Pis j'étais comme tsé là, oh my god!

A memo to the teenage girls outside my apartment window: Sure, I might not know exactly what it is that you're talking about, but I do know that it can't possibly be THAT funny.

Musings

It seems like it's always acceptable for a québécois or québécoise to dislike an anglo. I've heard "crisse d'Anglais" more times than I care to count. It's interesting to me that it's frowned upon and shocking for an anglophone Quebecker to not like an Ontarionian, or to make sweeping generalizations about an English-speaking population. Racism is racism, isn't it?

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I've spent my fair share of time here in Quebec City feeling lonely (and worse, alone). What might be even worse is that now I have the additional anguish of missing one of the few people I had in this blasted city, someone I've become quite close to and developed strong feelings for (even if our "relationship" is up in the air). It's not so much that she's in Central America, or that she's going to be living 700km away for the summer and God knows where next year; at least I know she'll be coming back to someplace relatively near here. Problem is I don't know if she'll be coming back to me, and that's a scary feeling.

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So the EU is boycotting all our seal products. Ok, first things first: am I the only one who didn't know we exported that many seal products to begin with? But I digress. It seems the international community is in an uproar, calling the seal hunt a cruel and barbaric practice. Now, I'm all for animal rights, but here's my question: is the seal hunt actually so much more cruel than any other hunt, or is it just that seals are cute, and red blood stands out against white snow?

New body!

Here it is, the new Strat body! Surf green!

New guitar project redux

So the Telestar project is on the back burner (yet again). I think maybe I'm subconsciously afraid of messing up on that one or something. Anyway...

Last week I dropped the hammer on a replacement Strat body in Surf Green from eBay. It's going to be a projet long-terme, as I'm going to gather parts here and there when I have a few bucks. There's no rush. Here's what I'm planning:

Surf Green body (check); mint green pickguard, prewired with Golden Age pickups (from StewMac); one-piece maple neck; standard Strat trem bridge (with tremsetter); maybe some of those Steinberger keyless tuners (if not,seeing as how these don't really fit with the vintage aesthetic, probably locking tuners).

I'm planning this to be my vintage-style, purely rock n' roll guitar. No high-gain tones expected from this one, just surfy, spanky Stratoriffic sounds.

I will post pics of the body when it arrives.

When translating, one must always avoid the temptation to "translate as you go." I'm writing this as much for me as for anyone else.

I've been following Patrick Dion's blog for a little while now, because I think he has a lot to say and tends to say it in interesting ways (duh!). Yesterday's post on the ongoing education reform here in Quebec is particularly poignant, calling out bonehead ministers in Quebec City as well as airhead university students (present company excepted, of course). In any case, I won't retell the whole post; check it out here.

Rock and/or roll

What is rock and roll? As hard to define and open to interpretation as any musical genre, "rock and roll" means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. As a fan of rock music, from rockabilly to classic rock, punk rock to metal and everything in between, I've got a few opinions on the subject myself.

But rap music is definitely not rock and roll. Or is it?

Yesterday, Run DMC (alongside Metallica) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a paradoxical and irreverent institution if ever there was one. Now, I'm not going to slag on rap music; musical tastes are very personal, everyone is allowed to have their own. Des goûts et des couleurs on ne discute point, says an old French proverb. Nor am I here to dismiss Run DMC as musicians, or to discredit their importance in rap history or popular culture.

To me, rock and roll implies rebellion, youthful swagger, and attitude. Rap has this in spades. Rockers are often (though certainly not always) activists in some way, as are some (but not all) rappers. Rock is driving, with a heavy backbeat; it should make you want to move, or at least make your blood course a little faster. What is rap if not a beat?

However, rock and roll to me also suggests loud guitars, big drums, pyrotechnics and stage theatrics, girls flashing breasts on concert screens. Especially guitars. So to me, it's clear that rap is definitely not rock and roll. But do the two genres share certain qualities? Absolutely. Does this mean that rappers belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? To be honest, I had started writing this post with the intention of lamenting Run DMC's induction, but after thinking it over, I'm not so sure of my own indignation.

The Hall of Fame's inductees (and omissions) have more than stirred up a little controversy in the past, and the criteria for induction have always been a little unclear, or at least questionable. What's more important: record sales? talent? influence? Try and figure out why The Stooges still have yet to be given the nod and maybe things will be a little clearer. But if the goal of the Hall of Fame is to celebrate the spirit of rock and roll, then maybe artists like Run DMC should be invited to the party. After all, who likes to party more than rappers and rock and rollers?