29 Years On: John Lennon
Published on December 8th, 2009 in: Music |By John Lane
29 years on, it gets more and more difficult to articulate how much John Lennon’s death meant to me, for various reasons.
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Cheap Trick, The Latest
Published on July 30th, 2009 in: Current Faves, Issues, Music, Music Reviews, Reviews |I haven’t bought a new Cheap Trick album since their 1997 self-titled release on the then soon-to-be-defunct Red Ant label. Now that I’ve copped to this embarrassing admission, the next one should be easier. I hate writing record reviews. That old chestnut comparing the ridiculousness of music writing to “dancing about architecture” worms its way into my brain and I start to panic. Panic turns to dread as deadlines quickly approach.
Look, it’s not that I don’t love the latest release from Cheap Trick (cleverly titled The Latest), it’s that I don’t know if I can properly convey how much I love it, or perhaps more succinctly, I don’t know if I can convince you to love it as much as I do.
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On British Invasions, And Why They Might Not Happen In The USA Again
Published on May 30th, 2009 in: Issues, Music, Retrovirus |By John Lane
I have always been suspicious about the prevailing historical theory that The Beatles became big in America as a direct reaction to the Kennedy assassination. It’s too easy: our beautiful, youthful leader is dead, therefore we need youthful music to wake us up?
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Top Five Music Scandals Which Never Actually Happened
Published on May 30th, 2009 in: Issues, Listicles, Music, Top Five Lists |By Emily Carney
Author’s note: This piece is almost entirely fictionalized. Enjoy.
5. Midge Ure’s Backstage Throwdown With Bob Geldof, 1985
In the 1980s Midge Ure was best known as the lead singer of mope rockers Ultravox, while Bob Geldof was best known as the husband of Paula Yates and a guy who really, really liked money. He also did some philanthropist work. In 1985, both men mobilized their talents for the massive rock concert known as Live Aid.
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John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band, Live In Toronto ’69 DVD
Published on May 30th, 2009 in: Canadian Content, DVD, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Issues, Music, Retrovirus |By Less Lee Moore
“It gave me a great feeling, a feeling I haven’t had for a long time. It convinced me to do more appearances, either with or without the rest of the Beatles. Everything went down so well.”
—John Lennon, as quoted on the Ottawa Beatles Site