news feeds jan 3

Welcome back. Haven't updated a whole lot the last while because of work, holidays and such not to mention the news has been fairly depressing lately so, hey, hey, what can you do? Thought I would throw out a few things… that are semi-news worthy at best, but you can be done with it in no time and go back to getting your news from The Guardian and USA Today.

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First off, congrats on being alive! We survived yet another doomsday prediction and as it turns out all those Mayan and Dick Clark memes didn't generate enough sarcastic karma to wipe us out. Compared to the last major prophetic apocalyptic threat in the year 2000 (Y2K anyone) every one seemed pretty calm this time around, seeing it as a win-win situation. If it doesn't end, you're alive and if it does you can probably defer your credit card and car payments. Many scientists have predicted that the world will end due to intolerable levels of carbon dioxide, that the universe will rip apart because of its continual expansion or the Sun grows so hot it  eventually swallows Earth. You don't have to rush out an buy water purification tablets just yet, those events aren't expected to take place for billions of years, but as luck would have it, there's a couple more doomsday predictions that will come (and go) during our lifetime. Jeane Dixon, a well known American psychic who passed away in 1997, predicted that Armageddon would occur with Jesus returning to Earth to defeat the Antichrist, Satan and the False Prophet between 2020 and 2037. Jeane also predicted that the world would end on February 4, 1962 due to that particular day's planetary alignment. Swing and a miss. Mariners Church head pastor is rolling with 2021 because it is one biblical generation (80 years) since the founding of Israel in 1948. Sooo.. that is it for the next hundred or so years. Live easy, friends.

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A Washington woman has grounded her 59 year old son for conveniently 'losing' the girl's bike she gave him when he was 8 years old. Helen Puz, now 99, was gifted the bicycle by a neighbour after her husband died forcing her to raise her young son Don alone. Don put up with the girls bike for a while before ditching about 50 feet off the Vashon Highway near Vashon Island, Washington. Helen saw a story in a local paper about a bike that was swallowed up by a tree and thought it looked familiar. Helen and Don went out to the tree where the bike was encased and confirmed it was in fact the bike that had be ditched some 50 years ago. Also, it has been confirmed that the front wheel still turns. I just like the picture. 

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We all know how much of a pain in the ass air travel can be sometimes. The infinite queues, the overpriced stale food, and passengers that require assistance board first? What the hell is that? Not to mention when you actually get on the plane… their stupid small bags of chips and thimbles of juice. Cramped seats. Large dude beside you taking the whole armrest. What a habitually terrible experience. Well, imagine an airport that played nothing but the first six Black Sabbath albums (and maybe some Heaven & Hell and Born Again at regular intervals), the lights were dim, the security was lax (not LAX… airport humour!), and the Ian Gillen led incarnation of Sabbath was the house band. That may be a ways off, but the airport in Birmingham, UK has considered a proposal that would rename the airport after Ozzy Osboune, the resident Prince of Darkness. "It's an interesting idea and I've got an open mind. We need to be making the most of the talent we have got and did have in this city," said Birmingham city councillor Phillip Parkin. Rock & roll, mate!

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This isn't even news, and I feel kind of like a moron posting it but this is photographic gold. And a rarity! A picture of Madonna's legs open WITH clothes on. But for real… she fell while skiing in Switzerland.

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Remember when Mel Gibson didn't scare people just by mentioning his name? He started off bad ass enough, playing in the first two Mad Max films, then Peter Weir's Aussie WWI epic Gallipoli. My favourite of Mr. Mel is definitely Lethal Weapon. The first one. The sequels provided some fun with Riggs and Murtaugh but they didn't come close to the first one. In the original film, the mismatched cops (Mel's counterpart being Danny Glover) take on a seedy drug and prostitution ring, and their main muscle, resident crazy man Gary Busey. Gary and Mel's hair are the best things in a movie and make the best gritty, dirty cop movie since Magnum Force. Why am I mentioning any of this? It just Mel's birthday, that's all. And since Lethal Weapon and, to a lesser extent "Braveheart," are pretty bad ass flicks and hopefully he has a pleasant evening, but Mel, don't drink and get behind the wheel.. Just saying'

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Let's not talk World Junior hockey. Canada's version of March Madness saw the boys lose to a very well prepared American team in the semis, setting up a USA-Sweden gold medal game with Canada and Russia playing for bronze.

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Check out Hot Water Music's new video for "Drag My Body" and check out their current tour dates HERE.

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first CDs ever

About a month ago I posted about the thirtieth birthday of the CD (if you missed it you can check it out here) It was more of a look back on its history, the first CD ever released and all that kind of stuff. But instead of focusing on the slow demise of Gen X's music format of choice, I decided to ask some people what their first CD ever was and to remember how stoked they were to get it. Some of the albums are hilarious, some are terrible and some are killer. 

Since I'm much too old and bitter to think that the younger generation could listen to anything but garbage I though for a laugh I would ask a couple of the younger servers at work what their first CD was. Bob Marley "Legend" was the first girls' reply. Crap.. that's pretty solid. I was semi-shocked, expecting to get a response along the lines of Spice Girls.  The next kid, a nightclub employee named Cody admitted that he put money in Fred Drust's pocket and purchased Limp Bizkit's "Chocolate Starfish & the Hot Dog Flavoured Water." Now we're back in business, that is absolute garbage. My faith in my lack of faith in the young kids' music has been restored. 

Matt Spencer of Lost Mile Productions rocked out to Stone Temple Pilots "Purple" early one, which may have been their last killer record. Hybrid Fighting Method founder T.J. Kennedy also rocked out to some 90's grunge, purchasing Soundgarden's breakthrough record "Superunknown, as was Devin, a Toronto bartender who cranked out the record that started it all, Nirvana's "Nevermind" after his official first CD, Poison's "Flesh & Blood" proved to be unsatisfactory. Jessica Cameron (follow here here @JessicaCameron_) who has appeared in every indie horror film in the last few years it seems danced to Madonna's "True Blue" after playing the cassette version to death. Toronto based personal trainer Cassandra Hope also went with Madge early on going with the Material Girls greatest hits compilation "The Immaculate Collection."

Not too many hip hop albums on here, and these shouldn't even qualify.. but it's the closest we got. "Space Jam" the soundtrack (didn't Michael Jackson's video from the film have Kriss Kross and Macauley Culkin in it?) was purchased by Toronto actor/writer Gerry. I'm pretty sure I saw the video, presented by Master T on XTendamix. Remember that show? It was like "Rap City" only much smoother. Less confrontational. Anyways, the World's Sexiest Comedian Nicole Arbour was bumping the aforementioned XTendamix's Much Dance Mix 1992 on her boom box (Sorry, is that terminology terribly outdated?). Remember when they used to have music videos on that Much channel? Toronto bartender Charlie got jiggy with it to Will Smith's "Big Willie Style," while actor Josh hung tough and was willing to admit his first disc was New Kids On the Block. Muskoka funnyman Tyler Morrison's father certainly wasn't joking around when he bought Tyler copies of ACDC "Who Made Who" and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirty Cheap" which we all know are pretty bad ass records. 

North Toronto restauranteur and long time rocker Dan (Drums & Flats) got into CDs early on, mid 80s, and among his first purchases were U2's "Rattle & Hum" and Dire Straits "Brothers In Arms." The Dire Straits album was also the first choice of retired musical suit Scott, who also remembers buying a Sting album, the current one at the time with his first CD player. Christina, a graphic designer was loving the hair/glam rock, turning up Def Leppard "Retroactive" (a compilation of bsides and outtakes spanning the bands entire history.. ya) to an 11 of a possible 10. Karen, a bar manager, spun Guns & Roses' "Appetite For Destruction" in the late 80s, as was most of the country, whereas Toronto trainer Karen listened to the "Romeo & Juliet" soundtrack during her teenage years in the mid 1990s.

Jason Loewenstein, of Sebadoh and Circle Of Buzzards' first CD was Slint's last. "Spiderland" was released on Touch & Go in 1991. He also remembers a very early purchase of Mission Of Burma's "Rykodisc Collection" which had the longest running time of any album at the time of its release (nice little factoid Jay!). Crimes In Paris vocalist Rayce Veitch got his punk rock on with the simultaneous purchase of the Offspring's "Americana" and NOFX's "Punk In Drublic", while Crimes guitarist Stu Miller chose the classic rock stylings of the Forrest Gump soundtrack (a double album of great classic rock tracks). Gizz Lazlo, member/former member of US Bombs, Kill Detail, Dead Lazlo's Place and The Freeze, has what may be the best first album, Montreal rockers' Doughboys third album "Happy Accidents." He said when he first saw the oddly shaped case he scooped it up immediately and called it a good day. Ottawa based punkers Off By An Inch's singer Chris' got Down By Law's "punkrockacademyfightsong" after years of collecting cassette and records. The Clearing's vocalist Stephan got a copy of Duran Duran's "Decade" as a gift along with his first CD player from his uncle. The first album he actually went out and purchased was Megadeth's "Countdown To Extinction."

Anyways, that's about all. The actual release date of the first CD player/CD was the first of October 1982 when the number one song was John Cougar Mellancamp's "Jack & Diane," the number one film was E.T. and people couldn't get enough of Dallas and the Ewing family on the tele. Not sure if the CD will hit 40 or even 35 years, but it is nice to reminisce, so thanks for those who read this, who contributed and people who just love music. Cheers!