My New Year Resolution....

.....is to party hard with friends, not give a care, be nice, travel, and stay positive. See you in 2010 friends. I'll be thinking of all of you when I'm shotgunning PBR's tonight!

Tom Waits-All The World Is Green

I'm going on a personal mission to drink as much bourbon and whiskey needed, so that my voice will sound like Tom's. I will keep you posted....

Mariachi El Bronx-Holy

Top 14 records of 2009

So these are the records that tickled my ear in just the right way. This is mostly what I listened to this year. These are mostly in order but also not at all.

1. Lucero-1372 Overton Park Their first record on a major label and Ben and the boys did not disappoint. They took their usual formula and added some horns and backup singers. The result is perfect.
2. Dinosaur Jr.-The Farm J Mascis and the boys might be getting older but prove they can still turn the volume up to 11 and kick out some serious jamz.
3. Morrissey-Years Of Refusal The Mozzer at his gloomy best, but that's why I love him. He tells it like it is, "I was driving my car, crashed and broke my spine, so yes there are things worse in life than never being someones sweetie". So next time you're whining about someone, SUCK IT UP. It could be far worse.
4. Every Time I Die-New Junk Aesthetic These guys don't fuck around. Ok they do but not when it comes to their music. Total guitar shredding by Jordan and Andy complimented by Keith's witty (although I have no idea what he is talking about sometimes) lyrics. His voice is a beast.
5. Converge-Axe To Fall Holy shit.
6. A.A Bondy-When The Devil's Loose Song writing at it's best. There is nothing not to love about A.A Bondy. Period.
7. Raekwon-Only Built For Cuban Linx 2 Wu Tang Clan is the best hip hop group there is. Raekwon's follow up to the original might have been almost a decade in the making but it's worth the wait. The story telling is insane.
8. Bat For Lashes-Two Suns I love Natasha Khan. In my head all these songs were either written about me or for me.
9. Clipse-Til The Casket Drops Yes it took forever to come out. Yes it was damn worth it. Only beef is that The Neptunes didn't collaborate on all the songs. On the songs they didn't you can tell.
10. Dead Man's Bones-Dead Man's Bones On paper this should be a recipe for disaster. But it isn't. It's actually pretty incredible. Spooky doo-wop music. They invented a new genre.
11. Cave In-Planets Of Old I am well aware that it's only a ep of four songs. My response to you it's CAVE IN. Jupiter meets Until Your Heart Stops awesomeness.
12. Built To Spill-There Is No Enemy Total gem of a record.
13. Title Fight-The Last Thing You Forget These guys took the spirit of Lifetime and Saves The Day and made it their own. Awesome in my books.
14. Jay Reatard-Watch Me Fall Sure he isn't shredding as much as he used to but this new kiwi pop sound is actually working for him.

That's all folks. Favourite shows and movies is up next.

Nirvana-Drain You

I've been listening to the Nirvana-Live At Reading cd a lot lately. Drain You is probably my fave of theirs.

One of the TOP 5 Xmas movies out there....

...and I don't care if anyone disagrees.  Shits funny as heck.

What really grinds my gears

One of my biggest pet peeves is wide mouth openings on bottles.  Not only are they not comfortable to drink out of but if you are in a car and go over a bump you are pretty much guaranteed to get some all over your clothes.  If I were president of the world you can bet banning these would be high up on the agenda.  I'm confident I could get a couple of votes just for that alone.

Sons Of Anarchy

Welcome to your new favourite show.

So stoked for tonight!

A.A Bondy is playing El Mocambo tonight.  I'm taking Jake as his bday present.  No homo!

Pretty much the GREATEST thing ever...

Return of mighty GLASSJAW!

After 5 long years tonight marks the return of GLASSJAW. Last time I saw them was at Warped Tour 2004 (I think). I've always been a huge fan but my friends and I bamboozled press passes and were able to watch them do their thing from the stage, let me tell you that took things on a whole different level of love. They completely owned. So flawless and effortless it was unreal. I remember all the other bands on the tour were all packed on stage to watch them, when there was no more room they climbed the speakers and watched them from there. I'll always remember Kenny from The Starting Line and Jesse Lacey singing along to every song. Tonight was a long wait but so fucking worth it. Glassjaw/Brand New @ Kool Haus then the afterparty where Daryl and Keith ETID are djing. Sounds like a good night to me....

p.s also seeing them in Long Island with Antonella next week! Stoked! After a 5 year break I get to see them twice in a week. LAWYERED!

Luck of the Irish?

Well well well.  Ireland were robbed of a spot in next years World Cup by a obvious hand ball (and offside btw) to which Henry admitted.  First FIFA implemented that seeding system which would pretty much guarantee the "big countries and players" a spot next year, and now this.  Absolute disgrace.  Feel so bad for the Irish right now, they deserve better than that. 

Mariachi El Bronx

So when I heard a while ago that The Bronx (rock and roll juggernauts) will be releasing a mariachi record, my obvious reaction was WTF? But oh boy was I ever wrong on this one. I can't stop listening to to it. Makes me want to move to Mexico, find a cute girl just like the waitress in the video and drink Coronas (gross). Enjoy.....

Hygiene is important

Last week I was watching the Man Utd vs Chelsea game (I don't want to talk about the outcome) and while there was a substitution going on the camera caught this guy brushing his teeth at a game!  It was hilarious needles to say.  p.s sorry for the side angle, it was the only one I could find.

Glitter and Doom

I'm a huge fan of music. One of my biggest obsessions is Tom Waits. I can't get enough of him. He recently launched a new website on which I spent a good couple of hours this morning. From his words of wisdom, live videos (his Letterman performances and interviews are a must see, so funny), and a free download preview of his upcoming live record, it's hours of entertainment. At least for me anyways. He's truly in a league of his own when it comes to music and performance. Next tour I'm packing my backpack and checking it out that's for sure. Go here now: www.tomwaits.com , you're welcome.

September

Hallelujah

Through Being Cool 10 years ago.....

So ten years ago today this little record dropped and changed my life forever.  I couldn't sit down and tell you my top 10 records but this one for sure is top 3.  Makes sense?  This is my White Album.  If you haven't heard this album we probably aren't or can't be friends.  I just refuse to, sorry.  It means that much to me.  Unless you are Natalie Portman then yes we can be friends.   Nobody's perfect right?  Chris speaks the truth on this album (girls suck and will only hurt you).  Words to live by.

Welcome to Toronto.....there's always next year;)

Hi there ROBERT,

On behalf of everyone at Toronto FC, I want to thank you for your support over the course of the season. I share your disappointment that we missed the Playoffs and I am still devastated by the manner of the performance at New York on Saturday. In all my years as a player and manager I never have seen a meltdown like this. I can tell you we are only one point away from the Playoffs but in the context of a 5-0 blowout? That doesn't give me any comfort.

This morning I announced that Chris Cummins will be leaving the club and the search will start right away for a new head coach. I want to thank Chris for the job he has done since taking over as interim head coach at the end of April. When John Carver went it left us with a hole and I think under the circumstances Chris did a hell of a job. I think he is going to be a very good coach one day but I’ve known for a couple of weeks now that he wanted to be closer to home. We want all of the other members of our coaching staff to stay.

Despite missing the Playoffs, we have made progress on and off the field this season including winning our first trophy on that amazing night in Montreal. We head into next season with a strong core of players as we continue towards building for long term success. We already have plenty to look forward to including a full season with Julian de Guzman and a grass pitch being installed at BMO Field. My focus in the next few months will be on strengthening the squad at a few select positions, preparing for the SuperDraft and also getting the right man to lead the team.

We will look all over for a new coach. Within the league, we have to wait until the dust is settled with the Playoffs before we would ask to speak to anyone at another club. We want someone in the position very quickly and I would like whoever comes in to have MLS experience. We have the best facilities in the league, and are run by a top notch organization. I have no doubt this will be a job many coaches will covet. It is a big job and it will be someone who can deal with the attention this club receives.

If you want to see the full press conference from this morning, click here to watch Toronto FC TV.

Thanks again for your outstanding support of the club and I assure you I will do everything possible to bring success to Toronto FC in 2010.

 

 

 

 

Mo Johnston,
Manager, Director of Soccer
Toronto FC

.....crock of shit!

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

I've been telling everyone I know to check out this show for a while now.  None of them listened to me (you're all stupid).  It's been a while since a show has made me LOL for a good 25 minutes non stop other than How I Met Your Mother recently.  If you want to watch 5 hilarious people working at Paddy's Pub go through some insane things check the show out.  If not go back to watching Glee (which is stupid).  LAWYERED!

Sweet and tender Hooligans

NFG cares about the kids!

NFG played a surprise show for their fans at their rehearsal space in Florida, that they announced on their Twitter.  I've been listening to NFG for a decade or so (fuck I'm old) and will keep on listening forever.  They are one of those bands that just seem to do this for fun and for the fans you know?  Hard to find these days.  They are also playing 2 shows in December with Dashboard in Toronto and you can bet that the dudebroguys will be in attendance singing along loudly (some of us singing the wrong lyrics altogether but what are you gonna do?)  STOKED!

THANK YOU!!

What a day at BMO field. Jack and I had field level seats, big pimpin'! By far the best atmosphere I ever experienced there, and we weren't even in the thick of it all. Big win for us and we still have a good chance of playoffs. If we make it, making the trip back to that shithole Columbus. The banner was unreal. It covered all of the south end. It was epic! Thank you Danny D.

Reprezent!

Oh happy day!!

Not only are they playing in Michigan on Dec 5th but they have 10 songs recorded (possible new album?).  So stoked on this.  One of the most underrated bands of all time!   Who's coming with me, I know I can count on Kwok.

Sunny Day Real Estate on Jimmy Fallon

Johnny Marr on Smiths reunion....

"It's not necessarily the case that we're not talking. We have email. We worked on that Sound of the Smiths[compilation] together...Who's got time for a feud?Right now I have got screwdrivers inside guitars, my car broke down yesterday...I've got no time for a feud." 

.....ray of light for a reunion?  I will travel ANYWHERE to see this happen, but I won't hold my breath until I'm actually in the crowd watching them play.

Only one king of Manchester......

....and it certainly is not City! Fletcher, Rooney and Owen. Classic.

Quitting music......yeah right Ryan!

Just received this 'lil ditty in my email. Single NO.2 coming tomorrow!
Pay the man the $1.49 and you can get this 3 song jam too. Stoked to finally receive my Ryan Adams fix finally!

Hell Yeah!

See ya September 2010!

.... surprisingly good!

I don't get it man.  How does a chick with minimal musical capability get to do such great things?  The Tom Waits cover album which she picked really fucking good songs to cover.  Getting David Bowie to do a guest track for your record, perform songs with Jesus And The Mary Chain, and release a duet album with Pete Yorn?  Is it because she's hot?   Probably.  Regardless this album is pretty good check it out.

October is the cruelest month!

Holy shows Batman!  I guess all the bands are getting touring out of the way and hibernating during winter.....

Oct 9-Every Time I Die

Oct 13- Gaslight Anthem, Murder By Death

Oct 14-Portugal The Man

Oct 20-Lucero

Oct 22-David Bazan

Oct 24-Boys Night Out

Oct 25-The Get Up Kids

Oct 28-Say Anything, Eisley

p.s Happy Birthday Antonella!!  See you tonight haha.

I hate it when....

Chuck calls Nate, Nathaniel!!  Fuck off with that all ready!!  

Champions League Draw.

The draw is done and there's some pretty interesting groups.  Manchester has a pretty tricky group and some far travels to Turkey and Russia but the Wolfsburg games will be pretty awesome.  Groups A and C are by far the toughest.  Predictions:

Group A: Juventus, Bordeaux

Group B: Manchester, Wolfsburg

Group C: Milan, Madrid

Group D: Chelsea, Porto

Group E: Liverpool, Fiorentina

Group F:Barcelona, Inter

Group G: Stuttgart, Sevilla

Group H: Arsenal, Olympiakos

Leighton-Meester Horvat?

Wouldn't mind coming home to this foxy thing everyday.

Canadians are Coke heads!

85% of Canadian money laced with cocaine: Study

So apparently I can't chew on a 20 dollar bill anymore without a risk of getting cocaine into my system.  Great!  85% though?  Shit man!

Dylan almost arrested for being creepy?

Dylan had some explaining to do to New Jersey police when he was found creeping out in front of a house.  Apparently he just wanted to nerd out in front of Springsteen's old house where he wrote a lil' ditty called Born To Run.  This isn't the first time Dylan went looking at houses.  He also visited Neil Young's old house in Winnipeg where he grew up and took a public tour of John Lennon's old house.  I love the fact that being such a icon he still like much of us nerds out at other musicians. 

Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde's masterpiece is now apparently a movie?  Didn't even hear about this until now and the movie comes out in a month.  I'll go see it but I'm not expecting much.

LOLZ!

Greatest picture EVER!  That's one curious squirrel. 

Manchester City offer Lionel Messi Blank Cheque.

The billionaire owners of Manchester City FC offered Barcelona and Messi whatever he wants.

"It is believed the Premier League club have approached Messi's agent to let the player know of their interest, having handed the 22-year-old a blank cheque, in effect asking him to name his price."

Isn't there a recession going on?  Not in the world of football it seems.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Trailer looks bonkers. Tom Waits as the devil? Wicked. Heath Ledgers last role with help from Johnny Depp, Colin Ferrel And Jude Law.

Movie Conundrum

Last night I couldn't fall asleep so I started channel surfing to find that to my surprise there was 3 wicked movies on at the same time.  The DaVinci Code, Wet Hot American Summer and Money Train.  What's a dude to do?  For some reason I really enjoyed Money Train.  Was it Woody Harelson?  Wesley Snipes? J Lo (who funnily enough plays a chick from the Bronx)?  I can't tell you why it's good, it just is.

What's with the whacky weather yesterday?  An hour into our soccer game the ref had to call the game thanks to the pitch black clouds that rolled in like a party crasher.  I had to drive home 30 km/h since I couldn't see a foot in front of me due to the waves of rain falling.  

Real aftermath

Soooo the Real Madrid vs. TFC game was the greatest thing ever!! I saw Raul score two goals, Benzema, Robben and Ronaldo each score a piece. I've never seen such slick passing and play. Well worth the money, also the grass looked really nice. Side note never drink Wellington beer unless you like the taste of sour shit!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Los Galacticos!!

Oh hey Rob what are you doing Friday night? Oh nothing just going to catch the Real Madrid game!!!!! Holy shit!!
It's just a friendly that doesn't mean anything blah blah blah. When you get to see players like Raul, Guti, Casillas, Robben, Schneider, Drenthe, Xavi, Benzema, Kaka and Ronaldo in person it's pretty fucking tits. Sure I fully anticipate my beloved Toronto FC to be outscored, outplayed and pretty much topped in every possible way but whatevs. Stoked is me.

11/21/09-11/22/09

It will be a good winter since GLASSJAW is coming out of hibernation.

Testing

Testes testes 1,2,3
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Welcome to my life.

Picked this little guy up yesterday.  Can't wait to test it out in Vegas.  Speaking of which the dudes and I are going to Vegas on Friday for a couple of days.  I'm stoked.  Goodbye sleep and liver.

Julian Casablancas-Phrazes For The Young

It's not a new Strokes album but it's as close as it gets since he writes all the lyrics and music. Fuck I miss that band. Word on the street is that a new Strokes album will be out by the end of the year.........

Endless Funer!!!

Antonella's words of wisdom.

Being Bff's with Anto the last decade has left some memorable words of wisdom.  I always told her I would keep track of such gems, and since I'm a man of my word this will be the first installment in many (I'm sure) of Antonella's words of wisdom.

"Rob drinking too much coffee will give you IBS".

Sick Days.

I've spent the last 4 days coughing up my lung ('sup swine flu) and pretty much put myself in to quarantine. Now the obvious reasons that being sick suck so I won't dwell on them. The reasons being sick rule is that in the last couple of days I've watched like 10 movies. Phantom Menace (fucking Jar Jar Binks is a needle dick), Return Of The Jedi, Fan Boys, City Of Men, Milk, Bio Dome, Top Gun, American Sweethearts (fuck you, it's good), Revenge Of The Sith (Where Anakin goes insane and joins the Dark Side and breaks Natalie Portman's heart) and Good Will Hunting (You Like Apples?).

Allright I'm ready to be better now. Fuck off cold.

Judas?

Well, well, well. This signing by Manchester United has to go down as one of the most bizzare/best in the history of football. A Liverpool legend playing for Manchester? Brilliant. I've always admired Michael Owen even when he did play for Liverpool. He is the 4th all time leading goal scorer for the Three Lions. He can fart goals when he's healthy. But there lies the problem. Or does it. The reason why Michael never worked out at Newcastle is he was always rushed back from injuries, never playing fit always having to carry the load of the Magpies on his back. Not anymore. Not only did Sir Alex sign him without a transfer fee, but he is being paid on a pay as you play basis. Basically the more minutes and goals he bangs in the net the more cheddar he gets. I honestly think he could be our next Ole Gunnar Solksajer or Teddy Sheriggan and be strictly used as a super sub. This move came out of nowhere and I was pleasantly surprised. Real Madrid spent a quater of a million dollars on 4 players so far, Manchester spent 14 on 2. We were never for bying superstars, we created them.

Dinosaur Jr-Over It

Man this album is stellar.  I haven't stopped listening to this jam since it came out.  Can't wait to see them finally later this summer.  Who wants to come with?

Robin Sparkles

TFC!

This was one of my favourite games at BMO. It was against Montreal and I had the best seats. I was under the Zombie banner. The USL 4 EVR banner is the funniest thing ever. Speaking of Montreal how about that 6-1 "miracle in Montreal" victory for TFC? I lost my mind during that game. Our first cup.

Argentina, Argentina!!

Carlos "El Apache" Tevez is leaving Old Trafford and joining either Chelsea or Man City. My heart just broke a little bit. For the last two years he has ran his heart out for the Devils and scored some crucial goals. A fan favourite didn't feel appreciated by Sir Alex and left to play some first team football. He ruled out moving to Liverpool out of respect for United and it's fans. Class act. I will hugely miss this little guy and I have a feeling he will come back and bite us in the ass in the upcoming years. No matter who he joins I can never playa hate Tevez.

Ronaldo and Tevez out.......who's coming in? Benzema, Casillas, Valencia, Silva, Ribery.....? This summer is going to be interesting.

UP!

Saw this gem of a movie in 3D with Anto last night. It was pretty AWESOME! There wasn't much 3D action going on, the preview before the movie made up for it I suppose. The movie itself was fantastic. Being a Disney flick it definitely had some dark moments but the ending is happy and so was I. Now if you go see the movie with a girl be prepared for non stop sobbing from beginning to end. I made a comment to Anto that she cried more that she did for the Notebook (god Allie is hot), but in her defence so did EVERY girl in the theatre. Good thing I kept it together and didn't have to walk out of the theatre with a puffy red face. Squrirrel!!

Good Bye Ronaldoooooooooo

CR7 the good: There's no denying that his form in the past 4 years helped United win trophies and demolish opposition. He scored headers, back flicks, 40 yard volleys, free kicks, penalty kicks, with his left foot and his right. Last year he scored 42 goals as a winger, which is downright incredible. This Ronaldo will be missed by the Red Devils. Thank you for all you've done, god speed.




CR7 the bad: Throughout his United career he has constantly whined and bitched whenever he didn't get his way. He has mocked referees, kicked out at opponents, blatantly dived, disrespected Sir Alex (to whom he owes everything btw) and generally left a bad taste in everyone's mouth who supports United. For this you will NOT be missed. You are Madrid's problem now.




Real Madrid is paying a record breaking $94 million dollars to United. He wanted to go, so let him go. No one wants a player on a team that does not want to be there. With this money we can pick up a solid 3 players (please let Tevez be one of them). The other 4 on my wish list are Benzema, Ribery, Valencia and David Silva. Any 2 of those would strengthen an allready deep United roster.

The Blueprint 3-Death of Auto Tune?

 "Y'allniggas singin' too much / Get back to rap, you T-Pain-in' too much."

Bob Dylan-Beyond Here Lies Nothing

Hello soundtrack for the summer......

My fave Springsteen album.

Stephen Patrick Morrissey....

Happy birthday you charming man.

Fiddleheads!!

Last week I tried this delish vegetable for the first time never knowing it even existed.  It was awesome.  Not only does it look cool but it tastes like a cross over between asparagus and broccoli.  It only grows in the wild and can be harvested for two weeks in the beginning of spring.  So hurry and get some.  But beware if not cooked properly it can make you really ill and in some cases in the early 90's it has caused death.  The forbidden vegetable!

Martin Scorsese + Frank Sinatra = Movie Boner

So news has it that there is a movie being made about Ol' Blue Eyes by Martin Scorsese. I'm beyond excited about this. I've always thought that Sinatra was one cool cat and I was proven right when I read his auto biography. I mean between all the hot broads he courted, the mafia connections being tight with JFK and etc. In The Wee Small Hours is one of my top 10 records ever. There's all ready stories on top cats in Hollywood like Johnny Depp, Leonardo DeCaprio, Justin Timberlake who are dying to do this role. They better cast this shit right because it's going to be amazing.

Are You Watching Merseyside?

Champions of England for the 18th time. Tying those Liverpool douchebags. What a awesome way to start the day. I'm a poet 'innit? Bring on Barcelona on the 27th.......

STAR TREK

Went to see Star Trek with Anto and Jack last night. Seeing how previously I've never watched a single minute of Star Trek I had no expectations. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. Who knew that Vulcans are incapable of feelings? So emo. Also if you are seeing the movie with a girl be prepared for crying one minute in to the movie, as well as when there is intergalactic battles between The Vulcans and The Romulans.

Bat For Lashes

Congratulation universe, I can't/won't stop listening to her.
p.s I lurve her. One of only 3 English birds I find foxy.

Match Day

It's match day. The mighty reds take on the yellow submarines. For the first time ever I actually think we have the chance of winning the game and the Trillium Cup. Heading to the game in a hour or so, can't wait. Prediction 2-1 REDS! Barret and Vitti with the goals. The weather continues to be quite shit, but we just play all the better in the chilly wind.

I Still Pick My Friends Over You!!

Saw NFG last night with the dudes and it was tits.  Funny how a band I started listening to over a good 10 years ago are still one of my all time live bands to see.  

Bow The Fuck Down!

I Got Worms!

One of my biggest pet peeves in walking in the rain other than getting soaked, is WORMS everywhere. Not only am I picking up the pace and trying to get inside as fast as possible but you have to try and tippy toe around these slimy bastards. The worst of all is the smell of theses things......GROSS. Stay in the ground where you belong dudes!

Happy Earth Day, Earth? If you had a mailing address I would send you a card.

Going to the TFC game today. That's three home games in a row that the weather has been freezing/raining. Can't win 'em all I guess.

Sunny Day Real Estate Tour?

Word on the street is that the original line up is rehearsing and planning a tour in the summer. Holy fucking shit! To hear any song off of Diary would make me one happy dude. Please let this happen..........

Lucero

Last night we went to The Horseshoe for the Lucero show. I will always hate that venue but yesterday it was perfect. I couldn't image seeing the boys anywhere else in the T dot. They played for 2+ hours and played everything I wanted to hear. There was beer flying in the air broken bottles on the floor and everyone having a good time. Perfect way to send Anto off to Brooklyn. They don't come up this far north often so I will make sure to travel and check 'em out in Buffalo or Detroit next time.

In Macheda I trust!

Thank god for this wonderkid from Rome. He yet again spared us some blushes. Back on top were we belong.

Here's to Texas and living large!

Friday Night Lights has pretty much shot to the top of my fave TV shows right now. At first I didn't think I would dig it at all I mean it is about football. But it's so damn good it's not fair. I feel as if Tim Riggins and I should be best buds in real life (afer you Anto!) Also having Explosions In The Sky as the main source of music throughout the show doesn't hurt anything at all.
It also stars Minka Kelly (Lyla Garrity) who is pretty much the foxiest thing ever. Long brown hair, check. Southern belle, check. Wears cowboy boots, check. A place in my heart, check.