Mira Aleta

It's a little military cap, in black. It's not an Avalanche cap, it just says Matthew Good across it. I found it on the merchandise portion of his website: http://matthewgood.store-08.com/accessories/ I'm pretty obsessive about hats: I wear them almost everywhere so I was pretty happy to find this one. I also bought the Arrows of Desire scarf, as I am equally obsessed with scarves. It's cotton & not terribly large so I didn't think it would be warm, but I am finding that it keeps me pretty toasty. The print is quite feminine as well, which allows me to wear it at work throughout the day if I get cold (disclaimer: my working environment is fairly casual. I don't know if it would be appropriate for all working environments. I wear leggings and tunics most days)

Thanks for all of the recommendations! I tend to stick to my favourites for sure: Matt Good (did I even need to mention that one?), Foo Fighters, The Cranberries, The Verve, Dido, OutKast, Lauryn Hill (who hasn't released much, but remains a fave), Ani Difranco, Noah Gunderson & Sinéad O'Connor, who has a new(ish) album out. I remember her more for her older stuff: I have listened to the Lion & The Cobra at least a million times. Her most recent album is a bit of a mish mash stylistically, not all of which I am enjoying, though the first song off the album grabbed me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFYnGVTFGqo Also, a friend of mine recently mentioned the name Maria Doyle Kennedy to me. She will be singing at the Blacksheep Inn in Wakefield in a couple of weeks. I recognise her for her acting abilities: she was the Irish nanny in the last couple of seasons of Dexter. More notably for me, she plays "Mrs. S" in Orphan Black (which I have dubbed Orphan Crack due to it's ability to make me stare vacantly at the television screen for hours at a time) She has a great voice though, tending towards a more folk rock style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOev8c2eCi0

OOH! So pretty!!! My copy of HM has the defect too. I got mine from Amazon, but won't bother sending it back if the defect is due to the pressing. I am loving the entire process of playing with vinyl again: takes me back to my youth, for sure!

I have added some new stuff to my collection (she types gleefully!): -Matthew Good cap (I generally hate being 'tagged' or 'branded' when I walk around, but I have made a stand: I will go public with my affection for Matt's music--Almost immediately, I got people waving at me, smiling at me, giving me the thumbs up, etc: definitely fun!) -Chaotic Neutral Buttons -Hospital Music Buttons -Hospital Music bag -VINYL! (I bought a record player, so that they are not sitting on my shelf collecting dust): *Underdogs *Beautiful Midnight *Hospital Music *Chaotic Neutral FYI-I have made friends with the staff at the Ottawa St. Laurent HMV over the many years I have been going there. The manager told me that he has too much vinyl to fit into their miniscule vinyl section, so I should ask him if I am looking for something that I can't see. He actually went back and searched for 20min for Avalance, Arrows, LOES & Vancouver, because he didn't believe that they weren't readily available, lol!

I have the most tempermental phone, which erases my playlists, or pares them down at random moments. It recently completely erased my lists, so I was able to keep my ears peeled for this song specifically, after reading your post. It think I found the one of which you speak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2CE_dq6L44 If that's the one you have on your phone, then it is from "In A Coma". I had kind of forgotten about the acoustic renderings he does on "In A Coma", until recently. I can barely listen to the original "Hello Time Bomb" now, so obsessed am I with the acoustic version: ditto for "Generation X-Wing".

I'm so glad that you enjoyed this book! I find part of it's appeal is that he is very direct in his manner of writing, which allows the truth of his experience to shine through. I'll keep you posted on any others I find that may deal with similar subject matter. I have personal experience with mental illness, and now work in the field which contributes to the manner in which I am attracted to books about mental health. I look forward to hearing what you think! FYI-The other book I read by Matt Haig ('The Humans') does feature a character who is living with depression. I remember thinking that this character was quite well written, and now understand why he was able to create such a three dimensional character. I went backwards and read "Invitation to the Game" by Monica Hughes recently, which I read and loved as a teeny bopper. Many of my nieces and nephews are in around that age group now, so I'm finding myself heading back into my old favourites. I'm just about to crack "Great House" by Nicole Krauss. It is my book club book (meeting next Sunday, yikes!), and I'm in charge of the questions: wish me luck!

I'll be voting everyday for sure!

This is a tough issue to speak about, for sure. We recoil, as humans, from random acts of violence; understanding within our bones that taking human life is wrong; that it hurts us all. There are a myriad of ways of recoiling from these terrible acts: into hate, anger, fear, or love. Love? Yes, love. I don't agree with violence of any form. For this reason, I try to remember that love is the only act, when duplicated, that does not cause more harm and suffering. This is not to say that I feel any of the violence occuring the world over, is right: that we should 'hug the perpetrator', instead of offering him/her the due process of the law. That said, I wonder if we are able to understand a bit more readily what was going on for the perpetrator of the violent act? Would this help us understand how such 'random acts' are perhaps not so random at all? Would it uncover the root causes that are first perpetrated, and then perpetuated, by our broken social systems? Would examining our failures help us become stronger communities, which are able to identify and treat individuals who are in such intense pain & who have lived with such incredible abuses? Might we be able to prevent such travesties before they occur? This is upstream thinking, that I am talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qarQXqKbmLg This video is Canadian made, though it could apply the world over. We have seen so many random acts of violence over the years, that I wonder if we are asking the correct questions surrouding causation: why are we seeing so many shootings? Why are we not addressing the issues which lie behind, and beneath the public outcry? Why, when it comes time to talk about how we regularly fail members of our society so abysmally that they feel they have no other choice but to lash out violently, do we attach a price tag to the safety nets we might put into place to help? If the cost of a human life is so valuable, and one which all of us agree we are unwilling to pay, then why is the price of implementing said changes, which may save lives, seen as incommensurate with the reward? I will further argue, that this is no longer an "American problem". This is something that we are seeing the world over. This makes sense considering that we have become a global community. What's more, the wars which are presently being waged the world over: wars which are spilling over into our clean first world streets, are not delineated in solid black & white, but rather in shades of grey. These are wars with no borders, no victor, no spoils. They are wars of agression, intimidation & fear. They thrive on confusion: obfuscating facts, co-opting, and twisting religious beliefs until there is nothing left but fervor, zeal & hatred. From these wars, the only byproduct as numerous as the spent shells, broken families, and burnt husks of cities, is fear. The death toll climbs, and yet, we do not ask why: for fear of offending those who fight these wars? For fear of discovering the truth? I fear that we are hopelessly mired in down stream thinking. Perhaps I am wrong about everything I just said. I desperately hope that I am. I will my thoughts to be incorrect. I cry: "prove me wrong!"...but first, we must do the work of asking, and digging, and discussing.

I don't feel that this is a fair question at all. I doubt I could pick a favourite song from any one album, let alone Matt's entire collection of tune-age. I am not even certain that I could keep the list in double digits. There are, however, songs that anchored me when my life was exceedingly storm tossed. I am fairly certain that I would not be the person I am today, without them. Giant-Change Of Season-Lullaby For The New World Order-Empty Road-Empty's Theme Park *This is in no way a comprehensive list. I reserve the right to change my mind.

I have purchased Underdogs twice, as well. In fact, I think I've purchased all of the MGB discs on more than one occasion. I know that I have 3 copies of Beautiful Midnight kicking around, all in various states of beaten up. I lost my copies of Avalanche, Vancouver & Hospital Music in the divorce, so I only have e-copies at this point. I'll have to re-buy. It was totally worth it, though: I traded it for some other MG merch that was originally my ex's. I can re-buy the albums, but not the patch or the LOES stuff, for example.

I too, share your shock and horror at this situation. I don't even consider Nickelback to be music, to be honest.

I absolutely do this too! I almost always re-discover Matt's music years later. For example, I listened to Underdogs repetitively while Audio of Being was in it's infancy, and am hooked on Vancouver right now, especially Empty's Theme Park. I also love WLRRR, with Empty Road being one of my all time favourite, and most memorable MG tunes to date. As with several other MG songs, it pulled me through a pretty dark period in my life. The lyrics will always be ones that give me hope. I love listening to full albums, too, though these days I just have all Matt's songs on a playlist on my phone so I usually just listen to whatever my phone feels like playing for me. They are also all smacked onto my favourites list which has a greater variety of music for when I am looking for greater variety.

LOL! I saw your post about teechip on another thread, just a few minutes ago. I will hope against hope that my mug arrives, eternal optimist that I am! I'll keep you posted. This is 100% my fault for not checking further into the website. The tagline is so fun, I couldn't resist!

I've got CN on it's way, and HM sitting at home with me now. I'm with the superfans who have no record player, but still want the records, lol!

I just finished up a couple over the last few days: 1) A Million Little Pieces by James Frey-It is presented as a personal account of a drug & alcohol addicts journey through recovery. Apparently there was a big brouhaha over this when it was discovered that the story was more fiction, than fact. It's still an interesting read stylistically as he uses very minimal punctuation. I really love books in which the binding, typeset & general presentation are interesting and representative of the content, which is the case with this book. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami is a great example of this, as well. 2) Brain On Fire by Susannah Cahalan-This is about a woman who, at the age of 24, starts developing symptoms of psychosis & seizures, with no prior history of either. It is an account of her "month of madness", which actually ends up being more like a year of her life from initial symptoms, through to recovery. I read this one in less than 24hrs, so make sure you have time to set aside if you pick it up!

I drink whatever I can get organic and grind at home, though I prefer Kicking Horse if I can get it on sale. I drink it with coconut milk and honey, and am much more picky about that, than about the particular brand I buy.

Whoop! Whoop! I'm sending you many hopes, that the process will be as painless as possible.

The Blog reads as follows: -Date- Matthew Good Last night something very special happened after the show in Ottawa during the meet and greet. A couple were in attendance that I noticed were very well dressed, as if they had come straight from a social function. As it turned out, they had come from their wedding. Mutual fans, they chose to spend their wedding night at one of my shows. To say that I am deeply honoured would be an understatement. I wish nothing but the utmost happiness and future prosperity to both Mr. and Mrs. (our names) -end- My ex and I are on mostly good terms: we split very amicably & there are no poisonous memories attached to any part of our relationship so this still holds lots of good memories for me, despite the fact that we're no longer together. We did have a GREAT time at that show!! I'm hoping that I can get the blog signed at some point in the future...and if I ever get married again I would absolutely consider hitting another of Matt's concerts, if my future husband agreed. Let's be honest here: there is no way a non-fan could live with me, considering the amount of Matt Good I listen to, lol! Also, thanks for the feedback about the tattoo. I'm wondering if I could just have that word hidden behind something else in the composition, so that I could be reminded of this quote, which so often comes to my mind when I am too future focused, without having the word "whoring" indelibly inked on my person. FYI-It looks like this will only be available for order until January 31st. I just got one in blue!

You guys are amazing! Your collections totally beat mine. I have purchased pretty much all of his albums at least once, so I won't mention any of the ones that are still readily available. All I have is: -a copy of Loser Anthems, without the cover, unsigned -a copy of "At Last there is Nothing Left to Say" -a signed copy of Beautiful Midnight -MGB Football Club 1971 patch -Set of 3 postcards from Hospital Music days -Vancouver skyline T-shirt -LOES T-shirt -a signed copy of the vinyl size album cover from the LOES tour (got it as a bonus when I bought the VIP tickets) -one of Matt's guitar picks, thrown from the stage during the LOES show -the yet to be signed piece de resistance in my collection, though, is a copy of the blog post that Matt made about meeting me and my (then) husband, who went to the LOES show on our wedding day...yes, I too, am obsessed! I love the idea of a tattoo, and am planning on working a quote into a leg sleeve, which should be done in the next year or two. The one I want, is "It's the future that's whoring the better happier you"(Giant), as a reminder to me to stay mindful, and in the moment (I do tend to overplan to a ridiculous degree)...the only concern I have is...do I really want the word "whoring" on my body forever? Thoughts?

In reading the thread thus far, I can tell that we are all on the same page about one thing: we all strongly desire for Matt to keep making music for as long as is humanly possible. I am in complete agreement with this sentiment! I don't, however, feel qualified to weigh in on the specifics of smoking. I, myself, have smoked a lot over the years and miss it when I am in a non smoking period such as the one I am in at the moment. The only reason I have ever quit, is because smoking is getting in the way of another one of my few passions, namely kickboxing. I would like to share this very interesting Ted Talk, regarding a longitudinal study of men, over the course of 75 years: https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness#t-759065 Spoiler alert: what they found, is that the greatest predictor of longevity, was not the relative health of the individuals throughout the course of their life, rather it was the depth & happiness of their relationships. While I have only met Matt in person for a quarter or an hour (max), I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that his music demonstrates he is living in secure, happy & deep relationships. In that way, Matt, you are ahead of the curve, and well on your way to hitting your centennial!

Those both sound like fascinating reads! I'll give'em a look. I just stumbled across a book called "Reasons To Stay Alive" by Matt Haig. I've read one of his other books (The Humans) and loved it, so I picked it up. It turns out it's about the author's time living with depression & anxiety. It's a pretty spot on account of what it's like to struggle with mental illness, so far. It looks as though there is a 'movement' of some form attached to it as well: he's got hashtags of different people's reasons to stay alive all over the inside book covers.

One fitness junkie to another, I generally play LOTGA, Raygun & Underdogs when I'm working out, and just skip the down tempo stuff. That said, Beautiful Midnight is still my favourite album to run to: it's got great highs & lows for a tempo run.

I send my thanks back at you! I will add those to my Amazon cart (which currently threatens to topple the internet, with it's size, lol!) I have no aspirations to be a novelist, so I can't comment on your particular sentiments. I am, however, acquainted with how difficult it can be to have something which is so loved, compromised by that which is so desired. I recognise this to be a very difficult position for a person to experience, and empathise with the position you are in. I wish you all the best, in your journey, and will keep my eyes peeled for your work on the forum. Thank you for this recommendation! I love the personal story attached to your love of the series. It contributes to my desire to take a crack at these ones, for sure :)

I must say that I am so grateful to have this conversation with more than just myself! None of my friends are fans, which is sad in a way, especially considering that they don't particularly connect with any music. That said, it is somehow fitting that I stand alone in my fandom, as I have often felt myself to be quite alone in life; with the exception of music. Even at times when I look around and notice my life to be replete with supports; I find myself to be unwilling, or unable to vocalise my deepest thoughts to others. Within these moments of self reflection & perceived loneliness, music has often been my closest companion. While I have had, and continue to have, many other musical influences & anchor points, I am comforted by the knowledge that I can shove my earbuds into my ears, hit the "Good List" on my phone, and find what I need on any given day (be it Sunday, or otherwise ;) I too, have been brought to tears on public transit, many times over, the most recent of which was when I was caught unawares by "Empty's Theme Park". I am sure that I have listened to that song at least a million times over the years, yet a week ago, I 'got it' in a whole different way. This is part of the reason that Matt's music is so crucial an aspect of my day to day: it allows me the space and time I need, to come to terms with my life. It meets me where I am: be it the best day of my life (so far!), or the day that I need to experience, despite all of my personal objections. I suppose that the charm & appeal of being so connected to music, whether the musician be Matthew Good or someone else, is that it affords us the opportunity to dig deep into our personal emotional state: offering us a companion on our journey within, while imbuing us with the confidence that we need not live endlessly in that emotional state. Within that framework, we are able to find release, and relief; truth, and compassion. So thank you all, for being so thoughtful & forthcoming in your personal thoughts & reflections. I had hoped to find a pleasant diversion from my day to day by joining this forum, and have been pleasantly surprised to find individuals who are honest, self-reflexive & incredibly caring...not to mention, superfans, like myself!

Hey! I'm new to the forum, so I don't know if it is too late to add in my 2 cents about books. Please let me know if I am wrong to revive this conversation. I'm an avid reader of fiction & non-fiction, reading about a book a week: so many that I have to keep track so that I don't re-buy books I've read in the past & forgotten about, lol! Here's my top 5 reads of 2015 with brief breakdowns for anyone who might be interested: 1. The Wind Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi-This is my new author gem of the year. This book captured me from the word go. He has a book of short stories, 2 adult novels and several kids books. I have read all but the Water Knife which is his most recent release. A word to the wise: The Wind Up Girl, in particular, comes with it the danger of being up into the wee hours of the night reading. Paolo, himself hesitates to place his work in any category, though I have found his books in the sci-fi section. It's not really sci-fi though, it's more tales of an alternate reality, or possible future. They are enthrallying, nonetheless: I shan't say more for fear of ruining it's appeal. If you only read one off of this list, read this one! 2. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce-I read this one at the request of a friend whose tastes are far less adventurous than my own, and ended up loving it! It's about a gentleman who gets a letter from an old friend, writes her back and then, on his way to post the letter, decides to deliver it by hand, which requires walking halfway across England. He is totally unprepared for the journey in every way. The charm in this one, is the self reflexive tone of the novel, alongside the Brit humour. 3. Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins-I've been a Tom Robbins fan for years, though I somehow missed this one until recently. It centres around a decrepit roadside attraction featuring a flea circus & 2 hippies. They end up becoming host to the body of Christ, which has been lifted from the Vatican by a friend of theirs, who had been posing as a priest. It's not for the faint of heart, so enter at your own risk: Tom Robbins is a social satirist whose point of view tends decidedly towards the obscure. My advice? If you decide to crack the spine of this one, hang on for dear life & endeavour your best to enjoy the ride! 4. Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman- This is a heavy non-fiction read which was published in the 1980's. Noam is a linguist, psychologist and social theorist who is known the world over. I have studied him in University from each point of view over the years and find him to be brilliant. This is not an easy read, as the two authors are incredibly detailed in their analysis of the manner in which politics & big business contribute to the dissemination of news media. They break down in detail what was reported in the news, comparing it against actual events in the areas of the world discussed; much of which has come to light in retrospect. The strength of this book lies in it's ability to help the reader become more critical in the way they view news media. While the information is dated, much of what they discuss is still pertinent in this day in age, as it sheds light on the manner in which we are taught to view the world around us. I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in becoming more critical in their thought patterns, as well as for anyone who is interested in finding out more about central america and south east asia in the 50's and 60's. 5.The Girl Who Was Saturday Night by Heather O'Neill-This book is a little piece of Canadiana, telling the tale of a set of twins, born and bred in Montreal. Their father was a famous figure in Quebec, who impregnated a young woman. Her family decided this was not acceptable, and so the twins were left to be raised by their grandfather who, you come to realise, lives with symptoms of undiagnosed mental illness. This becomes important, as it contributes to an understanding of how the twins got to the point at which the reader first meets them, at the age of 19. They are in the process of coming to terms with their burgeoning adulthood in the hotbed of 1990's Pro Quebec sentiments. I loved this book from start to finish. I have another of her books waiting patiently on my shelf, waiting for it's turn to shine! In closing, I would like to add that I would be interested in sharing reads, if ever anyone is interested. I have a few in mind which might be fun for a collective read, the first of which is Malcolm Lowry's "Under The Volcano". He is a new author for me. I'm testing him out on the mid-concert recommendation given my Mr. Good himself, which you have likely heard mid-Massey Hall recording. Cheers & Happy Monday!