The Golden Globe nominations came out today. I was going to write about this fact and list the nominees for the major awards, but it was a bunch of movies I hadn't seen and a bunch of television shows I don't watch. Sure, there's the odd exception like "Six Feet
I heard the new Courtney Love song this afternoon. It's called Mono and it's okay, but I prefer the new Courtney Love, Brody Armstrong of The Distillers. My relationship with Courtney Love throughout the years can best be described as tumultuous. When Live Through This from Hole came out, I
One of my favourite tunes to kick back and listen to is The Tragically Hip's live version of "New Orleans is Sinking" with the Killerwhaletank monologue. Hip fans will instantly know what I'm talking about. Others won't care. In the middle of the most excellently bluesy "New Orleans is Sinking"
It's December. That means we're approaching the deadline for SLS10. I'm going to assume readers of this blog are familiar with SLS, or Smells Like Sour if you prefer the elongated title. For those in need of a refresher course, here's the last update. I've muddled through all the SLS
When the deejay on your local alternative music station has a couple of minutes before the traffic/weather/news update, there are usually a handful of songs he or she can go to to bridge the gap. Three songs in particular are often thrown on the air at 28 or
Rolling Stone magazine has just listed what they consider to be the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Lets take a close look specifically at their top 100, shall we? Rolling Stone likes The Beatles. The four mop-tops from England account for eight albums in the top 100, including four
One of my favourite bands has officially called it quits. The Stone Temple Pilots have decided to split and move on. As a guy who believes music peaked in the early 90s, I was an instant fan of STP. Core had Plush, Sex Type Thing, Wicked Garden and Creep. Purple
It's happened. For the very first time ever, the top title on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart has outsold the No. 1 commercial single on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Sales tally. In other words, the #1 downloaded single has outsold the #1 offline single. The most excellent funky sounds of
Tupac Shakur is the hardest working man in show business. The man has been prolific, releasing nine albums over the past seven years and starring in the major motion picture "Tupac: Resurrection" which is being released this week. This is an impressive resume for a man who was gunned down
I'm listening to Alice in Chains' Dirt while sitting at my pc awaiting the start of the Raptors game. I listen to the 13 tracks on this album rather frequently. In fact, I find myself returning to the same few albums over and over and over again. Not counting albums
I can't say I've given Sinéad O’Conner much thought since her 1990 album "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got". It was a pretty good CD at the time that spawned a monster hit with Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" and a minor follow up hit with "The
I maintain a Dead Pool page as part of this website. The most popular part of this page is the ongoing list of celebrities who have passed away. Everytime I hear or read about the death of someone who is well known in the public sphere, I add their name,
A couple of days ago I wrote about Alex Halderman who pointed out copy protection software could be blocked if people used the SHIFT key when they inserted a CD. This morning I read in the news that SunnComm Technologies, the company that developed the anticopying technology in question, was
In a recent blog entry I questioned whether a tune can be considered cool if it's being played on CHUM FM. I pondered whether being played on an MOR station was the kiss of death for a tune, no matter how good it is. I've been giving this concept a
Since the dawn of Napster a few years ago, the recording industry has been trying to play catch up as they lose business to MP3 rippers sharing their files via P2P networks. Ask the average computer savvy person in their 20s when they last purchased a CD. For many it
Three evenings a week I undergo physiotherapy for my injury (see September 24, 2003 / 19:43 EST). The clinic plays CHUM FM over the ceiling speakers to entertain us while the various machines work to soothe and heal our pains. Yesterday I was particularly surprised and concerned upon hearing Finger
As is my daily ritual, I was listening to the radio while taking a shower this morning. The news brief opened with word of John Ritters surprising death at 54. Following this piece of information, I heard there was another death to mourn in the celebrity world. Johnny Cash had
I've just arrived back from Edgefest 2003. Before I give a brief review of the six bands I saw, I'd like to reflect on the fact this was the last ever concert at Molson Park in Barrie, appropriately enough labelled "Last Bash in Barrie". Apparently the park is going to
Universal Music Canada announced today they're instituting a $14.98 maximum suggested list price on all its top line CDs and a $9.99 price tag for developing new artists. It seems somebody at Universal finally woke up and realized high retail prices have been driving today's youth towards person
MTV2 in the USA just aired a countdown of the "22 Greatest Bands" since MTV's inception in '81. It's quite the list. They didn't get it perfect, but came much closer than I expected. The fact MTV2 airs only in America excuses the lack of Canadian bands like The Tragically
There's an alarming trend in music we must snuff out before it's too late. A bunch of sound-alike, wanna-be-punk, nauseatingly mediocre bands are starting to secure way too much valuable radio air time, forcing me to dive for the next station preset all too frequently. The bands on my personal
Blender Magazine recently named what they consider to be the 50 worst music acts of all time. I appreciate what Blender is trying to do, but can't we leave decent bands like Live, The Doors and Blind Melon out of it? How the hell did Ricky Martin escape this list?
Smells Like Sour 9 is in the can. Many of you are probably curious as to which tunes made the cut. Remember, the following playlist is what the SLS committee deems to be the best 80 minutes of tunage over the past six months. The White Stripes - Seven Nation
"I'm never alone, I'm alone all the time." Recognize the reference? It's from Bush's "Glycerine" on Sixteen Stone. It's either the most profound writing of the 20th century or the silliest garble to come out of a Brit's mouth since Davy Jones remarked "Your eyes are like cupcakes floating in
Music peaked in 1991-1994. Specifically, the days between the release of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit and the moment a self-inflicted gunshot pierced Kurt Cobain's brain. There is little doubt of this fact. Here we are in the year 2002..almost 2003 and this music from the early 90's "grunge"
