jeff.hume.ca

I know that I'm a little late on the whole year-end lists thing, but it wasn't until recently that I realized that I wanted to spend a little bit of time writing about music that I found enjoyable over the past year. I must note, that I don't claim for this list to be definitive, as there is of course a lot of music from the last year that I didn't hear and if I did it would have maybe made the list. (I'll admit that I haven't listened to Ys yet, but I'll get around to it.)

One thing that amazed me about this past year (and the last few years in general really) is how much Canadian music is breaking out and is in many ways hogging all the critical acclaim for itself. My top five albums of the year are Canadian and seven of the ten are also. This is something that wouldn't have some years back when everyone thought Canadian music consisted of Celine Dion and Bryan Adams.

Seven of the ten artists on this list are also on independent labels which shows to me how irrelevant the major record labels are becoming despite their insistence that they cultivate music for us and in return we should hand over control of our copyright laws to them. For anybody who is still stuck in mainstream music hell, do yourself a favor and get out and explore a bit.

However, I'll stop preaching now and get right into the list:

My Favorites of 2006

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies

This was my introduction to Destroyer, although I did have passing familiarity with Dan Bejar through his contributions to The New Pornographers. I can't remember what exactly spurred me towards picking this up, but I'm glad I did because it is by far my favorite album of the year and up there with my favorite albums of all time. It's very difficult to describe this album or Destroyer's works in general. Though I enjoy what I've heard of Bejar's past works, there is something about Destroyer's Rubies that is somehow transcendent and enables it to stand heads and shoulders above his other work, which it should be noted, is already quite good. Bejar has a way to weave inscrutable lyrics delivered in a laid back conversational style with an incredible yet totally unforced focus on melody. While this album takes some time to get into for many, and isn't exactly one that gets stuck in your head right away, once it does it becomes clear that Dan Bejar is one of the most brilliant songwriters around.

Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming

Sunset Rubdown is the "side project" of the weird(er) half of the most excellent Wolf Parade – the dramatic, warbling Spencer Krug. In many ways I'd say this album is better than Wolf Parade's Apologies To The Queen Mary, and that says a lot. Where Wolf Parade is loud and rocking, Sunset Rubdown is subdued and at times sparse. That is not to say it doesn't have loud numbers. Songs such as "Stadiums and Shrines II", "They Took A Vote and Said No", and "Snake's Got a Leg III" are examples of such, but they posses a distinctly different vibe than than Wolf Parade offerings. What differentiates this album however are the quiet and beautiful (though weird) tracks such as "Us Ones In Between" and the majority of the long pseudo-title track "Shut Up I Am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings" until it explodes into cacophony. There are also some very strange songs with traditionally awkward elements such as the endless false endings in "The Men Are Called Horsemen There". This album is once again a weird one and takes some getting into, but it reveals itself as an amazing work of distinct haphazard beauty showing Spencer Krug to be a very important songwriter and one to watch.

Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

This one isn't really a weird one. If you're reading this list and you don't consider yourself musically adventurous, feel free to take this as a recommendation. Similar to Dan Bejar, this was my introduction to Neko Case besides her (amazing) vocal work with The New Pornographers. Neko's voice is one of the strongest voices I've heard in a long time. After a few listens this album stuck with me after listening to it on a long bus ride. There's a certain timelessness about songs such as standouts "Dirty Knife", "Star Witness" and the criminally short "At Last". The singing, song-writing and performances on this album all come together to create a beautiful collection of songs that will stick with you and make you come back to it again and again.

Swan Lake - Beast Moans

OK, back to the weird stuff. This band is a combination of three of the most interesting (some would say strange) songwriters in Canadian music – Dan Bejar (of the aforementioned Destroyer and New Pornographers), Spencer Krug (of the aforementioned Sunset Rubdown and Wolf Parade), and Carey Mercer (the maniacal front-man of Frog Eyes). Suffice to say, Beast Moans seems to take the weird and inaccessible aspects of each and mashes them together to create a dense, bizarre fabric of sound that makes the title of the album quite apt. This album hasn't received the same acclaim as the main projects of each member, but personally I think it is very much on the same level. This is an album that many people would probably find completely jarring and abrasive, but there are hooks in there that can sneak up on you even in strange sound collages like "City Calls" or the barely song-like "Shooting Rockets". It is likely that in order to enjoy this album you have to be a fan of some of the three members of this band or strange music in general, however, that does not negate the fact that for me it is a masterpiece.

Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds

This was a late arrival on my list and in the last few weeks since I got it, it has jumped way up in my esteem. This is an incredibly enthralling piece of work and well deserving of the Polaris Prize win, even though I wasn't rooting for it at the time. Owen Palette's string based songs are difficult to classify. Are they classical? Is it classical pop? Classical experimental pop? It doesn't really matter though, since it's just plain enjoyable.

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

This album is quite adventurous for the Decemberists, especially considering it is their debut on a major label. Epic tracks such as the three part title track suite and prog-folk adventure "The Island" combined with beautiful traditional Decemberists fare like "O Valencia!" and "Sons & Daughters" make this an unbelievably enjoyable listen. Some of the experimentation with new sounds such as "When The War Came" doesn't work as well as others, but it doesn't tarnish the quality of the majority of the tracks.

Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That

Plain and simple this is a great pop rock album from this English-singing French band. I'm not ashamed to like good pop rock, and neither should you be. This album feels great and is catchy as hell. Try to count how many times the singer intersperses a rhythmic "huh" sound between his lines.

The Tragically Hip - World Container

I know it's not trendy for people to like The Tragically Hip in Canada. The Hip are enormously popular, and even though many regard their older albums as their best work, the band consistently sells out gigantic live shows (rightfully so, as the Hip's live show is one of the best I've seen). People might hate the Hip because they're old and worn out or maybe it's the selection of beer-swigging-go-Canada-frat-boy crowd they sometimes attract, or maybe they think all their songs sound the same. Despite this, I've always loved the Tragically Hip and count them among my favorite bands. Look past the radio hits and their mainstream success, and you'll see a band that has produced consistently excellent and furthermore intelligent music while staying in the mainstream and gaining commercial success. It could be said that the Hip's last few albums have perhaps not been their best, but in my opinion World Container is the return of form that In Between Evolution almost was. World Container is just a fantastic Hip album full of catchy hit-like songs such as "In View", "The Lonely End of the Rink" and "Fly" and also a great selection of in-your-face rocking tunes such as "The Drop Off" and "The Kids Don't Get It". The songwriting on this album is some of the most consistent of the Hip's career and the in-your-face sound was a pleasant surprise after hearing that Bob Rock was producing. There are a few over-produced slip-ups such as Pretend, but for me this album will go down as one of the best albums of their career.

The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers

I am a strong admirer of Jack White, one of the biggest Rock Stars who manages have his cake and eat it too, being both popular and having the ability to do whatever the hell he wants. Combined with Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler, there was no doubt that Broken Boy Soldiers would be a good album. As it turns out, it is a fantastic album with a great, though short, selection of somewhat classic rock sounding tunes. I love the album and can't wait for their next release, especially after listening to recordings of the Raconteur's live show in which it is clear that the Raconteurs have gelled into a much better band. The songs are fleshed out to the point that you wish they played them like that in the first place. The extended guitar solos played live on songs like "Blue Veins", "Intimate Secretary" and "Level" are especially missed. The band has also shown an amazing ability to reinterpret their own songs into something completely different such as a slow piano, acoustic guitar and voice based version of Broken Boy Soldiers played for a radio session. That said, Broken Boy Soldiers is still an excellent album, and if the Raconteur's live show is any indication, their next effort should place higher on year-end lists.

Islands - Return To The Sea

I don't have much to say about this besides the fact that it's an incredibly enjoyable pop rock album with some dark twists. Songs such as Rough Gem are pure pop sound while others such as the long opener "Swans (Life After Death)" or "Where There's A Will There's a Whalebone" have a darker edge and other musical influences. My only complaint is that the second half of the album is considerably weaker than the excellent first half.

Honorable Mentions

Tokyo Police Club - A Lesson In Crime

Catchy, rocking and just plain good. If this was more than an EP it might have made the top ten.

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

Hate the radio stations and forgive Gnarls Barkley for the overplayed "Crazy". This is an incredibly creative and diverse genre-bending work that I was surprised to find myself enjoying so much.

The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics

This is another excellent work from The Flaming Lips. It's not quite top-10 material, but still highly recommended.

The Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Once again, catchy, rocking and just plain good. They got the hype and it may have tarnished them in the eyes of many snobby critics, but The Arctic Monkey's show that you can make a great rock album without being too serious and just having some fun.

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Knives Don't Have Your Back

A bunch of pretty piano songs showing the softer side of Emily Haines.

The Beatles - Love

I don't know if this counts as a new album since it's technically using (almost) all old recordings. Regardless, the new very creative arrangements of Beatles songs given by "fifth-Beatle" George Martin and his son are in some cases downright incredible.

It seems that I have forgotten to write for over two months. Onwards!

Last Wednesday I went to see Robert Plant and his band The Strange Sensation live at the Molson Amphitheater here in Toronto. I was very excited about seeing one of the greats of rock and roll play live despite the lack of the rest of the members of Led Zeppelin

Moreover, I had listened to Plant's new album Mighty Rearranger and was very impressed by it. The songs all have a musicality and soul to them which many classic rockers who continue on cannot capture anymore. On this album Plant experiments with more modern sounding keyboard elements and many of the songs have a distinct (to my uneducated ears) eastern sound and influence. He does this without losing the classic rock core which has made him famous. Tin Pan Valley is the best example of this melding of styles. The song starts with an eerie modern sounding keyboard part and builds with Plant half-whispering, half-singing the lyrics until the song suddenly explodes into something very Zeppelinish and maybe a little heavier.

Now, onto the concert.

Plant and his band played a set balanced nicely between old Zeppelin songs and new Plant & Strange Sensation material. From my memory I have recorded the setlist as follows:

No Quarter
Shine It All Around
Black Dog
Freedom Fries
Morning Dew
That's The Way
Hey Hey, What Can I Do?
Heartbreaker (It was somewhere in here)
Tin Pan Valley
Gallows Pole
Mighty Rearranger
When The Levee Breaks

Encore:
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
The Enchanter
Whole Lotta Love

True to this different take on the Zeppelin classics, the show opened up with a very different version of No Quarter. At first I couldn't figure out what was being played until Plant started singing. "Close the door turn out the light." This uncertainty happened a lot during the night followed by a euphoria at realizing that I was hearing these great songs in a different context.

Black Dog was another Zeppelin classic which I didn't recognize at first. Mostly this was because the characteristic riff was heavily modified. I think in this case it might be because the classic riff is ridiculously hard to play and you need to be Jimmy Page to nail it. The Strange Sensation guitar player was very good, but I don't think it's insulting to say that he's no Jimmy Page.

The introduction of Freedom Fries got some chuckles from the audience, but sadly it seemed that many people didn't know the new songs (understandably) and weren't as into them as they could have been.

Mid-way through the set Hey Hey What Can I Do? had everyone tapping their foot and singing.Tin Pan Valley had me very excited and I hope it showed off the new Plant material to many in attendance.

At the end of the main set they launched into a very different and very cool version of When The Levee Breaks. It started out acoustic and laid back and built itself up into an incredible groove. Once again I couldn't figure out what was being played until Plant sang. "If it keeps on raining the levee's going to break." The crowd was very into this one and it was probably the best adaptation of the old Zeppelin material to be heard that night. It was very different but at the same time thrilling. It got everyone riled up just in time to cheer Plant and the band back on stage for a spectacular encore.

The encore began with the sad and powerful Zeppelin classic Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. I thought it to be a strange song to play in an encore, but obviously Plant knows far better than me in picking his setlists, as this song was unbelievably well done and really hit home with the crowd. With The Enchanter, the audience was finally getting into the new material. I liked this song on the ablum, but this live performance was just downright awesome. This trippy song was extended to allow a lot of soloing and craziness which I can't describe well enough.

This led into the last song of the night -- the classic Whole Lotta Love. This once again featured a long extended solo section complete with Plant's trademark wails and vocal improvisations. Plant's voice and his range is a legend of rock. In one song he may sing soft and tender while in the next he blasts it out full of energy and sexuality. I was apprehensive, but I can now attest that Plant's voice is still a legend and has not been diminished by his age. His wails in this last song of the night penetrated right into your head and proved why he has the ability to last this long still writing and playing excellent music. He doesn't just go through the motions to reap the success he's earned. No, for Robert Plant the feeling and the music comes first.

I am a person who values compromise. As such, I have thought that the iTunes music store and other music download services with liberal digital rights management systems are a good thing and a step in the right direction for the music industry. Although there are flaws and it is propping up an industry which has lost touch with reality, I think it is a step in the right direction.

Today I read that the big record companies are wanting to raise the prices on music downloaded from online music stores.

What is there really to say? There are plenty of ways to refute this. Here are a few:

• The record companies make 65 cents off the 99 cent price point for each track. This already represents a huge profit margin.


• Downloads should be cheaper than CDs and other media since the cost of delivery to the consumer is effectively zero.


• They should be promoting this new method of distribution against rampant piracy through good prices. If prices are raised, it wont be a good deal and more people will be enticed to pirate

The list goes on and on. Anyone with any sort of common sense should be able to realize that this is a boneheaded idea. This and all the other boneheaded ideas of the record companies show more and more that, indeed, the people running the show are out of touch.

If this were another industry customers could just say 'screw them' and another provider would rise up and take their place or at least compete. However in this case the big record companies and the RIAA as their representative have a stranglehold on popular culture and music distribution. If you as a band want to get heard, you have to go through the system. If you as a record store want to make money, you have to go through the system. If you as a radio station want to get listeners, you have to go through the system. If you as a listener, want to hear the music your friends are listening to, you have to go through the system.

Or you could pirate the music online.

But then of course the record companies blame all their failings on piracy and new technologies which need controlling. Then they sponsor their lobby groups who start the whining process. This results in the government (the apparent representative of the people) being suckered in into passing laws which benefit the record industry and them only. The proposed Induce act in the US and blank media levies in Canada are examples of this. There is no mention of their restrictive business practices, their boneheaded economics, the lack of worthwhile content or the fact that they treat their customers as criminals.

It is really a sad thing that the music industry has such control on an area where culture and art should be made and celebrated for what it is. This whole situation is disrespectful to music and culture in general and it shows just how commercialized things have become. We can't even listen to music we like anymore without supporting an industry that disrespects us, the very people who support them.

And it is not as if the music industry is doing us any sort of favor in return. Why do we even need the music industry? A hundred years ago people were making music and enjoying music without any record companies. If the system of the record companies was to collapse today people would still make and enjoy music because music is part of our lifestyle. The record companies would claim that they serve as an agent to get good music out there and into our ears. Yet, with the Internet and it's distributed interconnectedness, we as a culture could do this distribution on our own. The Internet takes word of mouth to a whole new level - people can tell other people on a large scale what music is good. A whole new system could emmerge which would actively support music, creativity and enjoyment of it while at the same time allowing artists who gain popularity based on merit rather than manufactured popularity to make more money off of their work.

Oh, to dream.

BoingBoing has linked to another really cool medley of songs. Previously, I linked to a mashup of more than forty Beatles songs. This time around it is a medley of about twenty songs which feature whistling parts, compiled by DJ Riko.

Is this creative? Is this cool? I think so. The copyright goons will probably disagree though.

While reading Boing Boing I came across this amazing medley made up of 40+ Beatles songs. The creator has taken all these songs and slowed them down, sped them up, changed their pitch and other things and mashed them all together. The result is actually really cool and surprisingly catchy.

Go check it out; Boing Boing has a bunch of mirrors listed to download it from.

However, given the legal backlash against the Grey Album from DJ Danger Mouse which mixed the Beatles White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album, it is likely that this medley guy will probably get his pants sued off too. This is of course completely ridiculous because it is restricting creative works such as this. But of course copyright in these times has drifted so far from it's original purpose and it now simply serves to give control to big record companies and make them lots of money.

But regardless of the politics, this song is simply cool.

Matt Good comments on the launch of the iTunes Music Store for Canada:

For those of you that have been waiting for the launch of the iTunes Canada store, it’s finally happened. And in true Canadian Music Industry fashion, it’s a total mess.

The launch of the store is what the industry refers to as ”a soft launch”, meaning that it’s a work in progress – or the CMRRA and Apple couldn’t get their shit together prior to it going online. Of course, Canadians have complete access to the same music that can already be found in other countries, they just have to keep checking back to see if those Canadian bands that they like have been added. I would say something witty, but when it comes to Canadian music, this sort of nonesense is just to be expected.

I have bought a couple of things from the store already, but I have found it to be quite lacking in selection. I purchased the exclusive Tragically Hip single, but found that there are only three other Tragically Hip albums on the store. (I believe the Hip have almost ten studio albums.) The greatest irony here is that there are more Hip albums available from the US store where hardly anyone cares about them.

I hope they figure things out and add more of the missing music.

While most Americans don't know of him, in Canada the name Matthew Good and the former Matthew Good Band are quite familiar. Matt Good seems to have stradled the border of Canadian musical fame and artist throughout his career. In the late 90s the Matthew Good Band released a few very solid albums with such hits as Hello Time Bomb and Apparations. After the band broke up over personal differences, Good went out on his own with his first album Avalanche - a subdued and poignant political album. His latest, White Light Rock & Roll Review, is a more rocking but equally political outing.

I have always liked Matthew Good, and as of late I've been really enjoying his latest two albums. He is masterful both musically and lyrically. Throughout his career his music has almost always highlighted his strong political bent. He is also an adamant supporter of Amnesty International. Many may resent musicians for putting their political beliefs forward to such an extent, but I admire Good for doing it in such an intelligent and clever manner.

Just recently I've discovered, much to my delight, that not only is Matt Good a really cool musician, but he's also an avid blogger. Matt writes almost daily on his weblog on a whole range of political and sometimes musical topics. I was amazed at the amount of thought and time he must put into writing this while pursuing an active musical career including touring and all that goes along with it.

Yesterday he wrote on the lies of the Bush administration concerning the war in Iraq:

If this administration is not held accountable by the people of the United States next month, how is the rest of the world to respect Americans if they have so openly shown that they have no respect for themselves?

Hey Jude could have at least three minutes cut off the end of it and be a great song. I love the song, but the end is ridiculously repetitive. I have no problem with long songs, in fact they can be excellent (witness Echoes or Thick as a Brick,) but using the same lyric over and over and over and over again with a prolonged fadeout makes me skip the ending every time.

Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah hey Jude Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah hey Jude Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah hey Jude Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah hey Jude Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah hey Jude Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah hey Jude...

Just cut the damn song Paul! (or whoever)

So, as it turns out, the RIAA has been reporting losses in sales and attributing it to online piracy, yet consumers actually bought more CDs this year than last! The RIAA has been reporting losses in the amount of discs shipped to retailers, while data on the number of discs sold to consumers shows an increase in buying music.

Obviously the RIAA has been using the wrong facts to prove something altogether different. I really hope they get caught on this one.

I can't help but be infuriated by these liars.

Happiness is... a nine-disc set of all the music from Lord Of The Rings composed by Howard Shore. This article confirms speculation of such a boxed set. The article quotes Shore as saying:

“The plan is that we would feature all of the music in the theatrical cuts of the films," said Shore, talking exclusively to Empire. "Currently, two discs for [the first], three each for [the second and third films] and a ninth disc of rarities with host of rare, unreleased music from the films with commentary from me.”

This made my day. There is so much great music from these films which is not featured on the soundtracks that deserves to be released.

Yes, I am proud of being a Tolkien nerd.

Music is found in the most unlikely places... like Windows system sounds.

A couple days ago I hesitantly bought Pink Floyd's The Final Cut. In thepast, I had read some pretty negative reviews of the album that characterized it as a disappointment for the band. It has been called essentially a solo project of Roger Waters and totally out of the style of Pink Floyd. Yet, the CD was on sale at the store, and after some deliberation I decided to buy it (along with CCR's greatest hits collection, which is very good). When I listened to it, this was proved true - much to my delight. It is indeed unlike other Floyd albums and features Roger Waters heavily, while lacking the rest of the band in many sections.

This is indeed one of the most bleak, if not the bleakest album I have ever listened to. Yet, for some strange reason I have listened to it over and over again since my purchase and it has grown immensely on me. The lyrics are incredible and are sung magnificently by Roger Waters. Water's singing on this album is incredibly powerful and emotional - ranging from pained shouts to soft strained whispers.. The songs are generally much softer and more somber than past Pink Floyd and give of a distinct sense of emotion and longing that is entirely appropriate for the words and message that accompany it. The orchestral elements of the music are incredibly well integrated and fit the songs perfectly. This is really a very well produced album.

On the reverse of the album it says that it is "A requiem for the post-war dream, by Roger Waters. Performed by Pink Floyd". Like Animals or The Wall, this is a concept album that revolves around this certain idea. The excellent lyrical content is very emotional and moving in many cases. The depressing nature of the songs might turn many listeners off of it, but I find it to be beautiful regardless of its bleak dark nature. To get an idea of what this album is like take The Wall, slow it down and make it more depressing. It is not like older Pink Floyd in many ways except for the few sections featuring David Gilmour's powerful guitar solos and in the excellent track - Not Now John

The whole album is a highlight, but highlight songs include The Gunner's Dream, Not Now John and Two Suns In The Sunset. Not Now John is the only real fast and heavy song on the album and thus stands out. It in a way reminds me of the satirical sarcastic lyrics of songs like Have A Cigar or Run Like Hell. In this case, the satire comes from the excessive use of profanity and backup singers.

This music has a point to it, a bleak one, and that is likely why hardly anyone has heard it before, and quite a few who have rate it lowly. Despite the negative lyrics such as in Two Suns In The Sunset, which deals with nuclear winter, this album is a forgotten masterpiece among Pink Floyd fans. It is very different and does not feature the rest of the band to a very large extent, but regardless, it is still an amazing album on it's own terms. This was the last real Pink Floyd album. Not to take anything away from Gilmour and the others, but after Waters left and the band continued to record, they lost a great deal of what made Pink Floyd what they were. Taking this into consideration The Final Cut is a very appropriate and somber final act for a band of such high calibre and influence.

Edit: I edited this entry after numerous mistakes were reported to me. Thanks go to my friends Dave and The Valrus for keeping me on my toes.

Wired has an interesting article up about a new record company called Magnatune. Touted as open source or shareware music, they are basing their business model on letting listeners download the music in MP3 or WAV CD format and giving them freedom with it. All the songs are availalbe in streaming internet radio feeds and can be downloaded mixed and swapped as much as you want. If you decide that you want to buy a song after listening to it you can choose how much you want to pay starting from $5 (USD). Half the proceeds from the sale go directly to the artists. The music is licensed under the "some rights reserved" Creative Commons license. The artists also retain all the rights to their music.

This is a really cool idea and it will be interesting to see if they survive. I think I'll have a listen to the music on there to see if there's anything I'm interested in. As their slogan says, they "are not evil".

Derrick Story has a great article up on the O'Reilly Network interviewing the CEO of Go-Kart Records - an independant record label.

"Instead of suing little girls and filing ridiculous lawsuits, we here at Go-Kart have decided to embrace this new MP3 technology, and have unleashed the first commercially sold MP3 CD. It contains 150 bands, 300 rare/new/previously unreleased songs, and even an interactive interface for those who decide to put it in their computers. And get this ... we even include directions on how to burn these MP3s! We feel that this format is the perfect way to promote bands, rather than take away from them."

This is the kind of honest and productive discussion that should be going on in the industry. These types of positive measures would go a long way in helping the Music Industry regain it's customers and prevent them from losing current ones.

1. Go to a Record Store
2. Buy a few copy-protected CDs
3. Return them the next day
4. Rinse, Repeat

On a more positive note on music, I've been listening to Jethro Tull's Thick As A Brick. And when I say that I mean both the song and the album, since the song is the entire album! It's 43 minutes of amazing rock. It's almost like a symphony of rock with the guitars taking a lead role along with the flute! Its really amazing how they develop a simple guitar and flute part at the beginning into 43 minutes of amazing ideas.

I will admit it - I like buying CDs. I like having the sense of owning the music that I really like and supporting the artists (even if most of the money doesn't go to them). Yesterday I was at the store and saw Radiohead's Hail To The Theif. I had heard a great deal of good about this album, so I thought that I would get it.

Then I saw it - The Copy Protection logo.

I looked on the back and saw the system requirements. It said it would play on regular CD players and Windows and Macs. If I hadn't heard anything about copy protection before I would have been fooled and would have bought the album right then. However, I have heard what it's all about. The information on the "CD" doesn't tell you that you wont be able to copy it on to your computer for listening any time or making mix CDs for your own use. It doesn't tell you that you can't put the music on any portable digital music players. It doesn't tell you that you can't play it in your favorite CD player/MP3 software - you have to play it in their own crappy proprietary client.

This is incredibly confusing for uninformed customers. It looks like a CD to them and it is mixed in with all the other CDs in the store, but it doesn't behave like a real CD. These Copy Controlled discs should be in their own section with a big warning sign telling you all about them.

Furthermore, the whole idea behind these copy controlled discs is absolutely absurd to begin with. With this method you are actually punishing those who are willing to buy your product! Unless they think they can get rid of all copies of the music on P2P services, it wont work. Those who wont buy the album will still download it - copy protecting CDs isn't stopping it. The only thing copy protecting CDs does is it makes your customers really angry.

I do the majority of my listening on the computer or my iPod and I like all my music in one program (iTunes). If they wont let me do this, I wont buy it! It's as simple as that! Furthermore, I might even download the whole album because of this. They would have had a customer if they didn't limit how I could listen to the music. Instead they lost a customer. I have a feeling that this will happen more and more as customers begin to realize what copy protection means and MP3 players become more prolific. The record companies should be rewarding those who buy the music! They wont be able to cut off the source of file sharing in this way, since there will always be a way to copy the music (even if it is by hooking up your stereo to your computer).

I want to pay money and listen to the CD. Why am I being denied this? It's a shame that they lost my money. Is it too much to ask to be treated like a customer instead of a criminal?

So, I went to the Neil Young and Crazy Horse concert at the Air Canada Centre last night. Let me tell you, that was quite a rocking show. To start it off they played the entirety of the new Greendale album, which was really interesting. The whole album tells a story about a family in the his made-up town of Greendale. The story then morphs into a political comment on current issues in the world and specifically the United States. Neil has also directed a movie by the same title, which is debuting at the Toronto Film Festival. On the stage during this part of the performance were actors who mouthed the words and did their thing while Neil was singing all their parts. Some people have said that this whole story and album isn't very good, but I was impressed. You don't see many concept albums coupled with a film and concert/play.

Following that performance with the final anthem Be the Rain the crowd was cheering like mad for more. Neil and the band finally came back out and played the second set of the evening. They kicked it off with a incredibly energetic version of My My, Hey Hey that got everyone really excited. The second set was excellent with highlights being Cinnamon Girl and Down by the River.

This performance wasn't what some might expect of Neil Young. There was only one acoustic song in the entire show. This was Bandit off Greendale. The rest of the time it was at a much higher pace (and volume level). I think he did more of his hard rock stuff due to the fact that Crazy Horse was there with him.

Now I only wish I had seen CSNY when they played here last year so that I could have experienced the other side of Neil Young.

A friend and I are going to see Neil Young at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday, and I'm getting pumped by listening to the Neil's latest album Greendale. Supposedly the show consists of this entire album followed by some of his old great hits. It should be great.

The new album is interesting. It's not classic Neil Young in a sense. There is only one acoustic song on the entire album, and all the songs have a little bit of a strange side to them. (the non-acoustic aspect of it might be due to the fact that it is Neil Young and Crazy Horse - his band.) It's a concept album pertaining to his invented town of Greendale. Critics are saying it's not as good an album as previous Neil Young, but I'd still say this is pretty good stuff after only one listening.

I still hope to hear some older Neil stuff at the show, especially some of his beautiful acoustic songs like After The Gold Rush.

Well I'm glad I went to the unofficially named "Sarsstock". Almost half a million people is quite a large crowd! I didn't really get a sense of the size until they started showing airial shots on the screens. It was just awesome. The Energy in the crowd was great, and it was quite peaceful and there weren't any incidents that I saw. Everyone seemed friendly and patient.

The bands were great. The afternoon session was good, but the Evening sesssion rocked. After Justin Timberlake played for 20 minutes things started to rock. The Guess Who were next. They played really well in the limited time they had (only about half an hour). They deserved more time. They really rocked the crowd especially with Taking Care of Business (Which is a BTO song, but they play it now). Next up was Rush. They were good, but could have got the crowd in more. I liked the music, but the Guess Who did a better job of putting on a show.

After that things got loud. AC/DC almost blew my ears right off. They put on a great show and played almost all their hits with such energy including an encore of Highway to Hell. Angus Young, their guitar player, was great. I don't think he ever stopped jumping around for the whole time and ended their set by playing the guitar while rolling around kicking on the stage. In the middle he started taking off his clothes (his school-boy costume) and got the crowd to cheer him on. He built up the crowd's cheers for him to take off his pants finally. When he finally pulled them down, it looked like he was going to moon the audience, but instead he had boxers with the Canadian flag!

Then came the Stones. They were a little late onto the stage, but it was worth it. They played a great set and are really great entertainers. I don't know how Mick Jagger at 60 can move like that. It was a great show on their part.

Overall, it was an amazing event, and I hope it helps revive Toronto. It's a once in a lifetime experience to see so many good bands with such a great and big crowd. I'll never forget it!

I'm going to be heading down to Downsview Airport on Wednesday to witness one of the biggest concerts in History. This concert is going to be quite the experience. 400,000 plus people will be there to see the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who and others. I can't wait. That many people in one place is hard to imagine.

Lately, I've been picking up the guitar. I've started taking a lesson once every two weeks. I'm really enjoying it. I played piano before, but this gives me something new. I can apply a lot of the theory I learned on the piano to the guitar, it's only a matter of learning where the notes are and guitar-specific stuff. Right now I'm working on Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here and Hotel California by The Eagles. These are two great songs. I'd have to put Wish You Were Here high up on my favorites list. The dueling guitars at the beginning with the solo over the riff is incredibly powerful. It has great lyrics too.

I picked up the Pink Floyd ablum Animals. What an amazing album. Nobody makes that kind of music anymore. The idea of a concept album is essentially dead, its too bad.

From what I've read about it and what I've interpreted I think this album compares various animals (Dogs, Pigs and Sheep) to different human behaviors in society. The dogs are greedy and money-centred, the Pigs are self-centred, ignorant and arrogant people who over indulge in society, finally the Sheep are the ignorant, passive and uninterested followers.

Yet another masterpiece to add to my Floyd collection.