Really the Blues by Mezz Mezzrow and Bernard Wolfe
March 20, 2016
Deep in the bowels of my paperback copy of The Penguin Guide to Jazz, there’s a short section on Mezz Mezzrow. At the time my copy was published, only a few recordings of his were…
Real Life Rock by Greil Marcus
February 6, 2016
Relatively speaking, rock criticism is still new. Pitchfork’s been around for less than two decades; Rolling Stone is nearing 50. And most of the first wave of rock critics have either moved on to other…
The Who: 50 Years of My Generation
November 25, 2015
Back some 40-odd years ago, The Who were the loudest rock band in the biz and one of the best. They were four highly talented musicians, taking some of the most introspective and well-crafted songs…
M Train by Patti Smith
October 9, 2015
There isn’t anyone really quite like Patti Smith out there. As a musician, she’s almost without peer: by the sheer power of her ambition and ability, she was one of the few women to rise…
Why read a book of music criticism? It depends. You could be interested in a particular essay or review. Maybe you’re researching a band or period of music. Maybe you’re just a music nerd. But…
A Safe Girl To Love
August 14, 2015
Back in the day, I read McSweeneys all the time. Not just the features or short stories, but even the web-only stuff, like their annual column contest. It’s been years since I even visited the…
Farzana Doctor’s Book Launch: Six Metres of Pavement
September 10, 2011
(Photo Caption: TINARS Director, Marc Glassman, in conversation with Farzana Doctor.) The launch was a great success, filled with soothing vocals, wry stories about the audience’s worst mistakes, and Glassman’s psychoanalysis of Farzana Doctor (Is…
Keep Toronto Reading 2011
September 10, 2011
Having been a novice in attendance, I had no clue what to expect. What ensued that night was a series of readings by Anthony De Sa, Cesar Polvarosa Jr, and the MAD Poet. The…
FanExpo 2010: Recap
September 10, 2011
Friday: 6:45 pm: The Expo officially opens Friday evening at 4pm, but knowing that I’d be there all weekend, I end up heading downtown late. The commute downtown is not so bad, and my arrival…