Win Some; Lose Most - A Team's Path To Glory

I take hockey seriously; well, I’m a Leafs fan, so maybe I don’t take it that seriously. But, I do enjoy playing the game and my competitive nature really shows in game situations. For the first time in nearly 8 years, I’m playing league hockey…beer league, yes, but… that’s the best kind isn’t?

Anyway, there’s nothing I can’t stand more than losing – except maybe this – and the team I play for, the 20/20 Club Ice Dogs (Oromocto Men’s League) has become quite adept at the art of throwing away points. Up until Christmas Break we’d managed only two wins and two ties (one of those wins came by forfeit) so, needless to say a fella can get some anger brewing when we go down. The Ice Dogs; we go down in a big way (7-0 is a familiar score), but the anger quickly subsides in the dressing room afterward; it’s a great group of guys. Plus, did I mention it’s a Beer League?

When we do win, though, it’s a joyous occasion and last night we snagged a W against the Mooseheads. It was a 6-5 final that saw us playing our hearts (and lungs) out for a full 50 mins. (our league does two 25 min periods). The team's beer-per-game (BPG) stats soared - as did our confidence. We’ll be looking to have our first ever win streak when we play again on Monday against the Flyers. We can do it! And if we don’t...

…it’s a Beer League.

Good job boys!
-Crash-

**On a personal note: I’m known by some on the team as “Phantom” for my shot blocking attempts that never actually block shots – effective in that it keeps the shot from happening, but not a true shot block. Last night, I had an epic shot-block while on the Penalty Kill that resulted in puck-sized bruise forming around my belly-button (Bullseye!). It’s tender today…and hurt like a mother— last night, but it sure looked good. And could've been worse (re: Picture above)

It’s moments like this that I come off the ice proud of my commitment, but quickly realize…I’m an idiot. Speaking of idiots, check this out:

It's How Cold?

Yeah it’s cold…but it’s Winter and it’s Atlantic Canada.

Still, one can’t help but feel the cold, soulless hands of the winter blues wrap around your heart, which tends to happen this time of year; especially when you have a Cuban vacation planned. (66 Days to go!)

The Winter Blues, blahs… or your job - whatever it is you call it – can really make your day drag on without much to make you smile. Fortunately, there’s YouTube; a powerful window to the outside world that taps directly into our need for a good laugh to drown out the mundane and keep our focus away from the task at hand (for me: that would be playing another Nickelback song…)

Anyway, yesterday I touched on two of my great passions: music & movies. Well, I also have a great affection for laughing whole-heartedly at the misfortune of others. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I know I’m not alone…which is while you’ll enjoy this winter-related compilation, below, that will not only make you laugh, but make you forget about whatever it is you’re really supposed to be doing right now.

(my favourite part is the red car at 1:20 – why they bail is beyond me, but it sure made me laugh.)





Be careful out there..or you could wind up on this blog ;)

-Crash-

The Best a Passion (of mine) Has to Offer

Two of my great passions in life are music and movies; I blog about them regularly. I enjoy the emotional connection I get from music when it’s done right; when I really get invested in the stories and the atmosphere of a song or a whole album. I’m a rock guy, so there’s usually not much room for bubbly pop stuff…but there are times when that music is certainly welcome…it’s almost a guilty pleasure.

Movies are the same way for me. When the story is engaging and the performances are so flawless that I’m drawn into the world of the film and experience the emotions the characters project, I consider it a home run. There is also room for fun-filled, mindless entertainment; Dumb & Dumber is still one of my all time favourite comedies.

But I still don’t like 3D.

*Mixing my two great passions can certainly make for an entertaining bit of video, too - more on this below*

Anyway, music has the Grammys – which are kind of a joke if you ask me (or The Simpsons); they tend to award based on popularity it seems – and movies have the Oscars. The Oscars, for the most part, award the industries best for doing exactly what I’ve described above: great acting, intriguing script, as well as some entertainment value – although popularity doesn’t always factor into it. For whatever reason, I watch the show every year – even though it always feels long – and I’m generally pretty satisfied with the outcome (How Shakespeare In Love beat Saving Private Ryan in 1998 is beyond me.)

This morning, the nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards (Oscars) were announced and I wasn’t really surprised by the list. There has been lots of talking leading up to it and the Golden Globes are usually considered a good indication of who will get the nod come Oscar time. I will say, though, I was surprised the Town didn’t get a little more love - Jeremy Renner got a much deserved Supporting Actor nod (which he’ll lose to Christian Bale) but that’s it – I was pretty impressed with it. (My Review). Also, Chris Nolan got snubbed in the directing category.

Anyway, I’ve included a list of nominees in the 8 major categories is below. I’ve also included links to my reviews of the ones I’ve seen…hopefully I’ll catch up on the rest before February 27^th. What are your thoughts? What was your favourite movie of 2010?

Best Picture:
Black Swan, The Fighter (My Review), Inception (My Revierw), The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network (My Review), Toy Story 3, True Grit (My Review), Winter’s Bone.

Best Actor:
Javier Bardem - Biutiful; Jeff Bridges - True Grit; Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network; Colin Firth - The King’s Speech; James Franco - 127 Hours.

Best Actress:
Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right; Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole; Jennifer Lawrence - Winter’s Bone; Natalie Portman - Black Swan; Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine.

Best Supporting Actor:
Christian Bale - The Fighter; John Hawkes - Winter’s Bone; Jeremy Renner - The Town; Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right; Geoffrey Rush - The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams - The Fighter; Helena Bonham Carter - The King’s Speech; Melissa Leo -The Fighter; Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit; Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom.

Best Director:
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan; David O. Russell - The Fighter; Tom Hooper - The King’s Speech; David Fincher - The Social Network; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - True Grit

Best Adapted Screenplay: Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, - 127 Hours; Aaron Sorkin - The Social Network; Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich - Toy Story 3; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - True Grit; Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini - Winter's Bone

Best Original Screenplay: Mike Leigh – Another Year; Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson and Keith Dorrington - The Fighter; Christopher Nolan - Inception; Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg - The Kids Are All Right; David Seidler - The King's Speech

If you want to see a full list of the nominees, go here.

Cheers,
-Crash-

*My chocie fro best score would be Hans Zimmer 's score for Inception..that music is just killer...and goes well when used with other films too...case in point: Ghostbusters...Inception style; enjoy:

A January Jam Companion

The January Jam has been going on all month, which has me pumped to see some shows; especially some big ones. I have a few at the top of my “Concert Bucket List” that I’m eagerly hoping to cross off: Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty, Dave Matthews Band, Tool…and many more. Thankfully I was able to cross off Alice in Chains last April – what a show*.

The Foo Fighters are bound to be touring to support their new album which is out this Spring (check out a preview here) so, I’m hoping this is the year I finally run my pen through their name. They’re my favourite band, so they’re definitely at the top of my list. However, it’s a spot they share with another favourite: Pearl Jam.

I missed Pearl Jam when they played Halifax in 2005, and I still kick myself as much, if not more, for missing that show as I do for missing The White Stripes when they played Moncton…stupid schedule conflicts. Anyway, the beauty of Pearl Jam is they have hundreds of Official Bootlegs of their shows, so even when you do miss a show, you can experience it to an extent with one of those. I have the Halifax Show…it makes missing hurt all that much more, too. With all of these bootlegs available, it’s easy to question the necessity of a live compilation album.

Live on Ten Legs is a companion to the band’s previous effort, Live on Two Legs (1998), and features 18 songs on a single disc, taken from various performances during their 2003-2010 tours. Pearl Jam are known for marathon shows which covering material that dates back to the band’s debut, so the single disc is short by comparison to the bootlegs, but, much like their most recent studio effort it makes for a punchy, concise listen.

I was a little disappointed, at first, with the lack of banter from Ed between songs; it’s something that makes any live album worth having – beyond love of the music. That said, it’s strictly about the music on this one. Pearl Jam are celebrating 20 years together and this collection showcases some of the best they’ve had to offer over the years and shows they have no signs of truly slowing down. They seem to be as energetic and passionate about what they do now as they’ve ever been. Plus, it’s great to have recent hits The Fixer & Just Breathe in a live format…especially during The Fox January Jam.

Overall, Live on Ten Legs is a great collection for a casual fan – it acts as a kind of “greatest hits” – and, if you’re one of the die-hards…well, you already know how good it is, don’t you? It’s been getting lots of love in my stereo, so I’d recommend it for yours too. It’s a nice addition to the collection. (Go out and get a copy)

On the disc, PJ does a great cover of Arms Aloft by Joe Strummer, so as a bonus, I thought I’d share the original below:





-Crash-

*That's a link to the blog I had prior to getting space on foxrocks.ca

P.S. What's on your Concert Bucket List?

Cobain's Favourite Band Coming To NB

A band that inspired Kurt Cobain – a self-avowed fan – and many other emerging artists of the early 90’s is making its way to the Maritimes. On April 10^th, the Pixies will play the Casino NB in Moncton. They’ll be playing Halifax on the 9^th, as well.

On the 'Doolittle' tour, the first major Canadian Tour since 2004, the Pixies will perform all the songs from their 1989 classic with an imaginative cinematic production specially created for the tour. It’s bound to be both visually and aurally pleasing. I love that shows like this are coming to NB…it gets me all excited about other potential tours that could stop by our province…hopefully even in Fredericton.

Anyway, Tickets for the Pixies stop in Moncton will go on sale January 29^th at 10am. Here are the details:

Tickets: $61.28 (taxes and service charges included) on sale at Casino New Brunswick Gift shop.

Charge by phone 1 866-943-8849
Online at www.evenko.ca or www.casinonb.ca

When I first saw the press release about this show, it immediately brought Sleepy Driver to mind. Well, first I thought: “sweet!” then I thought of the Nirvana connection…and then I thought of Sleepy Driver…

…Anyway…

The Fredericton band does an excellent cover of The Pixies song Cactus (which is on the album before Doolittle), which is below, followed by The original.

Sleepy's version:




And Now The Pixies' original:



-Crash-

What do you think? Gonna check it out?

Awards Hit Close To Home

The nominations for the 2011 East Coast Music Awards were announced this morning. The awards, which are taking place April 13-17 in Charlottetown, celebrate the best that the year had to offer in the way of East Coast talent…and as you know, we harbour a ton out here!

Fredericton’s own David Myles leads the way with five nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, and two bands from my list of Top Albums of 2010 (#4 & #2 respectively) are here too. The Stanfields are up for four awards, including single of the year for The Dirtiest Drunk, and Fredericton’s Ross Neilsen & The Sufferin’ Bastards are up for Blues recording of the year for their album Redemption.

Below are some highlights of Fox artists who are up for awards (Click Here for the Full list* of nominees). Below that is a video from one of my favourite musicians** (it just so happens he’s also from the East Coast) and a link to download his recent iTunes Sessions.

ECMA Nominee Highlights:

The Trews
- DVD of the Year (The Trews Acoustic – Friends & Total Strangers)
- Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year
- Fan’s Choice Video of the Year (Highway of Heroes)
- Single of the Year (Highway of Heroes)

Slowcoaster
- Alternative Recording of the Year (The Darkest of Discos)
- FACTOR Recording of the Year (The Darkest of Discos)
- Group Recording of the Year (The Darkest of Discos)
- Single of the Year (War on War)

The Stanfields
- Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year
- FACTOR Recording of the Year (Vanguard of the Young and Reckless)
- Rising Star Recording of the Year (Vanguard of the Young and Reckless)
- Single of the Year (The Dirtiest Drunk In the History of Liquor)

Wintersleep
- Alternative Recording of the Year (New Inheritors)
- FACTOR Recording of the Year (New Inheritors)
- Group Recording of the Year (New Inheritors)
- SOCAN Songwriter of the Year (Paul Murphy, Tim D’Eon, Loel Campbell, Michael Bigelow - Preservation)

Matt Andersen
- Blues Recording of the Year (Piggyback w/Mike Stevens)
- Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year
- Male Solo Recording of the year (Piggyback)

Sleepy Driver
- Vibe Creative Group Single of the Year (Like a Weapon)

Ross Neilen & The Sufferin’ Bastards
- Blues Recording of the Year (Redemption)

Joel Plaskett & The Emergency
- Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year


**Here’s Matt Mays performing a new song (Chase The Light) - one I consider among his best. You can get a piano driven version from itunes on his iTunes Sessions, which came out last week and has been dominating my speakers.



-Crash-

*Anyone you think was left out of the nominations? Who's your favourite East Coaster?

Film Review: The Green Hornet

It’s been said The Dark Knight changed the way comic-book movies are made. That film is one of my favourites, and it certainly transcended general perception of what a comic-book movie should be. It was a dark, brooding crime film that just happens to have a comic book character as the main protagonist. I loved it. But sometimes, a “comic-book” movie needs to be just that; a comic book movie.

The Green Hornet stars Seth Rogen as Britt Reid, a rebellious, party-boy slacker who has reaped the benefits of his father’s LA newspaper empire. When the elder Reid (Tom Wilkinson) dies and leaves his paper, The Daily Sentinel, to his son, Britt passes off control to his father’s right-hand man – unwilling to accept responsibility. Britt, who holds resentment towards his father, bonds with Kato, the mechanic and coffee-maker of the estate and, after an evening of drinking, they decide to “go do something crazy”.

They go out, dressed in disguise to vandalize the statue that was erected in honour of Brit’s father and end up beating up some thugs in the process, saving a couple’s lives – which invigorates them. The next day, the news only focuses on the vandalism and Britt decides to use The Daily Sentinel to spread word about The Green Hornet, making himself appear to be a criminal, while he intends to take down crime as a vigilante. This soon garners the attention of Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz), an LA mafia boss who seeks to control all of the crime in the city.

Seth Rogen also co-wrote the script, which is crisply paced and loaded with funny dialogue and gags. It teeters on the edge of parody, yet fully embraces the comic-book world in which it’s clearly based. There’s tons of action with gun fights, explosions and car-chases, yet it always has an underbelly of comic fun which makes watching it a blast. It’s a leave-your-brain-at-he-door popcorn flick. The movie wouldn’t be what it is, however without some strong characters.

Seth Rogen as Britt Reid isn’t entirely likeable – he’s kind of a jerk – but he makes up for it with his sense of humour, and he has charm as the bumbling “hero”. Jay Chou steals the show - and a good chunk of the laughs - as Kato, The Green Hornet’s sidekick, who is actually the one that gets things done in the partnership. He has the brains and the fighting skills that end up making Britt look good. Christoph Waltz is fantastic as Chudnofsky, the mafia boss with a “fear-me” complex; picture his character in Inglorious Basterds, only more comically zany.

The movie certainly isn’t perfect. It lacks a true sense of focus and the story really comes secondary to the action and comedy, but as far as having fun at a movie goes, I can’t complain. Although I will complain about it being in 3D; I’m not a fan of the oversaturation of 3D movies being released, especially when, like the Green Hornet, it’s done just to cash in on the fad – which usually only hinders my enjoyment. I didn’t get anything extra from watching the movie in this format…except maybe a headache from wearing the glasses.

3 Dented Bumpers*





*Crash’s Film Rating Legend:

5 DB’s -- Freaking Fantastic! (a rating that’s not easily attained.)
4–4.5 DB’s -- Great: It’s worth seeing again/owning.
3–3.5 DB’s -- Decent – Good (I’d watch it again on cable)
2–2.5 DB’s -- Meh; (possibly had potential, but I won’t watch it again)
1DB -- Awful; I want my money back.

Anything less is not even worth downloading illegally

-Crash-