A friend of mine recently lent me a few CDs he noticed weren't in my collection. I was appreciative, ripped them and listened. One was "The Mix" from Kraftwerk. My only previous encounter with Kraftwerk was an episode of The Simpsons. In episode 3F19, "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"
In the city's worst kept secret, CFNY Edge 102 unveiled the lineup for this year's Edgefest at the Molson Amphitheater on July 1st. Billy Talent will headline, Alexisonfire will go second last and a few other bands will be there but I'm fairly unfamiliar with all of them. Let me
I've always liked Blue Rodeo. Perhaps it's because of their Toronto roots, perhaps it's memories of slow dancing to "Try" in primary school or perhaps it's because they're a great band. I'm a fan. My favourite Blue Rodeo song has always been and continues to be "Diamond Mine". It's just
Eleven years ago today I learned Kurt Cobain had killed himself. On the tenth anniversary of his death, I wrote this entry in which I shared the method by which I dealt with this unexpected blow to my idolship. I listened to nothing but Nirvana for weeks and weeks. I've
I watched a good chunk of the Junos last night. I'm going to break my review down into four easily digestible parts: The Crud, The Butt, The Hip and The Rest. The Crud - This was the show that was supposed to have been opened by Neil Young. I had
I want to thank The Mars Volta for making the radio a better place these days. "The Widow" is finally getting the heavy airplay it deserves and I'm grateful every time I catch it. What an awesome tune. While I'm thanking bands for improving my radio listening experience these days,
When it comes to Shannon Hoon, I've got it all backwards. Hoon was the lead singer for Blind Melon who overdosed on drugs at the age of 28. Their self-titled debut was a smash success spawning a huge hit single and this was followed up by "Soup" which didn't fare
CBC Radio has completed their quest to come up with a great list of the 50 essential Canadian popular songs. You can view the list in its entirety. Below are the top ten. 'Four Strong Winds' by Ian and Sylvia (1963)'If I had $1000000' by the Barenaked Ladies (1992)
The Wall Street Journal recently had an interesting article on the yelling of "Freebird" at rock concerts. Yelling "Freebird!" has been a rock cliché for years, guaranteed to elicit laughs from drunks and scorn from music fans who have long since tired of the joke. And it has spread beyond
Ed and the boys are quietly working on their next studio album. Matt Cameron told Rolling Stone, "There's a lot more up-tempo stuff. It's a lot more rockin' than our last one." Some new songs in consideration are "Severed Hand," "Worldwide Suicide," "2X4," "Marker," "Cold Concession" and "Unemployable". I'm thinking
There are a few upcoming albums I'm eagerly anticipating. Queens of the Stone Age's "Lullabies To Paralyze" is due out March 22, System of a Down's "Hypnotize" is coming soon with "Mesmerize" coming later in the year and The White Stripes will be recording a new album this week. Right
Matthew Good is a bonafide Canadian rock star. I've seen him live three times and have two of his discs in my collection. While he was fronting the Matthew Good Band, our radios were inundated with hits like "Everything is Automatic", "Apparitions", "Indestructible", "Rico", "Hello Time Bomb", "Strange Days" and
I realize I'm a day late with this, but better late than never. Last year I posted my ten favourite songs with the word "love" in the title in honour of Valentine's Day. Today I bring you my ten favourite songs with the word "heart" in the title. Heart-Shaped Box
I watched most of the Grammys last night. Some stuff I enjoyed, like the Jamie Foxx & Alicia Keys tribute to Ray Charles, Green Day's "American Idiot" and the entire Kanye West "Jesus Walks" set. Some stuff was entirely underwhelming, most notably the all-star rendition of "Across the Universe". "Across
Paul McCartney is singing "Live And Let Die" during the Super Bowl half-time show as I write this. I wonder how many kids watching think it's pretty damn cool that he's covering Guns N' Roses.
U2's "All Because Of You" and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" have very little in common. One bores me to tears and the other is one of my favourite tracks from 2004. "Maps" has more soul in one 3 second sample than "All Because Of You" has throughout. Unfortunately, there
The latest single from Sum 41 is "Pieces" and it's currently receiving plenty of airplay on your local new rock station. The next time you hear it, think about The Cranberries' "Zombie". The music is eerily similar. Did you know The Cranberries released a greatest hits album a couple of
On Nina Gordon's official site she's sharing a few very cool covers as MP3s. You'll find them all here, but below are direct download links to my personal favourites. Straight Outta Compton - A classic from NWA. 18 And Life - A guilty pleasure from my early high school years
Sloan has announced they're in the studio recording tracks for their greatest hits compilation. What songs will be represented on this retrospective album is not yet known, so I'm going to take a wild stab at it and see how I fare. If I chose the songs for Sloan's Greatest
Canada for Asia is a three-hour live concert in aid of tsunami victims taking place tonight in Toronto. You'll find it on CBC and various other networks at 19:00 EST but you can also find it on the radio on streamed over the net at CBC.ca. It's a
I totally dig the first two singles from The Marble Index' debut album. They have a great sound my ears love. I'm still surprised they're from Hamilton. "Not So Bright" is their awesome second single and I've been listening to it quite a bit lately. Every time I hear it,
On New Year's Eve I listened while CFNY Edge 102 played their top 102 songs of 2004. Below I will reveal my feelings about their top ten. Green Day - American Idiot During the political summer of 2004, this was a great single. It reminded me of the good ol'
With the Bills playoff hopes down the drain and with a few minutes before TSN's coverage of Team Canada's semifinal game against the Czech Republic at the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship, I've started spinning tunes. Looking back at music in the year 2004, there are quite a few bright
On Christmas Day I told my brothers "Scars" would do for Papa Roach what "The Reason" did for Hoobastank. "Scars" is a hook-laden pop-rock single that's destined to be a big hit. It's just starting to break on CFNY Edge 102 and I suspect it will eventually chart on Chum
In the late 80s I was watching Rap City on MuchMusic when I first saw the video for Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos". My ears instantly liked what they were hearing and my mind was immediately stimulated by the weight of Chuck D's words. Here was
