When a rock band comes out of somewhere like Ajax, Ontario, I try very hard to like them. "Fat Lip" was a cool tune with a cool video which gave hope to my cause. Sum 41 was selling a tonne of albums and were quickly becoming princes in the pop-punk
Never underestimate the power of the right song at the right time. Take this morning for example. I'm driving along on a wet looking Tuesday morning with a lot on my mind and feeling a little blah when CFNY Edge 102 plays "Chop Suey!" by System of a Down. "Chop
It's safe to say this isn't a question that's passing through your cranium on a regular basis. If it is, I pity you. I can also help you. Audioscrobbler is a popular service which can track the tunes you're playing on your computer. While I work (and play) I'm often
Following the finale of Friends, I wrote this entry bashing yet another unfunny episode of the most overrated show in history. I mentioned there was a minute of the show I did like and that was when I heard the familiar opening chords to Pearl Jam's "Yellow Ledbetter". I was
In September of 2001, System of a Down released Toxicity. In a month that will be forever remembered for the 9/11 attacks, one of my favourite rock albums of all time was launched into orbit. Every tune on Toxicity rocks very, very hard. It's emotionally charged political music with
I watched the "Friends" finale last night. It was just as bland and unfunny as I remembered it. Nothing even remotely exciting or interesting happened. Talk about playing it safe. The most shocking development was the fact the girl from "Scary Movie" had twins. Wow. My absolute favourite part of
I just read that The Beastie Boys will be performing at the MTV Movie Awards next month. I'm a Beastie Boys fan from way back, so I'm looking forward to hearing something new from them. Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head rank among my favourite albums of all time. I've
The Ongoing History of New Music on CFNY Edge 102 have listed their Top 100 Moments. Here are their top 10. Death of Kurt Cobain.Edison invents recorded sound.Invention of the electric guitar.Collapse of the Mercer Arts Centre and CBGBs convinced to have a rock night.Ramones at
Blender magazine has published its list of the 50 worst songs ever. I haven't seen the whole list yet, but below are their top (bottom?) 10. We Built This City, Starship, 1985Achy Breaky Heart, Billy Ray Cyrus, 1992Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wang Chung, 1986Rollin', Limpbizkit, 2000Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice,
The Mars Rover engineering team plays a tune or two each morning for Spirit and Opportunity. The songs played are usually related to the day's events. The Beatles "Good Morning, Good Morning" for the first morning, Ratt's "Round and Round" when the rover is turning, etc. I was perusing this
Courtney Love is a lot of things, but being poor isn't one of them. Or is it? According to a Reuters article, she is in debt to the tune of at least $4 million. "I'm covered with loser dust" she told Blender magazine. "I found out that our dog walker
Fifty years ago today Bill Haley and the Comets recorded "Rock Around the Clock" at New York City's Pythian Temple. Blackboard Jungle featured Rock Around the Clock during the opening credits and the rest is history. If you're interested in reading a pretty good synopsis of the past fifty years
I was channel surfing the other day when I came upon a Muchmusic bit entitled "Two Hit Wonders". They were counting down the top two hit wonders and at number one they had Papa Roach for "Last Resort" and "Broken Home". By my count Papa Roach had a third hit
Nickelback's The Long Road contains a stamp on the back that claims it's "Copy Controlled". The basis of the technique is the observation that computer CD-ROM drives are generally cleverer than simple CD players and are more likely to notice errors on the disc. By putting intentionally bad or misleading
He wasn't just good, he was scary good. Over the past week I've spun every Nirvana CD in my collection. I've listened to Bleach, Nevermind, Incesticide, In Utero and MTV Unplugged in New York (Live) several times each. Every note reminded me of how talented a musician Kurt Cobain was
I intended to write a lengthy piece about Kurt Cobain, his musical genius and his tragic demise ten years ago today, but there has been so much coverage of this in the printed press, on the radio and on television that I decided to spare everyone the details you all
The Mercury News out of the Bay Area has listed what they believe to be the 11 greatest grunge albums. I read this list and article with great interest considering the majority of what I listen to was released during the golden era of grunge. Here is their list. "Nevermind,
They're advertising a Dave Matthews concert on the radio. I'm told Dave Matthews is extremely popular with a devout fanbase who follow him on the road in much the same manner Dead Heads followed The Grateful Dead. I just don't get it. First and foremost, I can't stand Dave Matthew's
I just read an interesting article about Alanis Morissette's new single "Everything". I can't say I've listened to much Alanis since Jagged Little Pill, but this article was about an offending lyric so I was intrigued. It turns out "Everything" contains the A-word. That's right, she says "asshole". The opening
I'm still stewing over the fact Good Charlotte is headlining this year's Edgefest. Last year we had The Tragically Hip, Our Lady Peace, Sloan and Finger Eleven. Good Charlotte simply doesn't cut it. I could go on a rant here, but I thought I'd post something I posted to the
They announced the location and lineup for this year's Edgefest this morning. Last year, I attended the the last Edgefest at Molson Park in Barrie and wrote this review. It was a great day with The Tragically Hip finishing things off strong. I won't be attending Edgefest this year. Not
For no particular reason, here are the last five CDs I listened to from my MP3 collection and why. Hayden - Everything I Long For: This album soothes me. It's folksy and cool all at once. The first time I heard "Bad As They Seem" I was hooked. This entire
Yesterday afternoon Taryn and I were driving along Bay Street on our way to the ultrasound listening to our favourite radio station. The Flys' "Got You (Where I Want You)" came on, and we instantly began singing along. "Got You (Where I Want You)" is over five years old now,
BBC Radio 6 has ranked the top 20 sad songs of all time. The Smiths - I Know It's OverBowling For Soup - Girl All The Bad Guys WantREM - Everybody HurtsThe Cure - Pictures Of YouRadiohead - Fake Plastic TreesJoy Division - Love Will Tear Us ApartPink Floyd -
As I write this, I'm listening to an 8-Track player. That's right, the guy with the MP3 collection is listening to Stevie Wonder's Innervisions and Styx' Equinox on 8-Track. This was one format I completely missed. As a child, I owned a few records but the main format I collected
