Tomorrow night I’ll be flying to Kamloops for work. I’ve extended the stay through Easter weekend, so I can have some time with my family and friends there.

Whenever I’m on a flight, I think of this song. I first heard it while watching Hackers back in 1995 and became obsessed with it. It’s played during the opening scene, when Dade Murphy is flying to New York, and it sets the mood perfectly. Hackers had a lot of cringe-worthy moments, especially for anyone with some knowledge in computing, but it had geeks that weren’t completely socially inept, interesting pop culture and technology references, Angelina Jolie, and great music, so I think that made up for it.

Orbital was a great UK electronica duo, unfortunately now defunct, and this is from their second album Orbital 2, released in 1993.

Jens Lekman is a Swedish musician who plays casual, but elaborate, pop music. This song, ‘Pocketful of Money’, is from his Oh You’re So Silent Jens album. There are a few songs that I really enjoy on the album, and a few that I think are terrible, but this particular song really stood out.

I love the smooth and simple sound of this track. It’s unfortunate that he decided to throw the Beat Happening sample in the chorus. It feels so out of place and unexpected that it nearly ruins the song for me. I got used to it after a couple of listens, but the first time it came on I thought someone behind me had started singing. This gave me quite a fright, as I was leaning back on my computer chair with my eyes closed in what was supposed to be an empty apartment. Nearly fell straight off my chair.

I’ve always loved the fiddle, and I really don’t know why. I must have inherited the interest from my dad when I was a kid. I suppose I got off easy, as I very well could have picked up his passion for fanny packs and Roger Whittaker.

I also love Primus, claymation, and all things devilish, so I was very happy to find this video just now.

This about sums up my thoughts on the subject.

Bill Bailey’s fantastic.

And for the less jaded out there, here’s ‘Love Letter’ from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, from their And No More Shall We Part album. Nick Cave appeals to my over-dramatic side. He’s a really creative writer, and his songs are usually fairly intense and contain a lot of interesting imagery. His solo stuff seems to dip into a weirder zone that I really like, so it’s worth checking out if you haven’t heard any of it. It has an almost Tom Waits-ish vibe. Not that anyone can really be like Waits, but he has a similar uncompromised vision in his work.

I went to Vancouver this weekend to visit friends, and it was a lot of fun. I should make an effort to get over there a little more often, but the ferry ride from the island makes the trip, however short, very irritating.

We ate and drank at some great restaurants, did a little shopping, and generally had a good time. Chris even made a nice home-cooked meal for us to enjoy, which was excellent and very appreciated. This last month, I’ve gone off cooking a bit. Sometimes it just seems like more hassle than it’s worth when you live alone, but it’s unhealthy and expensive to eat out too often.

I happened to visit during a freak snow storm, which is just my luck. I was catching a ride with another friend from Victoria, and we had to make a quick trip down to Abbotsford to grab his bike before returning, and for the first 30 minutes of the trip we were averaging about 10km per hour on the highway. The last thing you want to do when you’re tired and hungover is drive through fresh snow surrounded by Vancouver drivers.

I think I’m going to return to Vancouver in a couple of weeks to watch Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, an avant-garde play from William S. Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch, and Tom Waits, the coolest man on earth. It should be an interesting show, I think.

On an unrelated note, I made haggis tonight for a belated Robbie Burns Day. I now have enough left over to keep me frying for a week.

Here’s ‘Clap Hands’ from Waits’ Rain Dogs:

I’ve somehow fallen into a half-assed polyphasic sleep schedule this week, so I’ve just been watching silly videos tonight in an attempt to stay awake until a decent hour, instead of sleeping through the evening and staying up all night.

It may be the sleep deprivation, but I thought they did quite a good job with this:

Seems like a fun office!

Man Man is a wild, hilarious band from Philadelphia. I’m not sure how to describe them, as they don’t really fit into any genre. Wikipedia uses “Viking-vaudeville, punk-wop, and rock-and-soul”, so I’ll go along with that.

“Engwish Bwudd” is from Six Demon Bag. It’s a great album, and I’m really looking forward to their next release, Rabbit Habits, that’s coming out this year. I’d love to see them live. Their personalities come out in the music, and I imagine they put on a fun show.

Bat For Lashes is a singer-songwriter from England. Listening to her album, Fur and Gold, is like walking through someone else’s creepy dream. I really enjoyed the whole album. She reminds me of a more mellow, less naive-appearing Bjork.

I really love this video for ‘What’s a Girl to Do?’ It was posted on Digg a while back, and I forgot about it until Motel De Moka posted the song in a playlist. It has an eery Donny Darko feel to it.