Toronto Mike

Music

Total 808 Posts

Best Songs for the Days of the Week

There are many great songs about Sunday. Think about it. In fact, there are many great songs entitled "Sunday Morning". Vocativ studied 57 years of Billboard charts to see which days of the week get the most love from songwriters. As you'd likely guess, Sunday, Saturday, Monday and Friday are
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Baby, It's Cold Outside

My buddy Erin Davis wrote an interesting blog entry about Baby, It's Cold Outside, a song you'll hear often at this time of year. Baby, It's Cold Outside isn't a Christmas song, but a "cold weather" song, and since it's so good, it gets lumped in with holiday favourites like
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Everyone Loves Red

I just heard Treble Charger's Brand New Low on the radio. As I was singing along I thought, "I dig this tune, but it's no Red". With Treble Charger on the mind, I quickly thought of American Psycho, Friend of Mine and Even Grable, all great tracks (especially the fantastic
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Questions for Jeremy Taggart

I will be sitting down next week with Jeremy Taggart, best known as the drummer for Our Lady Peace from 1993 - 2014. He'll be dropping by to record an episode of my podcast Toronto Mike'd, and I get an entire hour to ask him anything I want. I know
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Bob Geldof and the Telex Machine

I've been listening to Scot Turner's Spirit of Radio Sunday on 102.1 the Edge and it's great.  Earlier today, they played I Don't Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats, a song that references a telex machine. If you're my age or younger, you've likely never seen a telex machine.
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Of Sheriff, Alias and Frozen Ghost

Remember Sheriff?  They were a Canadian rock band that scored a big US hit with When I'm With You years after they disbanded. Sheriff was vocalist Freddy Curci, guitarist Steve DeMarchi, keyboardist Arnold Lanni, bassist Wolf Hassel and drummer Rob Elliott. Sheriff - When I'm With YouWhen Sheriff broke up,
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The Power of Song

I caught an interesting discussion on CBC Radio this morning about the power of music as therapy.  Music can be used to soothe and revitalize those suffering from dementia, for example. A popular example of this can be seen in this clip of Henry that made the rounds a few
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Christmas Songs I Enjoy

It's December, and that means you'll likely need to assemble a Christmas party playlist for a holiday party or two. A great deal of Christmas music is awful, but there are a few dozen or so I can stomach.  Here are my personal favourite Christmas songs if you need a
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Happy 70th, Joni

Joni Mitchell is my all-time favourite Canadian female singer.  When I meticulously assembled a list of the 100 best Canadian songs of all-time back in 2007, she appeared on the list four times.  Today, she celebrates her 70th birthday. Happy 70th birthday, Joni!
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What Have They Done To My Song Ma

When listing "rain" songs on Saturday, I included a gem by Melanie.  "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" is a great tune, but it's not my favourite Melanie tune.  I'm partial to "Brand New Key". You don't hear much about Melanie these days, likely because she seemed to withdraw from
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Musical Acts I've Seen Live

After taking my daughter to see Selena Gomez last week, I started thinking about bands I've seen live.  Here's a list of bands I've seen live.  It's possible I'm missing an act or two, but I think I've got most of them. 3 Days Grace3 Doors Down30 Seconds to Mars54-40A
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Who Anne Murray Is To Me

I'm still south of 40, so I don't remember Anne Murray's heyday with "Snowbird" and her other early and mid-70s hits.  I missed the Anne Murray era, but I have very strong memories of her. In 1977, Anne Murray released There's a Hippo in My Tub, and my parents bought
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