Essays
They’re With the Brand
Ever since The Rolling Stones first printed their lips-and-tongue logo in 1971, the music world has been rife with super-successful branding, from The Ramones’ American eagle to Motörhead’s armoured skull to Public Enemy’s human target … And yet, with very few exceptions — most prominently Rush — Canadian bands have historically resisted forging a design identity, or simply haven’t been much good at it.
Winter 2010 Music Preview
The year has only just started, but already there’s something cool about 2010: It feels as though we’re living in the future.
Neil Young: Greatest Canadian Hero
They wore baseball caps, bandanas and cowboy hats. They sported Maple Leaf badges and flags. They came in from the suburbs, from Ottawa, from Indiana. On a gloriously sunny day in downtown Toronto, 1623 guitarists packed Yonge/Dundas Square with one common goal – to strum out Neil Young’s three-chord classic ‘Helpless’ together.
Kanye West and Pop Art
If you believe Kanye West’s own hype about his new album, 808s and Heartbreak, he hasn’t just turned away from hip hop. He has invented a new genre of music.
New Technology Helps DJs See the Light
With the advent of inexpensive software, just about anyone can make decent-sounding music on a computer. Performing one’s electronic opus, however, is another matter. Watching producers working laptops or triggering samplers on stage is as exciting as staring at an electronic simulation of paint drying.
Until recently, computer wizards have had two ways to shake up their performances: video projection (which works best if you have a huge budget like Kraftwerk) or hiring people to play “real” instruments and/or sing. Tomorrow night, at Montreal’s Society for Arts and Technology, a group of electronic music producers will be presenting a third alternative: the use of new musical instruments which look as appealing as they sound.
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