Three Elements

After an extended musically filled vacation from writing I am back at it, I sent New Music Tues - The Newsletter out this week and now it's time to update the blog. I have a few non-musical notes to make as well. Life is great out here right now, I have a job that keeps me busy, I am almost back to my running self and I have heard a lot of great bands and have some exciting concerts coming up to finish off the year. So, as I sit here reflecting on the year and life in general I thought of the old questions "If you were stranded on an island....?" Well as opposed to material things I thought of what elements in life I needed. One: Food - obvious choice but not just any food, I want good food. Two: Music - another obvious choice for me, I would need a constant source of new music and access to Pitchfork Media's website. Three: Sport: Watching the Olympics has been inspiring with great athletes bettering their own records and destroying others.

I wanted to have an Olympic theme to the blog this week. I have been glued to the TV watching and at work I have the Olympics streaming on-line. So I am going to take my three elements and award Gold, Silver and Bronze to three bands from this year, three restaurants that I feel deliver the goods, and finally three sports moments that have changed perhaps just my life, but maybe yours as well. I hope you enjoy and it would be great to know your Gold, Silver and Bronze choices as well.

First up we have food, only because I ate at a fantastic restaurant last night and want to share the experience. Food in Calgary isn't always the greatest and sometimes good restaurants fall off the podium faster then athletes in Beijing are being caught for doping. So I want to share my favorites.

Food Challenge:

Bronze - The Living Room takes bronze in the food challenge, their constantly innovative menu and great atmosphere create a great dining experience. Also, they are a great spot to enjoy some nice wine or other higher end drinks. 

Silver - Earls is a constant performer, a great atmosphere and a constant menu. Never a bad dining experience and it doesn't send you into debt to eat there. All the locations are great and it is the perfect restaurant when your not sure what you want as they have a bit of every thing. 

Gold - A new comer in Calgary but an amazing dining experience and a perfect atmosphere for almost any situation. Olives takes gold this year. A great menu with a mainly Italian influence, a great wine list and very solid desserts. The service is amazing and the vibe is relaxed but upscale. Certainly a pricey dinner but worth it for a special occasion. 

Sports Challenge:

Bronze - Deena Kastor winning the Chicago marathon. Here near perfect training schedule and her dealing with a near crippling injury (which finally got her this year at the Olympics very sadly). She battles through everything with a smile on her face and nothing but positive things to say which is very cool. A genuine athlete and Chicago was the first marathon she had won and it was very well deserved. 

Silver - Payne Stewart's US Open win in 1999. I was a junior golfer, his four amazing rounds on Pinehurst, one of my favorite golf course to watch being played (and of course a dream course for me to play), were very inspiring at the time. Coupled with his sudden death shortly after his US Open win, his final putt on the 18th on Sunday is forever engraved into my memory. 

Gold - Paula Radcliffe is along with Deena one of my running heroes. If any runner has dealt with adversity it is Paula. After dropping out at Athens the British media ripped her apart. Less then a year later she came back to run the London Marathon with the infamous "pit stop" on live tv and won the marathon. She is an inspiring athlete and she is synced up with my Nike + system to tell me how good I do on my runs. 

Music Challenge:

Bronze - Clearly I can't choose based on bands that formed this year. But I am going to award based on bands I only found out about this year. So bronze goes to Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. The release of  Real Emotional Trash is a great release from start to finish it is one of the CD's that have stayed on constant rotation since it's release. Check the band out on Oct. 23rd at the Warehouse. 

Silver - The Cool Kids take silver with ease, their throw back style of rap have been so infectious they have converted many white folk into rap fans. Their tracks are catchy and leave you boppin' your head long after the tracks are over. Their long awaited release of their EP  The Bake Sale has taken over on the hip hop scene and will continue to be played for years to come. 

Gold - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin for those who read my newsletter you all know this is my favorite new band. Their laid back indie pop sound has been fantastic, I have everything they have released on vinyl (just got their 7" green vinyl today). A great band, their great releases of Broom and Perishing will be on constant rotation for a long long time. 

Well, considering it has been almost a week I have been working on this blog post, I am going to forgo the rest of the usual Tuesday blog stuff and try to update you all tomorrow which is Tuesday!

-Dave