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
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
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
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
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
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
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
If you like Futurama, you probably like Futurama's opening theme song. Here it is if you're not a fan and don't have it tattooed in your cranium. I just read on Reddit that the Futurama theme song was inspired by a 1967 Pierre Henry composition entitled "Psyché Rock". Here's that
