[...music...]: 2009-10

2009-10-26

along with my purchase of a new fountain pen, i bought some new ink.

i kept hearing about noodler's ink, with their bulletproof black. since i was running out of the parker quink that i'd been using for a while, i got a bottle of the noodler's to try it out.

i also did a rough test of the waterproof properties, comparing the two inks. the paper was submerged briefly in water:

wow, pretty good.

at $18 a bottle, i found the noodler's a bit pricey. but it turns out that the bottle is large (3 oz.), so the value is quite good, with the same cost per ml as the parker quink.

~~~

Labels: other

2009-10-22

taqwacore

on tuesday, i went to cinéma du parc with rox for the film "taqwacore: the birth of punk islam".

i really liked this film. it's amaxing to think that this whole movement started from a guy who wrote a fictional novel, a book that inspired people to make it real.

the director was there for a q&a session after the screening. i felt a bit sad that we were less than 20 people in the audience.

i'd never bought music in digital form before. but after the screening, i liked the music so much that i bought the soundtrack in mp3 form, on a usb key.

~~~

Labels: other

vancouver

i passed by hmv on tuesday. i saw the new matthew good album "vancouver". i hadn't known about any new material until rox told me about it about a month ago. i had been underwhelmed with his previous release "hospital music", so even though i knew the new songs were streaming for free from his website, i hadn't checked them out.

at the store, i sampled a few songs at the listening booth. i was immediately hooked with the opening track:

last parade

i love when he uses the piano in his songs. i skipped to the next track, and i love it just as much:

the boy who could explode

from those two tracks alone, i got the cd.

overall, i really like this album. a lot of piano and strings, which is what i liked so much from his debut solo "avalanche".

another highlight for me is a "rock" track with some punch:

fought to fight it

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, matthew good

2009-10-21

lamy al-star purple

a shiny new toy for me! i got my first lamy earlier this year, as a self-gift for submitting my thesis, and was super impressed at how well it writes. it is a well-priced pen that writes amazingly well, with a modern design and comes in many colours, which makes it easy to collect.

last week, i had passed by the pen shop and took a look at the lamy display case. what's that i see, a purple al-star? i had never seen that colour before. it doesn't even appear on the corporate website.

yesterday, i passed by the pen shop again. i talked with the vendor, and it turns out that it's a new colour. i decided to get it as a self-gift for my birthday.

the purple is a rich grape colour. the pen is a bit heavier than the safari, is cool to the touch, and writes excellently as well.

~~~

Labels: other

2009-10-12

emilie autumn @ le studio

on saturday, i went to the emilie autumn show, on a whim. when i passed by the venue in the afternoon to get my ticket, i noticed some people already in the line-up. by the time i arrived twenty minutes before the doors time, the line-up had already gone around the block. oh my, i didn't realize she had such a following. i had gone to the show alone. while waiting in the line-up, i met a brother-sister duo who were nice enough to let me hang out with them during the show.

emilie performed with the bloody crumpets, a group composed of: aprella, the blonde doll; captain maggots, the crazy pirate; contessa, the cannibal; veronica, the raven-haired seductress.

the show started 45 minutes late, and lasted for about two hours. it felt more like watching a play or a musical rather than a concert. there was a set on stage: a clock-like screen in the middle, an elaborate tea set and candles on the right, more candles on the left, trinkets hanging from above.

each woman played a character, and many songs were introduced by a little skit. of those that i remember (and captured on video by various people in attendance; none of these vids are mine):

contessa introduced each of the bloody crumpets, with their reason for being in the asylum. veronica told us about the canadian welcome they got at the border: drug-sniffing dogs, which they did not appreciate. as an intro to "shalott", emilie autumn asked the audience for a voice warm-up, and chanted "fuck youtube". at a certain point, things got a little crazy, where muffins and cookies, with "tea" was thrown at the audience. before "unlaced", emilie autumn was upset at veronica for not practicing the harpsichord. after playing "unlaced" with supposedly only two mistakes, veronica was allowed to play "the rat game", where she chose a girl from the audience to go on stage and give her a kiss (a girl with angel wings got picked). veronica also explained that it is okay for a lady to swear if she adds "indeed" at the end of the sentence. as an intro to "god help me", contessa invited the audience for a prayer. captain maggots performed the spongebob squarepants song before "misery loves company".

each of the bloody crumpets also demonstrated her special skill during the talent portions of the show: veronica did a feather dance during "dominant". during "unlaced", maggots performed on stilts while aprella did some pointework. on another song, maggots also did some neat tricks with a hoola hoop. during "306", contessa did some aerial acrobatics with rope/fabric hanging from the ceiling.

songs that i remember:
4 o'clock
opheliac
liar
the art of suicide
i want my innocence back
shalott
dominant
unlaced
god help me
misery loves company
i know where you sleep
306
face the wall
bohemian rhapsody
thank god i'm pretty

there are more videos on youtube.

i am usually into shows that are more "authentic". but every once in a while, it's fun to go to a show for entertainment purposes. this was definitely such a show, with a set on stage, the many skits, the various performances, the characters, the costumes (colourful hair, feathers, hats, and other hair accessories, doll makeup, corsets, stockings, lots and lots of sequins and glitter, etc). even if, at times, it felt a little gimmicky, on the verge of being almost cheezy, it was still a fun show, different from the typical indie shows i've attended with blasé hipsters.

at least, there was one song where emilie showed her musical talent, the instrumental track "face the wall". she even said: "the truth is, this is what i really do", just to remind us that she is a musician, after all. i really liked that piece, and the way she played her instrument, with a crazy intense look in her eyes. it made me realize that as much fun as all the extra performance stuff is, it would have been really nice to see a solo music show as well.

~~~

Labels: emilie autumn, le studio, shows

2009-10-02

moleskine notebooks

since i left a pretty decent job to get back to my studies, i told myself not to mess this up.

as a motivation, i splurged, and went shopping at nota bene (what a cool shop!) to get my first moleskine notebooks.

on the right, the folio will be the main notebook, keeping track of my research. at 100g/m^2, the paper is thicker than the usual office multi-purpose, which makes it really nice to write on.

in the middle, the plain notebook will be used to scribble, to take all the messy notes during meetings with the prof. i should get into the habit of carrying it everywhere so that i can take random notes anytime.

on the left, in red, is the planner, to get organized, of course.

i know it's ridiculous, but that's $80 in notebooks. i'm usually good with money, but this was something i got to make myself feel better.

now, i am armed to tackle the phd.

~~~

Labels: other

mono @ latulipe

the popmontreal fest is taking place now. last night i went to the mono show at cabaret latulipe. it was my first time seeing them, having missed them every time they were in montreal in the past. i went alone; i can't believe my mom still freaks out about me going to shows by myself.

i went to the venue early, and got a good spot. front and centre.

the opening band was maserati. kind of typical post-rock, but with a touch of prog? i really liked it. i had thought they were loud; but it turned out they were just a warm-up compared to mono.

i'm not too familiar with their material, so not sure what their setlist was. but the highlight for me was definitely "show me the season", especially the drumming at the end. here's a taste from an other show.

i was introduced to mono by a fellow mogwai fan (thanks dude!). since i had missed a couple of the past shows in montreal, i had gotten their dvd "the sky remains the same as ever" as consolation. instead, it made me feel bad, since their live set looks incredibly awesome. this time, i was determined to attend the show (by the way, if i had not left the job, i would have been out of town this week...).

what can i say? on record, mono sound epic. live, the experience is even more intense. their tracks usually start off pretty mellow. then there's the slow buildup, so gradual, that eventually, it becomes a noise explosion and you wonder how it all started.

this band is so cool. as in, their music is perfect for winter, when everything is covered in white. it seemed fitting that i was seeing them live on one of the first cold days of this fall season. they also seem so cool that they're in their own zone on stage. no chit-chat between songs; notice the absence of a mic.

my favourite part was during "yearning", when it all went quiet, then the sudden noise explosion, like getting punched in the stomach, followed by several minutes of aural assault. awesome. i don't know to else to describe it. it's one of those things you need to be there to experience for yourself.

setlist:
ashes in the snow
burial at sea
follow the map
pure as snow
yearning
the battle to heaven
halo
everlasting light

~~~

cd purchases: i got the mono albums that i was missing "under the piapl tree" and "walking cloud and deep red sky...". i also got a maserati album "inventions for the new season".

hearing damage: i was prepared, and bought earplugs for this show. i wore them for about half a song when i remembered why i never wear earplugs at shows: i hate the muffled sound. it's bad, i know, but i'd rather hear everything even if it means letting my ears get blasted.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, latulipe, maserati, mono, popmontreal, shows

radiohead

on my same visit to hmv, i saw that they are having some kind of sale on the re-releases of radiohead's first three albums: "pablo honey", "the bends", and "ok computer". i call those their "rock" albums; it's the only radiohead that i could really get into. they were selling the 2-disc version for $7 each and the 3-disc version for $13 each.

oh wow. i knew i had to get them. the 3-disc version, of course.

each disc comes in a cardboard sleeve. the booklets are exactly the same as the original versions. with each album, there are cards showing the cover of the singles and ep's. everything is housed in a cardboard box. alright packaging.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, radiohead

au bout du monde

a bit of a cd shopping spree.

i am now unemployed, having left my job to go back to school. except that i am not officially registered until january 2010. so i have a couple of months of free time.

hier, je suis passée par hmv mégastore, puisque j'étais dans le coin. surprise, un nouvel album de dumas, intitulé "au bout du monde":

on dirait la conclusion à la série:

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, dumas