this and that: a stopgap post

I have a bunch of blog posts in draft form right now, but I thought that I should sate my readers' appetites with a post!

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I just bought two albums, something that I haven't done for a long time--having a mortgage means a lot more borrowing of tunes from friends and my stepfather! Anyway, I acquired the Legacy Edition of one of my favourite all-time albums, Pearl Jam's seminal debut Ten. This came with two discs, one of which is the original album remastered and the other which is both a remastering and remixing of the original album (called the Redux) by long-time PJ producer Brendan O'Brien. This remixing of the album was a revelation: O'Brien stripped away the 'dated' elements of the album (big reverb and echo) and brought up the guitars in the mix as well as showcasing previously unheard vocals and other musical tasties! It has been really fascinating to listen to an album that I know forward and backward, but hear it so differently. Personally, I like the Redux a lot better than the original because not only does it put the sound more in line with Pearl Jam's subsequent albums, but showcases the interplay between guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready so much better than did the original mix. It also scales back some of the vocals a bit, to stunning effect, especially on "Even Flow" (which as everyone knows is one of my favourite songs ever!). Kudos to Brendan O'Brien for a job well done!

Eddie Vedder, you're my hero...

The other album I bought is called Lost Channels by a Canadian and called Great Lake Swimmers and all I really want to say about it is that it's delicate, haunting, and stunningly beautiful. I can't recommend this album highly enough and I am excited to check out their back catalogue.

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Jimmy the K forwarded to me Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart: The Literal Video Version and I watched it with a group of close friends--we laughed pretty darn hard and thus I thought I'd share it with my faithful readers.

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This is my close friend and colleague Catherine:


Something like 95% of the pictures I have of her are variations of what you see here. This one happens to be from this past weekend when Caitlin, myself, and her went out for drinks/eats at the pub. Good times.

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I have missed working at Central Library ever since my contract position ended. I've been getting some on-call shifts and have been continuing to work on project I started when I was full-time, but it hasn't been the same. However, I got a sweet party thrown in my honour (along with someone else whose contract is ending) and a nice prezzie from my supervisor, so it's not like it's all bad.

I guess that's all for now. New posts to come both here on the Dynasty and on the Binghams' blog in the next little while!