Why songs get stuck in your head "Some people who are exposed to music constantly say they try not to let any one song stick. 'You tune it out all day,' said Joann Downs, a manager at the Record Town in South Shore Plaza in Braintree. 'And you don't listen to the radio in the car.' Still, Downs said, she's powerless to stop The Baha Men." Nooo!! (Via Ghost in the Machine)

"Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you." Oscar Wilde died 100 years ago today. Send someone you care about an Oscar postcard. Then visit Oscariana.

OK, I feel like crap today. I was confused by the cryptic message at Kempa.com and didn't understand that a family member of Adam's had died. So when someone e-mailed asking me about it I said I didn't know what it meant but thought it was some sort of prank. I've since lost that guy's e-mail and feel really bad about it.

Oh, wow. There's a song on that comp called "The Worst Record Ever Made" by Aletha and the Memories. It's really Kim Fowley and some girls he rounded up from off the street improvising to a "Louie Louie" riff. It's totally fucked up and I love it. Kim rocks.

Gosh, it's kinda sad when I buy an album and forget to listen to it when I get home. Music just hasn't been that exciting these days. But I'm glad I remembered to dig out the CD I bought earlier tonight, a compilation of '60s garage girl groups called *ta-da* Girls in the Garage. I'm not a big fan of high-pitched girly shrieks but so far these chicks have nice, deep voices. Diggit.

Disturbing clip art I found it on the homepage of the local food bank and can only describe it as a hypnotic dancing beet.

George W. Bush or Chimpanzee? "I have nothing in particular against the man, I just think he kind of looks like a chimpanzee." (Via Pith and Vinegar)

As Victor Meldrew once said, "I don't buh-leeave it!" I never thought the day would come where I felt sorry for the separatists and happy for the Tories.

I'm so ashamed. I only scored 7 out of 10 on the Guardian's Oscar Wilde quiz. But who can trust a quiz that says Oscar's middle names were Fingal O'Flahertie? They were, of course, Fingal O'Flahertie Wills... (Via Wherever You Are)

Whee! Election results! I can't tell you what they are until the polls close out West though. It's the law, dude.

Hrmph. Just as I figured. Instead of taking their time and singing it properly Stuart and Stevie are rushing through "Emmanuel" like a five year-olds at their pre-school recital. And oh, fuck...who let Isobel near a microphone again???!!

Drawer B reviews the Human League tribute album Stephin Merritt and Claudia Gonson singing "Don't You Want Me" sounds like the best in theory song since Belle and Sebastian singing "O Come O Come Emmanuel". Songs like that always sound better in your head than the stereo. Actually that's the case with most of B&S's post-BWTAS output...

If you are Canadian and reading this weblog you better go vote if you haven't already. Don't make me come over there and kick your sorry apathetic arse.

Nate's Sock Monkey Hub Sock monkeys! How can ya not love 'em?!! (Via Jejune, who makes makes a Freudian typo calling David Blaine a "musician")

I don't know about you, but I find this depressing. It's not progress, folks.

The Classic Bubblegum Music Page As someone who's continually playing catch-up with semi-obscure musical genres I think there should be more sites like this one. Not only is there lots of raw information on artists and records but there's also helpful reviews for beginners. (Via Cultural Artifacts of the Moment)

Yes, I took the silly MASH test. Here are my results:
You live in a Mansion.
You're married to Bono.
You drive a Aston Martin. (not sure of the spelling?)
Your car is the color silver.
You live in the state Louisiana.
Your honeymoon is Disney World.
Your occupation is a Journalist.
You have this many kids: 4 (3 male; 1 female).
Heheh. Not too shabby, eh? I'm upset I didn't become an assassin-for-hire though. I think there'd be a sit-com in that! (Via Millie and Nanette)

April met Michael Stipe! Don't worry about acting like a starstruck arse, dear. I'm sure I'd be the same way with Bono. Just like REM for April, U2 got me into "real" music. But I've confessed that before, haven't I?

Reading the paper today I actually got up and took a red marker to John Ibbitson's face. That's how angry I was at his column in today's Globe and Mail called "How to get Paul Martin to be your prime minister" (It's not up on their site yet, maybe tomorrow). In it, he discusses how people in Ontario don't want to vote for Stockwell Day's Alliance but they don't want Chretien as the leader of the Liberals (they'd prefer Finance Minister Paul Martin). Of course, Ontarians would never vote for the NDP or the PCs because everybody knows they're a "joke". Ibbitson then writes:

"Atlantic Canadians are acting although Mr. Clark and Ms. McDonough actually aren't jokes (and just what does this tell us about Atlantic Canadians?)"

What it tells us is that Atlantic Canadians vote with their conscience. It was bad enough during the American election listening to the Democrats moan on about a "wasted" vote for Ralph Nader. I used to think the only wasted vote is the one you don't make but I've since realized voting for a party you don't really want is even worse. The real joke of this election is that we can't vote for who we really want--Paul Martin. But that doesn't mean John Ibbitson has the right to insult Atlantic Canadians and their votes. We've had quite enough of that from the PM already, thank you very much.

Two days till election! Ever since I voted last week I feel like the kid who's ruined Christmas for herself by sneaking a look at all the presents. I'm not having second doubts about my choice but all the fun of actually voting is gone. Sometimes I wonder what Sophie makes of our election silliness.

Hats of Meat "One always looks neat, in a hat made from meat." - Mark Twain. Funny. I don't recall him ever saying that. This link should more than make up for three days of slack posting! (Via FARK)

Today was Buy Nothing Day. I bought a slice of pizza and a Coke. If it makes Adbusters feel any better the pizza wasn't very good. So both my stomach and my soul were left empty. *sobs*

Top 100 Works of Journalism in the United States in the 20th Century I'm proud to say I've read number one! A rather broad definition of journalism though (Angela's Ashes?). Via linkmachinego

What the...?! Blogger is now telling me I don't have permission to edit my template because I'm not the administrator! Grrrrr.

It appears the "new and improved" Blogger ate two of my posts last night. One of the things I wanted to mention was the mix tape I finished on Monday night. I'm very proud of it, especially the first side. Which is ironic considering I'm boycotting the Beatles and Blur right now. I'm only now starting to lift what must've been a near four-year moratorium on Nirvana. I know I shouldn't care what others do or say but the Kurt-overkill really sickened me.

Intern hell. Day two. I listened to the following songs to feel better at the end of the day: "Seeing Red" - Minor Threat, "Trigger Inside" - Therapy?, "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" - The Pogues, "Hang on to Your Ego" - Beach Boys, "Sure Shot" - Beastie Boys, "You Can't Hurry Love" - The Supremes, "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" - Edith Piaf. There's a pattern there, I reckon.

Feed Celine Dion "With all her millions surely she can afford a Happy Meal! Is she spending all her money on clothes? Cars? Cabana boys? I will not rest until this woman hits the scales at 100 pounds."

I'm surfing about looking for some cool '60s garage/punk sites when I see a link for a site called PowerPopModPunkPop. I think, "Oh, wow that sounds great!". So I click over and find a half-naked anime chick leaning against a rock. What the fuck does that have to do with the music? It's not big or clever. It's just gross. Too bad it had to ruin what has the potential to be a great site.

Being on the net for so long I shouldn't be surprised at elaborate fan sites for even the most obscure musician or TV show. But this page dedicated to ultra-cheesy '80s kids comedy show You Can't Do That On Television managed to rock my socks off. For the unelightened the show was known for its green slime falling from the sky, lame jokes and, most infamously, starting Alanis Morissette on her road to fame and fortune.

"Mmm...pie" From a taste of strange

Yahoo to start charging for services? Oh, you bastards.

Whoo. I finished my online workshop yesterday, writing three stories and therefore almost doubling my output for the entire four week course. Starting Monday I will be interning at the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. It's not as cool as some of the places my friends are going (National Post, Time Out London, BBC...) but I'm sure I'll have plenty to do what with the federal election and all. Since I'll probably be working all day on Nov. 27 I voted in the advance poll this morning. I got home and the Progressive Conservatives were knocking at my door. Too late boys! *evil laugh*

"The snake that cannot cast its skin perishes. So too with those minds which are prevented from changing their views: they cease to be minds." Get your own quote from everyone's favourite syphilis-ridden German philosopher at the Nietzsche Aphorism Generator.

I have this weird habit where I forbid myself to listen to my favourite records because I'm afraid that if I listen to them too much I'll become sick of them and they will lose their magic. So a large portion of my record collection goes unplayed. I end up staring at my gigantic pile of CDs, huffing that I have nothing to listen to. People think I'm nuts. Anyway, the other day I took out SFA's Radiator because I hadn't heard it in a long while. Fortunately my self-imposed exile helped my appreciation of the record. I heard lots of strange sounds I never noticed before and wondered why I didn't listen to the record more often!

Help me. Here I am, sitting in the computer lab trying to finish my assignments like a good girl. Next to me someone is browsing Real Audio files looking for a song for a radio piece. I think I just offended the room when I said Blink-182 isn't punk. "What are they then--alternative?" "Crap!" I said. I'm so snobby. I'm not saying anything else. I lose friends this way.

Nanette points out this page of mis-heard lyrics called Am I Right. Now would be a good a time as ever to hype my humble collection of mondegreens. Hot pants, I love you so!

Perhaps there is a small bit of justice in the world...Kathie Lee Gifford's pop album, featuring tracks like "One Hot Menopausal Mama" is bombing. (Via Obscure Store)

Tim Russert was on the Today show this morning fiddling with his red marker and erasable board again. He seemed pleased when he figured out another way for the Electoral College to be tied. Bless his little heart.

You probably already know this but The Onion is insane this week. Especially the bit about Strom Thurmond.

There's been a lot of talk (maybe, maybe too much talk) about how the Canadian Alliance plans, if elected, to allow national referendums to be held on certain issues if 3% of the population (about 350,000) say they want it. Such a promise is too much for the
shit-disturbers at This Hour Has 22 Minutes to pass up. They're asking Canadians to sign the following petition: "We demand that the government of Canada force Stockwell Day to change his first name to Doris." Don't delay, sign today!

Whoa. sorry for the lack up updates folks. Blogger's been on the fritz for the past little while. Lenin was right when he said, "Instant karma's gonna getchoo, sucka". But not posting gave me the opportunity to read Roger@Starshy, which is one of April's faves. The colours are a bit too pastel-y for me, but it's all about the content, babe.

One of my favourite things to do when I'm feeling emotionally drained or bored is browse Yahoo's list of individual cat homepages. They're all written in a bizarre first-person narrative from the cat's point of view and usually involve nauseatingly cute clip art and/or MIDI files. Reading these pages is often disturbing, but nothing soothes my bitter soul faster than looking at cute fuzzy kittens.

I haven't seen that New Yorker article on blogs that everyone is talking about but the response, Deconstructing "You've Got Blog" is verrrry good. The author Joe Clark (no, not that Joe!) dares to say the unbloggable: the A-List bloggers aren't really all that good and their celebrity-status is somewhat baffling. Nice to know I'm not alone on that.

Since everybody goes into hibernation during the weekend it's up to me to report that the faboo Scrubbles has a new addy.

Oh, dear. Bored and having a bit of an existential crisis (yes, again) I decided to take an online Career Questionnaire. I filled it in according to my interests and skills only for it to say, "The questionnaire returned no careers". So I went back and fiddled with some of my answers and it told me I could be a real estate agent or funeral director. Now I feel much better.

After posting it on my homepage nearly two years ago I finally got a response to my tongue-and-cheek rant Why Super Furry Animals Are Better Than Radiohead. The e-mail had the subject line: "YOU KNOW NOTHING SO SHUT THE HELL UP" and the text of the message consisted of: "SFA BETTER THAN RADIOHEAD GO BACK TO BED LOSER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Thanks for the input!

Am I GOTH or NOT? (Via Blue Ruin, the blog formerly known as Bloglet.)

Remembrance Day has always puzzled me. We're supposed to remember the sacrifices made by those who died for our freedom. At least that's the old line the school would trot out every November 10th, when we'd all gather in the gym to listen to another rendition of "In Flanders Fields" and watch some appalling video montage backed by a Bryan Adams tune.

Although John McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" is a wonderful poem I've come to the conclusion in recent years that it's maddingly inappropriate for Remembrance Day. Something about the last verse's "if ye break faith" rhetoric smacks of war bonds and government propaganda. I hardly think if the war dead could speak to us their first words would be for others to die like they did. Most of them left home anxious to fight for freedom and justice but a lot more died face-down in the mud, crying for their mothers.

I'm not saying this as some ignorant kid; I'm repeating what those who lived the experience have told me, not the air-brushed history books and movies. When a war memorial was erected after the First World War poet and veteran Siegfried Sassoon wrote:

" ‘Their name liveth for ever,' the Gateway claims./Was ever an immolation so belied/As these intolerably nameless names?/Well might the Dead who struggled in the slime/Rise and deride this sepulchre of crime." ("On Passing the New Menin Gate")

Sassoon was too close to the event to ever see it objectively, but he raises a difficult question: when does remembrance of the dead turn into canonization? It's a thin line, one which most people don't have the complexity to walk. Instead, the meaning of Remembrance Day is whittled down to a few quick soundbites and wearing a plastic poppy.

Each passing year means there are fewer veterans to tell us what war is really like. We owe it to them to remind ourselves how horrible and senseless it was, not glorify the dead for being puppets of forces greater than their own. This isn't meant to demean their actions. I'm extremely grateful for their sacrifice. But let's straighten out the message of Remembrance Day. The best way to start would be to get rid of the torch-bearing heroism of McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" and replace it with Wilfred Owen's infinitely more poignant poem "Dulce Et Decorum Est".

Get ready for Dave Grohl to rock you like a hurricane with Probot, his metal side-project. I wish I had a "riff consultant".

Have the Fighting Irish gone soft? An opinion piece which basically says that the University of Notre Dame shouldn't bother trying to emphasize academics over football since all college sports are corrupt anyway. Oh, so because everybody else is doing it that makes it OK? That's the same stupid mindset that's pervading the American and Canadian federal elections: just go with the flow since you're never going to change anything. Sorry, I can't accept that. Integrity is never a bad thing.

X-E continues to dreg up long-forgotten childhood memories with a retrospective on Boglins.

Uhgghhghg. I need to write three more stories for my online workshop. By next week. Unless something good comes up I'll have to write about the "weblogging phenomenom". *groans*

Good news! Sterling from In Review e-mailed me to say that they're not dead but merely undergoing "server weirdness".

Bits of bloggy business: Blue Lines is dead, but Tom's non-music blatherings live on with A Loafer's Discourse. With freakytrigger.com back in operation Cultural Artifacts of the Moment has a new design. steal this blog! is now known as vain, selfish & lazy, Hellsblog has a new address anddesign, while Empty.org's In Review seems to have vanished. Update your bookmarks while I try to do the same!

One last election coverage comment...Since there' s not much else to talk about right now the media's doing what it does best--talk about itself! Of course, the real reason the networks fucked up comes down to one simple reason--journalists are crap with numbers (well, Tim Russert excepted). I should know.

Last night I mostly watched CNN and Canadian ex-pat Peter Jennings on ABC so I missed Dan Rather's wacky similies such as how Bush had "run through Dixie like a big wheel through a cotton field".

This banner by the CBC hardly communicates the severity of the situation. It looks like Bush and Gore are kids waiting for their parents to take them to Disney World. Florida! Whee!!

Best bit of the marathon U.S. election coverage: bleary-eyed reporters making Dubya-esque slips of the tongue as they drone on about the "Electrical" College. Too bad Larry King didn't have the fatigue excuse when, early in the evening last night, he called Bob Dole "Al". After they went to commercial I had visions of Norm MacDonald as Bob Dole stabbing Larry with his pen shouting, "Bob Dole doesn't like that!"

Sexy Rock Stars claims to link to pictures of sexy rock stars. All I can find are pics of Brian Molko and Silverchair. *ba-dum-dum* Thank you very much ladies and germs! Take my wife--please!

King's Journalism Review is what was causing me so much "thesis angst" a while ago. It's my class's fourth-year honours requirement for our journalism degrees. Usually it's printed in a magazine/newspaper format but this year we were short on funds and put it on the internet instead. A lot of people grumbled about not having a hard copy but I think it'll be a lot more available to the public this way. Anyway...all of the stories have to do with issues in Atlantic Canadian journalism but maybe you'll find something interesting.

Since I'm not American I'm not going to bore you Yanks about who I think you should--or shouldn't--vote for. The last thing I want to sound like is one of those smug self-righteous liberals on The West Wing (this coming from someone who considers herself pretty liberal). But I think it's important that if you are eligible to vote today that you do so. *adopts screechy mother voice* There are starving people in China who would happy to have what you have!

The lighter side of Stephin Merritt? He still doesn't look like he's having a good time.

It seems I haven't raved about a blog discovery in ages. But a taste of strange looks very promising indeed. Anybody who likes Hieronymus Bosch is a friend of mine!

From Modern Humorist: More Propaganda for the Internet Age A sequel to that wonderful "When you're downloading MP3s you're downloading Communism" poster. Plus, it's not too late to wear some of their campaign stickers.

Tom has written a crazy-long article on his weblogging experience. Go and read now if you haven't already.

Last night on Malcolm in the Middle Malcolm and his family were stuck in a traffic jam where Malcolm meets up with the girl of his dreams. She's smart, pretty and funny. Unfortunately she lives in...Nova Scotia! Nice to see us depicted on TV as human beings instead of caricatures (eh?).

*blushes* Oh my. (Via Catherine)

It's November so that means a new issue of Perfect Sound Forever! Some highlights: the final interview with Love's Bryan MacLean, Build Your Own Prog Metal Band and an article which dares to admit AOR is not A-OK. Nice to see someone take a stand against the continual hipster re-evaluation of questionable music. Why does it always seem to be Jim O'Rourke and Sonic Youth who lead the charge on these things anyway?

MuchMusic has a federal election page that's well worth checking out. They recently handed out a questionnaire asking all the leaders (and I mean all--they asked the Communists and Natural Law) the kind of questions you really want to know, like the last CD they bought. I love those kind of questions because all I can think of is an army of handlers and spinsters huddled together trying to figure out the most politically advantageous thing to say. Unfortunately Rick Mercer's prank the other week involving terminally unhip politicians lip-syncing to Trooper's "Raise a Little Hell" has been mis-interpreted by Joe Clark. It's his video request.

It's hard to believe the American presidential elections are actually coming to a close. I just expect them to go on forever like the way the Korean War lasted 7 years on M*A*S*H. But this time the race is actually interesting (even if the contenders are uninspired lunks). It would be pretty wild if the whole Electoral College thingamabob tied. How far will partisan politics actually go? Would the House vote along party lines or for whomever won the popular vote? Such drama!

There was a great article I ran across recently saying how the big issue of the U.S. campaign has essentially come down to "Who's Cuter: Bush or Gore?" (but I lost the link. Sorry). Well, Bush is way too frat boy and Gore is kinda hunky but only in the boring preppy guy mothers nag at their daughters to "settle down" with way. Ralph's the only man for me (I'm not the only girl who thinks so). But I'm not American so I'll just have to make do with our own sexy leaders. *snickers*


Speaking of Stockwell Day (yeah, he wishes)....The Alliance says it's tired of seeing Canadians' money wasted on art they don't appreciate and will do lots of slashing and burning with Canada Council for the Arts if elected. I shudder to think of what the Alliance considers "proper" art. Probably atrocious neo-Greek statues of Stock in the nude or something. ("Love God" link via your best source for U.S. election blogger coverage, Ghost in the Machine)

I didn't know DrawerB did movie reviews but I guess Pay it Forward is so bad it warranted one: "The ending is over the top...I half-expected to see Elton John perched at a golden piano singing Candle In The Wind dressed as Count Chocula." Funny stuff and some choice words for my man Kev too.

Listening to Parklife I've changed my mind again. I'll take "End of a Century" over "Radar" any day. Flugelhorns! ooooooohs and ahhhhhs! Snakey Graham guitar!
Graham's guitarwork in those days has always reminded me of a little inchworm or snake, wiggling around the melody in the background. I like that kind of style of playing a lot more than showy in-your-face wall of feedback stuff. It's the difference between Bernard Butler's playing in "Animal Nitrate", which slithered, and his playing now, which is as flat as a pancake. I think it's a mistake when the guitar player starts to look forward to the solo instead of trying to find ways to contribute to the song as a whole. Johnny Marr's only solo in the classic guitar-hero sense was in "Paint a Vulgar Picture", which was The Smiths' last album. Just goes to show.

Saw the tail-end of the Blur video for "Music is My Radar" today. It caught my interest and I didn't know it was Blur until I saw the band sitting there. I think I may be the only person on Earth besides the band likes it. I mean, it could be a hell of a lot better but it's not nearly as bad as some made it out to be (the version I've downloaded is only 4 minutes though...isn't it like 8 or 9 on CD?). Ah, there's nothing like the Lowered Expectations Factor to make even the most mediocre efforts sparkle!

Tom is retiring Blue Lines, which makes me sad since it's one of my favourite personal-ish sites. But I emphasize with Tom's concerns. School and work has not left me with a lot of time to take the time to enjoy the internet like I did over the summer. Instead of stopping and reading long thoughtful entries in other people's blogs I quickly scan them for useful links or for mention of me. That's crass and pathetic and I'm sorry. The last thing I want this thing to be is another worthless web site. I just have to keep repeating to myself that I'm not blogging for others but for me. I don't mean to offend anybody out there reading but I don't see the point of tailoring my entries for an audience I'm not even sure is reading. So no polls about what I should and shouldn't do. That might sound crass and self-serving but I feel it's the only way I can keep my sanity. After all, until I start getting paid for writing this stuff it's just a hobby.

Our Lady of Sorrows A piece on Billie Holiday which seems to imply that listeners are wrong to associate link Holiday's pain and suffering with her songs since she didn't write them. Seems ridiculous to me, but maybe I've just read it too quickly...

MPs find Margaret Thatcher more appealing than naked girls "Lady Thatcher provoked the strongest reaction in 80 per cent of the politicians. Party allegiance made no difference to the results. Members of the public reacted most strongly to the pictures of more obviously sexually attractive women or of the spider." That sentence almost reads that the spider is more sexually attractive than Thatcher. But wait, spiders are!

Newspaper editor fired over Deftones photo The controversy is over the "Fuct" brand T-shirt Chino Moreno was wearing. The train of stupidity just keeps rollin' along...

"Clinton goes back in time, teams up with Golden Age Clinton" The hot and cold Onion is hot hot hot this week! (Did I just write that?)

Mike Myers offered $20m to star in Pink Panther remake Sounds terrible, but I'm relieved the Kevin Spacey as Clouseau rumour is apparently just that.

Gleefully offensive Celine Dion mural in Quebec City depicting her giving birth to a ghost. "There is no word yet on what Dion and Angelil think of the painting." Oh, well gee. I'm sure they'll love it...