“It could get to be addictive, he believed, not understanding what people were saying. Time spent in another country would probably always be spent misunderstanding a great deal, which might in the end turn out to be a blessing and the only way you could ever feel normal.” – Richard Ford, “The Occidentals” The helplesscontinue reading
Music and Arts Archives
December 2: “The Wagon”, Dinosaur Jr.
What makes a college radio show great? A host thrilled to share his or her eclectic collection and knowledge of music with others, adept at cueing up multiple turntables and CD players and lowering the volume just so so there’s a nice fade between the end of that and the beginning of the next. Low-keycontinue reading
December 1 – “Don’t Stop Believin'” (Journey) – George Lamond
A dance remake of Journey’s 1981 classic? However did this end up on my iPod shuffle? Well, cast your mind back to 2008… It seems like a long time ago now, doesn’t it? Five years, a financial crisis, a messy Arab Spring, a drone program, a dysfunctional Congress, and… OK, let’s forget all that andcontinue reading
November 30 – “Just Like Honey,” The Jesus and Mary Chain
I have long had in my head a movie opening set to “Just Like Honey” by the Jesus and Mary Chain. The beginning drum beats – ba, ba-ba, then the stairs at Spadina subway station, then the next drum beats – ba, ba-ba, then a girl (me?) coming down the stairs onto a mostly emptycontinue reading
At the AGO
We renewed our membership at the AGO this year. I’m not sure J. was entirely convinced, but I kind of like the idea of supporting at least one local museum and you never know what interesting thing may show up to justify a visit to McCaul and Dundas. We paid a visit to the AGOcontinue reading
The Feedback Tour, Europe edition
At first I thought someone was pranking the press when I saw this item: Lou Reed is back with experimental music of 1970s LONDON (Reuters) – It was dismissed as “career suicide” and a joke, and some fans returned the record thinking it was faulty, but rocker Lou Reed is re-releasing a digitally remastered versioncontinue reading
Boston
The obvious solution to a garbage strike is to leave town. Well, actually we had our trip to Boston planned for at least two months. J. read in the NYT about a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition coming to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), and we realized we had a bit of time in late June, and,continue reading
jailparty.com
I’m probably showing my age, but I’m relieved that the grownups have intervened and cancelled a planned rave in the old Don Jail. The new owner’s site had the wrong tone, and something like this was probably inevitable. More here and here.
The old jail could be used as a performance art venue, but in all decency it has to be in a context that works with themes around suffering and despair, both experienced by the inmates and by their victims, and by the people who worked in the building before it was a Doors Open curiosity.
The place has a dark history – not playfully Gothic dark, but really seriously dark, and I don’t think that’s registered with the people offering ‘ghost tours’. More below the fold.
A is for Aisle
A good new kids’ album for those interested who haven’t run across it – Snacktime by Barenaked Ladies. Tested on a recent long car trip with success. Worth getting just for the alphabet song, which starts with “A is for Aisle” and goes downhill from there. The kids may not get it but they’ll want tocontinue reading
COC Lures Hot Shot from Paris!
This was two weeks ago, but I am still very excited that COC has appointed a new General Director, Alexander Neef. He is currently the Director of Casting at the Opera National de Paris. http://www.coc.ca/flash/neef/main.html Sondra Radvanovsky, Adrienne Pieczonka, and now Neef. Toronto is becoming world class!