasonable price (a good 6 dollars less than your average tMG album). Since it is fabulous and was my current favourite Mountain Goats album, I bought it. We went to safeway and bought food for dinner.
After that we went to UBC and tried to convince my roommate to come for a walk, but she wasn't biting. So we set off again and I showed her all the neat shit my school has. We got into the Japanese Gardens (Nitobe) for free, and walked around in there. The last time I was there it was 2005 and January and 2 AM and I wasn't exactly in an appreciative state of mind. After that I showed her cherry trees that always go on the front page of the paper, and they were just about to explode into a gorgeous pink. Still pretty though. After that we walked the several hundred step down to Wreck Beach, Vancouver's only nude beach. It is usually frequented by naked hippies selling drugs. It was really windy and there were Bald Eagles flying overhead doing Bald Eagle shit (spreading freedom perhaps, manifest destiny of the skies). We walked along the beach and saw a hippy selling drugs, a whole lot of people smoking weed, and a bunch of naked and half naked people at a hippy party around the corner from the main beach. As it turns out, I only ended up seeing a few butts, which frankly is fine by me. We walked home, and then I watched the hockey game. The hockey game went abyssmaly. At least Minnesota also lost tonight, so we didn't lose any ground in that race, at least. I hope this really crappy first two periods kick the Canucks in the ass and they shape up and come out flying come the playoffs. We are not quite playoff ready yet, I don't think. In any case, that was about that. I played a fishing mingame in Final Fantasy 12, and that has been about it. A whole lot of tea, and also pasta.
This is my blog and you are reading it.
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| nicked from Alex |
[03.25.2007 @ 17:55] |
Comment and I will:
1 - Tell you why I friended you.
2 - Associate you with a song/film.
3 - Tell a random fact about you.
4 - Tell a first memory about you.
5 - Associate you with a character/pairing.
6 - Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
7 - Tell you my favorite user pic of yours [if it pertains].
8 - In return, you must spread this meme in your LJ [or blog].
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| :*( |
[03.25.2007 @ 02:36] |
I just finished reading all of Sandman
I am a giant wiener.
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| Homph homph di- I mean fish |
[03.23.2007 @ 00:48] |
Okay I seriously need to eat sushi now. I really desperately feel the desire to eat just buckets upon buckets of salmon sashimi, doused in soy sauce that has been liberally mixed in with wasabi. I thought that maybe playing a video game would help this craving I am having but I really just want to eat that delicious food, you guys. I will rectify this situation by going out and eating some Sushi at the nice place upstairs in the University Village. It isn't top of the line, but it will do.
ALso for them most part this new Explosions in the Sky album sounds just like every other Explosions in the Sky album. Oh well. I still like The Earth Is Not A Cold, Dead, Place. I am just not very sure if I can take another album that sounds like most every other one. Post-rock - kind of dull now? Or am I just migrating my taste away from its constantly cresting sounds? Stay tuned?
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| How's It Gonna Be? |
[03.19.2007 @ 02:05] |
Adam's Brain: Adam, you know that you could write your essay a lot better if you instead stayed up until 2 in the morning learning how to play 1998's best pop-rock hits on your guitar.
Adam: OK
And now it is 2 AM and I am living with the sad realisation that I will never be able to bring myself to buy Third Eye Blind's self titled album, no matter how catchy the songs are.
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| A query |
[03.13.2007 @ 23:39] |
Hey internet
Why do you blog? I'm kind of curious. I know we might not consider an LJ a blog when compared to something like Rands In Repose or any of a million other places where they have their own websites and topics, but lets face it, LJ is more or less a low-level blog. My roommate michelle is entirely opposed to the concept of a personal blog. Her point of view is that you are either really attention-starved or really vain if you start a blog. I'm going to go ahead and assume that she was meaning a more personal blog on the level of a livejournal "here's what I ate/here's what I did," and less an "essays on software engineering" type thing.
Why do I do it? Why do I maintain an LJ?
- I like reading about the things that people I know and like do, I like that sense of a community (this is probably the number one reason, since my "check friend's list/post" ratio is staggeringly high, especially the last 6 months when I have basically said nothing
- sometimes it is good to type things out
- I guess also I am vain
yourself?
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| Dammit |
[03.11.2007 @ 03:16] |
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et tu, time change?
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| I got a new work PC today! |
[08.3.2006 @ 17:46] |
| [ |
music |
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KOS - Joyful Rebellion |
] |
I upgraded from 866 Mhz, 10 Gb, and 256mB of RAM to 2.0Ghz, 40 GB, and 1.5 MB of RAM, and all because my hard drive died sometime in the night. Thank god, because I was sick of that piece of shit computer that wouldn't let me do jack shit (especially since we do lots of shit w/ big files at my work).
Also there is only one day of work left till vacation! I probably won't update this while I am in NYC, but I'll try to remember to get hella pictures. In short, it will be blast! I saw the fireworks last night and the explosions were very big and expensive looking. I suppose that was what they were shooting for. Quite enjoyable.
Uhhhhh that's all I got. Everyone come to new york next week.
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| It just keeps getting better |
[07.23.2006 @ 23:58] |
Baldurs Gate is sooooooooo good. Right at the very very end now, going to beat it tomorrow. There was a level in Watcher's Keep where it was an old fashioned Text adventure (go North, Go South, etc). Love it so much
Weekend was good. Saw Pirates finally, and sweltered because it is very very hot here. That is about it. Work should be interesting this week.
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| Everybody here got fired |
[07.21.2006 @ 00:22] |
| [ |
music |
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Strapping Young Lad - City |
] |
No foolin'. They are closing our office down it appears, and pretty much everyone that wasn't a co-op went to a meeting with the executive team today, then everyone got told in a one on one what their severence package was. For most people, it was "you are laid off or you can go work in Washington, DC." I'm not to sure what this holds for me. A manager told me that I would be fine and everything would be the same for me, but still I have to be a little curious. I figure I will either have the end of my contract bought out, or maybe even there is a small chance I could be working in Washington DC for a few months. I actually think that would be pretty interesing, but I doubt it will happen.
That's all I got. I feel kind of bad for the 100+ people that got fired today but no one seemed that bothered by it.
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| Pretty much horrible |
[07.12.2006 @ 12:39] |
I was just eating a Nectarine, and halfway through eating it, the pit kind of fell apart (like they sometimes do) and there was a spider inside. It was awful. I threw the nectarine out the window so some animal can eat it and so fruit flies won't gang up on the half eaten fruit in my garbage.
Guys.
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| My My |
[07.7.2006 @ 00:08] |
Also:
fuck canker sore auggh
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| Hey hey |
[07.7.2006 @ 00:06] |
| [ |
music |
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DHJ Shadow - Endtroducing |
] |
So I bought a guitar this week. An amp too. More details in a post tomrrow (pictures, namely), but in the interest of not leaving a cliffhanger it is a black Gretsch Jet and an AD50VT Vox Amp. Good times, I have been playing them so much lately, since they are my new toys, and probably my last new ones for a while, with the exceptions of a few CDs.
I am working a short short week this week because I got monday off for Canada Day and then tuesday for july 4th (why I have no idea), and since we shipped a product successfully, we are having a big party at the beach tomorrow afternoon. So 2.5 days of work. Not too shabby.
In what little time I do have to spend at wor tomorrow, I have hella new albums to listen to tomorrow. A new one (to me anyways) from Deathspell Omega, and the new leaks from The Mars Volta and Matthew Friedberger (actually 2 albums - he's one half the fiery furnaces), and to cap it off there is a Godflesh album I should listen to more, since I really love Jesu.
I misplaced my work passcard this morning and spent a good 15 minutes looking for it. I hope I don't do it again tomorrow. Steph has really really blue eyes sometimes.
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