Yesterday afternoon, we braved the bitter cold and drove down to Cuisine ‘n’ Jazz in the AMC complex near Thickson and the 401, to hear some live Jazz. Every Sunday from 2 ’til 5, there’s a jam session which (if yesterday’s example is representative) is well worth the drive. We got there just after 2, and the musicians were already in fine form.
Between the great music and the excellent food, we were well rewarded for heading out into the cold. We’ll certainly be back for more.
Here’s a brief performance by (two-thirds of) Texting Mackenzie from last month at the “Indie Attic” in Ottawa:
H/T to Sam Mallett for the link.
Tom Vinson sent this link to the Lois McMaster Bujold mailing list:
To which Dorian E. Gray responded, “I see your Hallelujah Chorus, and raise you an Anvil Chorus with real anvil:”
It must be a slow news week: a gamer in California claims that World of Warcraft is harmful, seeks damages in a law suit:
Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore subpoenaed in World of Warcraft lawsuit
What do you do when a videogame makes you miserable? You take its makers to court and get the Depeche Mode guitarist to testify on the nature of melancholy, of courseIn one of this year’s loonier lawsuits, Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore has been subpoenaed by an American videogamer and asked to testify on the subject of “alienation”. Erik Estavillo is suing the makers of World of Warcraft, alleging that the game has alienated him from the real, orc-less world.
According to the San Jose, California resident, World of Warcraft is a “harmful virtual environment” and its developers follow “sneaky and deceitful practices”. Despite this, Estavillo admits he “relies on videogames heavily for the little ongoing happiness he can achieve in this life”. He just wants World of Warcraft to cost less money. And to stop making him so sad.
Which brings us to Depeche Mode, those purveyors of angst and sorrow. Estavillo’s court filings put forward multi-instrumentalist songwriter Martin Gore as an expert witness on melancholy. Gore should be called to Santa Clara county superior court, Estavillio suggests, “since he himself has been known to be sad, lonely, and alienated, as can be seen in the songs he writes”.
The Guardian reports on the umpteen-thousandth demonstration that controversial material gets more column inches than good music:
San Francisco band Girls have made sure their music video won’t be played on MTV — by filling it with “gay porn”. That’s how they describe the “Hardcore XXX Edit” of their Lust for Life video, which features phallus-flaunting footage that is itself a toned-down version of the original idea they sent to their label.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the group’s new video is not safe for work, children or anybody with a delicate disposition. Over the song’s joyous shuffle, there are nude girls in bathtubs, men putting on lipstick and, er, singing into penises. Certainly it won’t be showing on MTV any time soon, but according to guitarist Chet “JR” White, the Hardcore XXX Edit is “not even the [real] hardcore XXX version”. “It got cut,” he told Pedestrian.tv. “I’m kind of upset [the original] didn’t get put out, actually.”
“There’s a gay porn version we were really pushing for that was incredible, like nothing else. But at the same time, it’s really beautiful — about two people who love each other. We’re from San Francisco, so it’s not a surprise to us.”
The only difference with this manufactured “controversy” is that they’re not even trying to pretend that it’s anything other than a publicity grab. In a way, that’s kind of refreshing.
Although this particular case appears to have ended correctly — with an apology from the heavy-handed enforcer — it does still illustrate just how far the copyright police are willing to go:
A shop assistant who was told she could not sing while she stacked shelves without a performance licence has been given an apology.
Sandra Burt, 56, who works at A&T Food store in Clackmannanshire, was warned she could be fined for her singing by the Performing Right Society (PRS).
However the organisation that collects royalties on behalf of the music industry has now reversed its stance.
They have sent Mrs Burt a bouquet of flowers and letter of apology.
Mrs Burt, who describes herself as a Rolling Stones fan, said that despite the initial warning from the PRS, she had been unable to stop herself singing at work.
John Scalzi: Listening to the Bob Dylan Christmas Album, because, honestly, WTF. I think these days Bob’s just screwing with folks for fun.
John Scalzi: To answer the question: The Bob Dylan Christmas album is, in fact, terrifying. As in “stop it, you’re scaring the reindeer.”
Stephen Robb looks at those poor, unenlightened barbarians (like me) who aren’t just wetting themselves with joy over the release of the remastered Beatles collection:
James Bond apparently hated The Beatles.
In Goldfinger, he advises Jill Masterson that “drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees” is “as bad as listening to The Beatles without earmuffs”.
The Bond girl’s own verdict on the Fab Four, unfortunately, is not recorded before her untimely demise on the inside of a coating of gold paint.
That was 1964, when 007 may have felt threatened by that year’s global success of The Beatles’ first movie, A Hard Day’s Night.
I’m not a “hater” . . . there are a few Beatles songs I still like, but of the (quick check on the iPhone) 2254 songs currently residing in my collection, zero of ’em are by the Beatles. If I want to hear ’em, there’s plenty of “oldies” radio stations (real and virtual) offering them on regular rotation.
And I always liked that line from “London Calling“: All that phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust.
Colby Cosh reposts a very odd craigslist posting (well, I’m assuming that it’s not representative of typical craigslist postings . . .)
Today only, you can download the Sandinista Project for free:
Joe Strummer of the Clash would have been 57 today. So today seems like a good day to give Clash fans a present.
It’s been two years. Does anyone remember The Sandinista Project?
In May 2007, Abe Bradshaw and the crazy geniuses at 2 Minutes 59 Records let me put out a borderline-insane track-by-track tribute to the Clash’s Sandinista!, with a different artist performing each of the album’s 36 songs. (You can read Abe’s version of the origin myth here.) We received mostly positive reviews from publications ranging from The New York Times to Pasadena Weekly, although someone told me that Robert Christgau hated it. More important, it was a great experience: I got to work with many of my favorite performers and create something.
The Sandinista Project is free for a day
H/T to BoingBoing for the link.
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