February 26
top tens

i liked tim's top ten list idea. here's my top ten albums, further broken down by genres.

hip hop:
nwa - straight outta compton
* i blame nwa for my early love with hip hop. gangsta rap is too funny these days but nwa were so goddamn offensive for their time (fuck tha police anyone?) and they were also decent musicians (dre & ice cube are still 2 of hip hop's top producers plus ren, yella, the d.o.c. and eazy e could spit rhymes with style) so you couldn't help but like them. especially when it was grade 6 or 7 and your parents hated that "rap" music.
* straight outta compton, gangsta gangsta, fuck tha police, express yourself

the pharcyde - bizzare ride II
* party hip hop at it's best. so many good songs on this disc it's not even funny.
* soulflower, yo mama, pack the pipe (how many braincells were lost to this song?), officer, passing me by, otha fish ...

atmosphere - the lucy ford ep's
* jazzy hip hop beats? intelligent, interesting and funny lyrics? you owe it to yourself to check out anything by atmosphere or slug. i literally listened to this album at least once a day for over a year and a half.
* between the lines, like today, free or dead, nothing like sunshine, woman with the tattooed hands, homecoming (secret track)

electronic:
ed rush, trace and nico - torque
* the album that introduced me to dark drum n bass. it completely changed my outlook on the whole electronic music scene -- hey! it's not all candy-raver material after all. for an album written in 95 and 96, it still holds up remarkably well for electronic music.
* every single fucking song -- the ed rush studio mix is unbelievable. m.d.m, crystal, technology (boymerang rmx) are standouts.

stakka and skynet - clockwork
* and the album that showed me that trance is okay. but only when it's trancey drum n bass ;)
* clockwork, bios-fear, spider monkey, decoy

hospital records - plastic surgery vol 2
* hospital records have a habit of producing some of the best mellower drum n bass available (along with good looking records). this album was my introduction to them. also the first time i started to like mellow dnb.
* london elektricity - wishing well (danny byrd rmx), london elektricity - round the corner (origin unknown rmx), dj kalm + citizen - venus

rock/punk:
pennywise - unknown road
* my introduction to punk. nothing like cruising in zane's pimped out '79 grand prix, baked out of our trees blasting this album. special note: i have one of the original pressings of this cd with the brilliant misspelling: pennywise - unkown road. SMRT.
* unknown road, homesick, vices, city is burning, dying to know

nirvana - in utero
* i loved nirvana when i was a 15 year old skate punk. this album was my personal fave (followed by nevermind, incesticide, bleach, live)
* serve the servants, heart shaped box, rape me, dumb, all apologies

nofx - white trash, two heebs and a bean
* true pop punk with the best fuck-you attitude out there. and no, sum41 and blink182 are not pop punk, they're pop.
* soul doubt, stickin' in my eye, bob, you're bleeding, liza & louise, bag, please play this song on my radio, johnny appleseed, she's gone (pretty much the whole thing)

favourite of all time:
radiohead - ok computer
* i used to think radiohead was one of those annoying "british" bands that had more style than substance and just existed to piss off the punks. then ingrid (of all people) played it for me one day and forced me to listen to the entire thing. i honestly don't think i've gone more than a week since without listening to it at least once.
* entire album, straight through from start to finish. even that fitter happier track.

posted by mike at 11:41 AM
February 19
Two Days for Roughing

From http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/02/19/teacher_boarding040219

HALIFAX - Two days for roughing – that's the penalty handed out on Wednesday to a Nova Scotia high school teacher who slammed a student into a wall during a noon-hour floor hockey game.

oh my. hey, at least he can always get a job in newfoundland.

check out the movie with that article.

-mike.

posted by mike at 12:36 PM