news weakly (first edition)

I considered live-blogging my decision not to watch the Oscars, but figured that unlike most blogs, it might have only limited appeal. (Sample: “Why are there so many SiriusXM channels when all they need is Elvis Radio? Oh, Snorri wants out again. Hang on…”)

Instead, I offer a few brief remarks on some of the week’s other news…

Say what you will about the Junos — and we all do — it’s unlikely any other awards ceremony this year will pit Carly Rae Jepsen head-to-head with Leonard Cohen in not one but two categories. And you know the old man wouldn’t have it any other way…

In a desperate attempt to save time sifting through new music in order to program selections according to quality, CBC Radio has embarked on a national quest to secure from listeners new music worthy of attention. Among the “new” artists in contention here in Capital City are a number of bands with several CDs to their credit as well as one singer-songwriter whose first record hit the racks over 30 years ago. My vote, naturally, goes to him, if only to ensure he does not qualify for “new artist” status next year…

Still a few “bugs” in the Presto card system. I don’t think any of us saw that one coming…

Much is being said in the press about a marked departure from “jazz” in the Jazzfest lineup. Sure, it won’t be like in previous years when headliners included such traditional jazz artists as Elvis Costello, Robert Plant and Al Green but, uh, what were we talking about again? Oh yes, for the record Willie Nelson may well be the world’s greatest living jazz singer. So, there’s that…

True story: Our ailing automobile’s CD player refuses to eject discs anymore. That means for the remainder of the 2005 Chevy Malibu’s life, we have but one disc available for our listening pleasure. Sadly — and again, this is a true story — it is CD-2 of the four-disc Monkees compilation, Music Box. Not exactly my desert-island-disc choice. Still, Randy Scouse Git is a pretty swell song. Swell enough to hear every day? I’ll keep you posted.