Lee Neutron, Daiquiri: Best Of 2010

Albums

2010 was a great year for releases, particularly for the “oldies;” there were strong albums from such long-running acts as Killing Joke, Devo, Helmet, Scorn, Young Gods, and Melvins. I’ve picked my very favourite albums of the year, as well as a standout track from each (these are definitely not in order of best to worst or whatever, like that matters one way or the other).
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Doctor Ew Presents Gadzooks At The Imperial Pub!

By Less Lee Moore

From the photo on his MySpace page and the rather suggestive name you might think Doctor Ew is a goofy tribute to Doctor Demento. Nope, try again.
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Allie Hughes, S/T EP

By Less Lee Moore

If you haven’t yet heard of Toronto’s Allie Hughes, let me introduce you to her marvelous self-titled four-song EP.

If the music on Glee were this fantastically original and diverse, I would be a devoted fan.
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The Rotary Phone of Doom: My Top Five Scariest Things

By Emily Carney

5. Recurring dreams about high school

I have had the same dream continually over the last few years. It’s about high school. Mind you, it’s not a bittersweet, Breakfast Club-style reminiscence; the dream involves me having to go BACK to high school after being informed not-so-politely BY MAIL that I had somehow “forgotten” to attain my high school diploma. The same thing happens in every damn dream: for some reason, I start skipping classes, I fail most of them, and thus I become trapped in high school, never being able to get out. Suddenly, the halcyon greenish-blue corridors of good old East Lake High school become a horror show on par with Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. By the way, I generally had a good high school experience in real life, so I have no idea where this dream is coming from.
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Les Oraliens, Or How I Found The Scariest YouTube Video Ever

By Emily Carney

Obviously, I am more than familiar with what scares me the most in my real life; in my attempts to look for “scary” videos for this issue of Popshifter, I stumbled across a lot of scenes from horror films, bad attempts at karaoke, videos of methamphetamine addicts doing their “thing,” clips of “actor”/mess Paz de la Huerta, and of course Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video (which I never watched until I was in my twenties. . . no kidding).

However, I can’t say that any of these actually frightened me; at most, they were mildly amusing. So, I became blocked on what to do for this article. . . that is, until last night, when I discovered a masterpiece of an absolutely terrifying kids’ show.
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A Lot Of Very Careful Hatred: Rituals

By Less Lee Moore

Rituals is a “lost classic,” one of those films that every horror fan (or film fan) should see, but probably hasn’t. It’s a Canadian production from 1977, starring Hal Holbrook, Larry Dane, Robin Gammell, Ken James, and Gary Reineke. Although it definitely contains elements of the slasher film genre, one of the things that sets Rituals apart from the pack (besides the fact that it came out before Halloween) is the middle-aged, all-male ensemble cast.
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From Coast To Ruby Coast

By Less Lee Moore

Ruby Coast are a five-piece band from Aurora, ON. They’ve been around since 2006, released an EP in 2008 called Projectable Collections, and toured with bands like Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club, and Ra Ra Riot, in addition to Toronto’s own Born Ruffians.

The band wrote and recorded their first full-length album this spring with Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade), and Brian Paulson (Wilco, Dinosaur Jr., Beck). It won’t be out until 2011, but don’t be sad: you can listen to a couple of tracks on their MySpace page now.
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Balancing Act: An Interview With Shad

By Matt Demers

In the last issue of Popshifter, I had a chance to review London, Ontario rapper Shad’s third album, TSOL. Being a big fan of his, I jumped at the chance to talk to him at St. Catharine’s S.C.E.N.Efest, a primarily indie-and-metal music festival that takes over the town once a year in June. Though the rain loomed over our heads, Shad and I had a great conversation.
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The Birthday Cakes, Expansion Pack

By Jemiah Jefferson

Okay, these guys are total freaks. And I think I love them. Don’t be fooled by the cheerful grins on this trio of damn handsome ginger brothers, nor by their love of really dreadful ’80s sweaters and paint-streak-patterned T-shirts: The Birthday Cakes are ready to rock your face off and make you howl at the moon (or at least roll up a really good werewolf mage).
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Young Doctors In Love, 5 Golden Greats EP

By Less Lee Moore

Toronto five-piece Young Doctors In Love has recently released 5 Golden Greats, an EP that is aptly titled and perfectly suited for sunny days and hot weather. These five tunes are catchy without being repetitive, hefty without being heavy, and unique without being precious.
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