Wednesday, November 30, 2005

December Cometh


It's inevitably on its way. In fact, by tomorrow, storefronts and houses
across this icy nation will start putting on that colourful exterior
that wreaks of capitalism and greed. But damnit, I still like the whole
feel of the Christmas season. Maybe it's because I know what it's
really all about...but then again, this holiday has been saturated by
North American make-up for centuries, and maybe it's too late to
try to restore the real premonitions of the season, itself. But amidst
all my raving, I still love the feel of sittin around the tree, in Nepean,
sipping some egg nog and rum with my bro, along with an assortment
of import cans of beer, with my wife and family. It is a good feeling.
There is no rush. There is no performance monitors. There are no
continous improvement modules. Just being. And that is good.

I hope y'all liked the audio blog, more to come fo shizz-o. I recently
talked to one of my non-blogging links (Brother Todd) and he claimed he
gave up blogging because he always felt the pressure to write for
an audience. I guess I understand but...Todd...blogging is all a ABOUT
the audience, but you don't have to care if they're there. I'm just sad
that your blogging days are done. Boo-Hiss.

Anyways kids, in this life, you just gotta be who you are. Love God,
love others and love yourself (hopefully least) and you'll be okay. Not
really sure about God, don't really care, hey, that's cool. Just be you and
write like you and the rest will follow. Gotta do some work on Graven
and get some tracks laid down. Be merry.

posted by Matt McKechnie @ 3:06 PM Comments: 3

Thursday, November 24, 2005

this is an audio post - click to play

posted by Matt McKechnie @ 9:11 PM Comments: 3

Wednesday, November 23, 2005


Nothing Short Of Inspirational

Douglas Coupland has been pumping out excellent literature for
many years now, and I feel he needs some appreciation. Ever since
Sarah went to Summit 7 (props) and had to read some of his literature
for a course, and she forced me to read 'Life After God', I've been
hooked. He writes with a realism that stings but the characters
and situations are always so poetic in nature. The people in his
stories ARE the works of art. And I love that. So Mister Coupland,
wherever you are, if having these pictures and praise of your
work on my site is in any way a copyright infringement, I apologize,
but dangit, people need to KNOW!

posse out for now. sorry for the all-too-frequent posting.
props to my wife. and jon out west.

posted by Matt McKechnie @ 5:00 PM Comments: 1

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Snooty Tuesday

HI. It's another lovely tuesday. Well...not really lovely.
It's ASS cold in St. Catharines so I can only imagine what it's
like in the more northerly parts of this country. The snow is
on its way with thunderous, heinous white fury of death. As
I walked to work today, over the St. Paul bridge, my face felt
like it was getting slammed by glacier winds of the Tundra.
But at least the sun was out, though it won't be providing much
heat for a while.

Don't really have any earth shattering thoughts or reviews
today, just the status quo of being here, breathing, walking
and such. Home church last night was another quality outing
of community and ship of fellows as we tend to frequent pubs
after our actual 'meetings'. When we are in the Hammer (that's
Hamilton to you unhip folks), we tend to hang out at the Snooty
Fox. Great food and exceptional atmosphere. Except for the
time when a not-very-good musician was playing cover songs
and told someone heckling him to 'fu_k off and get out'.
Creemore is usually my pint of choice for a conversational
beverage between friends and the Snooty Fox keeps it STOCKED
to the hilt. It is liquid gold.

Zac usually prefers Guinness but last night he went with Creemore
as well. What a trooper. My Sarah outclassed everyone with
a large pint of Tennents that came in a flute glass that was
twice as high as anyone else's glass. Cousin Ben opted for the
discount domestic (which turned out to be not very discount
at all) pint of Cameron's Auburn Ale. Wise choice. The high point
of the Snooty Fox outing this week, though, was Viv's spider
Smithwicks. When reminding the waitress that there was
a spider in her beer and she was promised to get it free, she
actually said the phrase 'Yeah...um...spiderbeer?' And it made
total sense. I can't remember what anyone else got - I was
HAMMED! And then I drove home. Just kidding. Actually Sarah
drove and I peed my pants. Just kidding. Actually Sarah drove
home and then I watched one of the worst gore/action movies
I've ever seen while I fell asleep. Mind Hunters. Don't see it.
Then I got indigestion at 4 am and read Narnia to Sarah because
she woke up with my thrashing around.

Anyways, I've always dreamed of having a community that I
could learn with and grow with spiritually and have a few pints
with while just being together. And the Lord said...it is good.
Beauty.

posted by Matt McKechnie @ 1:41 PM Comments: 4

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Long Awaited

Well, it finally happened today. Where I walk out from my apartment,
at the most snobbiest school on earth, to my workplace, I always look
out a specific window to study the weather and the action of the water
that sits on top of a roof that obviously has some drainage problems.
Sometimes, the water is very ripply, due to high winds, or quite
sparkly and still reflecting a calm, fall day. Today...it showed no movement.
It was frozen. Shee-Yit. Winter is upon us.

Record Review: Foo Fighters - 'In Your Honour'

(I should mention, to start, that reading a recent review from
rollingstone.com about the newest Foo Fighters douple LP release,
In Your Honour, made me seriously question professional reviewers'
credibility when one of the opening lines of the review states 'The Foo
Fighters are one of those bands, much like Nickelback, who just cannot
let grunge die'. Wow.Talk about a kick in the nuts and a kick in the
teeth all rolled into one.I digress.)
From track 1 of disc one to track 10 of disc 2, Dave Grohl's newest
composition takes the listener for a 20 song ride. Sometimes the ride is
slow and comtemplative, sometimes it is fast and raucous and other times
it is a sort of checkmate - but just when you think the action is over - you
are dropped down an elevator shaft of guitar distortion, technical
drumming and passionate vocals from a man who is not afraid to show
his teeth when he sings.
ELECTRICITY - DISC ONE: The first single release from disc 1, 'Best
of You', hit the radiowaves with mixed signals from many critics, but it is
a song that makes you wonder two things - just what happened to this dude
and who got the best of whom? Clean, stripped down electric riffs blend
with deafening distortion and bottom end blasts as the song picks up and
Grohl asks the question that I'm sure we've all wanted to ask to someone
we've cared about in 'is someone getting the best of you?' But this song in no
way depicts the entirety and stamina of all ten heavy driven songs as 'In
Your Honour' hits a homerun as a lead off hitter of track 1, driving the listener
into a frenzy of passionate words, transcendent riffs, and metal drumming
that makes an opening statement.
The bridge between love and hate is often unclear in Grohl's lyrics andits the
tension therein that creates a complex battlefield for his songs. It's hard to
say who Grohl is writing about,and there has been speculation, but all he
wants us to know is what he's been through and that's he's still very much
alive. A more hooky, chorus-driven sound defines the songs on this disc.
Both the lyrical content and the depth of each track, musically, show a grown
up man who is struggling to find what it is that keeps him going; 'Lately, I've
been/ Livin' in my head/ The rest of me is dead/ I'm dying for truth'. I could
probably write a novel on all the songs on this disc, as I prefer the electric
disc to the acoustic one, but another mentionable theme song of this ordeal
of an LP (and it is an ordeal) is a hard song of hard truth in 'The Deepest Blues
are Black': 'How my mind is spinning / And my head is going numb / Right
from the beginning / Our ending had begun / I can be your trouble / Shiver
into you / Shaking like the thunder / Sinking under' Depicting failed
relationships and horrific emotional and psychological struggles seems to be
Dave's forte on this LP and it's probably true that he, as a human being, has been
through alot of soul-junk.
ACOUSTICITY - DISC TWO: I have listened to this disc to death but one
thing remains certain - it is a nugget of gold in a mountain stream. This disc
hit rotation in my home theater cd player and hasn't stopped spinning since
its release back in June. Actually, Sarah took an immediate warmth
and liking to this disc but it is not just your average mellow acoustic disc -
like disc one, it continues the stream of consciousness lifewalk sort-of-feel that
leaves you wishing it was 12 or 14 tracks instead of just 10. In addition,
the guest stars on this cd are unspeakably sweet, from Led Zeppelin's John
Paul Jones to the other end of the Jones spectrum with Norah Jones, the
layering of instrumentation on each acoustic song is like a novel of music
that will make you want to read it over and over again. Grohl gets a little
more pretty and romantically poetic in the acoustic disc, which he writes
well but often shys from, which is a nice change from the usual high intensity
visceral rock he powers out: 'Laying quiet in the grass / Everything is still /
River stones and broken bones / Scattered on the hill / Promise I will be forever
yours / Promise not to say another word / Nevermind whats done is done /
Always was a lucky one' In this song, 'Still', anyone who's been in an
argument understands the need that Dave portrays to sometimes let sleeping
dogs lie in the the understanding of 'whats done is done'.

You can definitely appreciate a heavy Zeppelin influence in all of the acoustic
tracks, which is something any rock guru would never deny. Another head-
tilter and nice gem lies in 'A Cold Day in the Sun' which is actually sung by
Taylor, the Foos drummer. Kind of a psychadelic, country feel but ya know
what, with such a prolific work, it totally works as a Foo Fighters track.

By now, you can maybe understand or at least see where I'm headed with
the mark on this review - 10/10. The way I see it, a lot of bands make albums
and some bands even make hits. But with the creation of 'In Your Honour',
the Foos most elaborate and prolific work to date, the Foo Fighters made
a legend. The songs that affect us the most in life are the ones that stick
through the ages, through the decades, with themes that may be somewhat
timecoded, but universal in feel and reflection of the thoughts and emotions
conveyed by the songwriter. Whether 'In Your Honour' is in the honour
of a lover, a friend, or the late Kurt Cobain, I guess we'll never know. What we
will know, though, is that Dave is alive and he wants everyone know how
angry, excited, and inspired he is to be here.

posted by Matt McKechnie @ 5:52 PM Comments: 1

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Unwound

I don't have a whole lot of interesting thoughts today
but as I drove to work (yeah, I usually walk, it was
raining and I'm ass-lazy) this song came into rotation
on the stereo, and it just hit me like a train to the soul.
It made me feel all arty - I even wanted to just take
the day off work, play cards with sarah, and drink
chamomile tea all afternoon under big blankets.
If you have the chance, take a listen to it. You'll
know what I mean. Here's to some thoughts that
are not mine.


THE WEAKERTHANS - 'EVERYTHING MUST GO'
Garage Sale. Saturday. I need to pay
my heart's outstanding bills.
A cracked-up compass and a pocket watch,
some plastic daffodils.
The cutlery and coffee cups I stole
from all-night restaurants,
a sense of wonder (only slightly used),
a year or two to haunt you in the dark.

For a phone call from far away with a
"Hi, how are you today" and a
sign recovery comes
to the broken ones.

A wage-slave forty-hour work week (weighs
a thousand kilograms, so bend your knees) comes with a
free fake smile for all your dumb demands,
the cordless razor that my father bought when I turned 17,
a puke-green sofa
and the outline to a complicated dream of dignity.

For a laugh too loud and too long
For a place where awkward belongs
And a sign recovery comes to the broken ones.
To the broken ones.
To the broken ones.
For the broken ones.
(Or best offer.)

posted by Matt McKechnie @ 8:21 PM Comments: 2

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Church of the Funk


Not much to say at the moment. Another week of work looms
large. I applied for another job but have heard nothing as of
yet. Maybe it was not meant to be. Maybe I will have to dwell
in the din of this dungeon for a while longer. It's really not all
bad but I just hate the large company mentality that says 'you'll
NEVER find a better job than the one you HAVE. STAY! STAY!
Don't lose seniority, benefits, and other useless assclownery'.

Homechurch last night was our best turnout yet - 8 peeps total.
It's funny to hear other people's reactions at work when they ask
me what I do on monday nights (which is wing night for some folks)
and I tell them I have homechurch. Reactions range from 'Home
church? Why don't you just GO to a real church on sundays?' or 'What
the fuck is that?' But it's great - going deeper with a community
of people who are lookin' out for God and His workings, and being
there for each other, in whatever way that is modelled in the
book of Acts.

We don't GO to the meeting house church (www.themeetinghouse.ca)
but it's where we get most of our material for discussions. It's funny
too - I think the opening banner on the site states 'God Hates Religion'
and man, how true that is, but how forgotten by modern North
American Christianity. People just LOVE to live their life by a list
of rules, mostly morally based, and think they're ok but make no
effort to be involved with or engage in a real relationship with the
Maker. It's also funny how Jesus was eager to hang out with people
of all kinds, and interested in their lives, but the people he had little
time for and pushed the hardest on were the pharisees - the religious
right.

Anyways, it is good. That's all that matters.
Take care folks. I'll be posting again soon.

posted by Matt McKechnie @ 3:32 PM Comments: 3

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

ALBUM REVIEW:
Queens Of The Stone Age
Lullabies To Paralyze


The masters of modern metal are back at it, even after
such an impossible act to follow like the heavily-touted
'Songs For The Deaf' wherein the old drummer from one of
the last 2 decades' most pivotal and popular bands, laid
the rhythm tracks for the album in its entirety and toured
with them. Impossible to follow? Debatable.

In a departure from riding on the coat tails of Dave Grohl
(the afforementioned drummer and now lead brain of
the Foo Fighters), Josh Homme of QOTSA has come into
his own realm as a songwriter and musical creator in this
LP. In order to do so, he had to fire the old bassist, let Dave
go back to being Foo-ed, and head out on his own path. The
result is a little bit puzzling at times as it seems that Mr. Homme
is stuck in a sort of 'high-school-metal-experimental-garage-band'
writing zone with lengthy tracks like 'Someone's In The Wolf'
and 'The Blood is Love'. But the truth is, most of it still rocks
ass.

With a penchant for a new faster, catchier edge,
songs like 'In My Head' and 'Everybody Knows That You're Insane'
display the instumental talent (lots of rhythmic tricks, stops,
starts, and things to keep you guessing) of the band and keep
you humming the melody hours after you've heard it. These
songs and 'Little Sister' (which pales in comparison to a lot
of other songs from this album) are showing a maturity of Mr. Homme
who seems to stepping away from the arena of 'kill-em-all' metal
and into a more reflective, intelligent songwriting style.

But fear not ye metalheads because Homme definitely
does not depart from the realms of his ever-haunting but captivating
vocal melodies and insanely cacaphonic, yet masterfully orchestrated,
ear-splitting guitar riffs. There's lots of that good stuff to go round,
and not really being a metal fan, myself, I can really appreciate
this album's complexity. The only area which could still use some
development is Homme's lyrics which seem to be a little too
caught up in 'the girl that went wrong and screwed me over'
scenario, but hey, I don't know his life. And no matter how
criticized his lyrics may be, they are still easy to relate to -
anyone who's ever struggled with letting go and moving on
from a failed relationship will appreciate the climactic juxtaposition in
'Tangled Up In Plaid': I could keep you all for myself / I know You gotta
be free / So free yourself.

So do free yourself, in fact, and your ears to a new age - The Queens
of the Stone Age. Well done, chaps. 9/10.

posted by Matt McKechnie @ 3:35 PM Comments: 3

website statistics