No, the above title isn't the name of a new weekly blog post (sorry!), but it is the name of a weekly soul music night at Strangelove (587 College Street, Toronto).
I quite fancy Strangelove for its electro music on Thursday nights, but I had never been on a Wednesday until two weeks ago.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience- no cover, $3 drinks 'til midnight, $3 shots of Jack & Jager all night, flatscreen TVs showing old videos of funky performances, an assortment of DJs playing '60s soul, motown, R&B, and rock 'n roll, and people that aren't afraid to shake what their mama gave them.
Perhaps Wednesday night isn't the ideal night to boogie on down, but a groggy Thursday morning spent double-fisting coffee every once in a while is definitely worth it.
It isn't very often that I make mix CDs anymore, much less receive them. So it was much to my surprise that one arrived in the mail for me a few weeks ago from my lovely sister, Anne. The occassion? My birthday.
Yep, another year older. Another three candles left burning on the cake for those three boyfriends that never quite arrive; another four seasons of triumphs, tears, and drunken debauchery; and another 52 weeks filled with endless surprises.
It hasn't quite hit me yet, although sometimes I think I'm in denial about my age. But once in a while, I'll look through old pictures, read old letters, or just put on a mix CD and feel content about where I'm at today.
Here's a song from a mix CD that I received right around this time last year:
They want you to sink But you stood up and swam
Around this time last year, listening to the above tune made me feel quite glum for various personal reasons. But as I listen to it today, I can channel Dr. Seuss' words of wisdom and think to myself, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."
I won't go into further detail, but I will say this: In any way, shape, or form, pass music on. You never know who's still listening to that mix CD you made a year ago (and who's still smiling because of it). Music, like happiness, is only real when shared.
Sunset Rubdown is an experimental art-rock five-piece from Montreal.
A solo project turned four-piece and now five-piece, Sunset Rubdown has been around for over five years with two EPs and four albums already under their terry cloth robes. Truth is, I had never heard of them up until recently. But it was a fateful encounter and my ears are quite content to be catching up.
And that's the beauty of stumbling across an already-established band: If you like one song or album, you don't have to twiddle your thumbs until the next one comes out because you already have a plethora of tunes to sift through.
I'm really digging Sunset Rubdown's sound because it's more of an experience than background music. I wouldn't throw on a Sunset Rubdown album at low volume while multitasking, but I might blast it while chilling on the couch and absorbing each song's dense instrumental layers.
Really though, each song feels like an eccentrically epic tale with its grand arcs, fantastical storylines, rich metaphors, and overall dizzying melodies.
Yet I'm still having a hard time describing their sound because I feel it's both literally and figuratively 'out of this word': Am I waltzing in a castle? Floating in space with Bowie? Lost in a house of mirrors? About to avenge a murder? At times, all of the above.
I haven't gotten to their latest album, Dragonslayer, yet, but I did hear the following track from it and I'm really enjoying the gorgeous guitars:
I would love to see Sunset Rubdown live one day. Anyone 'been there, done that'?
Normally I'm not a huge fan of baby jokes (especially of the 'dead baby' variety), but I kept coming across these little strips on different websites and they gave me a quite a chuckle:
After two minutes of extensive, exhaustive research, I discovered the source of these photos: A book called Safe Baby Handling Tips by David & Kelly Sopp. Click on the pic below for more:
Last night, my older brother asked me if I liked "that 'dance 'til you're dead' song." I believe he said it was "pretty sweet."
I immediately knew what he was talking about and I immediately agreed. Indeed brother, that tune is pretty darn sweet. It's so sweet that it gives me a musical sugar high every time I listen to it. It's loud, catchy, edgy, and very danceable. I've even heard a few remixes of the song in different clubs and I must admit that they, too, were nothing short of 'pretty sweet.'
If you haven't guessed it already, the song is "Heads Will Roll" by thewonderful Yeah Yeah Yeahs:
