Last night was the gala for the fifth annual Polaris Prize, Canada’s “increasingly distinguished” music award that shuns commercial success in favour artistic merit. This year’s winner is — surprise! — Karkwa, a band that few predicted in advance. But really, no one should be surprised. The Polaris Grand Jury likes to pull their choices out […] More »

This week’s installment of Tuesday Tracks brings a selection surreal music videos, none of which would have a chance getting a nod from the VMAs, but all of which skew the world they create just enough to make them interesting. A great music video need not be a big production. Simplicity is key: it should be […] More »

When she isn’t playing jazz organ in Rio de Janeiro or running her own jam session during the Montreal International Jazz Festival, musician Vanessa Rodrigues can usually be found making her own pickles. The Montreal-based musician has her plate full with music projects, but high on her list of priorities is food—the growing of, the […] More »

In this week’s edition of Tuesday Tracks we take a look at a couple of side projects—two starkly different sounds, both with an inherent Canadiana about them. Both bands evoke the great expanse of the country in different ways, the first conveying that certain sense of isolation it instills, while the second feels like a […] More »

In this week’s edition of Tuesday Tracks we’ll take a look at a group of modern new wavers, one of the country’s best kept secrets and a wild video from a true eccentric. Sometimes sifting through the web for new music can be an arduous task. There’s just so much, but other times the songs […] More »

This week in Tuesday Tracks we’re going to slow it down a notch with three great songs sporting three great videos—perfect for listening to in the sweltering days of August. I went through a long period of time where I avoided these kinds of songs—slow, sad, strums of an acoustic guitar paired with whispered poetry. […] More »

This week in Tuesday Tracks we’ve got a little musical interlude to help you ease yourself back into the work week (those of you who had a holiday Monday, that is). This edition boasts a trio of Canadian musical heavyweights including an unexpected collaboration between K-OS and Sebastien Grainger, new music from Chromeo, and a […] More »

Summer festivals were once kingpins of the concert season, but in recent years their popularity has waned significantly. The recession has been blamed, and it certainly has had an effect, but the more likely cause for a drop in popularity has to do not with personal economics, but greed by the promoters. A great summer […] More »

This week’s installment of Tuesday Tracks comes care of a little bit of serendipity. Tuesdays tend to sneak up pretty quick sometimes and it can be quite distressing and a little embarrassing when Monday night rolls around there are no new tracks to be found. Most weeks it’s pretty easy—there’s so much to listen to, and […] More »

This week’s edition of Tuesday Tracks rounds up a trilogy of music videos. The theme was inspired by our first selection today. It occurred to me how much the landscape has changed over the past ten years for music videos. As an adolescent, videos were my primary source for new music. Commercial radio was the […] More »

Another new entry today in the Verbatim series, the transcripts we provide of our Listen to This podcast. (Just a reminder that you can catch new, original interviews every other Monday—you can subscribe with any podcast listening program by grabbing the podcast rss feed, or easily subscribing through iTunes.) In today’s interview, associate editor Natalie Samson talked with Eternia, […] More »