Notes From The Above Ground

It's been a while since I've posted here. It's been a week since SXSW ended, I saw some good shows but yet couldn't understand how Bloc Party were the recipients of such glowing praise. I've had their record for quite sometime as they are signed to Wichita/V2 in Europe. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine record, hardly anything different then what 1001 other bands are doing though. The Canadian contingent was in full force, with over 70 acts performing. Not necessarily our finest exports but some quality nonetheless. Stars could be Canada's best band, I was always weary of their live show but it's safe to say they have their shit together now. Great Lake Swimmers played Maggie Mae's although it looked as though they were playing in front of an Iraqi tribunal. Never before have I seen a band look so uncomfortable and have such ability to alienate an audience. Tony Dekker is a helluva singer and he makes gorgeous albums, but the "we're too cool to be here" act makes all their talent seem worthless.
Seems as if Boy were the big Canadian buzz band with American labels, didn't Sam Roberts play SXSW last year? I like Boy, have known the band for some time but if Americans are latching on to them, what does that say about America's knowledge of our music scene? Seriously though, best of luck to those guys, talented bunch, go indie.
Calexico blew my mind, I lined up for about an hour to see them, I actually lined up for an hour to see anyone. Mariachi indie rock with a Neko Case guest appearance made it seem as if I was in a Robert Rodriguez porn.
Saw Matt Mays & El Torpedo at 4am in a dingy rehearsal space, apparently this was the Canadian after party scene,but the crowd was made up of me, Jose Contreras, the members of C'Mon and some locals adorned in the new Texas fashion of leather jackets and track pants. Still, with a shitty PA and a crowd of 8, MM&ET still managed to blaze like Crazy Horse with a hangover. I do love this band, hate their fans

Matthew Barber and Tangiers both delivered albums to me in various states. Tangiers finished the tracking of their record and have some rough mixes. It's a far cry from their post punk debut Hot New Spirits. The maturity that this band has exhibited is remarkable. The songs on this record have incredible pop hooks and the lyrical content is intelligent and witty. It should be out in September.

Matthew Barber's new record is done having recently been mastered. It was produced by Marty Kinack in Toronto. This is the record I would have made if I could play an instrument or carry a tune. It's a diverse album, there's Cars-ish power pop and On The Beach like ballads. There's the song "Morning Light", with James Shaw from Metric and Evan Cranley of Stars on horns, which could have easily been found on Music From The Big Pink. I will go on record as saying this is a classic album, whether it's received by the general public that way is beyond my control.

I'm beginning to see The Arcade Fire video quite a bit on Much, so perhaps the little nuggets of truth are beginning to seep through. I think the following months will be very healthy for Canadian music and I'm proud to be a part of it some capacity, even if said capacity is a thorn.

I'm currently in some "discussions" about launching a label, it's quite exciting but also incredibly overwhelming, stay tuned as I either fall flat on my face or stumble on my ass. Either way it will be fun and I will lose money.

Upcoming Shows for the MCM Management and PR Roster in Toronto -

March 29 - Matt Barber & Emm Gryner - Hughs Room
April 7 - Dogs Die In Hot Cars - Opera House
April 8 - Another Blue Door w/ The Mark Inside - ElMo
April 8 - Zap Mama - Mod Club
April 11 - Brendan Benson - Lee's
April 18 - Moby - Phoenix

There's others but I'm too lazy to check right now

Good Times

Who is The U2 of Sports?

This is from my favourite sports columnist Bill Simmons who writes for Page 2 of ESPN.com....

By Bill Simmons
Page 2


Editor's note: This column appears in the March 14 issue of ESPN The Magazine.



Ever play the musician/athlete game? You just pick a band or singer and then decide which sports star they'd be. For instance, Springsteen is Larry Bird, the workingman's hero. Guns N' Roses are Doc Gooden, the prodigy who flamed out too fast. The Stones are Ali, the greatest until they hung around too long. The Police are John McEnroe -- gifted, tortured, ultimately unable to keep it together.



You can easily kill an eight-hour car ride this way ... as long as you keep U2 out of it. Trying to find a match for that band will make you crazy. Kareem and Roger Clemens had similar longevity, but nobody liked them. Ditto for Barry Bonds, although Bonds' head and Bono's both have grown exponentially over the years. Nolan Ryan was breathtaking in moments, but never transcendent. Gretzky and MJ didn't dominate long enough. The closest comparison? Jack Nicklaus. Big splash in the '60s, superduperstar in the '70s, stunning revival in the '80s -- it's a similar arc, right down to the success of "Vertigo" and the 1986 Masters. But can you compare U2 to a golfer? Of course not.



In rock and in sports U2 has no equal.
Here's the point: bands just don't do what U2 have done. They don't stay together for 26 years without even a token separation (or 20). They don't continue to pump out quality albums and concert tours (sorry, I don't count the Dead, who haven't been nearly as popular). And they don't resonate with three different generations.


There hasn't been nearly enough made of these guys. Unlike what we do with our sports heroes, few of us consider the overall body of work of musicians. It always comes down to what they did most recently, or who died at the optimal time, or whose music aged best. Fact is, there is no black-and-white way to judge them. How can you prove Jimmy Page was a better guitar player than Eric Clapton? Instead of statistics and awards, we rely on emotions and memories, on what a particular band meant to us. It leads to some deceiving outcomes -- like how everyone forgets that, when Kurt Cobain killed himself, Nirvana had been eclipsed by Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins. Had he lived, there's a 90 percent chance Cobain and Courtney Love would be starring in a reality show on VH-1 right now. You just never know. That's why people rarely argue about music ... well, unless they're stoned.



With sports, there is nothing to do but argue about this stuff. If music were sports, Kornheiser and Wilbon would be fighting to the death over "Who's better: Franz Ferdinand or The Killers?" But we don't approach music this way, and so U2 never get their due. Take everything you ever read or heard about MJ, then double it -- that's what we'd have if U2 had played ball. What would their rookie card be worth? How many covers would they have graced? What formula would Rob Neyer have concocted to legitimize their run?



Maybe I'm biased. Some people have photo albums; I have U2. When I listened to them as a kid they were belting out angry diatribes about growing up in Ireland, so who could have imagined they'd provide a soundtrack for my life? There was "The Unforgettable Fire" for my moody years, and "The Joshua Tree" for when I began to put it all together. When "Rattle and Hum" came out, I was also taking myself a little too seriously. "Achtung Baby"? We were both running on all cylinders. "Zooropa" and "Pop"? We were both figuring out where to go next. We finally crossed paths with "All That You Can't Leave Behind." I was covering my first Super Bowl and U2 was singing at halftime of the eventual Pats upset, and yes, it was a "Beautiful Day." With their most recent, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," I'm in a good place, and so are they. They're E.T. to my Elliott.



Throw in the unintentional comedy and general weirdness -- how Bono doesn't age (much like David Robinson); how you can't call "The Edge" just "Edge"; every delightfully absurd minute of the Rattle and Hum documentary (my favorites: The Edge's extended mullet, the Graceland trip and every conversation between Bono and B.B. King); Bono's pompous concert speeches; even Adam Carolla's idea that we should deport Bono so he can annoy Ireland instead of us -- and there has never been another band like this. At the recent Grammys, they were still as strong on stage as anyone else, even though I'm pretty sure The Edge died about three years ago and they're just propping him up. Against all odds, they keep plugging away.



They have no peers in the business, and no sports equivalent. So if you ever play the musician/athlete game, save some time -- skip U2 and go right to a band like Van Halen. (They were Sugar Ray Leonard, but that's a whole other story.)



Bill Simmons is a columnist for Page 2 and ESPN The Magazine. His Sports Guy's World site is updated every day Monday through Friday

Pit Bull Sh*T

Ontario has become the first province or state in North America to pass a bill banning pit bulls.

I've been around pit bulls many of times and yes, they are an aggressive breed. However, they are no less aggressive then a Husky, Chow Chow, German Shepherd and countless other breeds. Yet, you don't see the above breeds in any gangsta rap videos, only pit bulls.

Take a walk down any Toronto street and you'll see some 18 year old in his Sean John jogging pants, his G-Unit oversized t-shirt and his Zellers special FUBU jacket. They're usually trying their best to walk their pit bull. The breed has become an accessory in the gangsta rap culture. They're often used in music videos, amongst the hoochie and the cristol.

The pit bull is obviously not at fault here, it's obviously the owner who are purchasing these dogs with zero knowledge on how to properly train or take care of their dog. The animal shelters in Toronto are over crowded with the breed as most of the owners fail to neuter or spade their dog as it take away from their aggressiveness.

If the government of Ontario is going to ban pit bull then it may be time to ban every dog with aggressive tendencies. Most people who are not influenced by hip hop, own a pit bull because of a love of the breed like a soccer mom loves their shitzu. A pit bull or any aggressive dog can be used as a weapon, much like a gun, it all depends who owns it. Don't ban the dog, ban the asshole kid who think they'll be tougher with a pit bull by their side. I hope it doesn't happen but it will, when a German Shepherd takes a bite out of a toddler and then we begin this process all over again.

Take the time, screen potential owners of any dogs, make them register the pet. And if you're going to raise a dog to attack, send him to this guy...http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Ottawa/Earl_McRae/2005/03/02/946800.html