Stung Eye

Shaw finally noticed that we were stealing our cable. They put some filters in place and now we only have Much More Music and CNN. With commercial radio already removed from our daily routine, will the absence of TV create a greater distance between us and the rest of the pop culture world?
Taalam Acey has an interesting video on GNN dealing with the current state of hip pop.
Check out the vs. spy blog. He's planning a one year/$6000 world adventure.
My girlfriend is addicted to NeoPets.

The New Deal was amazing last night. If you ever get a chance to see them live... you must go! Amazing live breakbeats and beatboxing from the drummer. The keyboardist had a mini moog and 3 other keyboards and some effect racks. The bass player was nice and funky but his volume could have been turned up a notch, (and maybe the keyboards down a notch). I would have liked to have heard some vocals in the mix, but I can't really complain.
The Open Mic Jam @ the Collective was canceled.
Looks like Winnipeg is getting some bad press over in the UK. (In other news, the free press staff are on strike.)
Check out the newish Flaming Lips album online. I really enjoyed track #9, Do you realize.
Ever wonder where the Beastie Boys and the Dust Brothers got all those dope samples for Paul's Boutique?
Try this at home. Ha!

If you are interested in music production, Precursor is holding a free seminar on Native Instruments' new software sampler Kontact. The seminar will be held at the following times:
- Tonight (Oct 9th) @ Long & McQuade, 651 Stafford Street 7-9pm.
- Tomorrow (Oct 10th) @ Precursor Productions, 218 Marion Street.
Also tonight:
-In conjunction with the Winnipeg Improv Festival: The ill Open Mic Jam @ the Collective with John Smith and Ismalia from Frek Sho hosting. The last ill Open Mic Jam was a huge inspiration. Lots of great local hip-hop.
-The New Deal @ the West End. Live house and breakbeat! (Check the music downloads on their site.)
In other news...
-The glossy flyers for the Halloween show can now be found @ the usual haunts around town.
-I won tickets to that De La Soul show I was bitching about earlier. Now I just have to pretend I'm a smoker when I go pick up the tickets. Cough cough

The essence of Winnipeg captured by a music lover from New York:
City Still Breathing
Listening to the Weakerthans
by Paul Tough
The Hip-hop Wieners CD is now available on the Peanuts and Corn webpage. I've heard good things about this collaboration between John Smith, Pip Skid and mcenroe.
If you want to know what's going on the in the world of DJ CO-OP just check his page.

So that De La Soul concert I was excited about... a clever cigarette marketing trick!
Check this info from the promoters of the De La tour:
"Tickets for Icebox are not for sale. In fact, the only way to get tickets is by entering your name in the contest by registering through this Website or by calling 1-866-255-0455.
Please note that the ticket contest is open only to smokers aged 19 years and older."
Sorry for the lack of posts of late... I've been hella sick for the past 3 or 4 days.
A movie everyone should watch: Wonder Boys.

"But is it art?" - He shouted.
Yes! That's right! It's time for the very first Stungeye short story write off.
The rules are simple:
- Let me know that you are participating.
- Finish a short story by the end of the year.
- Keep the story short enough to hold my Nintendo Generation attention span.
How easy is that?!? - - - > Easier than throwing away your misery in a used cardboard box.
This is not a contest. Contests are silly. All the stories will be published here on Stungeye in January 2003. So get writing... get inspired... get lost....
More details will be online once this contest finds a home on the Projects page.
And finally... a music recommendation for the day: Jackpot - Shiny Things.

Last night was amazing. Surprise b-day party @ Earls followed by pure inspiration in the form of beats and rhymes.
Thanks to all my guest directors and all the wonderful people who made cameos.
The highlight of the night was War Party. Check out their video for Feeling Reserved.
Freestyles were flowing faster than honey after a 30 second trip in the microwave.
The vibe was closer to the heart than a triple blade close shave.
A room full of best friends that just haven't met yet.
Time card stamped with more flight hours than the jet set.
An exercise to the reader is presented in these words.
We can learn to grow together like the total of three thirds.
Inspiration comes from movement (boredom comes from standing still).
I'll start my own multinational with the goal of branding chill.
Live a life of short vignettes with a million guest directors,
who will help you stay on path like civilian quest protectors.
An attempt to learn from others and our own homemade mistakes.
The past is often too rich and yet protected like chrome sprayed Swiss cakes.
Ok. I've got to stop now or I'll be here all day.
Peace.

I don't often watch TV. When I do watch, I end up getting freaked out by our cultures continuing obsession with beauty, youth and celebrity. When was it decided that watching a movie star pick gum off the bottom of their shoe was time well spent? Sometimes I get scared about the future... Then I turn off the TV, hug my girlfriend, pet my bunnies and smile.
So October keeps getting better! The send & receive festival is taking place from October 18 - 25. Lots of very interesting experimental and avant garde music and film. On October 20th as part of send & receive, Amon Tobin (aka Cujo) will be @ the Pyramid with Prefuse 73, P Love and Bonobo.
I'm looking forward to music, friends and smiles tonight!

I was going to write a rant on Sunday about the lack of soul in pop music. The reason for the rant was what I witnessed on Saturday night... One Ton. Two words: No Soul. I probably should have known something was up when I spotted the Hot 103 hummer parked in front of the Pyramid. Oh well. The two opening acts, Nacoya and Pope's Hill were amazing. Pope's Hill even did a cover of my favorite Beatles song, Tomorrow Never Knows!
I wasn't feeling too well yesterday. I'm not sure if it was the flu or if it was some sort of food poisoning. I found comfort in a can of tomatoe soup. When visiting my grandparents when we were younger, my sister and I would always request tomatoe soup and sandwiches for lunch. To this day, there is no lunch time food more comforting for me that a can of tomatoe soup and a nice tuna or ham sandwich. (Grandma style... with the crusts cut off.) Grandpa would tell me that I should eat my crust to put hair on my chest. Sometimes I did. I'm sorry to say that it worked.

I joined Wanderlust last night. It's a neato service that will hopefully bring some more traffic to this page. I'd better start adding more content! I also have to start archiving old posts... this page is getting pretty long.
There is a hip-hop legend at the Pyramid tonight. Guru, formerly of Gang Starr and the man behind the Jazzmatazz CD comps, will be there tonight with Krumbsnatcha and Bless. It's nice to see that the Urban Grooves Festival is finally booking acts outside of the Ninja Tunes family. Don't get me wrong... I love Ninja Tunes! But diversity is nice too. So if you do check out Guru, let me know how it was.
Speaking of the Urban Grooves Festival, I heard that James Brown was really good, but that he didn't really get into it until the last two songs. Who can blame him though? That man must be 150 years old in crazy musician years, (that's 69 years old for all you square folk. haha).
Also as part of the Groove fest on Saturday is One Ton with Locals Pope's Hill at the Pyramid. Funky Funky... I am a funk junkie! Check out the latest One Ton video Supersexworld. This show should be awesome. I've heard many good things about One Ton and many Morcheeba comparisons. Pope's Hill comes highly recommended too.
De La Soul is coming to Winnipeg on the 16th of October! What the shit is happening to this town? I love it.
Oh... and finally I found something to do on my birthday. Friday, September 27th @ the West End: Build, The Official Prairie Music Week hip-hop night. Featuring: Frek Sho, War Party, Soso, Epic, Gumshow Strut, YBIMB, Crossanova, Co-Op, Chaps, Hunnicut and Krackajack. Hosted by mcenroe. So come one... come all... and buy me a beer!