Scarcely a month has gone by this year when we haven’t found ourselves at our computer in a rage blackout, pounding out an enraged letter to Spin. The music magazine has spent its quite commendable 20th year publishing lots and lots of lists. (It’s possible we’re in the minority here, but we think the “people […]
Music
The best coverage of local arts & entertainment news in Halifax
Posted inArts + Music
Free education
Believe it or not, the Halifax Pop Explosion is more than just boozing, show-crawling and rocking out to some of your favourite underexposed bands. Saint David’s Church on Brunswick Street will house a number of educational workshops and panels, all free of charge. Saturday kicks off in classroom A at 12:30pm, with a DIY seminar […]
Posted inArts + Music
War & Beats
Some philosophers judge their worth by the number of degrees behind their name, or the number of textbooks they’ve authored. And then there are the dusty foot philosophers; those whose innate wisdom is drawn from experiences in the real world. On Toronto hip-hopper K’naan’s debut album, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, he pays tribute to those […]
Posted inArts + Music
The (Infini)heart of the matter
“I never intended to be a performer,” says Chad VanGaalen. “I was more interested in keeping an aural journal—it was quite embarrassing to imagine anyone beyond my friends and family hearing it.” The Calgary-based artist is now in a position quite contrary to his original plan. Recently signed to indie-rock beacon label Sub Pop, a […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Pop shoppe
Ted Leo + Pharmacists Outspoken, poignant and exciting: It’s no wonder Ted Leo is one of the most revered figures in the indie underground. The Washington, DC-based musician and his Pharmacists deal in vibrant indie rock that mixes punk, folk and hardcore with protest lyrics. With several acclaimed records under their belts, including The Tyranny […]
Posted inArts + Music
Road to Joyce
Probably more than any other genre of music, the singer-songwriter lays the most on the line. Sift through the annals of music and it becomes apparent how solo artists use their work as a way to make sense of the world around them. Johnny Cash tried to reconcile his own flaws with music that did […]
Posted inArts + Music
Wash, rinse, repeat. Always repeat.
It’s all about The Kroeger. Sometimes, when seeing rock stars goes especially well, this is bedtime. Instead, the alarm goes off at 5:45am, a reminder that it’s time to get ready to see rock stars. In this case, it’s Nickelback, who are at the Halifax airport for a promo spot with WestJet. The band is […]
Posted inArts + Music
Dwell on this
Mammoth how-to-live mag Dwell (“At Home in the Modern World”) celebrates its 5th anniversary, and has dropped a Halifax plug amongst its celebratory issue. A look at “Modern Across America in Print” includes Plain Modern, Malcolm Quantrill’s book about local architecture wunderkind Brian MacKay-Lyons (full disclosure: we once lived in an early BM-L design in […]
Posted inArts + Music
I see London, I see Francey
I see London, I see Francey In terms of starting a music career, David Francey is a late bloomer. His debut, Torn Screen Door, was released in 1999 when the roots artist was 45 years old. “I wrote for myself and was happy doing so. It was my wife, Beth Girdler, who convinced me to […]
Posted inArts + Music
Road to nowhere
Even though HRM has been one big, amalgamated SuperCity for going on 10 years now, transportation is still a bit of a fractured affair. You’ve got HRM Council responsible for transit services, bikeways and most of the urban and suburban roads in the region. Then you’ve got the provincial department of transportation responsible for roads […]
