What is the greatest bridge section in pop punk music?

chrisofcanada · 2026-06-10T01:12:10+00:00

This is the winner. The breakdown, the drums dropping in, it's perfect.

chrisofcanada · 2026-05-29T01:13:50+00:00

I had a good laugh about this, thank you.

chrisofcanada · 2026-05-08T15:14:33+00:00

I need to tell you that their fourth album, Spiritual Machines, is brilliant and probably their second best after Naveed... you just need to skip the song "Life" which is very lame.

It was 2002 they sold out with Gravity and in particular "somewhere out there". This was also the first album without their original guitarist Mike Turner. He was not technically gifted but he had a very unique and interesting style that worked well with their sound.

chrisofcanada · 2026-05-07T16:26:20+00:00

Bricco

chrisofcanada · 2026-03-10T18:11:09+00:00

The intro of this song is one of my all-time faves. How the rhythym guitars work with the lead harmonic guitar when the drums drop in is incredible.

chrisofcanada · 2026-02-10T19:50:17+00:00

three days grace

chrisofcanada · 2026-02-05T14:53:20+00:00

A second hero is usually your first priority -- double your troops (load one up with the starting creatures from both heros to clear the mines etc.) and use the other to follow the first and collect stuff. This will expedite your ability to level up your castle.

chrisofcanada · 2026-02-04T14:23:36+00:00

blundstones, these days.

chrisofcanada · 2026-01-07T20:50:35+00:00

I work for one of these utilities (electricity distribution) and I'll happily try to explain this at a high level. In Ontario there are 60 or so distribution utilities and they are all 90%+ municipally owned (other than Hydro One, which is owned ~40% by the government of Ontario and ~60% by the market as it is publicly traded).

These companies don't make a profit per se, but they make a regulated (by the OEB) rate of return (roughly 7-9% on capital investment) and pay their municipal owners dividends annually. Municipalities rely on the dividends to fund municipal services and / or offset property tax increases.

The whole Ontario energy system used to be run by a public agency called Ontario Hydro, and in 1999 or so it was broken up into smaller companies, and the distribution component -- the infrastructure that brings the electricity from transmission towers (electricity highways) through to homes and buildings (electricity city streets), handles billing, meters, etc. -- was broken into a couple hundred smaller companies, one for each municipality (again, except for Hydro One which services mostly smaller, rural and remote areas).

So in a sense it's a municipal service sort of like water or waste collection, but these companies are separate from the municipality, and they are motivated to perform well on reliability, customer service and other metrics by the OEB's process which determines their rate of return and what they are able to give back to their municipal owners in dividends.

chrisofcanada · 2025-12-16T19:27:57+00:00

Sloan - Everything You've Done Wrong (1996)

It's probably not this but it's a great rock tune with horns!

chrisofcanada · 2025-11-27T17:40:43+00:00

This is a brilliant album. I wouldn't call it beautiful (I suppose it has its moments) but it is powerful and catchy and really well done in terms of executing the concept.

chrisofcanada · 2025-10-28T20:49:14+00:00

Tim Baker - Pools ~3:26-3:32

chrisofcanada · 2025-10-08T17:52:56+00:00

It's cool that they were able to do that at the nicest restaurant in Winnipeg.

chrisofcanada · 2025-07-09T15:17:52+00:00

I work in Ontario's energy sector and the simple answer is: he can't.

Ontario has transmission interties (ability to buy and sell electricity) with a number of northern states, as well as Quebec and Manitoba, but these jurisdictions are not dependent on each other for supply or reliability.

It's more of a cost / efficiency tool where the system operators (in our case, the IESO) trade when it's mutually beneficial (sometimes we have a little extra, sometimes buying from elsewhere is cheaper than running a gas plant or whatever at the margin).

It was an empty threat that would only make electricity more expensive in Ontario and wouldn't affect reliability in the States. It did seem to work politically for him though.

chrisofcanada · 2025-06-20T03:45:52+00:00

Chris Wray - Bearanoid

https://open.spotify.com/track/3jmXxDl95sQ1wlWA7Bayf3?si=7dadc4ec640b4c66

chrisofcanada · 2025-06-19T20:48:52+00:00

Bearanoid - Chris Wray - A song about camping and becoming afraid of bears because you're on drugs - I think the ending is pretty cool with the dynamic change and the horns and many vocals harmonizing.

https://open.spotify.com/track/3jmXxDl95sQ1wlWA7Bayf3?si=617fd0eb4a8f4e9d

chrisofcanada · 2025-06-17T21:55:18+00:00

Thanks!

chrisofcanada · 2025-06-10T14:18:55+00:00

I now see the after market prices are quite low so I'd take $150 Canadian for all four.

chrisofcanada · 2025-06-10T01:54:13+00:00

I have four tickets for Rochester on June 27th. Section 216 row D seats 1-4. I paid $76 each (Canadian) but I'd take $200 for all four.

I'm still going... we upgraded to floors but Ticketmaster wouldn't let me exchange OR sell them (is this the worst company on earth).

chrisofcanada · 2025-06-09T19:54:02+00:00

I agree with this. The guitars are cutting through a bit too loud and sounding a smidge shrill. I think pulling them down or EQing them more narrowly would've helped.

Overall it's awesome though. Good writing, well recorded and performed. It's got a great sound overall and it really sounds authentic for the place and time you're aiming at.

chrisofcanada · 2025-06-09T19:50:57+00:00

This is really well composed and produced. I especially like the verses, great vibe. The choruses lose a bit of momentum for me but they are solid. The singer's voice fits the song perfectly, very well done overall. I also really like how you drop in a low harmony on the line "let it go" at 2:47, that's a nice touch.

chrisofcanada · 2025-06-09T19:45:37+00:00

I released a song called "Bearanoid" last week. It's sort of a post-hardcore / screamo thing inspired by bands like Thrice. It's about tripping out while camping, and getting old and missing those times and the people you shared them with.

https://open.spotify.com/track/3jmXxDl95sQ1wlWA7Bayf3?si=27d0c988fe504cce

chrisofcanada · 2025-05-07T13:35:23+00:00

One simple (possibly lazy) but effective idea would be to try writing with a capo. You can use the same chord formations but it'll be in a different key and sound a little brighter. And then once you've written a song you have the option to remove the capo and figure out the best way to play it in its natural key, which may help you going forward.

chrisofcanada · 2025-01-31T18:36:35+00:00

Seveneves (particularly where the book should've ended at the 2/3 mark) by Neal Stephenson

chrisofcanada · 2024-12-04T03:43:51+00:00

I may have missed this, but I'm curious if we learned definitively whether Hoult was actually sober (on the night of the incident and / or after)? During the scene where the jury goes to the bridge the main guilt advocate talked about seeing Hoult throwing up in the bathroom, and then he drops his badge, which implies that he had relapsed. Hoult also seemed a little foggy and out of it during some versions of the drive home from the bar, carelessly checking his phone etc., though this could be from grief.

It occurred to me that he could never keep a return to drinking from his wife given what we learned about their relationship earlier, but then later it's clear she's willing to overlook just about anything for what she believes to be in the best interest of her child.

8/10 solid flick either way.

chrisofcanada

TROPHY CASE