The Toronto Star ran this piece yesterday about what it’s like to be a youth in my hometown of Oakville, Ontario. I found the article abso-freaking-lutely hilarious, as the culture described is still as familiar and alien to me as it was when I was a bored-as-hell 19-year old Jokevillian a decade ago. Familiar because I know well what it’s like to drive aimlessly through the city looking for something – anything – to do. Driving from Sharky’s to Arnold’s to the Oar House to Philthy’s for no discernable purpose. Just killing time, really. Oh yeah. And it’s alien because, well, the folks profiled in the article were not the crowd I ran with, not even close. We weren’t affluent, though I won’t insult my parents by implying we were from the wrong side of the tracks or anything – we certainly weren’t. It’s just that by Oakville standards, well-to-do is REALLY well-to-do.

It’s funny that the girl in the article went to the same high school as me, because it was just that clique-y when I was there and I can probably tell you what clique she was in… God, the roles in high school never change, do they? Just the names and faces. I was one of the clique-less, I think. Unless geeks count as a clique… which they probably do. The Geek Clique. Dear Lord. The demographics mentioned in the article surprised me – 87% European descent and only 2.3% Chinese? That’s amazing because when I first moved there, there were a helluva lot fewer Asians than that. In high school the Chinese population seemed to increase exponentially as the influx of folks fleeing Hong Kong before 1997 began.

I’m surprised a single fluffy article in the Life section of the paper could spark such a wave of nostalgia in me. Actually, nostalgia is probably the wrong word – I have only the faintest yearning for my salad days, and that’s only because at that point I hadn’t quite fucked up my life yet. I don’t miss Oakville itself hardly at all, and it’s only hardly because most of my high school friends have stayed in the Halton region for reasons unfathomable to me (yeah yeah, cheap houses – they all own homes and I rent a basement. Thanks for reminding me). It’s true, you know. You can’t go home again – and for that I’m eternally thankful.

But enough about me – let’s talk about …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – their new album is out September 21. This news comes on the heels of the announcement that bassist Neil Busch has left the band on account of poor health. They hope this situation is only temporary, but from the sounds of it his condition is fairly serious. Best wishes for his speedy recovery.

The worst-named band in the UK The Music will be at the Mod Club August 23, tickets $16. Have you ever tried to do a google search for “music”? Yikes.

Franz Ferdinand just won’t stop touring. The Mercury Prize nominees (and odds-on favourites) will be back in Toronto for a third go-around this year at an even worse venue than last time – catch them October 1 at The Docks, tickets $25. Apparently tickets were supposed to go on pre-sale through their website yesterday, but I can’t find anything about it.

VH1 has Tanya Donelly’s latest record Whiskey Tango Ghosts available to stream in its entirety right now. It hits stores official-like next Tuesday. From Stereogum.

The Washington Post has taken the time to catalog and document all the types of annoying concert-goers out there. Read these over and if any of these have EVER been you, hang your head in shame. SHAME. They did miss my personal bugbear, though – a local variant on The Stander. Namely, those three or four 6’4″ frat boy-looking guys who make a point of standing right in front of me no matter what show I’m at. What is that all about? What’d I ever do to you?

Scotsman.com reports on the amount of sex, drugs and booze that one can expect to go down in the Olympic Village in Athens this Summer. Apparently Australians take the god for most boozed-up partiers at the Summer Games and Canadians hold the title for the Winter Games. Canada, represent!

Blue Jays slugger Carlos Delgado is getting shit from certain quarters because he doesn’t support the Iraq War and won’t stand while they play “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch. For voicing his opinion, a Puerto Rican playing in Canada has been branded “un-American”, “a member of Al Queda” and “a terrorist”. For the love of God people, what’s wrong with you? Have you seen his numbers this season? He’s not even terrorizing baseballs, the way he’s swinging the bat. How are people so flippin’ stupid? How how how.

Oh – my photos from my trip are now online, thanks to the simplicity of Folderblog. Check them out here – I didn’t realize how many shots of wildlife I’d taken. I’ve rejigged all my non-concert photo galleries to use Folderblog. Quite handy – I might reskin them eventually to match the rest of the site, but probably not. Lazy, y’know.

np – The New Pornographers / Electric Version

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