Once a proud Torontoist staffer, now a published YA novelist: Jill Murray is celebrating the release of her first book this week. Break On Through is the story of Nadine, aka Lady Six Sky, a badass b-girl who dreams of winning the Hogtown Showdown with her breakdancing crew. But when her parents announce that they're moving from Parkdale to the fictional suburb of Rivercrest, Nadine's world is turned upside down. Now she's lost her crew,......

It seems pretty appropriate that we just had Groundhog Day, given that we're feeling a little bit like Bill Murray looking at the concert listings this week. Not only is there very little going on, but most of the bands who are playing seem to be here every week (Apostle of Hustle, The Tragically Hip, Hostage Life, Friendly Rich). Thus, we have nothing left to say about them! So if you've already seen these......

When Coach House Books launched uTOpia: Towards a New Toronto last year we were absolutely, positively thrilled. The book brought together a group of people in love with the city and its potential. A year later, we're just days away from the launch of the State of the Arts, the sequel to that fine volume. With many of the same contributors as the first volume, we know that Coach House will pull off a fine......

We realize that we probably talk about Owen Pallett, aka Final Fantasy, way too much. So we're not going to talk about his free show on Saturday night at North York Central Library, also featuring The Creeping Nobodies, Hank, Ninja High School, and Bob Wiseman. Nope, not a word. Instead, what we do want to tell you about is the Toronto Public Library's stellar new local CD selection - the whole reason that the......

It's a bitter-sweet day in the hip hop neighborhood as Best Kept Secret, one of CHRY 105.5's longest-running shows, and a true staple of the Toronto hip hop scene, airs for the last time this evening from 6-8pm. Best Kept Secret began 12 years ago, when a post-velvet-catsuit era DJ Dalia was introduced to high school student DJ Venus, who would skip class and sprint to the studio to thug it out on air......

When public debates flare up over whether graffiti is art or vandalism, the heat they generate doesn't even come close to that of the fires that rage within the culture itself over whether art on legal walls, painted in a graffiti style is "real" graffiti. The one thing graffiti opponents and practitioners seem to agree on is the defining element of risk and illegality that is central to the art and act we call graf.......

It's 4/20 and you know what that means! No, not the birth of Toller Cranston, the anniversary of the first Pasteurization test, Pierre Trudeau's succession as Prime Minister or the first day of the Sun of Taurus. (OK, well, technically, also, yes, all of those things.) It's time to watch that More Or Les video again for the first time,'cause it's finally on YouTube. Only Book TV found it appropriate for Canadian airwaves, so you......