spring awakening?

I love Art. Culture. Music. I love discovering things everyday. Today for instance, I brushed my teeth while listening to Cat Steven's Foreigner on the turntable. My music crush on Cat Stevens seems to grow with each piece of vinyl I re-discover.

I had this moment this weekend when I looked around and saw my friends all squished in around a table at my local, chattering, smiling, and I thought to myself... this is the way I want life to be most days. It gave me some kind of energy knowing that life could exist in such a way. We're such a misfit bunch of people but in the end, there we were, in the boozy dim-lit red-walled local, crammed in by the jukebox just enjoying every minute of it. No glamour, just a fantastic hang time.

So, as the seasons turn, I'd like to give you a moment of Spring hope for your aural pleasure. Graham(aka Miracle Fortress) always seems to know how to get it right. His Daft Punk cover is brilliant and a great way to start off a shimmering spring filled mix. This song just suits the mood we should all be embracing.

I filled out this list with some others that have gotten the tone and timbre just right too. Enjoy the music. xo.


SeeqPod - Playable Search

days like these...

A snapshot of my life right now makes it clear that working out of a home office on a day like today makes me a very lucky little lady. My apartment has wonderful 9x9 windows and I've been enjoying the sunshine since I saw it rise this morning in the wee hours. In the background, I've got Fashion television telling me about the hot new Canadian designers showing their wares at LG Fashion Week and on the counter my coffee pot is gurgling with pleasure. Mmmmm ideal coffee. Can't wait.

I'm getting ready to head to the Junos next week. I'm as excited that the event is in my hometown. Although the artist I'm working didn't get added to the live taping of Q on Thursday evening, I'll be bringing my little sister to the show, so that will be nice. Whenever I'm home, I don't really have too much time, and it's usually some kind of holiday so it will be nice to shake up the calendar a little.

Anyway, spring is in the air - the mood is bright...sunshine will do that to you. I'm even motivated to go swimming on my lunch break today, so you can see how much I've needed this change of light!

A video for you to enjoy on this day from the one and only Raphael Saadiq. I had the pleasure of seeing this line-up on Monday here in Toronto and a better show I have not seen this year. I danced. It was lovely. Happy Thursday! xo

Here's the a fan video from that show:



And some more music... seems like the majors are blocking embedding codes for the videos so I've settled on this one that just gives you the audio.

the apocalypse?

A friend of mine just called me from Parkdale. He was on his third cigarette, chain-smoking nervously as he stared in disbelief at wood chunks scattered all over his front porch. The tree from his neighbour's yard had come crashing to the ground, splintering its remains all over the once-entrance to the house.

Luckily, it didn't cause too much serious physical damage, but, for my friend, he was saying it gave him pause.

I told him usually these things are a blessing of some kind. It's bad to say that you sometimes need a shake-up but most of us think that if we continue on with our well-worn motives and good humour, things will improve. We will get our due.

Often, I've found this is not always the case. In 2000, I was crossing the road in London, England and I was hit by a car. I smashed the windshield of this gent's volvo and was catapulted over the car, landing on my feet only to have the laws of physics send the rest of me to the ground, hitting my shins and my hips on the ground. I remember the thud of the car, and the thought in my mind was "What have I done?"

Trust humans to think immediately that whatever this bone-crushing accident was, that it was our fault. Probably a little bit, but not entirely in my case.

Anyway, I said to the friend on the phone this evening that he should take a deep breath and just consider it a wake-up call. Were there things in his life that he wasn't entirely happy with? Use this close call as a reason to make the change. Take a day off. Purge. Call someone you've neglected. Enjoy. Revel. Relax. Essentially, take it as a reminder that we are here on earth to LIVE.

This one is up for a Juno award...

I'm a huge Chad Vangaalen fan. I'm super busy this week - too busy to blog about anything BUT, here's some Canadian music to inspire while I toil away at my computer promoting other things.

He also animated this video too... pretty impressive...

Enjoy!