He just ordered a giant glass of milk.

Ticket Stub Diary.

I've always kept my ticket stubs over the years... except on a few occasions when they fall victim to the washing machine or when I was drunk scrounging for pizza money at evenings end and they ended up on the floor or some random street corner... for years these stubs have taken over my photo albums... I've always planned to do something with them... and finally I did... I found a Ticket Stub Diary online and ended up having to buy two of them for all my tickets... and looking back through time is as hilarious as it is memorable... I might have attended one too many Primus concerts?!?!?
You can buy a Ticket Stub Diary here.

RIP Harvey Pekar.

Today we lost an underground comic book legend... a writer best known for his work on American Splendor... he lived and died in Cleveland, Ohio and was found by his wife this morning... Harvey had a public battle with lymphoma... and had been recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.... he was 70 years old.

R.I.P. Harvey Pekar (1939-2010)
"Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff"

Polaris Prize 2010.

The short list has been announced for the 2010 Polaris Prize... if you're Canadian and your record is more than 30 minutes/8 tracks long... you qualify... but there's a catch... the musical pool in Canada in deep and we release more albums per capita than any other country... and in the past there has been some amazing records that have won the $20,000 prize... Fucked Up Chemistry of Common Life (2009)... Caribou Andorra (2008)... Patrick Watson Close to Paradise (2007).... Final Fantasy He Poos Clouds (2006)... and for 2010 the short list is as follows...

Artist: The Besnard Lakes
Album: The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night

Artist: Broken Social Scene
Album: Forgiveness Rock Record

Artist: Caribou
Album: Swim

Artist: Karkwa
Album: Les Chemins De Verre

Artist: Dan Mangan
Album: Nice, Nice, Very Nice

Artist: Owen Pallett
Album: Heartland

Artist: Radio Radio
Album: Belmundo Regal

Artist: The Sadies
Album: Darker Circles

Artist: Shad
Album: TSOL

Artist: Tegan And Sara
Album: Sainthood

This year the competition in once again great... and two of my favourite records of the year so far made the list... Caribou and Owen Pallett are both nominated... and both have won the prize in previous years... so winning again would be doubtful... yet deserved.
The winner will be announced on September 25th at 9pm.

Wavves.

Nathan Williams is from San Diego, California and plays under the moniker Wavves... and is set to release his third album King of the Beach on August 3 via Fat Possum Records... this time around Nathan has a complete rhythm section backing him... consisting of Stephen Pope and Billy Hayes... both formerly of the late Jay Reatard’s touring band... Wavves self titled record received notable praise in 2009... mostly from us blogger kids... and well Pitchfork... and the bar is set even higher with King of the Beach... for the last week I can't seem to stop listening to stand out tracks... King of the Beach, Take on the World, Green Eyes and Baby Say Goodbye over and over again... thanks mediafire... I've literally been ignoring the other 13,000 songs on my ipod... I even uploaded it for my girlfriend... but I fully expect her to make a vacuum sound crossed with a pissed off badger next time I see her... she lacks a love of low-fi... but I don't know how anyone can't love surf music no matter how it's produced... I think it helped that I grew up with my dad beating the steering wheel and singing along to the Beach Boys on those long drives to the cottage... lying in the back of that old brown Dodge pickup truck with my brother and a mattress my mother cut out of foam... a pocket full of garbage pail candy and popeye cigarettes... maybe I was just hyperactive from the sugar yet part of it came from hearing Brian Wilson's familiar voice and knowing I would be spending the next two months in nothing but a bathing suit ... I realise now how much of an effect that has had on me... with Surfer Blood, The Morning Benders and now Wavves coming out with records this year... surf music is dominating much of my playlist... even though I haven't been seen in a bathing suit for years.
Stream King of the Beach here.
King of the Beach:

01. King Of The Beach
02. Super Soaker
03. Idiot
04. When Will You Come?
05. Post Acid
06. Take On The World
07. Baseball Cards
08. Convertible Balloon
09. Green Eyes
10. Mickey Mouse
11. Linus Spacehead
12. Baby Say Goodbye

Les Savy Fav.

So I missed Les Savy Fav when they played at the Wrongbar during NXNE... a band I've never seen live... and how did I miss my favourite band playing in my backyard do you ask? Well... I attended Pavement and Broken Social Scene that day on Toronto Island... and by the time Pavement was playing Stop Breathing for their encore... I was spinning around in circles like a drunken child... kicking empty cups and being belligerent to everyone within twenty feet... I was in no condition to see Les Savy Fav when they took the stage at 1:00am... and I most certainly would have been turned away because of the incessant hiccups and the fact I was only using one eye to keep the world straight... I was better off passing out on the couch with a joint in one hand and the other in a bag of ketchup chips... but there's still hope for me... Les Savy Fav are releasing a new album Root for Ruin on September 14 via Frenchkiss... the most anticipated album of the year in my opinion... and if it's half as good as 2007's studio album Lets Stay Friends... I'll be one happy boy... and just maybe the music gods will smile upon me and Tim Harrington and Co. will make another stop in Toronto later in the year... and my all my dreams will come true... *fingers crossed*.
Root for Ruin:

01 Appetites
02 Dirty Knails
03 Sleepless in Silverlake
04 Let's Get Out of Here
05 Lips n' Stuff
06 Poltergeist
07 High and Unhinged
08 Excess Engergies
09 Dear Crutches
10 Calm Down
11 Clear Spirits