Triple Music Feature...Best of 2012! Also: Idle No More, Pothole Truck Scandal and a 1971 Barracuda

Issue 3, Volume 2

Our On The Streets segment features a very odd 1971 Plymouth Barracuda. Every once in a while you see a cool collectible muscle car that you know would probably cost north of 50k to buy, that perfect restoration where the paint is like glass, the tires and wheels shine, the parts are all 'period correct' and the car has a big 'do not touch' sign in the window. This is not one of those muscle cars. While of course, every remaining E body from 1970 to 1974 is collectible, this one is an oddball for the fact that it is in such good shape, but encompasses exactly none of the describing features I just indicated regarding a collectible muscle car.

Plymouth started building the Barracuda in 1964, on the Valiant chassis. It was very similar in styling to the Valiant, and was powered by either two slant six motors, or the 273 V8. There were a few Hurst modified Valiant Barracudas that drag raced with huge hemi motors, but not many for sale at any dealership. Really, the Barracuda was Chrysler's first attempt at a pony car, similar to the Mustang, long before GM had anything similar. The Mustang was based on the lowly Falcon compact, and the Barracuda was based on the lowly Valiant compact, both were stylish fastback coupes, and both could be had with small block V8 power. It was really Shelby who stepped up the Mustang and made it a performance car, more than just a stylish compact coupe. The Barracuda also added some packages to get in on the performance craze of the late 60's. In 1967 the Barracuda was restyled with coupe, fastback, and convertible versions. Still on the Valiant platform, many more were sold with a 273 as the base engine, but the car could usually be had with the hot 340 small block. The Formula S version had special suspension, tires, and was even available with a massive 383 big block, which deleted the power steering, because there just wasn't enough room under the hood. There were also, towards '69, small runs of 440 or 426 hemi powered big block cars, which ruled the drag strips. But while Mustangs got bigger, and had bigger power plants, the Camaro also was running larger and larger engines with more horsepower and more tricks, and both cars had fresh and bold styling. In 1970, the all new Barracuda, on it's own platform shared with the Challenger (called E bodies) was released. The entire gambit of engines could be had, along with a few different styles. To be clear, there were Barracudas and there were 'Cudas (it actually said 'Cuda on the rear nameplate). While 'Cudas were typically stripper sports models with performance options, Barracudas were the pedestrian base models, or the luxury models.

The car you're looking at above is likely a Barracuda (disputed, however), and one of the luxury versions, based on the shark gill vents, the high rent grille, and the hood lifted from the Challenger R/T (known as a Rally hood). These packages, and the colour, were typical of higher end 'Gran Coupe' Barracudas. These cars came standard with a console shift, bucket seats, and a 383 big block, among other things. This car has some non standard items, however, that are probably period correct, which would have put this car in sort of a 'rice' category in the mid 70's, if not for the fact that it has a big block to back it up. First of all, the hideous gold plating treatment is pure mid to late 70's fare, right down to the trim rings on the rally wheels. Second, the factory go-wing was not a Gran-Coupe option, it would have been added after, along with the window slats. These were features common on performance models, like the Hemi 'Cuda. Taking cues from a different Barracuda, the AAR (for All American Racer) you will see the side exit exhaust poking from just in front of the rear wheel. Dan Gurney struck a deal with Plymouth to build custom small block cars outfitted for road course duty, so they could compete in the SCCA Trans American Sedan Series (Trans-Am). They got a cool side exit exhaust, which doesn't quite look at peace here. Half cheesy luxo-cruiser, half muscle stoplight bruiser, this car doesn't know what it is, but it does know that someone took a perfectly good Barracuda and around 1977, messed it up. There's something to be said for a vehicle that also exhibits history of fashion trends (however tacky) of the time too.

Also: Props to my man Craig for recognizing this as a 1971, not a 1970. The gills are a 1971 feature, and although it's impossible to tell what was period-correct added on, and what wasn't (due to the mash up of period correct 1970 Mopar parts on this thing - it's likely the gills came with the car. Thanks Craig!

Idle No More vs. Tipping Point - The Non Aboriginal Guide to Bill C-45

I was driving back from a site visit when I ran into the Idle No More movement coming down Jasper Avenue. It was not far from the Aboriginal permanent sustainable housing project I manage. While I knew personally individuals who were marching in the protest group that was moving up the street, in a peaceful and orderly manner I should indicate, I declined to leave my car by the side of the road and join them. Sometimes in the business world, non-affiliation, and also being expected back at the office in a reasonable time frame, are expectations that cannot be ignored. That does not mean I don't have an opinion one way or another on the subject. But to have an opinion, one needs to be informed.

I decided I would become informed after a friend who had been reading Tipping Point felt motivated to put together a small experiment reflecting the book. What he wanted to do was to have people sing an impromptu O'Canada at the legislature in mid January. I immediately ran into the road block of feeling that if I was to show up at the legislature, not rallying any issues, and began singing O'Canada to support our country, it would almost seem as if I was in some sort of opposition to the recent protests by supporting my country. So, respectfully, I declined. I didn't want to show up to the legislature, start singing O'Canada and have it looked like I was singing the government's praises while other individuals are there protesting C-45.

But what is Bill C-45 and what would my stance be if I actually knew what was going on? I'm not an aboriginal person,so maybe C-45 doesn't effect me - but on the other hand, maybe it does? And even if I'm not aboriginal, I'm still a Canadian, and so are aboriginal peoples, and so C-45 affects us in kind because it effects Canadians. That's reason enough for me to get to know about it. But I wanted to know about it from the perspective of those who are most adamant about it; those that participate in the Idle No More movement, Aboriginal Canadians. While all Canadians should be concerned about C-45 for it's removal of something like 80% of currently protected waterways; ones we depend on for drinking water, recreation, and that habitat depends on, the bill also includes amendments to the Indian act. One very active Idle No More protester that I know, a very smart guy indeed, indicated that it is not necessarily what it changes, but that it changes a very old and very important act without consulting anyone. There is also an environmental side to the bill, in which the changes to the waterways protection acts are being done so such that oil pipelines can be built through them.

Just a little background here about C-45 as an omnibus bill. Watch any US economic documentary, and you will see massive 300 page bills introduced into senate where certain senators criticize the bills for being sweeping and all encompassing, and having a lot of unrelated content in them. One of the most recent was the last financial stimulus package which was said to be full of pork and had a lot of strange tack-ons. Essentially, when there is an emergency or pressing issue that will likely pass, the bill gets amended and voila, the little piece of legislation that might have been contentious or never would have stood on its own all of a sudden squeaks through. In the case of omnibus bills, they're usually packaged with the budget for the year. While the main issue is budget topics, like infrastructure, healthcare, or education, as well as debt repayment or surplus, sometimes 'pork' gets tacked on. In this case, a little piece of legislation that makes changes to the Indian act such that possibly oil pipelines could be built across reserves and in waterways that run through reserves was what got by.

The main issue, and what Frog Lake Cree First Nation is now suing over, is that the bands were not consulted before the legislation was changed.

Anyway, I am not an Aboriginal person who this omnibus bill directly affects. However, it does affect Canadians. Not to mention, omnibus bills are generally economically and socially irresponsible. They can be a way to push an agenda where the topic never gets fully argued or researched, thus allowing a bad idea to get through the system of checks and balances built into our government. So yes, I am opposed, and for that reason, won't be singing O'Canada at the legislature, although I love my country, just so that it doesn't look like I'm supporting the government and not supporting the Idle No More movement, which by being idle, I'm indirectly supporting ironically.

Would You Leave Your Ferrari In A Snowbank? The City of Edmonton would...

The city has an abundance of work vehicles. The most popular one this time of season is the International trucks WorkStar. The heavyweight dual-axle. 1100lb-ft of torque beast is the most popular platform for the city's sanding ploughs. The city even dialed it up a notch this year, for 2013 they purchased trucks with extended crew cabs. These trucks have hydraulically operated dumping beds and ploughs, and special computer controlled salt and sand mixer and distributor features. The WorkStar sells for approximately $110,000 without any options. These special rigs employ a host of specialized equipment added to them that could easily put them north of $200,000, or more expensive than a Ferrari. Some of the vehicles in the city's fleet would likely dwarf the average price for a house. With the average homeowner paying roughly $3500/yr in property taxes, it would take a full 31 houses in a year to afford to buy one WorkStar, that is without all said equipment. These 31 households likely would find it a strain to pay for a new battery for their own car if they had left it out and let the battery run down. That would be a shame. Certainly, no one would do that on purpose.

Now's where I start getting to the point. The city would do something like that on purpose. In fact, they would leave a very expensive vehicle, with a very expensive battery to sit out in the open on a city street unprotected for several days, with the hazards on, until the battery runs dead. At least that's what they did at 109th Street and 82nd Avenue.For at least three days, if not possibly an entire week, a sanding truck was left in a closed off lane with it's hazard lights on. On the third morning I passed it by, the hazards were barely flashing, indicating the battery had been run down. If the truck had an issue, wouldn't it have been prudent to have it towed to be serviced as soon as possible? Rather than leaving it out in the middle of a street? I contacted Ward representative Don Iveson of city council. I indicated there may have been a good reason for this I don't know about. Iveson replied promptly to my email, calling the incident "curious" and assuring that my email would be passed on to the proper individuals in order to get me an answer regarding why this happened. Iveson did this on holiday no less, so I have to say that obviously there are some responsible individuals who work for the city, but in the case of this sanding truck, perhaps some not so responsible ones.It was a very short time later that I received a call from the southwest yard from a manager that was obviously upset at the situation. It turns out a mechanic had gone home sick while he was waiting for a tow, never told anyone, and the tow truck never arrived. Oh, and by the way, it turned out to be a pothole repair truck, not a sanding truck. I'm sure he was ready to kick some ass himself. So what's my point of the story? Well initially I set out to rant about how irresponsible the city was with dealing with our assets, but after this, I was happy that the city was very quick to discuss my opinion and apologize for the problem. Note, on my way home, the truck was gone, and the lane was open again.

TRIPLE MUSIC FEATURE - THE BEST OF 2012

Music & Culture - The Best of 2012

Best of lists are always difficult to compile, and I stopped last year, because not only was my budget for purchasing recorded music much smaller, but the amount of music I was listening to was much greater. This spanned all decades, rather than just singled out to a specific year. Meanwhile, there definitely were some albums released this year that I feel will be classics going forward. So rather than just breaking down the top 10 albums that I bought or listened to this year, I'll give you the highlights of the best of the best, and in no particular order.

The Antlers - Burst Apart

The Antlers are a 'collective' of three musicians headed by Peter Silberman from Brooklyn, who originally made waves with their concept album Hospice. That album, while lyrically brilliant and musically ambient in a pleasant and evocative way, was still somewhat difficult to listen to at times, which can happen with a concept album. Burst Apart is much more cohesive, with more diversity in terms of the musical writing. It is not nearly as lyrical, however, that doesn't mean the lyrics are bad, even in songs where there are only three whole lines of poetry. I think whileHospice would always be a favorite of indie lovers, Burst Apart proves that The Antlers are for real.

The Shins - Port Of Morrow

Who are The Shins really? That's a question I've been asking after James Mercer has replaced almost his entire lineup x2, firing some of his longest long-time members just before recording this album. Joe Plummer from Modest Mouse appears on drums in what is another hit from The Shins. Regardless of if the Shins are a band or if they really are a continuation of Mercer's solo project post Flake Music, it doesn't matter. This guy plays a great live rendition of The Magnetic Fields - Adam In Drag, and he, like Paul McCartney, is fantastic at arranging all different types of music. The Shins are still undeniably The Shins, but they've come a long way since Oh, Inverted World, and you see Mercer's maturity in songwriting develop. Fall of '82 and Port of Morrow seem to be new territory for The Shins, and seem to draw a distinct line to Mercer's time in Broken Bells between albums. While 40 Mark Strasse is a great acoustic number, sort of what The Shins are known for. The album is 'more upbeat' as Mercer agreed to when asked, but it's the darker songs that will make a lasting impression on you, and probably keep you putting the needle in their grooves, or not deleting them from your MP3 player for a long time. 

EveryTimeIDie - Ex Lives

Every time I feel like this band might be getting off track, they pull something off that should be in the metal history books. I don't know of any other band that is quite as verbose, and doesn't quite adhere to the rules as EveryTimeIDie. Keith Buckley again pens a winner, while his brother and other band mates form a hard acid rock shell to beat you over the head with it. The first single Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space might be harder than anything else I've heard from them in a long time. Not very swinging, which this band can be from time to time. There is always an element of playfulness. Meanwhile Revival Mode starts off with this melancholy sort of slow dirge, but opens up to a full blown floor pounder. Good from beginning to end, this is one to roll down the windows to and crank up on a sunny day.

Jack White - Blunderbuss

This is one of those albums you picked up right when it went on sale, didn't you? You did, didn't you? If you can't find something you like that Jack White does in any of his projects, from The White Stripes, to The Raconteurs, to Danger Mouse, to The Dead Weather to...okay you get the point. This guy never sleeps. All these musical projects in addition to running Third Man Records, and getting fired from producing a film soundtrack (or whatever happened there) the question had to be there all along: when will Jack White release his own fucking record. Well he did, and it's great. I've often been accused of not liking this album, because I never play individual tracks from it in the car. Trust me, the local modern rock radio station will beat us over the head over and over with whatever they can turn into a single from this album. And really, the album only makes perfect sense when you listen to it cover to cover. But when you do, you'll realize, as you did after you watched It Might Get Loud, that White is someone who has something extra, as if he sold his soul at the crossroads. He's got some other way of looking at music that 99% of the 1% of the best musicians in the world still don't have. As one of the most formidable yet minimalist songwriters of our time, or any time, you might as well call this an instant classic.

The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten

I've taken a lot of flak for liking this album, but I think in the long run, this type of music will outpace stuff from bands like fun, as catchy as We are young might be. Why? Because it's good old fashion rock n' roll, that's why. This album has also taken a lot of flak from critics, even pitchfork's review was fair in it's assessment but it ultimately was awarded only a 5.7, compared to the 8.6 that '59 Sound garnered. Brian Fallon indicated he was going back to his roots with this one, rather than targeting just the new fad of Springsteen indie rock (which has worked well for everyone from The Killers to...well that's the only other one I can think of right now, but I think there's a lot). The result sounds a lot like '59 Sound. And again, that's not a bad thing! I think most people who grew up with 90's alternative as well as their parents' old rock records will appreciate this album. That makes it a highlight of the year for me. 

The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter

The band that is best known for January Wedding from their 2009 I and Love and You full length that hit #16 on the US charts did a multiple better this time, hitting #4 with The Carpenter. If you don't know the Avett Brothers, they actuallyare  brothers, and play with about 3 other individuals. You could call them folk, or indie alternative, or folk indie alternative, or folk indie, or indie, or whatever you want, but like chocolate and peanut butter, it is a combination that no matter which way you put it together, it's good. I was first introduced to the Avett brothers through their January Wedding single, which had been on my fiance's iPod for a very long time. Now, the hard drive of her Wrangler is loaded with the songs. Whereas I had liked the one single before, I didn't realize that I was tacitly falling in love with the Avett brothers until a few rides with nothing but them to listen to in the Jeep. Now I'm sold. 

Mumford & Sons - Babel

Of course, you would have to believe that I like a group or album to put them up here. That obviously I wouldn't just put something up here because it was trendy or I thought it would make me cool. Let me explain my attraction to this album. First of all, in our household, Mumford & Sons is played quite a bit. And if I didn't like them, I don't think I'd ever throw them on the turntable. Second of all, I cannot stress how important this album is. Aside from just being a great album to listen to, this took a whole entirely different genre of music (Modern Manchester Folk - I know wtf is that right?), and thrust it into the limelight to the point it would be harder to ignore than Beiber, Minaj and Kanye combined.Babel got more play in 2012 and was talked about more than even Kim Kardashian. Yes, I went there. I took that stupid pun. To bring the roots of Celtic folk into the mainstream, not even the Pogues or Flogging Molly could do what Mumford & Sons did. While Layne Mitchell from Sonic FM might be right in saying the next big group isn't doing what Mumford & Sons is doing now - in other words, part of this type of music, and the others on the Railroad Revival Tour is a fad, like hipsters. But because it is getting right down to the roots of folk, it will always be around in some form. I should mention that Babel also had the most sales of any album in it's debut in the US in 2012. The album peaked at #1 on 7 different charts world wide, including the Billboard 200, where it finished out the year in 7th. And then the guys all bought each other Mandolins for Christmas. Expensive ones.

Thrice - Anthology

Yes, here is a live album, something I would not normally touch with a ten foot pole. Anthology, however, is Thrice's farewell release. The concert soundtrack to the similarly named DVD, Anthology was recorded on Thrice's farewell tour. For those of you that don't know, Thrice disbanded, or went on indefinite hiatus last year. Dustin Kensrue indicated it wasn't a break up of a traditional sense. No one's feelings were hurt, no one was fired or decided that they couldn't get along with one another. In Dustin's words, he has "three daughters at home" and really needed to be there for them, and touring didn't quite make sense anymore. So there could be a Thrice in the future, but based on how people change and grow, and especially your children (whom Thrice has disbanded for), it's more likely that a reunion tour might be what you get, or some small acoustic side projects. Thrice, since their debut in the late 90's, has been a Tour De Force in alternative music. Starting as an average So-Cal punk band, they threw off those chains, and got harder, got more interesting, wrote more intricately, did concepts, did good albums, and always wrote great songs. Having seen them live three times, the intensity of a Thrice show is brilliant, because those that love them, love them a lot, and are in tune with the music. It will be difficult to say farewell to them, but one should have this live album as a keepsake of all the good times had.

Deftones - Koi No Yokan

I have never made a best of list that, if the Deftones had an album, they weren't on. And that is quite simply because they are my favourite band. NO! That is quite simply because they don't stop cranking out really fantastic work. There's something about the Deftones where they continue evolving, but are somehow always uniquely them.Once described by Alternative Press as, "the biggest underground bend in the world," their non mainstream success continues with their latest release. This is the second album recorded with bass player Sergio Vega, as Chi Cheng is still in rehabilitation with (unfortunately) limited consciousness after his 2010 car accident. The Deftones have always stuck to the fact that Cheng is still their brother, and the decision to go on with the Deftones was what he would have wanted in their words. I feel the progression here does not come from the fact that they perhaps have a new bass player, while Vega's lines are decidedly different than what Cheng would potentially write, I think the big push comes from two things. One is Stephen Carpenter's continuously increasing number of guitar strings. Although the 8 string baritone was present on the last album, in this one the subtle differences and increase in Carpenter's experience with the guitar means a more cohesive experience in the super low register; a tone that you could float away with, or be totally ripped to shreds by. There are also influence of several side projects of the other members of the band. Ultimately, when I first heard Leathers and Tempest I knew the album was going to be unbelievable. But the entire album on it's own stands as what some people have said is the best Deftones album since White Pony. That's saying quite a lot! While I might disagree, it's another home run for the band from Sacramento. 

The Lumineers - Self Titled

I have to be honest, it was Ho! Hey! that sucked me in to purchasing this album. The song was infectious. At first I was just singing the chorus. Then I was singing the whole song. Then I was playing the song around the house on Sarah's Epiphone acoustic. Then I bought her a Mandolin for Christmas and forced her to play and sing along with me. Sarah, at the same time, bought me the album for Christmas, which is great, I had tentatively planned to purchase it for myself anyway. After listening to the entire album, I can't put my finger on what exactly makes it great. The songs are quite simple, they are folk-indie, which is nothing new, and it's part of a trend. But I think the Lumineers transcend the trend by having essentially written an album that could have stood on its own merits; whether or not folk indie happens to be trendy at the moment. If you happen to listen to Trampled by Turtles, or Dr. Dog, or even the previously mentioned Avett Brothers, you will still see the Lumineers are somewhat more cohesive and less repetitive in their writing. Moreso, there's a romantic flow to the entire album that is great as a background to a good conversation and a bottle of wine. In its softness, it's not dark either, but rather there's a sort of sunniness to the album that is inexplicable, even if the song is one of heartbreak or about credibility linked to the sighting of Japanese submarines. If I purchased this on my own, I would have been taking a chance, hearing only two singles from the record. But it's up for a Grammy nomination because it is really so damned good, well written, well performed, and enjoyable. 

Band of Horses - Mirage Rock

This is probably not my favorite Band of Horses album; that one I'll reserve for Infinite Arms. But then again, it's always difficult to move past your first favorite album by a band, whatever got you hooked on them is probably the yard stick by which you'll judge every other album by that band. So I'll be fair here, and put my yard stick aside. This album is really the culmination of probably where you thought Band of Horses was heading, or perhaps where you thought they came from influence wise. I personally hear a lot of Neil Young from his Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young days. There is definitely a folk-rock element that is present through all their music. This album is also, I find, as mellow, but not necessarily as dark as previous B.O.H. albums. For tracks like Dumpster World and Heartbreak on the 101, you're going to want this album. While it might not be exactly what you expected from Band of Horses, it's still them, and they went somewhere potentially new, but it's still somewhere I feel is reasonable for them to have gone, and most importantly, it's good to listen to!

BUT WAIT!

Like Levar Burton used to always say in reading rainbow, "don't take my word for it!" Rick Lee from Sonic 102.9 FM Edmonton also zoomed me a quick email with his favorite picks of 2012. Among them were:

Mumford and Sons - Babel

Rick called this one 'grandiose' - 'subtle' and 'a game changer' when describing it. His take seems to harmonize with mine, that the album isn't just among one of the best albums of the year, but one of the best things period to come out of 2012, and a cultural beacon.

Of Monsters and Men - My Head Is An Animal

This one was said to have been good throughout by the mid-day radio show host, and top 20 compiler.

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

Called, "a darker album for the working class" by Rickster, this album came in at #1 on the Rolling Stone Magazine best of 2012 list.

Garbage - Not Your Kind Of People

Dubbed the 'most underrated album of the year' by Lee, this album marked the end of a six year hiatus for the band.

Nelly Furtado - The Spirit Indestructible

Lee indicated this album was good through and through, and her best album since Folklore. It certainly thrust the Canadian pop princess back into the limelight, and she wrapped up 2012 by singing at the Global Canadian new years countdown.

U2 - U22

Rick cited that Coldplay should have listened to this U2 Album, which is 22 live tracks from their 360 degree tour, before releasing their own live album. 

Read Rick Lee's entire rundown here: http://www.sonic1029.com/2013/01/01/the-best-of-2012/

BUT WAIT! THERE IS YET MORE!

Sarah Holly Karb decided to also give us a list of some of the best songs of 2012 to a hardcore indie lover. So if you are into the out-there, check out this list she penned for us!

I would like to thank you for the guest appearance spot in your blog. Please note, these songs may not be weird to all, but I am a 

connoisseur of awkward yet magical indie music that is thrown into the world and straight into the vastness of where the wild Sarah's roam. 

Without further adieu, here is my list:

1. JPEG Hoarder- Acid Glasses: I found this little GEM on Blalock's indie play list. It is a perfect mixture of indie electro east meets the salty background noises of the west. Also, the words are really hard to figure out, so you're free to adlib whatever you want. On my drives home, I would miss out on the rage that usually would make me want to drive over people in my Jeep because I was too busy making up words "OH Leave it alone!".

2. Dis/connect- Atlas (BIRP playlist): "and I could catch you when we fall in and out of luck". The magical undertones make a delicious bed for the savoury lyrics in this sexy yet innocent love song. But is it love? There are words such as baited breath, but falling in and out of luck?. The middle has a great pick up featuring a nice guitar riff of creamy retro connect. Ending with more of a lounge-like wind down performance.

3. Dreams (cover)- The Band in Heaven- When I was recently divorced, I left all my music on my ex's laptop. Years and years of music I hand picked, ripened and kept was gone. So I went back to the barren and bold land of weirdo music, and came across this beautifully distorted cover. Ryan is not much of a fan, but knows when he hears this, it's me. So he smiles. And even sings along. But don't tell anyone.

4. Blondes posing as red heads- The Barcode experiment: This is one of my declarative war cry songs. As a natural red head, I decided to go darker a few years back. But then all the birds seemed to flock the same way and I found myself in a sea of reds-blondes posing as. This song's punk anarchistic movement of rage is what explains my rage at the time of all the flakes trying to make it in the crimson light. Except, they're missing one thing which truly is woven into us true red- Chaotic beauty.

5. Red Head Walking- Beat happening: Which brings me to this song. The doors-like background hum beat is completely thrown off by the lead singer who not only has the most off kilter bass voice for this type of song, but honestly, I don't think it would work if he wasn't there. It makes me feel like I'm sitting in the Powerplant at the University, a second year, watching this indie band up on stage while everyone around them are too busy with being cool to look up. While I, am clenching the most recent Vue Weekly with them on the cover biting my lip in excitement.

6. This Fall- Big Tree: Ah, by far one of the most favorite songs of 2012 for me. The beautiful duet tones of these girls makes me feel giddy and fuzzy like a teenager just kissed for the first time. Early drum beats enter 30 seconds in, and continue to cascade into a whimsy altered time tune. Jazz undertones and foot stomping beats make me want to stand up for whatever they believe in. In my world, this song is being blasted while I drive my Jeep across the ocean :) 'I cannot risk being too modest".

7.  I'm always manic when I'm around you- A Big Yes and a Small No: Just as the title explains, this song is about manic love. The big band sound is equally weird as well as annoying. I guess I can only listen to it when I'm manic. This would however, make a pretty cute opening song to a cute TV series. 

8. Sky is Falling- Blackalicious: This song was given to me about a decade ago. This rap group is by far one of my favorite and nto just because of their saucy name. The beginning of this song builds suspense that leads to a vocal preparation of a end-of-the-world feeling in your gut. When I would listen to to this either walking or riding my bike, I would become so wound up the song would end I would be running away from nothing or taking a faster pace to my pedaling. Something was out there, and it was getting me. 

9. Insomnia Olympics- Blockhead: This is my "I'm rocky, in my sweat-suit and I'm warming up....WHAT" song. Although most of blockhead's music has a silent hill, dark-don't disturb me sound, this song makes me feel like an athlete on a Nike commercial. Mid song- an indian chipmunk wallows and it reminds me of the dirt that builds up on 109 street right before the highlevel. The dirty windows, and looking at myself covered in the same mud, running.

10. One Whole Year- Bombadill (BIRP): I feel in love with the bassline at the beginning but then was doubly in love because of the undertones of the Harry Nilson kind of story and the "great unwashed" narrative of hippies squatting and owning up to nothin! Cuz you can! Unfortunately was only one year of good story.

11. Lemonade- Cocorosie: The lyrics are insane and crazy beautiful. It's hard to believe this is a two man plan from France! Anyway, the growly voice and the deep horns with the grand piano sets the scene with a world of a red sky and electric grass. I was having a really hard time trying to sleep a couple years ago and would often find myself walking downtown and in the river valley at all hours of the night and this song brought some brightness to my night and a softer landing to my insomnia breakdown. 

12. Terrible Angels- Cocorosie: They use a robot dinosaur as a tempo percussion!

Welp, that's it or else I would be here all night.

cheers

SHK.

AND THAT'S ALL!

Don't forget, if you wish, feel free to send a letter to the editor at istillhaveatapeplayer@gmail.com Thanks for getting us almost 2000 hits!

I BOUGHT MY ELECTRICITY, DAMNIT! ALSO: RACHEL NOTLEY AND THE END OF HEALTHCARE, MUSIC IS 10 YEARS OLD AGAIN, AND A 1981 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z28

Issue 2, Volume 2

Tuesday, July 10, 2012 to Tuesday August 28, 2012

I'd like to first apologize for the delay between issues, but hey, at least there are still issues. I couldn't resist the urge to write after recently seeing that the Slutwalk in Edmonton had its second annual event here. It was one of the topics of my first issue. Really I wanted to talk socioeconomics and show off strange vehicles that I saw. Brilliant dive straight to our On The Streets segment. You see, I originally just wanted to take a picture of any strange or unique automobile I saw. But this is getting a little difficult, because what do you classify as strange or unique, or just a 'blue chip' classic. There are a lot of classic muscle cars out there, and sometimes it's hard to argue what is truly unique, or what you could see at any car show, or car club get together. All of those are beautiful, but not necessarily rare.

Truly to get this photo I had to go to the extreme, which was to drive on the wrong side of the road up 107th street, against another rather bulky gentleman who stopped his truck to get out and look, almost spoiling my photo. No one really seemed to care too much about the Bentley Continental GT or the Lamborghini Guillardo Roadster sitting in the open bay. Why? Because it's rare to see a 1981 Camaro in this type of shape. This specific model can actually be purchased, and is in Wheaton's used car inventory for $18,950. This particular car features a few extras that the originals didn't have, like it's 388 stroked and bored small block, and the American Racing wheels (although mags like that were available at that time - but definitely not in that diameter). Aside from the perfect interior, and dazzling paint, this is one that takes me back to my childhood. My Kindergarten teacher actually had one of these, and at that time it wouldn't have been that old. Most people know the Chevrolet Camaro was introduced to compete with the ever popular Falcon based Mustang out of Ford for the 1967 model year. That first generation lasted until 1970 (.5) when this second generation was released. The car was slightly bigger than the 1967-70 cars, although you can see in the photos, about the same size, if not a little smaller than the current Camaro just ahead of it. They weren't rare cars by any means, and that's probably why most were left to rust and disappear, except for this example. Originally the cars rolled out with 350 motors, and there were SS options. Later those were dropped during the OPEC oil embargo and rising emission standards. Later, in 1977, the Z28 package was reintroduced. Where most Camaros were leaving the factory with 305 emission motors, these could be had with a 350, and 4 speed manual transmission. The very next year Chevrolet would come out with their next version of Camaro that was largely powered by 4 cylinder engines, again to compete with a much smaller Mustang as well. Truly this car borders on being classic, as well as an oddity to see one in such stunning shape. You know, for $18,000, if you were thinking 'Cruze' or of some crossover, this would be much more fun and exciting. 

I BOUGHT MY ELECTRICITY: ROLLING BLACKOUTS

Alberta's energy generation, all privatized now, is currently being investigated for possible collusion when electricity prices spiked due to "generators going down"  and "supply far exceeding demand" which prompted AESO to actually tell Enmax and other electricity generators to "Shed X amount (it was 40 in Enmax's case) MWh." The way to achieve this? Rolling blackouts. There are essentially three problems with this.

One, you pay to have electricity all the time. The first response I got from some of my office mates when I said this was a problem was, "Don't you pay for what you use? So you don't have to pay during a blackout because you're not using anything." Sure, for the amount of electricity you use portion of your bill. If you've ever read your bill, roughly up to 50% of it isn't actually what you use. A lot of it, aside from administration fees, have to do with delivery and access. That delivery and access is to ensure you get to use electricity whenever you want. Do you think the power companies are going to give you that money back for not being able to access your power? No, in fact, you're probably going to get charged more.

Problem two: the increase in electricity demand over supply in a deregulated industry causes electricity prices to jump; which are passed on to the consumer. Your energy is bought from generators in blocks, and sold to you at either a variable or fixed price, depending on what kind of contract, if any, you have with your electricity provider. If you're variable, you're going to feel the impact of that $11 to $1000 MWh price jump probably on your next bill, and you'll shit a brick. If you're in a longer contract, your next block of energy might be priced slightly higher to make up for that huge jump. So you're actually paying more to have less power.

Problem three: Alberta's electricity demand can exceed it's supply? Electricity is an essential service. We're not off the grid here. It's not 1812. It's 2012. I'm all for conservation, but electricity? Really? We can't generate as much electricity as we use? Anyone see a problem here?

Albertans should be angry. We're getting hosed regarding our electricity. And you know, water and electricity don't mix.

THE END OF HEALTHCARE: THE POLITICAL ONE-UP-MANSHIP THAT WILL DEFILE OUR SYSTEM

Rachel Notley is the NDP critic of human services. Unfortunately she didn't have the time to write back to this certain constituent. Which is too bad, because I stuck up for the Edmonton Strathcona NDP incumbant even after she didn't pay back her no-meet money, when everyone else did. In the meantime, what does she have to do with screwing our healthcare system?

First let's recap. Everyone was frightened that the Wild Rose party would destroy healthcare and the province in general, so they all voted for the PC in a strategy to keep the Wild Rose out. Meanwhile, post election, Alison Redford's budget based on the price of oil (which has plunged over the summer) has seen her not be able to deliver on many pre-election promises. For some reason Dr. Sherman has decided to perhaps step down from the provincial liberals, and the NDP have become the biggest critics of everything the PC do, whilst Danielle Not-a-threat Smith keeps looking stupider and stupider in her responses to every issue. 

What does this have to do with healthcare? Well Aside from twinning highway 63, which shouldn't be so hard, considering how quickly LA can rebuild entire freeways after earthquakes, healthcare is the single most important issue to Albertans.

Just a quick recap of what's going wrong here. Raj Sherman had proposed a tax based budget that would save money during surplus times so that funding for infrastructure would stay constant, because everyone has to pay taxes, rather than a budget based on oil revenue, which widely fluctuates based on the unpredictable activity of the commodity. But Redford went on an oil based budget again anyway, and she had made a lot of pre-campaign promises. Like saving healthcare.

So Alison can't afford to do everything she wanted. Better take care of healthcare, and take care of it quick. Those 130 family care clinics can't come fast enough. And at the expense of what? Well since we don't have much money, how about at the expense of existing programs? 

Interesting enough, the current physician deal hasn't been resolved yet. Even stranger, the doctor run Primary Care Network was given a great deal of money by the PC government before the election. Now, the Auditor General has smeared the Primary Care Network. Actually, if you read the full 60 page document, the Auditor General doesn't really say anything bad about the PCN. What he does say is that there is no statistically significant proof that it makes a difference, namely because Alberta Health Services and the Alberta Department of Health did not give them guidelines to report results. So really, it's kind of AHS and the Department's fault. So change things with the PCN? Sure, wouldn't be that hard? But politicians are stupid, so unfortunately maybe that won't have a chance to happen.

One, it's clear that the government wants to control costs by controlling physicians. If you put physicians on a salary and put them into a government run clinic, you can reduce costs, while easily being able to report outcomes any way you want to so they sound great. So the government really wants to build and open family care clinics.  Two, politicians like to argue against each other. So blindly, Notley goes on television and blasts the government for being completely irresponsible for giving the PCN so much money over so many years. What she doesn't get is she's directly siding with the PCs to build family care clinics. She's supposed to be a part of (not the official bust still) the opposition. She's supposed to play devil's advocate and say, well maybe the PCN is good, and maybe the FCCs aren't that good of an idea. But the chance to talk smack about the PCs was so tempting that she shot her mouth off without really thinking.

Apparently there's proof that the family care clinics work (because there were pilots you know, and they say people don't know about PCNs) and it's obvious the PCs will put them in place as quick as possible.

Unfortunately, it's a bad idea. Based on the current Alberta budget, it's another solution that is done when the province has money, so that all the staff and resources have to be purged when the province doesn't have money, just like how we keep hiring and firing teachers. 

What can you do? Visit your doctor and see what the PCN can do for you, become educated about the current healthcare system. Meet with your physician who is part of a local PCN to find out about a great workout routine and diet, so that when healthcare in this province totally gets messed up, hopefully you won't need it.

Editors note: shortly after this they cancelled the program I was working for with the PCN. Oddly enough, I applied to work for the PCI (Primary Care Initiative that looks after PCNs) and received an interview; indicating perhaps they still don't know what they're doing in terms of PCN vs. Family Care Clinics.

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF MISSING THE MUSIC WE LOVE

If you had been in a coma, let's say, from April 2002 to April 2012, and your whole world was music, you might be able to pick up where you left off from. Especially if I dropped tickets to Coachella on your lap. After all; you'd expect to see Dr. Dre working the stage with Eminem, although you might be confused at his aged appearance. At The Drive In? They were too good to be broken up for long. Sure Sparta and The Mars Volta were decent side-projects, but they weren't any At The Drive In. And Refused? Wow, you know I thought The (International) Noise Conspiracy was okay enough, but it's great to see them back as well. But wait, where are those fanastic young upstarts like Thursday? Broke up? That's too bad, I thought they were making headway with Full Collapse, but I guess they aren't that old. And Thrice? They were doing great with Artist In The Ambulance? No? Well, that's too bad, but I wish them the best of luck. That is, until someone picks you up from the hospital in their hybrid Honda Civic...and let's face it, if you were in high school at the time of this coma, you thought Civics were supposed to be race cars for some reason, and switched on the radio only to hear Somebody I Used To Know or We Are Young, and then discovered that Thrice and Thursday were really the 10+ year vets that had broken up, and ATDI was still a flash in the pan with a few reunion shows planned, but, "No plans whatsoever to record." In fact, that is completely off the table, especially with Mars Volta's latest release.

There has to be some way to save alternative rock. If you didn't catch that I was being cynnical regarding Fun and Gotye, then hear this: alternative rock is in a bad place. Not only are album sales a serious problem, even with the idea that going indie will work, because the fans that really love the album will go out and buy it. Marylin Manson was harshly critisized by Lamb of God for doing this, citing how few albums he had sold, and how they had felt they had sold more albums because of major label corporate backing, plain and simple. But they also indicated that this as an overall sad state for rock. That you couldn't just put out a product ad your fans would buy it anyway. Meanwhile, everyone is trying to be like everyone else who are trying to be different, and eventualyl all music will just be noise like Dubstep (which is okay now and then but not all the time) or will we form a new super-indie genre where people play horrificly bad music that sound like copies of childrens lullabies in major chord scales and all the world will kiss their asses and call it sponge cake? Can we save Alt Rock? (*and with the inclusion f Dr.Dre and old-school rap, good music in general)

Okay, well what about Refused? Are they down for saving the planet? Although tight lipped on the front of recording a new album, the Swedish group that placed #13th on Kerrang!'s most influential of all time, and was also rated as one of the most influential modern albums of all time by Alternative Press is on tour. They're still on tour. In fact, they'll be in Calgary in August. No word about an album, but The Shape Of Punk To Come is hard to ignore. Maybe with Refused out there again to influence people, we'll get some music back. I don't need 100 bands trying to sound like a cross between Neil Young, Radiohead, and Joy Division. Only with a dance beat. We need real music. New art for the real people...somethig lik that, I know you know what I mean if you just picked up that last sentence. Because not only are Refused great in what they do musically but they speak of socioeconomic societal injustices, and are generally socialist. This type of thinking usually resounds well for getting youth to initiate change in society and become politically active when it is rooted in influential music. So will Refused release another album, or are they just touring for a bunch of 30 year olds?
Status: Unknown, but good outlook. (See editor note exhibit A)
At The Drive In was quoted as pretty much saying their reunion gigs were for nostalgia only. So although they may have rocked Austin, and Indio, that might be all we ever get back from them. Bixler even cited that the chemistry of the group, although fun to play for nostalgia would be "like wanting to go back to your first girlfriend." In otherwords, 10 years has changed the band, and the chemistry to write together isn't there. You could have fooled me though, after watching the streaming performance. Tony and Cedric back together, a relationship that once went down like breaking up with your first girlfriend, was astonishing. Comforting words from one of my friends, who said, "it genuinely looked like they were having fun." And they did. However, with the new Mars Volta album, and both Bixler and Rodriguez going to support that, coupled with the talk about not having writing chemistry, and pretty much saying a new album is not expected, don't get your hopes up. Although, anything can happen. I didn't really expect this much. So hopefully, at least the reunion will bring attention to the kind of amazing things that can be done musically in post-hardcore times.
Status: Doubtful (See editor note exhibit B)Dr.Dre apparently had Eminem, and even a holographic Tupac join him on stage, although I still want to know how close him and Snoop is (joke) and who he's still cool with. Because really, what I expect, although he says he "ain't gotta make another album, [he] ain't gotta do shit" is just that, another album. At first, I thought Aftermath was going to drop with the Dr.Pepper commercial. Then I thought it ws going to drop after the single 'I need a Doctor' with Eminem. And then, Coachella. But no, still no album from Dre. Cube isn't really helping either. I know he's still releasing stuff, but...well let's face it, he lost cred by being in disney videos, unlike Dennis Leary, and he's lost a step like an old football player. He raps a little slower. Even if the message is more serious. And to be quite honest, Dr.Dre's part was kind of lacklustre in 'I need a doctor' and unfortunately I can't tell you the last time I heard what I would consider a really great and monumental hip hop album, like Chronic 2001. But, I understand Dre is busy, because he's got headphones to make, and Chrysler 300's to put soundsystems in. The problem is, while everyone knows Dre, they know of him. They don't know about the west side, and what went down there, or NWA, or why a '64 is important or anything like that. Hip Hop has lost its history, and that makes all the products in the world by Dre irrelevent, especially if they're Hannah Montana headphones made by Beats By Dre.
Status: Dre needs his new album to come NOW NOW NOW and it has to be good.

Thrice and Thursday? On hiatus. I think Dustin Kensrue put it best when he said he has three daughters under 5 at home and needs to spend time with his kids. But when does that really stop? Ultimately Dustin seems like he's a stand up guy, and I don't think he's going to want to miss any of his daughers growing up whilst on tour. So ultimately, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that band is done. Listen to 'Anthology' off of Major/Minor. If a song that contains lyrics from all the songs your band has ever released doesn't say goodbye, I don't know what does. Hiatus is a nice way of putting, we're all still friends, we're not broken up, and we want to leave it open so that we can play or record in the future, but we have way more important things than this band right now. And those important things are likely to be important for a long time coming, because generally, you don't walk away from a solid music career for nothing. Hell, if you're the Deftones, and your bass player happens to be in a nearly-life-ending accident which leaves him with very little brain function or consciousness (prayers be with Chi Cheng), you actually scrap an entire album, telephone Sergio Vega, and record an all new album in a manner of months. Tour, wait for a year, and then start recording another one! So yeah, my opinion, Thrice: done. Thursday? Well they are on hiatus as well. A result of 'personal circumstances' that they won't get into, but talking about turning your band into a sporadic not for profit coalition sounds like you don't like the music industry and somebody (we all still get along, right?) doesn't want to tour and record anymore. That's okay, as unfortunately, both No Devolucion and Common Existence proved to be kind of a let down for me. It seemed that the passion was indeed gone from the band much earlier, and that this circumstance or struggle might have come a lot earlier. Either way, I don't expect to hear anything from them again except for one or two songs and an occaisional reunion tour.
Status: Not happening.

Finally there's the film Hard Core Logo 2. Why am I bringing this up? It's not a group nor an album at all, but a film. At the time the first Hard Core Logo was made, there was nothing wrong with Alt Rock, and it was extremely topical, because the current bands were really in to punk bands of the 80's and reunions and the difficult lives of musicians, etc. The film interpretation took some liberties. Is HCL2 just for thirty-somethings that remember the original? If you're not familiar, HCL2 is another film, mockumentary, done by Bruce MacDonald. He follows Canadian band Die Mannequin (real band - think "Do It Or Die and you'll remember) where the lead singer Care Failure indicates she was posessed by the spirit of Hard Core Logo's Joe Dick. I thought it was going to really blow, but the Canadiana wasn't bad, the music wasn't bad, the band wasn't bad, the story was a little contrived in the ending, but it was mostly okay. Again, the audience? Are there early 20 something hipsters enough to watch this and call it indie and love it, which will lead them back to the start, where alt-rock began?
Status: No Clue

So what will save alternative rock? I don't know.

Album of the summer:
I'd like to know what your album of the summer is going to be. It has to be an entire album. Send me an email, or tweet, or all the ways we have that we can be contacted.
Ed note A: We were able to see The Bronx open for Refused in Calgary, a fantastic pre-engagement party present given to me by my dear friend Grant. Refused was amazing. I was hoping I'd see some young people in the crowd. It was definitely people closer to our age (late 20's to mid 30's). This is a once-in-a-lifetime reunion tour that when Dennis Lyxzen said, "In 15 or 20 years when you tell people you saw Bronx open for Refused, they're not going to believe you." That being said, the day before, Sarah talked to a youngin' in West 49 who was attending the Edmonton date. He said he had been listening to Shape of Punk to Come since he was eleven or twelve. So hopefully some become more entranced. On the way down Grant said that I shouldn't be so hard on any sort of death on alternative rock, there's just a change in patterns, and right now the influence is 80's new wave. So I guess perhaps I more dislike this phase of music we're going through.Ed note B: Recently Tony Hajjar and Cedric Bixler sat down with Rolling Stone magazine, and indicated that they had been jamming, more than just their reunion shows, and suddenly the never has turned to never say never. They indicate that putting a lot behind them has lead to fun times on stage, and a new sound for At The Drive In. Will we ever get to hear this new sound? Maybe, maybe not. But as long as they're all still alive, and enjoy getting together to play, then there's hope.

NEXT ISSUE

-Breaking down the fringe; what's hot in theater

-Canadian's Massive Debt Load

-Summer Album Breakdown

THE POLITICAL ISSUE: Debate Score, Alberta Hates Gay People, Whatcott vs. Notely, The Shins and a Mercury Cougar PLUS what you didn't read in January.

THE POLITICAL ISSUE
Issue 1, Volume 2
April 17, 2012

A Note From The Editors


I believe that we have left the blog long enough that we can safely move on to volume 2. I was going to go a full year, but the delay in publishing to do work and being active, and our affiliate over at life without facebook (we weren't using facebook or using the computer very much for the last several months) had really sort of made this publication take a backburner position. That and not being able to make a proper list for the 'best of 2011' - which is included at the end of this issue, sans the 10 best albums of 2011 which is what was supposed to make the issue. Feel free to read the 'B' side of Volume 1 of OMPW after our political issue. It's spring again, we're facing an election, and the economy is changing. I can't see a better time to start Volume 2 of Out My Passenger Window. So without further ado, let's get to it.

On The Streets
Our on the streets section occurs somewhere behind 124th street, where a lowly 1970 Mercury Cougar has been left out in the snow (or what little of it we've had). In 1967, Mercury didn't have a car to compete in the pony car or musclecar wars. Borrowing from the Ford Mustang, the Cougar was extremely similar to the Mustang, initially sharing engine options from a 289 cubic inch V8 up to a big block FE series 390 cube mill. Later versions of the first generation car, which lasted until 1970, included the big 427 FE motor and the 428 cobra jet motor. The Cougar was supposed to be a luxury or up-branded and upscaled pony car. It would have things standard that were only optional on the Mustang. However, it's performance immediately changed its reputation. In 1967 and 1968, Mecury easily dispatched other Trans Am competitors in the SCCA trans am series with Dan Gurney. The car won Trans Am championships and as well, a NASCAR series especially designed for smaller displacement, smaller dimensioned cars. The Cougar took on the mighty Camaro and won with only a 289 cubic inch small block, before the mighty Boss 302 ever reigned supreme on the track in 1970. The XR-7 model could be seen as the 'GT' in the Mustang lineup, geared towards both luxury and performance. The car you're looking at must be extremely rare, as convertible Cougars were only available in the 1969 and 1970 model years. Effectively Ford Motor Company destroyed the great performance heritage this car had, and continued to develop it towards a luxury car. In 1971 the car grew larger, and larger still through the 70's no longer sharing a shape with the Mustang, but sharing it with the larger Torino/Montego instead. Finally it ended up on a fox bodied platform sharing architecture and body parts with the Thunderbird through the 80's and 90's, until finally becoming a small rounded coupe in the late 90's before the Cougar, and Mercury division, were killed off entirely due to cost saving measures. It's great to see this car. Unfortunately, there unquestionably should be a cover over it.

THE POLITICAL ISSUE

Alberta is facing an election on April 23rd, 2012. This time around, like the playoff hockey I've been watching, I don't remember a more exciting race, or one where there were unusual upsets and controversy. But unlike the playoffs, whoever wins the cup, wins the cup. Whoever wins this election holds the lives of millions of Albertans in their hands. Like hockey, I'm gonna break down a play by play of the debate.

THE DEBATE


An unprecedented amount of Albertans watched the debate this election season, with the changing of the PC's, to the presence of an even more right wing party in the Wild Rose Alliance, to Dr. Raj Sherman coming right out on television and calling his Liberal party a centrist party, distancing themselves from the left wing, the times, they are-a-changing. The PC party, being called, "Not your Dad's PC party, had to have Peter Lougheed himself get involved to defend Alison Redford. They've ruled the province since '71. Now people have a decision to make. But not a 'contentious one' if it is up to Danielle Smith, that is unless she has a referendum for one. I present to you, my take on the debate, impartial to any party.


Healthcare
The debate on healthcare is huge, due to the state of the system currently. While some haven't felt that Redford has done enough, and although it seems that Sherman has the answer as an E.R. doctor (yes, when he said he was, he actually was one, so that part is true, all Sherman Ego aside), Smith couldn't come up with a plan aside for having a potential third party system. Usually third party is a dirty word anywhere in Canada. Does the support of Smith show that healthcare really isn't the issue we thought it would be? In the healthcare discussion, the WR discussed the least about their platform for healthcare, where the PC's sort of reiterated what they already had done. In addition to this, they want to build something like 143 new clinics. The Liberals presented the most finite platform, with an increase in funding, especially to long term care facilities for seniors which would take them out of hospitals and free up hospital space.

Taxes
This is an important one. The Liberals want to increase taxes (and yeah, if you want to pay for essential services sometimes you need to do this) whereas any surplus we have WR would like to pay us per household in what has been dubbed 'Dani Bucks' - $300 per household. First of all, the Liberals. Now from an economist standpoint, what Sherman puts forward is what makes the most sense. He proposes a balanced budget based on taxes and not on money made from oil commodities. Anyone who has ever seen a Candex chart knows that oil as a commodity is extremely unpredictable. As well, tying your economy to anything that can be tied to economic cycles usually means we get exactly what we've had for years - cycles of prosperity and good times and cycles of emergencies, which is what Sherman argues with the fact we keep "hiring and then firing teachers" as the same goes with healtcare - we have times of expansions and upgrades - and then times of wage issues and strikes. Sherman indicates these would be modest increases to flatten out the cycles. Seems solid to me. The WRA was next to jump in indicating they were advocating balancing the budget, and this was a recurring theme throughout the debate. Although, I didn't get a sense of how the budget would have been balanced. Although Smith said she didn't want to ruin the 'Alberta advantage' - which I was also not really sure what she meant. Us having to pay more taxes to ensure essential services, I believe, is what she meant - that we're profitable, so we can balance our budget off of what we make from oil revenues. However, if we're paying this surplus to individuals how does that fit into the budget? This didn't seem to get answered. The PC's attacked this hard, and indicated they would not forego essential services or funding infrastructure expansion no matter what the cost. So we ended up with a glimpse of what the PC's wanted to do - which is present a budget that would fund things. I had the hardest time with trying to figure out the low PC support after the increase in support for schools and healthcare in their last budget that was recently passed that everyone seemed to be really happy with. So what did they do wrong? Well the NDP didn't point that out when it was their turn to go. Brian Mason indicated he would throw out the current budget, but his reiteration of what his party platform was became kind of murky. Let's just say the longer the debate went, the more I felt the NDP became out of touch with things.

WRP Platform
As a new party, I think most people were most intrigued to see what the Wild Rose had to offer, and so one of the questions was strictly about what their platform was. The first thing that came up, of course, was that Smith would not rule on 'contentious issues' as she has repeated over and over on television in the last few weeks. Her party is essentially under fire for some of the views her candidates hold, and the anti-homosexual and anti-abortion agenda that some of her candidates have shown. Smith has not outright condemned these members, and therefore it has raised questions of this party's moral extremism. So suddenly we are talking about having referendums to suddenly decide whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to be married, and that those would go in front of a judge. I felt it was a cheap shot that Smith used the right of women to vote as an example of how this is a good thing. Sherman was next to jump in and indicate that these issues have already been ruled on, why would we go back to them? The NDP had a chance to show up the Wild Rose by discussing standing up for people's rights. Ultimately this one ended with the question that what is exactly the WR platform about abortions and homosexual rights, and would they have a referendum to make gay marriage illegal here, while they could maybe be focusing on funding senior health facilities?

No - Meet Committee
Was this a game for Smith to win, or for Redford to lose? If she did, the no meet committee was the one that hit her hard. Unfortunately, some of her inaction or mis-action over the time as premier designate probably spoke louder than words in a debate ever could. In spite of what I'd call a pretty good budget that she had passed, the no meet committee hurt her before she could even get up to a podium. Ultimately, this is where the mudslinging took place, and the only question that really came out of it was one of political transparency. I don't feel there was any issue here to argue except the NDP took a giant shot when it came out that Strathcona Edmonton incumbant Rachel Notely did not pay back her no meet committee pay, unlike the PC party who were whipped into paying the money back (party whip - it's a real term people).

Liberals - Eliminating Funding For Private Schools
The next question was posed to Sherman, who in his platform wants to consolidate funding to public schools, in his words, it's public money, it should go to public education, and stop funding private schools. The NDP were first to respond, with a simple iteration that the NDP would make education a priority. I felt fairly disappointed. This response pretty much gave Mason the chance to sit on a bench and wait, because his response did nothing for the NDP. He had a chance to attack Sherman for a fairly ambitious plan for change, but instead put out a vague iteration of NDP values. It was kind of sad. Instead, Redford scored some points by indicating how well the current education system was working, and that the PC's would continue to fund education infrastructure - which is already in their budget, so there was nothing new there. The strange thing was the post-secondary tuition debate that ensued. Smith jumped in and indicated she would eliminate tuition fees. It wasn't clear how though, since she had been beating a balanced budget to death, not to mention post secondary institutions are private institutions that cost billions a year to run. Where would we get that money while paying out our entire surplus and not raising taxes? And this is my own personal question and where I felt that Smith started losing this debate by flip flopping her platform. It was, to me, like saying you could quit work and pay off all your debts without having any income whatsoever. The liberals promised free tuition and tuition decreases, but of course, Sherman had already indicated that would come from 'modest' tax increases.

Integrity
The question was then posed, first to the PC, about integrity. This is where I thought Redford beat down Smith, but the polls after indicated otherwise. First, Redford indicated that Smith had paid ex PC's hundreds of thousands of dollars to cross the floor. Smith agreed to doing this. Personally, I think that's not good. Paying people to be in a specific party seems like...well...what do those people believe in? Don't they want to be in a party that represents their beliefs? Or is it that they just believe in the almighty dollar? Later Smith would go on a pretentious rant about how she didn't have experience in x, and didn't have experience in y, etc. I thought that killed Smith, but, apparenltly according to Ipsos - Reid, she won the debate in Albertan's eyes? Sherman took the opportunity at the end to indicate that the PC's couldn't be trusted.

Wild Rose Energy Dividend
'Dani Bucks' came up in the debate. Smith answered by saying she believed that our oil surplus were 'Albertan's money and they should have it back.' Unfortunately, she then flip flopped, when she said they couldn't cut taxes, which was directly against an earlier comment about her cutting taxes. The PC, NDP and Liberals all agreed the money should be invested. Smith beat more on her balanced budget idea, but didn't really explain why the budget was currently not balanced in her eyes, or how she was going to achieve this.

NDP Balance Of Power
Mason was asked what he would do if the NDP should end up being the split and holding the balance of power. While I felt that he didn't really present the party's platform as what he would do or wants to do the Liberals and Sherman took the opportunity to drop a bombshell by calling themselves a centrist party citing the nasty divorce of two right wing parties. So apparently the Liberals are no longer a left wing party.

Editors Final Take
So as I turned off the television, I felt very afraid. I felt afraid of the fact that the Wild Rose Alliance seemed to flip flop, and didn't come out and indicate what they were going to do about this 'balanced budget' Smith kept pushing, as well as this referendum business. I had the most respect for the Liberals who presented clear ideas that made sense. Redford, I felt got in some pretty good shots, but I felt she could have indicated they passed a happy budget already. Finally, it seemed to me the NDP were just really out of touch, they didn't really put any points on the board. Quite honestly, I felt a lot of people were going to vote PC to strategically vote against the WRA after the debate, but I was surprised by the IR poll that came out immediately after where the WRA were described as winning the debate and being the popular party here. To me, there's not much solid or obvious about what is in the WRA's plan, just that people like them because they are right wing, and that's what we are in Alberta, but the PC's have lost people's confidence, so they can't vote for that right wing party anymore. It is clear to me what is totally wrong with the WRA, and you can read that in the other sections of this issue. Ultimately, the debate should have been about an hour longer, but I'm happy so many Albertans are getting involved and becoming educated.

ALBERTA HATES GAYS (and minorities)

Sentiments of Wild Rose Candidates Make Their Support Numbers Confusing

In the last couple of days you've no doubt heard the sentiments of some of the Wild Rose candidates revealed. Starting with pastor Allan Hunsperger, a pastor in a Calgary riding, who blog posted his personal views about Gays, and although the news items are easy to find in the Calgary Herald, I don't need to reiterate them here. Let's just indicate there was nothing positive there. Smith defended her candidate indicating it was free speech and opinion, and he is obviously allowed to have his views, even though they don't represent what he'd do in office. My first thought is one, I thought a person joined a political party based on their values and ideals because the party also represented those values and ideas. I happened to be wrong about that when Smith admitted to paying candidates during the debate to cross the floor to her party. In the meantime, I will join the critics in saying how can a person with this sentiment about Gays protect them against hate speech, bullying in schools, hate crimes, etc, when they believe that to protect them and love them the way they are is harm towards them? Regardless of what Hunsperger's political agenda is, his personal agenda is that gay people should be changed to straight people.

Then there's this (hat-tip to Kaleb D. for posting this which brought it to my attention) in which another Calgary Wildrose candidate Ron Leech seems to indicate a clear segregation of visable minority groups, and that his whiteness allows him to be a better overall leader. The funny thing about this is he indicates something like Muslims would be better at talking to Muslims; and while this might be true (as a 29 year old, most mid twenty to early 30 year old people could probably identify with me more than they could a 50 year old - and as a catholic most catholics could probably identify more with me than with a baptist), the idea that a white person could lead better than anyone (ie in his statements - As a Caucasian I can speak to all the community) is extremely racist. I wonder how Barack Obama would feel about that statement. I wonder how bad Dr. Raj Sherman would kick this guy's ass in a ring. Sherman looks like he could do some damage. 

And then there's the affiliation with Bill Whatcott, which we'll get to in the next segment. Doing a little sleuth work (hat tip to Jeremy C. for this one) on daveberta.ca, an independent political blog, it indicates all the Wild Rose Party's Candidate's alliances. Most to do with anti-gay or anti-abortion, pro-life extremist.

Towards the election there are going to be more of these, no doubt, surfacing, and from other parties as well, as the Wild Rose tries to cover it's ass by simply naming similar things other parties might have done, while Smith inexplicably defends the actions and views of these individuals.

Ultimately the question comes up in the end not necessarily about these candidates' views, but as to why they are so far ahead of the polls. Truly, Albertans can't be blind to these are they? We can make either two assertions about the people in our home province. One, they are totally ignorant. If that is not the case than it is Two, they agree with these people's views. That means Albertans hate abortions and gays. 

But you know, Wild Rose won't rule on contentious issues. They certainly wouldn't have an agenda on them.

Whatcott vs. Notley (and why you should care)

Infamous social conservative and Red State

You may have seen Kevin Smith's movie Red State, where a (spoiler) fundamentalist church terrorizes a town until the ATP finally gets into a huge firefight with them and takes them out (end spoiler). Bill Whatcott, polishing his gun collection on the John Stewart show frighteningly reminded me of Red State. It all started when Sarah and I had left one evening, and came back to our home with a flier of an aborted fetus on the front of it, calling out the local NDP candidate Notley. A quick background on Bill Whatcott would have informed me entirely, however, I didn't know how infamous he was at the time. I emailed Bob Layton from Global/CHED. Layton indicated that he didn't usually make pieces on individuals like this, because it gave them the media they were looking for, but he would look into it. My bud Jeremy C. took a look into it and came up with a lot of links, including the one above from daveberta.ca. Now, what is the deal here? One, it is creepy to have a person like this in your own back yard. To think he has stood on my steps makes me shudder. The fact he has a gun collection is even worse. The second is his political affiliation. At first, we couldn't really figure out why Notley? Was it because she was the former head of UNA and Whatcott claimed to be a male nurse (how could a person like this nurse - that requires caring for all types). But it was in Saskatchewan where his nursing license came under review. He has been in trouble with the law for his views and tactics dating back to 2001. Who has been helping him get off the hook? According to daveberta.ca, it is current Wild Rose candidate John Carpay. Just have a little knowledge who a party might be affiliated with before you vote for them.

I HAVE NO EDITOR

OMPW B-Sides

So I said I had an unfinished blog that I wrote that didn't come out. It is below, uncensored and unedited. Enjoy!

The Best of 2011

We're set to wrap up the year that was with discussion about news events, music, and all sorts of stuff that you might have forgoten happened, that I have something to say about. So, without further ado, your 2011 wrap up.

The Best News Items

Of course, this is going to vary depending on where you live, but over here in YEG, we have probably a few different things that hit us hard than some other potential news items.

Tsunami
Early in the year Japan experienced an offshore-earthquake and a subsequent Tsunami that it is still recovering and cleaning up from. While the catastrophic death and injury toll was one thing, we can usually expect a few natural disasters a year. It was the magnitude of this natural disaster that made the world pay attention. Not to ever rate the severety of a natural disaster where lives are lost; this one made the world switch on because of what it did to a highly developed and industrialized country. Not only did Japan's manufacturing market shut down, but the fallout from factories literally obliterated meant that the economic effects would be felt globally. Chrysler had to delay their production of the new 300 simply because the black paint they used came out of a Japanese factory. Speaking of fallout, it also damaged a nuclear power plant, of which the effects are still being studied, and thought to be far worse than what Japan initially told the world. The disaster raised the question again about the safety of nuclear power.

Human Rights
Starting with only the 2nd issue of this publication, we examined how Florida had decided to drug test welfare recipients. This sparked much debate regarding the right to welfare. This was impacted even more when things took a turn for the worst.

Double-Dip Recession
Things were already tough when we ran our (un)employment issue on June 13. In fact it was only about to get worse. By August, the second recession was in full swing, and with mounting unemployment and economic hardships globally, the 'occupy wall street' movement became the 'occupy everywhere' movement, and spread accross cities in the US and Canada. I don't want to brag, but our Edmontonian occupy protesters seemed to be the least violent, and most respectful of their space. Mounting tensions resulting from Greece's failing economy meant the EU had to create a bailout package. The US nearly defaulted on debt payments and had to ask for an increased debt cieling from their lenders and central bank. This caused their credit rating to drop from AAA to AA+, which seems like a funny arbitrary rating, but is actually quite serious. Unemployment was sky high right through to the end of the year.The second quarter results showed double digit inflation in food prices, gas prices, utilities and insurance prices. Therefore, although average inflation was only 3%, the stuff you actually buy on a normal basis had increased in price by 14%, and as much as 27% in some cases. Imagine that you paid $3.50 for 4L (a gallon) of milk last year. That price would be $4.45 this year. What?

Poor Students
In October, the BC Securities commission released their report indicating how badly-off our society is currently. It was revealed that the average post secondary graduate between 25-34 only makes $31,000 a year. It was also found that debt runs as high as $18,000 already by the time most people turn 20. In addition to that, student unemployment in this age range is as high as 14%. Some suggested student loan bailouts for an entire generation that is failing economically.

Shrinking Middle Class
Canada also released the wellness index towards the end of the year, indicating how 'well off' people generally are, not tied to the CPI or other economic indexes. It was found that while salaries haven't increased in relation to other markets, things like housing prices had increased a full 30%. So while we make comparitively the same, we pay 30% more to live. This added fuel to the fire regarding what the occupy protesters were talking about. The protest had all been over when this little tidbit of information came out, proving that we're working 30% harder just to keep our lifestyle the same.

The Death of Jack Layton
It was hard to say goodbye to a world-class politician. And even if you weren't a fan of the NDP, you had to recognize what a huge role in Canadian politics Jack Layton had played, especially in the last 10 years before his death, and in the last election, gaining huge momentum for the NDP and its egalitarian platforms. Even if you were a hardcore conservative, everyone benefited from Layton's presence, and he will be sorely missed. We won't soon forget the shots from the Olympics, while he watched our Canadian team from his local pub, with a beer in hand.

Kim Kardashian
While there was a royal wedding that so many followed, many more people tuned in to pay attention to Kim Kardashian's sham wedding and divorce. The ramifications of which left such a sour taste in most people's mouths to finally realize that following celebrities, especially those who are famous for nothing is a complete waste of time. In fact, Kardashian's BS was so hyped, it took our focus off of Lindsay Lohan, who apparently got arrested about 3 more times this year, and posed for playboy. I can guarantee right now that when I go to look at my site tracker, the most often search input into my google search bar from this page to the next one will be a search for 'Lindsay Lohan Playboy Pictures' - just wait. I'll give you the results as they come available.

Edmonton Infrastructure, Homicides and Sports
It was a crazy year for Edmonton in itself, actually. We followed homicide rates of 45, a record beating the old one by what 7, or 10? Something like that? Most of the murders were contributed to a homeless/drug user epidemic in the city. Attributed to homeless or drug users who are not of sound reasoning when the majority of these homicides occured. Aside from the homicides, we managed to approve a brand new Arena for the Oilers. This was much to the enjoyment and dismay of many people. We finished another wing of the Henday, we saw Scona Road get an overhaul, the completion of the 23rd ave overpass, and about 1000 other roadway projects because labour and materials were simply cheaper this year. We saw the argument over BMO 63 take place, the completion of the new EPCOR tower and a lot of other construction projects sure to change Edmonton's skyline. Finally, a replacement for the Walterdale bridge was discussed. Much to many people's chagrin, the Alberta Museum got stiffed by Rona Ambrose, so that won't be changing. And not to leave our Oilers as the only sports team talked about, our Capitals baseball team won a championship, and the Eskimos finally made the playoffs, but did not advance to the Western Final. Immediately after, Eric Tillman would destroy the team, and trade Ricky Ray to Toronto for virtually nothing. This was again, much to the dismay of many, and the enjoyment of others (namely Toronto).

New Music - The Shins - Port of Morrow

Band that debuted on the Garden State soundtrack outlived the film

This album is but a few weeks old, maybe a month, and the lead off single, Simple Song, has put itself in a lot of people's heads. The Shins officially started in 2001, making it over 10 years since their first single was done for independent label Sub Pop, after being asked to contribute a single to the 'single of the month club' - but at that time they were still relatively unknown. It wasn't really until 2002's Oh Inverted World made an appearance with the song New Slang on the Garden State soundtrack that really jumpstarted the band's international success. Port Of Morrow is officially their fourth full length album, and the first since leaving Sub Pop for their own label. That's right, The Shins are still one of the world's biggest independent bands. Port of Morrow takes a step up from where Wincing The Night Away left off, and although WTNA was a fantastic album, it doesn't seem to hold a candle to the songwriting portrayed here on their latest release, and that says a lot. Aside from Simple Song, notable tracks include For A Fool, which has a very nice lounge/blues vibe, 40 Mark Strasse, and the title track Port of Morrow, which is a fantastic song that you will hear some vocal elements that were present in Broken Bells. Really, this is one of those albums where there isn't a song you're going to skip, and that's why I'm talking about it. This is an album where I actually memorize song titles so I can go back and listen to them again. And on that front, for the tracks I have memorized and would go back and listen to, it gets a solid 8/10. There's only one or two songs on this album I haven't been interested in listening to all that much, but I still didn't skip 'em.

Next Issue

-The Car Issue - Sarah Holly Karb from LWOFB and I walk the Edmonton Auto show and give our best picks for 2012, so if you're going shopping know what to look for. Watch the hilarious video we shot as well!

-Volume 1 retrospective - check out a little ride through the first volume of OMPW, with our artwork and more!

Don't miss it!

PS - thank you to all our readers for putting us over 1000 hits, and making us the #1 source to search for a picture of an Ikea Stockholm coffee table on Google!

UPDATE

While we work on getting you the best of 2011 issue ready, we'd like to announce we're expanding. While we no longer have a facebook outlet; we'll be moving into other media forms to suppliment our articles, with videos and news snippets.

Check us out on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/OMPWmag

Also, check us out on You Tube, soon to be bringing you videos:

Channel: OMPWmagazine

Add me on Twitter, I'll add you back! It's a great way to follow the blog. It's also a great way for me to talk about things that are not long enough for the magazine, but long enough for 140 characters or less.

Look for the new issue soon!