I swear....

I'm one of the worst people for letting the past be the past. My neurotic nature causes me to over-evaluate everything in my life. I read into every little detail of my life, that sometimes I forget to actually enjoy the time I have on this rotating sphere.

One of the problems I have is that I equate so much music into the memories I have. I always have the strong memories of when I first got into a particular band, what what playing when something important happened, or when something horrible happened. For example Green Day always reminds me of hanging out with friends in grade 8. Black Sabbath reminds me of... well you don't really need to know about that. Eve 6 reminds me of my first ever concert. Finger Eleven reminds me of my entire high school existence.

What does this have to do with anything you ask? Well the problem for me lies in the fact that every time I listen to these artists, the memories start to flood back, and they're not always pleasant. The good part of all of this is that now I become engaged in trying to re-condition myself to feel something different with the music of the past.

First Step: Condition myself not to cry every time "On My Own" from Les Miserables starts to play.




Reading: Slaughter-House Five
Listening: Reel Big Fish-Turn the Radio Off/ Tristania-Behind the Veil

Raise Me Up

There is something weirdly comforting about listening to Yusuf Islam singing songs about Islam. Makes me want to go to the Middle East and get engrossed in the music. Apparently music is used in many different middle eastern cultures to facilitate peace building amongst various tribes. I think this is one of the many great powers of music, and I think Bono may be able to get more results of he killed first world countries with song rather than pleas and diatribes about our need to cancel out much of third world debt. That or maybe he should just shut the hell up already. I don't know about my fellow Canadians, but I was kind of amused when Stephen Harper refused a meeting with him, citing he had actual business to do. Good one Stephen, you animatronic jackass you.

A Declaration of sorts

I Laura, do solemnly swear to start listening to music as much as humanely possible as I realized today that I'm severely lacking in it outside of the work environment.

Also, I shall start reading more. More I say!

Reading: God Delusion-Richard Dawkins
Listening: Jeff Buckley

Just in!

Not a real post, but just wanted to announce that I'm going to be writing another music article for a national paper... and on a topic I'm hoping to dive into when I get into my graduate work.

Colour me teal!

I'm Slowly learning that Life Will Be OK

Timberlake has relative success at la solo career, Bass has begun to thrive as an out C-list celebrity, Chasez.... well let's just say I think he has been obliterated, that Chris fellow... does he still have his clothing line at all or that new band? And well after a couple movie/TV roles Joey has this. Need I say more? Need I?

Thought so.

The Honeymoon is Over.. a rant

Dear Customer who from here on in shall be named: Self-Important Asshole (SIA) for short,

Do not come in my store and tell me, or any of the staff WHAT TO DO. Last I checked, I've been working here longer than you have been a customer, so learn something we in polite society refer to as "TACT". Is it really so hard of a thing to do? I was nothing but polite as you were in fact a SIA then entire time I had to deal with you.

It was noted on your order that you did not want to be contacted, so I'm sorry you did not receive a call telling that your Robert Mitchum collection could not in fact be ordered. I or another member of staff would have called to tell you such, but such note was an addendum to your order so we thought best not to call. I understand the frustration that goes along with this, but you in fact asked for it. Do not proceed to bitch and gripe about how things "should be done" in your delusional mind.

I will not apologize for the lack of concern I expressed when you firstly spoke rudely to me on the phone, and then proceeded to badger me in store. Your "I know it may not be your fault" was a poor attempt at feigning some sort polite dealings with staff, but all it served to do was to make me yearn to punch you as you proceeded to be a complete wanker. Continuing to belittle me, by suggesting you call the delivering store to see if it is in stock next time around in order to ensure you are kept abreast of the order was ludicrous. Not only are you blatantly insulting the staff, and me in particular, you are quickly making my "most detested customers" list, and no one ever comes off it.

My quiet meek manner in which I dealt with you was not an indication that I'm an idiot who has no clue how to do her job, but rather my way of preventing I don't lose my job for bludgeoning you with a stapler, or debit terminal. If you expected me to start gushing with apologies or compensation, you were sorely wrong. I am usually willing to make amends if we actually made a mistake, or royally screwed up. That happens, and I will do my best to make it right.While the "customer is always right" is a good model to work with when you are in the service industry, I'm a big supporter of "you get what you give" mode of behaving. If you've done nothing to hinder the situation, then you deserve my utmost ability to amend the error. However after I have sincerely apologized once, continuing to berate me really did nothing more than a) make you feel better about how miserable of a person you actually are b) further my ability to keep my cool on the job c) make me go into mental hibernation as you continue to be extremely rude to someone who is trying her best not to tell you to shove it, you in fact deserved nothing less than the minimum service I am required to give you,.

So in conclusion: I dislike SIA and his like. They can all go and pierce themselves with rusty bayonets for all I care.

Super Freak

Just watch this and be merry. Plus you know, there's a link from the last post with it.

I'm sneaky like that.

If I get drunk while passed out on the floor

Brilliant Idea:

Have an entire weekend-long concert involving one-hit wonders. Only let them play that one hit, and nothing else. It ensures we all get a good dose of nostalgia, and leaves us no inane filler songs.

I'm expecting Dexy's Midnight Runners to be the first band to sign up. Come on Eileen!!!!! Followed by Bruce Willis... because we got to respect ourselves.

Genius I says!


Listening to: BASEketball Soundtrack
Reading: Slaughterhouse Five
Recent Musical Acquisitions: Chris Cornell-Carry On, Fiona Apple-when the pawn...

And the Rain Falls down on me

Yay Chantal! Though I'm not the biggest fan of your music, and I think you're partly to blame for the downfall of Our Lady Peace and good music making, I have to give you kudos. You have properly behaved in regards to a spoiled music princess.

My hat is tipped to you sir... err I mean madame.

Wake me up, before you go go

I'm not the biggest fan of Myspace, nor do I particularly like the umpteen band friend requests. I remember reading once an interview with some newer band and they were being asked about how their popularity had something to do with their Myspace. The lead singer went on to discuss something about the over-ratedness of it all. This is not exactly my point today, butIwill get to it in good time. He more or less bitchslapped the reason his band is so popular, as I recall the band and their music was a colossal joke like most bands out there.

So tonight I'm signing in to Myspace, and on the front page there is the usual artist spotlight. More often than not it's a semi-well-known band or some indie POS. I generally glance and then click away. Tonight however there was something appalling that made me click: a link to a Nick Drake Myspace page. WHAT THE HELL? Maybe I'm just a prude or something (highly unlikely), but I'm of the impression that we should generally leave the dead be-don't exploit their deaths for money, and don't use them for future album sales. I'm not adverse to wearing say a shirt with their image on it, but I think the money made from that should be used towards something productive, but any who.

Myspace for musicians is meant to gather a following right? To get people to buy albums, come out to see the shows, to have a sense of fitting in in the modern music scene. What is the point of a deceased musician having a Myspace page? Can anyone tell me that? He sure as hell is not going to see/reap the rewards of new found popularity since he is my all accounts decomposing in a cemetary in England, I'll admit that Nick Drake gained a lot more notoriety after his death when he was cited as an influence on a slew of musicians in the 1970s onwards, but they weren't whoring him out to sell them some records since he didn't exactly have star-making cachet at this point. This is another rant altogether that I shall leave for a later date.

So I ask you this? What would Nick say?

It's gonna take money, a whole lotta spending money to do it right child

There is an eerie comfort when "Got My Mind Set on You" by George Harrison comes up on random on my Iyiyi.

If accident will....

They still exist!

There is always a soft spot in my heart for the song "I Swear" by All-4-One. It was mine and an ex's "song" so to speak. Whenever I was down he would sing this song to me. It always made me smile. Tonight in a fit of nostalgia I dug their self-titled album of the recesses of my collection and plopped it in my computer. I immediately skipped to this song, and my eyes teared up. The song gets me every time.

After the waterworks, I decided to see what the group was up to. The band--They never really did anything else spectacular after winning a Grammy for that song. Bland generic R&B to be honest. I thought they had faded into oblivion, but apparently not. Last I heard they were playing at state fairs ( I kid you not). Apparently they keep making albums, and have put out a greatest hits collection. This makes me ponder ... WHY?

Can you answer that for me?