Polkaroo, his name is so excellent...

This, for some reason, was the funniest thing ever this evening.

David Mitchell makes me chuckle

It irritates me when teenagers in bad dramas or adverts say things such as: 'Your mum's cool' to mean: 'I like your mum.' The correct response should be: 'No, my mum is not cool - she doesn't wear sunglasses indoors or weird clothes. She is a middle-aged woman who is nice and good and wise and worrying about what's cool is beneath her.'

La traduction

For those who asked me for a translation of the P45 thing...I think it sounds better the way that Vero did it!

I always liked reggae, but when I heard Stone Love, I was smitten. Stone Love isn’t a band, but a soundsystem—one of Jamaica’s many mobile discos, a concept that has been around for almost fifty years, playing the music audiences demand to hear. A soundsystem is so much more than just a DJ, it’s a whole experience. I didn’t think that music could be so loud, so powerful and so fun. From that moment forward I have had a love affair with Jamaican music, specifically dancehall and especially at top volume.

One of the things that’s particularly wonderful about the types of music played at a soundsystem event is that some of the sweetest tunes—stuff called lover’s rock—gets just as much of a response as the most intense dancehall. Jamaican music is so varied. Granted, sometimes I’m beyond disappointed by the lyrical content, but I tend to focus on the positive stuff I like and simply don’t support the negative.

Given the sheer amount of tunes available, for this playlist (or playlists!) I chose some of my favourite tunes from 2008 and split them up according to mood. Depending on how you’re feeling check out a little something soft or a little something hard. I like ‘em both equally.

Merci Vero!

I was asked by the terrific P45 to contribute a little bit of sunshine as an antidote to our increasingly cloudy and chilly days. Every week they host mixes by local folk--luckily they aren't looking only for djs, because, apart from my appearance at Bounce Le Gros (which still shocks me as something I actually did--thanks, Ghislain!) and opportunities provided by Guillaume, I very rarely dj anything or anywhere.

All this to say that I don't suggest that the mixes are terrific, but the tunes are!

Check it here--and don't forget your French/English dictionary!

p.s. I am not going to pretend that I wrote such amazing French...that's thanks to the inimitable and wonderful Ms. Vero B!

My thoughts on reggae/dancehall in 2008

Can be found here.

Things I am enjoying right now...

My disc of the week:
Amadou and Mariam
Welcome to Mali (Because)
Kicking off with the eerie, electronic, Damon Albarn-produced “Sabali,” this simply fantastic album continues to seduce and surprise throughout. Mariam’s voice is perfectly paired with Amadou’s jangly guitar and a range of layered instruments on an album that resists catagorization. The couple, who met in 1977 at Bamako’s school for the blind, have been making music together for over 25 years. Their Manu Chao-produced Dimanche à Bamako, from 2006, was a revelation. On their own, they have now crafted an album that’s equally good and sounds overwhelmingly present. It connects the dots across the continent of Africa (Somali-Canadian K’naan guests on “Africa,” calling it the “original East-coast, West-coast collaboration”) and beyond, to the rest of the world, begging comparisons to everything from garage rock to ’70s funk to ’90s Britpop. It’s tough to stop
listening. 9/10 Trial Track: “Sabali” (Erin MacLeod)

My TV program of the week:

I asked a little while ago about fixing this thing

Some folks said that I should move to wordpress. Would anyone have any further ideas? I am super clueless as to how I would put together something that would allow me to host my CV, some writing, etc.

As for other related news, my main project for the next six months or so is to write my dissertation. It is going to happen. I have a nice beginning chunk, and I hope that I can get going all the more this weekend.

Posting cool stuff will continue soonish!

Can't believe it.

The American national anthem means something totally different this evening.