Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Small Town, Big Dreams

Man, I'm really getting into country music. Crazy eh?

It's Cyn's fault. I borrowed a few records while I was out there and I'm sortof hooked.

I'm really loving Keith Urban and Paul Brandt. The music just seems so honest. Every song is a story. Secondly, it's hard to find anybody who plays with the skill that these country guys have. I mean, these guys have chops. They're always backed by awesome session guys too. Thirdly, the records are mixed really well. They've got a ton of life, but without that nasty squashed LA Lord-Alge brother thing going on. The drums sound live and clean, the guitars have that great Tele/combo thing going on, and generally, everything just breathes. I'm getting sortof tired of the old comp-heavy stationary meter-needle rock and roll business that seems prevalent today.

Finally, there's something great about the sense of fun in this stuff. It's sortof like there's so much in music about trying to be cool... Hip Hop, pop-rock.. they're so heavy on the 'check me out, I'm seriously very current..' We're much less interested in admiring musicians than we are interested in admiring personalities and celebrities. Which is why so many kids go see terrible bands play terribly live, and then say, 'BEST SHOW EVER!!!' I'm talking to you Pete Wentz. Nice eye makeup.

Anyway, these country guys... there's something in there where they just say, 'man, I like trucks, and big concert-parties, and singalongs. I'm proud of being from Alberta, and I'm proud of being a family man.'

This also probably stems from taking a trip out west last weekend, and realizing that Toronto has none of that down-home, positive, happy to be happy type of mentality going on that seems so existent out there.

Anyway, here's to Tele's, story-telling lyrics, and cowboy hats.

Check out songs:

Keith Urban
- Days Go By
- Better Life
- You're My Better Half

Paul Brandt
- Leavin'
- Alberta Bound
- Small Town, Big Dreams
- I'm Gonna Fly


I'm smiling a lot these days. We've got snow, and Kar is almost done for the holidays. Mel and Dave are on their way home with two princesses and the smiliest little dude the world has ever seen. It's good.

JB

Friday, December 5, 2008

Go West Young Man

I'm going out west for the weekend. Got a wedding to be at and a niece to sing to (I'm teaching them all to grow up loving music. It's a bit of a master-plan of mine..). I've always liked Saskatoon.

Listen to:

Peter Bradley Adams (Leavetaking)
Glen Hansard
Folkalley.com
Sufjan Stevens
The Restless Age
Bon Iver

Read:

Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller
Hey Nostradamus, Douglas Coupland
Other people's stories


Happy Friday everybody!!
JB

And merry christmas tree.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

time for a rebuild

the world is falling apart!!!!

not really, but it seems that way, no? we're in financial tatters, our government is being overthrown, and athletes are accidentally firing off illegal firearms in busy nightculbs!

man, in times like this, it becomes abundantly clear how lacking we are in the department of 'humility'.

we're really are quite divisive and aggressive. we're always right, and they're always wrong. i know many staunch conservatives. they have their reasons for supporting harper. they seem very sound to me. i agree with them. i know many staunch liberals who have their reasons for supporting dion. they seem very sound to me. i agree with them.

when did it become standard practice to hate? to aggressively assert unbelievably negative bile about another person, in ANY situation? i mean, harper isn't a murderer.. he isn't the antichrist. he's a guy with some ideas and some morals, and some interests and leanings. so is any other politician. they all speak for a certain portion of society. the term society is ripe here. we're a whole.. a big conglomerate. and as much as we like to take sides, separate, and point fingers, we all need each other. CEOs and high dollar execs aren't worth much without their dutiful workforce. and laborers have nothing to labor at without the initiative and leadership of the execs. the arts community supports healthy living, and adds beauty to life. it's so important. but without the guys selling cars and plowing fields, there isn't going to be anybody coming to the shows. we NEED each other. we're like a giant eco-system that thrives on all of its parts working as a whole.

i... don't know how this government crap will end up.. and i'm not sure it really matters. we, as humans, aren't really all that different. we love to defiantly stand with our hands on our hips and chirp otherwise, but at the end of the day, we generally look out for ourselves first, others second. we generally tend to follow the lead of those we've been around and those we have relationships with. we generally think a lot about our own money, and our own stability, and very little about the stability or well-being of the rest of the world.

at the end of the day, if all of our money went away, maybe we'd start looking each other in the eye more often. at the least, maybe it'd force us to look across the great chasm and learn to work with each other.

or else, maybe we'd all just die in a giant burning pile of garbage because we can't get along and we can't agree.

but that's a sad thought... so i think that... no, we are capable of much. we're just a bit (or a lot) too comfortable. when the biggest thing we have to worry about is whether we'll get our christmas bonus or not, to go on top of our big ass yearly wage and our 2 cars, then we're a little crazy, and a little out of touch.

it's like when your computer starts getting really slow and cludgy, and eventually, you just back up the stuff you need, and do a complete hard disk wipe, and reinstall only the apps you want, and the thing just comes back to life.

time for a rebuild.

JB