Sure, they penned the obviously raddest one-hit-wonder of 1996, but since that fateful year, full of cheerleaders and homoerotic football players, Nada Surf have continued to rage against the dying of that hit-single light. They may have fallen off MTV's radar, but so have most things north of Christina Aguilera's baby-bump. Since leaving Elektra in 1998, the band have built a quiet following of appreciative indie rockers around the world, unconcerned with attaining the......

When you think of literacy, chances are the first name that comes to mind isn't Slash. But the notoriously bad-assed guitarist from rock legends Guns n' Roses has recently come out with an autobiography detailing his many, many encounters with sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. He was born in England but moved to LA in the early seventies, where he was surrounded by musical icons such as Joni Mitchell and David Geffen, and even......

Researchers doing one of the shittiest jobs in the nation have gathered up schoolyard cigarette butts and determined that teens are smoking large numbers of contraband cigarettes. The study was funded by the Canadian Convenience Stores Association, which believes we should protect our kids by ensuring they only indulge in healthy store-bought smokes. Police are optimistic that security cameras in the Entertainment District will provide evidence in Monday night's wild shootout. The cameras could have......

The late Paul Haines’ Secret Carnival Workers was launched at the end of last month, the occasion marked with a concert by his daughter, Emily (his other daughter is television journalist Avery Haines). Torontoist has been mulling over the book, comprised of poetry, fiction, jazz journalism and album liner notes, since then. This is not a book to be devoured quickly. It can be dense at times, but also immensely rewarding and full of......

It was a whirlwind friendship that began in the summer of 2003 between two of Canada's more notable singers. Chantal Kreviazuk and Avril Lavigne had a lot in common from the start: they both left their hometowns to launch careers in Toronto; they each have a contract with Ford models; both are represented by the same management company; the women have appeared in minor film roles; and both are now married to Canadian rock......

Brooklyn indie buzz band Bishop Allen play Lee's Palace this Thursday night. Their music is infectiously catchy with great pop hooks. If you're looking for a frame of reference, one music blogger described their sound as "a mix of the brainy lyrics of The Talking Heads and the stripped-down guitar work of the Violent Femmes." Their records are on regular rotation on the iPods of several Torontoist staffers. We can't get enough of them.......

Two super-fast ticket giveaways for you today...get 'em while they're hot. First up are three pairs of tickets to see Colorado's Rose Hill Drive with Zuku tonight at Lee's Palace, courtesy of Against the Grain. If you've never heard Rose Hill Drive, think 70's rock a la Zeppelin, and for what it's worth, Rolling Stone recently named them one of the "10 new artists to watch in 2007." Up for it? If you can make......

Hunter S. Thompson is notorious for his alcohol abuse, his gun collection, and most importantly for developing a new style of journalism called Gonzo. This new style blended fact and fiction and often removed objectivity by placing the author in the starring role. When the Ryerson Review of Journalism needed to raise funds for its upcoming issues, they decided to throw a party, and once again place Hunter S. in the starring role. Decadent and......

Now, Torontoist has absolutely no intention of getting into the whole Sienna-Miller-playing Edie Sedgwick debacle, because well, we have more important things to do with our time then to babble about celebrity fodder. Yet, Edie was a pretty fascinating mix of American socialite, debutante, heiress and lest we forget, Andy Warhol's muse. Their relationship did not last through an entire calendar year, yet Edie's inspiration on pop culture has lasted longer than anyone would've......

This weekend was brought to you by Kensington and the number 5. Okay, we made up the bit about the number 5, but Kensington was the august August weekend theme. From a long and endearing piece about Kensington kids in the Sunday Star to Pedestrian Sundays to Saturday Night in the market, Kensington was the word. So let's proceed with a short wrap up of the newly crazy Saturday Night scene. We began the......

You’ve heard it here before.  You’ve read it in the New York Times and Spin magazine and countless other publications.  Montreal is where it’s at and the Arcade Fire is THE Canadian band.  Why even bother to offer an adjective, there’s just too many too choose from.  The critically-and-David Bowie-acclaimed Arcade Fire is “Canada’s most intriguing rock band,” as declared by this week’s Time Magazine’s Canadian Edition, on newsstands now. Laura Blue and Hugh Porter......