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Cityrag, officially one of my faves, has posted a list of the 50 greatest cartoons (mostly short form) - WITH LINKS! Today, even though I’m working like an adorable steamboat, you shouldn’t be. So get to work on this list, lazy!

PS: Where’s my HOSSENFEFFER?!

Jumping on Wendy’s train, I present to you my Top 10 Ear-Splittingly Good Shows Of 2006. These shows penetrated my cochlea, anvil and stirrup so deeply that I actually had to undergo some hearing tests with a specialist to make sure everything was still intact.

Of the 53 shows (!) I saw in 2006, these ones were trumps.

1/ Guillemots - March 15, 2006. I finally got to see Guillemots after having listened to them for months and months online when they first stopped through Toronto at the Horseshoe Tavern. They were fantastic! Fyfe Dangerfield’s voice is so haunting - at the end of the night he performed this one song a cappella and it was so beautiful I thought my heart was going to implode on the spot.

2/ Keane - June 26, 2006. Having seen Keane a few times before, I almost didn’t make it to this show but I’m so glad I did. The Mod Club is such a great venue for them - within a few songs Tom, Tim & Richard were a complete sweaty mess and the audience was losing their minds over how amazing they sounded. After the show the crowd would not stop cheering so the guys came out for a little bow…if you want to see a band give 5000% at every single show, see Keane live.

3/ Mew - September 25, 2006. This was one of my most highly anticipated shows of the year. Originally Mew were only going to be in Toronto supporting Kasabian (September 26) - when I learned of this I typed in Ticketmaster’s URL so fast and hard that the keys on my keyboard nearly caught on fire, that’s how excited I was. We were blessed with the addition of a proper show the night before the Kasabian opener, and it was fantastic. Lots of theatrics from frontman
Jonas Bjerre, plus the added bonus of two screens showcasing his design and artwork, which was at times frightening, but suited the songs perfectly.

4/ Snow Patrol - March 30 & September 13, 2006. The first of these shows was a special ‘preview’ tour of the new album, which only visited a couple of cities in North America, and Toronto was one of them. The evening was filmed for a special DVD and I was right up front with ‘the concert gang’. This was also the first time I set eyes on my rock ‘n roll boyfriend (bassist Paul Wilson) - my obsession got a real kickstart after that night. The setlist was amazing and everything about the evening was just magical. I shockingly almost didn’t make it to the second/rescheduled show but a friend pulled through at the last minute to get me in, and oh mylanta was it worth it. Gary Lightbody has a tendency to exert himself so much at shows that he conks right out and loses his voice, which resulted in the rescheduling. My only regret is that I didn’t stick around after the show to meet Paul, because I later learned that he was just hanging out in the parking lot, espousing the wonders of the ‘pizza sandwich’ with my friend Sylvia.

5/ Elbow - April 18, 2006. [As I type this, Elbow just came on shuffle in iTunes - creepy!] Elbow are hands down one of my top five bands ever, and this show was extremely anticipated. It didn’t top November 2005’s intimate performance at the Distillery District but it was still epic. The new album is so powerful and driven, hearing it live from the front row was just incredible. When Guy reached out to me during “Switching Off” I was already in a puddle of tears on the ground.

6/ Nine Black Alps - April 5, 2006. If you missed this show then you really effed up, because there were only about 30 people at the El Mocambo, and next time these guys roll through town it’s gonna be at a much larger venue. So grungey and SO GOOD. Sam Forrest rocked out so hard - he was so angry about their merch not making it through customs that he took it out on the instruments, and we loved it!

7/ Radiohead - June 8, 2006. Again, I ALMOST DID NOT MAKE IT TO THIS SHOW. When the show was announced and the tickets went on sale, me and every other Radiohead diehard I know was en route to Canada’s Wonderland, ergo, unable to buy tickets via Ticketmaster. In any event, the shows sold out so quickly that I didn’t know a single soul that acquired a ticket. Two days before the show I was still seething with resentment and jealousy that I wasn’t going, so I tried Ticketmaster on a whim and GOT TICKETS. An entire row on the floor at Hummingbird Centre opened up and we were all able to see Radiohead on the better of two nights; best setlist ever! Everybody wins.

7/ Hot Chip - November 6, 2006. Toronto crowds are notorious for resembling wax museums when it comes to enthusiasm at shows, but this was an exception. Live drums and danceable beats got everyone moving and rocking out. Hot Chip was totally robbed of the Mercury Prize!

9/ David Bazan - June 17, 2006. Imagine your favourite morose, Christian-tinged music being played to you in a candlelit church (Music Gallery) while you sit back (uncomfortably) in pews and listen to witty banter from (the new defunct) Pedro The Lion’s frontman. And him drinking beer and laughing about it. In a church.

10/ Malajube - November 25, 2006. Another rescheduled show that was well worth the wait. These Montrealers capped off my year with a rowdy performance that was summed up by a black eye delivered to me directly by keyboardist Thomas Augustin’s FOOT in a stagedive gone wrong. What better proof of a kickass show is there than that?

BEHOLD! In keeping with our/my obsession with lists, you’re gonna see some choices from US. Everyone else is doing it. Get on the train!

Wendy’s Most Awesometastic Fave Singles of 2006

1. Lupe Fiasco - “Daydreamin’”
I can’t stop listening to this song. It’s like ear-consuming liquid goodness that’s not actually liquid but just pure amazingness, from its musical lows and highs and in betweens. Beautiful.

2. JT - “What Goes Around/Comes Around”
#1 song on the album, IMO, but also very “Cry Me A River”. But also, I love “Cry Me A River”. I’d like to have a “chat” with whoever made the decision to cut “Comes Around” from the radio edit cause it’s the best part of the song!

3. Phoenix - “Long Distance Call”
This song is so freakin’ catchy that you think you’re eating gobs of cake when you listen to it. That good. I’d marry the first half of this whole album, but clearly this track stands out.

4. Gnarls Barkley - “Smiley Faces”
I don’t get why this wasn’t huge. I just don’t get it. *sob* No seriously, tell me.

5. K-OS - “Sunday Morning”
From like, the first second, this tune is gold. If you don’t like this song, you also don’t like cupcakes, puppies and also rainbows.

Honourable mentions: Metric’s “Poster Of A Girl”, Clipse’s “Wamp Wamp” and Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous”.

Guilty Pleasure Singles - Don’t Hate!

1. Ne-Yo - “So Sick”
Dude, this song is pure peaches and cream corn, but for awhile, I couldn’t stop listening. Also, it’s great for singing along horribly.

2. Pussycat Dolls - “I Don’t Need A Man”
You know when you go to a club, and you don’t really like clubs but then they end up playing the songs you loved when you were 11 and you end up having a hoedown? That’s this song for me. The chorus gets me every time, I just wanna bop like an oompa loompa.

3. Snow Patrol - “Chasing Cars”
This makes the guilty pleasure list cause radio overplayed the crap out of it, which ruins songs for me. But come on - if you have a heart, this song will break it. And you’ll love it.

4. Ciara - “Promise”
Takes me back to TLC’s “Red Light Special” and makes me wanna make babies. I can’t get enough of it.

Honourable Mentions: Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable”, Omarion’s “Ice Box”, Cassie’s “Me & U”.

Come on…tell us your choices! Immediately!

Holy crap.

I’m out of breath.

I’ve been sweating this quiz for the past two days - DREAMING about it. Referencing my CD catalogue. Constantly clicking back to it. If you love album cover challenges, do it! You can win Rough Trades Top 50 Albums! It’s freaking hard though, be warned. But I think you can do it.

Also, slightly easier to get you primed: Meish.org’s Album Cover Challenges (12 of them!)

Top 5 Rock Records Of The Year

1. Killswitch Engage - “As Daylight Dies”
2. Tool - “10,000 Days”
3. Mastodon - “Blood Mountain”
4. Alexisonfire - “Crisis”
5. Converge - “No Heroes”

Most Anticipated Rock Records Of ‘07

1. Glassjaw
2. Dillinger Escape Plan
3. Thrice
4. Megadeth
5. Machine Head

Can someone please tell me why so much garbage passes for “rock” these days?

When I say “rock” I mean the stuff that you crank to 11 and it feels like your head is on fire; all you can do is to bang your head until whatever’s inside burning comes out through your left nostril. I definitely don’t mean the whiny, jangly, weenie stuff that passes for “rock” in some publications and on certain websites. My criterion is simple: If it doesn’t make your blood boil, it ain’t any good - so the majority of so-called “rock” records fail this test. I’m looking at you, NME & Pitchfork-hype bands. At best, listening to these pretenders make you feel weak in the knees, as if you ate some bad shellfish; you just know in your heart it sucks and it was made by people who just don’t get it.

Now then - we’re here to talk about the BEST Rock Records of ‘06 - and there were so many records released this year that did everything right, that it’s hard to narrow it to five. But that’s my job.

We’ll start with #1; Killswitch Engage. “As Daylight Dies” is a career-defining slab of face-melting metal - the best record of the year from end to end; fantastic production courtesy of Killswitch guitarist Adam D., thick riffage, amazing vocals…just a tour de force. Plus, their live show must be seen to be believed.

Tool and Mastodon released genre- and mind-bending epics - progressive and heavy, full of inspiring musicianship, and chock full of brilliant sonic experiments and daring songwriting. This is just the kind of progressive material that keeps rock fresh and vibrant and gives me hope for the future of humanity.

Rounding out the Top 5, St.Catharines’ most celebrated sons Alexisonfire and hardcore vets Converge. Alexis’ latest is beautifully produced, heavy yet melodic - their best yet. It’s truly the sound of a band coming into their own, with great lyrics, tight song structure and the best use of whoa-oh-oh gang vocals since Bad Religion. And Converge… Listening to a Converge record is like being in the middle of a nuclear explosion and surviving to tell the tale; they’re intense enough to vaporize entire nations and yet they keep it positive with lyrics full of hope and messages of personal empowerment. This is bravura art.

‘07 promises to be a year of great rock too: Long Island heroes Glassjaw are back together and touring - and they aim to deliver a new record before the year is out. Other releases on the horizon include Dillinger Escape Plan’s sequel to 2004’s Miss Machine; Thrice’s multi-disc experiment related to the Four Elements, plus new records from Megadeth and Machine Head - both bands recently reborn and hungry.

So here’s to the year that was and the year that will be - it’s only rock ‘n’ roll but dammit, I love it.

Oh, dude. Check out the tags people have added to K-Fed’s album on Amazon. You know, for about a few weeks there, I almost forgot he existed.

I’ve got this sick and twisted love/loathe relationship with Fall Out Boy. I swear to god, sometimes they really annoy me to the point I’m going to lift up my computer and smash it into a million pieces. If you down with copping one of those smashed pieces of computer, comment me a comment and I’ll consider doing it.

Other times, I’m feelin’ this band. They’re loud and they rock. If it weren’t for the emo cusion bass player Wentz I’d really like this band. But straight up, I dig this new video. Check it.

This Ain’t A Scene It’s an Arms Race

Well, well, well. 2006 certainly felt entitled to making a fafillion movie trailer mash-ups, didn’t it? It was only a matter or time before someone made a list of the cream of the crop, and following that, it was only a matter of time before I provided you with said list. So, just doing my duty, here’s Giant Magazine’s list of the best movie mash-ups. Let’s get a good seat in the back and make out.

Oh. Em. Gee. Justin Timberlake once again RULED as host of SNL on the weekend. It should be noted that he is particularly suited to sketches involving mascot costumes and singing. But nothing, NOTHING compared to the Color Me Badd-like digital short called “A Special Box”. It’s a music video of hilarious wonder and magic. You must watch it or perish, as Kat would say.

PS: Whoa. Busted Tees sure isn’t wasting any time with this t-shirt!

The holiday season is all about giving to others. And…speed dating? Well look - what’s wrong with a little bit of giving PLUS a little bit of dating hot girls and guys? See, this way, OTHERS benefit at the same time as you!

Good idea! So get into this…it’s not affiliated with Much, but it’s for a good cause, so I figure, why not?

– BEGIN PSA –

Speed Date For Charity!

What’s Happening?
Special Speed-dating night for Foster Parents Plan. Also features live entertainment, a male/female auction and a mix and mingle for those aged 23-35!

More Details
This is a charity event to raise money for Foster Parents Plan, part of the international organization Plan. The intended result: raising enough money to rehabilitate a health clinic in Mali, West Africa. The cost to supply immunization materials and provide immediate support to the children of Mali is approximately $2000 CND. With our donations, these clinics will become permanent immunization posts so that families can obtain vaccinations in the future. Also, as soon as these clinics can get the financial support they need, they can start implementing safe motherhood initiatives, teaching women about reproductive rights, birth spacing and pre and post-natal health programs. 100% of all proceeds will go to the cause.

The Date
Monday December 18th, 2006
Bluepoint Oyster Bar & Supper Club
291 King Street West
Downtown Toronto

7:30pm: registration
8pm: speed-date starts
Pay what you can with all proceeds going to Foster Parents Plan