The list of My Favourite Albums of the Decade will have to wait. I'm still working on it, but I was finding that I was putting albums for artists or bands that I only have half the album for. The reason? I couldn't believe that they would miss out on my decade lists.
After posting my favourite songs of the decade yesterday, I listened to the playlist. As much as I loved every song, I still felt that it didn't really represent me or the music I listened to throughout the decade. Twenty five songs wasn't enough...there were so many songs I loved, loved, loved that should have been on that list. Some weren't because...
they weren't known enough
they were overplayed on the radio
they were guilty pleasures (for my ears only)
they were too recent
they weren't the hits off the albums
I thought that perhaps they weren't worthy to post as best of the decade...but they still are best of the decade in my heart and songs I listened to hundreds of times.
I started using iTunes in 2005 and started making yearly CDs then. The only yearly CD I have prior to those is of the songs I was listening to in 1999/2000.
I did make CDs between 2000 and 2005, but not yearly compilations.
By quickly going through the 2400 songs, I ended up with a playlist of 225 songs that I thought worthy of including as my favourites during the past decade. I got it down to over 100, then over 50...before finally arriving at a Top 25! Some cuts were painful (some of which I would consider my favourite songs of all time). They would have made it if I had kept artists/bands to single entries, but I couldn't choose just one. This is as low as I'm willing to go (so too many for a CD).
Here they are...the 25 songs I loved the most from 2000-2009:
I can't believe how low some of these songs are when numbered. I just loved the Coldplay, Keane and The Killers songs so much that I just bunched them all in the top 10.
Actually, there are other songs that I love as much as some of these and that I listened to more...but this was the more legitimate list. Some of the songs I loved loved loved barely made a dimple in the big pool of music so I figured I was way too biased to include them in a decade list (although I did include a few). At least some of them appear in my yearly lists. There are also many more Keane, Coldplay and Killers songs that I didn't include.
It really was a great decade for music!! Hoping the 10's will be just as great!
Tomorrow, I will post my favourite albums of the decade...stay tuned!
What were your favourite songs of the decade? If you blogged about it, feel free to link to your blog (including favourite albums, tv shows, movies or any other best of list you wrote about from the past decade). I'd love to see them.
Back in October, I wrote a post about my favourite songs of the decade. Absolute Radio UK had opened the voting to their listeners, and I chose my top 12 from the songs eligible from their chart. You can read that post here.
My choices were:
Viva La Vida by Coldplay
Somewhere Only We Know by Keane
Beautiful Day by U2
Where is the Love by Black Eyed Peas
American Idiot by Green Day
You're Beautiful by James Blunt
Bad Day by Daniel Powter
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (spent almost 2 years on the charts - 91 weeks)
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor by Arctic Monkeys
All These Things That I've Done by The Killers
These Things by Natasha Bedingfield
Smile by Lily Allen
I am interested to see how my choices compared to other listeners since the list has been compiled and announced.
Their Top 10 looks like this:
Mr. Brightside by The Killers (I'm shocked!! in a good way)
Dakota by Stereophonics
Sex of Fire by Kings of Leon (interestingly just heard this as #200 on Edge 102.1)
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (saw them open for U2 this past summer)
One Day Like This by Elbow (saw them open for Coldplay this past summer)
Run by Snow Patrol
5 Colours in Her Hair by McFly (really?)
American Idiot by Green Day
All These Things That I've Done by The Killers
Somewhere Only We Know by Keane
I find it interesting that Snow Patrol and Elbow who I saw as opening acts this year are in the top 10 but the bands they opened for are not.
I remember hearing about McFly a few years back (when I used to watch Top of the Pops) but don't know any of their songs. Pretty scary that they have #7, #12, #14, #16, #18, #21...ok, I'll take a break here to say that I am blogging live as I look at the list.
I saw that Fix You by Coldplay was #11 (Love Love Love that song!!), saw McFly at 12 and 14 and thought I would mention how crazy it is that McFly have so many in the top 20 and as I was scrolling down, kept seeing more.
So now, I was up to 6 songs by McFly...let me continue (have I mentioned that this is crazy?)...#26, #29, #31, #33, #34, #35, #37, #39, #42, and #46. That's 16 songs in the top 50!!
OK, enough of that sidetrack. I can't like every song so will ignore the very passionate and dedicated McFly fans who voted, voted and voted!
So how did my songs do?
#17 Viva La Vida by Coldplay #10 Somewhere Only We Know by Keane #48 Beautiful Day by U2 Where is the Love by Black Eyed Peas #8 American Idiot by Green Day You're Beautiful by James Blunt Bad Day by Daniel Powter #4 Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (spent almost 2 years on the charts - 91 weeks) #24 I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor by Arctic Monkeys #9 All These Things That I've Done by The Killers These Things by Natasha Bedingfield Smile by Lily Allen
I thought of any Best Of list out there, Absolute Radio's would be the one that would more closely match my musical taste...and it does, but not in the way I thought. There is SO much band repetition. If I had really chosen my top songs, I guess I would have had many Keane, Coldplay and Killers songs (so I guess this list matches mine) but I preferred to have variety and choose females, males and bands for my top 12.
The list has so little variety. There are 16 McFly songs but as I was scrolling down, was also shocked (in a pleasant way, but also in a huh? way that Keane have so many).
If you know me just a little, you will know that I LOVE Keane. I love almost every song they have released. I have seen them in concert 6 times...but even I have to say that some of the songs on the list shouldn't be in the top 100 songs of the decade. I follow Keane on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Google Reader. I don't remember them sending out messages urging their fans to vote so I'm not sure how they managed to get 10 songs on the list. I guess like McFly, they have very passionate and dedicated fans.
Other bands with multiples include: Muse with 11, The Killers with 7, Green Day with 7, and Coldplay with 6. These 6 bands have 57 of the top 100 songs.
I do have to admit, that my list of 12 are not really my favourite songs of the decade. For some of my choices, I chose what I thought was the most popular song by my favourite artist or band, thinking that my favourite song didn't have a chance to make it. Turns out, my Keane, Coldplay and Killers favourites made it anyway.
The other reason for my choices is that the songs you could vote for had to have been on Absolute Radio charts during the decade. Many of my favourite songs of the decade weren't available for voting.
So what are my true favourite songs of the decade? I'm working on that list and will post tomorrow. I have almost 2400 songs that made it into my iTunes playlists from 2000-2009 so it will take me a bit of time to narrow it down.
2009 was an interesting year in music for me. I'm not excited about the best of lists being published in the media whether they are critics' lists or best-selling lists.
My taste in music this year was not mainstream or considered critics' choices. There were not many albums that I loved as a whole. I seemed to pick and choose from here and there.
But I did LOVE music this year...
I downloaded/uploaded just under 500 songs in 2009.
The playlist entitled Songs I Loved in 2009 had 250 songs, which I first narrowed down to 90 songs, then 45. It was difficult to get it down to just a few. I think, in part, it's that there weren't that many songs that I loved, loved, loved this year. I loved a LOT of songs, but to say that I could make a CD of the Songs I Loved in 2009 and still love it 5 years from now, I don't think I could.
I look back at my previous lists, and there are some incredible songs on them. I wonder if any of my 2009 songs would make my best of the decade list.
I Loved them, but didn't Looooooove them.
And now, since I listed so many of the songs I loved on this week's post My Year in Music and any of them could make my top 20 (it was too difficult to choose which ones would make it and which ones wouldn't), I have narrowed my list down to my Top 9 of 09!
Uprising by Muse (my pick for Best Song of the Year)
You Know Me by Robbie Williams
Back 2 U by Roz Bell
In My Head by Until June
Moment of Surrender by U2
Come Find Me by Remi Nicole
Coming Up Easy by Paolo Nutini
The Fear by Lily Allen
Last Year's Snow by Cribs
Favourite 9 Albums of 2009:
U2
Ross Copperman
Kasabian
Robbie Williams
K'naan
Roz Bell
Manic Street Preachers
Mat Kearney
Arctic Monkeys
Well, it took me a long time to finally finish this post. I started it on December 27th, hoping to post it on the 31st...but didn't manage to get it complete. Then my cousin from the Montreal area arrived. Her son was playing football yesterday at the Rogers Centre for a High-School All-Star Game between Quebec and the Greater Toronto Area so they were staying with us for a few days. They just left this morning so I finally sat down to complete this post.
So a belated Happy New Year and Happy New Decade!!
Sz♬
P.S. To answer the comment on My Year In Music, I'm happy to make a CD for anyone who was looking forward to it (wouldn't want to break a tradition)!
Best concert experience: At the U2 concert when the bridge that Bono would use to travel from the stage to the catwalk moves over and stops in front of us
Favourite Video: Bones by The Killers My first time at a General Admissions show in an arena...an experience I would repeat two more times in 2009 (Coldplay at ACC and U2 at Rogers Centre)...to be THAT close was amazing, especially when Brandon reaches into the crowd!
Favourite photo(s): Coldplay at Air Canada Centre
and David Cook (I couldn't pick between these two!)
Biggest surprise: Temper Trap Had only known their music for a short time, but was wowed at the concert! and Champion Knew they would be amazing (even if it's not my music genre), but didn't expect to be jumping along with the crowd (or in the front row)
Best sing-a-long: Go Square Go by Glasvegas Why Does It Always Rain on Me by Travis
Best Mosh Pit: Arctic Monkeys at Kool Haus (fast forward to 1:45 mark on video)
Best Opening Act (that I didn't previously know) Matt Hires (opened for Paolo Nutini)
Best Opening Act that I have seen or would have seen: Elbow (opening for Coldplay) would have seen if they had toured
Best Local Act: Wish I could choose, but they're so different that I can't... We Are The Take, K'naan and Serena Ryder
Concert I would Love to relive as I experienced it: Coldplay and Elbow at Air Canada Centre
Concert I wish I could relive in a different venue or closer: Travis
Concert I wish I could relive without weird concert-goers: Killers at Air Canada Centre Paolo Nutini at Opera House
*These are chosen from the following concerts that I attended in 2009:
January The Killers at Air Canada Centre (with M83)
February Arkells at Horseshoe (with Waking Eyes and We Are The Take)
April Glasvegas at Mod Club (with Von Iva) Serena Ryder at Elizabeth Theatre English Beat at Lee's Palace Travis at Sound Academy (with Republic Tigers) Gavin Rossdale at The Music Hall Diana Krall at Massey Hall
May Franz Ferdinand at Kool Haus Keane at Sound Academy (with Mat Kearney and Helios Sequence)
July Coldplay at Air Canada Centre (with Elbow) Paolo Nutini at Indigo Paolo Nutini at Opera House (with Matt Hires)
September The Killers at Molson Amphitheatre U2 at Rogers Centre (with Snow Patrol) K'Naan at The Phoenix Theatre Arctic Monkeys at Kool Haus
October Manic Street Preachers at The Phoenix Mat Kearney at Lee's Palace (with Diana Birch) Psychedelic Furs at Kool Haus (with Happy Mondays) Temper Trap at Horseshoe (and We Are The Take) Thievery Corporation at Kool Haus
November David Cook at Casino Rama Champion at Mod Club
All I Want for Christmas Is You (from the movie Love Actually)
Don't you hate when embedding is disabled on youtube? OK, maybe you don't...so I can't embed the clip of this song into my blog. It is possibly my favourite Christmas movie clip. If you want to view it, you'll need to click here.
A couple of days ago, I was in a melancholic mood. My husband's family had left and Christmas seemed to come and go in a flash. The house seemed so empty (and boring) and my husband and I both had the Bjork song (it's oh so quiet) in our heads (I beat him to the twitter post).
There are so many things I love to do around Christmas time that perhaps they all can't be done every year.
One fun thing to do at Christmas time is to enjoy the city. With out-of-town guests, it's the perfect opportunity to do that.
When my brother-in-law and sister-in-law arrived last Wednesday, we went downtown for a night out. (To keep things shorter, I will call them R&C from now on, my husband PJ and my husband's parents M&D)
passing by the Christmas windows at The Bay and the Christmas tree and lights at City Hall with ice skaters around the rink (and the Zamboni on the ice).
memorable streetcar ride on Queen Street West that included a couple of characters and best quote by the TTC driver..."there were audio and visual cues to announce your stop" (or something to that effect) to a couple who missed Spadina
multiple Drake employees checking to see if we had a reservation then leaving saying someone would be with us which became laughable after the 3rd or 4th time (did we smell?)
yummy Mac&Cheese deep fried croquettes appetizer (shared), Steak Frites (mine), Holiday Roasted Turkey (R's) and Sexy Simmered Beef Brisquettes (C's) even if the sauce on the side instructions were missed on the latter
Austins SixFootSix Pinot Noir - don't see it on LCBO website :-(
Dinner was followed by a taxi ride to Souz Dal on College Street for drinks.
This included:
PJ's directions to the taxi driver - "on College east of the Mod Club, just around a bend" (and we found it!) He was right:
being served by the Best Bartender in 2009 according to Now Magazine
best quote of the evening after arguing with PJ because I was convinced that I gave him money for the cab ride home until R convinced me to check my purse and I pull out "a $20, a $10 and two $5's" which caused much laughter for days (and even now, just burst out laughing thinking about it...another classic Suze moment)...perhaps you had to be there!
An interesting "small world" thing happened while I was researching reviews about it. I found a Now Magazine review and noticed the person who reviewed it is a mom of a boy in my daughter's class. Didn't know that is what she did for a living (or hobby).
I loved the musical. I love how they modernized the story (greening the story explaining that Maid Marion was trying to preserve Sherwood forest). I love how jokes about current events were thrown into a known story...adding comments like "he will rock you" when talking about the character Jacques Le Rock played by Yvan Pedneault (the lead from We Will Rock You musical in Toronto) and then singing part of We Are The Champions.
Should I mention the Tiger jokes? Being Tigered-out (have been for the past decade being a golf fan, who would like to watch golf, not just Tiger so imagine how I feel now that non-golfer fans are talking about him), I won't....but they were funny! and one was so subtle, I missed it.
I love current music being thrown in to a musical, so that when you hear the first few notes, you know what the next few minutes entail (loved this about Mamma Mia as well...can't believe I didn't go see We Will Rock You - what was I thinking?....money, right..I stayed home with the kids). I may have laughed out loud when I heard the first notes of "it's oh so quiet"...hence the reason that song was in my head this past week...or the glow in the dark zombie dance to Thriller.
Another highlight are the "words from our sponsors" commercials when a screen would come down and comedic commercials had been filmed with the actors from the musical. Ross Petty dressed up as the Energizer Bunny who shows up when the batteries for the video games run out was hilarious:
as was the Tim Hortons commercial talking about the double double (double dipping your doughnut in a friend's coffee).
There were some really funny characters who really upstaged Robin and Maid Marion (who was played by my daughter's favourite Canadian Idol - Eva Avila). Ross Petty (who produced the show) may be my favourite Canadian of the year (ok, perhaps I should think before saying that...have I already forgot my Canadian Open experience?). But seriously, can't believe I missed Kurt Browning in Peter Pan a couple of years ago. I will definitely keep an eye out for more Ross Petty Productions in the future. New family Christmas tradition?
Afterwards, we took a small detour to see the Christmas windows at The Bay. I loved the mice sleeping in the match boxes.
Christmas Day was filled with opening presents, sharing stories, watching movies, playing games, eating and drinking...including the puppy taking the opportunity of everyone being focused on me taking a photo at dinnertime to sneak up to the table for a lick (luckily we were almost done). Oh, he knows what he's done...look at those eyes!
Our favourite quote from the holidays came at Christmas dinner when my daughter asked everyone at the table to say what their favourite gift was, adding "not including those wrapped in love" (she meant it had to be a real present...not saying something like 'my favourite present is spending Christmas with you').
Boxing Day saw a few friends visit as well as my sister and her family. There was of course more eating and drinking including the non-traditional BBQ'd dinner (lamb chops). I love BBQ'ing in the winter, but the lack of sunlight does make it tricky. I also managed to order some camera SD cards from Best Buy online...a little Boxing Day shopping from the comfort of my own home and without the crowds!
Yesterday, I went to Vaughan Mills Shopping Mall to do some "real" Boxing Week shopping. As much as I love finding a good deal, I'm not used to still being there past 2pm when the crowds became unbearable. I was happy with my purchases (lots of black and white and lots of purple this year...perfect for me!) So that's another thing I love doing at Christmas time that I managed to do this year.
Those are some of my Christmas highlights from this year so far. I'm still working at experiencing more!
Can I still count down to the New Year, if I missed blogging for 4 days?
There are 4 days left until 2010!! :-0
If you have been around my blog for a while, every year, I come out with a "The Songs I Loved" playlist. I don't call it "Best of" lists because sometimes I would discover a song a year (or more) after it was officially released.
I'll still come up with my songs I loved list - I'm still working on it, but for now I thought I would look at my year in music. These are songs that I loved that we downloaded (or uploaded to our iTunes playlists from CD's) in chronological order from January to December (year in brackets if not released in 2009).
January
Everybody Loves Me by The Pigeon Detectives (2008)
Last Day of Your Life by Glass Pear (2008) - heard on Grey's Anatomy January 15th
Katherine Kiss Me by Franz Ferdinand
February
Dreams by We Are The Take (2008) - great local band we saw at the Horseshoe Tavern
It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry by Glasvegas (2008) - completing album I started downloading in 2008 (wasn't a fan of this song at first listen...difficult to sing along...strange phrasing, but read that Bono thought this was the best song he's ever heard in NME, so downloaded it and it really grew on me...LOVED it this year)
The Guy That Says Goodbye To You Is Out of His Mind by Griffin House (2008)
The Fear by Lily Allen
Tell Me It's Not Over by Starsailor feat. Brandon Flowers (free download single in anticipation of Starsailor's album release in a few months)
Dreamer by K'naan
Revelry by Kings Of Leon (2008) - performed at the Brit Awards and finally loved a KOL song
Wolves at the Door by Waking Eyes (2008) - another local band we saw at The Horseshoe Tavern
March
Moment of Surrender by U2
Little Miss Pipedream by The Wombats (2007) - heard it on Private Practice March 19th
April
Gravity by Sara Bareilles (2007) - can't remember where I heard it but ended up loving it- already had some of her songs, perhaps this song title reminded me of Embrace who made my 2005 list with their song Gravity.
Last of the English Roses by Peter Doherty
May
Closer To Love by Mat Kearney
Lately by Helios Sequence (opening for Mat Kearney in concert)
Fix You (live) by Coldplay - live album being given to their fans as a thank you
Let's Talk by Hannah Georgas (anniversary gift from my husband)
Is Yesterday, Tomorrow, Today by Stereophonics (a recommendation from a blog comment)
21st Century Breakdown by Green Day
Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear
June
10:03 by Doves
This Isn't Real by Menew (2008) Canadian band that performed on Letterman
Love, Love, Love by James Blunt (2008) since I had already double purchased his latest album (physical CD and download for bonus songs), when this was released I thought I would wait for my pseudo-legal release, it never did, then forgot...downloaded it in June from iTunes)
What if I? by Ben's Brother (had anticipated sophomore album after loving his debut...but it's even more syrupy than the first...but then being French Canadian...syrup can be good sometimes)
Journal for Plague Lovers by Manic Street Preachers
Sing When You're In Love by Enemy (for much anticipated concert that ended up getting cancelled)
Where Did All The Love Go by Kasabian
Coming Up Easy by Paolo Nutini
July
Crying Lightning by Arctic Monkeys
Dog Days Are Over by Florence and the Machine (a month after getting our puppy)
August
Back 2 U by Roz Bell
Now That You're Gone by Ross Copperman (free download)
September
On a Day Like Today by Keane (2006) - a song I didn't know of until there was talk of favourite Keane lyrics and people (on Twitter) mentioned this song
Rainbow by Colbie Caillat
No Surprise by Daughtry
Uprising by Muse - downloaded after seeing them perform it at MTV Awards
October
Breathe by Ryan Star (as well as his 2007 song Last Train Home from P.S. I Love You movie soundtrack...loved the book, the movie and the soundtrack with James Blunt and Paolo Nutini)
I Know I'll See Your Face by The Clientele (brother-in-law recommendation)
In My Head by Until June - heard on Grey's Anatomy October 1st
Love Lost by Temper Trap
Her Diamonds by Rob Thomas
Give Me Sympathy by Metric (first played for me by my sister)
Out of the Dark by Matt Hires - bought CD after he opened for Paolo Nutini in July but didn't listen to it - heard this song on Grey's Anatomy on October 22nd
Till It Happens To You by Corinne Bailey Rae (2006) - thought she had new album when I heard this song on Being Erica, turns out it's from the album I've had for years, but hadn't put all the songs on iTunes
November
Come Find Me by Remi Nicole
Last Year's Snow by Cribs
You Know Me by Robbie Williams
Shine by Ross Copperman
December
Your Love is A Song by Switchfoot (title goes well with my blog name)
Alien Like You by The Pigott Brothers (performed by Kai (Sebastien Pigott) on Being Erica)
Open Happiness from Torch Relay celebration (free download from icoke.ca)
Map of the Stars by Greg Neufeld (just found out one of my favourite past Canadian Idol contestants released an album last February)
Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble (always seem to prefer the songs he writes to the songs he covers)
The Truth by Kris Allen
and finally, as I'm writing, I hear, Same Damn Thing by Anjulie which my husband downloaded on Dec 12 after hearing it on CBC2 so I can add that to the songs I loved, since I loved it at first listen.
A lot of the songs I loved this year I found on television shows (or found the artists on television shows). In case you think I have some kind of weird memory to know when and where I heard those songs, there is a great website that documents which songs are heard on which episodes and when. It's called Tune Find...very useful!
So that's a sample of the 250 Songs I Loved this year in chronological order. I have these 250 narrowed down to just under 50 songs I absolutely loved this year (limiting to only one per artist, so there would be more). Will be narrowing it down even further in the next few days.
It's oh so quiet... shhhh, shhhh! (It's Oh So Quiet by Bjork)
It seems like it's been so long since I blogged, but it was only 4 days ago. I have gone 4 days or longer without blogging before, but with my December daily blogging, it really became a habit I looked forward to...and I have to say that I was tempted to blog during the past 4 days, but hosting my husband's family kept me busy (or resting and enjoying their company).
In a way, last Wednesday seems like a long time ago, when I ended my daily blog saying that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law were about to arrive (his parents would arrive the next day), but in another way, the 4 days I spent with them flew by, and it's shocking that everyone left already today.
Now the house is ... ♫ oh so quiet...♫ as Bjork would sing.
For the past month, I have been preparing for Christmas, and just like that, it's over for another year. Well, almost. I have a couple of days off before I host my cousin and (part of) her family who will be visiting from Montreal in a few days (although it's not a Christmas-related visit).
I began writing this post at 3:15 this afternoon. I have left it and came back a number of times, and am struggling. It's now 10:15pm and the day is almost done.
I have written many paragraphs that I have erased...mostly because the feelings I was writing about are conflicted. I can't figure out how I feel right now.
I love certain aspects about the Christmas holiday. I especially loved the way I handled things this year. I guess because I was hosting, I started to prepare early, knowing I would run out of time with so many things because I'm a procrastinator. I also love that I didn't go in full panic mode although I thought I would. I let go of my attempt at perfection. I never reach perfection, but I normally try for more than I can handle. This year, I knew everything wouldn't be perfect, so when I would normally have panicked, I looked at my list and thought, what doesn't really matter in the big picture of things?
Once I had the tree decorated, the presents purchased and wrapped, the food, wine and beer bought, I figured those were the most important things.
But somehow, I think there is some Christmas magic that I missed this year. I found myself a few times with a strange feeling, like something was missing, but I haven't been able to put my finger on it. Although I love that I let go of perfection, that I didn't overdo the food and kept meals fairly simple, perhaps I'm feeling that things could have been better...as I mentioned...conflicted feelings. Perhaps by reaching for perfection, I normally end up landing higher than I did this year...but perhaps I'm happier afterwards, where this time, I was happier during.
I'm now wondering...what would my perfect Christmas entail? What are my favourite family traditions that I have or would want to have?
I had a Jewish friend who said to me once that we (Christians) spend so much time preparing for one day. We get stressed out. We overspend. We overeat and overdrink. All for one day. She found it a relief that she didn't have to go through the Christmas craziness.
So today, having a bit of time to myself, I am wondering what do I really love about Christmas and is it more than just the one day?
Christmas music (especially my favourites and finding new releases)
Playing Christmas songs on the piano (didn't at all yet this year...perhaps the first time ever)
Snow (not rain...like we got on Christmas Day this year)...but was happy to have a bit of snow leading up to Christmas!
Decorating the Christmas tree (possibly our best one yet)
Baking and cooking special favourites
Watching It's A Wonderful Life or other favourite Christmas movies
Reading Best Of lists and Year-End reviews
Writing Christmas cards (and got them out fairly early this year)
Seeing friends and family (saw some, but not others including some of my most loyal readers)
Family time (watching movies, playing games, or outings)
Boxing week shopping (I don't love the crowds on Boxing Day, but enjoy finding a good deal sometime during the week)
Choosing my favourite songs for the year
Ending the year with goals and dreams for the New Year
Well, I guess this list is a good reminder of what I want to do in the next few days, and I'll keep thinking about it. As I write (and erase), I am getting some of my feelings sorted and I think that for me, Christmas is more than just one day...and it's not over yet!
Often when I write on my blog, I don't really think about who is reading it. I write what I think (keeping in mind my love of the if you don't have anything nice to say...). I know that sometimes I rant, but it will never be about any one person in particular...perhaps a situation, an industry, an organization...
I normally will write quite positive things I think (and I'm not going back to see if I'm dreaming or if this is real), but sometimes, I will write without gushing enough about a situation...I hold back.
I know that most people who read my Olympic Torch Relay post think that I gushed enough, but really, I could have gushed even more. I held back, because really, I know that I can be a little too enthusiastic sometimes ;-)
I was quite taken with an email I received from my mom about my torch relay post though. At times, I thought I went over the top....but her email made me thankful that at least she appreciated it.
Which comes to today.
Twitter is a tool where you can "follow' people that you find interesting...and they can "follow" people that they find interesting. The problem (for me) is that so much of this "interest" is that people are interested in you because they want you to follow them. They post marketing type tweets. I'm not 100% sure how they make money, some sell products and others advertising...but it's clear that their sole purpose in following you is for you to follow them.
So, I lost interest a little in seeing who was following me. Yesterday, my number of followers hadn't changed much (it goes up and down as people who hope you will follow them stop following you if you don't follow back), but for some reason I thought I would go see who my new followers were in case there was someone I was interested in.
Imagine my shock when I saw Craig Kielburger. After my torch relay experience, my tweet read...
so, Craig (or his Twitter assistant) started following me because of this tweet. Craig does update his twitter account personally as one of his tweets on that day using TwitterBerry (meaning a Blackberry) was:
Just passed the flame to Marc! Lit his torch with a giant embrace! Crowds overflowing on both sides of the street. Everyone cheering :)
This got me thinking...what if he (they) clicked on the link and read my blog post? I raved about Marc...but did I write enough about Craig (even if I only saw the flame and not his face)?
This has happened a couple of times before that I wrote about someone and they commented. So although I may be writing for personal reasons...posting it on the internet means that anyone who could be interested in reading it can.
This is the reason that I don't think I could be a high-profile reporter. I wouldn't want to hurt someone's feelings, so I wouldn't want to be forced to write about someone or something I don't like. Is it a good thing for me to be reminded that someone I write about could read my blog? Would that make me edit what I write? I hope not, I still want to post honestly but it does make me nervous a bit.
I like my blog where I can write about things and people I love...which brings me to my second highlight of my day.
Vancouver 2010 are posting photos of torchbearers on Facebook and yesterday I saw this one from the Torch Relay in Montreal...
Can you see the huge grin on my face from where you are? (it's Jacques Villeneuve in case you don't recognize him) Wish I had been there!!
I just hope that Jacques is not far behind in announcing his return to Formula 1. If he does, I may have to find myself in Montreal on June 13th!
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law have just arrived at the Canadian border, not sure if I will be able to keep up my daily blogging. If I don't, I will wish you all a very Merry Christmas and...
I love these kinds of lists. I had started to write a blog with a similar theme, but with Christmas looming and my to do list not getting any smaller, I thought it was more efficient for me to share my top 10 on their list. You can read their detailed descriptions in the article.
Blackberry (and texting)
Blogging
Cameras (remember film?)
DVR (remember VCR's? or even before VCRs?)
Facebook (and social media)
Going green (and organic)
Information overload (and Wikipedia)
Instant Gratification (I want it (I want to know) and I want it now)
iPod (and music being online)
Reality TV (as mentioned yesterday in my blog post, Survivor being one of the pioneers)
Youtube (where you can view almost anything except owned by overprotective music or television companies - yes, that's my little dig there)
I have just finished watching the 19th season of Survivor. (Yes, I'm 24 hours late...PVR's really have changed television watching for me...for good and bad). It's so anti-climactic to watch it 24 hours after it ended. I managed to avoid finding out who won until after dinner tonight. I let down my guard figuring it wasn't such big news anymore...but saw the winner named.
I remember when everyone would watch a show at the same time...whether it was Seinfeld or Friends, we could all talk about it the next morning. Now, it's rare that I watch something live, so I miss that spontaneous reaction to the show.
This season of Survivor has been interesting because it has had one of the best players ever Russell Hantz...but who was also willing to cheat, lie and do anything to get ahead. Russell found hidden immunity idols without clues. No one has ever done that. Often, people would need multiple clues to find them. He masterminded numerous blindsides and somehow managed to beat 8-4 odds when the merge happened. The season seemed so predictable when they merged. It seemed clear that the 4 Foa-Foa members would be voted off first, so how did they end up in the final 5? It's not even that the 8 were not a strong alliance. There have been other seasons when the tribe coming into the merge doesn't really like each other and the players switch alliances. This was a strong 6 or 7...but Russell managed to mastermind with skill and luck the ousting of 7 Galu tribe members before losing one of his.
Although he was skilled, his attitude (especially towards the camera) was so arrogant and in your face, if you had told me in the first few weeks that he would be sitting there at the finale, I would have been shocked. He was so untrustworthy (once he backstabs a handful of people, don't the people who trust him start wondering if they should trust him?). Also, because he was so powerful, I'm surprised that they didn't try to take him out sooner, but perhaps they thought he would be beatable when the jury vote happened. The other possibility is that they saw how good he was and figured without him, they would be gone.
He was described tonight in the finale as one of the most polarizing players. You either loved him or you hated him. For me, I did not like the way he played, I did not like his arrogance, but he made the show more interesting to watch. He was also chauvinistic in a few things he would say. I can't remember them all, but Jeff Probst (the host) quoted him as calling his alliance, the "dumb-ass girls alliance" (one of which would eventually become the winner). He was also very insulting in the way he talked about people (whether about their looks or their intelligence). Twice they showed him say "may the best man win" when he was talking about the final vote that would include himself, Mick and Natalie. The first time I thought, perhaps the "saying" slipped out...but then he repeated it during his opening statement to the jury. Right, that will get you the women's votes!
At one point, I actually said..."you're a dreamer". He was ranting about how it was obvious he was going to win and how the jury would vote for him...and I was actually singing K'naan in my head...but he's a different dreamer than I am.
He was really shocked and upset that he didn't win. He believes that he played the game the best that anyone has played it and that he should be the "Sole Survivor". He even offered the winner $10,000 to give him the title (she could keep the million dollar prize).
You can't buy happiness or or the title.
To prove that you either loved him or hated him, he won the text voted award for Player of the Season. America loved to hate him and thought he was the best "player".
Which begs the question, is it now just assumed that players on Survivor will lie and backstab? Is that part of the game? Without these players, wouldn't the game be boring? If everyone loved each other and told each other how they would vote, and would apologize for voting against them?
I don't think this is what America wants to see. They love to see a villain. It is a game afterall. The players can't all be loveable.
Some seasons, we see the player who played the best win in the end. That wasn't the case this time. Although Russell outwitted, outplayed and outlasted his competitors, he missed a bit of compassion that could have won him some votes. The final vote was more against Russell on a personal basis than for Natalie. I think they could have respected the way he played the game if he had been a little less arrogant. Juries have done it in the past. They have rewarded the villains when the final votes were cast. It would be interesting to hear the jury's reaction to seeing the telecast and seeing the things Russell had to say, and the things they didn't see. Would they still vote for Natalie or vote for Russell? That's what is interesting about Survivor. You never know what the contestants will do.
As the decade comes to a close, Daily Variety declared Survivor the most influential program of the decade. It began in 2000. In 2010, they will be having their 20th season which will include past Survivors battling each other in a Heroes vs Villains theme.
I will be really excited to see some of my favourites come back and some that I will not be happy to see again, but perhaps in a love/hate way.
So it will be my favourite number...20 castaways for the 20th season...can't wait!! February 11th (I'll be in Vancouver for the Olympics...hope I remember to set the PVR).
The official Christmas Number One chart in the United Kingdom began in 1952. Over the years, there have been some classics as the number one song on the chart preceding Christmas Day.
Elvis Presley's Return to Sender was Number 1 in 1962. The Beatles had 4 in the mid 60's. Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody was Number 1 in 1975.
But then there have been some forgettable Christmas Number One's. Bob The Builder's Can We Fix It in 2000 takes the cake for me. Unbelievable...but shows the popularity of the television show. I don't even want to know what Mr. Blobby by Mr. Blobby is from 1993.
Do They Know It's Christmas was Number 1 three times! Band-Aid reached the top spot in 1984 Band-Aid 2 in 1989 and Band-Aid 20 in 2004. It's not the only Christmas song to make it to Number One. I only heard Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade in the past decade, but it was Number One in 1973. Cliff Richard had a couple of Number One Christmas songs: Mistletoe and Wine in 1988 and Savior's Day in 1990.
In the past decade or two, the chart has gone very pop. The Spice Girls had three consecutive Christmas Number Ones, Westlife and Girls Aloud also topped the chart before X-Factor took over.
Since 2005, the winner of X-Factor has been Number 1. X-Factor is a reality singing competition created by Simon Cowell (after the first couple of seasons of Pop Idol - the original Idol that spawned American Idol and Canadian Idol). They have various categories Girls, Boys, Groups, Over 25's with an overall winner being chosen by public voting. They have their season finale just before the Christmas chart so the winner of the show's song gets released in time to make it on the chart and they have topped the chart since 2005. Joe McElderry won X-Factor this year and is covering Miley Cyrus' The Climb for his first single.
In protest of the predictable pop Christmas Number One, a Facebook group (and a Twitter campaign) were formed to urge people to buy Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name and make it the Christmas Number One this year. They started a few weeks before but were asking for the song to only be purchased the week before the Christmas chart, in order to concentrate the purchases and try to beat the X-Factor winner (even if they didn't know who the winner would be). As of today, the Facebook group had over 950,000 members. They also added a fundraising link on the group page for donations to go to Shelter in the name of Rage Aginst X-Factor. They have raised over 70,000 pounds so far.
The run up to Christmas Number One has made news oustide of Britain...I saw it on the CNN website after first noticing it on The Toronto Star's website on December 11th with an article entitled: Simon Cowell vs 600,000 Facebook Punk Rock Fans. I'm the first to admit that if I lived in Britain, I would watch X-Factor. I watch American Idol and Canadian Idol pretty religiously. I love those shows, but I don't love the music that most (not all) release after the show is done.
I loved this concept of getting people together to protest the manufactured predictable way that the Christmas Number One had become. Even the bookies in the past couple of years were no longer accepting bets on the Number One single. They were giving odds on who would be Number 2. Well, that changed this year when the country and the world (ok, slight exaggeration there) became interested to see who would win.
I listened on Virgin Radio (99.9) in Toronto since last week we realized that they play the UK Chart on Sundays. It got to Number 1 and I realized that it was last week's chart (with today's technology, we can't play it same day? hmph). So I switched to internet radio. I listened on BBC Radio 1's website and they were down to number 6 (one of my favourite songs of the year...Robbie Williams' You Know Me). Looking at the list, I found two new Christmas songs that were released by Pet Shop Boys and George Michael...love new Christmas songs!!
The countdown got down to Number 2 and it was Joe.
Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name is this year's Christmas Number One selling over 500,000 copies.
This is the first year that the Christmas Number One was reached by download sales only. Killing in the Name was originally released in 1992. A physical single was not released this year (actually RATM were not involved in organizing the protest) so the only sales were from people downloading it online.
It will be interesting to see if any controversy comes from this chart though. On the Facebook page, they do tell people not to download it multiple times because their sales will be voided for the chart, but I'm sure people downloaded it more than once. They weren't downloading it for the music, but to make a point.
The first thing that I want do Make sure that you feel it too So I'm not the only one
Coke introduced a new campaign last January entitled Open Happiness and had a song in its commercials.
They have released a Canadian version of the song that they are using during the Olympic Torch Relay. I heard it the other night at the City Torch Relay Celebration.
This version features Kardinal Offishall, Bedouin Soundclash's Jay Malinowski, and cœur de pirate. This is reminding me that a friend (stv) had recommended cœur de pirate a while ago. Just realized I never downloaded any of her songs, so just went to download Comme des Enfants as a start. It's funny how things come around sometimes. She'll be performing in Vancouver and Whistler during the Olympics.
They also have a bilingual version where cœur de pirate sings her part in French.
I love Jay Malinowski's voice. I noticed it the other night when the song started playing. I'll definitely be looking into Bedouin Soundclash again. I loved When The Night Feels My Song from a few years ago, but didn't download more than that.
Kardinal won the Juno Award for Single of the Year for Dangerous in 2009 and performs on the Estelle track Magnificient. I'm sure he has a lot more credits, but these are the two songs that appear on our iTunes playlist. He ran in the Torch Relay 15 minutes earlier than I saw it in my neighbourhood. Cool!
The song can be downloaded for free at www.icoke.ca
C'mon lift me up it's a brand new day Open up a lil happiness today
This is my 200th blog post...and 100th post in 2009!! Thank you for sharing my blog with me.
Last night I gave a summary and initial impression of my day following the Torch Relay in Toronto.
This is my more detailed account after reviewing my photos, videos and telecast. I was in for some surprises.
I started by driving up to North York to see the Torch Relay in the daytime. I parked just south of Mel Lastman Square. I then walked north for about 15 minutes (almost 10 blocks) until the convoy was approaching. The RBC truck came first handing out RBC Olympic Relay flags and then the Coke truck came by handing out commemorative painted aluminum Coke bottles. In my rush to get to Yonge Street (there was a lot of cheering when I was parking so I wrongly thought they were already approaching), I left my bag in the car figuring I wouldn't need it if I wouldn't be waiting long. So I now had a bottle, a flag and one mitt in my left hand (having no where else to put them) and a camera in my right hand. I learned that I need to practice taking photos with one hand because I kept pushing buttons I didn't want pushed. The camera is quite small and most of the buttons are on the back face where I was trying to hold it.
I looked for the orange dots on the lampposts to find a spot where the flame would be exchanged. A torchbearer was soon dropped off and so many spectators went up to him wanting their photo taken with him (even strangers). In a way this was good, but in another, he probably wasn't able to completely soak in the moment watching the flame arrive as he was busy posing for photographs.
The flame arrived and was transferred.
I did take a moment to appreciate the torch arriving from afar but then, I clicked. One of the reasons I wanted to go on my own in the afternoon was so I would get my photo-taking over with.
It was also a good opportunity to see how it all worked so that I would ensure a good experience with the kids when we would get only one chance (no running or following for them).
Once the flame was lit, I followed it down Yonge Street.
I managed to keep up with this torchbearer (Marien Gehrels) and saw him transfer the flame to the following torchbearer (Kevin Chambers). I caught up after Kevin passed the flame. I didn't see who the next torchbearer was (more on that later). I stayed and watched as the crowd took photos of Kevin and watched him board the torchbearer bus.
I thought this would be it for my experience. I couldn't keep up with the pace of the relay, but then for some reason (I didn't know it at the time, I did end up catching up). I still had to go south to get back to my car. After watching the telecast on television, I see that the next torchbearer walked the last part of his relay. The crowd was so large that it slowed down the convoy (and this was the rowdy crowd I had heard from my car).
It turns out that this torchbearer who I couldn't see because of the crowd, but I could see the flame he was carrying was Craig Kielburger. In case you don't know who he is, I have blogged about him in the past. He founded Free The Children with his brother Marc. You can read what I wrote here.
So complete bummer that I didn't realize that he was there...this is one of my annoyances with the torch relay (and perhaps done purposefully to prevent immense crowds in certain areas). I was not able to find a list of torchbearers' locations although I know the list exists. Perhaps for privacy sake as well, they didn't release it, but perhaps they could have for public figures...although CP24 was showing the names of the torchbearers (where I got their names).
I wrote the following before knowing who the next torchbearer was (who ended up being Craig's brother Marc Kielburger):
The following torchbearer was probably my favourite of the ones I saw. He really took the time to appreciate the moment. He kept thanking the crowd for coming as you can here in this video...
...and he really tried to look on both sides and wave to the people who were lining the street.
He looked right at me once when I took a photo, but the camera hadn't focused properly.
He then passed the flame to a younger torchbearer (turns out to be Ferdinard Ismael).
This is probably my favourite photo. I love how close I managed to get. I love the look on his face and the younger one looking up at the flame. The crowd control was really not as tight at this point as it would be later in my neighbourhood.
After this transfer, I lost touch with the flame for a bit. I was walking down Yonge, again figuring this was the end of my experience as the flame got further and further away from me. I can still picture myself walking down, looking at the flame with a huge grin on my face...and looking at everyone around me with cameras and also smiling.
It was really an amazing experience.
In hindsight, how did I get so close to Marc Kielburger? I'm watching it on television and the crowd is so big. At one point, the crowd covers the street (the camera truck ahead is filming the crowd and can't see Marc). In hindsight, it also explains why Marc is taking his time and making sure he waves to everyone...so cool!
When the flame gets passed, they do stop for a minute or so, this gave me the opportunity to get close to the flame again. The following torchbearer (Lindsay Leo) began by walking. When I realized this, I ran to catch up to her.
I caught up with the last torchbearer when they stopped to transfer the flame to the small "torch" to be transported by convoy on the 401 to Scarborough.
After they took the smaller flame to the convoy, I stayed by the last torchbearer, watching the flame... and then watching as they extinguished it.
This photo of the last torchbearer I think is a good representation of how all the torchbearers felt when they were done. I love the expression on his face! It shows the pride and the pure joy of experiencing (for most) a once-in-a-lifetime event.
I wrote the previous few sentences before realizing that this is Richard Peddie. The CEO and GM of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
So my afternoon consisted of 5 torchbearers...300m each, so 1.5km in 20 minutes!
(editing this comment after reviewing the telecast...6 torchbearers (I had missed Kevin in my count plus Craig that I didn't really see)...300m each, so 2.1km in 20 minutes!! My first photo was taken at 2:17pm and my last one at 2:37pm.
This is what I called my whirlwind Torch Relay experience.
I was ready for my neighbourhood Torch Relay experience with my children.
I had planned on going to the end of my street and finding the closest orange sticker on a pole signifying a transfer of the flame.
I was watching the telecast when the reporter said she was just north of Eglinton (I missed where she was exactly) and that she was at the spot where Ivan Reitman (director of Stripes, Ghostbusters as well as many other films) would pass the flame to his son Jason Reitman (director of Up In The Air that was nominated for Golden Globe and SAG Awards this week).
Having seen the crowds running down following the torch and converging where the flame is being passed, I figured that this was not the place for my children to be. Especially since a lot of the time, security, media and spectators stand in front of where you are.
When I got to Yonge, we see the CTV truck and the reporter. The Reitman exchange is happening just north of our street at 5:15pm.
We walked further north, but then I realized that the previous transfer would be popular as well with Ivan Reitman receiving the flame. After a brief discussion, we decided to stay near our street and watch the torch pass (rather than a transfer). The kids were excited (ok, me too) to receive glow-in-the-dark Coke bottles to wave as the torch went by. Very cool to see the torch in the dark (and happy I also saw in the daytime). Being in between transfer points, we did get a good vantage point of Ivan Reitman walking past with the torch.
We got home happy with our experience. Not taking the time to inspect the glow-in-the-dark bottles, I took photos thinking they were like glow-in-the-dark necklaces that would only glow for a limited time (turns out they have an on-off switch and possibly have batteries).
(how cool are they?)
My torch relay experience continued by going downtown to meet my husband at Nathan Phillips Square for the city celebration. The torch was supposed to arrive at 7pm but was delayed an hour because protestors disrupted the route, but we were not told why the torch was late. The celebration seemed to go without a hitch (if I hadn't known that the torch was late), but I arrived late, so perhaps people who had been there since the beginning saw some repeated performances or videos. I haven't watched the full telecast yet, so can't comment on the delay.
After some entertaining performances, the torch arrived carried by Vicky Sunohara who won 2 gold medals and one silver medal in women's ice hockey. We couldn't see the flame come across the ice rink on the red carpet (saw that on the telecast afterwards), but we could see the flame go through the crowd, up to the stage.
We were quite far, but with our zoom lens, my husband captured the torch as it was about to light the cauldron and then the lit cauldron.
The lighting of the cauldron was followed by Vicky being interviewed and by speeches by federal, provincial and municipal politicians.
We ended up having to leave early and as we were leaving, I noticed an aluminum bottle on the ground. I picked it up (it was empty...I wasn't planning on opening mine) and brought it home so that I would have a pair of bottles (turns out it didn't smell like coke when we opened it)...Did I mention that it was a really cold day and evening (for Toronto)?
So, I had a full day relishing my time in the presence of the Torch Relay. I have some souvenirs to remember this day: The middle two bottles are the front and back view of the glow-in-the-dark bottles. The two red flags are also the same (different view).
I just learned today that Steve Nash will be carrying the torch in the relay the day before the Opening Ceremonies. Barring a snow storm or other flight delay, I will already be in Vancouver/Victoria that day. Hopefully I can find out where he'll be and perhaps have another torch relay experience.
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