Another Canadian favorite:
“One Great City” / The Weakerthans (2003)
Also, it’s not clear if the person who put together this “tribute” video hates or loves Toronto.
If you’re to believe the media un-hype, I am in the minority when I say I prefer the Winter games, hands-down.
The Summer Olympics are exciting, yes. But there are too many events about which I could care less. The Winter Olympics, however, are non-stop excitement.
For me, at least.
I mean, come on! Speed skating? Figure skating? Snowboarding? Ski jumping? Luge? Skeleton? These are extreme, death-defying, breathtaking events!
…And the fact that the Games are being hosted by Vancouver, the most beautiful of cities in the most wondrous of provinces in a country with which I’ve always been enamo(u)red is just one thick, decadent layer of sweet buttercream icing on the proverbial cake.
As a kid, I would put on my inline skates and go up and down my street, pretending I was Bonnie Blair (or maybe racing against Bonnie Blair). Even though I am no athlete myself, I idolized the likes of Cammi Granato and Hayley Wickenheiser. In my dreams I, too, was a medal-winning ice hockey player.
Though I have only been on skis for one afternoon in my entire life (never once leaving the bunny slope, mind you), watching the likes of Peter Frenette makes me want to immediately go skiing again. They – meaning EVERY SINGLE PERSON REPRESENTING THE UNITED STATES IN THE WINTER GAMES – makes it look so easy! And effortless! And just…fun!
Say what you will about events like curling, or the biathlon, but even these weird little events are interesting to me. Honestly, I’m not sure there is any one event that I am unwilling to watch. Which is a good thing, considering that’s all that’s going to be on NBC for the next 15 days and that channel happens to come in crystal-clear on my shitty little TV antennae.
In short, this is the most magical time of the year.
At least until baseball Spring Training starts.
In hono(u)r of Winter Olympics this year, I’ve decided to feature my favorite Canadian artists for the next few weeks in my SOTD.
Today we have…
“Sleeping in a Submarine” / Arcade Fire (2003)
Though Bud Select 55 has a taste that resembles beer-water, and I imagine it would take approximately 17 bottles to reach a level of genuine inebriation, it’s not too bad for what they’re trying to do.
That’s all I got.
Remember this one?
“West End Girls” / Pet Shop Boys (1985)
Because the video is straight-up awesome, no chaser:
“Whip It” / Devo (1980)
I purchased liquid eyeliner today, but I am afraid to use it.
“The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton” / The Mountain Goats (2002)
Read the poetry! :
the best ever death metal band out of denton
were a couple of guys, who’d been friends since grade school.
one was named cyrus, and the other was jeff.
and they practiced twice a week in jeff’s bedroom.
the best ever death metal band out of denton
never settled on a name.
but the top three contenders, after weeks of debate,
were satan’s fingers, and the killers, and the hospital bombers.
jeff and cyrus believed in their hearts they were headed
for stage lights and leer jets, and fortune and fame.
so in script that made prominent use of a pentagram,
they stenciled their drumheads and guitars with their names.
this was how cyrus got sent to the school
where they told him he’d never be famous.
and this was why jeff,
in the letters he’d write to his friend,
helped develop a plan to get even.
when you punish a person for dreaming his dream,
don’t expect him to thank or forgive you.
the best ever death metal band out of denton
will in time both outpace and outlive you.
hail satan!
hail satan tonight!
hail satan!
hail hail!
“I’ll Be Yr Bird” / M. Ward (2005)
Someone once told me that getting me to talk is like pulling teeth.
I disagree, because here’s what she actually meant:
I’m okay with not talking. I’m not uncomfortable with silence – though there’s always exceptions to that rule, eh? But no, seriously, few things bug me more than useless talking.
I understand that not everyone is okay with pauses in conversation, that something in their brain causes them to feel some burning need to fill the void. Some people are good at making conversation and filling time in this way; they’re natural conversationalists and this is not small-talk that irks me.
Other people are not as good. I’m not faulting them for not being naturally witty and quick-thinking because I’m sure as hell not. I do, however, get irritated when they choose to fill the silence with meaningless wastes of air.
Oooh, harsh, Julie! I know, but hear (see?) me out.
Let me set up a situation that involves two people who perhaps don’t know each other very well, but who must be in close proximity to one another. Let’s say – and remember, this is purely hypothetical* – that they are coworkers.
During moments of “down time” in between completing work-related tasks, let’s say that one coworker makes a comment involving said work; maybe she is commenting on how tedious that particular task is to her. It is a negative comment, and the person is (consciously or not) trying to accomplish two goals here: a) to fill the gap in speaking and b) to build solidarity with the other worker.
In this instance, it can be tempting for the other coworker to agree with the statement because – usually, at least – it has some element of truth to it. But this is where things have the potential to go downhill very very quickly.
Bonds forged over shared bitching are not nearly as solid as those made over actual, meaningful, dialogue. But in the case of Coworker A, who is uncomfortable with silence and is compelled to say something, anything, in that pause, her first instinct is to complain about a shared situation. Whether she realizes it or not, this inclination is rooted in a self-conscious desire to make a meaningful connection with the other person, even though – ultimately – that connection will have no real meaning outside of that moment in time.
So she’ll say something like “Smelling this food is making me hungry!” at which point, I (whoops, I mean, “the other coworker”) is inclined to agree. The food does smell good, and it does make me (whoops, I mean “the other coworker”) feel hungry. So agreement is made, which sets off the ugly cycle:
break in conversation
Coworker A: Gawd, I’m soooo hungry.
Coworker B: Mmmm.
A: It smells so good in here! Oh my gosh!
B: Mmmm.
A: Oh my gawd aren’t you hungry?
B: Guess you’ll eat something before you come in next time, eh?
A: Oh my gawd when I go home I’m making some ravioli and eating some chicken wings and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
B: Well, haha, that’s nice.
A: And then blah blah blah blah blah hungry blah blah blah blah hungry blah blah blah blah aren’t you? blah blah blah
B: Oh, ha ha, I’m going to insert this ball point pen into your left nostril with a sharp, upward motion! Haha!
A: Oh haha, you’re so funny! Blah blah blah hungry!
In summation: If you do not have anything real to say when you speak to me, there is a very real possibility that it will not end well for you.
Just sayin’.
*No. It’s not.
the sloppy copy 