Dark Clouds Can't Stop Me!

This past Saturday I went to Lilith Fair, thereby fulfilling one of my life goals: seeing Sarah McLachlan live in concert! Me and a friend showed up at Molson Amphitheatre at 3 PM and faced the worst kind of pouring rain ever. We had ponchos and umbrellas, but we also had lawn seats so there was nothing to really protect us from the elements. Thankfully, it wasn't cold at all and the experience was generally fun and Woodstockian (for lack of a better term). We set up camp in front of the main stage (in the lawn seats) and had a clear view of BMO field, so we pretty much watched the TFC game live. But since we were at the main stage, we didn't get to see any of the side acts.

Amazingly, just as the main stage acts started the weather let up a bit!




The performers on the main stage were Court Yard Hounds, Chantal Kreviazuk, Lights, Mary J. Blige, and Sarah McLachlan. Of course they were all awesome, but I was surprisingly most impressed by Mary J. Blige. I say surprisingly because I've already seen her in concert, so I wasn't expecting anything I hadn't already seen before. But she not only busted out her best songs, but she also did One Love and STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN by Led Zepplin ZOMG. It was unreal. She had so much emotion and love for the crowd, I loved it.

Sarah was amazing of course. The moment she got on stage, I started screaming "DO ICE CREAM!!" hahahaha. She ended up doing it for the encore, which was amazing. I think I actually strained my vocal cords while singing the harmony for all her songs, LOL.






It was nearly 11:30 PM by the time we got out of Ontario Place; felt like I'd been hit by a mack truck the next morning, hahaha. Such a fun time. :)

Get Into It!

Today's musical subject is local band Elliott Brood. They apparently play "death country". Sounds more east coast than country to me, which is probably why I find it palatable. Here are three songs of theirs that I like best.

You're Waiting For A Train

Last weekend, I saw Inception. And I loved it more than I have loved a movie in a very long time. One of the things I liked best about the movie was the soundtrack, which I had to have. As it were, I have Thinky Thoughts regarding it. First, a few general comments:

- Apparently, Hans Zimmer scored the movie without having seen it; he just a brief summary of the story as Nolan told him. This is mind-blowing. Zimmer is a freaking genius.

- Specific attributes I enjoyed in the soundtrack include: use of rock guitar within orchestral structure, and creating music based on a few repeated notes and motifs, as opposed to the bold, epic stuff like Zimmer did with Gladiator. Which is another soundtrack I love, but it's very different.

- Every song is subtly creepy; Nolan originally wanted movie to be a horror film and it shows.

Of course, I have Thinky Thoughts about each song on the track. Be warned, HUGE SPOILERS approacheth! I kind of just went free-form, stream-of-consciousness with how each song made me feel/remember.

Half-Remembered Dream - strains of Time at the end, only made haunting. Short track, not much to say about it, but it sets the tone.

We Built Our Own World - unforgivably tragic, it reminds me of limbo; I see Cobb and Mal making sandcastles, I see him and Ariadne walking through dead streets. It reminds me of Mal holding a knife and Cobb taking it away.

Dream Is Collapsing - FRIGGING AMAZING, guitars alongside violins making magic. Sounds like time is running out, like things are unraveling, like fighting in zero-gravity, like a cascade of kicks that must be perfectly timed, like IMPENDING DOOOOOOM. So powerful.

Radical Notion - like a mixture of Dream Is Collapsing and We Built Our Own World; tragic but tense at the same time. Sounds like carefully planning out the inception in the latter half of the song, or when they're deciding on their next move in level 1, maybe even the initial heist with Saito.

Old Souls - Dreamy and nostalgic but shaky and edgy somehow too, happier times between Mal and Dom in limbo, or "you know where to find me", the children locked up in memories. Also, Ariadne manipulating and creating for the first time. For some reason, it reminds me of music from Shenmue taken to a whole new level.

528491 - CREEPIEST SONG ON THE SOUNDTRACK. Starts off vaguely disconcerting with rushed tenseness but the end is freaking terrifying. WHEN DOES THAT PART HAPPEN IN THE MOVIE I NEED TO KNOW. When the water bursts in at the beginning? When the train rams through level 1? NO IDEA.

Mombasa - Killer track, screams precision and 'action sequence', Cobb running through crowded streets and Arthur kicking ass on the way to the elevator. Use of electric guitar = A++ awesome; possibly the most fun track on the OST.

One Simple Idea - This is all Cobb doing the Mr. Charles gambit, everyone watching and waiting and hoping Fischer's militarized mind doesn't turn on them. Not the most memorable track, IMHO.

Dream Within A Dream - initially a callback to Dream Is Collapsing, but the orchestra sounds a lot more electronic somehow. Then it turns into a creepy version of Time. Really captures the essence of all the inception scenes, from jumping off buildings to kidnappings to the van flying off the bridge.

Waiting For A Train - reminiscent of Old Souls. This track is fairly long and quiet, Cobb remembering Mal or telling Ariadne exactly what happened. The hotel room scene, Mal jumping, especially at the end when things are still dreamy, but sad and nightmarish sounding. And then, non, je ne regrette rien, back to fighting in a hallway or shooting armed men on a snowy mountain, the dream is collapsing.

Paradox - Quiet, so quiet, walking down decrepit streets while tombs tower around you, slits of sunlight peeking between each structure, happy memories and creations that have decayed with time, and somewhere inside this world she's waiting for him. I know it has nothing to do with the paradox scene with Ariadne and Arthur, but that's what the music reminds me of.

Time - Oh this track, it moves me so. It's definitely the Cobb/Mal love theme. They are the heart of this movie. This song is epic and moving and tragic and hopeful all at the same time, so much done with eight little notes. Beautiful pace, beautiful simplicity and complexity, effective use of guitar, and randomly creepy ending that gives you a jolt like the final scene of the movie.

In conclusion: GO SEE INCEPTION. ;D

Lyrically Local

Okay, in the song Unthinkable by Alicia Keys featuring Drake, when Drake says "we can roll around the city while you finally decide"... I know he's talking about cruising in a car, but I cannot get the mental image of two Samus balls literally rolling through a city, hahahaha.

Speaking of Canadian musicians, a coworker linked me to the new video for the song Meet Me In The Basement by Broken Social Scene: chock full of front-line G20 action and political statements. Check it out!



And since we're on the topic, have I shared my love for Hail The Villain yet? If you're into hard rock, DO check them out.





Coming soon: insanely spoiler-filled thoughts on the Inception soundtrack. Eeeeee!

Welcome To My Hood

CP24 has confirmed that an arrest has been made in a sausage tampering case, which is believed to be in connection to incidents in late May and June.

An arrest was made at a Loblaws store on Dundas and Bloor Streets. Toronto police say the arrest is believed to be in connection with food tampering cases involving Piller's Polish Sausage.

AAUUGHH I SHOP AT THAT LOBLAWS ALL THE TIME. D: But thankfully I don't eat Piller's. Or polish sausage. Yay?

Today: A Story

Just as I was winding down at the office today, I decided to check the CBC website for my daily dose of Canadian news and saw that there were reports of the power going out in Toronto's downtown core. I thought: "Self, it's a good thing you don't travel down the Lakeshore to get home anymore. Cause that would suck."

Famous last words!

I get on the highway at the 404 and Sheppard to head home only to find that my exit to the 401 has come to a complete stop. Hazarding that some kind of accident has happened, I switch over to the DVP south instead. And lo, there was indeed some kind of massive accident that had caused the entire westbound 401 express to be closed off. So I missed a bullet that way, but I knew I was still in for some pain because I was heading directly through the heart of Toronto, where none of the stop lights were working. :(

Most of the intersections on the Lakeshore were being directed by police but still... INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATINGLY SLOW. But when I went to take my usual "EFF YOU LAKESHORE" detour, I suddenly found myself surrounded by really high fences, concrete barriers and a massive grandstand hahaha! I was basically racing through the Indy track all on my own and although I wasn't going very fast, it was still hilariously awesome. It was like a real life Gran Turismo, LOL.

By the time I got to my subdivision, I assumed all was well because the stop lights were working at all nearby intersections. But when I drove into the parking garage, I was treated to some extremely weaksauce emergency lighting and basically pitch black darkness, because the power was out in my complex. Turning my high beams on in the underground did NOTHING. And then when it was time to get out of the car, I couldn't see A THING! Like I said, PITCH BLACK. It was like a real life Resident Evil, as I strafed and stumbled towards the tiny, tiny sliver of light in the distance that indicated where the exit was.

Thankfully, the power came back on half an hour later, so I have air conditioning and a functional fridge. And that was my day.