| OPINION |
[Mar. 9th, 2006|02:40 am] |
| [ | Aura |
| |  tired | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | Brahminy Kite - Caribou | ] |
I know, an update. How novel. As you've probably figured out, I only update when I actually have something to say now; I don't really have time to maintain a post a day, because they all end up empty and boring. Besides, I can't go to bed until my fucking laundry is done, so this is a decent time filler. My primary reason for this update? The definition of indie, and what exactly is happening to it.
Wikipedia defines indie music as the application of the derivative word independent to the musical scene. This means that basically, according to them, any genre which is not in the mainstream, and is supported by a label independent from commercial pop music and mainstream culture.
That's fucking broad. And I want to challenge it. I admit I don't know a lot about the indie scene, but I'm friends with enough people who talk about it, and I think I have a very extensive collection of indie music, simply as a result of exposure here at Uoft, and yes I do like the music. Now, if every category of music which is independent form the mainstream, wouldn't that suggest anything not placing on the typical top 40 or Billboard 100 is indie? I think most of you would agree that isn't true.
So what does indie mean, to me? Well it's difficult to explain how I would define indie in absolute terms, meaning without actually comparing various artists and placing them in either an indie or non-indie category. So I'll just mention a few groups or individuals who I would consider to be indie, and then those which are often perceived as indie but, as far as I'm concerned, aren't indie at all. But first, a minor musical outline. Indie music has to be different. Not to say it all has to hold the progressive qualities of Four Tet or The Secret Machines, but indeed there has to be some element of creativity.
An example struck me just before I decided to write this post. The most recently featured artist on myspace is called Brighten. Check them out here. Myspace has decided to classify them as Indie/Rock. If you listen to them, they don't seem very creative overall, and exhibit largely pop-rock/punk qualities. For example, compare them with Self Against City, here. They sound fairly similar, indeed very similar much of the time. Myspace classifies Self Against City as Pop/Rock. So what distinguishes Brighten and earns them the title of Indie? Self Against City's label, Rushmore Records, classifies itself as Indie, as does Brighten's label, Carbon Copy Media. Now, would you agree that simply because the label is indie, or independent, that therefore the music they put forth must be indie as well? According to Wikipedia this is indeed the case. However, through my exposure to a number of styles of music, I'd say otherwise, and describe Brighten as simply another pop/rock/punk band. (That is not to say they hold any less artistic merit. I'm not commenting on whether I think indie music is the best music, I simply want to define it.)
So what are some examples of indie music? Firstly, as far as I'm concerned, indie music can indeed hold a number of different styles. Indie pop, indie rock, indie, indie electronica, etc etc. Some examples of these various styles are listed below:
Indie pop: Camera Obscura, The Go! Team, The Postal Service, Magnet
Indie rock: Broken Social Scene (obviously), Metric (more to say about this later), K.C. Accidental, My Bloody Valentine
Indie (this one's tough): Iron & Wine, Feist, Azure Ray
Indie electronica: Goldfrapp, Ladytron, Imogen Heap (although popular, not many other artists sound similar - this, I believe, is a quality of Indie music)
Then there's the odd ones out. Sigur Ros, Bjork, and Mum are all indeed Indie by these standards I've set out, but where do they fit? Perhaps they deserve their own category, entitled Icelandic, as artists from Iceland, for the most part, have very similar styles. But that's not something I want to get into right now. And what about progressive rock? Indie is progressive, yet artists such as Explosions in the Sky, The Secret Machines, and Four Tet (as mentioned earlier) seem very progressive. Even Do Make Say Think, which is often characterized as Indie, seems progressive.
The lines are clearly blurred. Say what you like, I'd like your opinion of what you think I'm missing here.
On a slightly different note: LISTENING TO METRIC DOESN'T MAKE YOU INDIE. A lot of people pick and choose a few supposedly Indie artists and then claim to like predominantly Indie music. This, to me, is just naivity. That's like saying listening to The Used makes you a punk rock kid. Really now, comon' people. Or listening to Kanye West makes you a hip-hopster (there's a LOT of REALLY good hip-hop out there actually, beyond the crap you hear in the top 40).
Disclaimer: I'm not suggesting that I'm an Indie master and my opinion is right, it's simply an opinion (look it up if you get confused). I still like Ashlee, Madonna, etc etc., even Brighter and Self Against City mentioned above (see, I'm not trying to assert Indie's superiority in the music scene) but I also like indie as well. I'm allowed to do both ya know. I don't have to be exclusive to a genre, right? Right.
Bring on the likely inevitable hell.
|
|
|
| she was so loud... |
[Feb. 15th, 2006|01:32 am] |
|
On any day, nobody wants to hear two people having sex in their dorm room. Nevermind on Valentine's day, when it helps you realize just how alone you actually are. |
|
|
| Two <3 |
[Feb. 14th, 2006|05:24 am] |
The Taxi - By Amy Lowell
When I go away from you
The world beats dead
Like a slackened drum.
I call out for you against the jutted stars
And shout into the ridges of the wind.
Streets coming fast,
One after the other,
Wedge you away from me,
And the lamps of the city prick my eyes
So that I can no longer see your face.
Why should I leave you,
To wound myself upon the sharp edges of the night?
|
|
|
| One |
[Feb. 14th, 2006|05:23 am] |
Love Song - Carol Muske-Dukes
Love comes hungry to anyone's hand.
I found the newborn sparrow next to
the tumbled nest on the grass. Bravely
opening its beak. Cats circled, squirrels.
I tried to set the nest right but the wild
birds had fled. The knot of pin feathers
sat in my hand and spoke. Just because
I've raised it by touch, doesn't mean it
follows. All day it pecks at the tin image of
a faceless bird. It refuses to fly,
though I've opened the door. What
sends us to each other? He and I
had a blue landscape, a village street,
some poems, bread on a plate. Love
was a camera in a doorway, love was
a script, a tin bird. Love was faceless,
even when we'd memorized each other's
lines. Love was hungry, love was faceless,
the sparrow sings, famished, in my hand |
|
|
| PUMP IT |
[Jan. 31st, 2006|05:21 pm] |
| [ | Aura |
| |  crazy | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | loud shit (see below) | ] |
It's POWER HOUR, and you all know what that means...
BLOC PARTY
LE TIGRE
METRIC
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
MILLY ELLIOTT
PRODIGY
MIA
LADYTRON
DIZZEE RASCAL
& THE GO! TEAM
AT RIDICULOUSLY HIGH VOLUMES!!!!!!!!!! |
|
|
| BENTO NOUVEAU |
[Jan. 24th, 2006|12:40 pm] |
| [ | Aura |
| |  lazy | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | 7/4 (Shoreline) - Broken Social Scene | ] |
My room smells like delicious sushi - Spicy California Roll to be exact. Yum.
So overall I'm happy with the election results. Yeah Harper got his mandate, but realistically, the House is PACKED with left leaning MP's and there's no way in hell he'd ever get away with socially conservative legislation. Especially considering how slim his minority is. The Liberals needed a solid spanking in the ass, and they got it. Now they'll get a new leader (yay) and hopefully be somewhat revitalized for the next election. Speaking of that, who knows when it might be. This is one fragile parliament, and as soon as Harper pushes too hard his government will fall to the overwhelmingly leftist house.
Furthermore, I'm very pleased with the NDP results. Although they didn't quite get the balance of power, or come close to matching Broadbent's 43 seats in 1988, they gained 10 seats from the last election. AND Olivia Chow got the Trinity-Spadina seat, ousting Tony Ianno. This was the third time she's run against him but her first win; also the first time polling stations were included on campus. She knew that the student vote could make or break the riding and she campaigned hardcore on campus. She was eating dinner in Fung on Sunday night, and was handing out flyers on election morning. That's devotion. What stinks? The NDP get so shafted under our electoral system. They really should have twice as many seats as they have now if popular support were to translate into seats. With 17.4% of the vote they only received 29 seats, whereas the Bloc got only 10.5% of the vote yet earned 51 seats. The results are terrible skewed against the NDP, and hopefully SOME changes will be made in the direction to proportional representation in the coming years.
YEAH CHOW!!!!! |
|
|
| Democracy and the like |
[Jan. 23rd, 2006|02:35 pm] |
| [ | Aura |
| | content | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | Alarm Call - Bjork | ] |
So I voted. But goddamn they love to complicate it. Initially students were told that in order to prove our residency in this riding (Trinity-Spadina), we simply needed to print out our accounts invoice with our residence address as the mailing address.
So I do that, bring it to Fung to vote, and get told that it is not ample enough to allow me to vote. Great.
I talked to someone who'd already voted and they said we can go to the Registrar's Office, and they can print out our account invoice and then THAT version is valid, simply because it's from the actul registrar and not our home printer.
So I do that, and line up to register. One of the Liberal 'elections monitors' comes over to the table and basically tries to tell me that it is not valid evidence of my residence here. The girl sitting next to me said we can go next door to the Union and get some residence official to print out and sign a form proving our residency, but instead I basically said to the liberal chick "Look, I live next door, in this riding, and this piece of information proves that. What more do you want? If you want students to vote, then don't make it so complicated."
She gives me a bitchy look and says "Fine" and walks away. I found it amusing that the only 'election monitors' actually contesting the ROSI printout were Liberal; the NDP monitor just sat there reading the paper. That tells you something right there. The Liberals certainly are fearful of too many students voting because they KNOW UofT is largely in support of the NDP.
Is it any wonder student turnout is low; I spent over an hour going through the whole voting process. Now we just wait and see what happens.
But hey, I voted! Woot democracy! |
|
|
| Why I Love Becca #2 |
[Jan. 20th, 2006|12:51 am] |
| [ | Aura |
| |  amused | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | Window - The Album Leaf | ] |
Setting: Becca is lying in her bed upright, sick as a motherfucking dog, with an orange, a book, and a packet of Fisherman's Friend's beside her. She accidentally knocks the package and a few tablets fall out.
Becca: Oh no! They won't be my friends if I treat them so poorly and spill them all over the place!
Matt: Becca... you're not a fisherman.
Somehow as well we've managed to turn sheep noises and the word 'villain' into an inside joke, as she randomly one evening left me a message on MSN saying:
Come see your sick wifey.
Pronto.
villain!
villain!
villain!
(enter sheep emoticon) BAHH!
Like, wtf??? I love your face. |
|
|
| Disco girls. |
[Jan. 19th, 2006|05:47 pm] |
| [ | Aura |
| |  pensive | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | Bandwitch - Broken Social Scene | ] |
So I came across a wicked website for considering party poilicies with respect to student interests, Vote Education, and I highly reccomend you check it out if you're going to vote.
Here's some stuff I pulled from the Party Platform Report Card:
Conservative: The biggest expenditure of their platform is tax cuts, which constitutes 89% of the spending in their platform. A $500 tax credit is promised on student textbooks, but with respect to refuelling the lost funding under Liberal government, no numbers are given. The party refused to comment on the issue of ICR repayment loans, although a few conservatives are in clear support of this program. What's ICR mean anyway? Check this out. Basically it suggests university's charge as much as the market dictates for tuition, accompanied by a fall in government funding. How do students deal with skyrcoketing tuition with this plan? Repayments on education debt would be calculated over longer periods of time with respect to student income after graduation. However, the chart in the link above clearly demonstrates the massive amounts which would be added to total repayments due to high interest. Not so cool. I'm just going to quote this statement from the overview simply because it cannot be better said:
"Initiatives that the Conservatives have explicitly proposed will not increase access to post-secondary education nor offer widespread relief to students accumulating debt. A tax credit for textbooks, as with the increased tax exemption for scholarships, are universal measures available to anyone, regardless of financial need. Thus, these initiatives will divert millions of dollars in public funding to families who do not necessarily need assistance. Tax credits are an extremely inefficient way to allocate financial aid."
The Conservative party received a grade of C- from the analysis of the platform, and justly so. There really IS no dedication to the reduction of tuition fees which is the core problem for students hoping to receive an education. Tuition in Ontario has doubled since 1993/1994 and $500 off textbooks really isn't a long-term investment for education.
Liberal: Firstly, the promise of a long term investment of 7 to 8 billion dollars in post-secondary education made by Paul Martin ON NATIONAL TELEVISION from the 2004 Election has simply been ignored. The issue has not been addressed since the Liberals received the mandate to govern. Ironically enough also, the Liberal party has consistently been priding itself upon large surpluses in the budget; why not do somethin constructive with that money? To be concise, the budget has ended in a surplus for nine straight years: where is that money now? Obviously not invested in post-secondary education. The situation gets worse: expressed as a share of the GDP, the Liberal party has spent less on education in cash transfers than any other government in the past 30 years. The graph on this page illustrates pretty well the gap between actual funding and required funding in order to remain parallel with inflation. Overall the Liberals received a grade of B-, although I don't even know if they deserved that.
NDP: This party scored the highest, with an A- overall. On the positive side, they negotiated with the Liberals on the last budget to turn large corporate tax cuts into 1.5 billion to be put towards reducing tuition fees. Furthermore, the NDP
"commits to a national system of grants. This promise is critical because all of the credible data on grants demonstrate that lower tuition fees and non-repayable student financial assistance are the only effective way to promote access to post-secondary education for low-income individuals and those from marginalized groups."
Basically the NDP platform is very clean and efficient. The problem is they don't receive enough seats to actually implement it. At this point I'd be happy with a Conservative minority with a relatively strong NDP in opposition - all that's for sure is that I don't want the Liberals back in... They've done their time (and damage) over the last 3 terms. It's time they went out.
|
|
|
| Election |
[Jan. 18th, 2006|02:12 am] |
| [ | Aura |
| | pensive | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | Your Song (Instrumental) - Moulin Rouge | ] |
I haven't really looked into each party's platform until this evening. However, rather than going on their respective websites, I thought it would be more accurate and less biased of me to use the CTV websites organization of party standpoints with respect to individual issues. Here's what I've come up with, and I'm still on the fence.
( Party intentions by specific issue )
I highlighted which party I favour for each issue and outlined their primary goals. It would be wonderful if I could take at face-value all that each party said, but let's be realistic: promises are handed out like tic-tacs during election time. For example. realistically speaking the Liberals would not be able to cut tuition in half for every student's forst and last year and post-secondary education. However, the Conservative suggestion of a tax break on textbooks amounting to a possible $500 per student is much more plausible. Taxes was a tough decision, as I'm not exactly paying full income tax, etc etc. In some cases surrounding the NDP, although I enjoyed what they had to say, I would rather not follow that wasted-vote concept and vote for a party more likely to put their legislation through; that is unfortunatly the NDP's downfall. Although I support them gaining a stronger voice in parliament, when it comes to key issues I simply must vote for a party that is more likely to succeed in passing the suggested legislation.
I like the NDP support of democratic reform to a PR system; I definatly believe that to be a good motion. The NDP also won me over with health care - although the expenditures seemed enormous, public health care needs the help and is possibly the most deserving of all institutions when it comes to federal funding. Same-sex marriage wasn't as huge of an issue to me as I'd thought. Realistically, even with the Conservatives governing the country, more of the parliament is against the traditional definition of marriage and the Conservatives would require an overwhelming majority to abolish bill C-38 and make such unions illegal once more. NDP support for Kyoto was convincing, but more importantly their advocacy for sharing the federal gas tax and aiding public transport won me over - the idea of slasing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% before 2020 seems rather far-fetched at the rate we're currently progressing (unless you want to dismantle the industrial economy).
Overall I'm on the fence. I find myself more supportive of the Conservatives than before, as I'd merely sneered at them as socially conservative. The Liberals really do need a solid kick in the pants, and the Conservatives are the ones to provide such a beating. I favour the NDP mostly overall but I find it difficult to abandon the third-party wasted vote ideology. So who's it going to be? I'm pretty firm when it comes to not voting for the Liberals. They can do a great job I'm sure, but they need a solid break from governmental corruption. And although I like much of what the Conservatives have to say. I still struggle with voting for a party which is opposed to same-sex marriage and gives no mention of abortion rights in their platform. Fuck.
Alright, fat cats. Who's going to get my vote? We'll have to wait until Monday. I'm on the fence, needless to say. Until then, I still have to fuckign register!!!! |
|
|
| So here we are... |
[Jan. 15th, 2006|12:27 pm] |
| [ | Aura |
| |  depressed | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | Plans - Bloc Party | ] |
So here I am, just where I don't want to be.
WARNING: DEPRESSING ENTRY AHEAD
I don't know what it is anymore. I'm not truly happy in this place, whatsoever. But I find when I go home, I'm not truly happy there either. This weekend Becca, Sheila, and Jess all went out to bars and clubs 2 nights in a row, and couldn't stop telling me how awesome their weekend was.
See? I'm not here anymore. I'm not a part of it. I'm just that stranger that shows up but can never go out and participate.
Yet at home, for some reason I felt totally alone as well. Yeah I saw friends and stuff but I didn't have a great time, for whatever reason. And work was very disappointing like usual. Normally it's something I rely on to make me happy, normally I go there and feel happy. Not anymore..
But I guess I won't have to worry about that anymore, seeing as I only work 1 shift next week. Speakng of which I'll totally be unable to save any money and get myself any further away from massive debt at this rate.
Furthermore, it seems a few of my best friends at work are going to quit. Everything that's made work and even Oakville enjoyable is falling apart. At this rate even I'll need a new job, and I'll be leaving so much love behind. Literally, love. Love is what I've found at H&M in the form of some of the best friends in the world, and I simply don't want that to change. I don't want to let that go...
But back to the point. I didn't want to get on that train tonight. So much so that I put it off for 4 hours and didn't end up back in rez until 9:30. I don't know what's wrong with me but I just can't find happiness with all of this right now. I go to Oakville and get disappointed, get in fights with my Mom. I come to Toronto and feel discluded because I don't have any ID and I can't even go out..
Speaking of that also, it looks like I won't even be able to go out for my best friend's birthday on Friday simply because I don't have ID. I just want to be there with her, with all my friends, with everyone who means something to me...
Instead I'll be home sobbing myself to sleep because I'm not a part of anything anymore.
I live two lives, but neither fully. All I belong to is myself. And I can't do that anymore.
|
|
|
| "i don't love you anymore" |
[Jan. 12th, 2006|11:00 am] |
| [ | Aura |
| |  frazzled | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | Twenty Two Fourteen - The Album Leaf | ] |
Problem: No idea where I'm living next year. It's January, and although to some it seems early to think about this, well, it isn't. This semester will fly by just like the last, and these are huge decisions that need to be made, so I can't just put it off. I need to seriously start thinking about where I'm going to live next year.
Solution: Stay up until 4 am watching Closer, sleep in, skip class.
Well I'm just great...
You know, it's even harded when you don't know what you want.
|
|
|
| Day 11 (as stated above) |
[Jan. 11th, 2006|12:31 pm] |
| [ | Aura |
| |  accomplished | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | Must Be Dreaming - Frou Frou | ] |
Eleven days into 2006 and I have not smoked a cigarette since Friday at 2am. That's a total of 106 and a half hours. WOOOOOOT. Basically that's WIKID. And coffee consumption is at only 2 cups a day to boot. huzzah, fuckers.
Now this is not to say I'll never smoke another cigarette in my life, let's be realistic here. But I'll never be addicted like I was. It's something you need to learn to control. For example, I'll allow the occassional cigarette in social situations, and of course a couple when I'm drunk or high. But seeing as all those things happen so scarcely lately, I think I'm in good standing.
And don't bitch and whine because I'm not quitting for good, as in NEVER TOUCHING A CIGARETTE AGAIN. That's just dumb. Of COURSE I'll end up having more in the future. At least I'm not gonna lie to myself. And if you wanna classify me as a smoker still then go right ahead. Just like that dumb Pam girl at work, who said:
"It doesn't matter how few cigarettes you have, anyone who takes a drag, even if it's only one in a week, is STILL a smoker."
Well Pam, you have a bleached blonde mullett, and you're too scene for 905.
*grins* |
|
|
| day 2 |
[Jan. 11th, 2006|12:42 am] |
| [ | Aura |
| | complacent | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | One Evening - Feist | ] |
So my body stopped punishing me around midnight last night after my FINAL vom of that sick session. Then I spent the majority of the day feeling really energyless until I finally had a full meal around 6. Missed poli sci (2nd missed class of 2nd semester.. woot) then went to tutorial only to discover it was CANCELLED. I attended INX, and the dean of the faculty of physics spent 2 hours talking physics to us... SO boring, fuck!!!
otherwise, not much to say.. i wanna go back to Oakville? Yeah, that sounds right. |
|
|
| Body says: |
[Jan. 9th, 2006|09:31 pm] |
| [ | Aura |
| |  sick | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | I am in love with you - Imogen Heap | ] |
Oh lord.. now THIS is karma. My body has come back to rip me APART for being so goddamn unhealthy. Guh. I spent from 12-5 today feeling like vomit, and lets say I've had to empty the garbage a few times. After 5 my body decided to pull the headache card, because I hadn't eaten anything substantial since last night.
I was out with Sadie and Lorien til about 2, and I feel so bad for leaving them but fuck I feel like A PILE OF SHIT STICKS. Well I did. I spent from 2-8ish watching movies: got through Garden State, Love Actually, Moulin Rouge.. THEN my body decides to be a bitch again and give me ridiculous back ache for sitting in the same goddamn position all afternoon.
CAN'T WIN!
Now I'm just tired. Drained.. I don't think I have enough energy to stay up for another hour, even. So I'll just nibble on some bread, nurse my apple, and sip my water.
AND RESOLVE TO BE HEALTHIER. AHHGGGHHH. |
|
|
| Results of first week of New Year's Resolution |
[Jan. 6th, 2006|09:08 pm] |
| [ | Aura |
| | accomplished | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | The Origin of Love - Hedwig and the Angry Inch | ] |
I obviously aniticpated my smoking to be replaced by some other form of addiction, but who knew it would become THIS bad.
Normally in a week I would easily be finished a pack of cigarettes (25). However, at this point, I have had a mere 8. To encourage my quitting and help me realize how expensive/wasteful cigarettes are, I break one for every one I smoke. (It's also a good expression of anger and frustration) And I hardly ever finish the cigarettes now either.
On the flip side, prior to my quitting, my coffee consumption was at about one a day, with occassional fluctuations. However, in the first 3 days of quitting smoking, I had 12 cups. I just had 2 cups in an hour today, bringing todays total to 3. I'm averaging at 4 cups of coffee per day this week. Christ! When you've got an addictive personality, you simply cannot win.
New Year's Resolution 2007: Quit my addictive personality.. (haha, as if.) |
|
|
| - |
[Jan. 6th, 2006|01:37 am] |
Brokeback Mountain is the most amazing and depressing movie ever made. The Notebook barely holds a candle to it. Watch the trailer on the website, and that's not even a quarter of how sad it truly is.
EVERYONE needs to see it. And don't assume certain characteristics because it invovles gay cowboys. It isn't like that at all.. it's...
Holy shit.
It can't even be described. Seriously breaks my heart. |
|
|
| Cuba? |
[Jan. 4th, 2006|03:05 pm] |
| [ | Aura |
| |  cranky | ] |
| [ | Sounds |
| | Train - Goldfrapp | ] |
Veradera, Cuba
Depart: February 17th, 2006
Return: February 24th, 2006
All Inclusive stay at Herradura Hotel (includes 3 meals, free non-alcoholic beverages all day, daily activities & nightly entertainment, Sattelite TV, A/C, ON THE BEACH)
Price: $893.00
I WANNA GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! :( |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
_hotelpaper_'s journal