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25 days, 1 hour and 58 minutes left!

I'm excited for Christmas this year. I can tell it'll be a pretty busy one, as I've got about three different musical performances to be rehearsing for, plus school-work, plus PRESENTS. I've got to buy some, and make others. What am I making?

Can't tell you that.

Anyway, I'm really excited because my mum just ordered my presents. I don't think I'll have many surprises from my parents, because I was given a gift budget and my list ended up being just 42p over it. At least it's all on the way now!

I wanted to ask for Oingo Boingo's Farewell DVD, but it's just too expensive. I'm going to save up some money and get it at a different time, though. Instead, I'm getting...

- An Ipod (green...tasty)
- Forbidden Zone on DVD - I eventually chose to get it in black and white (better features) and signed by Richard Elfman
- Devo's The Complete Truth About De-Evolution / Devo Live DVD
- The Only A Lad and Boingo albums by Oingo Boingo

BOOYAH!

I got some clothes today with some early Christmas money from my aunt - some nice warm jumpers and a pair of jeans. I'll need them with this weather.

I've been doodling some festive art too, just to get myself in the spirit of things. Not that I need much help.

AHH! Now it's only 25 days, 1 hour and 43 minutes until Christmas!

Downloading that countdown sidebar gadget was a bad idea.



25 DAYS, 1 HOUR AND 42 MINUTES!

Edit: 25 DAYS, 1 HOUR AND 41 MINUTES!

I was born in 1990 and live in Toronto, Canada.
I saw some shitty concerts because I liked shitty music.


Dec 1999 - Peter Gabriel
Jul 2004 - Eric Clapton
Aug 2004 - Rush (ugh)
Aug 2005 - Iron Maiden
Dec 2005 - The Musical Box
Apr 2006 - David Gilmour
Jul 2006 - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Sep 2006 - Roger Waters
Dec 2006 - The Musical Box
Sep 2007 - Smashing Pumpkins
Sep 2008 - My Bloody Valentine
Jun 2009 - Sonic Youth
Jul 2009 - Japandroids
Aug 2009 - Fleet Foxes
Oct 2009 - Manic Street Preachers
Oct 2009 - Daniel Johnston
Oct 2009 - Echo & The Bunnymen
Nov 2009 - Devo

With the Kate Bush odyssey complete, it looks like I have a couple of "one-shot" musicians to go through before I arrive at another artist from whom I amassed a significant chunk of discography. This first one-shot would be Chris Butler's 2001 album Easy Life. This will be particularly interesting because I believe I've only ever listened to this disc once.

This is another album which takes me back to WAIH, like so many of the discs in my collection do. Several copies of Easy Life arrived at the station along with plastic figures of the cell phone yakking, coffee-drinking Buddha featured on the cover. I yanked a copy of the disc and one of the Buddhas for myself, amused that the figure not only squeaked when squeezed but that it's arm moved in such a way that it looked like he was taking a sip of coffee when you squeezed him.

One Buddha was left in WAIH's air studio, but I don't doubt it's been yoinked by now.

Easy Life contains a total of 18 unique tracks (or 17, if you disqualify "Easy Life (redux)"), six of which are spoken-word pieces. Four of these seven at the end of the disc (plus one song divided into two parts) are collectively titled "Beggar's Bullets." These tracks, according to the liner notes were, "recorded in 1989 at [Butler's] house...for the 20th anniversary of the murders of four students at Kent State University."

The remaining spoken word piece - "Pigeons" - opens the disc with an amusing tale about a "rat with wings" that refused to learn how to fly.

Butler's musical home base was Akron, Ohio, home to Devo and The Pretenders. His "group" circa 1980 was The Waitresses, best known for their quirky hit "I Know What Boys Like." The Waitresses sole LP, Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful? was written and recorded entirely by Butler with the exception of the vocals, for which he wisely recruited Patty Donahue. I say wisely because, in the course of listening to Easy Life (over now eight tracks) I can say that Butler does not have a particularly impressive singing voice.

After three years, The Waitresses imploded. Butler attempted to revive the group, but ultimately gave up on the concept after nothing came to fruition. He spent the next decade producing albums for other musicians before returning to his own work.

Months prior to the release of Easy Life, Butler attempted to make a Spinal Tap for the Europop crowd with Kilopop! Two songs from that disc, "Millions and Millions" along with "Red Drinks! Red Drinks! (Your Life Stinks)" reappear on this set. Of the two, "Millions" is the better song.

Stylistically, this disc is all over the place. There's a bit of jazz on one song, giving way to new wave on another and then pop a la XTC on yet another. The effect can be somewhat jarring, though it is not boring.

Standout tracks upon this first listen in a very long time (I reviewed the album in 2001 for WAIH, it is now the tail end of 2009) are "Convenience" and "My Hometown." Those "XTC pop" tracks I mentioned not long ago - "Easy Life" and "Millions and Millions."

Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of this album. I don't dislike it, but I don't know if I'll be visiting it again very often. For me, the most compelling segment of the album is the spoken-word finale "Beggar's Bullets." The first salvo, "Shit Hits Fan, Friday Evening, May 1st" sets the scene for what would happen three days later: The Kent State Massacre. Butler also tells an amusing story about what Jerry Garcia was really like.

I'm super excited. Mene joins me for the next four weeks! I'm pretty sure this means dance, dance, dance party. Tune in on December 13th when she'll fly solo for the first time. Hot tracks.

Playlist:
Soupir - Larmes De Metal

Metronomy - Heartbreaker (Diskjokke Remix)

Raz Ohara & The Odd Orchestra - The Burning (Desire) (Raz came out with his second album, II, on Get Physical October 23rd)

Alex Gopher W/ Demon - Use Me

Junior Boys - Bits and Pieces (I love the Junior Boys. This track comes from Begone Dull Care)

Boys Noize - Nott (comes from Power, released September 28th on Last Gang Records)

Rival Consoles - 1985 (from the September 29th release entitled IO, out on Erased Tapes)

Vitaminsforyou - one nite stand (This electro-savvy guy from Winnipeg is extremely talented. I'm so glad he's got this new album He closed his eyes so he could dance with you out on Raw Youth Records. Released March 17th, 2009)

Junk Culture - My Two Hands (from the album West Coast out on Illegal Art)

AGF/Delay - Downtown Snow(A beautiful little bit from the collaborative release between AGF and Vladislav Delay called Symptoms released March 9, 2009 on Bpitch Control)

Alva Noto - u_01-2-0

Xenoglosia - Cat Face Ship Licker (A local artist came out with the album Cindy is a Windy Ghost on Fullcode Media)

Chromeo - Tenderoni (Etienne de Crecy remix)

Things I'm Enjoying:
Dark songs: Black Heart Procession are excellent at this. While their newest album, Six, is a lot of what they've done with less saw, it's still a wonderfully morbid album.

I've been listening to so much depressing music, Mesh in particular. I wrote a review of Devo's Q:Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! and decided that they were foreshadowing the apocalypse. It's really happy music and very humorous but I'm pretty sure they hint at the world ending. Come on, a song about a mongoloid? Okay.

I've been listening to Empress before going to bed. It's the epitome of minimal drone. There are two cassettes and the only difference is the second's drone is a slightly higher frequency. Great bedtime music.

The Books, who are coming to Calgary this Thursday! They've always done such interesting work incorporating brilliant samples and weird sounds. Someone once described them to me as nirvanic. I think he was high but The Books are really good. Really.

New Releases November 16th, 2009 - November 22nd, 2009:
November 16, 2009: AGF / Delay - Connection Remixes (Bpitch Control)
November 17, 2009: Luc Ferrari - Les Arythmiques (Blue Chopsticks)
November 17, 2009: Jabberjaw - The Garden Of Eden (Ghostly)
November 23, 2009: Lone - Ecstasy & Friends (Werk Discs)
November 24, 2009: Antye Greie - Einelkampfer (Lone Warrier) (AGF PRODUKTION)

Seeing as I've just been on a downloading spree of random artists, I thought I'd make a little list of all of the stuff on my MP3 player right now. The actual thing is falling apart - I'm asking for an iPod this Christmas.

Bloc Party - Only two songs from them that I bought ages ago.
Blur - Downloaded these the other night.
Brain Damage - One free last.fm download. Oh yeah.
Chromeo - I bought their Fancy Footwork a while ago, and I still listen to a few of the tracks when I feel like it.
Danny Elfman - Through my obsession with Oingo Boingo, I've started listening to Danny's soundtracks. I've got stuff from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Taking Woodstock, The Nightmare Before Christmas and a few other random tracks.
Devo - Of course. I don't have many of their songs, but I got a few new ones the other night. I just heard Wiggly World for the first time yesterday, and I just had to get it right away.
Dracula Biscuits - Last.fm free downloads, again. ^,____,^
Elastica - After reading about them on Mookychick, I felt like downloading some of their stuff. It's all awesome, but then I always think I've got Wire on my MP3 player.
Green Day - No, not their new stuff. Two songs I quite like - Longview and a live version of Minority.
Kate Bush - Only a few tracks, but really epic ones. I put on some tracks from Aerial that I remember listening to when my dad bought the album. Also, I had to put on Wuthering Heights.
Kraftwerk - Thanks to a particular user here putting the video of Pocket Calculator in a group discussion, I've found that I quite like them. I've only got that and another track, though. I need to try and listen to more of their stuff.
Lemon Demon - I don't listen to them as much now, but I still have a few songs.
Logan Whitehurst & the Junior Science Club - Last.fm free downloads...but very good ones.
Magazine - I only have The Great Beautician in the Sky, but it's awesome.
Messer Chups - Awesome free downloads.
Naughty Zombies - Free downloads.
Oingo Boingo - Ah hah hah hah hah! My favourites. You can probably tell that Boingo dominates my library. I've got over 100 OB tracks on my MP3 player right now. A lot of them are live tracks - the best ones, obviously.
Polysics - From a while back. I bought about three of their albums ages ago.
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Downloaded a few the other night. I think I need to listen to more.
Sparks - I saw Kimono My House in a music store a week ago for £5 and had to get it straight away. It was an awesome buy.
Talking Heads - Two songs I bought a while back.
The B-52's - Bought their self-titled album at the same time I bought the Sparks album. Also a fiver, also awesome.
The CamPanulas - Free downloads. Good free downloads.
The Cure - Another band I need to listen to more. I only have two of their songs.
The Hives - Two songs I bought a while back.
The Specials - I bought one of their albums a while back, but I've gone off ska slightly and I've only got a few songs.
The Sway - Thanks to Audiosurf for introducing me, thanks to last.fm for the downloads.
The Undertones - I put Teenage Kicks on my MP3 player because I think our band are going to be playing this for the school talent show. Also, it's a cool song.
The Waitresses - I only have a few songs because I can't download more. I'll be playing Christmas Wrapping a lot soon...
The White Stripes - Songs I got ages ago, but still listen to now and again.
Tom Tom Club - Remember Vodaphone's Free Music Friday? I got Wordy Rappinghood on impulse and it's still pretty good.
Vampire Weekend - I got their album for Christmas last year. It's neat.
Vernian Process - Free downloads galore!
Wall of Voodoo - A few good tracks.
Weezer - Got some songs a while ago, but I've been listening to them again after playing them too much before. I made myself a little sick of their music, but I'm okay now.
Weird Al Yankovic - Of course, I've got the Devo and Oingo Boingo style parody songs. ^,_____,O
XTC - I figured it was about time I got their songs on my MP3 player.


I've got about 340 tracks...I need more.

Architecture in Helsinki
Art vs Science x2

Band of Horses

Bjork

British India

The Cassette Kids

Coldplay

Cold War Kids

Cut Copy

Cut Copy DJS

Crystal Method DJs

Dappled Cities

Dananananaykroyd

Devo

Dizzee Rascall
Faker

The Flaming Lips

The Fratellis

Friendly Fires

Grafton Primary

The Grates

Hadouken!

Happy Mondays

The Hilltop Hoods x2

Hot Chip

I Heart Hiroshima

Jet

John Farnham

Little Birdy

Lupe Fiasco

The Lost Valentinos

Love Tattoo Djs

Marcia Hines

The Mess Hall

MGMT

Muse

MSTRKRFT

Operator Please

Peaches and Herms

Peewee Ferris

Pendulum

Pete Murray

Pnau x2

The Presets x6

The Prodigy

Rage Against the Machine

Scribe

Sia

Sigur Ros

Shy Child

Snowman

Spank Rock

Taylor Swift

The Ting Tings

The Touch

TV On The Radio

Vampire Weekend

Van She

Van She Tech

The Vines

Wolfmother

Wolf and Cub

The Wombats

Yves Klein Blue

Yuksek

(:

p.s why some of the links aren't working, i don't know.

Won't put it on my profile, because it's already far too long:



metawirt's top 50 albums (overall)
1. Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth (279)

2. The Gun Club - Fire of Love (222)

3. Die Skeptiker - Harte Zeiten (183)

4. Kevin Blechdom - Eat My Heart Out (165)

5. Gudrun Gut - I Put A Record On (163)

6. Au Pairs - Playing With a Different Sex (162)

7. Attwenger - Dog (161)

8. Von Südenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions (161)

9. Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Cow Fingers And Mosquito Pie (160)

10. Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (160)

11. Audionom - Retrospektiv (153) 12. Attwenger - Sun (152)

13. Thee Headcoats - Beached Earls (149)

14. Butthole Surfers - Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac (149)

15. Fred Frith - Speechless (149)

16. The Beguiled - Blue Dirge (146)

17. Death From Above 1979 - You're A Woman, I'm A Machine (146)

18. The Gossip - That's Not What I Heard (146)

19. The Jazz Butcher - A Scandal in Bohemia (144)

20. Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom (144)

21. Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade (138)

22. Au Pairs - Equal But Different - BBC Sessions 1979-1981 (135)

23. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (135)

24. Grinderman - Grinderman (131)

25. Die Haut - Sweat (130)

26. mclusky - mclusky Do Dallas (128)

27. Big Black - The Hammer Party (125)

28. The Tiger Lillies - Ad Nauseam (124)

29. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Paint Your Wagon (124)

30. International Pony - We Love Music (123)

31. Lydia Lunch with the Anubian Lights - Champagne, Cocaine & Nicotine Stains (122)

32. The Jazz Butcher - The Gift Of Music (121)

33. Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (120)

34. New Bomb Turks - !!Destroy-Oh-Boy!! (120)

35. Andre Williams - The Black Godfather (119)

36. A.K. Klosowski & Pyrolator - Home Taping Is Killing Music (119) 37. Oblivians - Play 9 songs with Mr. Quintron (118)

38. The Tiger Lillies - Low Life Lullabies (118)

39. The Moldy Peaches - The Moldy Peaches (118)

40. Billie Holiday - Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday On Columbia (1933-1944) (117)

41. Death in Vegas - The Contino Sessions (116)

42. Galaxie 500 - Peel Sessions (116)

43. The Martini Henry Rifles - Superbastard (113)

44. Blues Explosion - Damage (113)

45. Fun Lovin' Criminals - Come Find Yourself (112)

46. The Flying Lizards - The Flying Lizards (112)

47. Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast (111)

48. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Now I Got Worry (111)

49. The Jam - At the BBC (111)

50. Camper Van Beethoven - Telephone Free Landslide Victory (109)

___________________________________

^{My top 500 albums (list) | My top 50 albums (normalized)}

.

So ... what you do: open your music player (iTunes, WMP, whatever) and put it on shuffle. For each category, hit next and put the first song that starts playing! Don't cheat!

Opening credits:
Every Day Is Exactly The Same - Nine Inch Nails
Can't argue with that.

Waking up:
Like Someone In Love - Björk

Average day:
Sin - Nine Inch Nails

First date:
Who Is It? - Björk
wow is iTunes only gonna choose the same two artists?

Falling in love:
Big Time - Peter Gabriel
well i certainly fell in love with this song!

Fight scene:
Human Behavior - Björk

Breaking up:
Cut The Concrete - Fred Schneider
love this song!

Getting back together:
Rammlied - Rammstein

Secret love:
Road To Somewhere - Goldfrapp
oh great, a song from Seventh Tree. I could never really get into that album.

Life's okay:
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) - Talking Heads
this actually kind of fits.

Mental breakdown:
Survivalism - Nine Inch Nails

Driving:
Boonga (The New Jersey Caveman) - Fred Schneider
i would listen to this while driving.

Learning a lesson:
God Save The Queen - Sex Pistols

Deep thought:
Post Post-Modern Man (Ultra Post Modern dub) - Devo
If i had a pencil...

Flashback:
Mephisto Waltz - Misfits
my dad used to always play the Misfits when i was younger so this might make sense

Partying:
Space Junk - Devo
this would be one cool, cool party for spuds who were through being cool

Happy dance:
Slipping Away - Nine Inch Nails
I don't think NIN songs are considered to be 'Happy dance' songs, especially not this one, but whatever.

Regretting:
Working in the Coal Mine - Devo
LORD. I AM SO TIRED. HOW LONG CAN THIS GO ON?

Long night alone:
Cars - Gary Numan

Death scene:
La Mer - Nine Inch Nails
hmmm... depends on the type of death scene, but I think this would probably fit.