Punk Rock Aerobics

http://www.punkrockaerobics.com/

Check this out. They actually have a book now. I should get it just cause it's cool (not that I'm gonna do aerobics). Behind it is Hilken Mancini (Fuzzy) and Maura Jasper (she drew the old dinosaur jr album covers) awesome.

Arrowed

image from Teen Girl Squad at homestarrunner.com

I bought 28 records for $1 (Canadian) each at the CFCR record sale. Since I've gotten into vinyl I've been buying stuff that I never imagined that I would (new wave stuff, prog, folk, classic rock). I feel differently about records than I do about CDs. I really do listen to everything. For that price why not?

Am I ever tired. I'm going to bed right away, I swear. This evening we ordered Pizza and played hearts and watched Corky Romano and played Gamecube and drank beer. Sounds like a very typical Friday. We were considering catching a midnight show of Kill Bill at the Rainbow but it didn't work out. Hopefully the band will practice tomorrow.

Girls Are Short
Early North American
Upper Class Recordings (2003)

This Ontario duo makes gleeful electronic pop that won't insult sensitive ears. I'm not a follower of the genre so the only thing I can compare it to is The Postal Service, but it's not quite like that. One of the vocalists sings in a yelping "do you want fries with that" voice the other sounds like a teenage girl. Track 4, "Perfect Sound Forever" (isn't that a Pavement single???), is particularly beautiful with a melody that brings to mind Guided by Voices' "Tractor Rape Chain" and back and forth positive/negative boy/girl stanzas. However, some of the poppiest numbers approach Vengaboys territory. Other songs sound like (very good) Playstation game soundtracks.

I have only heard one of their songs prior to buying this album ("tigertail" from an earlier EP) and it was a crunchy fun guitar song. I find it interesting that Girls Are Short have roots in non-electronic pop. There is a great hidden track on Early North American where they bring out the guitars once again.

So yeah... go to the website, listen to the samples and, if you like, pick it up.

http://www.upperclass.to/girlsareshort.htm

My Top Ten Albums of 2003

 1. The Postal Service - Give Up
 2. Portastatic - Summer Of The Shark
 3. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
 4. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
 5. The Dears - No Cities Left
 6. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
 7. The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site
 8. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism
 9. My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves
10. Jim Bryson - The North Side Benches

I've got a lot to say but I don't feel like saying it. I guess I'm just testing this out for now. I love how it will publish it to your webpage with ftp (and it's free to boot!). I have wanted to do an online journal on my web page before just with html but it was too tiresome. This quick and easy way will equal lots of posts. The only thing that would be nice is if people could add comments to my entries. I have a free message board that I will link to for those purposes.

this is my first post