good timing.
It’s the long weekend here in B.C. and it was probably the best long weekend to date, as far as I can remember! Rob and I went to the Powell Street Festival, which is an annual celebration of Japanese arts and culture. Instead of going to the fireworks (which I never go to anyway, but that’s a different story), we headed out to see Shugo Tokumaru!! It was really amazing and adorable and intimate (about 75 people?) and just as I had expected it to be. He had Yumiko (who has a separate project called Meso Meso) play the accordion and toys (wind up birds, kazoos, bird flutes, bells, whistles, triangles, xylophones). It was awesome.
The following day we went back to the Festival (Rob really wanted to eat his favourite dessert, imagawayaki, a red bean pancake), this time with Kristina in tow to see him play again, in a festival setting. I am pretty sure he won a lot of hearts yesterday. We met Ian, who will be putting out Shugo’s record in North America, and actually met and hung out with Shugo and Yumiko for an hour or so. I really need to review my Japanese, that’s all I have to say. I apologize to them for butchering their beautiful language.
Yesterday made me love the city that I live in, even though it’s “No Fun”.
I’ve been in another place lately (school, life, oh I got a job!) so I will be posting the questions received very soon! I apologize. BUT – Shugo will be coming back to North America, playing a few shows in September, and I highly recommend you check him out. Ian told us that the label is trying to get members of Beirut and The National to back him up this time – which would be absolutely brilliant!!!
en plus
Another reason to love Zooey Deschanel! Here’s the video for She and Him…Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
ask an asian
In an attempt to make this blogging more habitual (and possibly gain some more readers), I invite individuals with concerns, gripes, and/or questions to write me an email at dirtybootQ@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer it! Please note that I am not a professional. I am still in school and studying Sociology. Think of me more as an objective friend that one would confide in or vent to in times of despair/anger/whatever.
Please be aware that I may post your question on the blog every now and then (hence the excellent fake names you will be using), and probably for the time being…I will post just about every email I receive, unless it’s really stupid/insulting. ha-ha. I think I give pretty sound advice.
Rob (Fine Arts) and Kristina (Psychology) will also be helping out, so you’re in excellent hands.
shut in//shut out
If you haven’t already heard/read about it, the top ten shortlist for this year’s Polaris Music Prize has been released:
Where is Sunset Rubdown? They didn’t even make the long list? What?
caution
Do the majority of young people think that he or she is a critic (music/film/dining) these days, or that critiquing is the easiest job in the world and just about anyone can do it? It completely angers me when individuals who don’t like a certain genre of music (ie, those who have “everything BUT country” in their music interests section on their facebook/myspace page) “critique” music of that particular genre. Or those individuals who actually have zero opinion and basically like everything that is “cool” at the moment. And the worst type of these so-called critics are those who actually have no music knowledge – you know, old music.
I take music reviews very seriously (judging by this post, maybe a little too much). I trust a small number of publications and people for music advice because I know they will give me an objective review. A few months ago I found myself flipping through a magazine and came across a review for The Magnetic Fields’ new album, Distortion:
…I am giving this album a bad review on the basis that its contrived and only appeals to chicks and the high school version of myself.
I honestly wanted to rip this magazine into shreds, call the office and yell at the music editor, but I couldn’t because a dear friend is a part of this publication. Instead, I stared at the review and read it over and over and let it consume me. I went home and put on the album (YES I BOUGHT IT) and listened to it twice. I asked Rob what he thought. I asked my friends what they thought. I looked online to read what music critics thought. And the general consensus was that the album was fun and solid. Fun and solid = good.
So who is right? Granted, not everyone is going to agree on the same thing. Tastes differ. Did he not like the album simply because everyone else did? Was I angered by this review simply because of the fact that he didn’t like it, and I couldn’t fathom how one could not like the album? I don’t know. By no means am I saying that I have the qualifications to be a better music critic, but I believe I am more angered by the fact that this magazine does not take music reviews seriously, but sees it more as filler. Individuals who wish to contribute to the magazine often do music reviews. Are these reviewers trying to mimic the dry, sarcastic tone of Vice magazine? I don’t get it. I just don’t get how music reviews are simply dismissed. Is it because people don’t buy cds anymore? Nobody cares? THEN GET RID OF THE MUSIC REVIEW SECTION!! PUT IN SOME FUCKING CLASSIFIEDS OR MAKE UP SOME MISSED CONNECTIONS…
On a side note, I find it amusing that this frustration has remained in my system for so long, considering the album came out in January…
