Back in 2007 I decided to check out an HBO show entitled John From Cincinnati. It wasn't bad, and I ended up watching all ten episodes, but looking back I think it was the theme song that kept drawing me back. I just adored their use of "Johnny Appleseed" by
A list of the top 50 Toronto albums is making the rounds, so I thought I'd chime in with my six favourite Toronto albums. With apologies to the Rheostatics, Rush and Blue Rodeo, these are my top six. Hayden - Everything I Long For Favourite Tracks: "Bad As They Seem"
I just got home after seeing Lowest of the Low perform at the Horseshoe Tavern. The Horseshoe is turning 65 years and Lowest of the Low rocked the house as part of the celebration. We got just about all the amazing tunes from Shakespeare My Butt and more during two
I was tipped off to this list by Alan Cross. It's from NME.com and it's 25 Things You Didn't Know About Fairytale of New York. 1Despite the wintery subject matter, the song was actually recorded in July, in sweltering heat. 2The song started life as a bet. Pogues producer
I'm listening to a Monkey playlist consisting of these ten Monkey songs in honour of Toronto's Ikea monkey. Brass Monkey - Beastie BoysMonkey Gone to Heaven - PixiesShock the Monkey - Peter GabrielMonkey Wrench - Foo FightersEverybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey - The BeatlesHalf Ass
A lot of music you hear at this time of year is pretty awful. I'm referring to the schmaltzy pop holiday standards you'll hear on CHFI or at your local mall. But not all Christmas music is bad, so throughout this month I'll be sharing MP3s of my favourite Christmas
Entering 2012, there were three acts on my "must see live" wishlist: Public Enemy, Neil Young and Nirvana. I caught Public Enemy at an absolutely amazing show in September, and tonight I'll see Neil Young at the ACC. I can't wait to see the living legend I've admired forever live.
I've got a Steam Whistle Unsigned Prize Pack for a lucky commenter. The prize pack includes two tickets to Steam Whistle's UNSIGNED Indie Music Concert on November 16 and a "swag bag" which is refreshment tickets, an UNSIGNED shirt, a bottle opener and Steam Whistle brewery tour passes. If you'd
Six years ago, I put together a wedding playlist for my brother's wedding. I shared the wedding playlist in an entry entitled 100 Wedding Songs. I have renewed interest in updating this list of wedding songs. I'm not a fan of cheesy, poppy wedding songs, but cooler tunes like Pearl
Steal My Sunshine was catchy enough to make SLS2. Don't believe me? Revisit the preserved Smells Like Sour database and see for yourself. Steal My Sunshine came out in 1999, and I haven't heard much from Len since. Toronto band Len is siblings Marc and Sharon Costanzo and they've got
Feist won the $30,000 Polaris Music Prize last night for her fourth album Metals. Many Canadian provinces claim Feist as their own. Feist was born in Amherst, Nova ScotiaShortly after she was born, Feist moved to Regina, SaskatchewanAs a child, she then moved to Calgary, AlbertaIn 1996, Feist moved
I keep seeing Pearl Jam and The Tragically Hip in concert. I keep seeing them because I love both acts so much, and their live performances never cease to amaze me. They might just be my two favourite bands of all time. There are bands I'd love to see, but
I've been playing a lot of SongPop lately. It's an app where you essentially name that tune from a variety of genres and categories and compete against others. One category is called "One-Hit Wonders" and the songs listed there are often from artists that I believe had multiple hits. That's
When the USA men's basketball team defeated Spain to win the gold in London, the arena started playing Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA. Born in the USA is not a patriotic or nationalistic anthem. It deals with the effects of the Vietnam War on Americans. Hearing it played to
I'm used to seeing bands like Chicago, Air Supply, Michael Bolton, Tony Bennett and Neil Sedaka play Casino Rama. Those acts are now Rama acts, appealing to an older crowd and well past their prime. There's nowhere else I'd expect Ringo Starr to play. But lately I've been hearing ads
I've been reading a lot about Chick-fil-A this week. Chick-fil-A, for fellow Canadians who aren't familiar with the name, is an American fast food franchise specializing in chicken entrées. Chick-fil-A's president apparently came out against gay marriage and there's been a bit of a backlash, as you can imagine. There
I'm about a season behind with Breaking Bad. My plan is to catch up by the finale of season five. During a rather intense scene at the end of season three, I really noticed the score. You know the score, the background music that sets the mood of a scene.
My kids love Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Who doesn't? It's friggin' awesome! When I was a about 10 years old, I had a dual cassette deck stereo with a record player on top. It was from Citizen and was purchased at Consumer's Distributing on Dundas Street West, between Jane and Runnymede
The 2012 Polaris Prize nominees have been unveiled. Cadence Weapon - Hope In Dirt CityCold Specks - I Predict A Graceful ExpulsionDrake - Take CareKathleen Edwards - VoyageurFeist - MetalsFucked Up - David Comes to LifeGrimes - VisionsHandsome Furs - Sound KapitalJapandroids - Celebration RockYAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN - YT // ST
I just cracked open Neil Young's Americana CD. It's the first CD I've "bought" in years and years. It was bundled with tickets to his concert at the ACC this November, so it was sort of a forced sale. I'm not even sure what to do with this CD other
Chuck Berry released Sweet Little Sixteen in 1958. The Beach Boys released Surfin' USA in 1963. They're essentially the same song. Here's Chuck Berry's Sweet Little Sixteen: Here's The Beach Boys' Surfin' USA: The sole songwriter credited by The Beach Boys on Surfin' USA was Brian Wilson. Chuck Berry had
I had tickets to see Radiohead at Downsview Park Saturday. I was preparing to leave when I saw the news on Twitter. The stage had collapsed, leaving a member of the crew dead, and the concert was cancelled. That was a horrible accident, and it reminded me of Van Halen's
When I was 8 and 9, I just assumed every song I heard on the radio was an original song by the artist. I didn't know artists could cover songs originally performed by other artists. So when I heard Tainted Love by Soft Cell, I just assumed that was Soft
I've been listening to a lot of Beastie Boys since learning about Adam Yauch's passing. I've also been watching footage of the Beasties, but my favourite clip so far is this unaired performance for Dave Chappelle's show. This was filmed for the 3rd season of Chappelle's Show which never happened.
It's amazing what time does for the critical reception of music. Let's look at Weezer's second album for example. Pinkerton was released in 1996 and was initially panned by Rolling Stone magazine. Furthermore, the readers of the magazine named the album the third worst of 1996. Fast forward to 2002
