Matthew BarberThe Story of Your Life (Warner)Matthew Barber knows how to write a pleasant pop song, but it appears he’s at his best when the sound is darker or the mood’s more melancholy. The Story of Your Life, the follow-up to his debut Means & Ends, starts out fine with “A Little Love,” but the […]
Chuck Teed
Posted inArts + Music
Hatebreed
Published November 20, 2003. Hatebreed The Rise of Brutality (Universal) It’s hard to hate Hatebreed. Sure, the music is an overdone hybrid of old-school metal and punk. The violently empowering lyrics are ridiculous and juvenile. But if you can get past Rise of Brutality’s not-so-original sound and childish chants, there are some decent songs to […]
Posted inArts + Music
Dane Cook
Dane CookRetaliationComedy CentralDane Cook is single-handedly revitalizing stand-up comedy. The Massachusetts-born, California-based comedian is burning up the Billboard charts with the two-disc Retaliation, which debuted at number four (the highest comedy chart position since Steve Martin’s 1978 classic Wild and Crazy Guy) and has been certified gold. Cultivating his massive audience through constant touring and […]
Posted inArts + Music
Dane Cook
Published December 08, 2005. Dane Cook Retaliation (Comedy Central) Set in front of a rowdy, appreciative audience, Dane Cook’s double disc is the Frampton Comes Alive of comedy albums. Cook’s young, everyman style of performance is infectious, and the laughs he generates with his sophomoric storytelling and observational humour are huge. The end result is […]
Posted inArts + Music
Brent Randall and his Pinecones
Brent Randall and his PineconesQuite Precisely(Just Friends)Best known as Mark Bragg’s bass player, Brent Randall steps out in a major way. An ambitious and skillfully written effort, Quite Precisely is driven by Randall’s knack for melody and tasteful piano-playing. “Television and Treasure” conjures the spirit of Mott the Hoople while “In Horsedrawn Delight” marches and […]
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Talent pool
When you think about current Canadian musicians on the world stage, there are a few names that immediately come to mind. Avril Lavigne. Nickelback. Arcade Fire. Feist. For better or worse—depending on taste—these artists are de facto representatives of Canadian culture, selling millions of albums and winning over countless fans while simultaneously waving the Canadian […]
Posted inLifestyle
Crying game
Pac-Man elbow. Space Invaders wrist. Back in the early ’80s, video-game addicts probably suffered from one of these overuse injuries—usually caused by the repetitive motion of jerking a joystick or mashing a fire button—at one point or another. The cure was quick and physically painless—a little rest and ice and you were good to go. […]
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Two Hours’ time
Alec O’Hanley can’t multitask. One ofTwo Hours Traffic’s singer-guitarists tries to give an interview while relaxing in his parents’ pool, but decides mid-sentence that cordless phones and chlorinated water don’t mix. “I’m distracted by this pool,” he says, water splashing in the background. “I should get out, actually. It’s too nice to concentrate.” O’Hanley deserves […]
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Tracking laughs
What’s in a name? Ask the people behind CBC’s latest reality show, Second City’s Next Comedy Legend, which airs on the network Tuesdays at 9pm. By adding the word “legend” to the title of the show—as opposed to a less laudatory word like “great”—one assumes the winner of the contest will immediately rise to stardom […]
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Lost in transition
While you read, listen to “Don’t go easy” by Jill Barber. Jill Barber’s 2007 East Coast Music Awards weekend was a coming out party that fans won’t soon forget. Building on the success of her 2006 release For All Time, Barber wowed audiences with a string of stellar showcases that left the entire conference buzzing […]
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Jay in the life
Comedy albums have enjoyed a resur-gence as of late. Both Tenacious D and Weird Al Yankovic recently hit the top 10 in the United States with their respective albums The Pick of Destiny and Straight out of Lynwood, while internet phenomenon Dane Cook has spent over a year on the charts with his double disc […]
Posted inArts + Music
Life’s a sketch
It is 7:45pm on Sunday night and the buzz in the air is palpable. Ginger’s Tavern is close to capacity as groups of young adults stream up the stairs on a minute-by-minute basis. By the time 8pm rolls around, there isn’t an empty seat in the house. The audience has gathered not to see a […]
