My 10 favourite musical events of 2013
Best of lists are by definition pretentious, so I thought I’d avoid the whole argument and just go with my ten favourite moments of 2013. It’s really the same thing…
A few words about God is Dead?, the new Black Sabbath single
I was really sceptical of the idea of a new Black Sabbath album with Ozzy on vocals, 35 years after Never Say Die (their last album with Ozzy). But the…
Happy 10th Anniversary iTunes!
On April 28 2003, Apple launched its iTunes Music Store (now known solely as iTunes Store), named after (and integrated with) their music player that was released 2 years earlier.…
The cassette revival is underway and… WAIT, WHAT???
I read an article in the Montreal Gazette yesterday about a cassette revival. I’ll admit I did a double take reading the title, and my first thought was “I thought…
Portrait of an addiction
The multiple forms my addiction to music takes. Every object in this image has meaning to me, or is a memento. The Cherry Sunburst Les Paul is the guitar I…
Dave Grohl’s amazing keynote speech at SXSW 2013
Dave Grohl solidified his status as rock’s biggest ambassador when he delivered an impassioned speech at South by South West that covered his own laser-focused path to becoming a musician,…
You never forget your first… record. Or “How a record changed the course of my life”
I got into rock at a very young age. I was 5 or 6 years old when my parents let me play records on an old portable turntable. I played…
7 rock concert clichés that need to die
The Internet is full of articles about annoying behaviour from concert goers. I agree in the most part, but I’d like today to reverse the angle and look at annoying…
The Bob Dylan Cover Theory
I have a love/hate relationship with the music of Bob Dylan. Likewise with covers. I hate covers that twist around a song just to make it different. Toad the Wet…