The leading lady’s got it all. There’s brains, beauty and backstory all balled up into one towering film figure. But first, consider her other onscreen presence, one of a smaller scale: the female character actor has long played a sort of handmaid to the leading lady—the best friend, sister, mother or lover who brings nuance […]
Sean Flinn
Posted inArts + Music
Victoria Day
Teenaged hockey hopeful Ben Spektor has a lot going on: his team’s playoff run, the Oilers’ Stanley Cup final against the Bruins on TV, the Bob Dylan show at Ontario Place and finals at school. It’s the Victoria Day weekend, 1988. David Bezmogis, the acclaimed author of Natasha and Other Stories, turns to film and […]
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D-Sisive moment
Everywhere Toronto-based rapper D-Sisive goes, Orville Knoblich follows.”That character plays a major part as far as the visuals are concerned,” says D-Sisive, otherwise known as Derek Christoff. So, musically, he’s D-Sisive. But visually, he’s Orville Knoblich, decked out in tuxedo, bowler and ostrich mask. Think of the figure, who appears onstage and on album covers, […]
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Yo La Tengo
On the cheekily titled Popular Songs, the trio from Hoboken, celebrating 25 years, offers its career’s quilt-like album. All the pieces and patterns are sewn together into a beautiful, unified piece of work: spacey jam (the opener “Here to Fall”), twangy pop (“Avalon or Someone Very Similar”), spooky ballad (“By Two’s”), garage super-freakout (“Nothing To […]
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Going Upstream Jazz
A call reaches Dave Moore on his cell, in the rain. “I’m going to walk and talk with you at the same time,” he says. Walking and talking: it’s a kind of multitasking taken for granted in this connected, roaming age. Like many musicians in Halifax, Moore is involved in multiple projects. He plays in […]
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The jokes may be recycled, but The Simpsons: still worth repeat visits
Repetition remains an important component of popular culture. And so it is with specific pop-culture vehicles, such as The Simpsons, now in its 21st season. Last week’s premiere, penned by Seth Rogen (him again?!), tells the story of Comic Book Guy and his superhero creation, Everyman, who absorbs the powers of every established hero he […]
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Tinariwen
These guys speak fluently the language of riff, a basic and universal unit of the guitar. Though riffs are, by their nature, repeated phrases, this album is anything but repetitive. Each of these 13 songs has its own distinct identity thanks in large part to what most call rhythm guitar. It's the secondary players—whether guitarists […]
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Joy Is So Exhausting, Susan Holbrook (Coach House)
This collection’s title, a nod to Marian Engel’s Bear, is both a playful observation and hilarious declaration. Holbrook provides a great reminder that poetry is supposed to be fun and fun to read—a professor of literature and creative writing at University of Windsor, she sends up her occupation in “Textbook Case: Questions to Consider Regarding […]
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The rise of fall arts: visual arts
Nocturne October 17 at various locations, dusk-midnight, free, artgalleryofnovascotia.ca Last year’s inaugural Nocturne festival brought 5,000 people out to local streets and galleries from dusk to midnight. Following up on that success, this year’s after-dark art festival will feature 32 gallery spaces opening their doors and more than 30 artists setting up installations and performances […]
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The rise of fall arts: books, film, fashion
Word on the Street Sunday, September 27, 11am-5pm, Cunard Centre, free, thewordonthestreet.ca The annual lit festival happens this Sunday at the Cunard Centre. This year’s highlights include a special appearance by Margaret Atwood’s illustrious LongPen, the remote book-signing device she invented so she can sign your copy of her new novel The Year of the […]
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The Toe Tactic
After a period of mourning and anger, a young woman reconciles herself to her father’s death and the sale of her family’s home. That’s the plot as a whole, but a few non-linear subplots arise as well, such as the protagonist Mona’s mysterious temp work. Character, action, scene and animation are collaged in The Toe […]
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Two Hours Traffic
To the quartet’s credit, they don’t drive directly at the power-pop that made their previous records stand out. The hooks and upbeat tempo can be found (the opening and title tracks and “Lost Boys”), but overall, the band’s clearly concerned with songwriting’s other internal mechanisms: the almost-off-balance pitch of the keys and syncopated rhythm of […]
