Hello Newman

The Diableros "You Can't Break The Strings in Our Olympic Hearts"

2006-02-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

Stream the entire album here
CD Release party on February 18th at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto

A Whisper To A Scream

2006-01-26T22:14:00.000-08:00

Rumblings has it that The Arcade Fire are to recieve the most nods at this years Junos. Carl Wilson deserves a nod for this

Now That He's Traded, I Can Date Outside The Religion...

2006-01-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

The Blue Jays also made a minor trade Tuesday, acquiring left-hander Brian Tallet from the Cleveland Indians for right-hander Bubbie Buzachero.

It's Only January...

2006-01-10T07:37:00.000-08:00

I am submitting my candidate for album of the year by this guy

Produced by Brian Deck (Modest Mouse), it's a dark album with the most poignant lyrics written since some guy named Dylan graced our presence.

The album The Animal Years is out in April.

Oh What The Hell, Newman's Year End List

2005-12-27T13:59:00.000-08:00

Albums that I enjoyed the most in 2005 (and yes, there is a bias)...

Jason Collett - Idols Of Exile: This album is superb and became the go to for summer driving. Jason Collett is like the Craig Conroy of music, good journeyman, gets together with the right linemates and is now a star.

Jon Rae & The River - Old Songs For The New Town: The album as a whole seems thrown together and not very well thought out. However, the moments of brilliance reached far outweigh the let's push record and see what happens mentality that underscores this album.

The Diableros - You Can't Break The Strings in Our Olympic Hearts: My label is releasing this record in February. I've had the great pleasure of sitting with it for a couple of months now and it's become the macaroni and cheese of my musical diet.

The Band - Box Set: Hard to find a bum track in this bands legacy.

Wintersleep - Wintersleep: Made me feel as if I was 17 years old pulling out not only the air guitar but the air drums to accompany perhaps the best drummer in Canrock today.

Matthew Barber - Sweet Nothing: The songs on Sweet Nothing are a compromise between an artist and his musical conscious. He gave his major label a handful of songs that would be played on radio all the while tucking in little nuggets of classic rock infused americana.

Sarah Harmer - I'm A Mountain: The woman is Dolly, Emmylou and Loretta all wrapped into one with an enviromental conscious.

Tangiers - The Family Myth: James Sayce writes incredibly catchy songs, Josh Reichmann writes songs that teeter on insanity but are tugged in by the most subtle pop melodies. Together, they made an album that is equal parts riveting and comfort.

Toto, We're Not In Kansas Anymore

2005-11-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

Today, I was walking my dog down Manning Street in Toronto. I was behind this kid, about 16 years old and watched him get approached by two guys who were slightky older then him. One of the approaching guys asked him "What are you doing walking down this street" to which the kid replied "Going home". He was then met with a grab of the arm and a warning of "You know this is my street and you're not allowed to walk down it, we own this street". The poor kid got off with a warning and I was cast an attempted intimidating glance.

This is the second time in 2 days that I've witnessed kids claiming street ownership. The first occasion happened on Saturday when I was once gain walking my dog down Queen Street. I was standing outside the Czehoski bar when 3 mid level street kids (not full blown skids but on their way) were jumped by a group of kids who claimed ownership of Queen Street. They assaulted the street kids and stole some of their belongings.

I remember growing up in Thornhill hearing of fellow classmates venturing downtown only to get "rolled" for their Air Jordans and having to walk home in their socks. However, when I moved to Toronto, the amateur crime scene seemed relegated to the Yonge Street area with the more severe crime occuring in Regent Park. Now, it seems as though, kids have feel the need to be part of a gang and inflict intimidation amongst other kids who have the gaul to walk down "their" streets.

The similarties amongst these encounters is that all of the kids involved seemed to be influenced, at least by their clothing, by hip hop and hip hop culture. I find it hard to take anyone serious who wears a flat brimmed basketball hat tilted to the side but apparently it works. It's not breaking news but the hip hop estethic is being sold to and bought by disenchanted white kids. White kids are trying to emulate their hip hop heroes such as the G-Unit posse. The release of 50 Cent's film "Get Rich or Die Trying" is going to continue to propel gang culture amongst white kids. When i saw Good Fella's for the first time, I wanted to join the mafia, I was 16 years old and saw the power and glamour that came with being associated with a gang. It's no secret that a lot of today's rap artists were also inspired by mafia films, they often cite Tony Montana aka Scarface as one of their big influences and heroes. If Cribs is in a rappers house, there's a good chance there's a picture of Pacino on the wall somewhere.

I'm all for free speech and have no problems with the movie, but gang culture is being glamourized and the kids are eating it up. This city is going to shit, the gun violence is at an all time high cause guys need to show their strength by "poppin a cap" into someone. The male ego is at fault here, men don't want to be show up or stepped on and feel that it's their resolve to kill someone who wrongs them in anyway. It goes right up the ranks to the White House, men do not want to be pushed around or admit any wrongdoing, no matter the consequences. They want to show dominance and be able to intimidate others, it's a jungle philosophy.

The question is, how far will this go before this city erupts? The white kids now have a new hero to look up to. It's all going to break.

Stripes Cover Tegan & Sara

2005-11-01T12:52:00.000-08:00

The Stripes cover Walking With A Ghost. Click here for a listen

I'm one of those horribly irresponsible fuck-ups who wastes all his money all the time on balance-of-trade-bruising foreign narcotics

2005-10-30T14:48:00.000-08:00

Toronto based concert promoter Dan Burke rants and pissses off scenesters as much as he does bands.

Yao Ming Disciples Also Worship at the BSB Alter

2005-10-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

I Want It That Way

Less Taxes, More Cowbell

2005-10-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentleman, the next President Of The United States of America

And thanks to Aaron and Liss for this

Album Release Parties This Week

2005-10-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

Matthew Barber & The Union Dues Sweet Nothing Album Release Party
Tuesday October 4th The Horseshoe Tavern 10pm ***FREE***

Tangiers The Family Myth Album Release/Baudelaire Label Launch Party
Friday October 7th Lee's Palace w/ The Diableros 10Pm ***$10***

I have a website

Today

2005-09-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

Is September 27th, Matthew Barber's album Sweet Nothing is released, it's amazing, buy it here

Wolf Parade, Metric, The Deadly Snakes and The Constantines also have albums out today, you should buy those as well.

It's All Fun And Games Until You Get Caught

2005-09-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

We've all watched someone do something wrong or illegal and most of us turn a blind eye to the activity. This all changes when that someone gets caught doing said activity. Then it's akin to a high school field party being broken up with everyone covering their own ass and running to duck behind a bush with their bottle of peach schnapps.
The same behaviour is evident in both the fashion world and major league baseball. First, Rafael Palmeiro gets busted for using steroids, gets suspended and isolated by the baseball world. I'm sure it was a big secret that he was using, obviously everyone knew, probably some of his teammates injected him but then he gets caught and he's treated like a leper. It's wrong for him to use the performance enhancing drug but in the world of escalating salaries and increased competitiveness for jobs, is it really a surprise? Sure, he's 38 years old trying to hang onto a job and an $8 mil a year salary but I'm sure a 23 year old right now has a needle in his ass trying to break in to the bigs and get that salary. Palmeiro sealed his fate last week when he accused teammate of Miguel Tejada of also using. It's like the mob, everyone's knows what you're doing but when you get caught, you go down alone. If Mark McGwire goes to the Hall then Palmeiro deserves to be there to. I'm sure more then half of the hall inductees over the next century were and are consistent users.
Kate Moss snorts coke. Models doing drugs is like saying hockey players like to drink beer. However, poor Katy got caught. Now, every modeling contract she has has been voided because she uses cocaine. How much of a hypocrite can these design companies be? They'll replace Moss with another model who is more discreet with her intake. Drug use in the modeling world, like baseball, is only a problem when you get caught. There's probably enough coke residue on the toilet seats in the backstage at a fashion show to make Pablo Escobar roll over in his grave. She also made the mistake of dating Pete Doherty, she became Lorraine Bracco to Doherty's Ray Liotta and was now under more scrutiny based on association.
Drug use however it is morally viewed, is illegal. All organizations, whether it be fashion or sports, must police their own and not wait till someone gets caught to launch an internal uproar. It's unlikely to happen and hypocrisy will remain.

Happiness Is A Warm Gun

2005-09-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 6 years since an incident occurred that would alter my life. I've told this story countless times to people, so much so that it's become folklore within my own head. I've never put the story down in words but thought that the time has come to write the story that ultimately shaped my life to what it is now. You never wish harm on the people you care about but having a near death experience can provide the ultimate enlightenment to ones being. The experience teaches you, however cliched it may be, that our time on earth is fragile. People often take it for granted but once you find yourself moments away from death you never want to waste another second of your life.

In December of 1999, I drove across the country in blinding snow, through windswept prairies and icy mountain roads, reaching my destination in the rain soaked metropolis of Vancouver. I decided a few months earlier that at age twenty five, I needed to retire. I had spent time working in the financial sector and found it incredibly unfulfilled. I decided to venture out west, take some time to collect my thoughts, figure out my future and attempt to write a novel. I was in need of a job and the Money Mart in the plaza below my apartment just happened to be hiring. The hours were flexible and I couldn't beat the proximity to my abode. After a month of training and shadowing, I was able to begin opening and closing the store on my own.

It was a February morning in Vancouver, raining as per usual. I threw on the same clothes I had worn the night before and stumbled downstairs for my second day of flying solo at Money Mart. Store procedure was to call another location prior to entering the store and remaining on the phone with them till you were safely inside and secure. I was making small talk with the girl at another location all the while describing my actions "I'm opening the front door". As I entered into the foyer of the store, I lost the connection. I opened the steel re-enforced door and entered into the secure back area where I disabled the alarm. I went over to the land line and called the girl to let her know that all was fine and I would call her in a half hour when I was ready to open the store. As soon as I said good-bye, the bathroom door flung open and two men stormed out wearing panty hose on their head and brandishing a large silver revolver. They were screaming at me and one of them came over, knocked the phone receiver out of my hand and in the process breaking my watch. AS I watched my watch fall to the floor I thought for a moment that I could take these guys. Sure, I've never really been in a fight before nor did I really know what I was doing. Before that insane thought was fully processed, I was shoved to the ground. One of the assailants grabbed a garbage bag that was had been in use all week, emptied half the contents and then proceeded to place the bag over my head. If it wasn't humiliating enough having a garbage bag filled with coffee grinds and banana peels covering my face and blocking my view, they decided to hog tie me with duct tape.
As adrenaline and fear rushed through me, I was taken aback when they removed my belt. Was this a robbery or a chance to get a feel of Newman? Thankfully (I guess), they used the belt to reinforce their hog tie. So, there I lie, hog tied with my own belt, my face covered in a dirty garbage bag, thinking that my life was about to end. They had demanded to know the combination for the safe. I was more then willing to give it them. What they didn't know was that inside the main safe was a smaller time lock safe that housed the cash. The compartments of the main safe housed only foreign currency, bus tickets and money order forms. Once they realized that there was another safe to go through, they became angry. One of the men came over, pulled me up by my hair through the bag and stuck the gun in the back of my head, execution style "This safe better fucking open or you're dead" he screamed at me. My fate was sealed, opening of the time lock safe involved doing three things at once and I had only managed to successfully open it once during my training after about a hundred attempts. Not only that, but being time lock, it would take 15 minutes for the safe to open. I attempted to explain the procedure to them, even offered my assistance in opening it myself. After some arguing they set the timer to the safe thinking that within fifteen minutes they would be able to open it themselves. I knew they wouldn't be able to open it and hence, I had 15 minutes to live.
A thousand and one thoughts went through my head as I had a gun pointed towards my brain. Everything from childhood to the wish that if these guys were to kill me that they would at least make it a clean blow so my loved ones would be able to see my face one more time. After what seemed to be an eternity, I was pushed back to the ground as the gun holder went over to his accomplice to wait for the safe to open. The beeper went off indicating the time lock safe was ready to be opened, I winced for a moment, expecting to be shot. After a few moments, I realized that I may be alone. The phone began to ring, it had to have been the other store wondering why I hadn't called. I sat there, hog tied with vision obscured by the garbage bag not knowing if it was safe. I chewed through the coffee grinds and banana peels and eventually through the garbage bag, I was able to peer out into the empty room. Realizing that the gunmen had left I began to wrestle myself free from my confines. With one arm loose and the garbage bag mostly chewed off, I crawled towards the phone and called 911, the line was busy. The phone rang a second later, it was the dispatcher, he told me to go out front and let the cops in who would be there within minutes. I was wary at first, paranoid that this may have been the assailants coming back for more. I got myself together emotionally and managed to crawl out of the backroom and into the foyer where I greeted the cops. Unfortunately, I was evidence and had to remain partially shackled for the better part of the day. I was safe.
I took a settlement from Money Mart rather then ever working there again. I thought about legal action but the process would've been exhausting with the possible reward not big enough to cover the legal costs. The settlement provided me the opportunity to do some things that still haunt me today, I viewed this time as healing or therapeutic. However, that time was an attempt at conquering fear. The actual robbery was my therapy, a way of shifting my entire existence onto the right path.

There's no real epilogue to this story, it is what it is. Just something I wanted to put onto a visual canvas rather then having it engraved in my mind.

This Week in MuchMusic

2005-09-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

Third rate R&B act Massari holds the #1 spot on the Muchmusic Countdown. Did Shawn Desmon do something to piss off the program directors and this is their way of exacting revenge?

They have the Olsen twins on, what are they promoting? "We like drugs and vomiting, buy our um..er..um, go see our um..er..um, listen to our um..er..um. Seriously,WTF? Still, 1000 people go to see them and an anorexic epidemic is sure to be on our hands.

An hour long ode to Nickleback on Going Coastal. If I'm not mistaken, Hanna, Alberta is not on a coast.

I really hope this weekend's All Ashanti All The Time doesn't disappoint.

PS - Contrary to popular belief, I am not the lead singer of The Magic Numbers. Not only did he cop my look but his band sound exactly like Bodega

Patrick Swayze as Osama with Charlie Sheen as Ayman Al Zawahiri

2005-08-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

I remember it fondly, it was Ron Flemings eleventh birthday party. We had spent the day bowling and retreated back to his house for cake and loot bags. His parents had rented the movie Red Dawn on BETA. At the time, the movie was the first to get a PG-13 rating and earned a spot in the Guinness Book Of World Records as the movie containing the most amount of violence. It was 1985 and at the height of the Cold War, nuclear proliferation was constantly in the news and the threat of nuclear war seemed closer to reality then it does today. Red Dawn was the first movie to bring the terror of a Russian invasion close to home. It's set somewhere in middle America, Russia has invaded North America and gained control over most of the US. A group of teenagers manage to retreat to the backwoods amidst the invasion which started when paratroopers touch down in the football field of their high school. After seeing their teacher executed, the students scramble to safety. Patrick Swayze pulls up in his truck and takes his brother, played by Charlie Sheen, and a few other b-list actors including Thomas Howell into the badlands of rural America.
The group of kids meet in the woods and begin to hatch a plan to overthrow the Russian take over with weapons they got from Howell's fathers hardware store. Their parents are either dead or in a prison camp and soon we see the execution of the brothers father. The group give themselves the moniker of The Wolverines, after their high school football team and begin to conduct a full on insurgency on the stereotypical Russian soldiers.
Now, this movie scared the living shit out of me. For months I was petrified of the threat of a Russian invasion and having to fight the onslaught with my chubby frame and my star wars lightsabre. The fear was imaginary, my naivete got the best of me and was soon quelled by accumulating more knowledge (including a Grade 4 science project on nuclear war). Tonight, the movie aired on Spike TV (Casino Cinema where some Sopranos cast off and an eighth rate Pamela Anderson host the movie while playing poker with a X list celeb, tonight's being Cory Feldman)and it made me realize that eleven year olds in Iraq are actually living my fear.
I'm not going to get all sympathizer on the Iraq situation nor am I in a position to be an antagonist of US foreign policy but the similarities between Red Dawn and Gulf War The Sequel are plainly obvious.
The Russians are the Americans, storming the country, overthrowing the leadership and instilling their way of life on the American people. There's even the Russian/American friendship center where the glories of communism are preached to the captive Americans. The Russians in Red Dawn, are bestowing their way of life onto the Americans and are executing those who don't get in line. The insurgent group are hiding out in the woods, have sympathizers in the occupied territories and are launching attacks on the Russians at checkpoints. Replace religious zealousness with American pride and the Wolverines could be Al Qaida (except that they have Jennifer Gray and Lea Thompson as fellow insurgents, Al Qaida would be more prone to get someone like the girl who played Joe Polnicheck on Facts Of Life). Okay, her name was Nancy McKeon and she once dated Luc Robitaille. I have a knack for useless knowledge, sue me. As the movie progresses, the Wolverines incite a revolution and are able to push the Russians out and reclaim their land with the help of the army who were somewhat absent during the first hour of the attack and occupation.
So, the movie that scared the shit of me and then made me realize that the threat was a distant possibility, is now a reality across the world. Except now, the good guys fighting for their freedom are the perceived enemy in the western world. The US mocks their devotion to Islam yet Pat Robertson, doesn't do much for Christianity by calling for the assassination of the Venezuelan president (never mind suggesting that the US State Department needs to be blown up or that feminism leads to woman killing their babies and becoming lesbians).
The line between what and who is good and bad has never been more foggy. A certain peace came over me when the Wolverines triumphed in Red Dawn. And now, in drawing comparisons between the Iraqi insurgents and the next cast of the Surreal Life (who wouldn't love to see C. Thomas Howell and Lea Thompson arguing over who ate the last piece of pizza?) who knows who's good or bad? Aside from the religious over and undertones of this war by both sides, the fact that someone has come in, taken over your land and are bestowing their way of life upon you has to be scary shit for an eleven year old Iraqi kid.

New Label

2005-07-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Middle Child Music Inc. Launches The Baudelaire Label

First Release By Tangiers entitled The Family Myth in stores October 4th

Toronto, July 20, 2005 - Middle Child Music Inc, an artist management and publicity group, has announced the launch of Baudelaire, a new record label distributed by Outside Music.

The label's first release, the Tangiers' long anticipated "The Family Myth" will hit Canadian streets on October 4, with its American Release on Frenchkiss Records (Les Savy Fav, The Hold Steady, Thunderbirds Are Now!) on October 18. A North American tour will follow.

Middle Child Music Inc. (MCM) is headed by Evan Newman, former A&R and National Media Relations Manager at V2 Records Canada. With a thriving Management roster (Matthew Barber, Another Blue Door, Jill Barber, Tangiers and Bodega), and years of label experience, Newman has developed a keen understanding the ever-evolving music industry.

"I think there are a lot of people out there who have been waiting for a label like Baudelaire to come along. The majors are reducing the amount of new artist signings and there are only a few quality independent labels functioning right now. I've observed the way labels like Paper Bag and Art & Crafts have been successful, and I think with my label experience, management skills, and general care for the state of our music industry -- this label is just a natural next step."

Tangiers Josh Reichmann is excited to be part of Baudelaire's promising beginnings. 'We're really thrilled to be Baudelaire's first artist," said Reichmann. "MCM is a great company, and over the years that we've worked together, it's become clear that Evan really knows what he's doing. He's also got a fantastic sense of good music, which should provide for an amazing roster of artists."

Baudelaire aims to secure licensing agreements with international artists as well as developing domestic talent

Middle Child Music was founded as an artist management company in 2001 and also comprises a national publicity division, representing the artists on V2 Records Canada (The White Stripes, Blanche, Brendan Benson, Moby, Grandaddy, Josh Ritter etc) and Luaka Bop (Jim White, Los Amigos Invisibles, Shuggie Otis, Zap Mama).

Tangiers have released two critically acclaimed albums, "Hot New Spirits" (2003) and "Never Bring You Pleasure" (2004) on Sonic Unyon. "The Family Myth" was produced by Chris Zane (Calla, Ambulance Ltd) and recording was split between Toronto and New York City. Tangiers are represented by MCM's Artist Management division.

Outside Music distributes a collection of fine Canadian labels including Indica, Three Gut, Dependent, Mint, and it's in-house namesake label, as well as established international labels such as Barsuk, Domino, Ninja Tune, Saddle Creek, Six Degrees, Yep Roc and Warp.

For more information regarding Baudelaire, please contact:

Amanda Newman

Amanda Newman Press & Publicity

(416) 817 - 5212

amandanewman@rogers.com

For information regarding Outside Music, please contact:

Stephanie Hardman

Outside Music Inc.

(416) 461-0655 ext. 323

promo@outside.on.ca

www.outside-music.com

Worst Song Ever.

2005-07-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

Don't Cha by The Pussycat Dolls. I could honestly go on for pages on how bad this song is but I will save it. This just simply the biggest pile of smoking dog crap in existence. Screw the heat, we should be looking out for the apocalypse.

Riding That Train...

2005-07-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

For those who know me, know that I was involved in the jamband scene during the mid 90's. Once I stopped using narcotics, the music never seemed to be as captivating. But like an ex girlfriend, I keep tabs on the jamband scene, just to see how it's doing without my presence.

The jamband community prided themselves on community,family and musical experimentation. No one did this better then the Grateful Dead. Since the Dead dissolved in the mid 90's when leader Jerry Garcia passed, many bands have attempted to take the throne and purvey the sentiments of the Haight Ashbury scene of the mid 60's. While bands like Phish, String Cheese Incident and other oddly named groups try and create the magic of the San Francisco scene, no one has captured the essence as much as Broken Social Scene.

Sure, Broken aren't appearing at jamband fests or sharing the stage with Umphrey Magee but they are purveying the aesthetic that endeared the Dead to their fans nearly 40 years ago. There's the sense of community, Broken have been essential in cultivating a Canadian scene, Could Amy Milan be the Grace Slik of the 21st century? As Broken helped break Stars in the US while Feist takes the role of Janis Joplin as the young chanteuse who breaks through on her own.

Musical comparisons are abundant, the experimental Feel Good Lost could be compared to the psychedelic art piece of Aoxomoxa of the Dead. The breakthrough You Forgot It In People was palpable to the mainstream but not saturating enough to fully explode. Workingmans Dead and American Beauty were albums that launched the Dead into a commercial realm but still were left of centre enough to keep them from fully shifting over from the counter culture to the masses.

Side projects are a key component to Broken's creativity. If we were to dole out roles for this comparison then Andrew Whitemans Apostle Of Hustle could be the sister band to Bob Weir's Ratdog as both leaders were guitar players whose solo efforts were more geared toward ethnic and world sounds.

Physical comparisons are plainly obvious, from Brendan Cannings fare skin, glasses and light hair mirroring that of Dead bassist Phil Lesh to Whitemans on stage tank tops engaging him more to that of Weir. Kevin Drew's barefoot, laid back and grizzled look could easily be Garcia.

The Arts & Crafts collective musically, physically and idealization are forging ahead with a spirit that propelled The Dead all those years ago. Broken Social Scene are our eras Grateful Dead. Tune in next week to hear why The Black Eyed Peas are Arrested Development (not the TV show)

2005-07-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

Two months ago, outside the US embassy in London, about 200 Muslims were protesting the alleged burning of the Quaran at Guanatanamo Bay. It wasn't a peaceful protest, most of the Muslims in attendance were shouting death threats. At one point, there was a chant of "Death to America, Death to London". Now, with the G8 Summit next door in Scotland is it any surprise that a terrorist act occurred in London?

How do you prevent such an occurrence? It's public transportation, it happened in Japan a few years back with a doomsday cult unleashing poison in a subway. It could happen here easily. Safety provisions are in place to deter massive disasters like 9/11 but what's to stop someone from jumping on a subway at rush hour with enough TNT to dismantle an entire city?

Obviously, current foreign policy has to change, while the US and UK forces are "liberating" the Iraqi people, they're leaving their own people at a huge risk.

The freedom of the press act has to be revisited, Judith Miller is sitting in a jail cell for refusing to reveal her source that led to the outing of a CIA operative (the outing was obviously orchestrated by the Bush admin as the operatives husband was a harsh critic of the Iraq war). Yet, Newsweek gets away with an apology for alleged false reporting that lead to retaliation deaths around the world and was probably a factor in this mornings attack. There are obvious strings being pulled by the Bush administration to curb the media output. We're lead to believe that the abuse of the Quaran at Gitmo did indeed occur but Republican muscle made them retract the story (albeit much too late).

The Sinclair group of broadcasters get away with murder as they are a staunch supporter of the Republican party. An independent council must be created to oversee the governments involvement within the media. Having Colin Powells son as the head of the FCC was an obvious indication of how corrupt the process is.

2005-06-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

Live 8 will be happening in Toronto, well not exactly Toronto, but Barrie a city an hour north of the big smoke. Luckily this isn't a concert for environmental awareness as I do envision highway 400 to be a massive parking lot with exhaust fumes filling the air as half a million people try to squeeze into a forty-thousand capacity park.

Not only will this concert be a logistical nightmare but if the rumours are true, it's going to be a musical nightmare as well. The Live 8 concert is a series of concerts to promote the epidemic of global poverty. Overseas, the concerts are a ticketed event with all proceeds going to fight poverty. In Canada, it's going to be a free show to "build awareness". The artist names being bandied about are Jann Arden, Barenaked Ladies, Bryan Adams, Rush and possibly Celine Dion. Here's the question, obviously the demographic that listen to these artists aren't exactly your sign waving, tear gas ducking, protesting kind. Why don't you charge an arm and a leg for these tickets and put it towards fighting a cause, like say, global poverty? The people who like these artists would definitely be able to afford a hefty price tag (especially if you make the ticket tax deductible).

Now, if you want to create awareness and get people involved in the fight against poverty, why wouldn't you throw some socially conscious bands who's fan base would be more apt to the message and willing to take on a cause? Alexisonfire, Billy Talent, The Weakerthans, Broken Social Scene, maybe a Propaghandi reunion would seem to have more of an appropiate fan base. These kids would park their assess on Parliament Hill in protest rather then your Rav 4 driving Bay Street yuppie who would spend his Live 8 day on a Caban blanket, drinking White Zifandel eagerly anticipating the climatic Dion closer of "My Heart Will Go On".

The artists being rumoured are a rehash of the Live Aid Canadian contingent which happened to occur twenty years ago when these acts were relevant. A message to Michael Cohl, if you're going to have Celine, Jann, Bryan and Geddy, charge a $100 a ticket, these people can afford it, and donate the money to fighting global poverty.

It'd be nice if causes like genocide, terrorism, natural disasters weren't treated as fads in the western worlds. This whole event is shaping up to be a disaster itself.

Now, from the files of pure slime comes an email from a guy who was promoting his own Live 8 show....

Good news.

Our group www.RocktheVote.ca and www.Q107.com are having

The Toronto Live8 www.RocktheVoteUK.com concert at Massey Hall July
2.

Featuring the Rolling Stones and Neil Young ( hopefully)

We would like to have a few bands from Montreal participate.

Who do you suggest . Can you contact them

This concert will be part of rock legend history.

Please join us.

Thanks

Zeke zeke@RocktheVote.ca
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh yeah, I have myspace page now cause I love fads, there's a new Tangiers song on there. It's www.myspace.com/mcmmanagement

Gush Gush Gush

2005-06-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

A review of Ms. Barber at SXSW...

Front Porch

FolkWax At SxSW
With Jill Barber

An Auspicious American Debut

A review of Barber's CD, Oh Heart, and her SxSW showcase

By P. Kellach Waddle

With a voice that sounds like a 1940s European lounge singer channeled through a 2000s Canadian singer-songwriter's chilly, beautiful, ice wind honesty, Jill Barber creates a vocal style at once rich and plaintive on her intriguing CD, Oh Heart. This hypnotically unique CD mesmerizes and haunts you from beginning to end.

It is a magisterial achievement in and of itself for me to give such a high rating to an album this relatively short. But the less than thirty minutes of material here doesn't bespeak of a half-ass, EP-esque excuse for a major release. Instead, this compelling few minutes of music weaves such a bewitching spell of sound and color that one's only concern about the brevity of this CD is the trenchant desire to hear more from this extremely talented young lady.

The opening title cut of Oh Heart has a stunningly gorgeous ambiance and even the sound of Ms. Barber's acoustic guitar pick seems to be picking inside of you at your own emotional scars as you listen. This song's journey of pain and regret that discusses the mistaken signals about love sent from the bodily organ of the title is indeed heart-ripping. The cadences of this song have a nearly unbearable beauty and the string quartet break in this tune indeed threatens to break a listener's heart with its panging loveliness. The last half-punny, half-touching lyrics about telling the organ to stick with bodily mechanics and to stay out of emotional matters (I'll sing the song, you keep the beat.) end this mini-masterpiece with a vocal sound that's part sad little girl, part world-weary love victim. And it is all breathtakingly beautiful.

"In Perfect Time" features a much perkier and almost Bluegrassy sort of beat and feel, showing that Ms. Barber can certainly pull off something almost jaunty as well as she can pull at the heartstrings. "Measures and Scales" is another masterpiece of this short, but so valuable collection of half a dozen songs. In this tune, the musical fabric contains some wonderful clarinet and accordion color to the mix. (Huge bravos to Lisa Macdougall and Chris Mitchell, respectively, for their beautifully musical execution of these lines.) This color gives the song an incredible timbre that sounds like some hypnotic minty frost from Ms. Barber's native Canada has been sprinkled on a Klezmer band that happens to be playing in an Italian restaurant. Through this arresting color Ms. Barber weaves a story about gazing lustfully upon a Jazz piano player. There are also some very advanced musical touches on the song's harmonies and chord progressions with a melodramatic slowdown in the end of two of the strains that makes you feel like this music is almost being conducted. The whole effect quite literally takes your breath away because, on my first listening, I don't think that I did breathe through the second half of this tune because I was so completely enthralled. A final bravo for this tune showing the versatility of Ms. Barber's voice, because, lest you become lulled into thinking that this is just a very talented lady who is caressing some relatively simple, if stunning vocal lines --- just have a listen to that very long held note before the end of this tune that hurls, however gently, through your speakers like some blue-cold wind.

"A 7th Minor" takes everything to an even darker (if you will, minor) case in another arrestingly beautiful number. The expertly applied reverb on the guitar and guitar-and-vocal mix gives another mesmerizing ambiance to the song and the music theory puns that generate this song's chorus are a special touch for us allegedly "trained" musician folk. (...There's nothing finer/Than A 7th minor/But it don't do much to cheer me...) This song also features another string quartet interlude so gorgeous it truly brings a tear (in the TEER pronunciation) to your eye, and a tear (in the TARE pronunciation) to your gut.

"Nothing On Me" gleefully brings us back to this sort of Klezmer/snow/Chianti bottles-and-checkered-tablecloths color, this time set in a more up-tempo vein. "Somewhere Else" concludes this little gem of a collection with one of the most gorgeous introductions of the whole CD -- heavenly sweet sound of guitar pick reverb mixed with the strings, all underscored with a bass line so lovely it sounds like the heart of a lover beating next to you under the covers on a long winter's night. But the lyrics of this tune devastate beautifully. (I'll be looking down on high from my window/Playing songs to myself/When you are somewhere else...). This heartbreaking song is a perfect end to this stunning collection. And how amazing is it that Ms. Barber is also listed as a co-producer of this amazing material? Huge bravos to Ms. Barber and her co-producer Glenn Meisner for painting such a nearly otherworldly canvas of colors. The whole CD is like a charming, glittery diamond chip and truly makes you hunger that this lady will make a full album soon -- so that it can blind you with its beauty in a larger way, like some sort of Hope Diamond masterpiece of amazing songs.

Now, what was so amazing and mesmerizing about Ms. Barber's eight-song showcase at the Crown Plaza in Austin during the South x South West Music Conference is not so much what it was (though it was surely mesmerizing and enthralling), but for what it wasn't. For a CD so flush with amazing production values and ambiances to die for, one might have been a tad concerned when we saw Ms. Barber walk out pretty much naked. (No, this isn't that kind of Internet publication! Shame on you people with your minds in the wrong places!) I mean musically naked, since the show was just Jill and her acoustic guitar. One wondered if even someone as amazingly talented as this lady could convey all these amazing sound worlds from her CD.

But convey she did. More than just some workaday "unplugged" show, Jill's showcase was like taking a huge handful of the most glittering stars out of the sky and putting them under a microscope. As she opened her set with the gorgeous "A 7th Minor," one was still completely bewitched, even minus her glorious string and clarinet collaborators. She still had the ability in this tune to weave a whole tapestry of song fabric that had the small, but very appreciative audience rapt. While the ambiance of the CD version is still excellent, the live acoustic take of this tune perhaps even more perfectly accented the sweeping, piquant intensity of this song's melody. If the CD version of this song is like a gorgeous ice sculpture, then her live take was like one single perfect snowflake, polished and set out in stunningly gorgeous relief.

The title cut from Oh Heart took on an even more trenchant and almost desperate sense of heartbreak and longing in Ms. B's scaled-down live version. I really thought once again I would miss the amazing string sound from the CD version but I didn't -- I was too busy trying to remember that I had to multitask and take notes, much less miss anything from a different version. More and more, as this show progressed, you definitely became aware Ms. Barber's instrument is not something that "hides" behind all this lush production. Her pipes are quite capable of bewitching any listener all by their lonesome. (And can we mention that before this incredible showcase of this lady's vocal chops, that she had been on planes for pretty much 24 hours straight?) The end of this song's cadence chords just from her guitar brought the amazing harmonies of this tune once again into a relief different from the lushness of the CD -still, "unplugged" these sounds were redolent with a navy blue-colored, devastating beauty.

"In Perfect Time" became an even more fulgent work of songwriting art live. While the recorded version lightens up the whole CD's emotional atmosphere, in person Jill took some of the recorded versions peppier lilt and replaced it with a delivery much more dark and atmospheric. When she slowed down the tempo a bit to sing the line "The song is playing in my head/As you walk away in perfect time," not an ear in the place could turn their attention away from this version's killer delivery.

While "Measures and Scales" didn't have the staggering grandeur of the CD version, it had something else. In this stirring song that Jill introduced as being a song about lust, the heated operatic grandeur of the luscious CD version was exchanged for an equally enthralling, smirking eroticism that haunted you like the ghost of a murdered brothel chanteuse -- the live presentation of this tune made you feel like Jill was stabbing you with a knife dipped in both emotion's maple syrup and a dead whore's lipstick. (And if you didn't know by now what an accomplished guitar picker this lady is, she was still able to get some of that Italian restaurant color to come through even with just her strumming).

Let's all pray Jill records "Old Blue Carpet" on her next effort. This song nearly sent me over the emotional edge, not because the lyrics were any more emotional or romantically melodramatic than any of the other tunes, but because ironically this song was given her most straightforward, and nearly folksy delivery causing the tune's story to stab even deeper. This song's plotline of a departed lover analogized to being left with nothing but a beer stain on the floor covering of the title bespoke of a nearly unbearable loneliness. The song "I'm In Love and it's Starting to Show" took us somewhere lighter with its delightful declarations of being unable to hide the glow of being in love, almost to the point of being able to not describe the sensation. ("I can line out my feelings/But I can't fill them in.")

"Nothin On Me" still retained its '40s chanteuse-y sound, and seeing Jill sing that incredible last long held note was even more exciting than it was when I first heard it on record. Jill concluded her show with the only thing close to a misstep I have heard come from this stunningly talented lady. Granted, Ms. B said the song was brand new and it was a gigantic departure from her usual material. Since she was coming to Texas, Jill said she should bring with her a brand new Country song and the iffy result was "When I'm Making Love to You." This song had some somewhat odd guitar licks that didn't mesh with the rest of the song and the tune's colossally cheeseball declarations of carnal love jarred too intensely with the rest of Jill's much more artistic writing. This last tune was as if someone dumped their garbage can into the middle of the Louvre. All her other tunes are so stunning and well done and this little ditty was so poor in comparison. Let's hope Ms. B will leave this one on the cutting room floor next time. But still, even a song that doesn't work can't sound anything close to bad coming from this lady's beautiful voice.

For those of you familiar with painting, the etched or drawn study of a later-completed masterwork can sometimes be just as engaging as the filled-in product itself. The new lines get to stand out in more beautiful relief, edges take on an accented elegance and spaces may reveal themselves in new, more intense light. This is what Jill Barber's live show was in comparison to her glorious CD. This appearance will surely be the first of many she does on American soil, as many more lucky listeners fall under the spell of this lady's oh-so-mesmerizing music.

P. Kellach Waddle is a senior contributing editor at FolkWax. He may be contacted at folkwax@visnat.com.

Is Vince McMahon Gonna Be Our New PM?

2005-05-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

How much has Parliament become like the WWE?

Belinda Stronach bolted the Conservatives in order to join the Liberals. She's the Elizabeth to Stephen Harper's Macho Man while Paul Martin is ripping off his yellow t-shirt basking in the glory of the house. Mike Duffy was doing his best Mean Gene when trying to make sense of it all.

Best part of this whole thing was when Martin was telling the press corps that Stronachs decision to leave had nothing to do with Thursdays budget vote. The press erupted in laughter with Martin scrambling to defend himself. Would Ari Fleischer have ever let ol' Bushy get ridiculed like this? I bet Condoleeza would've pile drived Wolf Blitzer in no time.

The press label Stronach as the sexiest politician, kinda like saying Delta Burke was the best looking Designing Woman.

2005-05-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

What is cool? There's really no confusion with the word, unlike sick, phat etc. It's a word that can pretty much sum up a person, place or thing. But what defines cool?

For music, it's obviously subjective, but being cool is a very fine line to walk. Jeremy Fisher is a cool artist, I like him, from what I hear, he's even a cool guy. He's currently doing some dates with Kalan Porter who amongst many circles, is not cool. Does this damper Jeremy's cool factor? I wouldn't think so but you'd be suprised of how public perception can change if you affiliate yourself with not so cool people.

I often wonder about artistic integrity. Artists themselves have the insecurity of losing the cool factor. A guy like Kalan Porter is viewed by more people as being cool then someone like Joel Plaskett. But there's that small secular community to which many of you are a part of that would disagree whole heartedly. Is the indie rock community cool? Or do we exist in a similiar vein of the high school geek sector? We know more then we ought to know about music, obsess upon it and make it a large portion of our daily lives.

Arists should be able to stand alone when it comes to being cool, no matter with whom they affiliate with. Sure, most artists would like to maintain a cool DIY element to their careers, to be cool. These integral artists don't audition for Canadian Idol but I bet a lot of them would love to have a sold out theatre tour as Mr. Porter is currently doing. Artists who sign deals with labels, major labels or major independent labels are seekling acclaim not only from their peers but from the massess. The peers don't buy the records though so the cool factor will somehow have to be compromised. That is exactly what Jeremy Fisher is doing, he's on tour with Kalan right now, I know factually he's making quite a bit of coin at the merch table, he's then embarking on a cross Canada tour with Nathan Wiley. This is walking the fine line of cool.

People often disparage artists for their fan bases. There's the line that I used in a previous post stating that I love the band, hate the fans. Unfortunately, as much as artists would like to believe who they want to like their music, it's out of their hands. A colleague of mine nailed it by saying that "you think when Gord Downie looks out to a crowd that this is what he envisioned when starting a band?". No one could possibly go into music saying "I want Molson Canadian drinking, Maxim reading, Spike Tv watching people to love my music". You make music so people can hear it, so they come to your shows, your music effects them. If you wanna pull some Cobain thing and refute your own success, then play in your basement and never let a note leak above ground.

Cool can be considered geographical, what's cool in Toronto could be considered obscure in Regina. Being cool is doing what you want and not caving in to any pressure form your peers. This peer pressure, like back in the day's of high school, is used to subdue the insecurities of others, misery and failure love company.

Hat's off to Jeremy Fisher, he's playing to packed houses every night, months from now, no one's going to remember that he supported Kalan Porter but he's going to notice the difference when he looks out into the crowd at his next show.

Missed Opportunity

2005-04-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

Seems like the story of my life, either 2 seconds to early or an hour late. Last month, Time Magazine dedicated the cover and a large portion of the issue to Canadian independent music. I manage this band called The Wilderness, a super group of sorts, made up of Andrew Rodriguez of Bodega, J Ball of A Hopeful Monster and Jason Kent of The Sonny Best Band. They're pretty frickin stellar and have been working on a record for the better part of 2 years. Seems as though Time wanted to feature The Wilderness in the issue but had no way of getting in contact with me or the band. So, they contacted Scott of Controller Controller who also runs the Umbrella Music Night where The Wilderness played last night. The following is the email that was delivered to me today but sent to Scott on March 24 as Scott has been on tour for the past 6 weeks (no hard feelings Scott)

Dear Scott,
I'm a reporter at the Toronto bureau of TIME Magazine and I've been trying
to find a contact for a new band called the Wilderness (Andrew Rodrigues and
company). I believe you booked them at an Umbrella concert at the Rivoli in
April. I've left a couple of messages at Umbrella, but I haven't heard back
from anyone. Do you have a contact number for someone with the band? All I
am trying to find out is when they might have an album coming out in 2005,
the catch is that we are closing this story on new Canadian indie music
tomorrow (Friday). I'd be grateful for any help you can offer. Thanks very
much! Leigh Anne

Oh well, I guess, if the band were featured in this issue who knows what could've happened as they would've been the band that most people hadn't heard of. It definitely would've sparked a buzz, some curiosity at least. It's now back to the grind, playing shows, winning fans, losing money. See you at the next show.

Friday April 8 - El Mocambo

2005-04-01T18:19:00.000-08:00

Another Blue Door opens itself widely to influences as far reaching as Pavement, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen, at times "rocking out" and at other times "folking out," quite often within the same song.
Three Imaginary Girls

it all sounds so damn original, not just another sampling of forgotten sounds brought back to life (which isn't such a bad thing either come to think of it). Best of all, you can get back on the Canuck rock bandwagon which is yet again picking up steam.
Cosmik

A very impressive album from a band you should hear much more from. Look no further than the adorable closer "Ithaca, N.Y."
Pop Matters

Haulers is a moving album...full of mood enhancing compositions that push the needles back and forth over the course of the album. Cool intense tunes include "Nova Scotia," "Streetlight Song," "How're Things?," and "Ithaca, N.Y." Unusual and intense.
LMNOP

The sound of Another Blue Door is like Pavement shaking hands with Neil Young while The Replacements are combing their hair with Wilco watching.
Crimewaves

On Friday April 8 at the El Mocambo, Another Blue Door will be playing with Magneta Lane, The Mark Inside and The Key Concepts. Yes, Another Blue Door is a horrible band name but this group are amazing and criminally overlooked in the burgeoning Canadian independent music scene. I've watched this band grow from being pensive and enigmatic to dynamic and explosive in their live show. I am in constant amazement as to how this band has progressed. Dave Schoonderbeek wrote the songs for "Haulers" when he was 17, they're naive, stark and intense. The new material has been more of a collective effort and the bands maturity shines through.
Perhaps it's my fault this band has been overlooked, not in the local press but in the grand "scheme". They signed to a US indie, did well at college radio and somewhat continue to do so. This band is the epitomy of everything good about music.
I hope that who ever reads this, comes to the show on Friday, if you're out of town and want a copy of "Haulers" please drop me an email. I guarantee that this band will blow you away and you will become a fan.
Another Blue Door

Notes From The Above Ground

2005-03-27T07:19:00.000-08:00

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?

2005-03-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-02T06:17:00.000-08:00

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

Stipe Interview A Hoax

2005-02-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

Apparently the Reuters interview with Stipe was a hoax and REM are still together which debunks my Dixie Chicks are Satan theory.

However, when the "break up" was announced, did anyone really care?

Dixie Chicks Aim To Break Up Bands

2005-02-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

From The Star Tribune regarding the news the Jayhawks have called it quits:

Soon after the 1995 radio hit "Blue" brought them more national attention, Olson left the band. He had married singer Victoria Williams and said he was "sick of touring" and "ready to try something else."
Ten years later, Louris appears to be in a similar position. He has a wife and a 5-year-old son, and is itching to try different career paths, including record production and songwriting for other acts. He recently co-wrote new tunes with the Dixie Chicks.

From the Reuters Service regarding REM calling it quits:

Since their formation, REM have issued 16 albums that have sold about60 million copies combined. Rolling Stone and Spin magazines listed thegroup's "Automatic for the People" (1992) as one of the most essentialalbums of the 1990s.Stipe recently co-wrote new tunes with the Dixie Chicks and appears eager to try other career directions, such as record production."When you're on the treadmill (with a full-time band), you never havetime to learn anything else," he said. "I'm enjoying all these new experience

Someone should hook up Natalie Maines and that skinny dude from Maroon 5, quickly.

$15,000 a Year Pot Habit!

2005-02-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching a documentary on Ashley MacIsaac that aired on the CBC and it made me realize how truly fucked up this guy is. Aside from being an amateur UFO chaser, a crack smoker, the guy spent $15,000 a year on pot! Sad thing is that Ashley is one of the most talented players in the world and his self destructive nature all but clouded his talent.

The guy can be mentioned in the same sentence as Pete Doherty and Courtney love for how addiction pretty much was the trigger for their demise. He can also be mentioned alongside Jerry Lee Lewis as pioneers of their instrument who's rather unorthodox love lives overshadowed their true talent and miscast their musical legacy.

Ashley MacIsaac brought the fiddle to the mainstream, sold a shitload of records and then single handedly brought down everything he earned through drug use and spouting about things that most people at the time, could care less about. Now, if he happened to be speaking out about his gay adventures and drug habit now instead of 6 years ago, he might be embraced by our celebrity obsessed culture. He's already been written off too many times to count, is Ashley MacIssac still relevant?

A few people seem to think so, he's putting out a new record soon and is probably just one great song, never mind record, away from earning a place back in the forefront of Canadian music.

I checked out his labels website and it seems he's quite prepared for the feedback he may get from the controversial documentary. He's let leak a version of "Oh Canada" that is definitely a version you won't hear played at the next Leaf game in 2008.
http://www.linusentertainment.com/ashleymacisaac_ohcanada.mp3

My Day With Moby

2005-02-16T17:01:00.000-08:00

I've had some great moments at V2, smoking copious amounts of cigarettes with Jack White and talking Dylan after a show a couple of years back, having Josh Ritter play a new song to me in the dressing room before a show, walking along East Hastings in Vancouver with Jason and Jim from Grandaddy marveling at the poverty. I've had really great times with V2 artists who have come up here, all except for Moby.

Not that we've had bad times, we've just never really seemed to connect on a personal level as I have been able to do with most of the roster. That changed today as I spent my day with him promoting his new album Hotel. Our between interview small talk touched on politics, Canada and my favourite topic, Dylan. Moby is an extremely well aware fella, aware of his shortcomings and aware of his surroundings. He offered up very poignant anecdotes with regards to the current political climate that John Kerry would've loved to been able to deliver. He understands his position in music and is not ignorant to public perception. The fact that he went ahead and recorded Hotel sans samples showed balls, like Gretzky playing a season without using the slapshot. He made the record he wanted to make and in the end, that's what all artists should do. He could've easily gone back to the formula that made Play such a success, for this, Moby should be applauded.

On the way to a interview with Karina Huber at MuchMoreMusic, I uttered my despair at leaving my 4 month old bulldog puppy alone at home for such an extended period of time. Moby suggested that we go to my place and grab the little guy. So, fully knowing that my house was a mess and smelled like an animal shelter (I have 3 pets), Moby sauntered up my stairs and played with Bodie the Bulldog with the exuberance of a 12 year old. He insisted that we bring Bodie to the Much studios to be a part of the interview for which we did. Bodie made sure he left his mark in the studio, a few times in fact with a few potent farts for good measure.

All in all, a fun day with Moby and Bodie. Diss his music however you may but he is a genuine music fan and possibly the most articulate artist surfing the mainstream.

To that certain writer for a national paper who passed on the interview opp with Moby as he did not like the record, I sympathize for your elitist attitude and for your readers who missed out on reading what could've been a very informative and enlightening story.

Hypocrite?

2005-02-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

I've gotten some feedback on Carl Wilson's article in the Globe, most of it being positive. One thing that pops up is the fact the I signed Matthew Barber with Warner Music. Some people might say "How could you slam Canadian majors and sign your artist to one?'

Well, in my conversation with Carl, I did bring this up but it obviously did not fit into the context of the story. Matt was an indie artist, signed to Paper Bag for Canada, it was a great relationship but we felt that we hit a ceiling with them. Matt was making songs that were radio friendly and he was ready to break the mainstream, we went over all of the issues with signing to a major and had meetings with every label. Warner understood our reservations about moving up and most importantly, they had a very good understanding of Matt's music and his goals. The 3 people at Warner involved in the process, Steve Kane, Steve Blair and Jenn Hirst were people who seemed to care and want what was best for Matthew. So far, it's been a great relationship, very little compromise has had to be made and they've really given Matt the go ahead to do whatever he likes.

I applaud Warner for taking the chance on guys like Matt and Buck 65 and delving left of center when building their domestic roster and that is why I feel fully comfortable in Matt's signing with them. Canada's indie climates, as good as it is, does not yet have the ability to break a singer/songwriter. Whereas guys like Bright Eyes, Iron and Wine and M Ward can enjoy successful careers on indies in the US, major label support was needed to propel Matthew and enable him to make the record that he wanted to make.

I hope soon someone like Chad Vangalen or Tony Dekker are at the forefront of the singer/songwriter movement in Canada. There are a heapload of people out there like Howie Beck, Royal Wood, Justin Rutledge, Leeroy Stagger all poised to make a splash on the indie scene, here's hoping they don't need a major label push to sustain their careers.

If a major label comes calling for you or your artist, ditch the indie insecurity and you are able to craft the deal that you want. In the end, you are in control, you make the record you want to make. My bone of contention is that they don't come calling but when they do, answer the phone, it could be worth your while

Read My Lips No New Taxes

2005-02-11T05:35:00.000-08:00

Today marks my last official day at V2 Records Canada. I've been there for 4 years and will remain with the label on contract doing publicity. Now, I have some time on my hands, being away from an office environment will allow me a chance to keep better tabs on PopWherry and Zoilus as well as attend matinees, avoiding those obnoxious evening crowds.

There are things I'd like to do in the coming year, the majority of these ideas, much like political agendas, are pipe dreams. However, L. Ron Hubbard told me and Cruise that you must write things down in order to accomplish them. I usually don't write "lists" as they only serve as a reminder of my lethargy. But here it is, Newman's personal agenda for the upcoming year:

- Try to kick start our version of The Shortlist/Mercury Prize. I know this has been a much bandied about project amongst some industry peeps, I want to get it going this year.

- Look into the prospects of creating a union for Canadian musicians, not one that gets you discounts on Budget Car rentals, one that will make sure your covered in all scenarios from van insurance to making club owners obey and follow regulations so that you don't get screwed. Issuing and administrating immigration and providing legal service. I'm no Buzz Hargrove but I wish my name was Buzz.

- Find a home for Jill Barber and Bodega. Yeah, I gripe about labels but I'd like to be able to expand into Europe and both of these artists are perfect for the Euro scene. Jill is perfect for Canada, between her and I, we've managed to sell a shitload of records. I need some help here.

- Continue to lobby radio in attempts at them actually paying attention to our own domestic talent. I'm going to start by calling out Don Mitchell, the MD at The Edge in Toronto. Don, you have power, use it for good, it's okay to go against the system, Alan will quietly support you and JJ will learn to love you.

- I do want to start a label but losing money isn't in the cards now. If you'd like to donate, please email me. I'll make you an A&R rep.

- I want to see labels stop using loopholes to access FACTOR money, there's a reason they're running out of money. Give it all to Out Of Your Mouth and Fefe Dobson and sit patiently waiting for repayment. FACTOR should be for independent labels and musicians not for MNC's.

- Remove or revamp the RadioStarmaker Fund. Radio stations created this fund to assist artists at radio. Yet, you have to be successful to access the funds so once again we're not letting the artists without money get even close to succeeding but yet the rich keep getting richer. Check it out at www.starmaker.ca

- I'd like to see my management roster succeed. Every artist on the MCM roster is eager, talented, kind and most importantly, are in music for all the right reasons.

- In parting, I'd like to acknowledge all of the people who I feel are also in music for the right reasons, mainly cause they love music and want to make a difference. These are the people that have made my job and struggles seem worthwhile:
Barry Walsh, Sam DeAngelis, Dave Spencer, Patrick Sambrook, Jeffrey Remedios, Amanda Mae Rowley, Aaron Wherry, Ben Rayner, Vit Wagner, Stuart Berman, Mike Bell, Stuart Derdeyn, Steve Kane, Mary Dickie, Craig Laskey, Amy Hersenhoren, Chris Loane, Mike Campbell, Glenn Vogelsang, Jesse Keelor, Sebastien Grainger, Scott Kaija, Tanya Coghlan, Marty Kinnack, Linda Bush, Stacey Mitsopolus, Lisa Moran, Sarah Liss, Tim Perlich

- A special acknowledgement to my sister Amanda who has the spirit and the care to see artists she loves succeed no matter the financial reward. She has great ears and has influenced me as much as I her.

Now, off to the world of unemployment, thank you and good night.

www.matthewbarber.com www.jillbarber.com www.bodegamusic.com www.anotherbluedoor.com

www.middlechildmusic.com

Iran So Far Away

2005-01-19T17:17:00.000-08:00

My good friend Matt is a freelance journalist and has spent the past 5 months in Turkey. He recently visited Iran. With Iran being the new Iraq, I thought I'd share his email log with those who may care...Enjoy.

1. WHY IRAN IS SAFE
2. THEY ACTUALLY DIG AMERICANS
3. BEARDS ARE BAD
4. IRAN’S ANN LANDERS: ANY RANDOM FOREIGNER
5. DISCO WARRIORS, NOT RELIGIOUS ONES
6. THE TOURISTY STUFF IS GREAT
7. NO BARS BUT PLENTY OF LIQUOR
8. EVIL-BASTARD GOVERNMENT

1. WHY IRAN IS SAFE Many of you were surprised that I went to Iran. There’s reason to worry about westerners in some places in the Middle East because of terrorism and hatred of the West/free world/non-Muslims. Iran is not one of those places. Here’s my take, which you are all welcome to challenge:The conditions are not present in Iran for the sort of terrorism we fear. Terrorist groups are often ethnic minorities that want to form their own state or have more influence in the affairs of the country they are ruled by. Iran is almost all Persian, about 98 percent. Even if there are any ethnic groups that want to secede, they are not big enough for anyone to notice their presence. So there are no such terrorists in Iran.If a terrorist group doesn’t represent an ethnic struggle, odds are these days that it wants a more religious government. Since Iran’s rulers are very Islamic already, there’s no religious whackos in Iran that want to overthrow them. So there are no religious terrorists either. No terrorism means no random bombings and no fear of being kidnapped for a ransom that would help pay for the group’s activities.As for anti-Western sentiment, you would think there there would be a lot of it there. Not true, although Iran’s government would like it to be. There are propaganda murals in every city. Some memorialize people who died in the Iran/Iraq war, others are there to remind everyone who the enemy is. One such poster in Tehran shows a bloody hand gripping a stone above a picture of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque. A Star of David in barbed wire covers the mosque. It’s revolting and obvious, and a good thing that few people pay attention. Lots of Iranians know their government uses the US and Israel as a scapegoat and a distraction from domestic problems. The government does not represent or reflect their views. They have pickpockets and scammers like anywhere else, but the domestic crime rate is almost nil. For every dangerous person, there’s dozens of good ones that will help you find a hotel, apologize for the actions of their government, invite you for a home cooked meal, give you a ride, and so on. A lot of times I had no need for this help, but they would not be refused. One time a guy was so determined to help me find an Internet Cafe that he walked me six blocks out of the way before I could make him understand that I already knew where it was.

2. THEY ACTUALLY DIG AMERICANS The biggest shock for me was the extent of their love for anything American. I knew before going that Iran is more pro-American (especially the culture) than outsiders expect, but I couldn’t have anticipated the scope or depth of this love. Now, it’s hard to overstate it. It is like an obsessed teenage crush of a relationship. Iranians pine after American freedoms and mimic their culture. America, of course, doesn’t notice.``The Ultimate Fried Chicken Joint’’ is a very popular restaurant in Tehran. If you ask for a sandwich you get a burger. There are satellite dishes everywhere reeling in American programming. They wear stars-and-stripes shoes and shirts. There are achingly bad Iranian versions of American pop music.(Speaking of music, I found found some very good Iranian music from the 60s that sounds much like classic rock.) While they may not like everything the U.S. government does, they are good at separating its people’s actions from it’s government’s actions. Where there’s no tradition of democracy, there’s no inherent assumption that a government is representing its people.I usually told people I was Canadian. In the few times I experimented and told them I was American, and they were even more excited to talk to me.

3. BEARDS ARE BAD Shaving was one of the best things I did in Iran. (Beard is back now, don’t worry.) For Muslims a beard is sign of piety. When mine was gone, nobody could mistake me for a religious person. A retired Air Force pilot told me he was denied a promotion for being clean-shaven. Military types have to take religion classes, and in one of these classes a mullah told him that shaving was a sin. If he did it every day, the mullah warned, Allah would eventually consider all that accumulated sin to be as bad as murdering someone. Anyway, I got a shave at a bus station barbershop to kill time waiting for my bus. It cost 60 cents or so. With cheeks exposed, the number of curious people that approached me probably more than doubled. One guy asked me to autograph his day planner, and a teacher asked me to write a note for his students. Everyone wanted to exchange small gifts so they could have a memento of our meeting. By the end of my four hours at that bus station, I felt like I knew everyone. The rest of the trip, same -- if I stopped moving for any length of time, I would slowly attract a crowd.

4. IRAN’S ANN LANDERS: ANY RANDOM FOREIGNER Any time I got to talking with Iranian, it was more like giving an interview. They are full of questions. At one point, on a bus, a group of ten guys crowded around as the one guy that spoke English sat next to me and translated questions, from inane to mundane. My favorites:-What is your philosophy of life?-What are the world’s best schools are for mechanical engineering?-How do you to get girls to like you in America?It didn’t matter if I had expertise in the field or not -- my answer was gold. If any papers in Iran started an advice column called ``Ask An Unqualified Foreigner’’, it would probably be the most popular thing in the paper. It’s just my guess, but Iranians attach themselves to visitors like this because they fear that the rest of the world has the wrong idea about them (which is true). Almost everyone asked me ``my thoughts about the Iranian people.’’ They don’t want to be seen as trigger-happy zealots who sit around praising Allah all day and vowing to destroy America next Thursday.Not that those types aren’t there -- they’re just a minority. In Esfahan, a city six hours south of Tehran, I saw a rally of the local religious police -- volunteers of all ages who roam around and look for people doing unIslamic things, such as women insufficiently covered up, or an unmarried woman talking to an unmarried man. I stood there watching with a friend as some mullah’s screeches were blasted throughout a public square. I asked what the guy was saying and my pal said ``It’s better that you don’t know. It’s that bad.’’ A few exhortations later, he laughed and relented. Apparently, in between reminders of how evil Israel is, the mullah snuck in a request to patronize the shops in the bazaar surrounding the square because ``they have some lovely carpets and souveniers.’’I met this friend, Babak, in Yazd, a desert city in the middle of Iran. He sells carpets there. After we hung out in Yazd, he went with me to Esfahan and showed me around there. We were together for about a week, and I constantly fought him to let me pay for stuff.There are long and loud battles in Iran to try and pay for something. If Hamid and Ali and Mohammed go for lunch, and Hamid grabs the check, Ali and Mohammed will try to give him money. Their hands are pushed back across the table several times. Ali and Mohammed will try and shove the bills in Hamid’s pocket, but Hamid will twist his hips out of the way. There’s a verbal yes-no-yes-no volley througout. Sometimes they’ll toss bills back and forth at each other across the table until someone relents.

5. DISCO WARRIORS, NOT RELIGIOUS ONES Many men are peacocks and prettyboys. They strut around in tight, black and pinstriped slacks and wear loafers with toes that curl up at the toe like Arabian slippers in Disney cartoons. They have wavy black hair that they grow out a bit and slather with hair gel. They wear dress shirts half open, disco style. Few seem to have chest hair. They must shave/trim it. Lots of people, both men and women, get nose jobs. Religious women wear a chador: the black thing that covers everything but the face. The minimum coverup is a headscarf and a long coat. Brave ones push back the headscarf to the top of their head to expose some hair, wear overcoats that get pretty tight around the waist, and pants that might show an inch or two of ankle. Women compensate for their lack of fashion options with gross amounts of makeup and manicured fingernails. My pal Babak was constantly spotting girls with supposedly great figures, but most looked pretty shapeless to me under all the clothing. Iranian men have obviously developed a fine eye for small clues. Darwin would be proud.

6. THE TOURISTY STUFF IS GREAT Iranians are, as a general rule, pretty good at skirting the harsh laws they live under. I found them in general to be a creative and educated bunch. Lots of book stores, public murals, cinema.This heritage is apparent at the tourist attractions. One can’t go to Iran and not visit a bunch of mosques, and I expected my resentment of the religious repression to overwhelm any appreciation of them. This didn’t happen. These mosques are the finest buildings and artworks I’ve ever seen -- there is symmetry, geometry, intricate detail, shadows and light, grandeur, and so on. It took years to build these things. Anyone with any knowledge or appreciation of art history would surely be even more awed. The pictures I took failed to capture what I saw. You just have to go there.They don’t build like that today, so creativity shows up elsewhere. Storefront signs are often very vivid: cacti sprouting from the middle of pizzas, alpine meadows with children and cows, airbrushed scenes of happy families, and so on. All this is the backdrop for something mundane like ``Ali’s Variety’’ or something. They don’t do utilitarianism there. The finest mosques were in Esfahan, which is also known for having beautiful old stone footbridges spanning the river. One bridge has water passing between pillars that have steps people sit on. Another has a teahouse underneath it where you can hang out at the waterline. Very pretty.The most interesting thing I saw in Iran was a reenactment of a Persian prewar dance ritual in Yazd. Soldiers used to do this before going out to battle. It was a mix of pushups, yogaish things, swinging wooden clubs around and spinning and hopping on one foot. All of this was done in time with 2 guys drumming and singing. The guys doing this ranged from 12 years old to 60 or so. Everyone looked like they were in decent shape except for one hugely obese man. This wasn’t a performance for tourists -- it’s what these guys do every day to stay in shape. Picture people coming to your health club and paying about a dollar to drink tea and watch you on the stairmaster. Same idea.They started with pushups; hands on a little wooden bar about two inches off the ground. Not real pushups, though -- they used the rest of their bodies for momentum and swayed up and down and side to side. The fat guy sort of just assumed the position and bobbed around. With no warning some guys would jump up, spin around, then fall back down again go back to pushups. Some lifted their butts all the way off the ground and looked very downward dogish.This went on for about 15 minutes. Then they stood up and hopped/jogged in place and did about 15 minutes of stretching their arms and upper bodies. There was some call-and-response stuff between the singer and the dancers, throughout, and the intensity of the exercise was always matched by the intensity of the drumming. Even after three days of going to see this dance -- it’s called Zurchani, which translates as ``House of Power’’ -- I couldn’t tell if the dancers led the drummer or the drummer led the dancers. There were no cover tunes. For phase three, they grabbed clubs that looked like stubby, thick baseball bats, and swung them around in a very tight circle around their shoulders. The movement would be super-useful for rock climbers because it probably works all the upper arm and back muscles. Each night, after the club swinging, the fat guy would walk to the middle of the circular dance floor and spinning and hop on one foot. I was thinking that maybe centuries ago Persian armies needed a token fat guy and this was his special part in the dance, but no -- everyone spins for as long as they can without falling over and breaking rhythm, which is usually 15 seconds or so.

7. NO BARS BUT PLENTY OF LIQUOR Iran’s food is fantastic -- warm and spicy stews, a million versions of a very tasty eggplant puree, good kebabs, saffron rice, on and on. Expert use of pickled vegetables. I had no idea how many tastes mesh with pickled veggies. I tried camel meat and didn’t detect a difference from beef. All of this was quite cheap. We ate lots of great food in beautifully decorated places and usually paid about $6 for two, not including wine. That was a bad joke but a good transition -- alcohol is illegal in Iran, and getting caught with some is a pretty serious crime. So most drinking is done at home. One tour guide offered me a bottle of Johnnie Walker for $50. (He also offered me an ``Iranian girlfriend’’ for the night).I did not see this happen, but supposedly some people sneak a bottle into the restaurant and mix it into their Cokes. They’re big on Coke and orange sodas. In lots of places you get one even if you didn’t order one.Anyone with a sweet tooth could go crazy in Iran. You’d need a month of constant eating to try everything. They mix up bananas and milk and nuts and such into very nice shakes. There are date cookies, liquid sugar baked into solid shapes, and hundreds of pastries. I usually picked out 3 or 4 different bite-sized pastries a day for an afternoon snack and still didn’t manage to try about half of the options. One also sees the sweet tooth in action at tea time. They toss a sugar cube into their mouths, take a sip of tea or two to dissolve it, then repeat the whole process. So they’re more-or-less consuming sugar by the pound.
8. EVIL-BASTARD GOVERNMENT So, the crappy thing about all this is that the zealots in government seem more are interested in making sure Iranians are behaving according to the Koran than making sure they have jobs and good hospitals and so on. Most people want to talk about the lack of jobs, not the religion. Of the few dozen people I talked to in my two weeks there, just one described himself as devout.They seem resigned to enduring this for a while. They all complain that there’s no good leadership to counter the government. Some said they hoped the US would invade Iran when they are finished with Iraq, although it’s hard to believe that most people would support this. So I left Iran thinking that maybe revolution isn’t so close at hand anyway. When it happens, Iran could be an incredible story.

2005-01-19T16:23:00.000-08:00

Canada vs The U.S. - Poetic Justice

It's time to put the year that past to rest
All the lefties put away your songs of protest
Religion was the biggest part of this heist
But soon the US will be devout to Feist

They respond to our music with a simple yawn
Can you blame them for us giving them Celine Dion?
The battle for supremacy has indeed been rough
We give them DFA79 and they give us Hilary Duff

Our national sport leaves nobody in the rink
They're biggest seller gets caught in a lip synch
We have become the focus of their desire
First Broken Social Scene and now The Arcade Fire

Canadian radio rock is chalk full of their fillers
They think being cool is playing The Killers
Yet, Canadian acts continue to bustle
Would a radio jock know Apostle of Hustle?

The year ahead continues our cavalcade
It will first be Controller Controller then the Wolf Parade
In Austin and New York we experienced great gains
They can take Gwen Stefani, we have Emily Haines

We will continue to infiltrate and cause a racket
Maybe then they'll hear of Joel Plaskett
It's the time we have nothing to lose
Unless of course they discover The Trews

Leaving The Label

2005-01-11T09:14:00.000-08:00

Well, I've decided to leave V2 and go out on my own, here's what went out to the "industry". Should you know anyone interested, please feel free to send them my info...

After 4 years at V2 Records Canada, I have decided to make the leap and focus on developing my company, MCM Management & media February 15, 2005, MCM will be comprised of two divisions; the artist management division and the newly formed independent publicity division that will include my sister, Amanda Newman. Amanda brings over 2 years of experience to the table, working with such talented artists as Broken Social Scene, Stars,Controller.Controller, Plastikman and Uncut and as a founding member of Paper Bag Records.

As manager of national media at V2, I've had the pleasure of working with the likes of The White Stripes, Moby, Grandaddy, Mercury Rev, The Black Crowes, Toots & The Maytals, Paul Weller, and many others.
My experience at V2 has allowed me to develop strong (and worthy) relationships
with my peers and colleagues both within the music industry as well as outside of it. MCM Management & Media will build upon the strong relationships that both myself and Amanda have been fortunate to establish. Our unbreakable network among print, online and television medias will prove to be lucrative for those aligned with our newly established division. As well, as part of our mandate, we will strive to establish non-traditional avenues in order to exploit and expose all of the artists on our roster. It's an exciting time for all of us at MCM, and we would love to have the opportunity to work with your artists as well. If you are interested in our services, please contact me at the information below. It's going to be a lot of fun and I look forward to hearing from you.
middlechildmusic@rogers.com

Pass The Air Sickness Bag Please

2005-01-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

Celine Dion has hooked up with Air Canada. I guess the thought is that she's already helped one sinking ship, why not an airline? It all started a few months back, when Air Canada was emerging from Chapter 11 after a few botched funding attempts. They unveiled their new image and uniforms with a grandiose gala in Calgary featuring the lovely Quebec chanteuse who was clad in one of the new airline attendant uniforms. She sang a song about flying, an extended commercial jingle for the recovering airline. The song is played in the plane prior to and after Air Canada flights
Now, it seems the "jingle" is now a single, with an accompanying video that looks like, well, an Air Canada commercial complete with airplanes withe Air Canada logo. Muchmoremusic is playing the shit out of it. So, what's going on here? One of Canada's biggest corporations are getting 4 minutes of free commercial airtime about 4-5 times daily.
Everyone is pretty much aware and rather nonchalant about Celine's activities. Artisitc credibility and integrity was dismissed a long time ago. She took millions to play Vegas, lent her voice to many films and now finds herself "posing" with computer generated babies in a new Anne Geddes book complete with accompanying audio. Muchmoremusic should hang their heads for playing this video.
Sure, Lenny Kravitz has his Gap song as a single now but he doesn't have Sarah Jessica Parker prancing in his video in the latest Gap fashions. Lenny is the male version of Celine except for the fact that he writes his own material. I'm assuming this as I don't think any label would pay for songs with his "clever" rhyming schemes. I think Lenny re-wrote the rule book by rhyming "fly" with every word possible.
Celine's video is a blatant display of a corporation using the music video format to hawk their wares and I hope this doesn't set a trend although MMM has moreorless given companies the greenlight to do so.
The woman is the antithesis of Neil Young's "This Note For You". And now, with almost 200,000 people dead in Asia, Celine is nowhere to be found to lend her voice. Maybe if Pepsi comes out with their new Tsunami beverage, Celine will then, speak up.

Bucking The System

2004-12-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

It's Wednesday and I've been off work for a few days. Well, sort of, Matt Barber is recording his new record and I had thoughts of being Peter Grant in the studio. Suffice it to say, I've left my baseball bat at home and sit peacefully watching what I believe, to be the creation of a great record.
Usually, Wednesdays are Soundscan days. I usually have someone at BMG pull up the numbers for me as V2 doesn't have access to the system. See, it costs thousands of dollars to access soundscan. Aside from being outrageously costly, Soundscan has to be the most skewed resource the music industry follows (followed closely by the topic of the next paragraph). See, independent stores do not subscribe to Soundscan as they prefer to have the ability to pay employess rather then collect data. Because of the independent store omission, most of our beloved indie bands never appear on the elusive top 200 sales chart. The labels use these numbers as tools in garnering airplay at both video and radio outlets. This is one reason why indie bands are often overlooked at radio and video as their Soundscan figures aren't exactly indicative of how their record is actually performing. I really don't have a solution for this problem, no one trusts one another so we couldn't use the number of albums shipped as a formula. See, the labels would more then likely fudge the numbers of an artist to impress retail, radio and video thus creating a more corrupt system then already in existence. Please feel free to submit your suggestions in the usually vacant comment section.
Since I no longer follow the hebrew calendar, Thursday follows Wednesday, and that can only mean one thing, a freshly stapled together issue of Canadian Music Network. The staffers at CMN are easily one of the nicest bunch of people around. However, their magazine ranks right up there with Dr.Phil episodes as things that cause Evan high blood pressure. My favourite from last issue was where they had a readers poll for The Best of '04. My favourite was the "Band to Make it Big in '05". The Waking Eyes were the lucky recipient of this honour. I guess having a record out for 5 months, releasing 2 singles and touring the country relentlessly is just a prelude of big things to come. I like the band, quality people but the next big thing tag does not apply to a band that have had their window open for a while. CMN saves time for all of us in the industry, one central location for labels to go hawk their wares. We bring the magazine our music, let em know what we're doing and how much of a priority the band in question is and bang! The band make their Hit Pick list. They have tried to improve and shift a little left of centre with their "Dark Horse" pick but they should look at the end of Barry Walsh's opening column for the real dark horse. The magazine has a huge opportunity to influence radio by highlighting and covering bands that radio programmers may never heard of. Instead, they just reinforce what all promo people are pushing on them anyway. One day, I'd like to see them pick a kick ass indie band as their #1 Hit Pick and see what happens. It'd be a good gauge for the magazine to see if radio actually pays attention to the magazine and if they actually do, and play the band in question, then you my friends, have done your part at changing radio's landscape. CMN has the voice the a lot of people would love to have, it's unfortunate that they don't utilize it. The pictures in the back are disturbing, contrived but incredibly humorous. Never before have I felt so much sympathy for whatever band has to appear along a radio personality from Moose Jaw who usually goes by the name that has either Mad, Crazy, or Thunder either before or in the middle of their real or radio name. I know that my blogger hero Aaron lists this section as his favourite part of the magazine.
In conclusion, a new way of tracking sales and a trade magazine that actually sets the tone rather then just reiterate label propaganda would go a long way in changing Canadian music for the good.

People Actually Read This?

2004-12-28T07:46:00.000-08:00

I got 2 whole comments on my last post, that must mean that people are reading it. I guess I should post more. I was a little harsh on my fellow males in the music industry. There are some good people out there who do like music and pussy, it was a bit of a generalization and if I wasn't a male I'd probably apologize.
So more of the year in review, we shift to politics.
I think Yucshenko looks better with a little dioxin in him, perhaps dioxin will be the new botox in the coming year.
The right won in the US, amazing how they're so morally correct and value values when half of the church are using little boys as if St. Augustine was Neverland Ranch.
The Iraq war continues, democracy and feeedom will reign, someday. Then it's off to Iran and then perhaps North Korea. It could even be us, with all of our fresh water, our gays uniting in holy matrimony and our lax pot laws. Given that there was no vote to establish the latter two, does that mean our government is denying us the democratic process? We're having these laws forced upon us, Mr. Bush please save us from being able to smoke pot and marry the same sex! Oh the tyranny.
Then there was sports, many do not know or care that I actually follow sports. It's kind of like a secret society amongst music industry people. Hockey got shelved, and most looked upon it as a major disaster. Well, Canada is still functioning and the people who bring us watered down urine they pass as beer, are making clever little commercials. The loss of hockey is actually effecting our GDP. Then you get the people who say "How can the players complain when they make millions of dolars?" Well, if you worked for a company and was a key component of said company and they made a shitload of money, wouldn't you feel entitled to some of that if you are such an integral part of tha company? The problem is that the companies aren't making the moeny and are trying to compromise with the players but everyone thinks the other is lying. Hello OHL.
Baseball has steroids. Anna Nicole Smith is fucked up. Two incredibley obvious statements. Yet, this year, steroids took the headlines as their "distributor" was busted. Did Bud Selig and the owners sit down and say "Hey, our players may be juiced up but they're bringing people back to the park, let's play dumb on this". Then the well runs dry when BALCO goes tits up, Jason Giambi's body begins to eat him from the inside and now the owners cry foul. Sure Mark Maguire was using a natural enhancement and Barry Bonds went through a growth spurt in his late 30's.
Then there was basketball, Qyntel Woods of the Trail Blazers was busted for dog fighting and the rest of the team go by either Cheech or Chong. And the Pistons-Pacers fracas led to this joke "Why did Ron Artest leave the basketball game early?" - To beat the crowd. The commisoner of the NBA David Stern hasn't yet realized that most of the ball players idolize rap stars and try and emulate their videos. So, let's give a wannabe 50 Cent, 6 mil a year and act suprised when he's caught in his Hummer huffing a blunt.
I read the box scores and the highlights of the NFL but the thought of watching it at the same time as some fat woman in a Washingstoin Redskin tracksuit with her face painted burgundy and yellow in a trailer park in Virginia, makes me sick. I love the fact that a team names themselves the Redskins. I'm hoping that when Toronto gets an NFL team, they can be called the "Kykes" and their team emblem could be an aushwitz survivour.
As I conclude my thoughts, I just want to point out the helpful people of our society. I had a flat tire on xmas and about 30 people passed my girlfriend and I as we tried to change the tire with the archaic tools the rental company provided. Not one person offered any form of assistance but were more then willing to slow their pace to glance at my girlfriend bending over or gawking at the fact some chubby dude' ass crack was showing. I guess more people read this then I thought and they all just happened to be at the Paramount Theatre on Xmas.

For Those Who Waited...Newman's Year In Review

2004-12-22T15:16:00.000-08:00

Well, the year is closing to an end. I turned 30 a few weeks ago and for those concerned, I am dealing with it relatively well (most people thought I was older anyway). So without further rambling, here is my year in review...

The Music Industry - The fight to combat those evil downloaders continued and much like Kirstie Alley's battle with the bulge, it was ugly and unsuccesful. Two major labels merged, now SOB - MG.With their potent A&R staff, perhaps Ricky J will come out of hiding to join the likes of Keisha Chante, OLP and Shawn Desman. The Feist legend grew as did that of The Arcade Fire. Everyone and their mothers seemed to love these records and it just continued to prove that labels ears are bypassing the quality homegrown for shwag.
The press continued to unearth musical gems and champion them until we were tired of reading about them and the coolest of the cool just stopped listening to music period. "Dude, Arcade Fire and Stars are so overhyped, I don't listen to music". Or they could take the route of this College radio programmer and just try to be as elitist as possible:
tan as fuck . (sars)chasm . audiobotmetalux .
waiting for armadillo .
loadholzkopf . this cd is an apology .
dainty deathy CChenry flynt & the insurrections . i don't wanna .
locust/bo weavilrecordingsilhan mimaroglu . agitation . locust713avo amor .
horrores varios de la estupidez actual .
compaÃ±ia desueÃ±os ilimitadamouthus . s/t .
psych-o-pathyellow swans . bring the neon war home . narnackunireverse . plays the music of quebec and other planets . total zero CCwolf eyes . burned mind . subpop
lsd march . kanashimino bishounen . hp cycletower recordings . galaxies' incredible sensual transmission field ofthe tower recordings . communionramon sender . worldfood . locustsimon finn . pass the distance . durtro/jnana

This was the biggest crock of shit I ever read, "I am so fucking hip that the bands I listen too aren't actually bands, just menu items from an Afghan restaraunt I visit with my turtleneck wearing, non cable watching, wanna be gay music elitists". Wolf Parade? Damn, anyone who says they love this record must be still angry with their parents. Nothing like "noise rock" to drown out your mother screaming at your father for having pics of young vietnamese boys on his computer.

It's become somewhat of a battle between the hipsters and the label suits. The labels throw out the pop punk crap, the press wont cover it except for Ben Mulroney and the print media replies with something a little better and a little more obscure but nonetheless all sounding the same. Campus radio goes a step further and just makes up bands to put on their oh so exclusive charts that no one outside of label people read.

Contrary to popular belief, there were some records that I liked this year. Pete Elkas, Death From Above, Brian Borcherdt, and the artists I represent.

I don't see bright lights ahead for the music biz in 2005 but I'm going to do my best to make that change Ive been promising for as long as Mary Kate and Ashley have promised to remove the restraining order against me.

So, I'm an egomaniacal douche bag, and I wish that everyone in this business would admit the same. Honestly, if you're at a major label and you're a male, you're in it for pussy. If you get pussy, you're in it to hang out with people who you think are much cooler then you and there must be some guilty by association clause that you believe will get you extracurricular pussy.
The money is shit but who can deny themselves a chance to hit on the hangers on of Maroon 5?

Now, I must dismount from my high horse and hope that when Mercury Rev comes around again, their groupies aren't contestants in waiting for The Swan.

More of My Year In Review next year

Neil Young Shafted on the RS Top 500 Songs of All Time

2004-11-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

Rollingstone Magazine released their Top 500 Songs Of All Time and as per usual, it's inciting a bit of controversy. Lists are a joke as is, people just seem to love them, myself included. It's easy to list the best athletes in their respective sorts as there are stats to support their achievements. However, when it comes to music, like all art, it is subjective when choosing the "best". One glaring omission from this list is the blues artists from the 30's and 40's. There is no Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon, Leadbelly, Jelly Roll Morton etc. Yet, there's numerous Zeppelin and Stones tracks which would never have been created if it weren't for Johnson, Dixon, Waters and so on. Mr. Tambourine Man was such a good song it charted twice (Dylan's original and The Byrds cover).
Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" clocked in at #297, his highest charting song. Maybe I'm bias here as I am a big fan of Mr. Young. If you're including approximately 10 Dylan songs on a list then Neil shouldnt be too far behind. Cinammon Girl, After The Gold Rush, Needle & The Damage Done, Down By The River. Man, I could go on but all of these songs did not make the list. It was good to see The Loco-Motion made it over the above titles. That's like including Tara Reid in a 10 Best Blonde list.
I could go on and on about the list but I'll let you take a gander...
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/6596661/sort/rank/pagenum/1

Jakalope are The New York Rangers

2004-11-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

It seems to be a disturbing trend in music, someone famous and respected, drops into a studio of a band, sneezes, leaves and gets a credit for appearing on the record. The label loves this, cause it gives their artist instant credibility as well as arousing the curiosity of the Celebs existing fanbase.

Now, i got the Jakalope record a few days ago, and saw the plethora of guest appearances, some of them were people I knew personally so I was excited to hear their contributions. I was hoping the first single which was steaming (in the dog poo in winter way) was just the most mainstream accessible song on the record. I listened to the full album and came up with the analogy that is the headline to this subject.

See, the New York Rangers, much like their baseball counterparts, the Yankees, love to spend freely and accumulate as many star players as possible. Unlike the Yankees though, The Rangers suck at it. They've had Messier, Jagr, Lindros, Bure, Leetch, Holik and many more stars and yet can't seem to finish anywhere but last place. How do you have so many star players yet can't get your shit together? Chemistry. The Rangers lack chemistry and therefore cant "gel" or become a cohesive unit.

Jakalope has some "star" players, yet they can't seem to pool their collective talents to make something worthwhile. Maybe I put too much hope into a mixing engineer being able to pull this off. He's worked with some heavy hitters in the Goth-industrial scene but seems to have left all that was good about his previous efforts on the floor. It's as if building a team around Jari Kurri or Mike Krushelnyski, these guy's could score but not nearly as well when they had Gretzky on their side.

Good for their label for utilizing every person who appeared in the studio and crediting them on their record. I think I was in the labels office during recording, yet was befuddled to see my name omitted from the liner notes

The Joy of Working At A Record Label

2004-11-10T15:07:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, it seems as though those moments of joy come as frequently as vegetables in Rosie O'Donnells grocery cart. However, I really enjoy being able to hear certian records before anyone else does. It's an elitist attitude but I'm able to listen to these records with a clear head, not worrying about what the kid at the record says or hearing remarks on the album from friends. I recently got the newest V2 releases from Mercury Rev and Brendan Benson. Both records are superb.

Mercury rev haven't broken any new ground with this record entitled "The Secret Migration". It's somewhat of an amalgamation of Deserter Songs and All is Dream. The tones are much darker then Dream but are in a sense, warmer. The Rev make great music for cold dark nights and are able to capture their surroundings of upsate New York in song. They'll never be a radio band which seems to suit V2 just fine, they just keep making really nice records.

Brendan Benson's "Alternative to Love" is a lot more slick then "Lapalco". In this case, it's a good thing, Benson has seemed to embrace the Motown style on a few tracks, perhaps paying homage to his beloved hometown of Detroit. He's got Tchad Blake helping him out this time around. There is some nice "bite" to these songs, perhaps a bit of a swagger not seen on his previous albums. It's power pop soul, and one of the best albums I've heard in a while.

Wow, now I know why I never made it as a music writer. I'm also really digging the new Blanche album called "If We Can't Trust the Doctors". I think I'm done plugging the bands that I work with.

Welcome to Newman's Thoughts

2004-11-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my self serving, ego feeding soap box. Here you will find a plethora of grammatical errors, incoherent rants and slighty abrasive remarks about the music industry. I've already had a rant published in the trade magazine Canadian Music Network so I figured why not make this a daily occurence for people to view on their own time rather then just shoving it down peoples throats (run on sentence). It won't be entirely negative, I do plan on pointing out the positives that I encounter.

The First Real Blog

2004-11-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

So, I work for a record label, V2 Records Canada, a relatively well respected company with a pretty decent roster. I don't necesarily agree with a lot of label practices, V2 included. The one thing that irks me the most that thankfully V2 has stayed away from (for the most part), is the re-release of records with "bonus" material. Whether it be a few new songs or a DVD component with their videos or some live footage.
Now, this practice is not only an insult to the consumers intelligence but also an incentive to download. Who wants to buy the CD they already own only to get a few "new" songs? So, they go and burn these songs. Good Charlotte went so far as to release 2 versions of their most recent heap of crap with the only difference being one song. Now, it looks like Canada's The Trews are following suit with a re-release of their debut record "House of Ill Fame". I guess their producer Gordie Johnson is running out of cash and has pawned his last Hugo Boss suit.
I wish that if labels were going to release new material, don't rip it it on to an existing record thats been around for months. Put it up online for downlaod, whether it be on Puretracks or Itunes or as a free gift to your fans for supporting your act. Don't alienate your fans by forcing them to buy the same record again just to get a few bells and whistles. You work hard to build your fanbase and then you try and drain them of every penny.