Lease

Dara already chatted about our trip to see Rent, but it deserves a mention anyway. Larry and Cherie took us out to the OC Performing Arts Center for an early birthday present. This was my second time seeing the play (not counting the movie) and the touring cast did a great job. I could write so much more about this play, but it's such a dense, beautiful story that I don't want to lower it by this rushed blog. So I'll throw on a couple of pics and that'll be that.

Take two Xanax and call me in the morning

Today I had my first doctor appointment in years, and I'll spare you the dirty details, but it looks like I have some work ahead of me. A small list of issues I must attend to:

-I may have an epigastric hernia, which could potentially require surgery.
-I may have diabetes.
-I may have high blood pressure and,
-I may be overweight.

Okay, those last two are closer to definitely than maybe, and I'm staring down the barrel of a battery of tests, but I'm optimistic that things will work out, and that this will be the motivation I need to change my life around. I said I wouldn't get into the gory details, but believe me, I haven't. You missed all the best parts. But after I go in for a more thorough check-up one week from today, I will give you a detailed play-by-play with medical charts and a rough video reenactment.

I addition to all these issues, I also had the kind doctor issue me a prescription to take the edge off of my anxiety when I fly. I'm not a fan of medicating one's problems away, but even knowing I have the bottle makes me fear my next trip a little less.

So how did I react to this news? Dara and I took a trip to Lucille's B-B-Q and I got me some BBQ chicken, with no fries and veggies. Not a bad start. Day two will be better, but as Jon Brion always sings, "you've gotta start somewhere."

Fab Faux

Readers of my blog will know that I am a fan of top-ten lists and hypothetical questions. One of my favourite hypothecial questions has often been, "if you could see any inactive (ie defunct, dead or broken-up) band play live, who would it be?" My answer often changes, ranging from the unlikely (Jellyfish), to the impossible (The Beatles). At some points, certain bands on my list have re-grouped, which enabled me to fulfill my wish, as it so happened with Queen, just last year.

One of my favourite bands is this obscure group called The Beatles. You probably don't know their songs, but they were so complex that eventually The Beatles stopped performing them live. Then, with the death of two critical members, the dream of a Beatles reunion was dashed.

Last night, I got a glimpse of that dream through the music of a great tribute band, The Fab Faux. Comprised of high-profile musicians such as Will Lee of David Letterman fame, and Jimmy Vivino, famous as the guitarist with Conan O'Brien's band, this group has gained a quite a reputation for their flawless interpretation of the fab four's music.

Last night's interpretation was the White Album, performed in sequence. It was brilliant. Every nuance and note was given careful consideration, and this fabulous catelogue of music is in good hands here. Even obscure, bizarre tracks such as Revolution 9 were played with absolute perfection.

The testament to the songs' power was proven in the huge, enthusiastic crowd which sang along with glee. Decades after these songs were first recorded, they still sound incredible, especially in the adept hands of this band.

I've been to the House of Blues several times now, and I have never seen a crowd like this one. Scores of people wrapped around the building. Celebrities and non-industry people mingled together as fans, not of one band, but of a collection of songs. Old men were dancing freely and children bopped their heads with glee. It was an incredible evening.

____


Long side note:

As Canadians, Dara and I aren't used to the celebrity exposure you get from living in L.A. Last night we ran into several celebrities, some of whom you might recognize. For starters, we sat next to Gary Oldman, famous for disappearing inside his roles, as disparate as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series, or Sid Viscious in the movie "Sid and Nancy." We caught up with him on the way out of the show and Dara told him he was awesome, to which he smiled.

We also met and briefly spoke with Sam Lloyd, who plays the inept lawyer on Scrubs. We saw Patrick Warburton, most famous as David Puddy on Seinfeld (Elaine's on-again-off-again, squinty-eyed boyfriend), who also plays Joe Swanson, from "Family Guy."

We also noticed Greg Kinnear, Gavin Rossdale, Greg Grunberg (the police office on "Heroes", who also starred in "Alias," "Felicity" and had a minor role in "Lost"). The celebrities put a colourful backdrop to the incredible music. Of course, they're just people, but it's fun to be able to express our appreciation for their art (like Dara telling Oldman he's awesome).

Have you seen my moleskin?

I've been keeping extensive notes on quotations, song and story ideas, visuals and random ideas for as long as I can remember. Now I've lost my latest notepad, which has over a year of brilliance splattered all over it. I'm losing those ideas and I'm losing any other crap, er, brilliance which might fall into my lap. I need my moleskin!

Accidents will happen

Today, while Dara and I were getting our mail, we heard a terrible screech and we waited for the inevitable thud. The sound was truly sickening and we ran towards the entrance of our apartment complex. Visitors of our apartment complex will tell you that leaving the Heritage Place "Luxury Apartment Homes" is a dangerous undertaking. The entrance to our parking area is on a fast road with a sharp bend. I take my life in my hands every time I leave the place. I'm not joking. Today's accident was the third accident I've seen at that entrance, and we haven't even lived here for a year.

Anyway, we ran towards the car and I had my phone in my hand as I dialed 911. I was shocked to find out that 911 had a touch-tone service. I had to listen to options and dial a number before I got to a person. When I got a person on the phone, we rounded the corner and finally had a visual for what was going on. There was a single pickup truck which had run into the entrance gates, and had just burst into flames while gawkers stupidly crowded around the truck. I screamed for everyone to get away while I spoke with the 911 operator. I was surprised how long it took for the fire department to arrive, considering how close the nearest fire station is.

The driver and passenger were out of the car, with the female passenger laying on the ground. The male driver ran away (ostensibly to his apartment to get something, but as we all know, you don't leave the scene of an accident).

We tried to stay to see if they would arrest the driver but we became impatient and left. Incidentally, the pictures I'm showing are from two different incidents where drivers crashed into our apartment (making this latest one at least the fourth time it has happened).

And that's my story.

New cable, new problems

Cable guy was supposed to show up this morning. He showed up a bit late, but he was helpful and now we have Cox cable, HBO, and a PVR (or DVR, depending on where you're from). As for the internet, I've been on the phone with India for the past day trying to configure my wireless router with my new modem. The good news is, the new internet is fast. Bad news is, it was painfully slow to set up. I had some things I needed to do online this weekend, which I won't be able to any longer.

Also, we have an inebriated person driving (who will remain nameless) over to our house right now, which concerns me. I told him not to drive here, but you can't do much on the phone. So we're going to fetch him right now. Tsk, tsk, tsk....

Jellyfish tribute

On the day which will be forever known (to me) as Kurt Vonnegut Day, my friend Tom Gale informed me that there is a tribute album to one of my all-time favourite bands: Jellyfish. When I was finally able to check out the album's website, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't recognize any of the bands paying tribute. While Jellyfish wasn't exactly a huge band, they weren't exactly toiling in obscurity, either. Their fanbase is still strong, and their influence can be seen in the "smart rock" of people like Ben Folds. So, why no big artists? Just smaller artists like "Gluttons of Sympathy" (a tribute band, if ever there was one), Mike Elgert, and a host of other unknowns.

The difficulty in paying tribute to a band whose songs and arrangements approach musical perfection is, how do you improve upon them? The answer is, you don't. But you can offer new interpretations which could open new doors to old songs we love so much. But hearing Readymade Breakup thrashing gems like "Joining a Fan Club," it's just not right. Here's who I would have recruited for the project if I was the producer:

Spilt Milk:

Hush- Imogen Heap. She has shown great talent at a cappella work.

Joining a Fan Club- Radiohead. Strange choice, but Paranoid taught us that these boys know bombast, as well as melodic beauty.

Sebrina, Paste and Plato- Tori Amos. Cornflake Girl has a similar strangeness and nostalgia as this Jellyfish classic. I think Tori would kick ass here.

New Mistake- Ben can't sing like Andy can (who can???), but he's got the energy and charisma that would be perfect for this song.

The Glutton of Sympathy- This is one example where I think Sarah could actually improve on the song, somewhat. This one always sounded just a teensy bit schmaltzy, which I think Sarah would fix.

The Ghost at Number One- Rooney is a great band that has the energy for this awesome song. They're not as talented as the Jellies, but they could make this song fun. Tough thing to do for an anti-religious song.

Bye, bye, bye- Counting Crows. If Adam could avoid his habit of constantly reinventing melodies, I think they might pull this one off.

All is Forgiven- Hawksley Workman. This is a bit of a tough one. Almost no one because Jellyfish themselves could actually pull this off live. Even so, I think Hawksley Workman has a great voice and could do something really interesting with this song.

Russian Hill- Deathcab for Cutie. This isn't my favourite song on the album, but it's still a great song. Deathcab all the way.

He's my Best Friend- Barenaked Ladies. The Ladies aren't my favourite band, but they proved their chops when the recorded "Brian Wilson" live. Great song. And who is better suited to do a masturabation song than the Barenaked Ladies?

Too Much, Too Little, Too Late- Sheryl Crow. She's already got a former Jellyfish member in her band. Naturally, she'd be good at this song.

Brighter Day- Muse(?) This is probably the hardest choice in the bunch. It's a strange, caleidescope of a song, yet still exciting. Muse could probably do something interesting and energetic. Barring that, you could do a crazy, double-time rendition with The Mars Volta. That'd be interesting.

Bellybutton:

The Man I Used to Be- Coldplay. I can just picture them playing this song.

That is Why- The Shins are fun and so is this song. They also have a keen eye for melody, and so does this song.

The King is Half Undressed- I think Better than Ezra would be perfect for this song. Their drummer is phenomenal, and the singer is great. They have just enough energy to pull this off, while still having a great sense of melody, developed from being avid Radiohead fans (which is obvious).

I Wanna Stay Home- Fiona Apple could do a cool piano thing here.

She Still Loves Him- Jet. Some of their material actually sounds Jellyfish-inspired, so they would be a natural fit for this song.

All I want is Everything- Crazy, double-time energy... Foo Fighters could probably pull this off. Not live, mind you, but they could pull it off.

Now She Knows She's Wrong- Aimee Mann. Just because I'd love to hear her sing the line, "He juggled his honesty with two balls and an alibi." Perfect line for Aimee.

Bedspring Kiss- Beck. The song has a mysterious latin feel to it that just screams Beck.

Baby's Coming Back- Keane. Just because.

Calling Sarah- The Killers. This is one of the best bridges that Jellyfish has ever written. It's awesome. I think The Killers could pull it off without screwing it up.


So that's it. That's who I would choose to honour these sacred songs. Perhaps you agree with me, perhaps you don't. Maybe you don't even know who Jellyfish is. If that's the case, why did you read this?

Bye bye bye

Well, my parents were here and now they're safely at home in the freezing cold of Toronto. It was so great to see them, though--as usual--the trip seemed too short. We went to Vegas, ate out at restaurants, and went to the beach, which was all documented in our many pictures on the blog. I'd have to say my favourite part was just hanging out, no matter the setting, as if it's something we're about to do every day. I was very glad to see them, and sad to see them go. But now the count is on for my Canada trip in June/July. See you then, guys!

Ting-a-ling, Mr. Vonnegut.

With the death of writing genius and cultural icon, Kurt Vonnegut, we lose not one, but two treasured authors: Kurt Vonnegut, and Kilgore Trout. Fans of Vonnegut’s work will no doubt be familiar with Trout, whose writing voice-steeped in science fiction tradition-is eerily similar to Vonnegut’s. But while Vonnegut’s work has become classic literature, and part of the secondary-school mandatory reading canon, Trout’s work is fodder for publishers’ rejection piles. In contrasting author and alter-ego, we catch a glimpse of KV’s chronic self-deprecation. (After all, he did rate Breakfast of Champions with a grade of “C”). His writing had many other idiosyncrasies which are now instantly recognizable to Kurt’s rabid fans (and I include myself in this group), which are being emulated-poorly and with less panache-by modern writers.


You could almost smell the Pall Malls in his books, as if he poured every bit of himself into each page. He was a true writing maven: genius that bordered on insanity. And I loved every minute of it. There’s nothing to say about Kurt Vonnegut’s life or his views on the world which can’t be expressed more succinctly, and with greater flair and acumen, than in his brilliant, and now finite catalogue of work. So it goes.

Another 48 hours

Celebrating 50... fifty ways.

Random shots of Mom's 50th. Not too many of Dara in there because she was weilding the camera (thank you Dara! Good shots. The flash was annoying at the time, but so worth it).

Hope your day was magical, Mom!