Well, my ear-drums are still reverberating.

Saturday started off fast and quick. My Lovely Wife and I woke up at the baffling time of 7:45 am and were unable to fall back asleep. So, up we got and had ourselves a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs with sauteed mushrooms and cheese. My Lovely Wife complained that there wasn’t enough cheese — as my eggs were drowning in cheese, I took it as another example of her over-powering cheese addiction. However, when she gave up eating her eggs halfway through (meaning, of course, that I got to finish them off) I discovered a definite lack of cheese in her eggs. It seems the Karma Gods of Cheese had chosen to skew the cheese distribution heavily in my favour. Abashed, I did feel.

Then, showering quickly, we decided to head on out to a sample sale of sportwear going on on Almon Street. Driving over, I regaled My Lovely Wife with Gorjus’ “favourite” band LCD Soundsystem. The sample sale however was a bit of a bust for us — great stuff at what I guess were well-discounted prices. However, when the original price for a pair of shorts is over $80, and the heavily-discounted price is $45, the level of discounting loses some of its shine. We left empty-handed… and went instead to spend money at — child-workers of the world, hate me now — Old Navy. Once we had glutted ourselves on cheap pants and shorts, and seeing as we were at the mall already, My Lovely Wife decided more shopping was the order of the day. So… she went from store to store, as I receded further and further into the background.

Finally, she was sated, and we went to Starbucks for a treat before heading home. I picked myself up a peanut-butter square (of great deliciousness) while she ordered a Caramel Macchiato. Waiting in line to pick it up, the call went out from behind the counter, “Tall Caramel Macchiato!” I stepped forward to grab it, but stepped back as someone else swooped in first. “Weird,” I thought, “Same order.” Another call: “Caramel Macchiato!” Yet another person grabbed before us. In the end, five orders were processed before My Lovely Wife’s was made — four for Caramel Macchiatos. The fifth was for an Apple Cider… with caramel. It seems it was a day for caramel.

So off we went home. And then I checked my email. And saw the email that Ramzi sent me on Friday:

“Wanna see Sloan at Reflections?”

For those not in the know, this weekend was Juno Weekend in Halifax. For the first time, the Juno Awards were being held in our fair city and with it came a whole cornucopia of concerts all over the city. And one of the events was Sloan playing at Reflections.

Sloan is a big deal in Halifax. They are hometown boys and were the band that really exploded out of the Halifax music scene of the early 90s. And them playing at Reflections would be pretty awesome — Reflections is not that big a space, so it would be a very intimate club show.

And — though I had been a fan for 11 years — I had never seen Sloan live.

Buuuut… I had told My Lovely Wife that this weekend was for us. We would do stuff together. I had backed out of a tournament to be with her. I was putting off school-work to be with her. If she didn’t want to go… I wasn’t going to go.

So I nonchalantly mentioned it to her — no pressure or anything — to see if she was interested. She was… hesitant. Basically, the most I could get out of her was that I should find out from Ramzi what the details were. Knowing that Ramzi was off at the tournament that I had backed out of, I left a message with him to call me back.

5:30 comes and I’m on my way to the grocery store when the cell phone rang — Ramzi.

The details:

• Sloan is playing tonight.
• His “girlfriend” (more later) Allison would leave him for any one of the members of Sloan in an instant. Taking her would likely mean a reprieve from this occurrence.
• Sloan is one of four bands playing. He doesn’t know what the other ones are — do we care?
• Tickets are $10 (Holy crap!).
• The club recommends that people show up betwen 7:00 and 8:00 to be sure of getting in.

And then what would likely be the deal-breaker with My Lovely Wife:

• Sloan is not on until midnight.

Urk.

I told Ramzi I would check with My Lovely Wife. I called her and let her know the scoop. She told me… she would think about it.

Sigh.

I proceeded to finish the grocery shopping and headed home.

I loaded the grocery bags on the kitchen counter when My Lovely Wife called for me to come upstairs. She was in the bath. She was thinking about it and she wanted to know — on a scale of 1-to-10 — how much I wanted to go. Now, I know that there are some times that the absolute truth is called for… and other times that the “correct” answer is called for. I decided this was the second.

“6.5 out of 10. This is our weekend, and if you don’t want to go, then we are not going to go.”

(She later admitted to me that she knew “6.5 out of 10″ was complete bullshit.)

She said she would think about it some more. Off I went to unpack the rest of the groceries.

Two minutes later, I’m called upstairs again. Then she told me, “If you REALLY want to go… and if you are REALLY nice to me… and if you accept that I will probably complain A LOT… then I say we go.”

Then she repeated it four times, so I knew that she was not just saying it but really MEANT it.

Then I paused for… oh… 0.0052 seconds.

Then I called Ramzi and said, “We’re in.”

(To be continued…)

Happiness and fun
Etching a groove in my brain
I can’t stop bouncing

• The Go! Team — Thunder, Lightning, Strike

1983 was the year I turned 12.

1983 was the year I started Grade 7 at Oxford Junior High.

1983 was the year that both my mother and father both moved into separate flats, one block apart, on Willow Street.

1983 was the year that I got my first “ghetto blaster”.

1983 was the year that I discovered taping songs from the radio.

1983 was the year that I discovered music videos.

1983 was the year that I became a music fan.

1983 was the year that I discovered The Police, U2, The Eurhythmics, Duran Duran, David Bowie, Tears For Fears, Thomas Dolby, The Pretenders, Human League, The Clash, Madness, The Go-Go’s, The Kinks, Joe Jackson, Spandau Ballet, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, Big Country, Peter Gabriel, The Style Council, The Romantics, Billy Idol, The Fixx, Nena, Ultravox, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

1983 was the year that every Saturday night, C100 FM (at that time not the bastard radio child it is now), used to have a radio show syncronised with a TV show where they would cover the top 20 albums of the week, plus other music that they managed to squeeze in. Because it was synched up, you could watch the videos on your TVs (which weren’t the multimedia behemoths they are now) while actually listening to the audio over your stereo, thereby getting a much better sound. And a louder one. It was through the “other music” that I got the distinct impression that whoever was responsible for programming the show did their damnedest to get some of their own personal favourites in, because in between the actual charting artists, the Michael Jackson’s and Hall and Oates’, they would always manage to squeeze in a few videos that no one had ever heard of… at least not if you were 12 and living in Nova Scotia. I think I can definitely credit the fact that “You’re The Best Thing” by The Style Council was the last dance at our wedding (let alone knowing who The Style Council even were), to seeing the video for “Long Hot Summer” one Saturday night while lying on the couch in the living room on Willow Street.

I’ve listened to a lot of music over the years since then, and gone through some periods where my taste got… questionable. (We won’t discuss my musical theatre period. I was a theatre nerd. I’m clean now, I promise.) But the roots of all my musical taste came from that year. It is the bedrock upon which all my likes and dislikes were formed. It is why I still tell people that British New Wave is my favourite musical genre. It is why I can forgive Sting much of his solo career. It is why “Mr. Roboto” makes me smile like someone just handed me an ice cream. It is why I always think of David Bowie as the Thin White Duke first. It is why “Our House” by Madness will always be on my top 5 list.

It’s why I always tell people…1983 was the best year in music.

Counting sheep would kill me right now.

For no discernable reason, I’ve been really tired lately. Every night this weekend, I’ve fallen asleep even earlier than the night before. Heck, I’m falling asleep before My Lovely Wife. (If you know My Lovely Wife’s sleeping habits, this will shock you. If you are not shocked, just pretend — you wouldn’t want to stand out now, would you?)

I don’t know why I’m so tired. Maybe Seasonal Affective Disorder is finally rearing its ugly head. Whatever the reason, my body has just decided that it is tired and that the best way to remedy that was to turn off a light switch in my brain, no matter if I was currently operating any heavy machinery. Thanks for the warning, brain.

It’s now Monday and I’m holding onto consciousness by my the skin of my teeth. All that’s keeping me on this side of dreamland is the music that I’m pumping directly into my cerebral cortex.

Because they are the bricks that form that wall, here are some of the songs that are currently keeping me interested enough not to develop a QWERTY-shaped indentation in my cheek:

• “Expectations”, Belle & Sebastian
• “Up The Wolves”, The Mountain Goats
• “Crash and Burn Girl”, Robyn
• “The Mariner’s Revenge”, The Decemberists
• “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House”, LCD Soundsystem
• “Bucky Done Gun”, M.I.A.
• “Friend of Mine”, The National
• “Sing Me Spanish Techno”, The New Pornographers
• “Multitude of Casualties”, The Hold Steady
• “What Katie Did”, The Libertines

Why I’m tired, I don’t know. All I know is that I hope it ends soon. And I’m so freaking glad I’ve got music right now.

P.S. I just started listening to The Stars’ Set Yourself On Fire for the first time. It’s helping too.

• Speak into the Mike: “Theme Week: Music – Day Five”

Oh no… a brand new meme… just been tagged… must… resist… the gravitational pull… too strong… must get word out… warn population… run while you … still can… someone please… tell My Lovely Wife… I love her… and to feed the cats… here gooooooooooooooes–

The Mike Stand’s Musical Mentorship Threeme!

Three albums you’re currently loving:

1. Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say That’s What I’m Not
2. M.I.A., Arular
3. LCD Soundsystem, LCD Soundsystem

Three albums that remind you of High School:

1. Fine Young Cannibals, The Raw And The Cooked
2. U2, The Joshua Tree
3. Living Color, Vivid

Three albums that remind you of College/University:

1. Nirvana, Nevermind
2. The Pogues, If I Should Fall from Grace With God
3. Sinead O’Connor, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got

Three albums everyone should have in their collection:

1. The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses
2. The Clash, London Calling
3. Crowded House, Together Alone

Three great albums you’d recommend to a friend:

1. Matthew Sweet, In Reverse
2. Yo La Tengo, I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One
3. The Decemberists, Picaresque

Three great albums recommended to you:

1. Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
2. The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday
3. The National, Alligator

Last three albums you added to your collection:

1. The Libertines, The Libertines
2. Bell & Sebastian, Tigermilk
3. Michael Penn, Mr. Hollywood Jr.

Three albums you “rediscovered” from your past:

Actually, lately I’ve been too busy listening to new music to rediscover anything… mainly because all the music from my past is on freaking cassette tapes. Sheesh. God bless obsolete tech.

Three artists/bands from your country that you think are / were great:

1. Sloan
2. The New Pornographers
3. k-os

Three artists/bands from another country that you think are great:

1. Arctic Monkeys (UK)
2. The Pixies (US)
3. Beautiful South (UK)

Three defunct or dead artists / bands you love:

1. The Police
2. The Jam
3. The Stone Roses

Three podcasts you listen to regularly (if you listen to podcasts or other downloadable shows):

1. iPod Nirvana
2. Zoe’s Radio Show
3. 3hive

Type of mp3 device(s) you currently own and use:

• Green 4GB iPod Mini

Favourite Accessories:

• The only accessory I have for it is a Griffin iTrip FM transmitter. So… I guess that makes it my favourite. By default.

Now… who to tag… who to tag… maybe Sarah… or Otto… or Barrie (who’s podcast I promise to listen to)… maybe David would enjoy it… or Mssrs. Gorjus & Fury… I can’t tag SassyK, ’cause Kulrblid alread did… which is usually my job … grumble… and I could only send out a soft tag to Jenny, ’cause memes scare her…

Better yet, if you read this, and want to to do it, go for it. Memes want to be free.

Go free, little meme… go free…