Skip to content

I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone

Over the past little while I’ve been listening to my fair share of Sleater-Kinney, and then some. I figured I’d write an article about why The Woods is one of the greatest albums of all time. My plan was not to state an opinion, but to empirically prove it. Well, that’s slightly daunting, and I’m not there yet, but I thought I’d discuss a song from their earlier catalogue. First you should listen to the song. Like it? I hope so. It’s called “I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone,” and it’s from their 1996 album Call The Doctor, which is also their second album. The album is so old, in… Read More »I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone

The Movie Is Broken

Bruce McDonald reinvented the concert film. Instead of shooting performers on a stage, McDonald attempted to tell a story in the context of a concert. This Movie Is Broken follows a young Toronto man and the love of his life, who’s recently returned to Ontario. Their paths lead them to Harbourfront Centre where Broken Social Scene are playing a free show. Let’s start off with the obvious (if you know me), I don’t like Broken Social Scene. I don’t hate Broken Social Scene, but I’ve never liked Broken Social Scene. The only member of the band I have any fondness for is Amy Millan, but I don’t like Stars, I… Read More »The Movie Is Broken

Nowhere Boy

On the plane ride home from Vancouver, I decided to have a go at their in-seat entertainment system. I found in there a film called Nowhere Boy. It’s apparently a prequel to Backbeat, which is about the friendship of a young musician named John Lennon and a painter named Stuart Sutcliffe. Who would’ve thought that mostly unnoticed film would need a prequel was a bit nuts, but it was surprisingly good. Nowhere Boy instead focuses on Lennon and his broken home. Raised by his Uncle George and Aunt Mimi. Mimi is strict, while George is fun loving. George dies an untimely death, and this affects Lennon and puts him into… Read More »Nowhere Boy

Onward, Voyageur

I spent five days in Vancouver in July 2010, and picked up a handful of records, this is one of the many. “Quicksand filled heart” are the opening lyrics to Onward, Voyageur’s self-titled debut record. If that was all I based the record on, I surely wouldn’t have bought it, but the fun pop music with a slight tinge of country makes it worthwhile. If they were a Toronto band, I’m certain they would be playing Rancho Relaxo monthly. They remind me somewhat of what The Cheap Speakers would be if they were fronted by a woman and with a bit less punch. Maybe it’s that Christine Choquette has a… Read More »Onward, Voyageur

Every Day And All At Once

I spent five days in Vancouver in July 2010, and picked up a handful of records, this is one of the many. Jasper Sloan Yip’s debut record1 Every Day And All At Once is is foray into sugar-laced pop folk music. It starts off with the bouncy and fun “Kiddo” which sets a perfect tone for the entire record. With a nice mix of guitar and banjo, ukulele and violin, drums, bass and keyboard, Yip’s creates a nice playful sound that where all the instruments balance off one another without overpowering the others. Yip’s style reminds me of a gentle Elvis Costello, and perhaps for a local Toronto appeal, a bit… Read More »Every Day And All At Once

Vancouver 2010

It’s Thursday morning, and I’m most likely asleep in recovery, reluctant to leave my bed. To most “Vancouver 2010” is a representation of the 2010 Winter Olympics which were held in the beautiful city of Vancouver, British Columbia. To me, it represents Five Days In July in which I took in so much of this west coast beauty. Much like most of my posts, I’m writing this well in advance. I’m actually writing it so far in advance, that I’m still in Vancouver. It’s Sunday night, and I’ll be popping on an airplane in the next few hours to head back home to Toronto. I thought I’d fill you in… Read More »Vancouver 2010

Canada & Mr. Diefenbaker

[The Liberals]1 bit the dust because they treated Parliament with contempt.2 BT Richardson’s Canada & Mr. Diefenbaker is a book which isn’t so much about the then-Prime Minister, but is more about Canada in 1962. I thought it was really ambitious to write a biography of a sitting Prime Minister, but I was mistaken, Richardson wasn’t talking about Diefenbaker’s childhood and early years, he was talking about Canada. Even in the few chapters that did discuss Diefenbaker was more interested in painting the picture of a family living in rural Ontario3 and moving out to Saskatchewan to start a new life with free land and the great opportunities of this… Read More »Canada & Mr. Diefenbaker