Sunday, November 8, 2009

Episode 41: Same Old Story

...same old song and dance, my friend.

That was an Aerosmith reference. Clever, eh?
This week, we discuss November, mass shootings, the conservation of our industrial heritage, and, of course, The Office. Oh, and, as usual, we talk about ourselves. Enjoy!

PLAYLIST

Santogold - L.E.S. artistes
Metric - Handshakes

Timber Timbre - Like a Mountain
Grizzly Bear - Deep Blue Sea
The Conservation Authority - Her Stirring Waves

The Clash - Rudie Can't Fail
Blondie - Rapture

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home

LINKS

The AV Club
The Conservation Authority

2 comments:

MissWitczak said...

Hullo Awkwarders.

This is why I like November: It is as if you are the only person left on Earth, and this is comforting in a way. Everyone goes inside, the skies become grey, the leaves fall and it rains a lot... There is something inherently lonely about November, and I always find myself embracing it somehow.
...then again, I was born in November, and on a Wednesday (full of woe) so I guess I come by this love of melancholy landscapes honestly.
I don't know how related this is to what you're talking about re: industrial heritage, but it sort of reminded me of it in a way. So I am teaching The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz so my grade 10s. As part of my introductory hook lesson I showed them a wonderful documentary off the NFB website called "Montreal by Night" and it was made in 1947. I will link it here. (By the way, the NFB website is awesometastic and you could spend hours on it.) So.....
http://beta.nfb.ca/film/montreal_by_night
ANYWAY, so I am showing this short film to my kids and I am remarking on it, as we go, "Do you guys recognize all those industrial building they are showing? They're still there!" ...and in all honesty, I was expecting no response. To my surprise, a few kids pipe up and say "Me! I do! What did they used to do with those buildings, Miss?" and it got me to thinking about how the kids identify so strongly with these buildings,... and I recognized through them how important industrial planning is in keeping them in touch with our local history. They certainly seemed more curious about a grain elevator than they were about Mordecai Richler himself.
...It's really a catch 22 regarding whether or not it's just a token to pay tribute to a building's original purpose/heritage/history. It BITES that developers are able to ride the coattails of the people who truly care about preserving the heritage of a building, but at the same time they could just say "Screw the sepia photographs, we want a modern, sleek lobby and I don't give a damn about history." So they can either put up the pictures and not really care about them, or they could not put up the photos at all. You know what I mean?
I did not watch The Office last week, but I am happy to hear that Michael broke it off with Pam's mother because that was just unpleasant. Let me watch a few more weeks' episodes before I weigh in on the change in how Pam is being written.
Tyler's Dad, otherwise known as Brutus, rocks the Casbah. He is one cool chap.
... TW, did you just call Alice "Lucky Lou"? Because that might be completely intolerable in every which way.
Oooh, if you DO come to Montreal soon, please come out for Indian food. Or even better, come on a photoshoot with us. We could break out some extra special props for such a wondrous occasion.
Yeehaw.
Hey, this magnetic zeros show is very pleasant. I shall acquire it. I like this very much.

Great as always.
Looking forward to next week!

K

Brutus said...

Thankfully, historic buildings do receive a lot of attention these days. It is becoming increasingly rare that developers can knock down old buildings without at least offering some alternative solution; like maintaining the facades in any new design. In places like Old Montreal one cannot start excavating the land without having archeologists present to sift through soil to check for artifacts. It was not many decades ago when many wonderful edifices were demolished without anyone even lifting a finger. Often industrial buildings are not worth saving, but some consideration should be given to those that offer increasingly rare glimpses of bygone architectures.

It figures that I would first hear my nephew's music on Awkward Silences. Would it qualify as Indie music? Particularly enjoyed both the Conservation Authority and Les Artistes songs.

As for the recommendation from "Otherwise known as Miss", the NFB film on Montreal by Night was amazing. Really liked the views of streets we still stroll. Really didn't like Jacques' sports jacket. Bring back the streetcars!

All the best, from Brutus.