Jann Arden... goddess of Canadian music

I’m getting ready to go to a Jann Arden concert in London, Ontario. For those of you who don’t know her… well, your life is empty. I’m sorry to be the one who has to tell you that, but surely you had some inkling of that before I wrote those words.

She’s a Canadian musician who’s been on the scene (or, actually, just outside of the scene) since her first album in 1993. The biggest single from that album was “I would die for you”, which is a hauntingly beautiful song. She made it ‘semi big’ south of the border, with the song “Insensitive”. That’s probably the one she’s most well known for. My favourite song of hers, though, is “Good Mother”. There’s a line in there, referring to her father ‘and his strength is what makes me cry’. (Actually, I have no idea if it’s about her father, I’m assuming it is, because she and her parents have a close relationship, and, in fact, live, like really really close to each other) There’s also a duet that she’s sung with Jackson Browne, but on her album, I believe its someone from her band. “Unloved”, the most gorgeous song I’ve heard. I could (and have) listened to that song 10 times in a row, in the car, singing along (to both parts).

This will be the third time I’ve seen her in concert. I’ve seen her at Massey Hall in Toronto, and in Mount Forest, in a renovated movie theatre. She is fricking hilarious. The time I saw her in Mount Forest, she told this story of waking up on a Navy ship with a trumpet in her bed, or some such thing. (That concert was the first time I actually spoke to her… well, spoke... ok, I’m misrepresenting that. She asked where people were from, I shouted out “Midland” and she replied “Finland?? Cripes that’s far”. End of Conversation. Sigh.)

Jann is someone who’s never really hit the ‘big time’(like, famous famous, i mean. She can walk the streets without being mobbed) although she’s a familiar sound on Canadian radio. You might not be able to name a song of hers, but you’ve definitely heard more than one. If I played one for you, you’d say...Oh, yeah, I’ve heard that. Nice.


I’ve had this feeling, for so long, that if we ever actually met, we’d really get along. I like to think that our sense of humour is similar, we share that love of music, and we have similar values. (Well, what I can glean of her values through her twitter and her blog, and her song)

How does one tell someone famous that, without coming off as a crazy stalker? I had similar thoughts when I went to see Robert Wiersema at a reading he did at Yorkdale Mall, in Toronto. Although “Robert” and I are... well… you know, “facebook friends”, I thought it might come off as just thiscreepy for me to tell him that he’s my absolute favourite author. I tried to play it cool, when I asked him to sign my copy of his book, and I think I did ok, but, man oh man. I really just wanted to say “Hey, didja want to grab a beer or something?” (But I would have had to ditch my mother, and that’s not cool). (And, in all likelihood, I’d be a little star struck, end up being all tongue tied, I’d be out of my league, intellectually, and I’d sound like an idiot)

So, yeah. My dream in life is to sit and have a glass of wine with Jann, shoot the shit and just yak for an hour or two. If, from there, she asked me to jam with her, or sing back up, well... who am I to turn down a request like that?

I done been tagged...

I interrupt the post about the cat wearing aviators to tell you this.

Mr. Paul Michael Murphy 'tagged me' on his website, with this really cool meme, one that really appealed to my inner liar. (You can read his response at that link) It's based on the seven deadly sins. He was tagged by Sarah Dooley, who's blog is really great. She's a wonderful writer, and a keen observer of the human condition.

The description of the delicious contest is this:

"Sometimes you can learn more about a person by what they don’t tell you. Sometimes you can learn a lot from the things they just make up. If you are tagged with this Meme, lie to me. Then tag 7 other folks (one for each deadly sin) and hope they can lie."


Pride: What is your biggest contribution to the world?

Well, let me say, that this was difficult. I thought for hours about the incredible contributions I have made, in virtually every area of life and the workings of the world. Firstly, just in my character, there is my incredible sense of humour, my style, my ‘joie de vie’. Then, in my deeds, I have solved the problem of world hunger (though I am thwarted by the powers that be, in putting this solution to use), I invented electricity and the telephone (even before my birth), and I have put together a solution for world peace that will have the entire world holding hands and singing ‘kum by ya’. So… I came to the conclusion that my biggest contribution to the world was simply my ‘being’. Thank you.

Envy: What do your coworkers have that you wish was yours?


I sometimes wish that I could travel through life, without people constantly falling on their knees and thanking me for my mere presence. So, if I must put it into words, I envy my co-workers their ordinariness, their plainness of thinking, their simple lives.

Gluttony: What did you eat last night?

Last night, I had my minions collect a million hummingbirds and prepare them ‘buffalo wing’ style. (with blue cheese dressing for dipping). I drank the dew that was collected from their feathers, which was purified through gauze made of the thread of silk worms.

Lust: What really lights your fire?

There are times when I see myself in the eyes of others. That puts me aflame.

Anger: What is the last thing that really pissed you off?

There were two feathers and a beak in last night’s dinner. I had the minion responsible prepared for my dessert. Flambe.

Greed: Name something you hoard and keep from others.

What people will never know about me is that all of my undergarments are made of threads that result from gold that is fed to spiders and spun as their webs. Of course, i keep this process a secret, i cannot have Paris Hilton knowing of this.

Sloth: What's the laziest thing you ever did?

Used my Persian cat to sweep the floor by tossing a ball slowly and allowing her belly fur to catch the lint.




I hereby tag the following people to extol their lack of virtue with this meme.

Lori (just cuz i think this contest will really tweak the actor in her

Mary Ellen (cuz she's my sis, and i want to prove that she's a bigger liar than i am)

Benjamin Esch (cuz he's a huge liar)

Robert Wiersema (because he should try to be not so serious)

Corey Redekop (oh just cuz)

Benjamin James Watson (as a present for my newest follower)

Barack Obama (cuz.. oh why the hell not)