I was inspired today by the deep and thoughtful preachings of Ke$ha’s song “Dinosaur”

“Dinosaur”

[Chorus:]
D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R
You are a dinosaur
D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R
You are a dinosaur
O-L-D M-A-N
Your just an old man
Hitting on me what?
You need a cat scan

[Verse 1:]
Old man, why are you starrin’ at me, mack on me and my friends?
It’s kinda a creepy
You should be prowling around the Old folk’s home
Come on dude!
Leave us alone

At first we thought that it was kind of ill when
We saw that you were like a billion
And still out tryin’ to make a killin’
Get back to the museum

[Chorus:]
D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R
You are a dinosaur
D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R
You are a dinosaur
O-L-D M-A-N
Your just an old man
Hitting on me what?
You need a cat scan

Hey dinosaur, baby you’re pre-historic
Hey dinosaur, that’s what you are HA
Hey carnivore, you want my meat I know it
Hey dinosaur, that’s what you are HA
Yea, you’re pretty old

[Verse 2:]
Not long til’ your a senior citizen
And you can strut around with that sexy tank of oxygen
Honey your toupee is fallin’ to your left side
Get up and go bro!
Oh wait your fossilized HA!

Then you offered me a martini
Walk away with your hips with in sinking
Then you say, Honey wanna come with me
I’m about to barf seriously

[Chorus:]
D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R
You are a dinosaur
D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R
You are a dinosaur
O-L-D M-A-N
Your just an old man
Hitting on me what?
You need a cat scan

Hey dinosaur
baby, you’re prehistoric
Hey dinosaur
That’s what you are HA!
Hey carnivore
you want my meat, I know it
Hey dinosaur
That’s what you are HA!

Hey dinosaur baby,
you’re prehistoric
Hey dinosaur
That’s what you are HA!
Hey carnivore
you want my meat, I know it
Hey dinosaur
That’s what you are HA!

D-I-N-O-S-A
You are a dinosaur
D-I-N-O-S-A
That’s what you are HA!
D-I-N-O-S-A
You are a dinosaur
D-I-N-O-S-A
That’s what you are HA!

Her album Animal is hilarious…I just hope that’s what she was going for cause…well…wow!

I love music DVD’s. Correction. I love some music DVD’s. I enjoy the interesting content you get that you can’t get at a concert.  It seems like bands and artists are so hit and miss when it comes to making a good DVD.  It’s easy isn’t it??  Just make it interesting!!!!

I bought the Kings of Leon: Live at the O2 London, England DVD.  I loved the last two albums.  A lot of people loved the last one.  As for the DVD…well it’s ok.  I mean it’s just a live show.  They don’t do anything crazy.  It’s no more advanced or interesting than my Police DVD I bought that is just concert footage from Atlanta way back in 1983 during the Synchronicity Tour.  In fact Sting has the upper hand in the stage banter catagory as  the Kings lead singer Caleb Followill came off a bit arrogant.

Muse had a DVD included with there album and it was essentially just concert footage. The difference is Muse incorporates robots, giant satellites, confetti and a cover song.  They also shot the DVD with more than 3 or 4 cameras!  This was also just an accent to the album as it came packaged with it…unlike Kings of Leon.

Some of the best DVD’s I’ve seen have come from Pearl Jam, Coldplay and Keith Urban.  These DVD’s had behind the scenes footage and intimate moments that were amazing and it offered a real sense of connection to the artists.  It is always great to hear interviews or see bloopers or just nice candid moments.  It allows you to really sink your teeth into the product, which is ultimately the artist…not the music.

My favorite DVD is actually a movie and an album.  The Last Waltz by The Band is one of the best music moments of all time. It’s also better than most of the DVD’s that come out these days and it was shot 30 years ago.  It has live footage, interview footage, candid footage, staged footage and if you watch it enough times you’ll see the bloopers like Neil Young struggling to find the key, Eric Clapton’s guitar strap letting go halfway through a solo and a drunk Van Morrison doing high kicks.

What are some of your favorite music DVD’s????

Although I had done many trips in Algonquin Park I had never been to Canoe Lake.  When I started penning lyrics for this song I started feeling like I wouldn’t really be able to finish them until I had seen the places I was writing about – Joe Lake Dam, Winnie Trainor’s Cottage, where Mowat Lodge had been, where they found Thomson’s canoe, and also where they found his body.

So in late October (2009) I rented a canoe from The Portage Store and paddled north, much like Tom did 92 years previously.

I stopped for lunch at the site I wanted to see most – where Thomson’s favourite camp site had been (see 15 on the map).  After his death, a cairn and totem pole had been constructed there.  I ate my lunch while reading the commemorations and looking at the view of Canoe Lake (directly below).  I could see why Thomson loved this spot so much.

The southward view of Canoe Lake from Tom Thomson's favourite camp site.

Below are the cairn and totem pole erected on the site in memory of Thomson:

After lunch, I portaged past the Joe Lake Dam (13 on the map) where Thomson was going to do some fishing on the day he disappeared.

Canoe Lake was used for logging in that time and one of the theories is that a submerged log or stump overturned his canoe.  I got an eerie feeling after a barely submerged stump nearly ripped the bottom out of my own canoe.  I didn’t see it coming and passed it within inches.

I spent the night there on Joe Lake, made friends with a fox (below), and spent most of my night trying to stay as warm as possible.  (Being late in the fall, the temperature was dipping well below zero at night).

My fox friend named "Boots."

In the morning I had the most beautiful paddle back south. Thick mist hung just above the water’s surface while frost covered every little twig. Everything was white.

The sun was burning through the fog as I portaged back into Canoe Lake but there wasn’t a single ripple on the water as I passed by the spot where they found his body eight days after he disappeared (2 on the map) and the place where they found his canoe floating without its pilot (16 on the map).

Although it was only a quick overnight trip, I accomplished the main thing I set out to do: to make sure that my lyrics held authenticity.  Tracing Thomson’s steps and having seen first hand the lake he loved so much, lets me sing this story with confidence.

My campsite at sundown on Joe Lake.

Back to: extras.

Go to: winhara.com.

I had heard about it, talked to people and theorized about it.  But I never really got it until I talked to my brother the other day.  Listening to music has changed.

There are six years between Dave and I – not a very big age difference – but we are worlds apart when it comes to how we experience recorded music.  He hasn’t bought CD in his life; I’m staring at a rack full of them.  He listens to songs one at a time; I listen to albums.   We discussed this while he sifted through songs (I should say singles) on his iPod touch.  He said the reason I buy music is because I’m a musician.  Is that the only reason?

Somewhere between Dave and I there is a watershed age.  It may not be a hard line.  Everyone at every age rips off music.  But for those under the divide the cognition has changed.  Instead of getting music for free, for them, music is free.  That’s the way it has always been.

How old are you?  What are your music habits?