By John Leung
Many do not believe the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance should not unite into a single party. I have to ask, why not? What does the Canadian right have to lose? Since 1987, the right has been fractured by the formation of the Reform Party. This fracture was made into a complete break after… Continue reading Survival of the merger
Bars, booze and good times are what the Saturday night party crowd know all too well, but what happens when the typical Saturday night ends with a visit to the emergency room? It’s a case that is becoming all too common: drugs slipped into drinks. It reinforces the cardinal rule of the bar–never leave a… Continue reading The horror of date rape
Some rock bands don’t want you to know they’re from Canada. They’re afraid of being marked forever with a scarlet maple leaf, never to find legitimate success apart from CanCon and CBC specials. With The Sam Roberts Band working on their fourth Canadian tour in the last year, there’s no doubting their nationality. And if… Continue reading Sam Roberts and canadian evil… content
“The classics should not feel like a root canal.”Victor Sawa does not fit the role of the standard conductor. In fact, he totes himself as “definitely different from 99 per cent of other conductors who convey the image that they’d rather not be there.” He’s bringing his uniqueness as an affable, comical and audience-focused conductor… Continue reading Terror takes the CPO stage
By Leah Sasges
What do you get when you fuse punk rock and traditional Celtic folk music? No, it’s not Newfies at a Rancid concert, it’s the energy-driven, Celtic-punk fusion that are the Dropkick Murphys. As I ease into the conversation with lead singer Al Barr, his prominent accent reflects the band’s Boston roots. “The band started in… Continue reading A fatal Dropkick to the head
If By the Warmth of Your Flame was intended to be a totally unique album, it has certainly achieved its goal. It consists of slow, sad vocals juxtaposed with beating drums and steady rhythmic bass, piano, xylophone, acoustic and keys. The final track on the album is the conglomeration of Raising the Fawn’s ever- present… Continue reading By the Warmth of Your Flame
By Mike Hallman
Break the Silence is the major label debut of Crowned King, a seven-piece band out of Vancouver. They play melodic punk, rather than ska, which is unusual to say the least with a three-piece horn section. The result is a nice, layered sound with the dominant, hard-edged guitar working well with the horn section. This… Continue reading Crowned King
By Rob Scherf
Vancouver-based singer/songwriter RC Joseph’s first full-length release under the moniker Kingsway , The Typical or Universal Human Event, is not recommended for listeners who can’t appreciate an extremely slow-paced record. Like his nu-folk peers (including the likes of Jack Johnson and Cat Power), Joseph is content to fill the quiet spaces of his album’s generous… Continue reading Kingsway
“Dying is an art, like everything else, I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell.”These opening lines, borrowed from Sylvia Plath’s poem Lady Lazarus, signify the gloomy journey of Plath’s tumultuous marriage to poet Ted Hughes. Those familiar with the American poets’ life will already know of her suicidal, volatile… Continue reading Sylvia Plath… terrifying
By Jael Wong
Read the book. If you want to be compelled, if you want to be captivated, if you want something to think about, skip the cinema; go to your library and sign out a copy of The Human Stain. Based on the novel by Philip Roth, the film version features fine performances from a strong and… Continue reading The Human Stain