Before bed last night I was setting my alarm and caught Alan Cross on the radio. Alan does a weekly show, which is played on CFOX and available in podcast form, about The Ongoing History of New Music. Every week there is a theme, whether it be about the music business or musicians themselves. Last night’s was posing the question, did artists in the 60s and 70s scoop up all the possible (good) riffs? He then played The Beatles’ “Ob la di Ob la da” compared to The Offspring‘s “Get a Job”, The Rolling Stones “Brown Sugar” vs The Dandy Warhols “Bohemian Like You”, and Iggy Pop “Lust for Life” vs Jet “Are You Gonna be my Girl?”. Just to give us a taste of what he was getting at.
I decided to hit the website to check out these new fancy podcasts they’ve been promoting lately. It seems as though they finally got the go ahead to produce these as long as they did not include any of the music. I’ve subscribed now so I guess we’ll see how the shows sound without the audible comparisons and snippets.
While on the New Music Geek Blog, which is what they’re calling Alan’s portion of the CFOX website, I came across a post about the worst lyrics, ever. The BBC and Rolling Stone Magazine have each compiled what they and their public have deemed the worst lyrics in music. The differences in the two lists are kind of amusing.
The BBC audience seems to dislike Razorlight, ABC, Oasis, Duran Duran and Human League lyrics
“Before he leaves the camp he stops,
He scans the world outside,
And where there used to be some shops,
Is where the snipers sometimes hide.”
While Rolling Stone is harder on the Thong Song,
“I like it when the beat goes
Duh dun duh
Baby make your booty go
Duh dun duh”
I have to say I’ve heard some pretty lame lyrics in my time and they’re usually by someone whose name rhymes with Bitney Peers. I know that’s probably a given, but for lack of being able to think of some of my most despised lyrics on the spot, I have to default to some of those pop-punk bands and all their “sha na na nas” which make up entire choruses. *shudder*.
There are some pretty good suggestions in the comments of the Rolling Stone Mag post, and you can check out the Ongoing History of New Music on 99.3 the Fox, Wednesdays @ 11pm and Sundays @ 6pm.
I’ve done a few live blogs in my time… well maybe about 3 or 4, the most “valuable” being the live blog of Matthew Good‘s living room performance back in August [Miss604]. Seth Godin recently made some valid points about liveblogging as a medium – something he observed at a recent conference.
Compare these liveblog posts to posts written an hour later, ones that digest and reflect and chunk the information. These are deliberately designed to inform the reader, not to remind the writer.
I don’t mean to pick on the medium. I think it’s incredibly valuable–for the poster. We’re finding a growing dichotomy now, between blogs that help the reader and blogs that helps the writer. [Seth Godin]
It’s definitely difficult to relay information on the go, it’s basically rapid-fire note taking. I find that I type a lot of inside jokes when I’m liveblogging, things that could either be better explained with a post-mortem or left out entirely in a recap. What I find most valuable about liveblogging is the instant feedback and interaction with readers. For the evening with Matt Good people could ask questions in my comments and I would relay them directly to him, then I would type the answers.
The same thing goes for fellow Crazy Canuck, Alanah, when she liveblogs games on Canucks and Beyond. You get her instant feedback about how she thinks the game is going and comments are wide open for discussion.
Regardless, there is a time and place for everything – sometimes people cannot get to the show, to the conference or the demoCamp01. For that reason, I’ll keep bringing my laptop and have it handy to jot down anything that comes my way, whether it be live, or 10 minutes after the fact. I just hope that this is in fact of merit to the reader.
Update: On a very related note, I will be liveblogging at DemoCamp01 tomorrow – to read more check the Bryght events page, the wiki and John’s post.
As much I despise Robson Street, malls and shopping downtown in general, there comes a time when you just need a little retail therapy. That, and the fact that for some reason 3 pairs of my jeans decided to get torn all within the span of a week, lead John and I out in what little sunshine kissed the city this afternoon.
No matter how much we think we can stomach the throngs of tourists, Sunday walkers (every day of the week) and crowded sidewalks full of dilly-dalliers, we’re never strong enough to withstand Robson’s commercial splendor for more than about 30 minutes. The first stop was eBags, since getting my Macbook I still have not purchased a decent bag in which to carry it. I did get one super cheap but it’s just an over-the-shoulder style which has been causing bad posture and soreness for weeks. Of course the shoulder soreness also causes John pain since he became my masseuse Feb 25, 2006. eBags is located right next to the “House of Clogs” and across from Hon’s. They have some great deals and I found a cute little inconspicuous laptop bag for $19.99.
The next stop was jeans for me and a shirt for John. After a quick pitstop to sample the new orange mocha frappuccino at the corner of Starbucks and Starbucks, we headed toward my never-fail ultimate jean-getting store: The Bay.
Now you wouldn’t think that a department store, in a mall, in downtown Vancouver (or any location really) would have decent, inexpensive, non-hideous denim, but they do. I had great luck a few months ago when I purchased a pair of Buffalos for $20 so I thought I would give it another go. Not that I care at all about the brand name, but seeing as how this is the one pair that hasn’t fallen prey to the rippage, they’re my pretty much the star of my wardrobe at the moment. After about 5 minutes we found a shirt for John, went upstairs and had some luck with the jeans – again. The price tag was a little higher than desirable but when I got to the cashier, they were surprisingly 40% off – and this is what I’m talking about. You have to dig to find what little gems there are at The Bay but once you find them, there’s always a lovely surprise like a discount – which of course is the best surprise when it comes to shopping.
The next purchase for both of us will have to be shoes, but we’re saving that for another day. Although, have you ever noticed that outside of Payless Shoes on Robson there is always a pair of discarded shoes? It’s obvious that people walk into the store in one pair, buy new shoes, and deposit their wear-ins outside near the garbage can. You can be guaranteed to find a pair of shoes there at any time of day, any day of the week. I wonder if Payless has ever considered accepting peoples’ old shoes and donating them? Well, the still-decent ones anyway.
One thing’s for sure, before any more shopping I have to do some serious closet-purging. The last time I did that I had a hard time locating a drop bin or finding a charity that would pick up goods downtown. So if anyone knows of a way that I can work out logistics to get my donations dropped off or picked up, please let me know.
The walk home was pretty soggy, especially since we both left the house wearing sandals, but that justified coming home and vegging on the couch the rest of the afternoon. I’m just hoping the rest of the weekend isn’t as grey, I’m unsure it will be perfect beach-going weather but perhaps we’ll venture into the Park regardless as I’m going to need a little time to detox from today’s mega retail experience.
We’re doing absolutely nothing this long weekend. That’s right – nothing. Seems like everyone is up to something so that, combined with the rain now falling on the city means that I’m not feeling the happiest right now. Someone whose really not doing so great (which is more warranted than my whining for no reason) is Duane, who just had surgery [DuaneStorey.com]. John and I are gonna head over to his place this evening and we’re all going to have lots and lots of beer.
Also, I have to post this because a) I was SO shock-y all day at work today and 2) it makes me giggle. Have a great long weekend!
Update: This is what happens when you get Iowa, Chilliwack and Surrey together in one room… with beer [Flickr]
John’s back at it with another Six Song for this month. We haven’t both hopped in the “studio” for a while for a regular episode but I assure you that RadioZoom Podcasting good times will be happening soon. After last night’s post about Less Than Jake I got in contact with their management and have the a-okay to use their tunes on a future episode so be on the lookout. For now, hope you enjoy this installment of the Donut Spectacular John prepared with his new iMac setup including:
