Looking back over the albums I acquired in 2008 (that were actually released in 2008) was a might bit depressing. Mixed in with the mediocre releases were a bunch of duds, and for the most part nothing from established bands grabbed my fancy. Wolf Parade released a decent album in ‘At Mount Zoomer’, while The Constantines released a solid offering with ‘Kensington Heights’, but neither album strikes me as better than previous releases. I enjoyed Jason Collett’s ‘Here’s to Being Here’, and new comers Vampire Weekend released a catchy album that a friend calls, “an excellent album to play Mario Kart too.” Staples of Canadiana Sloan, Sam Roberts, The Trews, and Kathleen Edwards, each had an album out this year that were great additions to their catalogue, but none really had that ‘album of the year’ vibe (though I can spin ‘Love at the End of the World’ time and time again).
Now don’t think that my choice for album of the year was a default selection — a best of the worst situation — because that is truly not the case. ‘Hometowns’ by The Rural Alberta Advantage earned its place atop my best album of 2008 list. From the first listen of the first song the album struck me as original yet poppy and accessible, with enough layers to keep even the most jaded music fan interested. The entire album is a standout track, but of the standout tracks the ‘standout tracks’ are: the lead song ‘The Ballad of the RAA’ a slow builder that tries to tell the story of leaving the prairies, ‘Don’t Haunt This Place’ a tumbling pop tune, ‘Frank, AB’, and ‘In The Summertime’ a beautiful woeful closing song about love. The band has drawn numerous comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel, but I feel a bit of Meligrove Band in them, which stems from the originality and energy in their songs.
Hometowns is a solid addition to my music library and one that I’m sure will remain in my rotation for many years to come, as well as being an album I can turn to on cool rainy day when just a little bit of warmth is required.
It’s not often that I have an original thought (i.e. before I read it in the news), but ever since the Prime Minster gave his throne speech, and all this talk of coalition governments and prorogation began, it seemed that every time I heard a sound bite on TV — or worse in the halls at work — I would hear people say with such authority how, “I voted for Stephen Harper and he should have a go at running the country.” I think that right there is a huge insight into how much people know about the Canadian political system. The Dominion Institute survey confirmed my observations when it revealed that 51% of Canadians believe that Canadians elect the prime minister directly. I think the reason for this is that people are inadequately educated about how the system operates, so in this absence they try to apply what they know about the American system of government to Canada, which unfortunately is destined to lead them down the wrong path.
You cannot put anything in my queue while I’m away (however lovingly you intend it) and I come home to a clean INBOX … Personally, I think it’s pretty rude that folks think that the asynchronicity of email gives them the right to pile things onto my plate like a huge to-do list.
I wonder how many people could actually get away with this while on vacation?
Police say it appears that three of the four officers at the scene then fired an unknown number of shots at the teenager, hitting him in the upper body and killing him.
I’m no police officer but I gotta think that if a 15 year old kid is coming at me with a knife I’m just going to hit him with my billy club, or have the other 3 or 4 officers at the scene combine efforts, and take my chances with a slash or small puncture wound. There is no way this is going to end well.
Update:Investigation continues into shooting of 15 year-old. Witnesses for the family say police hunted kid down and failed to use proper negotiation skills. Police say they acted in accordance with their training.
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