Bryan is a business and entertainment writer. Follow him on Twitter @bborzyko. Get more Metro Music news on Twitter @themetromusic.

Is Taylor Swift secretly an indie rocker?

December 07, 2010

When you say the word indie rock, a lot of different thoughts come to mind. There’s the newbie musician hoping to land a record deal; the popular band that’s been perfectly happy releasing music on a small independent label; or a style of music. No one, though, would put indie and Taylor Swift in the same category.

Nobody watches music videos on TV, anyway

November 30, 2010

Justin Bieber’s Canadian fans have another reason to scream — they’ll keep seeing his videos on MuchMusic.

Unexplainable celebrities and their terrible, terrible music

November 23, 2010

If Andy Warhol were alive today he would have probably added about one minute and twelve seconds to his quote that “Everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes.”

Kanye West may be a jerk, but he's my kind of jerk

November 16, 2010

There’s one thing Kanye West does better than create Grammy award-winning music: make himself look like a fool

RIAA accomplished nothing by suing illegal downloaders

November 09, 2010

In 2007, Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a Minnesotan mother of four, was sued by the Recording Industry Association of America for illegally downloading 24 songs.

A home studio that fits in your pocket

November 02, 2010

There are plenty of videos featuring musicians putting together their ditties on iPhones.

Waxing nostalgia with vinyl may help bolster ailing music industry

October 18, 2010

Despite a slide in CD sales, there is one bright spot — people are scooping up more vinyl records than they ever have; sales grew at twice the rate of digital sales. Why the media nostalgia?

John Lennon's message of peace now seems quaint

October 12, 2010

If John Lennon were still alive, you can bet there would have been one hell of a party for the former Beatles’ 70th birthday last Friday. But instead, we have to read articles about what the peacenik would have been like 30 years after he was shot dead by Mark David Chapman.

Finger Eleven stays relevant by reinventing sound

October 05, 2010

When Finger Eleven first started playing music they’d have dreams of selling a million records. Now that they've hit that mark, they don't care about album sales.

My Top Four Canadian singles of all time

September 28, 2010

Lists. They’re the articles everyone loves to hate. Every magazine, whether it’s business, entertainment or food  makes top-10 lists that usually irk people to the core.

Roger Waters show worth every penny

September 21, 2010

It’s not everyday a concert comes to town that makes you rethink everything you know about music. That’s what happened though when Roger Waters brought his The Wall tour to Toronto’s Air Canada Centre last week.

The Polaris Music Prize isn't perfect

September 14, 2010

Next Monday night much of Canada’s indie music community will descend on Toronto’s Masonic Temple to celebrate some of this country’s top talent at the fifth annual Polaris Music Prize. While the ceremony will be a lot of fun, now’s a good time to ask if Polaris has lived up to its mandate.

My best ’90s tracks

September 07, 2010

Whatever you think of Pitchfork — the sometimes snooty indie music website — they put together some pretty great lists.

BTO get back into overdrive

August 31, 2010

When I was growing up in Winnipeg it was guaranteed that at least once a day you’d hear a Bachman Turner Overdrive song on the radio.

Cee-Lo's F-bomb barrage seizes summer's crown

August 25, 2010

There’s a quiet competition every July and August in the music world — which artist will have the song of the summer?

Albums to look forward to this fall

August 17, 2010

No one wants the summer to end, but at least there’s a bright side — a plethora of records get released between now and the end of the year.

Musicians as politicians

August 10, 2010

Considering how intertwined music and politics have been over the centuries, it’s not often you hear of a musician running for office. But it has happened.

The best albums of 2010's first half

August 03, 2010

With just a few weeks to go until the music industry revs up for the fall -- and seven months into the year -- now’s a good time to look back at some of the great records you may have missed, or can’t stop listening to, in 2010.

Neil Young is forever Canadian

July 27, 2010

Every time Neil Young plays Winnipeg — he’s playing there tonight — it’s a big deal. While the legendary artist was born in Toronto and lived in Omemee, Ont., as kid, it was in the Peg where he spent his teenage years.

For reunions done right, stick to the hits

July 20, 2010

ummers are all about reunions — high school reunions, old friends gathering at the cottage, and, best of all, there’s always a crop of bands that get back together.

Polaris shines much-needed light on French-Canadian music

July 13, 2010

Canadian music fans think they know everything about this country’s music scene, but I’m sorry to say, they don’t. And neither do I.

Summer's concert slate sizzles

July 06, 2010

Record releases come to a near standstill, but some of the best concerts happen in the warmest months.

Picking the best for the Polaris Music Prize

June 29, 2010

While the Polaris Prize isn’t as well-known as the Junos, winning – and sometimes nominated – musicians still see record sales rise, increased attendance at shows, and more than a few winning artists tell me that the international media always bring it up.

D-Sisive lightens up with 'song and dance' Vaudeville

June 22, 2010

When I heard D-Sisive’s first EP, The Book, two years ago I was absolutely floored. The rapper, whose real name is Derek Christoff, spoke brutally honestly about the deaths of his parents — his father died in 2006 of cirrhosis of the liver; his mother passed away of breast cancer in 1997.

Finding hidden gems among the NXNE schedule

June 15, 2010

This weekend, hundreds of bands from around the world will decend on Toronto for the 16th annual North By Northeast music and film festival. While plenty of big name acts are on the bill — Iggy Pop and the Stooges and Eagles of Death Metal to name two — it’s the lesser-known Canadian acts who stand to benefit the most from the music hungry crowds. With that in mind, you’ll want to check out these five acts from across the country.

When artists fight back against their critics

June 08, 2010

Almost every single day a musician, somewhere in the world, is talking to a journalist. Those interviews will end up in papers or magazines, they may or may not be read by fans or the publication’s readers, but the next day the story is usually old news.

Say goodbye to the old MuchMusic

June 01, 2010

Like millions of Canadians who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, I learned a lot about this country’s diverse music scene by watching MuchMusic.

Shad stakes his claim on Canadian hip hop

May 25, 2010

If this were a column about the best YouTube music videos, Shad’s spot for The Old Prince Lives at Home would probably top the list.

The unlikely return of Crash Test Dummies

May 18, 2010

It’s been 17 years since the Crash Test Dummies released the multi-platinum selling album God Shuffled His Feet, but it’s hard to forget that this Winnipeg band was — in the midst of grunge — one of Canada’s most successful acts.

Music's long history of protest

May 11, 2010

A couple of weeks ago a debate broke out on Twitter between Montreal indie rockers Stars and Toronto hardcore band F—ed Up. Stars wanted to boycott playing in Arizona until the state’s recently passed law — which allows police officers to search for illegal immigrants by randomly asking people for ID — was rescinded.