Results tagged “pop”

Who doesn't wish they knew Natalie Portman?

Like a ray of pop-nostalgia sunshine, the new self-released, self-titled EP from Everything All The Time finds its way into our sad-bastard acoustic hearts this week. It's a committed pop record that is technically pretty removed from a lot of the easy indie rock cop-outs that get thrown at the messy-haired, bespectacled sextet, but don't be afraid—they keep the conventions and the company (oh, and live drums), so no one will ever know.

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Calling all local dance floor heroes and heroines! Hearts are ga-gunking to the clocks, which countdown to a night of pure electro-bliss. This Saturday night, Kensington Market’s Teranga (159 Augusta Avenue) will play host to Woodhands, Bocce, Opopo, and Green Go for what will undoubtedly be the sweatiest night of your lives. Too generous? No! With a lineup like Saturday’s, you'll definitely need to bring a second set of clothes.

How many times have you been biking down the street and thought to yourself, "Wow, I wish I had a Pop-Tart!" Well, one enterprising cyclist (here parked near Yonge & Lawrence) has found the solution to this age-old problem––attaching a toaster oven directly to the handlebars of the bike. No word on exactly how the thing works, but we're guessing it's solar-powered.

In what simultaneously has to be one of the most hilariously inspired and gut-wrenching punishments in the history of parental discipline, a local GTA father has set a new standard for puffing penalization. The man—an elementary school teacher known by the screen name "k_lid"—decided to sell his son’s Christmas present on eBay (a notoriously hard-to-find copy of the best-selling Guitar Hero 3 game) when he returned home from work early to find 15-year-old Isaac...

Photo by bitefight from the Torontoist Flickr Pool

This weekend is going to be a scorcher. Lured by the siren song of the ice cream truck, it will be hard to resist that choc-vanilla twist cone, or Rocket Pop. Then there’s always the convenience store on the corner for a Strawberry Shortcake or Freezie. Of course, after too many of these sweet treats, your bikini or swimming trunks have a snugger fit than you were hoping for while strutting your stuff on the boardwalk. You can thank the high fat and sugar content for that, not to mention the artificial additives and preservatives you may be getting with each mouthful. Not so much fun any more.

For the time, it seems, side-projects are here to stay. If you take a look at any of the large indie bands from Canada (Broken Social Scene, Stars, New Pornographers, The Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade, off the top of our head), they've got at least one offshoot, whether active or not. The surprising thing is that, for the most part, these side-projects have done a decent job of living up to the hype brought upon them from their larger, more successful bands. With the Handsome Furs' debut Plague Park (Sub Pop), Wolf Parade's Dan Boeckner joins the long list of artists who have spawned another band while in the downtime from their main gig.

Members of comedy group Asiansploitation will stare at you until you come to their show: (left to right) Brian Lee, James Cheng, Sandy Chen, Max Minagawa, Glenn Gabriel, and Gary Chan. Photo by Sushant Verman.

Sometimes it's hard to know how to review a concert. What should take precedence: the performance or the music? Where do the two merge? Is it better to see a band performing excellent songs in a boring manner or a band that has loads of charisma but little musical substance? These were the questions floating around the Horseshoe after Saturday night's show by Sweden's Mando Diao, pictured above, and England's Pop Levi, both of whom delivered intense sets of mediocre rock and roll.

Swedish garage rock band Mando Diao seem to be quite fond of making up words. First, their band name came to singer Bjorn Dixgard in a dream, then they named their recent release Ode to Ochrasy, which is a made-up term meaning, well, we're not sure exactly, since we've read so many variations on the story. What's not made up, however, is the fact that the band is in town tomorrow night at The Horseshoe, with supporters Pop Levi & The Films. It's true. In fact, courtesy of Against the Grain, we have 2 pairs of tickets just for you. If you want to go, send an email with your full name to carrie@torontoist.com, along with the answer to this skill-testing question: What's better? Swedish meatballs, Ikea or blondes. Entries 4 and 6 win the prize.

Even though the Toronto Indie Pop Festival became the Over The Top Festival a long time ago, Thursday night's show at the Whippersnapper Gallery would have fit in easily with the former name. With three bands on the bill, it was a short blast of sweet songs that got the fest off to a good start.

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.

British fashion magazines have been talking about "new rave" (or nu-rave) since early last year in outlandish glossies like Super Super and Pop. The genre's name is a little misleading, however, as it shares only small parts of the "old rave" aesthetic and none of the beats, which is why the movement has been generally confined to magazines about clothes, not about music. Related to dance-punk and no wave, new rave scenesters don day-glo, glitter paint, glowsticks and visors, among other old rave accessories, but are noticeably lacking in the trouser width department.

Now that CMW is out of the way, it's time to move onto other pressing music matters -- such as, why the hell are all these really great bands coming to town and playing the Kool Haus?! Can we not get a better venue than that? We just spent three of the last seven days at that venue and had to stand near the soundboard just to get even remotely clear audio of the shows. The acoustics there are almost always terrible...but then again, it is pretty much a giant tin box. /rant

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.

Looking for that authentic theatre experience in the comfort of your own home? Forget shelling out thousands of dollars on a new high-definition television. As part of ongoing renovations, the folks at the Danforth Music Hall are selling their seats.

A few weeks ago Kensington Market's Neu+ral Lounge announced on Stillepost that they were looking for djs and party organizers to take over their Saturday night slot. Organizers of Eat Your Greens, a Britpop, Mod and Soul night, have decided to leave the venue for the El Mocambo, and will be doing so starting February 10.

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary.

Contests! Glorious contests! Yet another one for all of you - this one's for two pairs of tickets to see The Constantines with Lullabye Arkestra and Shotgun & Jaybird at Lee's Palace on Friday December 1, 2006. The show's 19+, and tickets would normally put you out $17.50.

Jagshemash!

This year, the city that moves on Canada Day quite sensibly threw what may be the country's best indie culture fest over Thanksgiving weekend. Now in its fifth year, Pop Montreal took over the indie city from the 4th to the 8th like a clever NXnE that's actually fun for bands and the public to go to.

Ok, sorry for the YouTube overload but we know that you like Feist and we also know that you like claymation (who doesn't like claymation?) So here you go, a claymation version of Feist's "Mushaboom."

Toronto has exploded in festivals this weekend. Scream, Toronto Outdoor Art Expo, Fringe, uh, Molson Indy. Not to mention The Big Game. But there is another festival happening right now that is worth making time for: Beats, Breaks and Culture. This Harbourfront festival focuses on urban electronica, global flavours, and touches on the 4 pillars of hip hop, including live graffiti creations and the largest breakdancing competition in Canada.

It's a well known joke among indie rock fans that there are tons and tons of "wolf" bands. Everyone from Wolf Parade to Aids Wolf to Guitar Wolf. There's something about the lupine animal that just attracts musicians trying to come up with a band name. With the success of wolf bands the backlash is going to be inevitable.

Toronto synth-punk band Pony Da Look starts up this Thursday Music Roundup. PDL, which up until recently had been on a break, are back in force. They're doing two shows, one tonight with Kiss Me Deadly and Pyramid Culture at Sneaky Dee's ($8 bucks) and tommorow as part of Lederhosen Lucil's EP and Zine launch (pictured here).

won’t-be-down-with-that flick, being shown tonight as part of Cinematheque Ontario’s Canada’s Top Ten programme (8:45pm, Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas West). The showing is preceded at 6:30pm by a fascinating panel – Pop Culture as History/History as Pop Culture, featuring Atom Egoyan (of Canada’s Top Ten film Where the Truth Lies) and Jean-Marc Vallee (of the aforementioned C.R.A.Z.Y), curated by Eye Weekly’s Jason Anderson. Sadly completely sold out, you can arrive early and hope for a rush ticket hope there is a ticket scalper outside, but the film is available, sans panel, at the Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor West) all week long.

Pop quiz: what do Canada and the blogosphere have in common, besides an inferiority complex? It's time to vote! If you're like us, today's trip to the polling station only whet your appetite for democracy, or at least for checking off a name in a decisive manner. Fortunately, you have another chance, as it's time to exercise your will online and vote for your favourite blogs.