How didn’t I know this? The Office has proven to be arguably the best comedy on television these days. Here’s the article from Variety. Ooooh, didn’t I sound like Ari just there? With the Variety reference? No?
Please say you’re an Office fan. You can argue all you want about the UK vs. US Office, there are some great versions of these characters and great performances in the American version. As a bonus for a guy like me who has to leave the room once Ricky Gervais appears on screen, the American version is much sillier and significantly less awkward. It’s not that I don’t appreciate Ricky Gervais, only the contrary. He’s so good at awkward comedy that I must leave the room or at very least do the frightened-turtle-head-in-shirt routine to avoid the skin peeling discomfort.
Anyway, new Office spin off seems to be arriving in the new year. Characters that I know of so far are Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari (his tumblr account is pretty good). We all know, love, and want to impregnate Amy Poehler, that’s well established. She’s eternally funny in my books. Aziz Ansari has been doing sketch comedy for Human Giant, popular on YouTube and mediocre in laughs. Some funny parts, but mostly just wankery to me. Hopefully good writing will make him shine.
Here’s my 2 fave Human Giant videos, thanks to Amy’s husbando Will Arnett and the inline skate.
Without trying to sound like a stuffy boheme, this is my favourite style of music. I will let the trusty/robusty www.allmusic.com define this genre for us:
“Post-rock was the dominant form of experimental rock during the ’90s, a loose movement that drew from greatly varied influences and nearly always combined standard rock instrumentation with results that didn’t rock per se. Post-rock was hypnotic and often droning (especially the guitar-oriented bands), and the brighter-sounding groups were still cool and cerebral — overall, the antithesis of rock’s visceral power.” In fact, post-rock was something of a reaction against rock, particularly the mainstream’s co-opting of alternative rock; much post-rock was united by a sense that rock & roll had lost its capacity for real rebellion, that it would never break away from tired formulas or empty, macho posturing.”
Perfect, I really could not have said it better. Bands like Talk Talk and Slint started this movement, and bands like Sigur Ros, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and Stars of the Lid are keeping it alive and vibrant today. Personally, I think that standard rock and roll in 2008 is not only hilariously cliché but quite sad. It’s still for some people and I don’t refute that, it’s just not for me. I’ve heard those 4 chords played with Les Pauls, Marshalls, and shitty Boss distortion before, thanks. I’ve also heard how much you drink, smoke, and have sex. Congrats, you will die before me, and when you pee brown, it will burn. A lot. You’re living a life that was actually cool 30-40 years ago. I’m all about textures, pleasing/original arrangements, and great melodies, not your 3 hour prep time mohawk nor your flying V’s that you can barely bar chord. Call me a wimp, I like it.
For the past five years, the two bands that I consider the most influential and impactful are Radiohead and Sigur Ros. Anyone who knows me well has heard me ramble so I will save it (especially if you read the put-you-to-sleep blogs I wrote for ThoseSongs.Com).
These two bands epitomize post-rock – they almost always deny the easy routes to get a crowd on their feet or excite a radio station manager, and still manage to write transcendental music that actually means something, is critically acclaimed, and oh yeah… SELLS. They always stick to the motto of less is more and derive so much power from such subtle music. To me this is where the true gift of songwriting comes through – can you impale a listener’s chest with huge and powerful music, but keep your distortion pedal off? Didn’t think so. These two bands are proof that if you write solid original music, (s)he will come.
Radiohead’s video for their new single, “House of Cards” came out today. And guess what – they did it again. Not only have they re-invented themselves after almost every record AND re-invented music sales (ie. pay what you can music downloading), they have also re-invented the music video. No cameras, no lights, just data. I’m gargling right now, they’ve combined my two favourite things – music and science. They’ve used geometric informatics and LIDAR to generate images of various scenes, Thom’s face, etc. Here’s the YouTube video, already at 60,000 plays today. The making of this video is also on YouTube here.
As for more personal updates – I’m in Waterloo, Ontario finishing up my M.Sc in Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Waterloo. My research is related to groundwater quality, mainly the microbiological contamination of groundwater from agriculture. For those unfamiliar with natural sciences, a good way of describing my research is to say it’s directly in response to the Walkerton tragedy. Remember Walkerton?
I did my undergrad here as well in Environmental Studies and moved onto Science for my grad. Really enjoying research, but also excited to be trying something new and flexing the applied knowledge brains. Unsure whether I’ll venture into consulting, government work, tech, research, etc. Looking like consulting for awhile, really looking forward to the pace and variety of projects.
In September I’m leaving for Montreal to be with Cara. She’s at McGill doing her Master’s in Counselling Psychology. World domination will ensue. Just need to polish our French. Or sand and buff our French. I can’t wait to be there and have our own place right downtown. It’s got a big wood beam. Beeeaaam. I’ll be finishing up my degree in the fall and likely finishing up some more requirements before I’m legitimately a PGeo. Here we be, this is in Cape Breton Island in Canada’s only single malt distillery, had an amazing restaurant. We dig the dine.
I guess the best way to start is to let you know what I’m listening to and what I’m reading.
I’ve been spinning these tracks for the last month, and they both keep getting better and better.
The National‘s Boxer is about a year old and on virtually every rock critic’s top 10 list of 2007, deservedly so. The bandwagon is warm. Matt Berninger’s vocal delivery is something very special. Don’t let the baritone get you down – it grows on you like Chia.
I think of (good intersection mellow) Bruce Springsteen, Arcade Fire, Interpol, Leonard Cohen. They are notoriously known for being a “grower” band. Remember when you and your friends always say “My favourite albums are the ones that grow on me. You have to earn it.”? Yes, it’s how we all feel, it’s probably the most important sign of a good song, at least to me. This is how the National frames their writing, and this record completely displays it. Not too many bands have this as their mandate, and I have no reasonable idea as to how Matt Berninger writes with that in mind, it’s boggling. Give it a small period of time, you’ll find Waldo.
Fleet Foxes is another deserved bandwagon jump. Say what you want about the almighty Pitchforkmedia.com, they are responsible for distinguishing this band for me, and I appreciated their promotion of Fleet Foxes. Think old Jim James from My Morning Jacket (one of my heroes) goes Great Lake Swimmers. The late bloomer “Blue Ridge Mountains” has really solidified this band as a group who really gets great melody and moody/intelligent arrangements.
” In the quivering forest / Where the shivering dog rests // I will do it grandfather / Wilt to wood and end”
” I was following the pack all swallowed in their coats / with scarves of red tied ’round their throats //
to keep their little heads from fallin’ in the snow / And I turned ’round and there you go”
Check out 4 awesome tracks on their MySpizz. Their songs are so good, it’s actually worth going to their MySpace and tolerating the most blood-boilingly annoying talking emoticon banner ads, trust me.
SAY SOMETHING.
Ok. I’ve also been reading a not-so-new book, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon. My mumsy was the main reason why I decided to read it.
Really cool narratives, sporadic, train of thought style dialogue. Fun and complex and disturbing. A cool read so far.
More personal updates will follow soon, but this is more important. Right?
