
Frank Yang I don't think Toronto necessarily has an international reputation as a destination for expatriate pop geniuses, but apparently Canadian women hold a certain appeal for them. Joe Pernice of Pernice Brothers has been up here for the better part of eight years while Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub moved to Kitchener a couple years ago - both on account of their Canadian wives - and on Friday night, they were on stage together at The Dakota Tavern for a low-key show together. It had been advertised as a Joe Pernice [...]

On this day five years ago, John Peel was getting ready to present another episode of his radio show. Unfortunately, it would be his last as a heart attack would take his life a few weeks later while on a working holiday in Peru. He had been best known as a disc jockey and champion of the musical underdog on BBC radio. His Peel Sessions gave many bands their first chance of airplay and a load of them went on to have successful careers in the music business. Sadly, I never got to hear his shows as it was not [...]

250 years ago, Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease at £45 a year to rent St James's Gate brewery in Dublin. Tomorrow, September 24th, has been designated as Arthur's Day and will feature celebrations all around the world. Unsurprisingly, the biggest party will take place in Dublin as dozens of bands will converge on Ireland's capital city to raise a toast to Arthur. The day begins at 17:59 with an invite-only concert at St James's Gate itself featuring Tom Jones, Kasabian and Estelle. Four Dublin venues (Vicar St, the Academy, Tripod and Whelan's) will put on gigs that [...]

Just as it says on that there tin, folks... have posted many of these before, but what the heck. Back from holidays soon, so expect more new stuff here. Tom McShane -'That's All There Is (Nina Simone cover).' mp3 Comrade Down -'American Trilogy (Delgados cover).' mp3 Cat Power -'Wonderwall (Oasis cover; John Peel session.' mp3 Cat Power -'We Dance (Pavement cover).' mp3 Jesus and Mary Chain -'Vegetable Man (Syd Barrett [...]

In the face of huge and incredibly wealthy companies suing one other over because of their fears of the internet, and all the terrible, terrible things it will bring, it might be a good idea to think about how far things have come since the days of Napster and Audiogalaxy. Once, bands and labels did as much as they could to prevent mp3s reaching the internet. Now, almost all labels are engaged with it, and it forms as much a part of their promotional and retail world as anything else - and that's before getting into the whole Web 2.0 [...]