Tommy James & The Shondells - Crystal Blue Persuasion

The greatest television show ever is down to its final episode and oh boy is it gonna be good! Over six enthralling seasons (technically 5 as that season was split into two 8-episode parts) we saw the transformation of Walter H. White, a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer, from normal family man to drug kingpin. As the title goes, Walt "Broke Bad" as he continually did more and more bad things in order to keep up with his new lifestyle; a lifestyle that he only ever started because he thought it was a way to earn a lot of money in a short period of time that he could leave to his family before the big C claimed him. I've set up the main premise and will not go any further as most of you know the whole story. And for those of you who do not I strongly suggest you start watching, like yesterday.

What I really want to talk about is how this damn thing is gonna end. What we know: according to the two flash forwards that begin the fifth and sixth seasons Walt is now 52 (he celebrated his 50th birthday in the first season), he has left his safe haven in New Hampshire and is back in New Mexico, he has a huge ass gun, he is still coughing a lot, he returns to his former home in Albuquerque to find it boarded up, spraypainted with "Heisenberg" and teenagers using the empty pool as a skate park and, finally, he goes back to the electric outlet to get the ricin poison he left behind the panel months ago. So now two big questions come to the surface: a) who does he plan to use the gun on and b) what is he going to do with the ricin?

a) My gut tells me that he's going after Uncle Jack, Todd and their whole crew. This would explain the need for a huge ass gun and he already revealed to Saul that he wanted to get his revenge for them killing Hank and taking most of his money. I feel he will get Uncle Jack and his guys but not Todd. Todd, along with the neurotic Lydia, will be the main two characters to get away unscathed.

b) Now for that ricin. This one I truly have no real idea for but I'm gonna say that he wants to use it on Jesse. The two will meet in a final confrontation near the end of the episode/series and only one of them will walk away. I think/hope that Jesse kills Walt. It would be a fitting end to a spectacular series.

Now everything that I have just guessed can be tossed out the window. This is because, from what has happened so far this final season, whatever you think is going to happen, the complete opposite will actually happen. Enjoy!

"Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James & The Shondells appears at the end of season five during a montage that shows Walt and Todd cooking up a storm while Lydia distributes it to the Czech Republic and a shitload of money is exchanged and counted. Check out the video below for the whole scene, a great piece of cinematography (something that Breaking Bad has come to redefine the necessity of for television shows) and camera trickery. The song itself is brilliant. From the backbeat bongos and pulsating organ to the lovely spanish guitar and James' magnificent singing this track has everything. It fits the show perfectly in talking about "crystal blue" and the Spanish guitar for the New Mexico setting (lot's of Spanish music appeared throughout the series). The song is from 1969 but sounds incredibly relevant and timeless.

Black Seeds - One By One

Here's another great track from the great show. This one comes from season two when Walt and Jesse are heading out to the middle of bumfuck nowhere in the New Mexico desert in the RV to cook. The song has a super laid back, good times vibe, which is fitting for this period of the show, before anything very dark occurs. Also the song is sung by Bret McKenzie who is one half of the comedy singing duo Flight of the Conchords. Pretty neat! The majority of the Breaking Bad soundtrack is amazing and features a wide variety of genres and music styles. Also the songs are typically unknown gems which is always great for discovery. Some guy has even created torrents of every single song that has appeared on the show so far so be sure to look for that on isohunt if you're interested.

Now we wait...

Washed Out - All I Know

Washed Out played a sold-out show at Fortune Sound Club this past Tuesday. Washed Out is a band created by Ernest Greene, from Athens, Georgia that specializes in the drowsy, distorted dance-pop that bloggers dubbed "chillwave". He started out making recordings in his bedroom at his parents' house and caught some major attention from those same noteworthy bloggers that began sharing his myspace music. Alongside peers such as Toro Y Moi, Neon Indian, and local upstart Teen Daze, Washed Out has been at the forefront of this easy-listening and mellow yet danceable genre for the past 4 years.

Before I arrived at the venue I was trying to figure out how he would perform. Knowing that Greene does his own vocals I figured it would be pretty hard to sing and DJ at the same time, especially with the vocals being so distorted. It turned out that I was completely wrong as he performed with a full 5-piece band and played everything live. This turned out to be most excellent as they were able to make the songs much more upbeat and full of life while still sounding very similar to the solo-made recordings.

Washed Out played a great mix of their three most prominent records, 2010's excellent EP Life Of Leisure, 2011's major label debut Within And Without and this year's brilliant Paracosm. Opening with the first single from the latter album, "It All Feels Right" the band sounded incredible, the lights were wonderfully trippy and colourful, and Greene was great as a frontman, engaging with the crowd a lot and really letting loose on his vocals, something he has shied away from in the past due to shyness and thinking that he didn't have a good voice. Other highlights included an even more upbeat and rockin' "Get Up", an even more chilled out and subdued "Feel It All Around", and the sublime "Amor Fati" which was the set closer and my personal fave. The above song was played near the end of the set and sounded beautiful with the band nailing the intricate percussion and synth layerings. The entire crowd was digging it, bobbing along to the catchy chorus. If you've never listened to Washed Out I'd highly recommend it the next time you're relaxing, especially outdoors.

I was only able to catch the final few songs from opening band HAERTS. The Brooklyn crew have been one of the year's most buzzed bands with only two tracks available online and their debut album slated for release later this month. I didn't get to hear either of those songs, "All The Days" and "Wings" but they are both incredible and have been on repeat ever since I heard them. Lead singer Nini Fabi has incredible pipes and the rest of the band play superb indie-pop. This is one of those bands that has the potential to become even bigger than the band they opened for. I am very excited to follow their career.

HAERTS - Wings

The instant I heard this song I absolutely loved it. Fabi's emotive singing is gorgeous, especially when she hits those high, sustained notes. The video is really cool too, showing ordinary people and using a cool flying camera. Be sure to check out "All The Days" (their only other song on YouTube) as well, but beware: you will be listening to it nonstop for the rest of the week.

Squamish Valley Music Festival Day 2

Day 2 of Squamish Fest started with a slight hangover and another unbearably hot tent at 8:30 in the gaw damn mornin'! It was another full day of the familiar campground activities of beers, buds, yard games, BBQing and mingling. On the way back from a pilgrimage to the pit stop (yes the porta-potties were far from our site and featured lengthy lineups) a group of campers were admiring my David Bowie t-shirt and before I could even thank and cheers them they had made me a tantalizing proposition: would you like to do a Louisville Chugger? Having no idea what I was getting myself into I responded in the only way I know how: Fuck Yeah! Next thing I know I'm pouring the final 3/4 of my beer into the end of a blue plastic baseball bat. Then I'm chugging it as the others count how long I'm taking. For every second that I took I then have to spin around with my head on the bat that many times. I have no recollection how long it was but it was definitely double digits. Finally once the spinning was over it was time to hit the lightly tossed whiffle ball outta the park. Well I think I came sorta close... but completely missed and fell with style onto the grass. Everyone cheered and had a good laugh as I high-fived everyone and grabbed a new beer. Another classic music festival moment.

After what would be the final shot-gun of the weekend myself and a few others made our way into the grounds to listen and party to the wild gypsy punk of Gogol Bordello. The 3rd best live show of the day was one that I have become very familiar with; a grimy spectacle of intense moshing to the crazy, undefinable slurry of music by eight immigrant punks that together make up one of the best live acts on planet earth. I have seen Gogol Bordello four times now and every time they absolutely crush it, packing a dozen or so songs of relentless high-energy into a whirlwind show that will always leave you dizzy and wanting more. The Brooklyn-based band is really a true global band. The members are from countries such as Ethiopia, China, USA and Ecuador. Their fearless and crazy frontman, Eugene Hutz, who hails from Ukraine, leads the band through a tour de force of intense energy through gypsy punk music. I'm simply running out of adjectives to describe this band and will just say that if you have never heard of or seen Gogol Bordello live it is an absolute must; something to check off your bucket list. The song I have chosen by them is "My Companjera" from their 2010 album Trans-Continental Hustle inspired by the music and sounds of Brazil. They played it dead smack in the middle of their set and, as usual, the crowd and band went berserk.

3.) Gogol Bordello - My Companjera

After the intense gypsy punk we made our way to the second biggest stage to catch Fitz & The Tantrums. After sitting and relaxing through most of the set we got up and danced our asses off for the final few songs which included the new single "Out Of My League" and their most famous number, "MoneyGrabber". That song was definitely the highlight as they nailed it and the crowd loved every second of it. It also truly is a great song; one of the best of this decade in my opinion. After all the dancing and moshing I was feeling very parched so it only made sense to head back to the beer garden by the main stage where Band Of Horses were playing. I like and respect Band Of Horses but am not a huge fan so they provided the perfect background soundtrack to our crushing of beers. They played my favourite, "Ode To LRC", near the end of a solid set and then quickly got out of the way for the main attraction of the night.

Queens Of The Stone Age are one of my absolute favourite modern rock bands. Singer, lead guitarist and main writer Josh Homme is one of the best dudes in the biz right now. After momentarily dying on the operating table a few years ago he and his bandmates came back with a vengeance, recording ...Like Clockwork, an early candidate for album of the year. It's always awesome to see bands that you've loved for a long time and that have a full catalog of classic hits to play. But there's something very awesome about seeing a band with a great history of music that is also currently at the top of their game. 

QOTSA came out blazing with hits like "No One Knows", "Burn The Witch", and "My God Is The Sun" off of their newest album. Then Homme brought things down a bit with the haunting ballad "The Vampyre Of Time And Memory" where he played piano and guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen played the stabbing, Neil Youngish solo. Right after that song came my personal favourite and another early candidate for song of the year, "If I Had A Tail" (this would be the featured song had I not already used it earlier this summer) and Homme told the crowd to "get ready to shake your ass and dance". This was an early highlight as the band hit every note while the crowd did Josh proud and danced our asses off. During the next song some dumbass fan decided to hop onto the stage. Seeing no security going after him right away, Homme left his post behind the mic and gave the kid a good shove off the stage and back into the crowd. This was greeted with a huge cheer that came to an abrupt halt when the band stopped playing as Homme pleaded with the crowd to stop beating the poor bastard up and said something along the lines of "don't fucking come up here but don't hurt him either... now where were we" and they kicked back into gear. Up next came another personal favourite, "Make It Wit Chu" which the band just slayed and is my chosen song to represent the best live band of day 2. Another very danceable track, "Make It Wit Chu" comes from QOTSA's 5th album, Era Vulgaris. The chug-along beat makes you bob your head along and the high-pitched chorus is ridiculously catchy. The Queens closed out the set with even more hits such as "Little Sister" and "Go With The Flow" which both featured blistering extended guitar solos and early hit "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer". By the end I was supremely satisfied with the show and was feeling quite fucked up and ready to hit up the dance tent for the final act of the weekend.

1.) Queens Of The Stone Age - Make It Wit Chu

Right before the final artist came on I decided to try to grab a quick bottle of water. The area that I went over to happened to be the smallest stage where BC band Bear Mountain were playing their unique brand of live-band electro-pop. I never did find water but did catch their first two songs which also happened to be my two favourites, "Faded" and "Congo". These guys seem to have a lot of talent and potential and I look forward to following their career. Had it not been for the fact that Pretty Lights was the final act I would've stayed to watch them.

For the first time of the weekend the entire crew was together and ready for Pretty Lights to take the stage. We made our way up close on the side and set in for a whirlwind of EDM, dancing, and some very pretty lights. I had seen Pretty Lights last year as the night one headliner at Sasquatch. At that show the spectacle of the stage, screens, and light show was incredible but the music lacked that punch, often all sounding quite similar to each other. This time Pretty Lights didn't have a crazy stage setup or even screens; just a dude behind his DJ gear mixing some incredible tracks. The songs were distinct from one another yet still flowed seamlessly. The entire crowd was grooving and just in a great mood. Highlights included the track below, "Finally Moving", a super bluesy chilled out tune that samples Etta James' "Oh sometimes I get a good feeling..." and my personal favourite "I Can See It In Your Face". When the horn sample kicked in I remember looking over at my friends and the ecstatic looks on their faces summed up an incredible weekend. I had an absolute blast and would recommend Squamish Valley Music Festival to anyone; the gorgeous setting, solid lineup and overall great vibes will keep fans coming back.

2.) Pretty Lights - Finally Moving

Squamish Valley Music Festival Day 1

This past Thursday a crew of seven of us made our way via two car convoy up to the small city of Squamish, BC to catch some amazing local and international live music, incredible weather, and lots of partying. Squamish is located at roughly the midway point of the Sea-to-Sky highway that connects Vancouver to Whistler. After a few trips down south to the Sasquatch Music Festival it was rad to finally get to check out the best of what beautiful British Columbia has to offer.

After purchasing a shit load of food and booze and stuffing the cars to their brim it was 6pm and time to roll out. It was smooth sailing for about 90 minutes and then BOOM! Several kilometres before our desired exit we were already stuck in what seemed like the never-ending lineup. Luckily for my vehicle up front we were chugging a couple beers and blasting tunes which started a number of roadside dance parties. By the time we reached the exit it was officially dark and Matt Mays had taken the stage for the "Opening Night Hootenanny". And soon it became apparent that we were not going to have a hope in hell of making this show. Oh well, too many beers and some night one steaks were waiting for us at the camp site. All we had to do now were get through the next 2 checkpoints and lineups, drop off all the gear outside the campground, go park the car in butt-fuck nowhere, come back and make too-many-to-count trips between the drop-off area and out campsite and then set everything up. Suddenly it was 1am and we were shotgunning our first beer. By 2:30am I was finally eating my dinner. By 4:30am I was wasted enough to go pass out in the cold tent.

But by the next day at Beer o'Clock (somewhere around 10am...) everyone had forgotten the shit show that went down whilst getting there and our attention had now turned to crushing beers, smoking j's, playing yard games, mingling with other campers, and plotting the day's music acts we'd try to see. After all of the above occurred in epic fashion for several hours it was finally time to check out the festival grounds and some music. First up were Victoria's The Chantrelles, a band that my buddy had only told us all about hours before we were dancing front and centre to their early afternoon set. The seven-piece band has an excellent motown sound and their soulful, female lead singer just slayed every song. Think Alabama Shakes but less guitar and more horns. I expect big things from this group and am looking forward to following them in the future.

After we had somewhat gathered our bearings of the grounds and loaded $40 on our wristbands (this is the only way one can purchase alcohol) it was time to head back to the site for more beers, bud and BBQ. After two full grills of the best campground chicken I've ever had it was time to return to the music and for shit to really begin.

Up first, and number three on my list of top 3 live acts of the day, were hip-hop legends Jurassic 5. J5 have been around since the mid-90's and have just reformed this summer with the original lineup intact, including the great baritone Chali 2na and DJ Cut Chemist (who left the group a while back). They played a high-energy set covering the entirety of their career, providing moments for each of the four rappers to shine as well as the two DJs to have a scratch off. They opened with the below track, one of my personal favourites and a great song to come out to and played classics such as "I Am Somebody" and "Concrete Schoolyard". But during the middle of the encore I got a call that Macklemore was coming to the main stage and we were off like a flash.

#3)  Jurassic 5 - Back 4 You

I have always admired Macklemore & Ryan Lewis but I would never consider them one of my top hip-hop acts and likely would not go see them live unless at a festival such as this. Well number 2 on my top 3 of the day list certainly put those beliefs to rest. From the moment Macklemore stepped on stage he had the entire crowd listening to his every word and watching his every move. The dude is incredibly charismatic and is a superb storyteller. Stories during shows are often remembered even more than your favourite song as it provides a unique experience for those in the crowd. Well Mackelmore told his fair share of stories, such as that when he arrived he was sweaty and hot and immediately went swimming butt naked at a nearby, deserted lake only to have his clothes stolen by rotten teenagers (not so empty after all). But then he was picked up by a dude in a golf cart with an epic beard that only a Canadian could have and was taken straight to the Thrift Shop. He proceeded directly into his #1 international smash and killed it along with Wanz who sings that awesome hook. But he wasn't done there as he launched into an impassioned speech about how Canada has always been a step ahead of the rest of the world in terms of human rights and then played his gay friendly anthem "Same Love". After a few more great tracks and a crowd walk he told the us about how he loves Canada so much that he's marrying a Canadian, gonna have Canadian kids and is becoming a dual citizen. At this point he whipped off the poncho he'd been wearing only to show a baby blue Vancouver Grizzlies Mike Bibby basketball jersey. As one can imagine, the crowd went berserk. And after a few more songs, including the below track, the current hit "Can't Hold Us" and two encores the party was over and an electric crowd began heading back towards the food area and/or beer garden.

#2)  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - White Walls (feat. ScHoolboy Q & Hollis)

So Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were ridiculously good and only one band was left for the main stage, Vampire Weekend. I was lucky enough to see these guys at a festival three years ago when they played a mid-afternoon set on a side stage and they were fucking awesome. Well now they had the glorious headlining slot and had to step their game up big time. And oh hell yes they sure did. Unlike Macklemore who, as a rapper, has the freedom to move anywhere around the stage these guys are all confined to their respective instruments. Therefore they have the difficult job of making the audience do all the moving. They succeeded wonderfully at this, putting the entire crowd into a dancing frenzy on tracks such as the opener "Cousins", their first big hit "A-Punk" and new ones "Unbelievers" (below) and "Ya Hey". I really didn't think anyone could top Macklemore & Ryan Lewis but the energy brought by these guys as well as their incredible musicianship and tightness as a band provided an amazing end to an amazing day. Stay tuned for Day 2.

#1)  Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers

Bombino - Amidinine

Omara "Bombino" Moctar is the best guitarist that you've never heard of. Born in a Tuareg encampment near the city of Agadez, Niger, Bombino has been singing, writing, and shredding about the many problems that plague his people and that area of the Sahara desert. This area of the world is consistently in turmoil from violent rebellions and, in 2007, the government decided that guitars played a symbolic role in these rebellions and banned them from the country. Later that year two of his band members were executed in front of him and Bombino was forced into exile in Burkina Faso. He has always believed that his guitar was not to be seen as a gun but as a hammer to build the homes of the Tuareg people. After the conflict had ended he was finally able to return to Agadez where he and his band performed a concert to celebrate and promote peace and harmony. Since then he has recorded two critically acclaimed albums and has been touring all over the world, performing at major European and American festivals and opening for acts such as Robert Plant & The Band of Joy, Amadou & Miriam, and Gogol Bordello.

"Amidinine" is the opening song from Bombino's sophomore album, Nomad. The track features blazing, bluesy guitar and lyrics sung in Tamashek, the language of the nomadic Tuareg people. Bombino often sings of the geopolitical concerns of the Tuareg people and, although you can't understand what he's saying, you can feel the struggles and pains of he and his people through his passionate, intense, and powerful singing. The entire album is brilliant and a must listen for anyone who loves great electric guitar and the blues. It is produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and his raw yet polished touch proves why he is one of the best producers in rock right now (check out his other recent album, Locked Down by Dr. John as to why).

Some thoughts...

- Looks like the Lower Mainland of BC is set to break a ridiculous, 127 year old record of having zero rain for the entire month of July. Fuck Yeah!

- Looks like A-Rod could be kicked out of Major League Baseball for using PEDs on more than one occasion and lying about it on more than one occasion. This will happen only if he agrees not to fight the suspensions they have prepared for him. He really must've cheated a lot to be the only guy the MLB wants to make an example out of...

- Recently finished watching the majority of Breaking Bad for a second time and I cannot fucking wait for the final 8 episodes to begin two Sundays from now (Aug 11). Get ready for some BB themed posts next week too.

- Squamish Festival officially begins one week tomorrow. We've got a solid crew of 9 heading up for 3 days of music and good times. Also get ready for some Squamish Fest themed posts.

K-OS - Valhalla (feat. Sam Roberts & Kevin Drew)

This past weekend Holland Park in Surrey hosted its annual Fusion Festival. The free festival is a two day event that promotes diversity of race, culture, and ethnicity. The centre of the park consists of over 30 cultural pavilions from various nations such as Kenya, Bolivia, and Greece. Each pavilion has members from their country providing information, selling goods, and, most importantly, cooking fine cuisine. Then in the surrounding area there are 3 music stages, a cultural community stage, and a cooking stage. I went for a friend's birthday on the Saturday which was also the same day that musical acts Los Furios, The Zolas, Kyprios, and K-OS performed.

We arrived to hear the final few songs by Vancouver-based ska band Los Furios. They were very high energy and had a brilliant horn section. As it was my first time at this festival it was somewhat overwhelming when I began looking for food to eat. I made two rules for myself that were to only try food that is very foreign to me (ie. from Kenya and not Greece) and that I would try my darndest to eat from all 6 represented continents. After buying $20 worth of tickets I followed a festival vet into the throng of people enjoying the sun, music, and great eats. Stop one was at Kenya where I had a great samosa that rivaled even the best Indian ones I've had. Then I visited Russia for these delicious dumpling things called Babouschka or something. I then stumbled upon the Bolivia tent which, for some reason, was the only country that didn't have a giant sign in front of it. There I enjoyed an excellent pulled pork sandwich that had an amazing, spicy sauce and salsa on it and a mango flavoured lime fizzy drink. So far so good as I had eaten something from Africa, Europe, and South America. After meeting up with the rest of our crew we decided to head back to the main stage as The Zolas were set to come on.

The Zolas are a Vancouver indie-rock band that have been getting bigger and bigger with tons of shows all across the lower mainland. The band was loving the weather and good vibes of the festival as they tore through hits like "Knot In My Heart" and "You're Too Cool". Fusion Fest is a dry event so near the end of The Zolas' set we decided that birthday shots were in order and headed down the street to Central City Brewing Co. 

Several shots/beers/etc later I was back at the fest for round two of my world food tour. I began at the Afghanistan tent where I had a tortilla thing folded in half with potatoes, onions, and other spices inside it. On its own this meal was meh but when dipped in the provided green hot sauce and sour cream it was delicious. At this point Kyprios had taken the stage and after a couple of his own songs he began playing killer covers of classic rap songs from Dr. Dre to Jay-Z. Kyprios was very high energy and the saxophone player in his band just crushed it on a few tracks. It was great music to groove along to while enjoying dinner. I then hit up Fiji to try some spicy peanuts and peas which were great but mostly made me want another beer. My final stop of the night was at the Australian Pavilion where I had to try the Kangaroo sliders. The meat is quite tough but very tasty, especially when dipped in the fresh blueberry sauce. So I was able to cover Asia and Oceania but never made it to North America (not too bad though as this is the least foreign food to me). At this point it was time to head back to our spot at the main stage for the headliner K-OS.

K-OS is a rapper born in Trinidad and raised in Toronto who has been a solid fixture in the Canadian Hip-Hop scene for the past decade. I've always liked his music but had never seen him live so this festival was the perfect time. He started out great, performing lesser known songs as well as new material. Then things really got going when he played the hit "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman", a song based off of the piano beat to the theme song "California" for the TV show The O.C. K-OS is a great rapper but he is also quite a good singer and rocker. He displayed this by pulling out a guitar for the next few songs and at one point exclaimed "Let's see your favourite rapper do that!" A few songs later K-OS reached his performing peak with a sick version of "Valhalla", today's song. The track has a killer guitar riff, provided on the album version by Kevin Drew of the Canadian indie-rock supergroup Broken Social Scene and a catchy, epic chorus sung by Sam Roberts, another great Canadian rock star. K-OS's touring guitarist nailed the riff and the entire band joined K-OS to sing the chorus, along with the crowd. K-OS seemed to be really digging this song as his rapping was spot on and the crowd was really into it. 

Unfortunately a couple songs later he said "I'm looking at the setlist and these ones on here I know I gotta do but I don't want to". He was referring to his three hits "Sunday Morning", "Man I Used To Be", and "Crabbuckit" and was basically telling the crowd that he was mad that he had to play these great songs that people love. He even cut Sunday Morning short initially before going back and playing the whole thing. Personally I think that this is super fucking lame. Like, poor you, you've recorded some amazing songs that people love and have to perform them a lot. Wah-fucking-wah! I understand that an artist can get tired of doing the same song over and over again but why not just change it up by making a slowed down reggae version or something? He gave a very half-assed performance for these final three and just seemed eager to get off the stage. The only highlight was this little kid in the crowd right next to me. A guy with a video camera was filming him while another dude held up a light and the kid did some crazy breakdancing. At this point most of the crowd had turned their attention to him and were loving it. After he shyed away an even younger kid, a baby, began doing his own version of break dancing which was adorable and awesome. 

Overall I really enjoyed the Fusion Festival and will be sure to try to go every year from here on out. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves food, music and good times.

50 Cent - We Up (feat. Kendrick Lamar)

Trip Part 3: Singapore. After a great few nights in Taipei it was time to start venturing south and into the area that we had been planning on going to all along: South East Asia. Singapore was a city that we had briefly discussed going to but never made concrete plans for. But after learning that it was a major hub for getting cheap flights to other countries we figured it was worth checking out for a few nights.

Singapore is truly a one-of-a-kind city. Most people (myself included at the time) do not know very much about the city other than the oft ridiculed law that forbids one from spitting in public. This law certainly is ridiculous but damn it sure is enforced well and, because of that, the city is very clean; spotless in fact. I noticed this right away, in the sparkly airport bathroom that even allowed you to rate its cleanliness out of 5 progressively happier looking faces on a touch screen on the way out (I gave it the super huge smile). As we passed dozens of custodians on the way to the Metro the cleanliness remained. I also immediately noticed three distinct cultural groups: Indians, Chinese, and South East Asians (likely mostly Malaysian). There were no true Singaporeans; just a hodgepodge of these Asian cultures all (somewhat) struggling to communicate in the only official language, English. I thought this would be great for experiencing the different cultures and cuisines.

Since we knew Singapore was going to be expensive and we were still in the infancy of the trip we found a cheap ass place to stay outside of town. We also planned to spend the next few days without alcohol as A) it is ridiculously pricey, worse than Canada! and B) we figured a good detox couldn't hurt the imminent debauchery that would take place over the next four months. After finally arriving at our destination we discovered that not ALL of Singapore is spotless; check out Hello WOW Hostel for proof. The good thing about it was that the A/C worked and we were right next to a Metro station. The bad thing was that we were also in the middle of nowhere. So at nearly 11pm the first meal in Singapore was the only place that was open nearby, McDonald's. Fail.

The next day we ventured into town to do some good ol' sightseeing. We wandered everywhere through the financial district, University district, Chinatown, Little India and even all the way to the Malaysian border. Holy fuck it was fucking hot as fuck! Let the sweating begin. Thankfully the amazing architecture kept my mind off it as I was dazzled by block after block of awesome buildings such as futuristic skyscrapers, Indian temples, and Chinese markets. Also a massive yet brief downpour kept me cool and was the first taste of the crazy thunderstorms of Southeast Asia. We ended the night in Little India by eating at a jungle-themed Indian restaurant that had delicious food.

For our last day we decided to go to the world famous Singapore Zoo. It rained during our entire bus ride there but cleared up right as we walked through the gate. Now I have been to the San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park which are widely reviewed as the best zoos in the world, along with Berlin. But Singapore was right up there and was simply magnificent. Due to the slightly cool and overcast weather the animals were wide awake and very active. You know how you can be at a cage, peer in, see nothing and just go meh and move on to the next one? Well this never happened here. Not only was every animal awake and active but they were in plain sight, often very close to the visitors. We also arrived right around lunch time and, by sheer luck, got to be firsthand witnesses for feeding sessions for the likes of White Bengal tigers, jaguars, lions, and monkeys. The brother and sister White Bengal tigers were the two most gorgeous animals I have ever seen in person. They are 2 of only 5 left in the world and were a brilliant sight to watch as they swam, played, and ate their meal. We even walked by the orangutans just in time to see them being fed outside of their habitats. They wandered out onto a log and just chilled and ate while people got to sit under them for pics. Of course we somehow ended up right near the front of the line and got some great pics. Besides these marvelous mammals the zoo also featured komodo dragons, snakes, monkeys, these hideous warthog/pig things and giraffes. I would strongly recommend that you go to the zoo if ever in Singapore as it was an absolute highlight.

Later that day we decided to check out the harbour. And, damn, another magnificent sight that we had no idea even existed. The harbour, known as Marina Bay, offers spectacular views of the incredible skyline and the world famous Marina Bay hotel, which is 3 massive buildings connected by a giant boat-shaped structure at the top. After two many pictures from down below we decided to bite the bullet and shill out the $20 to venture to the observation deck at the top of the hotel. We made it up just as the sun was setting and got some incredible photos of the skyline and harbour in the light and dark. To top the day off we made it back down just in time for a super cool fountain and light show. I'm having trouble doing this justice with my words so be sure to check out some pics below. As for Singapore, it was definitely a cool city although it is definitely only worth visiting for 2-3 days. Just make sure you see the zoo and Marina Bay.

"We Up" by 50 Cent and featuring Kendrick Lamar perfectly describes the feeling of being on top of the luxurious Marina Bay Hotel. The song brags about riches and we certainly got to experience a lot of that in the wealthy city. The song rides a slick beat punctuated by sultry keyboards as Fiddy raps about his riches and provides the catchy chorus. But the track really gets going when K Dot enters for a blazing, scene-stealing verse. I'm definitely looking forward to more new music from 50 Cent, someone who I have always liked but never truly dug into until now.

Click the link below for a cool video I shot of the White Bengal tigers:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152555285080646&l=6139133841379634611

Some Singapore pics...

Crazy architecture

Chinatown

Little India

Komodo Dragon

Baboons

Marina Bay Hotel

Botanical gardens (from Marina Bay Hotel observation deck)

The incredible skyline (from Marina Bay Hotel observation deck)