Misbehaving...

... is what I have been doing in regards to this blog. It has been neglected due to time consuming exams, licensing courses and a move. The good news is that now I am in a hub of activity, a mecca of entertainment and in a location where art and culture is born.*

I say that Toronto is more exciting than Ottawa but that isn't without exception. In addition to participating in other silly tourist activities, I saw Feist (and Shaye and the Cowboy Junkies and others) on Parliament Hill on Canada Day.

Feist is exploding.

I was first introduced to Feist with the release of her album "The Reminder." I fell in love (and I don't do that easily).

The beauty with Feist is that she has achieved mainstream notoriety with a very non-mainstream sound (dare I say it is still fairly "indie"?) Her single "My Moon My Man" has been a regular feature on Much Music's Video Flow and both the video and the sound of the song is very much like "Mushaboom" from "Let It Die" (2004) (which was only recognized in certain crowds). Her Ottawa concert date sold out and she closed the Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill. I don't know if such things are qualities of "mainstream" and "top-40" artists but I bet it helps. And if you still don't believe me, take a look at the records sales.

I recognize that her sound isn't for everyone but her vocal ability, however, is worth noting. And the music is clever. What more could one want?

But do all artists want such success? I would imagine they do. Even if it isn't good for them. (see the story of the late Michael Hutchence from INXS for an example). Is there ever a happy medium? I may have to search for an example.

I have nothing but time.

There's nowhere to go but on Heart on my sleeve Not where it should be The song's out of key again

*I admit that this sentence may be a bit of an exaggeration.

I wish it was cooling me ...

My Grey's has returned to me. *Swoon*

All I will say is that if I was Meredith and I had her family history I would have wrote that stupid test. The straw that broke the camel's back? Sure. Devastating? Definitely. Surprised? Nope. Self preservation and perseverance are essential. I don't for one second think that she didn't have it in her.

And Izzy? Good on you. That was the first rational thing you did all season.

Violent Pornography...

Everyone who reads this or who even remotely knows me at all knows that I believe lyrics are just as important as phrases/harmony/musicality.

Most people also know that I really enjoy System of a Down.

What some people don't know is that I enjoy this band with a caveat. I DO NOT like it when they are political or when they try to make any sort of policy statement.

System of a Down became obviously political with Boom! from Steal this Album.

Boom, boom, boom, boom,
Every time you drop the bomb,
You kill the God your child has born.
Boom, boom, boom, boom.

It was around the time of the very political invasion of Iraq and the band began to use their media influence to share their views. The video depicts the unmistakable cartoon of Georgie.

I want to make it clear that I don't always hate it when artists use their work to express their political views. Chopin's Revolutionary Etude is all about his displeasure with Russia's invasion of Poland and that score is probably one of my favourites from the era. The difference is in how the artist structures the work to get the point across without being condescending or forceful. Now, before I am told that Chopin's compositions did not include lyrics I will simply state that his frustration with the political issue was demonstrated in cascading scales with determined chordal progressions. The product succinctly depicts emotions of anger, pride, sadness and frustration. It's the same thing.

The most important factor in being a successful artist, in my humble opinion (especially in mainstream art), is to guide the listener/viewer to naturally draw the exact conclusion you want or an acceptable variation thereof. When finished listening to Chopin's Revolutionary Etude I feel how Chopin intended me to feel. System of a Down just pisses me off.

Violent Pornography from Mezmerize is even more to the point.

It's a violent pornography
Chocking chicks and sodomy
The kinda shit that's on your TV

Now, I'm not a fan of this type of thing but I also know that it's not readily available on my tv. I'd have to look for it and I can guarantee you that it won't be on today's youporn listing.

I want clever lyrics. I want lyrics that don't spoon feed me. I can think. I can conclude. I think political opinions and social issues are much more complicated than the way they are expressed by System of a Down in a three minute song that spends most of its time repeating said lyrics. Sure, System of a Down may be exposing naive listeners to issues that would otherwise not be considered but I highly doubt that they are guiding the listeners to think for themselves.

I much prefer it when political issues are a secondary theme to music. System of a Down needs to stop thinking they are being clever and stick to their material from their pre-mainstream days.

And just for that, I am removing the song from my daily play list.

I'm a closet fan of slasher movies....

During a rare night of "quiet" I pulled out Saw 2 and popped some popcorn. I have now watched all 3 of the Saw movies. I just did so out of order.

I don't enjoy psychological thrillers. I think it is because my imagination is active enough. I don't need mystery and suspense for enjoyment. WYSIWYG thank you very much.

Saw is not a psychological thriller. It's not quite "slash" either. (I would classify Mr. Zombie as being more in the "slash" genre.) Nevertheless, they give me what I want. Blood, guts and giggles.

Tonight I considered why these types of movies bother some people. Sure, if it were to happen in real life it would be horrible, no good and very bad. HOWEVER, it's a movie. It's exactly the same as some cheesy love story where the woman gets swept off her feet and the theater sighs at the same time.

Blah. Give me 1000 Corpses any day.

Horror films are dirty. (And I don't mean *that* kind of dirty.) For 90 minutes the characters crawl around in blood, brains, animal skin and feces. The houses are so decrepit that you can almost smell the stench from the couch. Dirt = discomfort. Mix that with an incredibly painful situation and people have trouble with it.

Horror doesn't make you feel all lovey-dovey like Mr. Grant and co-star of the week does. It doesn't make you want something you don't have. Instead, it makes you feel better about what you do have.

Take that Miss. B. Jones. Ha.

Hate is a powerful thing...

There are not many things I hate. Sure, I dislike stuff. I even am indifferent to stuff. Rarely, will I say I hate it.

My one exception is Bach. Yes. I HATE, Johann Sebastian Bach.

I could go on for quite some time explaining how Bach's Preludes and Fugues made me wish I was doing my calculus homework instead of getting my 4th finger of my left hand to successfully carry the melody of the recurring phrases. (It's hard! The 4th finger, no matter how muscled, will always be weaker than the other fingers). I also take unreasonable issue with taking marks away from me during my Harmony III and IV exams (which involved writing scores of music with just paper and a pencil and no other way to test your brilliance) because I just happened to break the same rules that Bach broke when he was doing his four part harmonies. (You see, the rules of classical harmony come from Bach's work ... namely his Preludes and Fugues. He was mostly consistent with what he did but occasionally he would "break a rule" for a moment of dissonance or something different.)

It's possible that my level of hate does not quite come through in this post. Trust me ... it's there. In fact, take a look at this to get a better appreciation for my position. This guy had me in stitches.

I have guilty pleasures....

I own the Fergie album, the Gwen Stafani albums and the Justin Timberlake albums (among others, of course). Music critics sometimes argue that the compilations lack integrity but music lovers disagree. A lot can be said for a well produced album and it's top 40 to a new extreme.

I think the main reason I listen to this music is because I enjoy experiencing the progression of the album. It's unique (to a certain extent), it's easy to listen to but most importantly, it's fun. Music should not always be about assessing how complicated the harmony is or if the beats are true to its proclaimed style. If you like it - you like it. No explanation required.

So this leads me to the Grammy Awards. The usual suspects were nominated and I'm not really surprised with the results. Justin Timberlake walked away with a couple, as did the Dixie Chicks (I'm a big fan of "I'm Not Ready To Make Nice.") I found it refreshing that most of the awards were not only part of the top 40 and recognizable but that they also met whatever technical standard these awards rely on.

What I don't understand, however, is the award for Best Rap Song (which is a song writer's award). "Money Maker" by Ludacris Featuring Pharrell won. Huh? Is this an example of what's popular winning as opposed to quality? If so, it would not explain Wolfmother beating not only System of a Down but also Nine Inch Nails in the Best Hard Rock Performance category. Perhaps, instead it's an example of the top 40 also actually being quality music.

I am not particularly fond of Ludacris or Pharrell (although I would take the later over the former if forced to choose) but I am happy to see that some legitimacy has been given to my age old argument that sometimes top 40 isn't crap.

I only dream when I sleep in my childhood bed…

It’s the horse.

I was introduced to this painting while I was studying the Romantic Movement through the Royal Conservatory of Music in the early 1990s. (There are various versions of this painting and Fuseli’s works are fascinating but will be left alone for now.) I didn’t see it as first. I focused on the lifeless body, still and lovely, in such sharp contrast to the ghastly demon so smug to be sitting on her chest.

I learned that a nightmare in the 1700s was thought to be caused by just that – a demon sitting on the sleeper’s chest. Clever, I thought. It explains the sudden jolt of consciousness, the shortness of breath as the dream is still vivid and the invasion of privacy that could only be the doing of the “impure.”

Then I noticed the horse. It jumped out at me from behind that curtain in a very uncomfortable way.

I still haven’t completely figured out what the meaning behind this horse is. Academic text suggests the word “mare” is a play on the word “nightmare.”

I’m not completely convinced. To me the horse represents an unsettling aspect that captures exactly what a nightmare should. I bet that the use of the same animal’s head in The Godfather was no mistake. The horror continues even when awake.

And just like that I was hooked. Bring on the unusual, the disturbing, the clever and the provoking. I embrace it.