Geoff Read 🇨🇦 🇺🇦

To me, and this has been true for years, the power play stinks when it becomes static. Guys need to move and they need to attack the middle of the ice and take the puck to the net. That’s what breaks down the defenders. And so far this year we seem to be too content to pass it around the periphery.

YouTube video by ThreeDaysGraceVEVO Three Days Grace - I Hate Everything About You (Official Video)

Three Days Grace is an alt-rock band from the tiny town of Norwood, Ontario on highway 7 east of Peterborough. They have released eight studio albums to date. Number 873 of #1000Songs youtube.com/watch?v=d8ek...

You might be right. He’s a red Tory and right now that seems pretty reasonable in comparison to most of the right, which seems to have lost its collective mind.

I might be wrong but I feel like the Trump threat has seen him move gradually towards the centre. Some of his pieces have been quite perceptive. Maybe we can hope that his eyes have been opened a little to the corrosive influence of power and money on democracy & the rule of law?

He always seems like a thoughtful guy. But I always remember too that he was captain of a team where guys bullied a teammate because he’d been the victim of a sexual predator. My assumption is that he had nothing to do with that but I do wonder if he knew about it and if so, what he did in response.

To be honest what I find most surprising here is that Coyne actually agrees that billionaires have too much influence on our politics. I would honestly have thought he’d be A-OK with that.

🎯

Poor Kid Rock. He’s oh so fragile. He seems to feel threatened by just about everything.

YouTube video by DownWithWebsterVEVO Down With Webster - Your Man (Official Video)

Down with Webster is a Toronto band whose rap-rock style won them fans as they released music from 2009 to 2014. A final album, recorded in 2015, was released in 2021. Number 872 of #1000Songs youtube.com/watch?v=gqmo...

Yes which is why I would keep Slaf.

To explain, Caufield and Laine are both primarily shooting threats. And Laine is better at it than Caufield is. And I think the PP really benefits from Slaf’s style of play and puck retrieval skills. As soon as he’s gone our PP suddenly looks soft and small with not enough traffic to the net.

Great read Brian.

My take on Laine: we still don’t know what he can do 5 on 5 because for some reason he has never taken so much as a shift with Nick Suzuki except on the power play. We have a premium goal scorer - he needs to play with our best centre.

On the PP I would drop Caufield not Slaf.

YouTube video by ShilohMusicVideos Shiloh - Operator (A Girl Like Me) (Official Music Video)

Shiloh, now performing as Lyldoll, is from Abbottsford, BC. She had some success as a pop-punk artist and has since forged a career as a songwriter. Number 871 of #1000Songs youtube.com/watch?v=Qxqt...

Good. They played fairly well. No need to pull the plug after one game.

I believe in him. He’s good more often than not. He seems to struggle with Hutson for some reason. If he can add that physical element consistently he’ll be a force.

But I wouldn’t view him as untouchable. Not with Reinbacher and Engstrom in the system.

It’s funny, there was one guy on the blue-line who I thought had a genuinely bad game, and it was Guhle.

YouTube video by The Pairs - Topic Everything Ends

London, Ontario’s The Pairs blends classically trained female vocals with a folk music style. Oddly enough, the band is a trio of sisters. Number 870 of #1000Songs youtube.com/watch?v=nKu4...

Understand what they are doing: using the massive power of the state - including military power and the power to imprison - to carry out a campaign to eliminate their political opposition.

It's growing in seriousness by the hour.

YouTube video by xbumblebeex91 Kalan Porter - Awake In A Dream

Kalan Porter launched his career by winning Canadian Idol in 2004. The native of Medicine Hat, Alberta, released two albums but this debut single was by far his most popular song. Number 869 of #1000Songs youtube.com/watch?v=go-Z...

I am super excited for the start of the season. The lack of an extension for Hutson is at most a mild concern. It would be nice for it to be done so we could all stop thinking about it. But no one should be getting worked up about it at this point.

YouTube video by shadkmusic SHAD - The Old Prince Still Lives At Home (Official Video)

Born in Kenya, raised in London, Ontario, Shad has forged a successful career as a rapper and innovatorz he even had a stint as host of CBC’s “Q”. Number 868 of #1000Songs youtube.com/watch?v=ExOC...

Patrik Laine: shutdown winger.

Selke Trophy coming up.

assessing her motivations etc. But before we accuse her of promoting white supremacy I think we should have strong evidence for that claim.

Like an accusation of antisemitism, it’s serious stuff. This might just be a throwaway line in a song about her sometimes wanting to blend in with the crowd.

… “got the whole block looking like you”. What does she mean by that? I’m not sure but jumping to the conclusion that she means she wants to be surrounded only by white people seems a little ungenerous as an interpretation.

Anyway, we can agree to disagree. Like I said, I’m all for critically ...

If you look at the lyrics to that song it seems clear she is talking about a desire to pull back from the glare of celebrity. She wants the world to “leave” her and Travis “alone.” Which is fair enough and understandable as something she must feel fairly often.

But that one line is a bit odd…

… on “wokeism” as anti-white anti-heterosexual hysteria. It’s a stretch at best.

Anyway, maybe I am totally wrong and she’s a crass opportunist who is embracing MAGA to sell more records. I just think it seems more nuanced than that.

And the stuff about a white woman wanting to produce white babies… I mean… as a white woman is she not allowed to sing about totally normal feelings about wanting to have a family? It seems to me that’s all she’s doing. And attacking her on these grounds likely plays into the conservative attack…

So yeah. Cynicism about a multi-billionaire monetizing everything she possibly can is totally fair. Suspicion that she might be tacking rightward to win back some conservative fans she probably lost is warranted. But the breakdown of the lyrics this commentator offers seems a little slanted.

… like a fairly obvious commentary on Trump’s and conservatives’ attempts to cancel her. And she’s saying that in this fascistic context, it’s cool to be cancelled.

Similarly her reference to people wanting to own three dogs etc again seems like an obvious sneer re: the cat lady comment.

Interesting.

Well, my take would be this.

I totally agree with viewing this all cynically re: the announcement of her wedding being packaged with the album etc. I also don’t think the album is very good.

But conservative messages in the lyrics? I’m not so sure. “Cancelled” for example, seems..

YouTube video by Skye Sweetnam Skye Sweetnam - Tangled Up In Me

Skye Sweetnam is from Bolton Ontario. Her 2000s solo career owed much to Avril Lavigne in terms of her pop punk sound. She is currently the singer for a band ccalled Sumo Cyco. Number 867 of #1000Songs youtube.com/watch?v=h0dV...