Toronto Mike

Music

Total 775 Posts

London Calling

In late 1989, I was reading the Toronto Star and they were asking folks what they thought were the best albums of the 1980s.  Somebody picked The Clash's London Calling, despite the fact it was actually released in 1979. That very next Saturday, I headed downtown to Yonge and Dundas
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My Thoughts on the Tupac Hologram

Snoop Dogg collaborated with an old friend at Coachella.  That old friend also happens to be long dead.  It's Tupac Shakur. Initially, I thought it was pretty cool.  It almost gave me chills.  It's Tupac, although prolific, dead since '96.  How many kids at Coachella were even going to concerts
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The Best Grunge Albums

Exactly 8 years ago today, I wrote about the 11 greatest grunge albums.  That entry received zero comments.  I'm hoping we can beat that record today. Here's the list from 8 years ago: Nevermind - NirvanaIn Utero - NirvanaTen - Pearl JamDirt - Alice in ChainsVs. - Pearl JamTemple of
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Would?

About five years ago, I wondered which 15 albums I would own if I could only own 15 albums.  The first album on that list was Alice in Chains' Dirt. What can I say about Dirt?  If it's okay with you, I'd like to steal from myself again.  Here's what
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Robert B. Sherman's 5 Most Known Tunes

Robert B. Sherman died today at the nice old age of 86.  You probably don't know the name Robert B. Sherman, but you know these five tunes, all penned by Sherman. SupercalifragilisticexpialidociousChim Chim Cher-eeChitty Chitty Bang BangIt's a Small World (After All)Spoonful of Sugar
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Smells Like Teen Spirit Isolated Vocals

I love me some grunge, so I thoroughly enjoyed this find.  It's Kurt Cobain's vocal track for Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit and it's pretty awesome. Not to be outdone, here's another grunge god who died far too early.  This is Layne Staley's vocal tracks for Alice in Chains' Man
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10 Seconds from Every Top-100 Song Ever

Courtesy of WFMU's Beware of the Blog, here are mp3s with 10 seconds of every single top 100 song ever. See you all in a few hours. 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981
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Deadmau5 Pranks Skrillex at Grammys

Deadmau5 pranked Skrillex by wearing a t-shirt with Skrillex's personal cellphone number on it. That's right, if you need to get ahold of Skrillex, just call 626-319-1039. Update: Skrillex is now forwarding his calls to Deadmau5' phone.  Deadmau5 is forwarding these calls to Markus Persson, creator of Minecraft.  My son
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You'll Never Walk Alone

"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.  You might know it best from soccer football matches, particularly when they involve Liverpool, or maybe as the song Jerry Lewis used to sing at the end of his Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. I've
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Is Nicki Minaj a Sped Up Jay-Z?

I watched the Super Bowl half-time show yesterday.  I was underwhelmed by yet more lip syncing by an artist I actually liked when I was ten.  Flanking her for part of the show was Nicki Minaj, who grimaces too much for the camera, and M.I.A. who flipped us
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The Freebird of Pro Audio

Clive Young tells a great story about Donald Fagen's "I.G.Y." from his 1982 solo effort The Nightfly. Everyone does play “I.G.Y.” It’s become the “Freebird” of pro audio—visit a linecheck at a major concert venue or a speaker demo at AES or InfoComm, and
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Best Original Song One-on-One

There are only two nominees for Best Original Song at this year's Academy Awards.  The Oscar will either go to the folks behind Real in Rio or Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie's pretty awesome Man or Muppet. It's pretty bizarre that only two songs were deemed worthy of being
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Spookey Ruben - These Days are Old

Who else remembers Spookey Ruben?  If you don't know the name, you might recognize this: If you were watching MuchMusic in the mid-90s, you likely remember Spookey Ruben.  I hadn't heard his name in years until Rob Pagetto mentioned Spookey was a bud. Hi Spookey!  These Days Are Old is
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Lana Del Rey Can Sing

I missed Lana Del Rey on Saturday Night Live last weekend, but judging from my Twitter feed she was terrible.  Most people were probably hearing her name for the first time, and from what I've read she was a little nervous and had an off night.  People love to hate,
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Blunts and Roses

Absent Minded & iLLvibe are Blunts & Roses.  The album is a mash up of Legendary Classic Rock tunes by The Eagles, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Queen and more, and I've been playing it all week. Blunts & Roses by Blunts & RosesOh yeah, and
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The Funeral is Aging Well

Band of Horses' The Funeral is aging very, very well. It was released almost six years ago, yet when it came my iPod earlier today, it sounded better than ever. Like a fine wine, I'd argue The Funeral is getting better with age. Damn that's good.
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Johnny Bower's Honky The Christmas Goose

Yesterday, I shared that sweet rendition of O Holy Night from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.  Today, I'm going in a different direction. Sung with Little John and the Rinky Dinks, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Johnny Bower's "Honky the Christmas Goose" was released in 1965 and enjoyed a significant
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