It’s Tuesday, the day we run down a few picks of new and/or notable Canadian music. Just a digest of newish songs today, in contrast to last week’s epic paean to Tomboyfriend from Luke. What do you prefer for this feature? A quick selection of music to listen to, or a longer piece of writing […] More »

The distinction of “all time favourite song,” more often than not, is something reserved for the teenage years. For some, whose musical tastes stall with the arrival of adulthood, that all time favourite song might last a lifetime. For others, it simply becomes a reminder of those years when every new discovery carried significant emotional […] More »

One of the great redeeming aspects of big, multi-day, city-wide music festivals like Canadian Music Week/Fest is the opportunity for discovery. It’s very rare these days that one gets the opportunity to hear something truly great, for the first time, in a live setting. Generally, if I’m going to a show where I’m unfamiliar with […] More »

For today’s instalment of Verbatim, Marisa Iacobucci interviews Liz Worth about her new book, Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond. The original podcast is available to listen to here. (To ensure you never miss an episode, how about subscribing to the RSS feed or through iTunes?) The book […] More »

Another Tuesday, another bite-sized helping of newish Canadian independent music. Today sees new releases from Jason Collett, Ghostkeeper, and The Besnard Lakes. To start: Jason Collett‘s new album Rat A Tat Tat is out today, including this track, “Love is a Dirty Word,” which seems altogether too amiable for its cynical title. Next! Ghostkeeper‘s “By […] More »

We’re going to try out a new feature for a bit, and see if it sticks: “Tuesday Tracks” — a small weekly collection of newish Canadian independent music. All three of our artists here have new albums being released today. First up: “Jasper” by Aidan Knight. String, sparklers, a slow-cooker — the video starts with […] More »

Our friends at Images Festival have very nicely given us two passes to the screening of Grant Gee’s documentary Joy Division, screening this Friday, February 5, 2010 in Toronto. So, in order to make sure the swag goes to a true JD fan, we’re asking you to leave a comment below naming your favourite Joy […] More »

I saw him on the subway for the first time the day I brought the meat bomb to work. He wore the most glorious toupée. It was the colour of a fox with the front curled under in a Prince Valiant thing that continued on around the sides and back of his head. It didn’t […] More »

Fucked Up, winners of the 2009 Polaris Prize, this week released their cover of the seminal 1984 Bob Geldof/Midge Ure song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” and it’s pretty great. The band used part of their $20,000 Polaris cheque to bankroll the recording, and are donating the proceeds to three important Canadian charities: Justice for Missing […] More »

Sometimes it seems that no minority sits on a higher horse than people with disabilities—give an inch and they want a mile. I bet that’s what creator Ryan Murphy,  executive producer Brad Falchuck and the rest of the creative muscle behind Glee thought, in their most private moments, once they started hearing the complaints from […] More »

For day two of what we’ve dubbed “Legalization Week” here, Jordan Heath Rawlings writes about a plan from the Songwriters Association of Canada that would throw open the file-sharing doors to every Canadian and find new ways to help musicians make a living from their creativity. It’s just one of many proposals that have been […] More »