Author Archives: Jesse Conlang

About Jesse Conlang

Jesse Conlang lives in Edmonton, Alberta, where he has trained squirrels to operate pens and pencils at his whim. You can probably tell that by the quality of the work.

Monstober : Part 1

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Jesse Conlang

Why do we watch scary movies in October? Follow me, won’t you, on this wildly speculative evolutionary psychology theory, unreviewed by any peers and free of academic rigour. First, let’s unquestioningly accept my axiomatic assumption that scary movies are an … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Colossal, creature from the black lagoon, dinosaurs, Evolutionary psychology, film, film reviews, jurassic park, monsters, sharks, the host | Leave a comment

Top Albums of 2020

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Jesse Conlang

It seems a little disingenuous to make any kind of year-end retrospective in 2020 without acknowledging up front that this was a bad year. You know it, I know it, we don’t need to get into it. I hope music … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2020, music review | Leave a comment

Great Big Sea, Empire, and the Art of the Protest Song

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Jesse Conlang

It’s Canada Day, which is an extremely weird “national” holiday. Sure, most of English Canada is waving flags celebrating “Canada’s Birthday!” It’s hardly important what that means specifically, but the anthropomorphication of a nation state is key. Technically, it commemorates … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged canada day, great big sea, history, music, music criticism, newfoundland, Politics | Leave a comment

Top Albums of 2019

Posted on January 5, 2020 by Jesse Conlang

This review was shockingly hard to put together, and it’s a bit hard to be comprehensive about why. Part of the reason is technology based. I lost my mp3 player (an old iphone I got for free); my laptop slowed … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Top Albums of 2018

Posted on August 21, 2019 by Jesse Conlang

This article is late, but, in a sense, everything is hurtling towards obsolescence anyway. Do you feel the passage of time? Does the fourth, non-spatial dimension offer a sensation as you pass through it? In language, we describe time spatially; … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged 2018, best of 2018, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Mon LaFerte, music, music criticism, review, Tragically Hip | Leave a comment

The view from Stanley Park

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Jesse Conlang

Album art for a song I just released. I really love working in sharpie, on cardboard. I don’t know why. It just feels right. Also, I learned after completing this piece that all the sulphur is from Alberta, which is … Continue reading →

Posted in Drawing, Travel | Tagged Album art, British Columbia, drawing, mixed media, sharpie, Stanley Park, Sulfur factory, Vancouver | Leave a comment

What To Do When Your Wallet Is Stolen

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Jesse Conlang

Someone broke into my garage, and while I was at the hardware store to get replacement latches and hinges, someone pinched my wallet out of my coat pocket. After cancelling the cards, ordering replacements, filing a police report and requesting … Continue reading →

Posted in Stuff I made | Tagged craft, diy wallet, paper wallet, recycling, theft, tyvek wallet, upcycling | Leave a comment

The Top Albums of 2016 and also 2017

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Jesse Conlang

Ok, yeah, I’m a year behind. You know what though? Nobody sent me a single promo disc to review. No press copies, nothing. The most common way that I heard about new music was the randomizer on Youtube, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Uncategorized | Tagged best of 2017, music, review | Leave a comment

Visit Scenic Tofield

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Jesse Conlang

Maybe the most legendary prank in Alberta history. Media: Permanent Marker on T-shirt. You’re welcome for the free advertising, Mountain Equipment Co-op.

Posted in Drawing, Uncategorized | Tagged Alberta, canadian prairies, dirty shorts, grain elevator, permanent marker, prairies, Small Town, t-shirt | Leave a comment

Know Your Bike!

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Jesse Conlang

Years ago I designed this poster. Slightly less years ago fantastic human June Mitchell turned it into, like a real-looking poster. Now they are for sale through the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters. 100% factual labels for bike parts. Very useful.