Starstruck, Baby

Ray Davies
Massey Hall
Toronto, ON
March 30, 2006

Probably mostly accurate setlist:

Not Like Everybody Else
Where Have All The Good Times Gone
Till The End Of The Day
After The Fall
20th Century Man
Oklahoma, U.S.A.
Village Green
Picture Book
Johnny Thunder (!!!)
Sunny Afternoon
Dead End Street
Next Door Neighbour
Creatures of Little Faith
Over My Head
The Tourist
Low Budget
Stand Up Comic
Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After)
The Getaway (Lonesome Train)
Tired Of Waiting For You
Set Me Free
All Day And All Of The Night
Days
Lola
You Really Got Me

Review will be linked shortly. (Oh shit. Now I have to bloody write it.)

(Now playing: "Dandy", The Kinks)

Parkdale Pin-up Redux

Ready for a behind-the-scenes peek at the Parkdale Pin-up shoot (because I just picked up the CD with all of the images yesterday)?

Yes?

Then off we go!


Nicole works her magic. (The key to good pin-up makeup? Subtlety!)


Not an easy position to hold. Gee whiz, modelling is harrrrddd.








Here I am flashing menacing gangland signs. Chris appears to be terrified.


The finished product.

All of the preceeding photos (c) 2006 Art Litwell

(Now playing: "Candy", The American Flag)

Dear Ratsicule, Please Be My Girlfriend

Oh la la.

I have a new raging girlcrush.

Je t'adore, Ratsicule!



I have always been a sucker for a solid sense of humour and a pretty face. Ratsicule have both...times DEUX!

Les soeurs Bardot describe themselves as "un karaoke freakout machine, sans doute! But some people call us an electo-garage-pop sensation."

The ladies handled themselves well in the face of technical problems, a crappy sound system ("Ze sound is not gut, but ve vill make up for eet by being velly sexeee.") and a chatty crowd (including 1/2 of Sloan). They kept their composure while being energetic, hilarious and SUPER HOT!

But with songs like "I'm Too Slutty To Go To Your Party" (pssst, you can listen to it here), how can you not aime les fair soeurs Bardot? Please go see them if you get the chance.

I hereby award Ratsicule The Baby Harp Seal Of Approval.



Dansez!

(Now playing: "Je T'aime Brigitte", Ratsicule)

The Kids Are All Right

The kids of Degrassi: The Next Generation...THEN!



1) Spinner
2) Jimmy, in happier and more mobile times
3) That fat girl with self-esteem issues who got smacked around by Ephraim Ellis (who now plays a beach stud on Falcon Beach, inexplicably)
4) Ashley
5) Paige
6) Toby
7) The kid who looked like Leonardo DiCaprio
8) Who the hell is this guy? Seriously, was he even on the show? He looks sort of photoshopped to me.
9) Manny

The kids of Degrassi: The Next Generation...NOW!



My Degrassi, how you have grown!

So much has changed over the past five years: Jimmy got shot. Emma got hot. Toby grew pubes (presumably). Ashley moved to London. Alex and Paige took the express train to Dykesville. Craig beat up Joey Jeremiah. Liberty had a baby. Ellie stopped cutting herself and became emotionally well-adjusted. And Manny...well...Manny's still a whore.

Happy 100th episode, Degrassi: TNG! Here's to many more years of episodes so bad that they're actually really, really good.

Oh, and have a good summer! Hope we're in science again next year. Give me a call sometime, kay? Peace and love! xoxo P.S. Save my autograph! I'll be famous someday!

(Now playing: "All Over It!", By Divine Right)

Bardot-A-Go-Go

You're Brigitte Bardot!


What Classic Pin-Up Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I was crossing my fingers for Bettie. But I suppose I could do worse than Bardot.

(Now playing: "Nue Au Soleil", Brigitte Bardot)

Requiem

This weekend in Kingston, I said goodbye to two landmark establishments that were beloved by me when I was an undergraduate student.

1) The Scherzo Pub



The Scherzo Pub (formerly known as The Wellington) is not just a pub. It is also an astonishingly intimate live music venue and one of my favourite places ever. There was a time when it was one of Kingston's best places to see a live show.

Some of the bands I have seen play the Scherzo: Tricky Woo, Luther Wright & The Wrongs, Tamara Williamson, The Orange Alabaster Mushroom, Bent Ivy (Jill Barber's old outfit), Reno's Hitmen, Kid Koala, Lederhosen Lucil, Veal, Bullfrog, Robin Black & The Intergalactic Rockstars, The Frenetics and many more.

The Scherzo will be closing its doors for good at the end of March and whatever takes its place will not be a venue for live music. Its loss is a blow to Kingston's vibrant music community. (Let's cross our fingers that the Grad Club survives the construction of the new Student Centre. That blow would be near-fatal.)

2) Andrea's Convenience/Andrea's Lunch Bar



Andrea's was already closed and heavily made-over when I arrived, so I did not get to say a proper farewell. (But my very kind hosts can attest that I moaned "Aaandreaa's!" pitifully every time we passed by its new yellow stucco facade.)

Andrea's was a vaguely sketchy convenience store and greasy spoon rolled into one. They had the best damned egg salad sandwiches you have ever tasted and made thick, delicious milkshakes the old-fashioned way. The aging waitresses at Andrea's wore hairnets and aprons and called you "hon" and "sweetie" and had ill-placed lipstick. The joint was perpetually in a blue smoky haze, but that was part of its charm.

Andrea's was a relic from another era and I loved it. Its loss is a blow to Kingston's vibrant chainsmoking-unemployed-weirdos-with-mullets- who-have-nothing- better-to-do-than-nurse-a-coffee-all-day-long community.

Andrea's Lunch Bar, I honour your greasy memory.

(Now playing: "Days", The Kinks)

(Thanks to everyone who made my trip lovely. You know who you are.)

I Am Just A Dreamer Wearing Sensible Shoes

I was supposed to go to a swank party and rub elbows with Carlos D tonight. Instead, I opted to hang out elsewhere and cuddle a day-old baby. Newborns kick the asses of Interpol bassists any day of the week.

The person who bottles New Baby Smell will make millions. Fact.

I introduced my mum and dad to the wondrous Jill Barber tonight. (Not Jill the person. Just Jill's music.) They are suitably smitten.

Dad: She has a lovely voice!
Mum: Why have I never heard of this Jill Barber?!

Because there is no justice in the music industry, mother dear.

Speaking of Barbers and loveliness, I'm very much looking forward to my sojourn in Kingston this weekend. It's been nearly a year since my last visit. Plus, when shit like this happens a block from my house, it's nice to get the hell away for a little while.


(The sunset without you is no less pretty than it ever was.)

(Now playing: "The Best View", Jill Barber)

You Can Pin And Mount Me Like A Butterfly

Behold! The Parkdale Pin-up!


(c) 2006 Art Litwell

Photography by Art Litwell - visionary, scholar and man-about-town.
Dress by Kari Marshall at Wanna Frock?

Last summer, I answered an ad looking for volunteers to model as classic pin-up girls. They had over 60 applicants and selected a dozen girls to photograph. I was one of the dozen.

After several delays, some major surgery, a complicated recovery and various other factors, the shoot finally happened last month.

It was probably one of the best things I could have done for myself.

I've battled my weight all my life. But I'm realizing that there are a lot of gorgeous women in the world who are bigger than I am, so I shouldn't feel unattractive because of my weight. In allowing Art to capture my form for posterity, I am embracing my round belly, my tree-trunk thighs, my sturdy washerwoman arms, etc.

They're mine. I'm down with them. We're tight.

Anyway, I dig my photos. They're cheeky and fun and pretty hilarious.

Be sure to check out all of the pin-ups in the gallery (probably not safe for work). Some have big breasts. Some have small breasts. Some have big asses. Some have teeny asses. Some have tattoos. One has glasses. They are beautiful. They are real.

Also, I should mention that all of the photographs on the site are for sale. There's merch available like lip balm, coffee mugs, calendars and t-shirts.

YOU CAN WEAR MY BREASTS ACROSS YOUR OWN!

How fucking meta is that?

(Now playing: "Nancy Sin", The Beat Happening)