Torontoist » “Surreal Life”

CBC Music’s First-Ever Festival Will Be a CanCon Love-In

Chris Dart — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:30:30 +0000

The CBCMusic.ca Festival will feature Sloan, Kathleen Edwards, Of Monsters and Men, and roving appearances by Jian Gomeshi and Matt Galloway.

According to CBC’s Chris Boyce, the goal of this weekend’s CBCMusic.ca Festival is twofold. First and foremost, the CBC wants to celebrate Canadian music. Second, it wants to celebrate CBC Music, the broadcaster’s online music service, which launched a little over a year ago.

The Barber of Seville is Not the Sharpest Shave

Carly Maga — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:30:32 +0000

A reworked version of Beaumarchais' play makes for an uneven production, on now at Soulpepper Theatre.

In 1996, Theatre Columbus premiered playwright Michael O’Brien’s “freely adapted” take on the famous Beaumarchais play The Barber of Seville, which was written in 1775. O’Brien’s version mixed in music from the 1816 opera of the same name by Gioachino Rossini, as well as original tunes by composer John Millard. The adaptation also propelled the story forward a couple centuries, with pop culture references galore. With Theatre Columbus co-founder Leah Cherniak at the helm, the musical ended the season with six Dora Award nominations (it won three) and plenty of critical acclaim.

Seventeen years later, Soulpepper Theatre is remounting this zany reimagination of The Barber of Seville, updated once again by O’Brien, Millard, and Cherniak. But, for some reason—the change in decade, or company, or sense of humour—whatever had made the original so magical, has faded, save for a few key performances.

Much Less Music

David Fleischer — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:05:24 +0000

Sometimes you have to wonder what they’re thinking down on Queen Street.
First there was MuchMusic, “The Nation’s Music Station.”
Remember when you were growing up and you told all your American friends how much cooler -how much more REAL it was than MTV?
Well, then it kinda stopped playing music (just like MTV) so they brought in Much More Music which played LESS music than the old MuchMusic but more than the current MuchMusic, if you follow.
But MMM quickly devolved into a depository for regurgitated VH1 crap with tenuous ties to music (The Surreal Life, The Fabulous Life of Donald Trump etc.) as well as enough list- and alphabet-related shows to put Sesame Streetto shame. If you were lucky you might catch a Stabilo or Ron Sexsmith video airing at 8:30 a.m. (albeit in the upper right corner of the screen) but, hey, it was something.
Now, we can’t help but wonder about the current glut of reruns taking over the MMM airways. It seems that they are constantly running 80s-quasi-classics Fame and Coz-spawn A Different World. The former at least has some connection to the arts and music but the latter?
Sure, it’s nice to see the antics of Dwayne Wayne back on the air and it’s exciting to see Marissa Tomei honing the acting chops that would soon bring her Oscar gold but we have to wonder – wow did Chum put this one past the CRTC? Did they remind them that Lisa Bonet was once married to Lenny Kravitz? That she played a Frampton-spewing indie-folk-rock artist in High Fidelity?
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
(By the way, did you know that A Different World was on TV for SIX seasons? It’s a fact!)

A Snack for McKenzie, Wake-up Call for Klee

Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 15:33:17 +0000

With Gary Bettman finally putting an end to the prolonged nausea of the NHL’s Collective Bargaining, we now look at alternative distractions to fill the void in the absence of our country’s top sport. The void once filled by the even more nauseating lockout coverage by top sporting networks such as TSN and RogersSportsnet, will hopefully see a shift to real sporting news, such as Vince Carter’s resurgence and this weekends’ NBA All-star game.
With this anticipated shift in the Canadian-media-sporting-content, it can only be assumed that the initial ten minutes of each telecast will no longer include TSN’s Bob McKenzie critiquing Commissioner Bettman’s daily breakfast selection. Hopefully we wont have to see the likes of McKenzie or any of James Duthie’s other cronies until the next season eventually faces-off.
Torontoist would like to offer it’s final thoughts on the lockout that was.
Maple Leaf defenseman Ken Klee called out Gary Bettman on the Fan590 yesterday morning – accusing him of bargaining in bad faith. A witty Klee questioned Bettman’s methods, stating that he surely must have read the book Bargaining for Dummies – making reference to the “For Dummies” series of instructional manuals. Torontoist would like to remind its readers that Ken Klee makes two and a half million dollars a season. So why this complaining from a guy who is the hockey equivalent of a Harvey’s Busboy? Klee made more in 2003-04 then he should have over a ten-year career. His complaints of the situation are a greedy cry for help. Under a restricted system, it will be players such as himself who will be the first to get cut back, and Torontoist is excited for that day.
Many say that Bettman and union counterpart, Bob Goodenow are certain to lose their jobs over the current situation. Torontoist feels otherwise. Perhaps if the situation had resolved itself today with neither side receiving what it was looking for, then this would likely be the reality. However, until the situation is resolved, both men can still come out as heroes to their membership. Torontoist is leaning towards the Commissioner in this matter. With many of the players living like rap-stars, their bling bling is certain to dissipate long before their wealthy owners’ do.
What the NHLPA needs to realize is that most of the Sporting World gives a rat’s ass about them. On ESPN’s Jim Rome is Burning this past Monday, one of Jim’s guests summed it up nicely, saying that “People would prefer to watch Verne Troyer pee on a carpet on the Surreal Life, then they would watch hockey.” Not the best bargaining tool Mr. Goodenow.
Rest in Peace NHL 2004-05… Scratch that – Good Riddance! And to Bob McKenzie. Perhaps Ken Klee was on to something. Enjoy your holiday chubby.