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February 03, 2012
Reading this column will be far from useless. In fact, it’s full of useless information.
February 03, 2012
Reading this column will be far from useless. In fact, it’s full of useless information.
Finding a new hook for shows
September 23, 2011
Peter Hook was on the phone from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam awaiting a connection to China where he was booked to DJ in Beijing and Shanghai.
I Have Questions ... with myself
September 16, 2011
BEIJING, China — When you’re deep in the bowels of economy class, a 12-hour flight across the Pacific is not pleasant.
The hard life of rockstars
August 26, 2011
Back on the 19th, Bono felt unwell. Decompressing from the massive 360 Tour at his villa in Eze-sur-Mer in the south of France, his heart began rattling around in his chest like a drum machine gone insane.
What music does 'the ride' remind you of?
August 19, 2011
Here in Southern Ontario, the End Times for summer is heralded by the opening of the Canadian National Exhibition. For me, the CNE works much better in nostalgic terms than actually going again. I’d rather preserve those memories as they are rather than risk having them corrupted forever.
So what is bandomynology, anyway?
August 05, 2011
It’s not exactly a beach read, but I just finished a fascinating book called Reading the OED by Ammon Shea, who spent a year reading all 21,730 pages of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Dolly Parton is worth how much?!
July 22, 2011
As you may have heard elsewhere, I, er, have some extra time on my hands.
Will U2 ever be able to top U2?
July 15, 2011
As I stood watching U2 play the 105th of 111 shows on their 360 Tour, all I kept thinking was “Now what?”
The very best of ’11 (so far)
June 30, 2011
If you’re reading this, chances are you still care about buying albums and CDs. And as we pass into the second half of 2011, here are my picks for the best albums of the year (so far) in alphabetical order.
The power of secretive marketing
June 24, 2011
Usually, the route to fame requires help: Publicists, pluggers, and plenty of public appearances (cf. Lady Gaga). But in the ultra-short attention span world of today’s music, I’ve noticed that an increasing number of performers are becoming famous by staying anonymous.
History of music: The Format Wars (Part 2)
June 17, 2011
Last week, I went through some love-hate battles that have occurred between music and technology over the decades. Here are a few more.
A brief history of the format wars
June 10, 2011
All throughout history, an established technology never had a chance if something more convenient came along. Just look at what we’ve seen with music over the past 140 years or so.
Now those kids were alright
June 03, 2011
Bob Dylan isn't the only legendary musician to hit the 70-year mark these days.
Let these apps be your guide to new music
May 27, 2011
There’s just too much music and not enough time.
It's the most wonderful time of the year
May 20, 2011
Today is one of my favourite days of the entire year, the Friday leading into the first summer long weekend.
A look inside Sloan headquarters
May 13, 2011
This is Sloan HQ, a main floor rehearsal space in a non-descript industrial area of Toronto.
Anvil’s 15 minutes turns into hours
May 06, 2011
Whilst listening to the BBC in the winter of 2009, a movie reviewer said, “The Story of Anvil is very good, but I couldn’t tell if I was being put on. Is this a real band or is it some kind of Spinal Tap joke?”
Bands so cool, Google hasn't even heard of them
April 29, 2011
If you want to know more about a new band, the first step is to search
them out on Google (or Bing or Yahoo! or whatever). Most of the time,
you find what you’re looking for. But then there are those bands whose
names can either break you or Google.
The day Josh Homme died
April 15, 2011
Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Eagles of
Death Metal, etc, etc) isn’t exactly a delicate figure. At 6’ 4” and
somewhere near 250 pounds, few people would be dumb enough to take him
on. But even the most robust among us can collide head-on into our own
mortality.
Where have all the rock stars gone?
April 08, 2011
The 30 people in my Grade 10 homeroom class could be classified as follows: three were fans of pop music; five preferred country; and the remaining 22 were KISS fans. KISS were rock stars, musicians with music, money, success and near global ubiquity. We knew this because the DJ on the radio told us so.
Tool: The reigning champs of April Fool's Day
April 01, 2011
How did it ever become socially acceptable to for it to be open season on the inattentive, the unaware and the gullible once a year?
Handicapping this year's Juno Awards
March 25, 2011
With the 40th anniversary of the Juno Awards coming up Sunday from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, it’s time for some handicapping potshots.
Spring blooms with new record releases
March 18, 2011
I am sick of winter, and I suspect you are, too. With spring arriving at 7:21 EDT Sunday night — a little earlier than usual thanks to the celestial vagaries of the vernal equinox — we can start looking at not only warm weather but some major album releases. And after a rather dull Q1, things are looking up — especially if you’re a rock fan.
Bands to watch for Canadian Music Week, Part II
March 11, 2011
If you’re anywhere in the vicinity of Toronto, you’ll know that the city has been taken over by a mob of musicians and music fans who, by this time, are hungover and extremely sleep-deprived. Such are the rituals of Canadian Music Week.
Bands to watch for Canadian Music Week
March 04, 2011
With the 29th edition of Canadian Music Week set to start in Toronto on
Wednesday, the city—not to mention customs — is preparing for the
annual invasion of more than 800 acts from around the planet who will
somehow manage to play gigs in 55 venues over just five nights. It’s
like the flooding of the Nile during a plague of locusts. Only drunker.
Bieber, Gaga, this too shall pass
February 25, 2011
I was recently asked the question "Why do we have to live in Justin Bieber's world?"
What is wrong with people?
February 18, 2011
Despite the severe high-fidelity shortcomings of MP3s, most people seem completely happy with what they deliver.
Rock & roll gynecologists and F-bomb pioneers
February 04, 2011
The identity of the best-selling musical instrument of all time is just one of the useless facts I happen to know.
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