January | 2010 | The Morning After

Archive for January, 2010

91 Things About 91 Songs :: Part 1

Posted in music, tagged Top 91 of the Decade on January 4, 2010| 2 Comments »

When I volunteered for the task of counting down The Zone @ 91-3’s Top 91 of the Decade, I had planned on sharing some DJ notes on this here blog.

But then it was December 23rd and I was off on holidays. But I still think it would be a good effort for me to dive into these songs, as many of them are played on my radio show still very often… so at the very least, it’ll be good practice for me.

91) Tool – “Schism”

I told the story on the radio for the first time I heard this song. My first “adult” job was working for a Telus call center in New Westminster at 6th and 6th. Anyone who knows anything about New West, knows that traffic in that area is brutal, and so, everyday I grinded to work in the hot sun before the invention of AC (or maybe it was invented? I dunno, I just know my little Blue Dodge Colt did not have it) listening to the radio. One day, Tool’s “Schism” was played, and that commute was better than the rest. Odd, I still remember that day. Kinda spooky. There are so many days, and most are fairly unremarkable… and a song getting played on the radio, even less remarkable.

The song was Tool’s lead single off 2001’s Lateralus and won the band their second Grammy.

90) MGMT – “Kids”

Kids was the third single off MGMT’s most excellant Oracular Spectacular. Arguably their most popular single as well. I am not sure which one got more love on the Zone, this one of “Electric Feel?” I think Electric Feel is latter in the countdown, so I guess that was the “better” song… whatever, I like “Time to Pretend” the best.

“Kids” is an older MGMT song that you super fans can find on the EPs “Time to Pretend” and “We (Don’t) Care.” British rag NME called it the best single of 2008! We call it #90 ’round these parts.

89) The Dudes – “Pretty Lies”

Calgary, Alberta rockers The Dudes make the list because I love them.

Wow, The Dudes will be Zone Show 200! February 26th, 2010 at Sugar Nightclub.

88) Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”

One of the Foo Fighters more successful songs in regards to Billboard chart position (only “Learn to Fly” and “Best of You” did better), personally… I find this one a bit boring. The song did earn the FF a Grammy in 2008 for Best Hard Rock Performance.

87) Sam Roberts “The Gate”

Sammy is popular around the Zone with the DJs and worker bees. And he should be, he is a quality human being that continues to jam out great music. Music Director Dave Sawchuk listed Sam’s Chemical City as his #10 fave record of the decade! High praise indeed. Could the record be named after Sarnia, Ontario? The Chemical City?

86) Weezer – “Troublemaker”

Back in… what was it? 2008? When Rivers began his epic hype odyssey for Weezer’s 6th album and the forth to be named after the band, he had a puzzle. he said the first single off the new record would be a 12 letter word that began with ‘T’ and ended with ‘R.’ Then he released “Pork and Beans” as the first single… oh you clever Harvard educated huckster you….

85) Tragically Hip “My Music At Work”

At the beginning of the decade the Tragically Hip released one of my favourite records, Music @ Work. The title was inspired by one of those lame Adult Contemporary radio station positioning “Your Music at work station” for some drivel.

84) Coldplay – “Viva la Vida”

For better or worse, you’ll be hearing a few CP songs on this list. I happen to enjoy Coldplay and don’t find their brand of rock and roll offensive. Couple that with the huge popularity and great live show, and you have a recipe for a major star on commercial radio.

If you have the XBOX 360 game Halo 3 and you dominated it, when you win you hear this song playing. I had to read that on Wiki as I don’t play console games… I am more a Total War fan cuz I’m cool like dat.

83) Rage Against the Machine – “Renegades of Funk”

I was DJing at The Clubhouse just before Christmas a few weeks ago and a fine Zoner was there drinking and generally enjoying his Thursday night when it dawned on him to hop up the flight of stairs to the DJ booth and request a song. The song? #83 on our countdown, Rage’s cover of “Renegades.” I forgot how much I still love this 2000 cover from their album Renegades.

hmm, I like the Rage version, but the original is pretty special. I’ll need ot add it to the new funk playlist I am working on.

82) Tegan and Sara – “I Hear Noises”

We’re going way back in the Quin sister’s discography for this gem from their second record “If It Was You” and the first record form the duo that I got into. This record was recorded near us, on Galiano Island.

81) Spinnerette – “Ghetto Love”

“Ghetto Love” is an album from rapper Jaheim and an EP/single from Ms. Brody Dahl’s latest incarnation, Spinnerette.

Liam Lynch directed the music video.

Well that is all I got for today.

Go with yourself.

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So it’s every hand to his rope or gun, quick’s the word and sharp’s the action.

Posted in life or something like it, tagged At The Far Reaches of Empire, Books, Hotel Rialto, New Years Eve, Victoria, White Slaves of Maquinna on January 3, 2010| 4 Comments »

Holy moly, Happy New Year. I had to send in some invoices yesterday and dated them 2010, that was a real trip.

Time to get back to the grind and pace of life. The holidays were a real blast, and despite the fact that Coral and I were tragically broke, we some how managed to wrangle up always just enough cash and/or gift cards to keep food in the belly, diapers on the Monster and gas in the Jeep. And so we sailed to Coquitlam on Christmas and then journeyed overland into the mountains and down to the lake for a visit in Kelowna. Then back to the capital in time to ring in the new year.

The New Years Party on Thursday night was bittersweet. Sadly, Coral had to wrangle a baby and so I had no one to kiss when the clock struck midnight, but a kind lovely on the dance floor handed me a glass of champagne and I punched up that New Years song that always gets played.

The party was a fine event, attended by upstanding gentry and ladies. The food at the Hotel Rialto was outstanding. Aside from being lonely at a party, the vibe was positive. At one of the food stations scattered throughout the venue, the chef was carving up steaks on a mushroom risotto and then covered in a lobster sauce. I have heard so much about risotto from Gordon Ramsay TV shows, but had actually never eaten the stuff. Now I get it, pretty good. The sauce was the true star, I just wanted the chef to forget about streak and pour the sauce in my mouth then make love to it in my belly.

My DJ booth was set up next to the seafood station which had many benefits. First, I was near an endless supply of scallops and second, it ensured that there was a steady stream of patrons to the dance floor (the dance floor was set up away from the main party).

I had come to the party prepared to play a mix of contemporary top 40 with hits of the past decade. I had spent much of the past week researching and listening to old music, and what was left of our little fortune was committed to downloading songs… but when I arrived and began playing music, the crowd wanted to hear oldies.

At one point, a more distinguished lady saddled up next to me to lament, “will you be playing any music for my generation?”

Oh nose! I thought… I asked, “what, uh… sort of music?”

“Like Frank Sinatra!” she beamed.

Oh nose! “yes, the chairman of the board, I love him,” OK, I don’t LOVE him, but I got a couple songs buried on the hard drive. I was a little sceptical. The dance party had just begun to fire up, and her this old lovely wanted me to crush everything by dropping Old Blue Eyes…. then my boss rolls over… “oh hey Jeremy, I see you met the owner of the hotel.”

Oh nose! Frank Sinatra it is.

I punch up the song and hear the inevitable groan and people jump ship for the safer sounds in the lounge.

But then something miraculous happened. A flood of people began to move into the vacated space on the floor and dance. When Frank finished I moved on to Elton John, the Beach Boys, Elvis, The Beattles and the times were good.

It turns out I have a pretty good collection of oldies and had to flex the brain to remember them all and play it. The people really responded and it was a lot more fun to dive into these old cuts rather then play David Guetta’s “Sexy Bitch” again.

New Years behind us, time to focus on some books!

I am hammering through my story of John Jewitt, the English trader that survived a massacre of of his ship and was captured by Nootka chief Maquinna. He wrote of his ordeal and this book is the story. I think it will make a good subject for my first attempt at making a radio documentary. Then while riding the ferry, I saw in the gift shop a book about Quadra. I didn’t have the means to buy the book last week, but yesterday I did so I purchased ‘At The Far Reaches of Empire: The life of Juan Francisco do la Bodega y Quadra.’ (I may have also bought ‘Master and Commander‘ on Blu-Ray).

Quadra’s exploits predate Jewitt by a few years but he lived and knew Maquinna as well, so it might be interesting to read about his adventures to the Pacific North-West.