My Top Albums of 2010

To tell you the truth, I didn't really listen to that much new music in 2010. I was more preoccupied with discovering and re-discovering older music rather than going out and buying new albums. For instance, (for those who know me this will be no surprise) this year after my inspiring trip to Iceland I discovered the quirky Icelandic musician Bjrk and I soon developed quite the obsession with Iceland's most well known person. At another point in the year I "re-discovered" Canadian power-pop icon Sloan. I may have possibly set some kind of record for listening to their song "Snowsuit Sound" over 20 times in one day. Later on in 2010 I discovered the band which may have changed my entire life. My obsession with this band has continued on into this year and I sit here right now typing this obsessively listening to all their albums on repeat. For those who know me, you will of course know that I am talking about Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. I'm not sure what happened during my trip to Iceland in August, but I somehow developed an odd attraction to anything Icelandic.

I did however listen to some new albums that came out in 2010. Here is a list of some of my favourites (in no particular order) with a link to my favourite song from that album:

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs; favourite song: "We Used to Wait" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLjrQ3cwzJ4&ob=av2nm

Vampire Weekend - Contra; favourite song: "Holiday" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vraoiVCDdaM

Stars - The Five Ghosts; favourite song: "Dead Hearts" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfYK8wvvU90

Jónsi (lead singer of Sigur Rós!) - Go; favourite song: "Go Do" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYb2Q3DvLNE

The National - High Violet; favourite song: "Bloodbuzz Ohio" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfySK7CLEEg

Now I've gotta go back to listening to some more Sigur Rós (I hear that they might have a new album coming out this year)!

The Concert of a Lifetime : Weakerthans @ Burton Cummings

A few weeks ago the Weakerthans played a series of four concerts in their hometown, one for each of their albums. Their last concert was at the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg was without a doubt a once in a lifetime experience. The band played all four of their albums in a row to a hometown crowd, from their most recent album Reunion Tour to their first album Fallow.

I have been a Weakerthans fan since 2005 when I saw them perform at the Edmonton folk fest. For some reason or another, my nine year old self really liked their music and I have been a huge fan ever since! Perhaps this was because of their interesting lyrics or their Canadianess, but whatever the reason, they remain to this day to be my favourite band. I saw the band again when they came to Edmonton but I have always wanted to see them perform in their hometown, so for me that Saturday night really was the concert of a lifetime.

It was great to hear the Weakerthans play in Winnipeg, especially in such an historic theatre as the Burton Cummings. I’ve always wanted to hear John K Samson perform his song “One Great City” and hear him sing the lines the Guess Who sucked and I hate Winnipeg in this theatre along with hundreds of other Winnipeggers. I had been looking forward to that song in that theatre for the weeks leading up to the concert, and when the moment finally came it definitely didn’t disappoint.

For some bands, where you see them perform doesn’t matter, but for a band like the Weakerthans it’s different. The fact that I was seeing them perform in Winnipeg was what made the concert so great. I think that this is because Winnipeg is featured in so many of the Weakerthans’ songs. Not only that, but what is also special is that this band seems to share a very strong connection with their hometown audience because they can relate about so many of the same feelings.

For instance, in their song that I had previously mentioned “One Great City” at first glance seems like a song talking about how the band hates Winnipeg. However if you know Winnipeg then it is obvious that John K is singing about the unique love-hate relationship that Winnipeggers have with their city. The stereotypes often associated with Winnipeg may be true; cold winter and lots of mosquitoes in the summer, but many people living in Winnipeg would never dare leave because of their strong attachment and deep feelings for the town.

This concert definitely required a lot of stamina, both for the performers and the audience. Imaginary Cities (also from Winnipeg) opened for the Weakerthans and after their one hour performance the main act played for another four hours! Nearing the end of the night, John K. Samson stated that they would never do this again, so all those people at that concert really made Weakerthans history! However from my perspective, even though the concert was a bit lengthy, it was definitely worth it.

Ecuadorian Feast #1

I held my first fundraising dinner for my trip to Ecuador on Wednesday with much success! We only invited about 8 people but everyone was very generous and I raised $250 after one evening! I am now well on my way to raising the $3500 that is needed to pay for the trip. I just want to thank everyone who came to my dinner once again for your generous donations!
I served a three coarse meal, all of which turned out very well. The meal started off with a plantain soup and corn bread, plantains are a very popular food to cook with in Ecuador. Next I served black beans with rice, which is a very common dish throughout Latin America. To finish off I served an Ecuadorian-style lemon curd with vanilla ice cream (I'm not so sure if the ice cream is all that Ecuadorian but the lemon curd sure is!)

I was asked numerous times for the recipes to these dishes, particularly for the plantain soup and the lemon curd. So for all those people who asked, here you go!

Plantain Soup (Serves 4) -

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 -4 1/2 cups stock/broth
• 2 green plantains, peeled, quartered lengthwise & thinly sliced
• 1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and finely chopped
• 1/2-1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• salt & pepper

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.

Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic.

Cook, uncovered for 3-4 minutes until onions are soft but not brown.

Add stock/broth and bring to boil over high heat.

Add plantains, cilantro, cumin and bay leaf.

Season with salt a pepper.

Return to boil.

Reduce to medium-low and simmer, uncovered for 40-50 minutes or until plantains are very tender.

Remove and discard bay leaf.

Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth.

Return pureed mixture to pan.

If soup is too thick add more stock/broth.

Season with more salt/cumin if desired.

Lemon Curd (Serves 8) -

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 lemon, zest of
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Mix the cornstarch in the water.

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour from the blender and into a saucepan and cook over a low heat until it thickens.

I will be holding one (possibly two more dinners) to fundraise for my trip in the new year.

Good luck with the recipes!

127 Hours... What Would You Do?

Last night at the Garneau Theatre I saw what is definitely one of the best movies that I've seen this year. 127 Hours starring James Franco tells the true story of Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who was trapped for 127 hours while hiking in Utah. In the end Ralston had to cut off his arm in order to escape the boulder that was trapping him in the canyon. The move was extremely realistic (I noticed this after watching a few interviews with Aron Ralston himself) and quite terrifying at some parts.

Directed by Danny Boyle, the same guy who directed the multiple award winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours is bound to be a success. Also similar to Slumdog Millionaire, this film's score was composed by A.R. Rahman and was also pretty amazing.

What was so interesting about this movie was that the whole audience knew going into it that he would eventually cut off his arm. However, when the time for that came, the audience still let out an audible gasp. In an interview about the movie, Aron Ralston said that he didn't want the film to be a horror story and to give people nightmares, but for it to be more of an inspiring movie. Well I think 127 Hours did just that, with many thanks to the acting of James Franco.

Also similar to Slumdog Millionaire, this movie is currently only playing at the Garneau here in Edmonton (Slumdog also started out only at the Garneau). But I predict that, just like Danny Boyle's previous film, 127 Hours will become an enormous hit and will soon be playing at theatres around Edmonton! Though it was very nice to see this film at the beautiful Garneau Theatre...

This movie was definitely a 5 out of 5 for me, and probably one of the best movies that I've ever seen. However the thing that I kept thinking throughout the movie and even after it was over, was what would I do in that situation?

I'm Eating a Cookie!

Alberta Health Services President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Duckett made Alberta proud on Friday. After an important meeting to discuss the state of Alberta health care was asked questions by the media but repeatedly responded with "I'm eating a cookie!" You really have to watch the video to see how crazy it is...



Stephen Duckett was brought here to work with Alberta Health Services all the way from Australia and is being paid big bucks too! But for what... so that he can talk about his cookie? There is something seriously wrong with that picture...

Live Review: Dan Mangan at Myer Horowitz Theatre

Vancouver folk rocker Dan Mangan was in Edmonton on Tuesday night playing a sold-out show at the Myer Horowitz Theatre. He was performing on his “Peculiar Travel Suggestion Tour” during which he will be performing in the four western provinces. I was introduced to Dan Mangan’s music relatively recently, but I am already a huge fan and he definitely didn’t disappoint when I first saw him live!

Opening for Dan were two bands; The Crackling and The Burning Hell. The Crackling is a new project created by three people who also play in Dan Mangan’s band. The lead singer plays the drums in Mangan’s band so during The Crackling’s concert he switched it around and brought out Dan Mangan to play drums for him. And from my seat, he sounded pretty good!

The Burning Hell was quite different musically, and was in fact very comedic. During the show lead singer Mathias Kom said that they had once been compared to Moxy Fruvous. I would agree but would also say that they were similar to Geoff Berner but with a ukulele instead of an accordion.

Going into Dan Mangan’s performance my friend had said that she wanted to hear three songs of his; "Sold," "Basket" and "Robots". Well, Dan Mangan must have read our minds as he played all three of those songs and many more excellent tunes. He played an inspiring live show that included some great trumpet playing and an awesome acoustic performance of "So Much for Everyone" at the end of his show.


What I liked about this concert was that each of the three musical acts got everybody in the audience participating. Each one of them had the spectators singing along in at least one song, whether it was just a few words or a whole chorus. For me the best part was when Dan Mangan played his song "Robots" and had a whole bunch of people from the audience come up on stage to play, sing and dance with him. Then of course the whole audience also sang along to the chorus of “robots need love too.”

Another thing that I noticed was that each band talked about how welcoming Edmonton is for performers and musicians. Dan Mangan spoke fondly of his last time performing in Edmonton at the Haven Social Club while he was sick with the flu. However he said that even though he had the flu, he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else! I know that all bands probably feel obliged to compliment the city that they are performing in, but these three bands seemed like they really meant it!

What really struck me while watching Dan Mangan on stage was that he really does seem nice, nice, very nice. So I think that he is definitely very deserving of all the popularity that he is getting. Last time he performed in Edmonton he played at the Haven Social Club, this time he played a sold out show at the Myer Horowitz, so where will he be performing next? Well, I’ll tell you one thing, I couldn’t think of a nicer guy to be playing a full house at the Winspear.

That article was also posted on SEE Magazine's GigBytes blog. Here are some links to songs that I talked about in the article: Sold, Basket, Robots and So Much for Everyone.

Iceland's Emotional Landscapes

Just a short video with some photographs and video footage that I took on my trip to Iceland during the summer. Iceland was amazing, and snorkelling in between the continents at Silfra was probably the coolest thing that I've ever done!

Iceland's Emotional Landscapes from Isaac Wurmann on Vimeo.

The video is set to the music of Icelandic musician Bjork, who is definitely the most well known Icelander that there is. She is a musician who I have really been liking these past few months!

Stars' Halloween Performance @ The Winspear

This year hundreds of people spent their Halloween at the Winspear, and for a very good reason! Indie rock band Stars from Montreal were in town last night and put on a very good show for all those who were willing to give up partying on All Hallows’ Eve. Opening for Stars was the also Montreal-based band Young Galaxy.

I had not previously heard of Young Galaxy, but I liked what I heard last night! Throughout the concert Stephen Ramsay (lead guitarist and vocals) constantly reminded the audience that “even though we’re in a nice theatre, this is still supposed to be a rock concert!”

And rock out they did! All members of the band seemed very into the music, including Edmonton-raised bassist Stephen Kamp and lead vocalist Catherine McCandless who actually broke her tambourine during the performance. Although they tried to come across as a more rock influenced band, my favourite song of their performance was their slower and more melodious song entitled “Firestruck”.

After the intermission came the act that everyone was waiting for. At the beginning of Young Galaxy’s performance the “shoebox” shaped Winspear was nowhere near full, but throughout the opening act more people started to come in and by the time intermission came around the Winspear was packed with people! It surprised me that there was such a large turnout on Halloween night, but I guess those Stars fans are dedicated!

Lead vocalists Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan burst onto the stage at the start of their performance. They immediately began throwing roses into the crowd and yelling at everyone to get onto their feet – now that’s an entrance.

Throughout the rest of the concert the crowd stayed on their feet and the band members kept throwing roses at the audience. It gave the concert a much more intimate feel, like we were on the same level as the band and we weren’t just sitting down passively listening. I think that it takes a great band to be able to achieve that feeling.

From my point of view in the audience I could tell that there were many people in the crowd with me who really know Stars’ music very well. Apparently Amy Millan could also tell this because near the beginning of the performance she remarked that “it feels like you’ve been with us for a very long time.” Because of this long relationship that so many people have had with the band the crowd was really involved. During songs like “Take Me To The Riot” and “Dead Hearts” the whole crowd was singing along.

Just as well though the crowd was able to be quiet and really enjoy the nice acoustic performances such as the song “Ageless Beauty” which feature Amy Millan on vocals and Evan Cranley on acoustic guitar.

Upon reflection it seems very fitting that Stars’ concert was on Halloween. Their newest album is called The Five Ghosts and numerous songs of theirs have somewhat Halloween-ish titles. For example “Dead Hearts” and “I Died So I Could Haunt You.” While my friends in Grade 9 and from my Junior High school were out trick or treating I can’t think of any other place that I would rather have been on October 31^st.

That article was also posted on SEE Magazine's Gig Bytes blog. Here are some links to some of the songs that I talked about in the article: Firestruck, Take Me to the Riot, Ageless Beauty (acoustic) and Dead Hearts.

Here We Go Again...

Earlier this week a large group of ducks landed in a Syncrude tailings pond in Northern Alberta. Does this story sound familiar? Well it should... the exact same thing happened in 2008. What's even worse is that this year's duck-landing happened just days after Syncrude was fined over 3 million dollars for the previous duck-landing. Syncrude has recently stated that 350 birds have now died after landing on the Mildred Lake tailings pond on Monday night.

What is even more astounding is that this event has happened less than a month after Prime Minister Stephen Harper criticized NDP MP Linda Duncan, saying that she was trying to shut down Alberta's economy by suggesting that we slow down development in the oil sands. Well maybe that seems like a better idea now, doesn't it Harper?
So if this keeps going on like it has been of late, how long will it take for people to realize that perhaps this is not the best idea? What more needs to happen to convince people that maybe searching for more environmentally friendly sources of energy are better for us in the long run? I guess for now though we'll just have to wait around until the next batch of ducks are killed in our quest for oil in the tar sands.
For more info check out http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/299493. Or you can just listen to the radio or watch the TV because hopefully we will soon be hearing about how Syncrude will be punished for their second round of duck killing.

First Snow!

It was the first day of snow here in Edmonton today. I was hoping that the weather might hold out until November and after Halloween, but I guess that just wasn't meant to be. It sure was fun to bike to school this morning though! I think I'll try and bike through the winter... but I guess we'll see how that goes. Biking home from school was pretty nice though, it wasn't too cold but everything was coated with a nice layer of white. Some of the leaves were even still on the trees!

According to Todd Babiak, the snow is good for you, really! http://tinyurl.com/289l3yd I guess it might feel good after you've spent a year in snowless north-western France!

Well I guess that's what you get for living in Edmonton... Welcome back winter!