Page Tuner: “The Man Who Sold The World: David Bowie & the 1970s”

Early on in his remarkably well-researched book, “The Man Who Sold The World: David Bowie & the 1970s”, Peter Doggett posits that Bowie’s seminal folk-rock song “Changes” is a thesis statement for his entire legend, a sort of musical I Ching wherein all the complexities and possibilities of David Jones the man combined to form David Bowie, the legend.

Advertisement

How The Beatles Taught Me To Record

I used to wake up at about noon and put on my tie. In my final semester of high school, I had only one class:  Art. It was during fourth period, so I had basically entire days free at home, without my family or friends to distract me from the crushing boredom that was slowly enveloping me like a weighted fog.  Instead of thinking about my future or worrying about a career, I was lost in cassette tapes.

In Conversation With Daniel Lanois @ TIFF

Last night I had the supreme pleasure of attending an evening billed as “In Coversation With Daniel Lanois” the the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Any time I get a chance to hear a great artist, an icon, talk about their work, I jump at the opportunity.

Motion Pictures: “20,000 Days On Earth”

The rock biography is a tough form to work with these days. With the expansion of the documentary form and the rise of the “mockumentary”, the format is rife with expectations and clichés. “20,000 Days On Earth” manages to avoid all of this by sidestepping any concept of straightforward documentary. Instead, the film functions as a sort of biography of the myth, rather than the man.

Music on Film at TIFF 2014

For many people, music attains its greatest emotive power when accompanying a moving image. Whether your thing is comedy or experimental art-house, it’s hard to imagine our favourite films without their respective scores. Here are three films that I saw at this year’s TIFF in which music played a pivotal role.

Swans @ Yonge-Dundas Square (NXNE)

The birds were leaving. 

Black Sabbath, Live In Hamilton

Black Sabbath is the great heavy rock & roll singularity. Before Sabbath, there was nothing but an infinitely dense, hot mass of possibility. From their very first sinister tritone, the borders of rock and roll expanded instantly and endlessly, and in that moment they created the universal conditions under which all hard rock that came afterwards would need to obey to exist.

Some Reminiscences on Black Sabbath

Here is something you should drop to your knees for, and worship…

When I was about 17 or 18, I spent a couple of weeks during the summer working at a “fun park”, the kind of place where they have mini-golf and go karts and so-on. Sounds alright, doesn’t it?

Awesome Tune: “Year Of The Dragon” by The Entrance Band

“Face The Sun” (LP) by The Entrance Band

Last night I dreamed I was just like you.

Things That I Forgot to Write About (2013 Edition)

During my prolonged writing hiatus of mid-2013, I had a few mind-blowing musical experiences that I didn’t write about at the time. As a wrap up to the past year, I’d like to briefly recap these events, as they were each great in their own unique way.