Every Sunday, Frank Warren takes some of the anonymous secrets he receives by the hundreds and posts them to his website, PostSecret. Warren receives them as postcards, each one artistically suited to the secret it contains; what was originally conceived as a one-time art project has not only given way a website with over a million hits per week, but three books compiling PostSecret's submissions into different themes: PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives, My... [continue]

Three years ago, Frank Warren printed 3000 postcards inviting people to share a secret with him. Long since he stopped handing these first postcards out at subway stations and art galleries, he continues to receive secrets from around the world. Each week, Warren posts some of these on PostSecret, the largest advertisement-free blog on the internet. He has also published three books compiling some of these secrets: PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives, My Secret... [continue]

On occasion, Daniel Johnston has shed his cult status and entered the public spotlight: it happened when Kurt Cobain promoted him and again with the release of The Devil and Daniel Johnston. And as a recent compilation confirmed, his influence can be felt throughout modern music, including Tom Waits, Beck, and The Flaming Lips. So it was a surreal experience to see Johnston close the Over The Top Festival this past Sunday. On one... [continue]

The Over The Top Festival starts today—the real one, not the CFL event. The next four evenings will find bands, films and dance performances filling various downtown venues. Having originated in 2002 as the "Toronto Indie Pop Festival," past festivals have line-ups have included Grizzly Bear and Amy Milan. The 2007 line-up continues in this vein, most notably bringing singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston, subject of the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. The full schedule... [continue]

In the tradition of reporting on undervalued national holidays, we bring your attention to the one occurring today: National High Five Day. The holiday is observed on the third Thursday of April each year, and celebrates the power of the popular hand-based greeting, which apparently also turns 30 this year. Those of you wanting to celebrate en masse -- but probably only in spirit -- can join the other 1500 people taking part on... [continue]

Over The Top Festival organizer Eric Warner has issued a letter to the Canadian Football League to cease and desist use of his festival's name. Warner's annual event, featuring diverse programming in music, film, and theatre, is now entering its sixth year in Toronto, while the CFL is promoting its fall Grey Cup events also as "Over The Top Festival". Warner's "Over The Top Festival" arrives on May 3rd, bringing acts such Daniel Johnston... [continue]

In 1969, during one of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's three visits to Ottawa, a 14-year-old named Jerry Levitan snuck into their hotel, tracked them down, and snagged an interview on a reel-to-reel tape recorder. (You can read a written account of the story here.) Years later, the audio has been set to animation and the result is a short film entitled "I Met The Walrus." It should be amazing, if the trailer is... [continue]

After an exhaustive three days of Canadian Music Week, we bring you a recap of some of the bands Torontoist had a chance to take in. (You can also read another writer's take on the festival.) Thursday: After doing the requisite Myspace-browsing, Sneaky Dee's seemed like a safe bet. Torontoist first caught The Nymphets (right) at 10 PM and they were far better than their small audience of 30 people suggested. The drummer for the... [continue]

Canadian Music Week comes to an end today. To mark that, we bring you a video of our recent interview with local group Your Band Sucks. Doc Pickles and Michelle Breslin discuss their sound, working with David Newfeld, and Wavelength.... [continue]

Torontoist caught-up with Dave Azzolini and Jess Grassia of The Golden Dogs recently. Having finished a radio interview, they were rushing to pick up the rest of the band and proceed to The Docks for 2007 Indie Awards. Torontoist interviewed them in their van as all this happened—because such is Canadian Music Week. (And apparently we enjoy bands and their vans.) The Golden Dogs play Horseshoe Tavern tonight at 12 p.m. Tickets are $8 at... [continue]

There are milestones in every band's life, like appearing on the cover of a local weekly. Rock Plaza Central did not only that this week but contemplated their first van purchase as well. Torontoist went along to document it all. Rock Plaza Central plays Lee's Palace tonight at 10 PM. Tickets are $12 at the door. Videos after the jump.... [continue]

Just a little under a month ago, Torontoist suggested that Stephen Colbert should end his long-standing grievance with the Toronto Raptors. Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, put the team "On Notice" during his first show on October 17, 2005. As we described then, the move came one day after the Raptors lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Euroleague Champions; it is the only time that an international squad has ever beaten an NBA... [continue]

After rumours and speculation, Arcade Fire recently announced that they would perform at Massey Hall on May 15 & 16. Both shows sold-out in less than a minute. But hopefully those who missed-out on tickets (and are avoiding scalpers) caught their performance on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. The band performed two tracks from their new album Neon Bible (to be released on March 6), "Intervention" and "Keep The Car Running. They also appeared... [continue]

We're just going to put this out there: if you're generally unaware of what it is these "Academy Awards" and "Oscars" are all about, go here. With that out of the way, we're excited to be liveblogging tonight's show. Yes, Citizen Kane lost eight of its nine nominations back in 1941, and similarly debatable decisions occur every year. But no one can argue the Academy Awards' hold on pop culture, and in the spirit... [continue]

According to the website for the 79th Annual Academy Awards, it's only one day and four hours until this year's ceremony— and yes, Torontoist is that excited. Not only will we be watching, we'll be liveblogging the event, as we did for the 2006 civic elections. Think of it as a written audio commentary, tailor-made for Torontonians. So if you're near a computer—or have one of them there fancy laptops—we encourage you to juggle... [continue]

Last night at the Opera House, local concert goers met their match. Toronto audiences are (in)famous for their subdued responses at live shows, which is usually expressed through a steady nodding of the head. Scottish indie group Camera Obscura provided an equally stoic performance, with singer Tracyanne Campbell delivering each song note-perfect yet devoid of any physical expression beyond the strumming of her guitar. Even the infectious single "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken"... [continue]

The urban sprawl in Toronto is a continual point of debate on Torontoist (see, for instance, our interview with Brad Lamb), but tomorrow you will get a chance to share your opinions on the matter outside of our sullied comment threads. On Monday, 7pm to 9pm at the Parkdale branch of the Toronto Public Library, fourth year students from Ryerson University will present their study of gentrification in Parkdale, followed by a moderated panel... [continue]

No, we didn't make it up. See for yourself. "The mission of the Global Orgasm," the site says, "is to effect change in the energy field of the Earth through input of the largest possible surge of human energy." While you might question the science behind this, you have to admire the chutzpah of whoever thought to add another event to the Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa season. Also, they sell t-shirts. Photo by kelly maher from the Torontoist... [continue]

I first heard about Mancunian singer-songwriter Jim Noir last April, while traveling through London. By the time I returned home, his debut album, Tower of Love, seemed to be getting attention in Toronto too, including a large display at Sonic Boom. But Jim Noir himself was not so lucky crossing the ocean. When Sean Lennon took the stage at the Opera House last week, he welcomed Noir and his band, saying he was glad they... [continue]

At a press conference held this morning at the Canon Theatre, members of the band Queen and comedian Ben Elton gathered to promote the musical "We Will Rock You," opening in March, 2007. The press conference follows days of auditioning in which Elton, as well as Brian May and Roger Taylor, whittled 60 finalists down to a cast of 30 or so. Brian May commented on Queen's early career: "We were very against musical theatre.... [continue]