New Canadiana: The Zolas, Ancient Mars

Hey Zachary and Tom, can I have images projected onto me too?

It's officially been two months since I last  wrote a post. The reason for my prolonged absence? A little (yet insufferably overpriced) thing called university. However, every once in a while, an album so catchy and gosh-darn gorgeous will float by that you must write about it. Not that I have the time to write... so I'll just share a bit.

I've heard about The Zolas a few times in passing (especially when they opened for Hey Ocean! here in London a few weeks ago) but I never bothered to listen to them until last night. Funny how 24 hours ago I couldn't name one of their songs and now it's all I can do but hit replay over and over again. I'm hoping to get my hands on their album very soon and write a full review but in the meantime, here are my two favourite tracks off of their new album, Ancient Mars.

Continuing my readings on Chicano punk-rock and hip-hop cultural capital,

First Impressions: Dexter

Why's your hand looking so pale there, Dexter?

You know what I hate being? A hater. You know, being that one person in a group who doesn't like something and then being caught in the dichotomy of either keeping quiet so as not to cause an uproarious commotion or vocalizing your dislike and then, being the minority, having to validate your dislike with arguments like some grad school thesis defense. Like the other day, when I was the only one on my staff team who admitted that she doesn't enjoy spinning. The only muscle that's sore the next day? My gluteus maximus. And it's because those bike seats are so sodding narrow and get rightupinthere. I mean, that didn't make me a real hater, but surrounded by a group of inflexible (heh heh) spinners, it sure felt that way.

Even worse than being a hater is being the person who's never watched/heard/consumed some sort of pop culture phenomenon. One which everyone else in your social circle loves more than their grandmother and dog and future first-born child combined. People give you that 'Do you live under a rock?' look and you desperately wish you did, if only to have a place to hide in shame. So whenever people start talking about Dexter, I just nod and smile and avoid admitting that I have never seen an episode. Never. And yes, I do subscribe to Netflix.

So after arriving back home for the weekend, stuffing my face with food that the parental units paid for, and watching some cringe-worthy Polish melodramas with mum, I decided I would finally make the leap into die-hard Dexterism. I've been told by my sister and friends that I would love it ("It's very Buffy tha Vampire Slayer. Trust me.") and I need a new guilty pleasure to keep me sane this semester anyway.

I'm about 40 minutes into the first episode and have already been irked by too many things. Namely:

-Seeing cut-up prostitutes' bodies. Up close and looking as real as television can get these days. I get that this a serial drama and I don't mean to censor artistic liberty but that's ALL I've seen so far. Women's bodies and a handful of young dead boys in the first 10 minutes. Sure, Dexter's in forensics so he wouldn't be phased by all of these body parts, but something about his cold and clinical approach to them worries me about desensitizing viewers to violence against women. 

-Only two black characters have been introduced so far and have been cast as either hopelessly incompetent or as the president of Douchebagistan. I almost would have preferred tokenism.

-Dexter keeps likening the trail of this serial killer to art, like cutting up women's bodies is a thing of beauty and reverence. Apotheosizing murder? Really?

Then there are other little things which bother me, like how brooding he is all the time and how his voice doesn't seem to match his face. That's just me though.

Is it too soon to be writing about my frustrations with the show? I don't think so. Better to admit it now than get into the show and pretend it never disappointed me. Am I going to finish this episode? Hell yes. I need to know how this killer is draining all the blood from his/her victims' bodies. Will I continue on through the season, get over these hang-ups of representation and end up loving the show? Probably. And you can bet that if I do, I will finally be able to enthusiastically engage in my social circle's conversations on televisual fanaticism. 

Here's to another 13 minutes of gore, brooding narration, and (hopefully) resolution,

PS. I'm pretty sure that the normal response to finding out that your kid has killed the neighbourhood dog and has urges to kill 'something bigger... like a person' is to sign out the library's collection on psychopathy. Like, I'm fairly certain.

Free Music Monday: Radio Radio

I really really want to be friends with these men.

Remember when I just posted about free music an hour ago? And then remember when I posted a while back about Radio Radio? Do you see where this is going?

Franglais rap trio Radio Radio have just released a free download of 'One Day / Libérez-moi' (feat. Horace Trahan) on their website. It's a pulsating and pacey track that completely contrasts today's previous free music download, Matt Lowen. But what are long weekends for if not to broaden our musical palettes? Click anywhere on this unnecessarily long sentence for the free download.

Cheers,

No-Sheaga, Veld and Free Music Monday: Matt Lowen

It's another long weekend and, having worked two consecutive 50-hour work weeks, I am definitely making the most of it. Unfortunately, having to work double-time meant not being able to take time off for Osheaga – you know, that music festival I had been dying to go to since April? Yea, that one. I did however get free passes to Veld, a two day electronic music festival which was held right here in Toronto. Big names included Avicii, Dead Mau5 and Steve Aoki. I went on the Saturday and met up with a bunch of friends from school, who brought even more friends from other schools. It was neon-clad networking at its finest. The following shenanigans ensued:

• Saw a completely topless woman non-chalantly making her way through the crowd
• Had a conversation with a random (but really nice) guy about how we'd both secretly rather be at Osheaga, rocking to Bloc Party "right now" 
• Actually paid $3 for water when I could have gotten it for free from co-workers, who were working the festival
• No one gave me the neon memo (sorry, never been much of a raver) so I showed up in high-waisted polka dot shorts. Always the neo-traditionalist, I am.
• Laughed at some friends who spent a pretty penny on 'recreational substances' which never ended up kicking in
• Danced so enthusiastically that I somehow scratched my leg and didn't notice until a considerable amount of blood had dried all the way down my shin... lovely.

I came home exhausted with sore lungs (even though I didn't inhale a single puff) and several interesting tan-lines as souvenirs. All in all, a good Saturday.

And no, I did not bring a camera to take pictures because, obviously, that would have been the logical thing to do...

I'm spending the rest of my weekend relaxing at home, alternating between CBC Radio 1 and the music of Matt Lowen, who I stumbled upon via twitter. His music is refreshing, comforting and Canadian (my bias). If you've been wanting to dip your toe into the pool of folk music, look no further than his songs 'Back to Me' and '59 Seconds.' Don't let the latter title fool you – it's a 3-minute track. You can download both of them for frizzle (that's 'free' in coolspeak) by visiting his website, mattlowen.net.

In other news, I'm getting very excited about the forthcoming Stars and Bloc Party albums. Stars recently released 'Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It,' another single off of 'The North,' which is out in 28 days. But hey, who's counting? And if you haven't checked out the video for Bloc Party's new 'Octopus,' you can view it below.

xx

On Cultural Aggregation VS Cultural Creation

I’m currently re-reading one of my favourite books, Choke by Chuck Paluhniuk, and something the protagonist’s mother said struck me as incredibly salient. Looking back on her life, she remarks, "I fought against everything, but more and more I worry that I was never for anything... Griping isn't the same as creating something. Rebelling isn't rebuilding. Ridiculing isn't replacing... We've spent so much time judging what other people created that we've created very, very little of our own."

It made me think about the shift I’ve noticed in culture and entertainment products: the shift from cultural production to cultural aggregation. Take pinterest for example - we can spend hours and hours re-pinning picturesque portraits of our  ideal hair/dinner/evening, yet the whole time we're only collecting substitutes for real experiences. What's more, some of us (read: me) develop a sense of pride in having, say, 76 followers on our Harry Potter pinboard, but was it really us who created the DIY crochet Voldemort keychain or brewed the home-made Butter Beer? I look at my humour pinboard and think to myself, Damn I'm hysterical. But I didn't come up with those memes and I didn't take those funny photographs. I was just fortunate enough to stumble upon them and possess enough IQ points to get the joke.

 We're accumulating instead of creating, teased by the promise of building an experience in the future. I'll pin this now and do it later.

The idea of acquiring something and taking credit for its discovery has a lot to do with taste. Build a popular 8tracks playlist and you instantaneously feel valorized, your superior musical proclivities affirmed. But who composed the music? Who spent hours learning music, practicing and writing the piece?  And who took a few minutes to search their music collection and upload it to the web?

I'm guilty of the same thing. My radio show is my baby and and I take pride in what I broadcast. When someone calls in and says "I love what you're playing," I'm on cloud nine for the rest of the day. But I need to recognize that I was just lucky enough to stumble upon this music, and all the credit really goes to the artist. I've collected it and shared it, but I haven't composed it.

And when I don't like something, I criticize but never create. I'll ridicule but never re-mix (not that I'd know how to re-mix Flo Rida's Whistle into a feminist anthem, but it wouldn't hurt to try).  

That being said, I'm going to try to create more.  Maybe not pinworthy creations, but it wouldn't hurt to pick up my guitar and re-learn the chords to Changes by Stars. Or sit down and try my hand at poetry again. Even camping out at my local library for an afternoon until I've handwritten letters to my friends will have meant I spent hours creating instead of watching this YouTube video... for the 12th time.

High-fives and heatwaves,

Free Music Monday: Stars & Teddy Watson

Torquil Campbell of Stars, accented by my superior (ahem) photography skills.

Happy Canada Day, eh! The 145th birthday of my fair dominion was actually yesterday, but Canadians fortunately have today off too. My long weekend has consisted of the perfect combination of fireworks with friends, Netflix (what else?), shopping and chocolate crème cake. The cake was because yesterday was my mom's name day. You know, that weird Polish tradition that assigns a name to a day so you celebrate birthday-style, complete with cake, presents and booze? 


I only have 2 free songs to share today. One is by New York folk/pop musician Teddy Watson, who I stumbled upon via twitter. You can download his charmingly feel-good and undeniably summery track 'The Ghosts and Their Guitars' by liking his facebook page for the free download here.


My next free track is one you've probably already heard of. Canadian pop-rock veterans Stars have released the first single off of their forth-coming album, The North, set to release September 4th. I'm already counting the days.

Amy Millan of Stars, talented vocalist and my girl crush.

I remember once seeing a comment on one of their YouTube videos which read "Canada just made up for Justin Bieber." Stars has been around a lot longer than the Biebs, but this Juno- and Polaris  Music Prize-nominated band is undeniably one of Canada's proudest musical exports. I've seen them perform twice in London, Ontario over the past two years (always October concerts, for some reason) and have never not cried uncontrollably during their performances. During one of my commutes home from work last summer, I tuned in to a live CBC Radio 2 broadcast of their performance in BC (I think) and even cried during that one. You read that correctly. I'm the weird crying lady on the bus whom no one wants to sit beside.


Anyway, the new single is called 'The Theory of Relativity' and it's the shimmering synthgasmic song you've been searching for all summer. Click here for the free download.

"Just 'cause you're crazy doesn't mean that you're free." -Torq, The Theory of Relativity

Enjoy!

xx

Living on the Cheap + Free Paper Lions and The Darcys Albums

Enjoying some good music is always worth the money.

I hope your weekend is off to a great start! I woke up early this morning to go strawberry picking and somehow managed to drag myself to the gym before 3pm. So far, it's a good day. I am however still recovering from the brilliant idea-turned-disaster I made last night: attempting to cut my own hair. When you're a student and looking to save money any which way you can, being your own barber seems like a good idea. But it's not. Unless you're a beauty school student. Which I'm not. Fortunately, I do have other ways of accomplishing a frugal lifestyle. So I've decided to share the 10 money-saving habits I've adopted in my few years as a debt-ridden student in the hopes that they'll help someone too. Some may not work for you (if you don't go to school, it may be a little awkward to attend free food functions on campus. But if awkwardness is your thing, more power to you!). I hope you can at least adopt a few in order to ease your financial burden. Or when all else fails, go straight to number 3.


1. As hip as I feel whenever I'm sitting in my local coffee shop, I'm always swamped by the guilt of knowing that those cups of joe add up. That's why I bought this $4 milk frother at Ikea. Now I can make my own (guilt)-free lattes at home without spending a penny. If you're feeling even more DIY, check out these home-made coffee syrups Elsie from abeautifulmess.typepad.com made. (Note: These frothers work best with regular milk. Soy, Almond and even non-fat won't get as foamy because it lacks the fat needed to get frothy.)

That vintage vest I'm wearing? It was $3 yet makes me exponentially cooler. I think.

2. If you haven't hopped onto the second-hand shopping bandwagon yet, do it. You'll be helping your community, the environment and your wallet.

3. You probably know this by now, but in case you don't: Buy booze at your local liquor store instead of at the bar. You can save so much money by enjoying a drink (or more) at home before heading out. 


4. If you just have to buy a drink when you're out (it happens to the best of us), alternate between water and a drink. That way you always have something in your hand and can stay hydrated while saving a few bucks.


5. Buy your foods in bulk whenever you can. I stop by Bulk Barn every other week and buy tons of grains like quinoa and kasha. They'll never go bad and by storing them in pretty glass mason jars, I can always know what I have and how much of it with a quick glance into the pantry. If you're veg like me, you can also buy beans in bulk to cover your weekly protein needs. Just soak them the night before, and they're ready to cook the next morning!



6. Learn to re-use what you would otherwise throw away. For example, use an old scarf to sew your own pair of shorts:

7. If you're looking to cut down on groceries, organize your schedule around free food functions on campus. If you keep your eyes peeled for posters in stairwells and libraries advertising "refreshments provided," you can evade having to pay for an entire meal. I once went three whole days living off of free food provided by my institution of higher education. And yes, that is one of my proudest accomplishments.


8. Whenever I'm stressed and having a bad day, my instinct is always to buy a glossy magazine with images of clothing and cosmetics I (sadly) know I will never be able to afford. Instead of spending five bucks on a periodical that' actually composed of 30% advertising (I once calculated, I swear), hit up your local library. Libraries subscribe to all genres of magazines and will have the most recent issue of whatever kind you're itching for. You usually won't be able to sign out the current month's mag (so just plop down in a comfy armchair and enjoy on the spot) but you can sign out tons of previous issues. 


9. Break the habit of retail therapy. Always ask yourself: Do I really need this? How will this purchase impact my life? I sometimes break down the cost of a purchase into the amount of hours worked to earn that money to help me gauge how much it's really worth. And always look for cheaper alternatives, like the library for books, or a Netflix subscription if you're a film/tv buff. 


10. Without music (or art in general), ours would be an intolerable world in which to live. That's why from now on, I'll be sharing all of the  (legal) free music I find on the interwebs. Starting with this remix of Bombay Bicycle Club's 'What You Want,' a free download of Paper Lion's new EP, 'At Long Creek', and a free download of The Darcy's most recent album, 'AJA'.


High fives with strawberry-stained hands,