Jaimoe

NDP for Riverdale, Peter "Tight Buns" Tabuns, won again - he actually called me last night looking for my wife. I told him he was going to win and I voted for him (my wife's a registered NDP member... ya, I know). However, the NDPers ate lots of humble pie yesterday. It didn't help seeing all those images of Howard Hampton looking like a sweaty fevered ranting lunatic throughout the campaign.

Double-time and a half for 11 hours work on Monday.

Wasn't Jack White in this band at one point? Actually, I know he was. If you like The Go, then if you haven't done this already, check out another great Detroit band: The Von Bondies (of Rescue Me theme song and Jack White punching out the lead singer fame). Their first album was produced by White (he plays and sings on it too) and Von Bondies leader Jason Stollsteimer's voice sounds very similar to White's, a la Tom Verlaine from Television and Patti Smith or Captain Beefheart and a gruff Tom Waits. Both Von Bondies albums are excellent driving Detroit rock.

Long Live Danny Partridge (and I'm not kidding)!

Dave jumped the shark when he went to CBS, although his age and settling into a formula are have helped dim the asshole Dave of old.

Incidently, that 1234 video was a first take. I saw an interview with Feist and was shocked when she said it was a first take.

Christ this is incredible. The late great Jeff Buckley doing "Mojo Pin" from Glastonbury: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQJFunXnz4o&mode=related&search=

The thing is, these celeb-culture brats have concept that the whole world is laughing at them. They surround themselves with "yes" people that are paid not to laugh.

I think Feist is a great singer/songwriter. It's refreshing to see a woman in her 30's getting video and chart hits. I just have a problem with that single being on every freaking commercial break.

Since Feist didn't receive any wrath for selling out, that was left to Wilco, I was wondering if anyone is bothered by Feist shilling two singles for commercials? The main thing that bugs me is that the 1234 commerical is on every channel almost every fucking commercial break. But hey, it's helped her new album climb the charts. I had little interest in the new Wilco album until I heard how good those songs are in the commercials. I'd never heard Nick Drake until that Cabrio commercial five or six years of so ago featuring "Pink Moon". Here's a Feist article from yesterday's Star, written by the talented prick Ben Rayner: For Feist, iPod makes it easy as 1234 TheStar.com Second single from The Reminder shoots up charts after repeated play in new Nano ad September 28, 2007 Ben Rayner Pop Music Critic After months of grazing the international mainstream, Canadian songbird Leslie Feist looks poised to make a major commercial breakthrough in the States and the U.K. through her recent association with an ubiquitous, tiny silver gadget. Feist's charming "1234" – the second single from her hit album, The Reminder, and a co-write with Australian singer/songwriter Sally Seltmann (who records as New Buffalo) – has been worming its way into skulls on both sides of the Atlantic at an alarming rate since it was picked up for use in an iPod Nano commercial earlier this month. In its second week on the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, "1234" has shot up to No. 28 from a No. 61 debut. Its digital sales have almost doubled, from 41,000 downloads to 73,000. The Reminder, too, has spent the past few weeks clawing its way back into the Top 100 on the albums chart, rising to No. 36 in the most recent Billboard rankings. It peaked at No. 16 stateside upon its release this past spring. In Canada, "1234" has yet to register on the radio-airplay chart, but in two weeks on the digital-download chart – arguably the more accurate barometer of popular tastes, anyway – it's rocketed from No. 21 to No. 3. And it's been hovering around the No. 1 spot in iTunes Canada's hourly rankings. Meanwhile, The Reminder, which already spent a good chunk of the summer haunting the Top 10, rose from No. 42 to No. 26 on the album chart for the week ending Sept. 27. "The single is about to go Top 20 in the U.K. for the first time. It's had a 200 per cent (sales) increase in the United States, a 100 per cent increase here at home," enthuses Jeffrey Remedios, co-founder of Feist's Toronto label, Arts & Crafts. "Radio has woken up to the wonderful magic of this song that we've been pushing for three months ... and finally we're seeing some pronounced upward momentum up the charts, maybe all the way to the top of the AC chart." Feist isn't the first to benefit from exposure in one of Apple's iPod commercials. Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" was one of the first songs to attain a breakthrough, while Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc." and, more recently, the Fratellis' "Flathead" have attained a certain measure of cultural ubiquity. Indeed, so great is the demand to know which song features in which iPod ad that Macintosh maintains an online list of the tunes it has licensed on its support page. Geoff Mayfield, the man in charge of watching the charts for Billboard, says it has become quite common for artists to make "substantial" gains on the charts when their songs feature in the "right" (rather than "dorky") commercials. "She's absolutely got a bit of juice from that spot. It's a really clever campaign," says Mayfield. "We've seen this pattern with previous Apple spots. They're very smart. They always choose something that isn't quite well known." With, Mayfield adds, the notable exception of U2, who used a 2004 iPod ad to preview "Vertigo," the first single from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.The result when the CD arrived? "The biggest single SoundScan week of their career." Feist has already lent "1234" to an eBay commercial in Australia, and her songs "Mushaboom" and "Gatekeeper" have respectively been heard in ads for Lacoste perfume and HSBC during the past couple of years. Her "I Feel It All," also from The Reminder, was heard this month in commercials for the Bell Lightbox at the Toronto International Film Festival. The growing impact of her iPod-related notoriety, however, is on another level altogether. "You can trace it directly to the iPod commercial," says Remedios of Feist's burgeoning success with "1234." "Right after it aired, if you went to ... one of those sites that keeps track of what people are searching day and typed in "Nano song" or "1234 song" or something like that, all of these combinations started to spike. "It's totally wonderful and deserved. Its just like the right song and the right product mix at the right time. We're really seeing a real sea change with the penetration of this record."

Alan, make sure to have a great day while I'm working all night.

I don't watch Dave anymore, but nothing else was on during my break. Anyway, Paris Hilton was the first guest and Dave ambushed her. The old "asshole" Dave was back and I loved every second of it. I laughed hard through the whole segment. I'm surprised Paris didn't storm off the set. If you can catch/record the west coast feed, then do yourself a favour...

Dave's High 5 timing seems a little off.

It looks like are using the same choreographer as Siegfried and Roy.

Ti-Cat fans are so bloody loyal. I know lots. Too bad about the team.

Long live J.C. Watts!

Bird is massively talented and belongs in this era's trail-blazing and young singer/songwriter gene pool with Jim James, Ryan Adams, Sam Beam, M. Ward, Damien Rice, Jeff Tweedy (the senior member) and even that punk-ass kid Bright Eyes.

IRON AND WINE (with Arthur & Yu) @ THE MUSIC HALL, Toronto, Ontario: Tuesday, September 25/07 Review by David Jaimoe Ball [blurb] I'm not the best candidate to review an Iron and Wine concert. One of the big reasons why I bought tickets to Tuesday night's show was to hear my wedding song performed live. My wife and I danced to Iron and Wine's "Passing Afternoon" a year ago and hearing that gorgeous song done live would make a great late anniversary present. Along with "Passing Afternoon", I know only a handful of Iron and Wine songs intimately, and I'm pretty sure I couldn't pick out Sam Beam (aka Iron and Wine) if he sat in amongst his legion of look-alikes dotting the SOLD OUT Danforth Music Hall. [/blurb]Fortunately, my Iron and Wine knowledge, or lack thereof, didn't matter too much after the bearded and bushy-haired Beam announced that that they'd be "playing a lot of new songs, if that's ok with you?" Judging by the roar that followed, the crowd was pumped to hear anything from their hero, including new stuff. Incidentally, Iron and Wine's new CD, The Shepherd's Dog, was released earlier in the day, making Tuesday's gig feel like an unofficial CD release party. Everyone has a couple of artists that they've liked for years but for one reason or another, have never really gotten around to fully exploring their music. Iron and Wine fits that bill for me. Joined by his sister Sarah on backing vocals and violin, Iron and Wine is now an eight-piece ensemble: pedal-steel guitar, two percussionists, organ, slide guitar/accordian, bass and violin/backing vocals. With this large band brings an electrified roots-rock edge and intricate instrumental diversions, a departure somewhat to Iron and Wine's stark and utterly beautiful folk-dominated past. However, none of this mattered to Beam's legions of fans filling the seats at the recently renovated Music Hall. It took the first four songs for Beam's whispery voice and unassuming stage demeanor to emerge from behind both the distractingly low lead vocal mix and his sprawling band. Once the sound guy got it right, the crowd hung on every word; and thankfully there was a lack of the usual audience blabber throughout the night. A few sparse classics from earlier albums were dropped into the set, but true to Beam's word, most of the set was dominated by cuts from The Shepherd's Dog. It didn't matter if you came to hear Beam's trademark emotive stripped-down style or were curious about the new ambitious full-band sound, because the night was full of both. But if you took an audience poll after the show, I'm positive most fans preferred the simpler folk songs by a fair margin. You could hear a pin drop during the quiet tunes, especially during two new standouts, the eerie "Carousel" and the country tinged "Resurrection Fern". However, Iron and Wine continually shook things up, utilizing full-band arrangements featuring dreamy instrumental passages, making for a more interesting and rounded concert experience. Two fine electrified tunes rivaled the quieter material: the mid-tempo "White Tooth Man" and the dark-layered "Wolves (Song of The Shepherd's Dog)", underscored by haunting jams with Beam adding fine lead guitar fills with his back to the audience, something he chose to repeatedly do all evening long a la Miles Davis, but without the jazz legend's disdain. After Beam and company finally left the stage after 100 minutes or so, the crowd finally got to their feet and demanded an encore. Would the encore be my wedding song? The song my wife and I waited for all evening? Nope. Beam chose to play another equally beautiful track to end the night: "Flightless Bird, American Mouth". In the end it didn't matter. Iron and Wine create so much beauty it really doesn't matter what you hear. *** 1/2 (out of 5) Opening for Iron and Wine was the excellent cosmic country, psychedelic garage band Arthur & Yu, named after the childhood nicknames of the two co-leaders Sonya Westcott and Grant Olsen. The somewhat shy foursome put on a very impressive and well received 40 minute set. At various points the vocal interplay reminded me a lot of early June Carter and Johnny Cash, but there are definite Sweetheart of the Rodeo era Byrds, Mamas and Papas and driving Velvet Underground vibes going on too. They impressed enough of the packed house to keep the Beam fanatics sufficiently primed and ready to hear their hero. *** 1/2 (out of 5)

I believe Neil has written two books which are inspired by his motorcycle travels. Ghost Rider is one of them.

In the last few decades, Castro has hand-picked his inner cabinet with his death in mind, so I wouldn't be so sure that the country will quickly change into a capitialist cesspool once El Presidente meets his maker.

I gave up after the third book. Good writer, but like most fantasy and sci-fi writers, they love financially stringing along their fans with series that never end.

I don't think you can really experience Cuba without staying in Havana. It's a crazy place and very safe. Try to book a hotel in Old Havana. You'll regret it if you choose a hotel away from the old part of the city.

You can't beat Cuba for its culture, safety and relative cleanliness. The Dominican Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world and the three or four cities I visited were pretty scary - I wouldn't feel safe at all backpacking around the island. Also, I'd skip Margarita Island in Venezuela.

V For Vendetta

Letters From Iwo Jima