Toronto Mike

Music

Total 808 Posts

Prince's Creep and Radiohead's Order

We all love Radiohead's "Creep", right?  Apparently, even Prince loves "Creep", and he recently covered the song at Coachella.  The next day, YouTube clips of Prince's cover of "Creep" were super popular, but they were removed at the request of NPG Records who claimed a copyright violation. The videos were
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Sum 41 Redux

We've got the day off here in the T.Dot, thanks to Queen Vicky, so I'm going to step in the wayback machine and see what I was writing about on this date four years ago. I was writing about Sum 41, a band I really, really wanted to like.
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One-Hit Wonder Analysis

Andy Baio dove into the Whitburn Project data and came up with some interesting facts about one-hit wonders. For the last ten years, obsessive record collectors in Usenet have been working on the Whitburn Project — a huge undertaking to preserve and share high-quality recordings of every popular song since the
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Sunday Morning Showdown

Ok, kids.  It's a "Sunday Morning" showdown.  Everyone gets one vote in the comments, make your voice heard. Which is the best "Sunday Morning?" No Doubt - Sunday MorningThe Velvet Underground - Sunday MorningK-OS - Sunday MorningMaroon 5 - Sunday MorningEarth, Wind & Fire - Sunday MorningJulian Lennon - Sunday
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I Liked That? Get The Funk Out!

I got asked an interesting question the other day.  I was asked what was the most embarrassing thing on my iPod.  My thoughts instantly turned to some rather cheesy late-80s rap I still enjoy, then I wondered if it could be Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've Been Gone".  The question had
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Falling Slowly Redeems Oscar

I watched most of the Academy Awards last night.  At around 11pm I bailed, but I caught all five musical performances.  This entry is about the five songs I saw performed last night. Three of the five songs were just awful.  Not average or mediocre but awful.  "Happy Working Song"
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Body Of War Boasts Many Faves

A two-disc collection entitled "Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran" is due March 18, and it boasts many of my favourite artists.  You might recall Eddie Vedder performed last September at the Toronto International Film Festival to promote the documentary of the same name. Joining Mr.
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Who's Your Grateful Dead?

Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart reunited yesterday for the first time in four years to back Barack Obama.  Weir, Lesh and Hart are the three surviving members of the Grateful Dead.  "Deadhead" has become the generic term for super loyal fans who tour with a band as opposed
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Louie Louie Is Still In Effect

In June of 2006 I wrote about "Louie, "Louie", a 1990 remix of the song by Young MC featuring the rap stylings of our very own Maestro Fresh-Wes. For years this song only lived in my memories.  I couldn't find it anywhere.  This morning I awoke to find it in
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Let Your Backbone Slide

I learnt a lot about my sacroiliac today, and it's giving me a case of deja vu.  Where do I know sacroiliac from?Oh yes, the year was 1989 and Canada's greatest rap song had just been released.  I heard it once, was hooked right away, and learnt the lyrics.
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Black Music for White People

Back in '91, I listened to a lot of Shabba Ranks.  Don't look so surprised.  I wasn't just about the grunge scene.  A friend turned me on to Shabba and I spent a lot of time listening to As Raw As Ever and other singles from the popular Jamaican dancehall
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12 Days of Christmas

I've never liked "The Twelve Days of Christmas".  It's so repetitive I'm usually bored by the third day.  Bob and Doug's 12 beers of Christmas is fun, but is there a version of the proper song that isn't terribly boring? I say there's one.  This is John Denver singing with
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John Lennon Loved Us

It was twenty-seven years ago today that John Lennon was shot four times in the back by Mark Chapman.  As my blogging years advance, it becomes harder to write these annual-type entries without repeating myself.  As a result, I'm blatantly ripping off this entry I wrote four years ago today.
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In Praise of the Long Song

I discovered this Rolling Stone list after Fameone linked to it.  It's the 50 best songs over 7 minutes long, and it's got me thinking... What are my favourite songs over nine minutes in length?  Here are my top ten. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida - Iron Butterfly (17:02)The End - The
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More Cowbell

I watched Christopher Walken demand more cowbell in an SNL skit over on Humble's blog and it got me thinking about songs that feature a cowbell. Here are my ten favourite songs with cowbell.  I need more cowbell! Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The NameGuns N' Roses -
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Big Shiny Dominance

If you're Canadian, and between 25 and 35 years old, you likely know Big Shiny Tunes.  Big Shiny Tunes is a compilation MuchMusic started putting out in 1996.  It was full of popular rock songs of the year and I used to collect 'em. Because the many editions of Big
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