crazed monkey

I just got back. The Mix Master Mike portion of the event could not have been any more hip-hop. If it were, a rift in the fabric of space would have opened up and brought Kool Herc forward in time from the precise moment where he invented that musical genre.

Posted on February 27th, 2003 in culture, music - No Comments »

The one they call Eddie C now represents the Plate Tektonics Crew and tears up Banff, Alberta, Canada four nights a week:

• Sunday: House music and dub at Saltlik in Banff
• Monday: House music at La Palette in Banff
• Thursday: Deep soul and martini house at Zona’s Bistro in Canmore
• Friday: Funk, soul, disco, 45s, dub, down-tempo, etc. at La Palette in Banff

If you find yourself in Banff on a skiing holiday this winter, be sure to check out either one of these nights. These are all restaurants so be sure to bring your appetite for both food and music. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

Posted on February 26th, 2003 in culture, music - No Comments »

The Globe And Mail: Too easy on the ears. It’s no surprise to me that Diana Krall won a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album last night. Next to Kenny G, her music has to be the most bland, inoffensive “jazz” (if you can call it that) on the market, and everyone loves it. As Duke Ellington said, “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” and new jazz just doesn’t have it.

You would never hear Diana Krall sing the original lyrics to Cole Porter’s “I Get a Kick Out of You”, complete with the reference to cocaine, or Ethel Waters’ “My Handy Man” or even Sonny Burke’s “Black Coffee”. Why? Because these tunes might actually offend someone. Heaven forfend! Jazz is about human experience, raw emotion, and sometimes it isn’t pretty, but it’s real. Jazz used to be about all those things, with politics, sexism, and racism sometimes thrown into the mix. That’s what made it contemporary and interesting, and it’s still interesting provided that you don’t listen to the bland pap that’s been churned out these past twenty years or so. Jazz needs to revisit its roots and rediscover the energy it lost.

Speaking of energy, I heard a track off of Miles Davis’ 1974 Carnegie Hall recording, Dark Magus, on the radio last week and felt that it was a necessary purchase. On a lark, I ventured up to Vortex Records at Yonge & Eglinton before heading home tonight and, miracles of miracles, it was there. Needless to say, I scooped it up, along with Nefertiti. The recording is very much like others I have from that time, ie. Pangaea, Agharta and Bitches Brew, but is even more frenetic and relentless in its assault of drums, wah-wah, and horns, if you can believe that. On a first listen, I think this one is right up there with On The Corner in terms of my favourite Miles Davis albums from the seventies.

One of these days I am going to sit down with my Miles Davis albums, my Herbie Hancock albums and my Miles Davis second quintet albums (which also feature Herbie Hancock) and write a series of posts comparing them. I’d also like to do the same with my Bill Laswell albums. That will never happen as it would encompass almost thirty albums and be way too much work.

Posted on February 24th, 2003 in culture, music - No Comments »

The Globe And Mail: This could never pass for a masterpiece theatre. Probably everyone knows how moviegoing has drastically changed over the past five to ten years. Like David MacFarlane, I used to enjoy going to the movies. Now I dread it. Sure, I love the stadium seating and the large screens (who doesn’t?) but the whole movie-viewing process carries too much effort and frustration these days. Thankfully, a few civilised theatres remain in this city, but they are swiftly disappearing. Most theatres with any character or history in Toronto are either vacant or rubble. (Funny fact: Some of the older cinemas in Montréal have been “saved” and are now used to screen porn movies. I can’t imagine how odd it must be to watch hardcore pornography in the presence of the balconies and ornate mouldings which decorate vintage cinemas.)

MacFarlane compares current movie offerings to The Bicycle Thief:

Made in 1948 on a budget that I doubt would pay for the catering on most movies today, [The Bicycle Thief] is a stunningly beautiful film — the simplest, most heartbreaking story, the most perfectly understated acting, the most evocative cinematography, the most steady direction and — above all — the most unflinching honesty. It has no sex, no violence, no special effects. Nothing gets blown up. Nobody gets murdered and put in a trunk. No one packs any heat or goes down on anybody else. Aliens, oddly enough, don’t show up.

Just the very mention of The Bicycle Thief brings to mind its simple yet somehow compelling story, its leisurely pace, and the way it tells of human struggle with hardly a piece of dialogue. What a great film. If you haven’t seen it already, rent it, or buy The Bicycle Thief DVD from Amazon.ca. You will not be disappointed. The Bicycle Thief is one of the highlights of modern cinema.

Posted on February 24th, 2003 in culture, movies - No Comments »

The Globe And Mail: A budget that few can fault. Is Brian Tobin looking for a job as John Manley’s pool boy? His comment in The Globe And Mail reads like a love letter from someone with a teenage crush on our federal finance minister: “John is so dreamy. Did you see him deliver that federal budget? Nobody delivers a federal budget like him.”

Personally, I feel that the 2003 federal budget lacked vision in several areas, but most importantly in terms of funds to cities. The federal budget allots a $3-billion investment over 10 years in municipal infrastructure. Frankly, that amount is so small as to be insulting. That’s $300-million per year, for all of Canada for infrastructure renewal. One city alone can spend that much on a highway or on public transit upgrades. Toronto is aching for funds to put towards public transit and could easily use one third of that money to upgrade its fleet. Speaking of public transit, where are the tax deductions for transit passes my MP, Carolyn Bennett, hinted at in her recent newsletter? Was Dr. Bennett truly hoping for deductions or was she simply misinformed?

With regards to the funds earmarked for cities, Manley says that the $3-billion is part of a larger picture:

“The money announced (Tuesday) doesn’t buy a kilometre of subway in Toronto … it’s half the money for Halifax harbour,” said [NDP Member of Parliament] Blaikie.

Manley replied that “only” the NDP would pretend that $3 billion was a “pittance” and that the budget’s infrastructure spending was part of a larger picture.

I find it amusing that Finance Minister John Manley could have been answering the criticisms I list above. Does this make me a member of the NDP?

Who would have thought I’d ever get worked up over a federal budget? Next thing you know, I’ll be writing to my MP, scowling and cursing at kids and beginning sentences with “back in my day” or “when I was young”. Now where is that nurse with my pills?

Posted on February 19th, 2003 in politics - No Comments »