sound advice 1 - Arcade Fire

since posting about my desire to write more regularly about music I've been thinking about what artist or band I could start with. I listen to a wide variety of music genres, and asking me my current favorite album pretty much depends on what minute you ask me. Writer's block this was not, more like writer's indecision. And then something pretty big happened, in a way that is now the norm on this here Internet: the new Arcade Fire album, due for release on March 6, was leaked yesterday. Therefore I will start things off with a bang, and talk about this quirky fantastic band from Montreal.
Started by a husband and wife duo in 2003 and composed of seven members with additional musicians during tours, the band quickly gained exposure in the indie world through their frenetic live performances, which showcased the group's affinity for instruments not traditionally part of the rock canon, such as violins, xylophones and, um, helmets. Having seen them live I can attest to the extraordinary positive energy one feels while attending an AF concert, and can only hope I'll have the opportunity to see them again. At its apex it feels like you're witnessing an out-of-control orchestra, except everything makes sense, sonically. The buzz that was established during these gigs was confirmed with the North American release of their debut album, Funeral, in late 2004. Thematically devoted to death, this album nonetheless captured the imagination of many a-bloggers and music fans with its ingenious lyrics, epic hooks and bombastic yet sorrowful harmonies. The album benefited from a major buzz campaign and eager reviews in most of the major music magazines, from NME to Spin, and with the added benefit of continuous touring, the band made itself tons of fans in a hurry, among which many famous ones such as David Bowie or U2, for which AF opened 3 shows on their 2005 Vertigo tour.
So of course in such a case there is mucho excitement for the sophomore release, a step which is often a big stumbling point for many indie bands. Well I am glad to report that it seems that, musically at least, the Arcade Fire have sidestepped that obstacle. There are some elements new to the AF universe, like the stately organ used on "My Body Is A Cage" or the banjo on "Keep The Car Running", but the most important thing, the one that has enamored this band to so many people around the world, utter and true emotion, is still there. I'm sure that I'll be listening to this record for the coming weeks, dissecting it the same way as I dissected its predecessor, and my opinion will deepen, from an overall feeling of satisfaction to a detailed impression of each song. For now I can say that 2007, with this release but also that of The Shins and Bloc Party's albums (who were both leaked a few months back), promises to be a great year on the rock front.

Offical site for the new album
Offical site for the band
The band's myspace (with a song from the album, Black Mirror)

ch-ch-changes

having lived in Paris pretty much non-stop for almost ten years now, I made the decision at the end of last year to move abroad. I grew up in many different countries, from Asia to North America, and moving around is definitely something I got used to. And since I felt like professionally I'd achieved what I wanted when I joined my company (for my first post-graduation job) more than 3 years ago, the moment definitely was right for a move.
Although technically I am of French nationality, due to all the traveling we did when I was a kid, I've acquired a culture that is very much of the English-speaking variety. From US sports, TV shows and music to British literature, as well as the fact that I think mostly in English, I've always felt sort of an outsider since coming back to France when it came to common experiences. Of course living here 10 years has enabled me to learn a lot about the country, its citizens (my compatriots), but I never felt as if I was really where I belonged, hence the title of this blog. Don't get me wrong, I love Paris to death, as well as the other regions like Brittany that I've been lucky enough to travel to, and I'm glad to be near most of my family (especially since my parents are now back to living in Paris after more than 20 years abroad), but deep down I always knew I wasn't here for the long haul.
After looking at Canada for a few weeks, I then settled on the UK, in part because I know and like that country, and also because I felt that it wouldn't be too hard to find a job there. Thus my decision was made and I gave my resignation to HR in late October. I gave them the typical three months' notice, so that I could organize my departure, and, hopefully, start looking for a job.
Well I'm now getting close to the big day, and although I've barely started my job hunt (on account of having much more stuff to do at work than I'd anticipated I would), I've done almost all of the things I had to do before leaving. You know, canceling subscriptions, saying "bye" to people and all that jazz. So in a way this is kind of an adventure for me since I'll be moving abroad without employment, but I'm confident that with my experience and background I'll find something under two months. In any event I've been careful to set aside some dough (with help from the 'rents as well) to make sure I have more than 1 month's expenses on hand. So no job at Starbucks for me, at least I hope not :)
I have to say all of this, from preparing the move, to looking at possible apartments and thinking about what job I want to look for, is terribly exciting and the best possible cure for any sort of restlessness I might've felt during the second part of 2006. I feel like London is a great destination for me, be it on a professional or personal level, and I cannot wait to be there.
So with eleven days to spare before I board the Eurostar, I'm busy finishing up what needs finishing up, listening to the Libertines, and generally enjoying all the greatness that Paris has to offer. Of course I'll be back here pretty soon, if only to vote in the upcoming Presidential elections, but it'll be as a Londoner. As the brits say, brilliant !

make money money, go shopping

the winter sale period started this past Wednesday, apparently with a bang as many stores reported record sales after what most considered a very weak few months for them. My current shopping list being pretty much empty, I was thinking I'd get out of this year's sale without too much damage to the ol' bank account. So of course I ended up buying a bunch of things this Saturday, mostly due to hanging out for an hour or so in the 6e on my way to my parents. Rookie mistake, I know.
The "final" booty ?

• a pair of Campers
• a sweater from Muji
• a Fred Perry polo

Thankfully this sort of thing doesn't happen too often. I couldn't fathom being a fashion-addict, the type who goes to clothing stores every week and for whom the current sales period is like
the Superbowl. There's enough of them in Paris as it is, and that's fine with me.

jammed

so apparently everyone had taken last week off, because this week has been a sardines-fest on the commute. From the line 4 to the RER C, this has been a pretty good reminder how rush hour can suck, and commuters' attitude even more. And that's with nary a strike in sight, although that shouldn't be too long, what with the always-fun debate on pensions being put back on the news front-burner today. Of course morning commutes are never fun in big cities, it's just weird to see so many people go away and come back from vacation at the same time, I've never got used to it. I've done rush hour in London and in NYC, and they're often worse than Paris in terms of commuter volume, however the number of people is pretty constant, save from a few special days per year. RTTs, paid holidays, not living to work but working to live, all that stuff is great, but sometimes you wonder about the long-term prospects of the French economy in a country where so many people are away so often.

a new era

yesterday was the annual Keynote presentation at the Macworld trade expo, done as always by Apple's iconic CEO, Steve Jobs. There had been rumors swirling around for a while now, as this Keynote is usually the event where the company introduces its new products. Last year it was the Intel iMac and the Macbook Pro, this year the expectations were once again sky-high, with a very clear focus (as seen on the main rumor sites) during the past months on the supposed Apple phone, pre-dubbed the iPhone.

Well for once everyone was right on at least one rumor: the iPhone is now a reality, and it will be released in the US in june, in Europe in Q4 06 and in Asia in 2008. The thing sounds amazing, combining a widescreen iPod (with video capabilities) with traditional phone and Internet features. All this with a multi-touch navigation system, meaning you won't need a small keyboard or stylus. For people like me who've been waiting for a phone that would be a suitable replacement for their MP3 player, this is it. Of course it's not cheap, with the 4 GB model selling for $499 and the 8GB for $599, but considering how jam-packed the thing is, that price doesn't sound too outrageous, especially considering nothing like it exists on the market.

And the best news out of all this ? My Apple stock shot up like a rocket, gaining more than 8% on the day, to $92.57. Although I'm going to sell pretty soon, in preparation for my move abroad, this is great news.

nochas

back when I was a kid, Sunday night was one of my least favorite times of the week, seeing as it meant going back to school soon. I don't know if you've noticed but when you're little, time seems to go by much slower. When the weekend started, it seemed like vacation to me, as if the next Monday was very faraway. But come Sunday night, I always had a hard time getting to sleep, even if I felt perfectly relaxed. Over time I got past this weird hang-up, in part because, well, time just seems to go by much faster when you get older.
Unfortunately I had a flashback to those times last night as I had a heck of a time falling asleep, even if I felt pretty tired when I went to bed. I blame it on the fact that I had got 2 great nights of at least 9-hour sleep that weekend, but I'm also sure that this is an example of how the irrational fears we have as youngsters never truly go away. Since I've never seen a shrink (and don't plan to in the near future), I never have very good explanations for such things. Or interpretation, because I'm guessing there never is never a true explanation for matters of the psyche. I guess the next best thing is just writing about it on the internet.

soundtrack : Azure Ray - Sleep

everyone else is doing it

apparently I can't call myself a blogger (not that I do that stuff) unless I post a top-ten list of 2006 of some sort, so here goes, my 10 favorite movies from the year :

1. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)
a bleak dystopian film that somehow manages to be the most current major film released this year despite being set 30+ years in the future, this would deserve a top-3 finish from a technical standpoint alone (see: the amazing tracking shots). But there's also some terrific acting, starting with Clive "the man" Owen and Michael "no less the man" Caine, all the way to the smallest supporting roles, and a tremendous spirit throughout the movie that had me more inspired than I've felt in a long while.

2. Half-Nelson (Ryan Fleck)
not an "easy" film by any means, this featured the best acting performance I saw this year in Ryan Gosling's phenomenal portrayal of a drug-addicted schoolteacher.

3. The Departed (Martin Scorcese)
Marty's back baby! Whisky for everyone, on me. Oh, and LEO! is now officially a man.

4.Babel (Alexandro Inarritu)
a very ambitious take on the bonds human forms with their kin and others, I thought this was the best out of Inarritu's trilogy, after Amores Perros and 21 Grams. And I definitely love those movies.

5.The Puffy Chair (The Duplass Brothers)
a very good relationship movie, which in itself is no small feat, considering all the stinkers that genre has seen. The actors feel really real, as opposed to movie real (yes, a lot of people do say dude very often, I know I do), with great, assured directing.

6. The New World (Terrence Malick)
as a huge fan of Malick's dreamy visuals, I'm not one to be bothered by the length his last two movies have had. No one shows the inner life of humans through shots of nature like this guy, and the last 10 minutes of the film were a perfect illustration. I am not afraid to say this moved me quite a bit.

7. United 93 (Paul Greengrass)
not that I feel that it isn't too soon for a major movie picture about 9/11, but if there's gotta be one, this is it. I was at the edge of my seat for pretty much the entire thing, dreading what was about to come up, but completely unable to look away. People who say this is just another "rah-rah we will win" completely missed the point IMO. This movie showed what 9/11 revealed before all the rethoric and politics took over : people are capable of as much courage as stupidity and ignorance. It's not important to talk about them as heroes or martyrs, as those are labels that have been so branded about they've almost lost their meaning. No, these are simply people who tried to do what they thought was right at the time.

8.Inside Man (Spike Lee)
great directing by Spike Lee, to show us that this man really can do a great film when he wants to (and hasn't written the script).

9.The Wind That Shakes The Barley (Ken Loach)
Ken Loach hasn't lost his activist touch, and thankfully he keeps finding subjects that motivate him, but also great actors (Cillian Murphy, one word: wow)

10.The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry)
cute story, and great visuals, but I still wish Gondry would let the writing to others

cos this is the new year

the funny thing about New Year's Eve celebrations is how many people complain about it. One of the gripes I've heard the most this year is how it's a "forced celebration". I guess when you know the date of a party in advance, it makes the party "forced", and thus sucks the fun out of it. Since that's how pretty much 99% of parties happen, I guess we should boycott all of them and see what gives.

I'm not saying NYE is the best party of the year, it rarely is. But it also one of the rare nights of the year when most people seem happy, and it's often a good opportunity to meet new folks. In my experience the best way to enjoy the event is to not put too much thought into its preparation. This year I was in London and went to a black-themed party (everyone dressed in said color) and it was good fun. Not the best party of the year, but good (sorta) drunken fun. And I didn't even have a hangover the following morning. Really, what more could you want ?