today, I was writing my mother a mother's day card and burst into tears. There was no one in my house, and I had Radical Face playing in the basement and I cried for a while. 

I think one of the most stressful things someone would ever have to deal with is having a chilled who is at such a stress point as myself and a few other people I know.

And for that, I thank my mother. As much as I get pissed off at her, and as much as it may seem that she doesn't help when it comes to all the things that are going on for me right now, she does, even if I don't want to admit it. She's the strongest woman I know, and I just hope she can help me out in that department.

On a less sentimental note:

The Vines are such a weird fuckin band. I never liked them, really, because of all the stuff I heard on muchmusic and the radio and everything. All that fast paced cymbal-mashing powerchord-jamming hoarse-voice-yelling indie shit that I never wanted to deal with. But after looking through a few of my recieved files, I listened to some of their slower stuff Seb sent me, and loved it! To continue in my experiment, I downloaded their album, Highly Evolved, and listened to it. Anything that could be labelled "slow rock" or something of that nature, I enjoyed quite a bit. Everything else, I hated just as much as I did a few years ago. Obviously, there are bands who have songs I like, and songs I don't like. But never has it been as defined as this. Rad.

I bought Wafers for a dollar and then saw David Suzuki walking around down town. 

All of the above is true.

And When you unravel, the secret will travel

Newly discovered artist Menomena MAKES MY LIFE. they're such an appealing group of artists, I'm glad Lauren brought them to my attention. 
slash new freinds how exciting.
Had a pretty great Easter up at Emilie's cottage...too bad fer my mum though, first time neither of her boys had been home for bunny-weekend. Sorry love. 

Time to go slay the beast ladies and gents. 

p.s. Sabrina come hang out with me.

Write ten potentially strange facts about yourself - sort-of-not-really-a-little-bit-tagged-by-lovely-sabrina

1. I am totally fascinated by airplanes. I have flown over a dozen times and still think that they're amazing. While waiting for our plane in Dorval to take us to London, I sat for no less then two hours by the giant windows and watched aeroplanes do aeroplane things and never lost interest. Seven year old boys have nothing on me.
2. I am very critical and definite when it comes to my musical tastes; I always have a jargon-full list of reasons as to why I like or dislike a band. The potentially strange part of this is the exception of two bands, Third Eye Blind and Soul Asylum, who I think are great bands for just that reason..."They're just great bands."
3. Thirty seconds before I started writing this, I discovered that at the very end of the album O by Damien Rice, and album which I have had and adored and listened to religiously for 3 years, there is a recording of Silent Night. How did I miss that?
4. The most interesting thing about this list to me is that no one knows what number three would have been had I not made the discovery of the hidden recording.
5. I think that people are extraordinarily interesting. The fact that everyone has a different story, a different future and a handful of things that would be cool to learn about at a party is amazing. Because of this, people-watching and having intimate conversations with people who are probably not all the down for an intimate conversation are a few of my favorite things to do. They have both had very awkward results.
6. The amount of milk that I have drank over my life is probably larger then the amounts of water that alot of people have drank over their lives.
7. When I'm very stoned, verbal language becomes one of the most disgusting things.
8. My homepage is mugglenet.com, the leading harry potter fan site in the world. (I'm almost legally an adult...)
9. One of the most therapeuticaly (sp?) calming and centering things for me is balancing on curbs and ledges while walking.
10. My favorite words are "Jazz", "Stage" and "Standard"

Things I did today:

-Woke up
-Coughed alot
-Decided I was officially sick again. Fuckle.
-Went to String Ensemble practice.
-Played double bass
-Decided to go home
-Walked with Lauren for a bit
-Went to the library. apparently that shit doesn't open up until ten.
-Went to Shoppers in Rideau; bought cough drops and Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet for 10 dollars
-Went to chapters; bought "Club Zero-G", a graphic novel by Douglas Rushkoff, writer of "Ecstasy Club", and another book called "Kill Whitey"
-Read Club Zero-G on the bus home while drinking an Iced Caramel Machiatto (amAZING)
-Got home, watched some Carnivale then some R+J, then Emilie came over and I watched R+J again.
-Decided that Zoe Hussey and Claire Danes are the same people and thought "that's rad."
-Downloaded Damien Rice's phenomenal new album, 9. Not as good as his debut, but still amazing.
And that's about it. I'm so glad there's no school tommorow/pissed off cause I could have pulled another sick day but now it's just wasted. Oh well...now I don't feel guilty.
Oh Sucrets....

Today's topic-
Joshua Bullen's Top Six Most Talented Male Vocalists in Popular Rock

Here's one I've always wanted to make, and so I decided to do it tonight (instead of going to jazz band or kicking off my copious pile of homework). This is based on a mixture of honest-to-goodness vocal talent and the ever-important element of style. It was hard choosing six, and even harder choosing a proper order (I'm still not satisfied with it) but here it is.

6. Brandon Boyd (Incubus) - I'm upset that I couldn't put Boyd up higher in the list, but he's got a lot of competition. Brandon Boyd is a belter. I could never picture him singing in a church choir or a small chamber group because he puts too much energy and emotion into his singing. When you listen to him wail, you can just imagine his face, tight on the top with his eyes closed as hard as they can, and his lower jaw dropping to the general vicinity of his navel. And even when he sings whispers, it's still got so much intensity to it, lighting the tracks on fire. His range is huge, and he jumps with more confidence then Evil Kineival. However, were Incubus to have another vocalist, it would destroy the band, as well as ruin Boyd's strengths. A solo singer through and through.

5. Thom Yorke (Radiohead, solo) - My decision to put Thom Yorke on this list comes from my experiences listening to his solo album, Eraser, more then his work with Radiohead. Although he proves himself worthy on his Radiohead albums (OK Computer in particular), it is when he is left alone to his own devices that he can truly shine. All of the tunes on Eraser were composed with no fear and what must have been an unhealthy quest for self-challenge. Some of the most technical singing the genre has seen since FM (see number one on this list). More then difficult, his ornate melodies are stylistic and unheard of, pushing not only the limits of his voice, but of musical structure as we know it. 

4. Martin Sexton (solo) - Probably one of my favorite songwriters, however that's irrelevant here. Man o man, this boy can soar. Best known for his Falsetto and his ability to leap octaves plus in a single bound, Martin Sexton is as good as they get when it comes to givin' er on those high register passages. His tuning is as precise as a scalpel, and his voice holds a warm vebrato, even in what is normally a shrill and painful range.

3. Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) - I've mentioned how much I love this guys singing to my freinds before, and always get the same reaction. "You like Linkin Park? Fag." or some similar idea. First of all, let's let it be known that yeah, I do think Linkin Park is a pretty rad ensemble. They definatly came out with a sound that nobody had seen before, and they do it very well. It's too bad they can only do it well with one chord progression. We all have our goods and bads. ANYWAYS. As I was saying, people often question my taste of bands when I say that Bennington is a great vocalist. This is why people suck. Chester could sing for the White fuckin Stripes and I'd still love him (yeah, that's right, I don't like the WS. Bring it you on you obscure, Indie jerks). He's a phenomenal singer, whether or not he's caught in a less-then-phenomenal group. I was always loved his voice and have never stopped being impressed by his rugged yet soft juxtaposition when he sings. I have yet to hear him sing anything with extreme technical demands, however his ability to hold his notes, letting them stretch on forever, and the sense of power coming from his lungs is what really got him on this list.

2. Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes) - Unfortunatly, I haven't heard nearly enough Black Crowes material to satisfy me. They're a bluesy rock jam band who came out of the mid eighties, and have toured with such acts as Oasis, Jimmy Page, and Tom Petty. I wish they had made it bigger then they did, they certainly deserved it. Chris Robinson's voice cannot have justice done in simple words. I suggest you all go out and listen to a few tunes (I'd suggest getting your hands on some live/acoustic recordings if you can, that's when he really opens up). He's an amazing vocalist, with so much pressure and style.

1. Freddy Mercury (Queen) - If you didn't see this coming, then that's just plain silly. This man was a god among us. He really took rock and roll for a spin with his boys from London when they hit the scene in the 1970's. Rock and Roll doesn't really require a talented singer, it's true, and sad. Freddy Mercury and his "Opera Rock" style more then made up for the lack of talent in all those less then good singers of the time. It's too bad he passed away, I really don't think Queen can ever be the same without him.

FIN!
hope you enjoyed...but don't take my word for it, GO LISTEN!

some honorable mentions who didn't quite make it on to the list - 
The boys from Dispatch, Great Big Sea and Guster.
Howard Jones, from Killswitch Engage
The singer from Bedlight for Blue Eyes (his name is something weird, I don't remember it...)
John Mayer (oh god Joshua...)
Rufus Wainwright (Very talented, but I find him annoying on a few tracks)

goodbye
-The Shua

Man o Man, St. Anne and Quebec city was the bomb. Dagobert? Yes please.

So much intoxication by everybody...pretty ridiculous. Made some new freinds.

And somebody's in trouble...

And oh my god, 13 days till McGill auditon...

-The Shua

Hello all you People I Can Do Without,
Bumming in London with Dony right now. Just been having some fun. Went to their formal, which was pretty rad, had to get snuck in (apparently I'm still 17) which worked out perfectly. Then we went back to Ian's house, smoked a sufficient amount of pot and then had the best jam session of my life. The line up was an acoustic guitar playing rythm, an electric guitar doing fills/countermelodies and stuff, an electric bass, a mini set (snare and two cymbals with soft sticks), a piano, a few singers, me on Djembe and an amped cello. It was pretty rad, especially since I was stoned as fuck. And it made me want to go into music even more (I was the only non-music major in the room). Since then I've just been doing whatever. I visited with Helix on the way up, which was also really awesome.

Another list from the depths of Joshua Bullen's book of junk:

5 Things I Think Hipsters Need to Realize
-Reading comic books/graphic novels in an ironically un-ironic fashion is neat.
-Enjoying classical music is rad (even if you aren't a music major), but only if you refer to it in the manner of "Yeah, Beethoven and shit" while in the company of non-classical music fans. HOWEVER you then have a half hour period in which you must make reference to your like of a trendy, smart recording artist who has released an album within the past five years (not including reunions, re-releases or B-sides).
-If you happen to purchase an iPod, you have two weeks before it becomes unacceptable to be seen using the ears buds it came with. (On the same note, it is NEVER acceptable to be seen using ear buds on any non-Apple appliance)
-Wearing T-shirts with funny writing on them is always much funnier to you then to anyone else.
-Enjoying "all kinds of music" is unnacceptable. There must be one fairly vague genre which you don't like, with the allowance of one artist or up to three songs as an exception.
so I cant get LJ cuts to work...again...and so I apologize for taking up so much room...heres a neat survey. If I end up having a few hours to blow, maybe I'll go through this again and give each movie a pro, con, and interesting fact.