Weekend Roundup

First things first, the Howler was a roaring success again this year. As you can see from the random party shot, which shows about 1% of the crowd in attendance, creative costumes and complete abandon were the flavour of the night. It’s hard to say whether it will be as reckless next year. Unfortunately, this was the last time that the party coincided with the end of Daylight Savings Time.

What am I looking forward to this week? Islands! I can’t wait to see the show on Wednesday. Return to the Sea has to be the album I’ve listened to the most this year. Hands down. The show is apparently at The Underground, the notorious punk/metal bar, located under The Warehouse. The venue doesn’t make sense, if you’ve heard the Graceland-esque album, but, heck, I’ll go anywhere to see this spectacle.

In other news, I’m supposed to head down to the East Coast this week. I’ll do my best to check out some of the sweet shows that are going on during the CMJ Music Marathon 2006.

Since we’ve got costumes on the brain, this week’s video has a breakdancing shark:

Dig it. ♪

Halloween Howler V

Our hip friends down on 17th threw the (house) party of the year, last October. The Ridler expects this one to be even bigger. You are invited to the Halloween Howler 5. Costumes are mandatory. So far, I've heard of someone planning to go as Dog, someone else as Harvey Birdman. Who else will be among the list of pop-culture misfits? ♪

Weekend Roundup

Wow, I'm totally wiped. Last night's Chit Chat Funding Drive show was pretty intense. I was at the station for six hours processing requests and preparing for the marathon that ensued. Thanks to everyone who called!

So yeah, the rest of the weekend was spent assembling ikea furnature. In the spirit of all things Scandanavian, here is a Finnish Disco Dancing Lesson:

Moscow! ♪

CJSW 90.9 FM: TAKE ME TO YOUR RADIO

It's time for the annual CJSW funding drive. I co-host a show called The Chit Chat on Sunday nights at 9:00 PM (MST). I have so much fun doing it. Your contributions help ensure that we stay on the air.

If you are interested in making a pledge during my show, please let me know so I can get started on "The Friends of The Chit Chat" list. Last year, we made a group pledge, then called "The Friends of Funk Tank", which raised over 500$ for the station. It was awesome!

On Sunday, October 22, 2006, we will be hosting a special Funding Drive edition of The Chit Chat. That's only a few days away. Tune in for the fun!

In addtion to the on-air stuff, there are tons of events going on around town next week.

Lastly, Funding Drive pledge levels can be found here.

Thanks for your support! ♪

Weekend Roundup

Hat FM. Nelson Mandela. Dostoevsky. What do these three things have in common? The Office - Series One, Episode Three. It’s an ingenious episode. This is the one that got me hooked on the series a few years ago. I watched it again last night. HA! If you've only seen the American version, please do yourself a favour and check it out.

In the spirit of The Office, the dance of the week features David Brent:

Other weekend highlights included an Arrested Development: Season Three viewing party. Complete with Chicken On The Way. Since we’re on the topic of chicken and Arrested Development, I can't resist including another dance video:

Yes, I admit, physical exercise did not rank highly on my list of activities, but it was nice to have a low-key weekend. ♪

Pink Mountaintops Erupt

This Just In...

Last night, I was asked to take some photos of The Pink Mountaintops for the Beatroute dudes. I think they turned out pretty well. One of the shots may make it into an upcoming issue. O RLY? YA RLY. NO WAI! ♪

Steps

I always make a point to hype up anything involving the disbanded KITH comedy crew. This weekend, Scott Thompson will be in town with guest Bob Wiseman. I'm not too sure what Scott's been up to for the past decade, except a host of bad made-for-TV movies, but I imagine he's had a long time to come up with new material. Bob's got a song about his tenuous relationship with David Geffen, My Cousin Dave. It's really funny. His website is good too.

Other than that, it's a slow wknd. ♪

Weekend Roundup - Gobble. Gobble.

What a weekend! On Friday, the Thunderbirds Are Now! + You Say Party! We Say Die! show went off without a hitch. I interviewed the bands and rocked out like nobody's business. I'm sorry to say the recording is not yet ready. I'd like to make some edits and so forth before it is unleashed onto the world. In the mean time, I put up some pictures. I think they capture some of the madness of the evening.

The rest of the weekend was spent around various dinning room tables as I set forth on a journey through three Thanksgiving dinners. Three! I've decided to abstain from eating for the rest of the month, if not the rest of the year.

Dance video of the week: Kung-Fu Vs. Yoga.



It's a martial arts clip. Jaw-dropping and dubbed in French. It makes me wonder what would have happened if the Natural Law Party of Canada had ever taken off. ♪

Interview Questions for TAN!

Looks like I will get to chat with Thunderbirds Are Now! before their show (see Oct 3, 2006 post).

I decided to whip up a few interview questions:

How was the drive today? Any road stories you want to share?

Make History has just been released. How's the response been? How was the CD release party in Detroit?

I read that Enon helped out a bit with this album, can you give us an idea of what their contribution was?

What's next for you guys?

I heard that you are making a major presence at the CMJ conference this year, what 4 shows!? Can you tell us a bit about that?

I always get a kick out of looking up bands and seeing what 'the internet' considers your influences to be. According to AllMusic.com your band is influenced by Les Savy Fav, Pixies, and Ween - among others. Care to agree or disagree or append to the list?

Do you follow what the press says about you? I'm talking about publications like Pitchforkmedia.com . Do you care if they hype you up or not?

What is in your CD player right now?

Recommend that they to the Cantos keyboard museum.

Anything else you want to share with your legion of Calgarian fans?

Promo for CJSW.

Can I bootleg the show?

No? Thanks anyway. Have a good show. ♪

M. Ward

So far this year, no album has captivated me quite like M. Ward's new release: Post-War. Dusty guitars licks, strained vocals, tasteful harmonies, rich tones - it has everything I need in an alt-country, singer/songwriter album. The closest counterpart I can think of in my music collection would be Wilco's A Ghost Is Born. Yes, friends, that good.

Although presumably about the forgotten grandeur of the California Gold Rush or a derelict sideshow in New Mexico, I find that the title track, “Post-War”, and later on, “Rollercoaster”, embody the boomtown spirit of Calgary. Maybe not the Calgary that exists today, but the post-NEP Calgary that I grew up in.

I could probably analyse every song on the album, and may do so in the future, but for now I’ll focus on two more, “Poison Cup” and “Requiem”. “Poison Cup” is a hopeless, unlikely love song. At first it jarred me, but now I appreciate simplicity of the lyrics and the slow crescendo of the backing strings. “Requiem” has a solid blues-rock structure, and lyrically it has a macho, terse, Hemingway quality about it. I’m susceptible to this because I’m reading For Whom the Bell Tolls at the moment. Surprisingly though, it doesn’t sound political, despite the current musical trend (see Living with War, and "When The President talks to God").

Great Stuff! Don’t let it slip by. ♪

Get a TAN! then go Party!

Concert de la semaine: Thunderbirds Are Now!, You Say Party! We Say Die!, and guests at Broken City on Friday October 6, 2006. Judging by the exclamation points alone, you know that this will be another indie-tastic dance-a-thon. Expect synths, quick tempos, and best of all - hipsters.

Also, it looks like I'll be able to line up an interview with TAN! before the show. I'll give you more details as they become available. ♪

Weekend Roundup

Kudos go out to the bands (SOOO and HF - see last post) for the epic show they put on Saturday night. The Hipster Guide crew was definitely the rowdiest bunch on the dance floor. Everyone had a backbone slidin' good time. Unfortunately, we forgot to pack our camera, so if you took any pictures, bootlegs, video footage, or other memorabilia please let us know.

So, what is this week's new internobsession? Amateur or Low Budget Dance Videos. Courtesy of YouTube. I've been looking at so many of these lately, but I've isolated a few key ones that I want to share with you. I plan on unveiling them once a week or so until I run out. ♪

Bollywood Breakdancing: