Category Archives: Music

My morning walks with our resident record reviewer frequently involve a brief visit to a house a block from ours. It is home to a pair of huskies that are at all times outside in a fenced-in yard. OK, on the coldest nights — e.g., the last few — the dogs are brought inside. Otherwise, these siblings are all about outdoor living.

When he’s in the mood, Snorri will trudge through the snow, whining his way to the fence that separates him from his would-be pals. Both dogs can be counted on to mosey over to check him out. One routinely whines in response; the other feigns disdain over the whole rather pathetic situation

One day, the thought occasionally occurs to me, there will be but one husky to greet us. Such is our mortal existence. I cannot help but wonder what losing that lifelong companion will do to the survivor. Companions since birth, separated by inevitable consequence. I hope that day will not come for a while. Continue reading →

The media love anniversaries.

That will become all too clear in a few days, as we approach the 50th anniversary of the death of JFK. Meanwhile, America is gearing up for celebrations early next year of the 50th anniversary of Beatlemania in North America. Of course, Canadians know Beatlemania actually arrived on this continent in late 1963, weeks before Americans got the urge to hold the group’s collective hand — but that’s our little secret. Meanwhile, the year has seen events and celebrations to mark 50 years since the March on Washington, 40 years since Billie Jean King walloped Bobby Riggs, 100 years of Stravinsky’s seminal Rite of Spring and of course the 200th anniversary of the War of 1813. Continue reading →

Shortly before 2:30 p.m. yesterday I received the following news release, courtesy of our friends at Life or Death PR in Brooklyn: Continue reading →

Payback.

Universal Music and Arcade Fire have spent months building anticipation. A single, dense with intriguing words and music, left us wanting more. Surprise performances and interviews on all the right talk shows made the band impossible to dodge. Hype like we haven’t seen since Chinese Democracy — and you know how well that turned out — was fully engaged. (OK, let’s say hype not seen since last year’s Bowie album, which for 24 hours was hailed as the most important recording ever released by anyone ever. That, of course, was before fans and critics had given it a proper listen. Subsequently, all agreed it should never be mentioned again.)

We’ve now had Reflektor in our hands for over 24 hours. And it’s still being talked about. That’s a long time in today’s media world. Ramped-up hype? Check. Copies of the album in every shop window and saturating every hip radio station? Check. Backlash fueled by critics with a chip on their collective shoulder? You know it. All is well with the grand plan to make this Arcade Fire’s supreme moment.

But for one thing. Continue reading →

He liked to watch things on TV.

Every tribute to Lou Reed I’ve heard or seen these past 24 hours has seemingly been as much about the person paying tribute as it has been about the late artist. Is that the point?  Are they trying to tell us this is the great Lou Reed’s true legacy? An alumnus of Andy Warhol’s notorious Factory, the man undoubtedly learned much about taking narcissism to previously unimagined levels. Perhaps, then, in an existentialist sort of way, the ideal celebration of Lou Reed’s life is to talk about yourself.

I like to think not. And to demonstrate, please allow me to talk about myself. Continue reading →