first things first, but not necessarily in that order

This weeks Love Potion is a Record Store Day edition. Even if you’re not a vinyl junkie these are still some interesting reads:

• Ever wonder why records seem pricer in Canada vs the States? One possible answer is that despite vinyl sales doubling, Canada lacks in pressing plants.

• BlogTO offers up a list of 5 ways to celebrate Record Store Day in Toronto.

• Have you worked in a record shop? If so, the Guardian wants to hear about your experiences behind the counter.

• Looking at this list really makes me want to hightail it across the pond with a massive empty suitcase. The best independent record shops in Britain.

• I love these images of how record shops in the 1960s used to look, and also how sad to see all these abandoned record shop photos starting with Toronto’s own Sam the Record Man.

• Have to say I’m rather glad these Canadian record store commercials are a thing of the past, though have to admit a lot of our collection do bear the stamp marks from Peter Dunn’s Vinyl Museum.

• Absolutely loving these stunning photos from the London Oxford Street HMV Flagship Store in the 60′s and even more from inside the HMV Oxford Street store. Also I know they’re far from independent, but I HMV holds such a soft spot for me, I’m very glad that they won’t be entirely shutting in the UK or Canada for that matter.

• If you haven’t already, Amoeba Music have a fantastic What’s In My Bag series which features Artists, Customers and Staff sharing their recent finds.

And with that, it’s now officially Record Store Day! I’m going to try and get some sleep now, coffee maker timed and ready to go for the morning.

Record Store Day 2013 is almost here!

Since it’s launch at Rasputin Music in San Francisco five years ago, Record Store Day events and participation around the world has grown significantly. Every year on the third Saturday in April musicians, record stores, labels and music lovers a like get together to celebrate and spread the word about independent record stores. With in store performances, special discounts, and the heralded limited edition exclusive RSD vinyl releases it’s a highlight to my April every year.

And for the past several years despite knowing when Record Store Day fell, I would always inadvertenly schedule a midday tattoo session. This year, work on my sleeve will have to wait as I plan to properly enjoy the day without being wrapped up in meat packing material and hepped up on painkillers.

Here are a few of the Canadian Record Store Day Releases I’ll be on the look out for:

First Row

1. David Bowie – Drive-In Saturday 7″ Vinyl Picture Disc
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Animal X, 7″ Vinyl
3. The Cure – Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, 2 LP Set Red Vinyl

Second Row

4. Blind Melon – Blind Melon + Sippin’ Time Sessions, 2LP
5. Pulp – After You, 12″ Vinyl
6. Rolling Stones – Five by Five, 7″ Vinyl EP

Third Row

7. Small Faces – There Are But Four Small Faces,
Limited edition 180g Vinyl edition of the Small Faces 1968 debut
8. Misfits/Lemonheads – Skulls, 7″ Vinyl Picture Disc
9. Porno For Pyros -Porno For Pyros, Tie Dye Swirled Vinyl, Remastered for vinyl on 180 gram vinyl

And really I’m rather excited about the Ultravox reissue in limited heavyweight white vinyl of Vienna. Oh my god, yes I just wrote that and yes I am a huge, huge music geek.

Just go watch this video now instead and melt back into the 80′s while I go print off my Record Store Day shopping list.

Cabbagetown Mural in Toronto

It’s been all quiet on the blogging front as of late. I wound up taking some time off work for my Spring “Staycation” and unplugged for a fair bit of it.

I’ve subsequently found getting my blog on afterwards a bit slow going, so apologies for the radio silence on here.

So what does one do on one of these here staycations you might ask?

Well if you’re me, the following:

• Attend every film at the Silent Film Festival
• Solo Girlie Spa Date
• Partake in some fine cocktails and fine company at Toronto’s famed speakeasy the Toronto Temperance Society
• Brunch, Brunch, and more Brunch
• Birthday Celebration day drinks
• Adopt a Kitten
• Bookend your holiday with a Nick Cave concert (thank you Nikolai!!!) and a Sigur Ros concert (thank you Eric!!!)
• Catch up on some reading
• Enjoy the guilty pleasures of all Netflix has to offer (Magnum PI cannot be stopped)

So, briefly, that’s what I did. And I had a great time wandering around the city with my partner in crime and really properly relaxed for a change. As much as I love to jet off all around the world, (and don’t get me wrong, I won’t turn a trip down for anything), I really actually enjoyed staying put for once. More to come on the Silent Film Fest and other recent misadventures I promise!

Cabbagetown Mural in Toronto

Album: Playing the Angel

Cost: $23.99 CDN

Found: HMV, 333 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, CANADA.

Depeche Mode are back on top form with yesterdays release of Delta Machine (check out a concert webcast from “Live on Letterman” of the new album here).

One of my favourite Depeche Mode albums is actually a much later one in the DM canon and also one a lot of DM fans would disagree with me on, but I argue that Playing the Angel is a solid album.

Released in 2005 it did meet with positive reviews and decent sales. I really got into the album during what seemed like a never ending winter in Eastern Europe. If ever there was a locale suited to listening to Depeche Mode in, I think Bratislava, Slovakia was made for it.

Bratislava reminds me very much of some Canadian cities in some regards, specifically with the life of the city during the winter months contrasted with how once Spring hits everyone and everything comes alive again. I was on an Erasmus placement at VŠMU – the Academy of Performing Arts Bratislava for several months, which started in the dead of winter.

The city seemed almost abandoned in those long, dark winter months and I spent a lot of my time in coffee shops reading, writing and on my lap top taking advantage of the cafes wi-fi. It was during those hours whiled away drinking some of the best mint tea I’ve ever had, that I listened to Playing the Angel ad nauseum.

It would seem I wasn’t the only one, everywhere I went it felt like the album was following be it billboard ads plastered throughout the city, constant radio play, Depeche Mode nights, and of course the lead up to the massive stadium show in Bratislava. I wound up having several chances to see Depeche Mode during their tour in support of Playing the Angel and missed them each and every time in what seemed like a comedy of errors. When they were in London I was in Bratislava, when they were in Bratislava I was back in London, when they were in Vienna I was…well you get the point.

I did however manage to go to a Slovak Depeche Mode night, which turned out to be nothing like I had expected. My experience in the past with Depeche Mode club nights have usually been very small venues, normally of the alternative, 80′s, goth variety with people doing their best plucking-cobwebs-out-of-thin-air dancing. This was not to be the case in Bratislava however.

After several snowbound weeks with the same routine of school, cafe, pub, then home, cabin fever was starting to set in for me. I came across flyers in one of the cafes for the Depeche Mode night and tried to convince my other UK classmates to go. No one was biting with the exception of my friend Joe who was pretty game for anything.

The night came and off we trotted to the club. When we got there I had to check twice as to whether it was the right place. The venue was huge. There was a lineup going around the block of people waiting to get in. And not an alternative/80s/goth type in sight either.

Once inside we saw the club was equally impressive with two floors with massive wall to wall screens with different projections of film footage from Depeche Mode concerts and music videos being played. The projections acted as a visual backdrop to the DJ who played literally nothing but Depeche Mode all night long.

It was interesting to see just how mainstream Depeche Mode are out of the normal circles I ran in back in the UK and North America. The club was almost entirely men that night, many dressed in white trousers, slicked back hair, and a variety of expensive smelling colognes wafted through the space. Joe and I danced into the wee hours with lovely smelling Eastern European men in what was a a very welcoming and calm space.

When it was all over, everyone dispersed and as we walked away from the club I remember looking back in wonderment at the venue, which from the outside resembled an enormous, industrial, concrete cube.

Playing the Angel saw me through a long and often lonely winter. I’m really loving Delta Machine and can’t wait to actually see Depeche Mode play live finally when they come to Toronto later this year.

I like to think that somewhere, in Eastern Europe another Depeche Mode night to the same scale is being prepared. White trousers pressed and hung in anticipation, cologne and hair gel on a dressing table waiting for the right time to be used again.

March has been a bit of a bust this year weather wise with winter being pretty hard to shake. CBC kicked it off the other day announcing on the radio that last year on the same date it had been a glorious 21°C with people practically dancing in the streets and wearing t-shirts because of the weather. Compared to this years -15°C and grumpkin like transformation of people bundled up on public transport glowering into their travel mugs of burnt coffee, you’d be a bit hard pressed to believe it was Spring.

But Spring it is, and I love March, least of all because it’s my birthday month.

In past years I’d be packing my bags and getting ready to hit the road. I usually always go away for my birthday, and have spent the past three birthdays in Washington DC, New Orleans, and Las Vegas.

This year I’m staying put and I’m really looking forward to having some time off to explore the city, catch up on some half finished books, pick up where I left off with Yoga classes and just take the chance to take a breather and see where I’m at and what I want to really work on in the coming year. A spring awakening of sorts, March is really a personal New Year’s for me.

I kick off my holiday tonight with going to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at Massey Hall with one of my good friends Nikolai. I’m ridiculously excited – it’s a beautiful venue, excellent company, and Nick Cave’s Push the Sky Away is a stunning musical work.

One of my favourite films is The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and a good reason for that is the incredible soundtrack created by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for the film.

Time to put the laptop down and get ready to head out to the show now. Viva Spring I say, even if it is still snowy and cold out.

During University one of my many part time jobs to see me through school was as a Barista. I loved working the beautiful old espresso machine and took delight and care in making delicious lattes and drinks. It’s here that I really discovered a love for coffee after years of subsiding on substandard instant grinds, which was all there was to hand in the Financial office I worked in at the time. I was young, I didn’t know any better and had been raised a tea drinker anyway. I’m thankful though to have learned otherwise.

Coffee culture is fascinating, and I love the idea of staying up all night in a cafe just drinking coffee, reading, writing and watching the world go by. I’m lucky to live in a city that has a thriving coffee scene.

It’s Monday, and cold and blustery out today. I would love to be in a coffee shop right now, but will have to be happy with a large cup of coffee at my desk instead. This edition of Covet is brought to you care of my caffeine vice.

First Row

1. Salvador Dali Skull Travel Mug $33.00 USD from PattyMara’s Sacred Heart Cafe
2. Caffeine Molecule Necklace $84.00 from Think Geek
3. Sugar Scrub Coffee Body Polish from Babylon Soap Co $10.50 USD

Second Row

4. Bittermens New Orleans Coffee Bitters $23.00 CDN from BYOB Toronto
5. 5lb Bag of David Lynch Signature Organic Coffee from Java Distribution $54.50 USD
6. Bodum Stove Top Espresso Maker from Green Beanery $29.95 CDN

Third Row

7. Pitch Leather Biker Jacket from JS Reclaimed Wood $248.00 CDN
8. Coffee Cup Reusable Sleeve $8.00 USD from Kup Kozy
9. Repurposed Wood Coffee Knock Box $45.00 USD from Log & Iron

I’ll preface this with saying I am not Irish, I’m Canadian and in being so, am a typical Celtic Mutt – a mix of English, Irish, Scots. However family histories and stories interest me, and on St.Patrick’s Day I’d like to share this bit of history from my Irish side. There are a number of chunks missing, and what I know has been cobbled together from various sources, including from a lovely distant relative I connected with years ago through Ancestry.com

My great-great grandfather David was born in Dublin in the 1860′s to Julia (nee Lanaghan) & John Curtin.

David was one of several children, and not much is known of his early life. His family left Ireland when he was a teenager moving to an area near Liverpool called “Little Ireland”.

His father died not too long after the move to Little Ireland. One brother was later institutionalized and died in an Asylum, another brother wed, had children and settled in Liverpool. Their mother Julia died in 1897. At some point David joined the military, I’m unsure as to when, but by the age of 28, he was sent to Nova Scotia, Canada with the British Army.

It’s here that he met Adelaide, and married her. To remain in Canada, David had to “buy himself” out of the military which he did. Adelaide’s family being Protestant disowned her when she converted to Catholicism in order to marry David. She was essentially completely cut off from her large farming family in Nova Scotia, never to speak to her English father again.

The newly weds remained in the maritimes for awhile, calling New Brunswick home for years where Adelaide gave birth to several daughters. From Fredericton the family then moved westward, to Kingston, Ontario where David worked as a Carriage Driver for a Doctor, before finally settling in Toronto.

In Toronto, the family resided at 530 Carlaw Ave on the east side of the city. I actually live pretty close to their house and have wandered by on occasion. I’m not sure if it’s the original building from the 1920′s or a newer build. It’s odd to stand in front of a building that once was home to your family, a family I never knew except through stories. And in this house on Tues, May 14th, 1929 David died in his 69th year of pneumonia.

I wish I knew more about what life was like for him. I briefly visited Dublin with my Mom several years ago, and remember wandering around trying to picture what the city must have been like for David and his parents, where had they lived and where were their old stomping grounds in the city, what did they do, and what parts of the city did they love or walk by, any number of questions.

My Irish friends would often roll their eyes in regards to North Americans who would say they were Irish, when a good several generations had passed since they could claim any direct relation from the Emerald Isles. I understand both sides as to why this might be annoying, but also why North Americans can be like this.

Identity is something as a country we often struggle with, a lot of the time we define ourselves as Canadians by what we aren’t. We’re fiercely proud to be Canadian, but also proud of our ancestry be it Irish, Italian, Japanese, Polish and so on. It’s through our ancestry that we gain a deeper sense of history and understanding of who we are through these personal family histories.

I often wonder what my Irish ancestors would make of our modern day St.Patrick’s Day festivities. It’s a huge event in the city, with a large parade and people celebrating well into the wee hours clad in green and cheap fabric Leprachaun hats. I have to say I find myself rolling my eyes at how the day gets turned into an excuse to drink, I write this, as I have a pint of Guinness by my side (so trust me, my horse isn’t that high).

What I do know about St.Patrick’s Day is that I always stop and reflect on my family and the little I do know about my great-great Grandfather. He was a giant of a man with an impressive moustache, gentle, soft spoken, with a love of gardening and his many grandchildren. When my great Auntie Dot was still alive, she spoke of her Grandfather with love and respect. Maybe one day I’ll know more, but I’m happy to know the little I do at least.

Album: Psychedelic Jungle

Cost: $24.99 CDN

Found: Hits & Misses, 799 Queen St West, Toronto, ON, CANADA. (Sadly now closed.)

There will never be another Lux Interior.

Singer and founding member of the most excellent garage punk band the Cramps, died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2009 from a heart condition.

I remember being pretty floored reading the news, floods of posts streaming by on Facebook. Such an outpouring, and such an incredible loss.

Years ago I saw the Cramps play at the London Astoria. The show was sold out, the venue absolutely packed with Cramps fans of all sorts, and the temperature soaring. I wasn’t wearing the most practical of outfits for a sweltering gig and was absolutely melting throughout the show. I can only imagine how Lux Interior and Poison Ivy were fairing on stage under the bright lights (and clad in PVC no less).

I was absolutely enamoured throughout the gig by Poison Ivy, watching her play with an effortless cool and rocking that guitar atop the tiniest of stiletto heel boots, swaying with the beat. The chemistry between Lux and Ivy onstage was electric.

Psychedelic Jungle was the first Cramps record I ever picked up.  We stumbled across this on one of our weekend wanders around Toronto at Hits & Misses which specialized in Punk and Metal vinyl. Very sad to report that Hits & Misses is now shut, and sorely missed as it was a go to if you were after vinyl from those genres.

It was also St.Patrick’s Day when I picked up Psychedelic  Jungle and I was pretty delighted to discover the record was green. 

I am an absolute sucker for colour vinyl. Add some glitter to it too, and man alive I’m yours (See: Grinderman ‘Evil’ 12″ for reference).

I’m incredibly thankful and glad I had the chance to see the Cramps when I did. And also having a good laugh on finding out that they appeared on a Halloween episode of the original series of Beverley Hills, 90210 as well – so random, surreal and frankly fantastic.

The entire show I went to is also surprisingly online in its entirety on YouTube (Embedded video below), and quite good quality for the time.

Poison Ivy really did put it best about Lux Interior -

 “Lux seemed like a creature from another world, with one foot already out of this dimension. As much as we might wonder, ‘Where are you now?’ we can also wonder, ‘Where on Earth did you come from?’ Now that’s a mystery!” 

- From the service program for Lux Interior’s Ascension Ceremony.

• It’s International Women’s Day today. One incredible woman I’m inspired by is Hedy Lamarr, Actress & Inventor she had talent, brains & style! We owe Hedy Lamarr’s inventive genius for modern WiFi & cell phone technology.

• The London Bookshop Map is a great project that maps 105 Independent Bookshops in London, UK. Support independent retailers!

• If you’re looking for your next good read then order yourself a copy of Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies edited by Christel Schmidt.

• The Toronto Film Society presents a Spotlight on Women in Film & Television Toronto.

• The National Film Board of Canada has a fantastic
  International Women’s Day page spotlighting women in cinema with free films, photos, and chock full of NFB history.

• Stop sobbing into your floral print ballerina dress, Betsey Johnson is back! Despite the closure of stores across North America, Jonhson returns with her exhuberant “pretty & punk” fashion now available online and at select department stores near you.

• Black Girl Nerds kick off their first podcast featuring my Birthday-Twin-and-Chum Latanya Rene of Sprinkles & Booze as one of the special guests.

• Could I love David Bowie more than I already do? Quite possibly, yes because you can now legally stream his new album The Next Day online through iTunes for free. (I for one will be picking this up on Vinyl from my local Record Store when it comes out, pip pip!)

• Game On 2.0 brings 150 vintage video games to Toronto – I went to this amazing exhibit years ago when it first opened in London at the Barbican, and can’t wait to check it out again in TO!

• Cocktail enthusiasts in Ontario rejoice! Bittered Sling West Coast Bitters have made their way to Toronto.

• Game on girls! Little Miss Geek campaign offers tech inspiration for girls.

• Women in Tech share stories of smart women doing important things in the tech industry. Today being International Women’s Day is the perfect time to check out their fantastic and insightful interviews.

• If you’re interested in women & tech, you need to read this excellent article about why women must be at the forefront of the technological revolution by Kathryn Parsons of Decoded.

Album: Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One

Cost: $15.00 CDN

Found: Rotate This, 801 Queen St West, Toronto, ON, CANADA.

Oh the original Muswell Hillbillies. It’s incredible sometimes to stop and look around at your surroundings and just realize how much has gone before you in these places.

I often took this for granted living in the UK, and the country is absolutely drenched in history.

My morning commute once upon a time would take me on a cobblestone path running through a 10th century castle, past the once home of Thomas Paine author of the Rights of Man, through the English countryside, into the city, by Big Ben, turn around Cleopatra’s Needle finally landing in an office across from the where the Demon Barber of Fleet Street was set.

And this journey was a twice daily occurrence!

Not surprising with that amount of history on just a morning commute I missed out on a lot of potential music geeking. Particularly with exploring the old stomping grounds of brothers Ray & Dave Davies of the Kinks in Muswell Hill.

I was often enough in Muswell Hill as several of my really good friends live there. I love the area, little boutiques, thrift shops and a particularly good French Pâtisserie where we often had coffee. Peaking out from behind and between buildings as well is one of the most spectacular views of the city below as well.

My introduction to the Kinks was not the most conventional one. Sure my Dad was into them, but that’s not where I first properly identified with who the Kinks were. It was through Futurama.

Yuup, as in the Matt Groening animated Sci-Fi series set in the year 3000, Futurama.

There was an episode which saw the William Shatner-esque Space Captain Zapp Brannigan singing a play on of Lola by the Kinks entitled Leela.

And that was it, my official introduction to the Kinks care of Futurama. I found out who the original song was by because of that episode and from there got into their music more.

It wasn’t until back in Canada when I really started collecting records, (the thought of moving with crates full of vinyl around Europe was never particularly appealing.) So, when I found a second hand copy in Rotate This of Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, I snapped it up.

February has finished, and with it the challenge to wear the same little black dress everyday for the whole month.

My friend Diana and I decided to try and undertake a LBDD experiment after our friend Micol initiated the challenge for herself in January.

Diana’s recap of her LBDD experience can be found here: 28 Days Later (D’oh! She beat me to the clever title). And the catalyst for us – Micol’s original recap of her LBDD experiment.

I didn’t take photos every day, and wound up not wearing the dress twice. Once because I spilt a massive cup of coffee on myself (usually I manage to do this on pristine white bed sheets as Diana has been witness to in the past), and the other time I underestimated how long it would take to hang dry. What with the recent weather, I really didn’t fancy being a Jamie-sicle in a wet dress out in sub zero temperatures.

Overall, the dress held up well. It did however get a small hole in it, but given the fact I didn’t change my normal laundry routine and it was washed frequently in a machine and tumble dryer, it survived pretty decently.

What Did I Learn?

• If I were to do it again, I would choose a dress that was slightly longer and made from a thicker cotton. The dress wasn’t super short, but given the Canadian winter and that it was made from a lightweight cotton, I had to do a lot of layering so as not to freeze.

• The challenge really showed me just how much excess I still have in my wardrobe and how much clothing I’m really not wearing on a regular basis.

• As Diana noted and I whole heartedly agree with, the disposable clothing I have (ie. cheap leggings/tights) from fast fashion giants really didn’t wear well after awhile. I wound up throwing out several pairs of leggings and tights that just fell apart. My Black Milk Leggings? Wow, I already was a BM Fangirl, but even more so now. They held up well, and looked and felt  great.

• I am not a fan of my legs. Now don’t worry I’m not about to jump onto the self loathing train! Most people have some part of them they would love to change, I’m no different. BUT, a month of wearing a relatively short dress with my large calves on display surprisingly did a lot of good. Maybe it’s the fact that Black Milk Leggings really do make your legs look awesome, or that I was confronted with my made for “Northern Rugby” legs daily that I quickly got over any self consciousness or dislike.

• I’m pretty ‘meh’ about a lot of my clothes. I used to put a lot of effort and energy into how I dressed when I was going to theatre school but since making the leap to working in an office I’ve found it challenging to find a middle ground between my personal and professional style. So what I have in my wardrobe can be rather impractical for day to day, or too bland for my after hours self. The LBDD experiment has come at just the right time as I was already beginning to undergo a personal style evolution/redefinition.

Like Diana, I too want to get more involved now in the creation of my own clothing – be it creating from scratch, modifying items to suit my style better or just generally being more thoughtful in my purchases in future.

Will I wear the dress again? Sure, but I need to patch that hole first!

Overall this has been a really insightful experiment. It’s shown me how little I need to get by, and that I would rather have fewer clothes but of a higher quality than a closet bursting with, well, throw away fashion.

Up next? The great closet purge of 2013 commences now!

My LBDD challenge for February is now over and it was an interesting 28 days in the same dress. I discovered during the past month just how important it is to have classic staple pieces in your wardrobe, which I’m actually sorely lacking. I have a lot of one off statement pieces to be worn alone, and unsurprisingly these don’t see much of a rotation through my closet.

The challenge now will be to really pare back my wardrobe even further and start properly investing in clothing which will last and can be remixed easily.

Here are a few items I would have loved to have worn this past month with my LBDD. A few are priced higher than what I’m used to paying for in the past but I think in the long run you really get what you pay for – especially if it’s from a small business and craftsperson. You’re much better saving up for something you truly love then spending money on a bunch of clothes you’re kind of ‘meh’ about, that also have dubious origins.

First Row

1. Miche Dulche Tulip Hat £195.00 from Shop 172
2. Galaxy Flex Cardigan $205.00 from All Saints
3. Elastic Harness from Norwegian Wood $49.00 USD

Second Row

4. Mechanical Leggings $75.00 AUD from Black Milk
5. Large Planchette Oracle Necklace from Blood Milk $200.00 USD
6. Long Orkney Angora Leg Warmers from Sock Dreams $60.00 USD

Third Row

7. Rune Rings $320.00 from Ovate
8. Pitch Leather Biker Jacket from All Saints $668.00 USD
9. Truths Genevieve Boots $419.00 from Fluevog