What makes something rock (and sometimes roll)?

For a couple of days now I've holed myself up in my room listening to records and reading whatever I can get my hands on (comic books, detective novels, essays on the decline of television). This has allowed me lots of time to think, question, and reflect upon my interests; Specifically listening to music, actually listening to it and not just having it on in the background while doing something else. All this music as me wondering what is essential to rock n' roll.

This is very difficult question to answer. I know many people have stated their opinion and while I'm unsure of the true answer I have started to question the supremacy of the guitar as the ultimate rock n' roll instrument. I think that more important to rock n' roll is the drum kit. I don't really have a good reason for this idea except that it feels right (maybe I've just watched too much Colbert Report). Big, booming drums rock more so than anything else. There's an energy. Now, I realize that no instrument is "rock n' roll" but I would totally make a case for the drums. If a musical duo doesn't have any drums it's difficult to rock (unless you're Tenacious D but there's always an exception). Think about it.

A) Piano & drums - that can rock. [Ben Folds Five, Jerry Lee Lewis.]
B) Guitar & drums - that rocks. [White Stripes, The Ravenettes, etc.]
C) Bass & drums* - that rocks too.
D) I've never heard it but a banjo and drums would rock hard too.

Makes you realize what rock n' roll is all about - movement.

*It seems that Canadians particularly love this combination. I can think of at least three Canadian bands (The Inbreds, Death From Above 1979 and Duotang). I don't know why this is the case. Might have something to do with our hands not moving as fast in the cold or something.

The Inbreds - Any Sense of Time

New Music from the New Pornographers

The New Pornographers - My Rights Vs. Yours
This is a track off their forthcoming record Challengers.

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Went to the baseball game last night with the entire family - my parents, my sister and her boyfriend (who had never been to a baseball game) and my girl (who had only been once before). As a kid, my parents took my sister and I to the games fairly often. Either of us was really into baseball but as a boy growing up in Toronto during the late eighties/early nineties, baseball was on my mind. This was the golden era of professional baseball in Toronto. The Blue Jays won the World Series twice and every kid dream of being Joe Carter.

nineteen

Tom Waits -(Looking for) the heart of Saturday night

18

Changed the header on the blog from an actual title to a picture of Charles Mingus. What do people think?
EDIT: I changed it back.

Test Drive

Kayne West - Young Folks.

I'm in the midst of listening to the new Elliott Smith album for the third time. It's good and I'm gonna review it. I'm also trying something else new. It seems that with a google account you can create websites. I've posted one MP3 on it to see if they make me take it off. Hopefully they won't and I'll be able to post MP3s on my blog for longer than seven days. Here's hoping.

crap

Somehow I've deleted the template I was using for my blog therefore losing all of my links and such. Damn. This is what I get when I try to get fancy.

EDIT: Nevermind. I figured it out.

IdeaCity

Sarah Shannon - City Morning Song

The direction my life is currently heading, it seems that being an urban dweller is becoming less and less a possibility so I find small things like jangly pop songs about the excitement of waking up in the city strangely nostalgic. This isn't how I remember living but it's how I'd like to represent living in the city.

Went to a wedding this weekend; found out some new and interesting details about my girl's family and childhood.

Screeching Weasel - Pretty Girls Don't Talk To Me

This song came out while I was in high school and for several years I believed it summarized my situation with girls. There are two things I'd like to say about this:
A) I never realized that by thinking this song represented my life what I was saying about the women in my life. The women I used to know (and those I know how) are all pretty girls and they do talk to me.
B) I was your average teenager with lingering doubts about their attractiveness to the opposite sex. One day, when I'm feeling especially forthcoming or slightly drunk, I'll post about my awkward teenage dating situations.

I have a job

I will be the driver for a summer camp for learning disabled children. I am not involved in programming but it will certainly look good on a resume, right?

This means, however, that I'm not going to be out of town YET AGAIN for two months. I can't stay in Toronto to save my life.

There's a tear in my beer

Veronica Mars is, to quote one of the most popular teen realityshow in the five years, dunzo. This once again proves that every show I love gets cancelled well before it should. Thank god the Office got renewed otherwise I would have lost faith in humanity.

Oh, and Heroes was awesome. totally awesome.

EDIT: there was, I kidded you not, a tear in my eye when they played Neko Case. It was nice way to say goodbye.

True Blue

This was the last of the great adult movie theatres in Toronto. I thought it had closed down, but it hasn't just yet. Sadly, my girl wasn't really interested in seeing any of the featured movies.