When I was in high school, I discovered Anne Rice’s vampire novels and–pardon the pun–was bitten. I can hardly remember all the details of the novels now, but I know how hard I fell for the romanticized midnight lives of the tortured, and torturing soulless vampires Louis and Lestat (Claudia not so much). In my [...]
More >
They only come out at night
NEW MUSiC: The Prospector’s Union
-
Artist:The Prospector's Union
What I love about writing a blog is having a documented record of the changes in my listening habits, and seeing the evolution/connection between records in my collection. Have you noticed how one artist leads you to another, or how a specific record sort of opens the door to a new genre or style that [...]
More >
First impressions of Phrazes for the Young
-
Artist:
-
Album:
I avoided reading any review or talk of Strokes front man Julian Casablancas’s solo debut album, Phrazes For the Young, before actually listening to the thing myself. It was a semi-conscious decision, but one guided by premonition nonetheless. Something in my gut told me I wasn’t going to be impressed, and looking at reviews wasn’t [...]
More >
All my friends are funeral singers
-
Artist:
-
Album:
One day last week, as I sat down with my breakfast and coffee and The Globe & Mail, My eye was drawn to a short review for All My Friends Are Funeral Singers, the new LP from Chicago’s Califone. The album has popped up in a lot of discussions and blogs lately, and not having [...]
More >
[CONTEST!] QBiM Q&A with Giant Hand
-
Artist:
To win yourself a copy of Giant Hand’s Coming Home please see the contest details at the end of this post.Kirk Ramsay has certainly had one heck of a whirl wind year. As the only man behind the moniker Giant Hand, he’s got a lot to handle on his own. So far, so great. As [...]
More >
4 for the weekend 11•14•09
Happy Friday the 13th! This week’s 4FTW post is coming a bit early, as I’ve got my hands full trying to take care of last minute details before taking off for NYC on Monday. Things will be a bit quiet around here for the weekend, but I’ll be back blogging on Monday with the second [...]
More >
Like a prayer
I’m getting ready for a trip to Manhattan next week, and I’ve been working feverishly to get some posts in the can for the days that I’ll be away, but it seems that every time I pick up something to listen to and perhaps write about, I’m finding myself thinking, “This is too good to [...]
More >
Just a little prick
-
Artist:Male Nurse
-
Track:No One's Happy
Do you have an awkward friend who makes jokes that go over like lead balloons? You’re not exactly sure if he’s being serious or funny, or if he’s seriously trying to be funny. For a moment, he makes you feel self-conscious and stupid, like there’s something wrong with you for not getting it; until you [...]
More >
Material girls
-
Artist:
I’m always amused by people who categorize anything as being “chick-”, like chick-flicks, chick-lit, or chick-music. Yes, art and other inanimate objects can have an air of masculinity or femininity to them, but to actually assign a gender? I’ve heard lots of people refer to Tegan and Sara as being ‘chick-rock’ but is that just [...]
More >
QBiM Q&A with Vivek Shraya
-
Artist:
Back on July 17, 2007, Vivek Shraya subjected himself to a little thing I used to call the QBiM Questionnaire. The premise was simple: I emailed artists a list of nonsensical and non-threatening questions all in the name of getting to know them better. Vivek was a willing victim subject, and we had a fair [...]
More >
4 for the weekend 11•07•09: 20 years of Doolittle
This week’s 4-pick was going to be a no-brainer.20 years ago, 1989: the finest year of the modern music era. Don’t believe me? Check this out–one of the earliest QBiM posts that doesn’t make me wince with embarrassment–and tell me if you think differently. The world was on the cusp of a new decade, rushing [...]
More >
Said The Whale
-
Artist:
I’m pretty positive that I wrote a post sometimes back on Vancouver’s Said The Whale, around the time they released the Talking Abalonia EP in 2007. Unfortunately, I don’t have any documented proof of it in my archives, because it was one of the ill-fated posts that was zapped by Blogger prior to moving QBiM [...]
More >
NEW MUSiC: Digits
-
Artist:Digits
A while back, a very unassuming and nondescript email came across my screen introducing me to Digits, a Toronto-based musician who started twiddling knobs in his bedroom (and not those kind of knobs–get your mind out of the gutter!) earlier this year, and has now emerged with–yep you guessed it–his debut album!Same story you’ve heard [...]
More >
Songs in the public domain
-
Artist:
Julie Doiron is someone I’ve never paid enough attention to in these here pages, but it’s not for a lack of interest in her work. She is perhaps one of the great unsung heroes of the Canadian music scene: an indie pioneer as part of Eric’s Trip, and a consummate collaborator with Mount Eerie and [...]
More >
Unknown legends
-
Artist:
Everything I seem to read about Ox states that the Sudbury, Ontario band’s debut album was “weed soaked” or “dope-soaked” or up in smoke. I got to tell you: that doesn’t really do anything for me. To each his own, I always say, but when I think of stoner rock, I picture over-aged Deadheads trying [...]
More >
Leif Vollebekk
-
Artist:
What a treat Montreal’s Leif Vollebekk is. His subtle, supple way with a melody and gentle strumming is a welcome relief from some of the over hyped and hyperactive music that floods my inbox. Vollebekk plays guitar, harmonica, piano and violin on Inland, his debut album, recorded at Montreal’s Breakinglass Studios and released independently in [...]
More >
4 for the weekend (+1) 10•31•09
Like leaves falling from trees, and smashed Jack-o-Lanterns littering damp and windy streets, the arrival of November is a tell-tale sign that the year is quickly drawing to a close, and we’re in the midst of a season change: year-end list season.Thing kicked off a little early yesterday, but they did so in style and [...]
More >
Little Girls, Concepts
-
Artist:
I’ve pretty much known all week that I’d be following up my Atlas Sound post with one about Little Girls, but I wasn’t sure (and still am not) about what kind of angle I was going to take on it. Back in June I was totally digging the sonic sound collisions Josh McIntyre was posting [...]
More >
Ready set glow
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:Walkabout
Nothing surprises me anymore. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from writing this blog is that was passed for magnificence one year can be reduced to muck the next. Conversely, that which at one point didn’t even illicit a yawn let alone any kind of positive reaction can get me jumping up and down in [...]
More >
Slow Down, Molasses
Things around here have been pretty messed up lately, thanks to the giant mess that DreamHost put me in last week when they pulled my plug (and not in that good way). It feels like the groove I was getting into all summer crumpled like a greasy sheet of tin foil. It was the weirdest [...]
More >
