yr dirty boots

'cause there may be times when you think you lost your mind

2009-06-29T13:49:00.007-04:00

i know that i've been gone for a long time. honestly, i wasn't really expecting to post with any kind of regularity. but i have to be honest, since thursday night, i've been doing a lot of thinking.
i'm not going to be maudlin here, or grandstand about how amazing and awesome michael jackson was. or how important he was to me. (although he was both)
in the end, he was a complete stranger. both to me, and i imagine, the rest of the world, even those who thought they were close to him. so now people who can't even spell his NAME properly, and who a week ago dismissed him as some weird pedophile are now crying all over the internet. whatever.

here's what i know:

thriller was the first album-as in, actual record-i ever owned, and i grew up listening to the wiz soundtrack. bad was one of the first tapes i owned, and dangerous one of the first cds. then i just kind of...got into other things. but always had a soft spot for mj, and a 2 or 3 seconds long intro of pretty much any track of his would get me on the dance floor.

i wore out the first and second copies of bad, and lost dangerous, but you'd best be sure i checked on the wiz and thriller this weekend.

i remember everyone being in church one sunday, and as we bowed our heads in silent prayer, my younger brother belting out the beat it chorus, my mom putting him under one arm and walking him out of the back doors while the rest of the congregation snickered.

i remember being in dance class with stephanie nichol and trying to moonwalk in our tapshoes, which worked awesomely because they just slid across the floor.

i remember hurrying home from trick or treating to watch the thriller video on tv with nanny, and then years later, hurrying out of the washroom onto the dancefloor at a halifax bar (pacifico?) when the same video played on halloween some nearly 20 years later.

i remember earlier this year when i was trying to teach the kids at work about pop music history and watching them connect the dots from jackson 5 era michael, to thriller & bad, to the "creeper" they knew him as, and start to re-evaluate what they thought of him and wanted to know more about him

so yeah...
a lot of people are taking this time to sort of (further) demonize or idolize the guy. i don't really think that, for awhile now, i considered the michael jackson that dangled babies and went into hiding and showed up to court in his pjs to be the same michael that posed with the baby tiger or danced through the subway station.
similarly, i don't think of the latter jackson as being same as the adorable little boy in the purple hat, fronting a band of brothers.

no matter which michael you grew up with, you can't deny the man made some of the best music in the world.

i don't even really know what my point is, other than he lived at least 3, and likely many more lives within his lifetime, so it's a weird kind of sadness that i'm feeling with his very sudden (although not wholly unexpected passing), since it's almost like the michael i "knew" has been gone for quite some time now.

but this is an mp3 blog, and you're not here to listen to me ramble on, like the billion other people talking about him since last thursday. it's just kind of shitty that last wednesday no one really seemed to care any more (and i am as guilty as everyone else, i admit).

anyway...
i'm not going to post the stuff that's blazing around the interwebs. i'm quite sure that for now, we've exhausted the remixes and covers (although for sure someone somewhere will be capitalizing on future remixes for the next while). here's the wiz. it's pretty awesome, and was the soundtrack to many an afternoon when i was younger.

you can't win - michael jackson (from the wiz)

ease on down the road - michael jackson and diana ross (from the wiz)

too many themes to combine into a clever title

2008-06-16T08:34:00.003-04:00

herein contains the following:
hints of things to come, thematic elements including summer, nights, driving, driving in the summer at night, thunderstorms, sing alongs, rock and roll and also: good looking rock and roll. also: good 80s memories and tapping your knee/the steering wheel in time with the beat, while possibly rocking your head back and forth.
and another hint of things to come: Z.
alright alright, on to the music in a second. but first: if you were stymied by my bandwidth being exceeded, i apologize. i am working to solve the problem, and so i hope if you have any hosting suggestions or other commentary on the subject, you will share them with me. and now, with no further brouhaha, i give you the music.

cadence weapon - tattoos (and what they really feel like)
the spill canvas - all over you
jason mraz - i'm yours (NOT the new version, in my opinion, this older version is much nicer)
mark ronson feat. amy winehouse - valerie
mates of state - my only offer
robyn - be mine!
annie - i know ur girlfriend hates me
level 42 - lessons in love
danko jones - still in high school
the republic tigers - buildings and mountains

**please note, with my apologies: for the time being, no more right clicking on the links, kids...it's left clicks for now while i sort out the situation**

still a knucklehead

2008-06-12T11:42:00.003-04:00

i have new hardware, so i am VERY busy making multiple playlists, all with exceedingly (and unnecessarily) cryptic names. some involve long strings of numbers. it's good time. alas, the ipod has seemingly bit the dust, but in between gadgets, i found time to make a pant load of mix cds. here are some of the songs that made appearances, and also: i think you would look super cool if you were playing them loudly at a red light with the windows down. because as we all know, music isn't about art, it's about looking cool.

Coolzey - He Did

tittsworth - easy like sunday mornin (commodores remix)

Ghosthustler - Someone Elses Ride

alphabeat - 10000 nights of thunder

MGMT - Time to Pretend

the hush sound - honey

The Cool Kids - What Up Man

Arrested Development - Mr. Wendal

Naughty By Nature - Everything's Gonna be Alright

so...how do we all feel about "mixtapes" and "playlists" once or twice a week? I feel very very good about it.

also, keep an eye out while i reveal the awesomeness that is my new toy!

back for real

2008-06-11T18:20:00.001-04:00

(starting tomorrow)
for now, enjoy this and relive my youth with me:

don't call it a comeback (really, don't)

2007-11-20T14:58:00.000-05:00

i'm going to try to make a go of this thing again, albeit with a slightly different format. in lieu of an actual post today, please strap yourself into a time machine with me...and enjoy.

dangerous times

2007-06-18T16:33:00.000-04:00

i won't give this any introduction beyond the following:

if you aren't already a jesse dangerously fan, i dare you to watch this and not be charmed. think about it, the rascalz never put out a video on ice.

happy birthday to us

2007-06-10T11:47:00.000-04:00

so some stuff's been not so awesome (car breaking down, fighting with EI, looking for a new job) but who cares, because it's my birthday. and also, kim and kelley deal, and judy garland, and if imdb is to be believed, a whole lot of other people. but what matters is the 4 of us. here is our most recent family portrait. also some music for you to enjoy. also i am old now. also, i need to get my stickers for my plates. (also: cheese rangoons and chocolate cake and starbucks) (and yes, i fully realize that a lot of this post reads like i was spammed...apparently that is how i talk/type/write now that i am old, i guess we are all just going to have to get used to it together.)

cracker - happy birthday to me

the breeders - no aloha

requiem for a PIN

2007-05-25T14:56:00.000-04:00

so i had all these posts planned out for this week (like, GOOD ones) and then i had a craptacularly busy week, topped off with my bank account getting skimmed. so, monofus press and cartel (band in a bubble)...you will happen next week, when my anger and frustration have subsided long enough to say the nice things i WANT to say about you. for now though, let's just have a moment of silence for my PIN, which i had to change today. it was with me (on this account) for 10 years. and now it is no longer.

Dear PIN,
We went to lots of places. You helped me get money, you were easy to remember, and easy for me to input. You stuck by me through 8 bank cards, and numerous address changes. you will be missed. i hope you have a good time in PIN heaven.

that being said, today's post is going to be quick and dirty. there is one song that i really WANTED to post, the rest are all for you nostalgia tripping folk out there.

first off, as super awesome as blake lewis may have seemed in comparison to the other idols, he looked kind of sad compared to doug e. fresh. and watching his performance, i thought, blake isn't half bad, but he's no rahzel. in that, he made me say "cool" but not "wow"

thus, prepare your mind to be blown if you haven't already heard this:

rahzel - if your mother only knew

and now these are just here because the start of summer makes me want to build a time machine and go back to 1997. (and if you live here or TO, you sort of can...noah's arkweld is playing here on sunday and nxne in a few weeks). enjoy!

the hardship post - my only aim
letters to cleo - here and now
stars - hum
jale - not happy
cub - new york city

scattershot/burnt out

2007-05-17T17:49:00.000-04:00

i am 18 types of burnt out this week, so if this post makes absolutely no sense, i apologize. well, not really, but if it makes you feel better, sorry. anyway, first off, wtf is this i see about brendan benson's what i'm looking for being used in some commercial that appears to be selling maybe home decor or some sort of thing? i saw it last night, and was thoroughly confused. i mean, it's a great song, if you don't like it, you may be a little on the stupid side (or at the very least, slightly classless), but the lines "well i don't know what i'm looking for, but i know that i just wanna look some more/and i won't be satisfied 'til there's nothing left that i haven't tried" shouldn't really be used to be selling appliances or dining room sets.
ok, so that's out of the way. next up, i *should* be posting about this band in a bubble thing that cartel is participating in, since i have all the press info sitting in my inbox, and i am interested in it, but, again: burnout. so sit tight on that one until next week.
i'm obviously rambling here, so here's some music. completely random. sums up the last little while. enjoy.

chromeo - fancy footwork (guns and bombs remix)
spoon - the ghost of you lingers
petra haden - god only knows
diplo - young folks remix (it's dirty, consider yourself warned. if you are my mother, DO NOT download this)
christopher cross - arthur's theme

global tv clearly owns my heart

2007-05-16T18:52:00.000-04:00

(sorry if the posts during my big comeback week are a little sporadic, i'm doing weird odd jobs in addition to my regular job, and trying to find a new job. job job job. i apologize. and now i apologize for interrupting your musical pleasuring via ydb...)

so as a friend had mentioned to me recently, there's a familiar (to those of us immersed in the late 90s early 00s canadian indie music scene) tune playing over the ads for some new show on global. she was very excited, and now that i have actually seen the ad myself, so am i.
it got me thinking about some other older and for the most part now-defunct bands. bands that made me want so badly to move to halifax. which i did. (don't get me started on how the birdland closed just before i got there, sloan relocated to toronto, and i have NO idea where the hardship post is anymore, and am starting to think maybe they were just a dream)(and yes, i realize they were from newfoundland, but at 18, i had lumped them into the halifax scene). but the music lives on.
and thanks to a ydb reader, i can also now show you that hip club groove is/was SO much more than jizz. so behold below, another snapshot at my musical youth, may it rest in peace, but may it live on in my ipod (which is, by the way, sadly not working currently)

plumtree - go!
hip club groove - shootin' the gift
the superfriendz - 10 lbs
thrush hermit - at my expense

(and ps, it's a donair. while i may be far too old to really want to go back there, pizza corner and the dairy deli will always have a special (albiet drunken) place in my heart)

...dary!

2007-05-15T17:03:00.000-04:00

and if the title of this post makes sense to you, then make sure to listen to this track at the 3:08 mark...
the solids - hey beautiful

and because all the blogs in the world are creaming themselves over this, here are no less than 2 remixes of justice's D.A.N.C.E. track. you decide which is the best. (or if you just like the extended normal stylez version the best)

D.A.N.C.E. (mstrkrft remix)
D.A.N.C.E. (data vs justice remix)

i'm back

2007-05-14T01:38:00.000-04:00

...and i'm broke ass, so if you're looking to have an event planned, or need to have some "professional looking" marketing materials made, hit me up.

that being said, i had a huge post in mind for my grand return, but instead, i got distracted by a wave of nostalgia brought on by a night spent watching 80s tv intros. what does this have to do with music? well, first watch this:

now download these (cover) tracks from datashat, and relive the days of staring at green font on a black background and feeling like maybe you were from the future...

don't you want me
young folks
cold medina motorbikin'
(and hold on to your hats, because a promise at least a semi-decent post in the very near future)
(also, i DARE you to try to catch up with my massive accumulated points lead on the ongoing set of contests on my brother's blog)
(also, there may be some prizes coming in the very near future, so tell your friends and neighbours)

CMJ contest time (hurry your asses up)

2006-11-02T15:44:00.000-05:00

ok, first off, if you want to go to this:

NY2LON (new york to london) party over at Northsix featuring Silversun Pickups, The Little Ones, Illinois, Oh No! Oh My!, The Phoenix Foundation, The Heights and DJ’s Franki Chan, Crystal Castles, and The Husky Gentleman

then here's what you have to do. i have two spots available on the guest list, courtesy of the fine folks at +1 music. the first two people to email me either

a remix of cry me a river

OR

any song featuring the words "crying, crying"
get on the list. get it? got it? good. (and hurry, because as you may notice, it is currently thursday, and the whole shebang takes place on saturday)

and in music news...here's some tuneage to get you in the mood (not the jt mood, mind you, the CMJ mood)

illinois - nosebleed
the heights - night relay
the phoenix foundation - sister risk

reaping the whirlwind (i'm nuuuuuuude)

2006-11-01T20:05:00.000-05:00

in case you haven't noticed, i haven't been posting lately. the last 7 days have been fairly nuts for me, and on top of it all, you may have noticed that all is not well in mp3blog-ville lately, what with ezarchive switching things over, and bloggers dropping like flies. i promised i would give this thing at least a year, and i am holding to that. but when the shit hits the fan, school and work win over ydb (unless there's a sugar daddy or momma out there who would like to support me so i don't have to worry about either). anyway...i tried to put this post up yesterday, but spent far too much time getting mad at the new and improved ezarchive, and then had this crazy burst of group project energy, and the whole thing just sort of got away from me. so you get it today. also, welcome our new host, file den, who boasts a much easier user interface, plus, it's free, and you can't beat free.
but back to the post...
some people have comfort food, i have comfort music. here's some of it, as well as some stuff that has been finding it's way onto mix cds, since lately i have even been to lazy to recharge the ipod (crazy, i know). with regards to the selection, like they said on my favourite 80s show, you take the good, you take the bad...and well, you listen. so yeah.

albert hammond jr. - in transit
cassettes won't listen - gigga
the postmarks - goodbye (cwl remix)
sloan - i hate my generation
missy elliott - we run this
classified - find out
azure ray - sleep
ben folds five - one angry dwarf and 200 solemn faces
the four seasons - oh what a night
loverboy - working for the weekend
the bangles - in your room

finally, this always makes me laugh, and i don't care how many times i watch it:

this one goes out to your mom

2006-10-24T16:46:00.000-04:00

ok, a) $10 threadless sale (only until wednesday...HURRY YOUR ASS UP)
b) i am so over my head busy these days, it has ceased being merely funny and has moved into side splittingly hilarious territory.
c) this one doesn't really go out to your mom
d) however, this one does go out to the following people:
those of you who enjoy the ass shaking (both the partaking in and viewing of)
those of you who harass me for not going to barcode
those of you i harass for going to barcode
those of you who enjoy the JT
those of you who really wish they were in the gang
those of you are
e) your mom. yeah.

all listing aside, here's some stuff that i am either constantly hitting repeat on or in a constant state of wtf with. seriously. sound of music? what?
although it's gwen, so i think this is maybe going to be like hollaback girl, where it will be cool for 10 seconds, and then the backlash will come fast and furious. my advice? enjoy it now, before you hear it so many times you want to gauge out your eyes. (well, maybe more your ears...unless you can hear with your eyes...oh man i need a vacation)
yeah yeah...music.

(if you've sent me music in the past 2 weeks, i am not ignoring you, i am just currently a slave to the shackles of time...)

justin timberlake - my love (goulet's d-cup send up)
gwen stefani - wind it up
shareefa - cry no more
lady sovereign - love me or hate me (remix with missy elliot)

t shirt alert!

2006-10-23T21:52:00.000-04:00

there's another super awesome $10 sale going on at threadless! act fast, it ends on wednesday!

no music today...

2006-10-23T18:53:00.000-04:00

...but i think this should more than make up for it:

one of those days

2006-10-18T20:04:00.000-04:00

jay and silent bob - fuck fuck song

...that is all.

3841FFMAA (snap snap!)

2006-10-17T15:08:00.000-04:00

this one goes out to all of us suffering through the midterms and other crap.
(snap snap.)
i wish there was some sort of box we could just put it all away in
(snap snap).
i'm so very very lonely
(snap snap)
and i wish that someone would just listen when i talk
(snap snap).
maybe if i talk more?
(snap snap)
i wish we had marketing this semester
(snap snap)
i could smoke you all
(snap snap)
"teenage angst has paid off well"
(snap snap)
oh poetry, i love the way you don't need to rhyme
(snap snap)
like, at all
(snap snap)
(snap snap snap snap)

get it?
(snap snap)

here's some themed tunes:

the format - she doesn't get it
bowling for soup - high school never ends
snap! - rhythm is a dancer

and just for fun, i thought i should throw this one up again: (jt! jt!)
justin timberlake - sexy back (remix feat. clipse)

ALSO: not that this has anything to do with my class, but apparently, this is a clip of the new gwen stefani, sweet escape (no right click, it's rapidshare) via

boo to midterms

2006-10-16T23:12:00.000-04:00

so this week is a little on the ridiculous side. 6 midterms, multiple assignments, work, five days, blah. the wee blog will suffer, i think. and while i feel bad...i am actually trying at school, so i don't really feel guilty for this thing taking a back seat for a week. that being said, if you think i would leave you empty handed, you clearly don't know me at all. here's some music. enjoy, and wish me luck...(oh and, i guess without meaning to, i have chosen an array of vaguely thematic songs...weird)

the fags - truly truly
moka only ft. mf doom - more soup
rocketship - i'm lost without you here
clinic - the equaliser

label bait

2006-10-12T15:03:00.000-04:00

one of my favourite parts of doing ydb is that i get to hear all sorts of shit that no one has ever heard of. and then when i get to get people all excited about new stuff, it's the icing on the cake. today i bring to you a band with no album, no label, and very little class (i joke because i love them, they are actually quite classy). anyway. for the most part, i believe they are annonymous. they live in toronto, one is from WAY out of town, the other from not so far away, and should disclose that i have been drunk with both of them on more than one occasion. i should also disclose that i have listened to their song "sweater" over and over again at at least one house party, while we rolled on the floor laughing. (not at them...with them...it's an important distinction in this case).
i asked anne (short for anne-onymous) to send me a few tracks to throw up here, because it's high time that they got some exposure to the world, and if anyone deserves some label-lovin', it's these two. i am fairly certain that neither would cry too much if you said you liked them.
so if you like the ladies. and more importantly, ladies who make music. and perhaps most importantly, ladies who make anthem style le tigre non-arena rock with a touch of screaming and fun...then you need to listen to this.

from the doll incident:

the creamiest
boobies
altruistic
arcade boy

and this post just wouldn't be complete without:
sweater

how very appropriate

2006-10-09T11:04:00.000-04:00

it's funny, because i really didn't even intend for this to happen (it's reminiscent of when my vitamins and allergy pills ran out at exactly the same time), but i figure we're at about post #100 (assuming you take out the ones where i say i can't post, and you'll have to wait). so i wanted a post to say thanks. and it's (canadian) thanksgiving. and i'm rambling. but i think the rambling is what makes you all keep coming back. but anyway, i wanted to do something special. and while this may be way less special than what i wantedto do, here's a pantload of music for you to enjoy. (and yes they may have been posted here before, but never in ONE PLACE AT THE SAME TIME) ***and yes, i wrote this all yesterday, so it's even more very appropriate, that i was once again, ezarchive's bitch, and had to wait until today to post this***

figurines - the wonder
junior boys - in the morning (alex smoke remix)
the hold steady - hot soft light
saturna - springboard
ben folds - such great heights (postal service cover)
chromeo - needy girl (bloc party remix)
rusty - wake me
lily allen (feat. sway) - LDN remix
jesse dangerously - heart of a girl
feist - mushaboom (postal service remix)
basement jaxx - oh my gosh (bugz in the attic remix)
basement jaxx - hush boy (les visiteurs remix

and finally, it wouldn't be a celebration without some cat tears

a musical love letter to dawn wiener

2006-10-04T13:48:00.000-04:00

mostly, i like the title of this post. well, that and the very idea of sending a musical love letter to everyone's favourite mid-90s indie movie outcast icon. (and if she wasn't your favourite, then you clearly were either running around in the wrong crowds or running around in diapers). i haven't really given too much thought to the wiener dog in recent years, and that just isn't right. she was stylish. she was smart. she was cool. she was completely deluded in the most awesome way possible, which was why, regardless of any disturbing moments in the movie, she will always have a place in my heart. even though, in the real world, she would probably be either a high priced dominatrix or a bitter elementary school part time librarian who goes home to 20 cats at the end of the day. or maybe she's exactly the same, only older. she probably puts on air band fashion shows in front of her mirror, using her hairbrush as a mic. she makes friends with the people no one else does. she talks to trees. she cuts pictures out of magazines. she makes all her own clothes, and they look liked they came through a time machine that was built by deeelite and the cast of the partridge family. she doesn't seem to notice that everyone else is noticing her for all the wrong reasons. in short, she's better than all of us, because she's letting her weird little freak inside live freely on the outside. god bless you dawn wiener, whereever or whoever you might be. here's my musical love letter to you:

blitzen trapper - on a dime
the daylights - if words were bullets
prophet omega - get by
some action - don't you look for me
princeton - the indifference curve
rob blackledge - one step
the morning benders - grain of salt
beulah - if we can land a man on the moon, surely i can win your heart

just like tony always said (watch out for the anvils)

2006-10-02T23:47:00.000-04:00

seriously though, all crappy insinuated puns aside, the grates are way better than i think they've been getting credit for. which is to say, for a band with an album as solid as theirs, there hasn't been nearly the mp3blog hype that i would have expected. maybe it's because everyone likes to fall all over themselves heaping praise on be your own pet or breathlessly awaiting whatever it is that courtney love is going to unleash on us in the near future, (and please note, i am a fan of both byop as well as ms love), but it's weird. they're more melodic and accesible than byop (which, understanding how the great big hype machine in the sky works, might be what's ultimately working against them). they are certainly not carrying as much baggage as courtney, and let's face it, maybe it's just time for us to give up the ghost as far as our favourite 90s girl-based bands. they can release as many albums as they want, but they probably are never going to reach the "heights" they did 10 years ago.
it's not a marketing thing, i've seen the cd in almost every mainstream and indie record store i've been in over the past month. whatever, i'm calling on you, the ydb faithful to spread the word. here's some talking points:
- you can dance to it, which is of the utmost importance
-every once in awhile, i catch fleeting glimpses of what 4 non blondes could have been, if they hadn't ended up as a one hit wonder footnote to linda perry's pop songwriting career
- it's catchy, as hell
- they toured with the go! team
- there are handclaps
- the entire album is the perfect length for their music. not so long that you're banging your head against the wall, short enough to leave you wanting to hear more
- if you're into this sort of thing (and let's face it, if you're music-nerdy enough to be reading this thing, you are), the cd packaging is pretty awesome
- they are seriously in contention for best video of the year, look here:
(stephen colbert and his green screen don't really stand a chance against this)

(doesn't it make you want to kind of go out, find them, and just get up to hijinks?...crazy crazy hijinks)

so you've got your talking points, you've fallen in love with the video, no doubt, now what? well, here's some tracks, now go get the album and spread the word.

from gravity won't get you high:

science is golden
19 20 20

the grates on myspace

so there's this thing...

2006-10-02T18:40:00.000-04:00

and the thing is, i was lazy/it was a hectic couple of days. in lieu of a real post, i urge you to click on the link at the bottom. tomorrow ydb makes a triumphant return with a full cd review! try not to get too excited.

be prepared for the awesomest thing you have ever seen before you click on this link