There is no such thing as band obscurity these days, despite what their names might suggest. Take, for example, the London indie outfit, Scanners. So what?
But if I tell you that they are signed to Steve Aoki’s record label, have had their music featured in episodes of Entourage and One Tree Hill, have toured with [...]
Album in review: Submarine by Scanners
Album in review: Spoon’s Transference
As a band, Spoon has paid its dues. Formed in 1994, they just released Transference, their seventh studio album. Their previous album, 2007s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and its horn-infused hit, The Underdog (which even made its way into the soundtrack of last years Zac Efron vehicle, 17 Again), earned the Texas natives [...]
Beauty in the breakdown
The construction of art is a multi-layered process. An initial stroke of inspiration, some preliminary drawings, an assemblage of materials and a whole lotta coffee come together as the key ingredients of many artistic endeavours, including the Blackwood Gallerys latest exhibition,
Location! Location! Location!, which opened last Wednesday.
A project that required the construction of art, artists [...]
Haven’t you heard?
EITHER OR
ELLIOT SMITH
I am always surprised when someone tells me they havent heard of Elliott Smith. To be fair, he was only in the spotlight for a second when he got an Oscar nod for Miss Misery (featured in Good Will Hunting) and, of course, when he killed himself a few years back. Regardless, [...]
Record in review
Upon listening to a few seconds of any Vampire Weekend song, it doesnt take long to realize that the bands name is clearly a misnomer. Any preconceived notions of emo dreariness are instead replaced with images of bright-coloured sombreros, long drives along the coast and hillside orchestral performances. Mellow, youthful and fun are just a [...]
Winter chills, movie thrills
The winter of 2009 saw a number of blockbuster releases that both generated large revenues at the box office and left behind a trail of mystique in theatres. From the legacy of enigmatic personas to worlds of fantasy, Sherlock Holmes, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and Avatar were able to capture the magic of the [...]
Book review: Fun times with Summertime
Summertime, John Coetzees latest novel, takes an interesting twist with the idea of the memoir. This inventive turn comes as no surprise, considering his resume. John Maxwell Coetzee, born in South Africa and now living in Australia, may be one of the most decorated living English authors today. Hes won two Man Booker Prizes, one [...]
30 years ago in the Medium: 12″ singles that play on and on….
Many are of the opinion that the disco sound is becoming a dying music form. If such is the case, then the record companies have not yet received the message. In fact, the success of the twelve inch disco single has been expanded to the extent that record companies, in this case Quality Records, are [...]
Film review: New Moon
Forbidden love is in the air, and fans bitten by the vampire bug are back for more. New Moon, the second installment of Stephenie Meyers Twilight saga, continues the story of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her ever-seventeen vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson).
Directed by Chris Weitz, New Moon explores some of the dangers vampires, [...]
Love, sex, and magic
How do you spruce up one of Shakespeares most famous plays and manage to send the audience through tears of laughter in the process? Hart House Theatres production of A Midsummer Nights Dream makes that possible. Directed by Jeremy Hutton, whose past directions include Arcadia, King Lear, and Romeo and Juliet, the classic tale of [...]
