So Many (Rhetorical) Questions
For flat-earth believers. If the earth is flat, why are all of the other planets round? And why doesn’t earth ever flip over like a coin? And if it did, what would be on the other side?
…music
It’s Only Words, But They Make or Break the Song
If you saw the movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, you’ll remember Mary, Freddie Mercury’s soulmate and lifelong friend. When Freddie died in 1991, he left his home and all its contents to her. Now, she’s selling it all.
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Dancing to my Own Beat
A happy flashback happened again last Wednesday, as I popped into the washroom at Milestone’s where I’d been having lunch with my friend Laurie. Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ was playing overhead and it transported me back to drum lessons, and how that song was the only one I came close to mastering.
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Music, Fresh Fish & Parking News – ImPort Stanley
Music is in the air. We are almost ready for summer. My husband and our neighbour Bill recently built our backyard fences. Our pergola is partway up, soon to be completed. It won’t be long before we’re spending warm evenings outside enjoying the ambience. Is it just me or are winters getting longer?
…Music, Fresh Fish & Parking News – ImPort StanleyRead More »
Brushes Before Fame
Someone on Twitter recently asked whether anyone had seen a band or knew an actor before they became famous. Most of us radio types have had the good fortune to experience loads of those moments. But the questions took me further back, to my days of beer and bars. There were several times when I saw bands before they hit it big.
…Davey, My Brother
The sweetest and most talented man I think I’ve ever known died of cancer on Sunday. My brother-in-law Dave was 58. In Derek’s family of six kids, Dave was #4.
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The Music in Me
Derek and I sing. A lot. Not that anybody asks us to. I sing more than he does but not necessarily better. We experience life in music. By that I mean, we turn everyday events into songs.
…Nosebleed Loophole
A couple went to a show at London’s Budweiser Gardens. It was a last-minute decision and they purchased seats in the only section available – the nosebleed section. Their heads were touching the ceiling. It was so high (how high was it?) Cheech and Chong were up there with them. They couldn’t see through the clouds. You get the idea.
…Centre-Middle-Thingy
As a child of the late 60s and the 70s, it always irked me when people called a 45 centre a “spider”. “Oh, that’s what it was called”, they said. “They”, being amateur historians who weren’t there when 45s were the most popular way to play music and needed the special bit of plastic to fit them onto a record player spindle! Harrumph, and other sounds of indignation…
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SharonStock VIII
The annual Botten-and-cousins-fest happened over the weekend. This is the one whose early, backyard days in Sharon, ON brought some of York Region’s finest in uniform to cap the noise.
…All Hail Alejandro
American Idol – I know. Some people hate it. It’s been fascinating and annoying and – when Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj were on it – a waste of airtime. The show deserves the cynicism it attracts, too, with too many so-called Idols having faded into nothingness. Now it’s a little too sweet but I’ll take that over mean any day. And it’s almost over for another season.
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Musical Moments
This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. This admission might seem fun or make me appear insane. That’s what makes it exciting!
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Baby, It’s Hot in Here
Those who wish to be society’s moral conscience are at it again. The 1940s cold weather duet, Baby, It’s Cold Outside, is being pulled from radio station playlists as some equate its lyrics with rape culture. Absurd! …
Backstage Stories as The Park Rocked 80s Style
The music of the 1980s withstood a lot of mocking. Hair bands and synthesizers, all pushed in our faces by cheesy music videos. But as last Thursday night proved, there were some really great songs that have passed the test of time. …
Throwback Thursday – Giving Into Temptations
Picture it: 1984. Or was it ’85. No matter. I was working as a “swing” host at all-hit-radio CKSL. Think CFTR but in London, Ontario. Swing means my shifts swung around the clock. There were a couple of overnights, an evening, an afternoon and fill-in shifts when necessary. The promotions department asked me to accompany a couple of contest winners to Detroit via limo, to see the Four Tops and The Temptations perform. …
Throwback Thursday – Def Jam
Some people have stacks of concert tickets from their teen years. I can count on one hand the number of concerts I saw when I was young. Growing up in rural Ontario, traveling to a live show wasn’t a top priority. Let’s see, there was Triumph, Frank Zappa – I’m already stumped. Apparently I only needed peter pointer and a thumb on one hand. …
Really Late Review – This is Spinal Tap (1984)
On so many levels, This Is Spinal Tap keeps on giving. First, Rob Reiner co-wrote and directed it. His ability as a Hollywood A level writer/actor/director comes through and its a kick in the “wayback” to see him with hair. …
New Fights for Old Money
If the heir to the writer of a children’s campfire song can claim ownership to a famous pop-flute riff, then anything truly is possible when it comes to owning the rights to music. A former Boomtown Rat hopes so, anyway. Â …