I hope you all enjoyed the photo's from my recent vacation in Cuba. I'm still working on my 'vacation diary/memoir'. While I tried to write out every day, well, I was on vacation! Haha, I didn't necessarily want to write each night, some night's I was beat, dead tired.
I also have some short videos from the trip, just some clips from the beach and one of a Cuban band that played in the lounge of the resort. It was such a blast to get away. Think I really needed it. Along with my massive disdain for facebook and being burnt out from over extending myself over the last few years, in the Fall, I had a real anxiousness for the coming Winter, but, I think it wasn't as bad as the previous one.
If I could take a vacation like I did this year, every Winter, it might be a great boost. I admit many times throughout the last Winter I fell into a deep depression on more than one occasion, but I think it was caused by a culmination of incidents, stuff with the band, an overwhelming feeling from my work at CHSR and just the 'Winter blues'... or blahs.... Plus on top of that and this is one that I believe effects so many people in Canada is the really hard financial burden of Winter heatings costs and once you start worrying about finances, well it's a slippery slope from there.
I tired this Winter to keep my costs down and I think, over last Winter we had less calendar days with extremely cold weather. Just after Christmas day, much of Eastern Canada fell under the grasp of the evil 'Polar Vortex'! This vortex lasted for some time and then it was pretty cold throughout February. I tried using my portable oil heaters to heat my living room and kitchen, in fact, I never turned on the electric baseboard heating in my kitchen at all. I tried to go as long as I could without turning on my living room baseboard heaters, but the vortex and colder days of February made it impossible not to turn on the electric heat. Worst thing is, NB Power, the province's electric company, has I think every two years a 'hearing' and has to explain why they need to increase the cost of power and I believe this year they are at the board to raise heating prices again, I mean, soaring costs of living are inevitable, but in a province like New Brunswick which is a 'have not' province and NB has I believe the fourth highest unemployment rate, so many New Brunswickers struggle and I'm not saying that people in any other province do not struggle as well, it's just it seems so many people live with some a bleak outlook on life in this province. I was kinda taken aback when I moved back home at just how many of my friends and acquaintances were struggling with depression and other mental health disorders.
Anyhow, Winter is over and Sprig is here, Summer is right around the corner. I think the vacation was a huge exclamation point to the end of Winter, it was like, 'You're done!' onwards and upwards! The days are growing longer, the temperatures are getting warmer. The HUGE snowstorm we were allegedly supposed to have just turned out to be a really windy day with some flurries (mind you Moncton can't say the same, 30cm later... I think they had two days of schools closed).
While working at CHSR, the album pictured above came in one day. I had seen an album by the Calgary band 'Napalmpom' before. The name made me smirk, but I never actually listened to the record, If i'm right, the album prior to 'The Core Competences of...' was 'The Unconditional Love of...' As music director I saw hundreds of album come in during any given week. Napalmpom's release 'Unconditional Love of...' like 'Core Competences' was on vinyl and at the time, I wasn't reviewing any of the vinyl, but by the time that 'The Core Competences of...' was released I was taking some of the vinyl we were receiving home to review. I knew that Napalmpom was a 'Rock' band, but didn't really know much about the band, I had just figured they were another 'Alt Rock' act and wasn't all that inspired by what I knew about them.
I can't recall if we had received a CD copy of Napalmpom's new album, but for some reason, I think someone MAY have reviewed the album, I'm thinking Bondo, anyhow, not sure how it happened but I had heard a track off the album and it was pretty good, it might have been the first track off the album which is 'Get Love', this inspired me to take home the vinyl copy of the album and I threw it on my turntable.
I find today, unlike in the past, a lot of albums that are released don't have incredible songs from start to finish, you find so many bands have maybe 3-4 songs that are great and the rest seems like filler.
That was one of the many things about 'The Core Competences of...' it's a fantastic album from the kick off track 'Get Love' right through to the final track 'Pretty Great Machine' (An obviously play on Nine Inch Nails 'Pretty Hate Machine').
I believe that after I had digested the entire album I had posted on facebook that this should be the Canadian party album of the Summer (2017), I think it also made my weekly submission to CHSR's 'What Are We Listening To' for like 3 weeks in a row.
This seems like an album that should have blown this band up and skyrocketed them to fame. But the music industry is so much different now, so much of the medium seems hinged on 'singles'. It was a notion a few years ago that bands shouldn't release albums in the true sense of the word, but should instead release singles over a period of time. The idea is that people's attention spans are so damn short these days (I say most people have the attention span of a brain damaged mosquito). If your band release an album, CD, vinyl, cassette or digital format, then before a month is done people have moved on. So by releasing singles or two songs at a time over an extended period, then you can sort of remain relevant and if your songs are kick ass, then it'll really stick with people better. I guess another plan would be to release a full album, but then push on social media every so often after release, spotlighting songs. You see this with lyric videos and the like.
Anyhow, back to the 'Core Competences of' Napalmpom.'Get Love opens the album and is a great rocking track. The next track is 'Stop The Presses' another rocker and it keep on a rockin' with 'Show Me What You Make'
'Watch It Burn' the albums fourth cut is my personal favorite. It begins with a 'The Who's' Townsend -esque sound, it kicks up into the albums best Rock song and has great lyrics like, "Smile at all the players though they all hate my guts and we can kick this town right in the nuts" and "They wanna hold your future and they won't give it back, so when you're ready let your heart attack!" - Just awesome stuff.
and the album is loaded with great lyrical wit, for example 'Shots In the Dark' (track 10) 'Yes I hit the bottle, but I swear it swung first'....
If you're looking for a really awesome Summer party album or a party album for any time, pick up Napalmpom's 'The Core Competences of... I swear you won't be let down.
You can listen to the entire album at the band's Bandcamp site:
I also have some short videos from the trip, just some clips from the beach and one of a Cuban band that played in the lounge of the resort. It was such a blast to get away. Think I really needed it. Along with my massive disdain for facebook and being burnt out from over extending myself over the last few years, in the Fall, I had a real anxiousness for the coming Winter, but, I think it wasn't as bad as the previous one.
If I could take a vacation like I did this year, every Winter, it might be a great boost. I admit many times throughout the last Winter I fell into a deep depression on more than one occasion, but I think it was caused by a culmination of incidents, stuff with the band, an overwhelming feeling from my work at CHSR and just the 'Winter blues'... or blahs.... Plus on top of that and this is one that I believe effects so many people in Canada is the really hard financial burden of Winter heatings costs and once you start worrying about finances, well it's a slippery slope from there.
I tired this Winter to keep my costs down and I think, over last Winter we had less calendar days with extremely cold weather. Just after Christmas day, much of Eastern Canada fell under the grasp of the evil 'Polar Vortex'! This vortex lasted for some time and then it was pretty cold throughout February. I tried using my portable oil heaters to heat my living room and kitchen, in fact, I never turned on the electric baseboard heating in my kitchen at all. I tried to go as long as I could without turning on my living room baseboard heaters, but the vortex and colder days of February made it impossible not to turn on the electric heat. Worst thing is, NB Power, the province's electric company, has I think every two years a 'hearing' and has to explain why they need to increase the cost of power and I believe this year they are at the board to raise heating prices again, I mean, soaring costs of living are inevitable, but in a province like New Brunswick which is a 'have not' province and NB has I believe the fourth highest unemployment rate, so many New Brunswickers struggle and I'm not saying that people in any other province do not struggle as well, it's just it seems so many people live with some a bleak outlook on life in this province. I was kinda taken aback when I moved back home at just how many of my friends and acquaintances were struggling with depression and other mental health disorders.
Anyhow, Winter is over and Sprig is here, Summer is right around the corner. I think the vacation was a huge exclamation point to the end of Winter, it was like, 'You're done!' onwards and upwards! The days are growing longer, the temperatures are getting warmer. The HUGE snowstorm we were allegedly supposed to have just turned out to be a really windy day with some flurries (mind you Moncton can't say the same, 30cm later... I think they had two days of schools closed).
While working at CHSR, the album pictured above came in one day. I had seen an album by the Calgary band 'Napalmpom' before. The name made me smirk, but I never actually listened to the record, If i'm right, the album prior to 'The Core Competences of...' was 'The Unconditional Love of...' As music director I saw hundreds of album come in during any given week. Napalmpom's release 'Unconditional Love of...' like 'Core Competences' was on vinyl and at the time, I wasn't reviewing any of the vinyl, but by the time that 'The Core Competences of...' was released I was taking some of the vinyl we were receiving home to review. I knew that Napalmpom was a 'Rock' band, but didn't really know much about the band, I had just figured they were another 'Alt Rock' act and wasn't all that inspired by what I knew about them.
I can't recall if we had received a CD copy of Napalmpom's new album, but for some reason, I think someone MAY have reviewed the album, I'm thinking Bondo, anyhow, not sure how it happened but I had heard a track off the album and it was pretty good, it might have been the first track off the album which is 'Get Love', this inspired me to take home the vinyl copy of the album and I threw it on my turntable.
I find today, unlike in the past, a lot of albums that are released don't have incredible songs from start to finish, you find so many bands have maybe 3-4 songs that are great and the rest seems like filler.
That was one of the many things about 'The Core Competences of...' it's a fantastic album from the kick off track 'Get Love' right through to the final track 'Pretty Great Machine' (An obviously play on Nine Inch Nails 'Pretty Hate Machine').
I believe that after I had digested the entire album I had posted on facebook that this should be the Canadian party album of the Summer (2017), I think it also made my weekly submission to CHSR's 'What Are We Listening To' for like 3 weeks in a row.
This seems like an album that should have blown this band up and skyrocketed them to fame. But the music industry is so much different now, so much of the medium seems hinged on 'singles'. It was a notion a few years ago that bands shouldn't release albums in the true sense of the word, but should instead release singles over a period of time. The idea is that people's attention spans are so damn short these days (I say most people have the attention span of a brain damaged mosquito). If your band release an album, CD, vinyl, cassette or digital format, then before a month is done people have moved on. So by releasing singles or two songs at a time over an extended period, then you can sort of remain relevant and if your songs are kick ass, then it'll really stick with people better. I guess another plan would be to release a full album, but then push on social media every so often after release, spotlighting songs. You see this with lyric videos and the like.
Anyhow, back to the 'Core Competences of' Napalmpom.'Get Love opens the album and is a great rocking track. The next track is 'Stop The Presses' another rocker and it keep on a rockin' with 'Show Me What You Make'
'Watch It Burn' the albums fourth cut is my personal favorite. It begins with a 'The Who's' Townsend -esque sound, it kicks up into the albums best Rock song and has great lyrics like, "Smile at all the players though they all hate my guts and we can kick this town right in the nuts" and "They wanna hold your future and they won't give it back, so when you're ready let your heart attack!" - Just awesome stuff.
and the album is loaded with great lyrical wit, for example 'Shots In the Dark' (track 10) 'Yes I hit the bottle, but I swear it swung first'....
If you're looking for a really awesome Summer party album or a party album for any time, pick up Napalmpom's 'The Core Competences of... I swear you won't be let down.
You can listen to the entire album at the band's Bandcamp site:
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