Archive for June, 2010
The Roots
Onstage, The Roots are a whirlwind of energy. The members of the veteran hip-hop group march back and forth, chase each other around, intersperse their songs with blasting covers of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song and Kool & The Gang’s Jungle Boogie and jump into the crowd while still playing their instruments. You’d never guess that middle age was weighing on their minds.
Christian Scott
Four minutes into the opening track of his new album, Yesterday You Said Tomorrow, Christian Scott works a solo up to fever pitch, blaring out an aggressive high note on his trumpet — when suddenly, off-mic, he lets out a long, loud bellow.
Laurie Anderson
It’s a strikingly sunny April day, and somewhere up above the sparkling east London alleyway where Laurie Anderson is sitting, a spreading ash cloud is threatening to strand her in the city. She looks up and smiles at the prospect: “It’s kinda great to just improvise, isn’t it?”
Gord Downie
If Gord Downie didn’t exist, Canada would have to invent him. After all, who else unites such a wide spectrum of Canadians, from sensitive nature-worshippers to surly, lager-swilling brawlers? On his new solo album, The Grand Bounce, the Tragically Hip front man even sings about how the two extremes can have more in common than one may suspect — although he comes down on the side of the softies.
