“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

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

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

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