bah, I’m so stupid. I totally flaked on the fact that one of my favourite bands of 2009, The Rural Alberta Advantage, is coming to Victoria tomorrow. AND its now sold out.
Oh I am a sad panda bear. sad emoticon, go! 😦
But in positive news (unless of course its sold out), Four Tet will be in Vancouver on February 24th and I’ll be in Coquitlam celebrating Madelyn’s second year of life and the 2010 Olympics. If it can be done and I can be on a ferry early enough Thursday morning, I *might* try and go. I say might because the logistics could be more hassle than the value.
But I read a great interview with Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) that just re-ignited my love for his style of electronic beats. (and the dude went to high school with the man that is Burial? SWA?)
Check out this quote:
Pitchfork: On the new album, there’s a track called “Pablo’s Heart”, which is 11 seconds of a swooshing, pulsing beat. Is that title to be taken literally?
Four Tet: It is Pablo’s heartbeat. Pablo is my godson. His father recorded the heartbeat on his mobile phone at the doctor’s office and sent me the recording. His parents were coming to see a live show I was doing, so I took that sound and played it through the sound system. It was really loud and sounded like a mad modular synth when the bass was pumped up. It was this really crazy scene. His heart at the time was probably the size of a pea and I was using it to make this immense sound. He’s not very old, so he won’t understand when he sees the record. I put it on as a little present to him.
Pitchfork: It’s your Herbert moment. Does that have any relation to the end of the track “Plastic People”, when it sounds like there’s a kid hitting some bells or percussion? Is that Pablo as well?
Four Tet: I was working on music while staying with some friends of mine, and their little girl Opal was playing this little toy piano and I recorded it. If I listen back to my old record, Rounds or something, an album I made over a period of a year or so, it’s almost like a diary for me. I don’t think I listen to it like anybody else would. For me, it’s about all the memories from that time, how I made each song, where I was and what was going on. I always put little references to my life in the music I’ve made. It’s no different with this record, I’ve just done a couple of things more explicit this time, like calling the track “Pablo’s Heart”.
In the past it would have been buried and I wouldn’t have told anyone about it. I wanted him to have a little gift almost, a sound off the record. There aren’t lyrics or anything in my music. I don’t have any explicit thing for people to read into, so I like putting a lot of personal touches in the music. If I bare my soul in bits and make it personal, I think people can sense that when they hear it. I don’t know what it is. People read into the music. I have a feeling that they can believe that I’m trying to put some emotion forward. It’s not just some technical exercise.
I love it, so much exciting stuff to try and pull out of the music. But its also interesting for me to read about the things that are real, that this artist is pouring into his music. It was a very good interview if you care… read it.
***
I’ve been blogging about music lots lately. I think that is a good thing. I don’t quite get as many hits on my music posts generally. But at the same time, my biggest days have been music posts and my catalog posts seem to be the ones that still get discovered. That is kinda neat. I’ve always had a challenge with that. I like music and talking about music, but it doesn’t generate too much emotion in most people that find my blog. Oh well… its my blog.
The other thing I’ve been trying to feel is some zen. Getting tired of fighting with people about shit all the time. Twitter turns the hyper engine on overdrive. I’ve been catching myself a few times and not posting stuff I want to say because I weigh out whether its worth the debate and drama.
Focus is good. There are some other things I want to start working on too, but it will have to wait… always waiting.
A couple things I am waiting for, Vancouver this weekend and Sasquatch in May. They announce the line-up tomorrow. Can’t wait.
Something that is kinda buttering my biscuit is this business in Vancouver of restaurants adding the tip automatically to the bill. tacky central Vancouver downtown restaurants.
Read All About It! Vancouver Sun
“We are doing this to ensure we take care of our servers. It isn’t business as usual down here. The usual gratuity [expected from Canadian or American customers] ranges from 15 to 20 per cent so it’s not gouging,” Nancy Celetti VP marketing for Earls.
awww, its about the servers? really… how about you pay them a living wage if you valued their work. Then the tip would be just that, a tip. After the Olympics, put them back down to $8/hour…
I’ll be downtown next weekend for the Olympics and if it comes time to enjoy a pint or a bite and there is an automatic gratuity I’ll be pushing off to the next restaurant or packing a lunch. I guess that is freedom. You can gouge tourists and I can eat elsewhere.
Go with yourself.
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The other record my wife bought for me on Wednesday was one we’ve had our eye for sometime but just couldn’t get the time/luck/money all together to buy it.
The Morning After 