MOVING ON

I've decided to put an end to this blogspot and start a new one for 2008. This will remain as an archive of the years I've spent posting for myself, and anyone else interested. Please update your links and bookmarks and move on into the new year, and a new format (and maybe even a new me?)

vivawade.com will be my new home. Thanks for reading/looking.

Part Of The Queue R.I.P. 2006-2008

BEST MOVIES OF 2007

Here's the my 10 flicks of 2007 in order...

10. 3:10 To Yuma

09. Zodiac

08. Blades Of Glory

07. Children Of Men

06. Rescue Dawn

05. No Country For Old Men

04. 28 Weeks Later

03. The Simpsons Movie

02. Superbad

01. Control

LONDON FOG

Well the votes are in, and the "London Fog" is the official drink of 2008.

Ok so here's what you need to get your lips wet:

1 bag of Earl Grey tea












1 Shot of Vanilla Syrup








Steamed Milk (I prefer to use Soy Milk as it tends to make the drink both creamier and flavorful)












Step 1: Brew a small amount of Earl Grey tea. (Add about 1/2 cup of boiling water to your mug leaving the tea bag in it)
Step 2: Heat up Milk. Preferably you have access to a steamer.
Step 3: Add the vanilla syrup. (adjust according to taste, one shot will do it.)

And from all that, you got yourself a "London Fog."
If you hit up most any Starbucks or Second Cups the baristas there know what this is, but I find when ordering it as directed versus by name, it usually comes out to a cheaper price. I select Second Cup over Starbucks for a variety of reasons, and above all, they also have a "vanilla bean" syrup as well.

WALLPAPER

Still one of the greatest. Plaster your desktop with one of these as a constant reminder.

TWO-THOUSAND HATE

Hit up Montreal for New Years eve. Had a lot of fun with old friends, and some new ones. I hope to visit Montreal a whole lot more in the New Year. Consider it my resolution for 2008.

Things started off at Apartment X, where pizza and beer went down.

This is the only picture I got in Barfly, because we were kicked out in less than 3 minutes. Beat that record!
Coda was our next destination where we paid way too much for bottled alcohol to keep our booth for the night. Things got messy fast, and our groups numbers diminished rapidly.





Woke the next morning with a hangover, a little regret and a lot of snow.

Montreal is a beautiful place.

BEST OF 2007

FULL LENGTHS

01. ARCTIC MONKEYS - "Favourite Worst Nightmare"


02. ATTACK IN BLACK - "Marriage"


03. UNKLE - "War Stories"


04. RADIOHEAD - "In Rainbows"


05. BRACEWAR - "Juggernaut"


06. INTERPOL - "Our Love To Admire"


07. DAVE GAHAN - "Hourglass"


08. BAD BRAINS - "Build A Nation"


09. GHOSTFACE KILLAH - "The Big Doe Rehab"


10. AMBITIONS - "Stranger"


LIVE SHOWS
01. MORRISSEY - Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY
02. MORRISSEY - Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena CA
03. NAS- Kool Haus, Toronto, ON
04. BAD BRAINS - On a boat, New York, NY
05. ERIC'S TRIP - Lee's Palace, Toronto, ON
06. CAT POWER - Phoenix, Toronto, ON
07. INTERPOL - Guverment, Toronto, ON
08. BAT FOR LASHES - El Mocombo, Toronto, ON
09. EVANESCENCE - MTS Centre, Winnipeg , MB
10. LIFETIME - Kathedral, Toronto, ON

THE GANGBANG SONG

THANK YOU...

...For being in my life.

STOP ME IF YOU THINK YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE

Rolled down to NYC to catch Morrissey for the 3rd time this year. This was by far the best show of the year, and I even had a chance to hold his hand during the encore stage rush. Incredible night.







Set List:

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before / The Last Of The Famous International Playboys / You Have Killed Me / The Boy With The Thorn In His Side / Irish Blood, English Heart / I Like You / Jack The Ripper / I Just Want To See The Boy Happy / The National Front Disco / Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me / Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself? / All You Need Is Me / The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores / Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want / I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris / Sister, I'm A Poet / The Loop / Death Of A Disco Dancer / Stretch Out And Wait / Dear God, Please Help Me / How Soon Is Now? // First Of The Gang To Die

Spent a brief 20 hours or so in NYC, then popped in on Philadephia for the Floorpunch reunion & a cheesesteak, then back home. Didn't sleep much on this trip, but no rest for the wicked. I also didn't take my camera out much, but Sideways Hat Pat was a blog monster, and should have some of the highlights over at his domain.

First few seconds you see Dan going for it, and at the :30 mark you see a shaky image of me making contact with Moz.

THE FUTURE OF PURCHASED MUSIC?

Well today Radiohead's seventh studio album entitled "In Rainbows" was released, but not in the conventional way. Radiohead is the first band of their stature to cut out the middleman (the record label) and release this record digitally via their website. And if that wasn't enough, you decide how much you're willing to pay.

As someone who has been personally involved with the 'music industry' and felt the effects of it's 'shady' ways, I think this is huge. I bought this release this afternoon, and I wholeheartedly suggest you do too. We can all go and download it for free, and I'm sure Radiohead is financially secure, but it goes beyond all that. If this is seen by the 'industry', and by other bands, as a possibility, perhaps this will have a ripple effect, and change the way music is available to fans.

Now I mean no disrespect to the friends I have working their asses off at smaller, indie labels, helping smaller bands get out there, but there has been way too many bands that have been royaly fucked over by larger labels, and even the indie labels (Fuck Victory Records).

I want a change. If you do to, I think this is an opportunity to support that change. I mean, fuck it, if Ian Brown and Johnny Marr can get behind this, why shouldn't we all?

Buy "In Rainbows" here.

Also read this article to get more info on this issue.

OLDIE BUT GOODIE

Here's an old video I just put up on youtube of Comeback Kid in New Zealand, doing a one time impromptu cover of the Figure Four song "Kill & Deceive." I'm on second guitar, and you probably can't tell I wasn't plugged in because my moves are so hot! Yup, that's just how I do.

BLUE MONDAY

Last Monday Blue Rodeo busked around the city, playing throughout Toronto. I was tipped off to a few of the locations, and made it out to one performance in the concourse at King and Bay Street. I was able to capture a couple of shots via my camera phone. Jim Cuddy's voice was so on point, and they played without microphones.

Smog or fog, this is how th CN Tower is looking tonight.
Goodnight.