YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE, SO MAKE IT COUNT.

You only get one chance to start your life over again. You'd think friends might be there for you to have a good time in celebrating a rebirth of sorts.

Forkhead deserved such a sendoff or start, but no one could afford it. You'd think Calgary isn't so tough a slog, but, I guess there's always someone waiting to let you down.

See all y'all sucker motherfuckers in another lifetime.

FUCK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME OF YEAR, YET AGAIN. AND WHAT A YEAR IT'S BEEN.

Seeing as I'm leaving town, I thought I'd leave you all on a high note of music. It's about time to start seriously thinking about who to give the album of the year nod to.

As begun last year, or the year before, Elliott Smith will always have an automatic selection on the list. This year's Elliott Smith album of the year pick will go to "Songs From A Basement (On a Hill)" as I didn't give it the nod last year; last year's album of the year was Stars "Set Yourself on Fire".

I never thought, in a year that Queens of the Stone Age release a full lenght that I'd say they do not have the overall spot for me. You see, this year has been like no other before it. There are just way too damned many amazing album to limit you all to a pick of one. Thus, I have a list of my favourite albums of the year. All of these albums are too good to not go buy, so get off your fat downloading ass and go buy these albums (and the entire Clutch catalogue).

Sufjan Stevens, "Illinois" - This guy seems, at times to me, a bit too spiritual in the bad way: Christian. But, you can't deny that he made an album here that will put your faith entirely in the power of music. God bless Sufjan, god bless everyone.
"Can not all creation call it celebration? Or united nation. Put it to your head." - Come on Feel the Illinoise

Queens of the Stone Age, "Lullabies to Paralyze" - There was much hype over Nick Oliveri not being a part of this album. Whatever. Josh Homme proves, yet again, he's the most creative rocker in the world. Nobody will ever touch Homme when it comes to rock wizardry. Except maybe Chris Goss.
"What's the fucking difference, we all gonna die. You gonna do something killer, come on give it a try." - You Got a Killer Scene There, Man

Wolf Parade, "Apologies to Queen Mary" - Four dudes kicking it out of Montreal with a no holds barred attitude of punk, funk, rock, cock and lust. Tough to beat. Suffice it to say, no one beat them this year, they only kept up.
"But God doesn't always have the best goddamned plans does he?" - Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts

Clutch, "Robot Hive/Exodus" - There's not much more that I can say about this, the greatest heavy rock band of all time. They rocked me early February at the Commodore and they will rock me December 9 at the Warehouse in Calgary. I wish I could be a Clutch concert. I really do.
"Gonna find my executioners, and show 'em exactly what it means to live." - 10,000 Witnesses

The New Pornographers, "Twin Cinema" - Canada keeps it up; here aided by a southern American belle. The porn hogs prove that there is nothing wrong with pop music; only with pop music on the radio. This is clearly the most solid effort by this band and I hope they will make me say that statement many times again in the future with new releases.
"Two sips from the cup of human kindness and I'm shitfaced." - Use It

Sleater Kinney, "The Woods" - Who said these girls had to remake themselves? Who cares? They did. They took the darkest, soggiest, and heaviest detritus out of the woods and mashed it all on to a CD so the likes of you and I could fall in love with dirt and rock & roll for the first time since we rode our BMXs around empty lots in Bachelor Heights. Sleater Kinney, I love you.
"My baby loves me, I'm so happy. Happy makes me a modern girl." - Modern Girl

Kanye West, "Late Registration" - Kanye (along with acts like Blackilicious, Jurassic 5, El-P and quite a few more underground acts) makes you think that maybe hip hop is actually headed in the right direction. It takes balls for a big time rap master like Kanye to call out the hip hop community on its homophobia and love of all things material. Kanye, you got a right to be arrogant. You know what time it is. Tell us, brother, tell us.
"Now I ain't saying she a gold digger, but she ain't messin' with no broke nigger." - Gold Digger

There are others this year, but that's a good list to get you started on what you missed these past 10 months.

Now, like I said, get off your downloading ass and buy this list. Did I mention you should also get the entire Clutch catalogue? While you're at it, get anything Josh Homme related too, but this is wide and varied seeing as anyone in their right mind is dying to work with him.

WHERE DOES YOUR FAITH LIE?

or

DOES YOUR FAITH LIE OR LAY?
















The other day I told a friend that I was going to stop smoking pot once I make a move to a new city next week. He laughed and laughed.

But, those are the facts of the matter. As of November 2 I will be pot free and loving it. Well, maybe not loving it for the first few days or weeks, but eventually I will be loving it.

I suppose you could say I'm addicted to it, but, luckily the addiction with weed is not too strong and can be kicked by just picking up a good book to read.

Nevertheless, I can still hear the laughter now.

BLOWN AWAY! I'M JUST BLOW-OW-OWWNNN AWAY!!

I didn't have a clue I'm this great. Thought maybe Magneto.

AIN'T YO DADDY TELL YOU? THERE AIN'T NO POINT IN COMPARIN' NO APPLES TO NO ORANGES!

The Funky Dude has made me resort to this. And... I'm not really all that ashamed. Look above, look below. There's no comparison between the Canucks and Flames.

Once again, in the immortal words of Fatso Jetson:

FLAMES FOR ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THERE WOULD EVENTUALLY BE NOTHING WRONG IN THE WORLD IF CANADA TOOK IT OVER AND WE FORCED OURSELVES INTO COMPLETE PENETRATION OF ALL LANDS.


The first time I heard Wolf Parade I'd just smoked some weed, watched another great episode of My Name is Earl, and smoked a bit more pot before putting in Apologies to the Queen Mary. It was perfect. This is one of those albums that you listen to all the way through and know they got something going on.

I don't think there's anything wrong with comparing bands to other bands; it's better than putting them into genres and other classifications. If you take it on the level of only the music, the sound and not names or faces, it makes perfect sense. It actually shows an appreciation for the music and not the image. Many different parts of one song can sound like any number of bands.

With WP they can sound like the Arcade Fire one minute and literally the next sound like Hot Hot Heat. WP puts it all together in a very original way, and the way they use two vocalists is comparable to Brownstein/Tucker-Sleater-Kinney, Weiss/Coomes-Quasi, Braden/Gillis-Plumtree, and Hall & Oates.

This album, even upon that first listen, makes you feel really good. It reminds me of the first time I heard Run DMC's Raising Hell, Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville, Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over The Sea, Queens of the Stone Age's QOTSA, and The Yeah Yeah Yeah's Fever to Tell. I'm not saying WP sounds like any of those acts, but they stand out like them all.

There's no point in trying to describe the music to you. Let's just leave it at they know how far to take it out and just when to pull it back in. Go listen to it. If you're not a cheap bastard go out and buy it instead of only downloading it. This is the type of act that deserves to be paid; not like that new Nickelback album you're thinking about buying.

DON'T PUSH ME, MAN! DON'T PUSH ME! I CAN'T DO IT! I JUST CAN'T FUCKING DO IT!!!


Well, I wanted to spend my lunch going to buy the new albums by Broken Social Scene and Liz Phair. BSS has been pushed back a week. Nuts!

I listened to some of Liz Phair. I defended her last album hard. And I still feel it has about 4 or 5 killer tracks, 8 or 9 okay songs and 2 dogs.

This time around... Let's just say I didn't even buy it. There sounded to be maybe four or five tracks that could be thought of as all right. However, the rest upon quick hits sounded extremely generic; in the vein of Kathleen Edwards or Jann Arden.

I walked out of the store with a copy of the Wolf Parade album. Can't wait to hear it all.