Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | Call Me Ishmael
My recent column about Led Zeppelin concerts sent me on a side quest about drum solos, specifically Moby Dick.
Now there's a thing you don't hear on albums much anymore...
Thunder Pie | Borrowed Fire / You Should Pay Me Back
“If you practice writing constantly, you can start to speak in poetry form and so whenever you feel like writing something, all you have to do is immediately write...
Rewinding 2022 | Tinnitist’s Top Mixtape Tracks: October
Asking me to pick my favourite songs of the year is like asking a competitive eater to name their favourite hot dogs. After the first 25,000, it becomes kind...
Concert Review: Iggy Pop & The Losers | Las Vegas, April 29, 2023
LAS VEGAS — “Wise people say that this life is a dream,” Iggy Pop reflects in his unmistakable signature baritone, pausing mid-song to survey the worshipful fans at his...
Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | Kazoo-Recorder Overdrive
Everybody dislikes the sound of some musical instrument. My girlfriend hates bagpipes. I don't care for the saxophone in rock music (though it's awesome when used for jazz). I...
Thunder Pie | Idiots
“For a long time I had to fight against a feeling of aversion for my country; now I am beginning to accustom myself to all the horrors that make...
Stylus Counsel | Area Resident’s Records
I did a quick tally to see how many of my own Area Resident songs have a person's name in the title. The answer is three: Louise, You Can't...
Back Stories | My 2009 Interview With Les Claypool
With Les Claypool and Sean Lennon releasing their second Claypool Lennon Delirium album South of Reality this week (look for my review sometime over the weekend), it seemed like...
Back Stories | My 2012 Interview With Kris Kristofferson
With Ken Burns’ latest superb music documentary series Country airing this month, I figured it made sense to pull out some interviews I've done with country legends over the...
Christmas Back Stories | My 2010 Interview With Annie Lennox
In 2010, Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox jumped on the holiday-music bandwagon by releasing the album A Christmas Cornucopia. I was the only Canadian newspaper reporter to interview her about...
20 Questions With Bonzai
Every party has to start somewhere. And for the men of Tennessee reggae-rock outfit Bonzai, it starts with One Margarita, their latest single and video — which just happened to...
Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | Makin’ Them Look Mean
There's a great line in the ’70s Paul Newman hockey movie Slapshot, where one of the Chiefs players is bashing dents in the side of the team bus, inspired...
Thunder Pie | Eggplant Parm In A Strip Mall
“I despise formal restaurants. I find all of that formality to be very base and vile. I would much rather eat potato chips on the sidewalk.”
— Werner Herzog
There was...
Thunder Pie | Tender & Choppy Goes the Kid Piss Memoir
In the hallway outside the bathroom, where it’s mostly dark, I almost fall over a pile of kid piss blankets. I guess Arle put them there when she was...
DIY Discovery | The Crooked
Most of the music I hear is sent to me by labels and publicists. But there's nothing like getting it straight from the source. Welcome back to DIY Discovery,...
