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?
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…
this city
I finished my English course last week so I only have my Sociology course remaining this summer. Unfortunately it’s at 1:30-2:30 Monday – Thursday, so that’s quite inconvenient for me. I’ve been doing a lot of things (none of which have been entirely productive) with my friends, which is really good. I managed to get us on the guestlist for DJ Sets Andy Butler (Hercules & Love Affair) and Pat Mahoney (LCD Soundsystem) at Celebrities the other week. The first hour at any show or dance thing (club? I hate the connotations behind clubs and clubbing) is always difficult to dance through. This is probably due to the fact that most people aren’t dancing in the beginning. Whatever. We didn’t care and the music (go listen to H&LA!) was great so we shook our little booties. Everyone loved Rob’s suspenders, snapping them here and there. And many boys loved Kristina; too bad they had horrible pick-up lines! Oh, and I give Celebrities a big thumbs up for clean bathrooms and glasses of water for free. Wow!
Last night we checked out The Cheaper Show at the old Storyeum building. 150 artists showing and everything is $200. The line up was suuuuuuuuper long (we didn’t anticipate this!) because admission was free; however, we saw some people we knew and slid our way in. Don’t hate – I’m sure everyone knew someone in that lineup and did the same thing. There was a lot of stuff I liked and probably 70% of the pieces featured that terrific red dot by the time we got in (8:30pm). Hurray for art!
