Toronto's top 50 rock songs of all time
Post City has scoured the archives to come up with our list of the top 50 rock songs in Toronto history. The only limitation is one song per artist or band.
Blog
The Music Issue: Kim Mitchell
A tall, strange sepulchral fellow he was: eyes deeply set, skull almond-shaped, arms and legs akimbo and mad hair sproinging in all directions when he played. He looked even stranger while wearing a nun’s habit, which sometimes he did in his heyday: the late ’70s and early ’80s.
The Music Issue: Jim Cuddy
No doubt, Jim Cuddy is one of the greatest artists in Toronto music history, and lucky for us, he’s still rockin’.
The Music Issue: Justin Nozuka
Justin Nozuka started writing songs at age 12. When the rest of us were just trying to figure ourselves out, he was singing and learning to play guitar, recording tracks that would end up on his debut CD, Holly, named after his mother (aww!). Of course, it helps that he’s got a pretty talented pedigree: … Continued
The Music Issue: Brendan Canning
In many ways, Brendan Canning was no different than your average kid growing up in the suburbs of Toronto. “I was always into music,” he says, “But also soccer and pro wrestling.” What set him apart from throngs of other adolescents who dabble in guitar to fill their suburban summer days is that he stuck to it long enough (not to mention actually had an affinity for it) to form a band — or rather several bands: he’s been a member of By Divine Right, Head, Blurtonia and most famously Broken Social Scene.
The Music Issue: Alex Lifeson
My fingers hurt, but it was worth it. I think. I remember All the World’s a Stage opened gatefold- up on the carpet of Johnny Wersta’s parents’ living room — or mine — with maybe a glass of lemonade staining the coasterless table and the two of us sitting on our crappy amps facing each other trying to study Alex Lifeson’s playing.
The Music Issue: Neil Young
Neil Young lived in Toronto for a short time. He came out of the northwest then departed soon after for the south. If Toronto was the cheese in his sandwich, California was his meat, and Manitoba his bread. Still, the city left deep impressions: endless subway rides, the clubs and rabble of Yorkville, old Yonge Street movie theatres, endless nights in crummy apartments dreaming of home, smoking hash in long dark alleyways and music, music, music.
Q&A: Louise Pitre, performing tonight at Toronto's Jane Mallett Theatre
Louise Pitre is red hot these days. The Canadian actress has played some of the most sought-after roles in musical theatre history (the lead in Mamma Mia! is just one in a series of impressive performances) and tonight she performs a solo concert entitled La Vie En Rouge, which will be recorded live for an upcoming CD. We tracked down the bilingual diva for a quick tête-à-tête before the show.
Paul Gross to star alongside Kim Cattrall in Mirvish Productions' Private Lives
Back in February, we gave you the heads up about Kim Cattrall coming to Hogtown in the fall to star in Noel Coward’s stage play, Private Lives. Now, it’s just been announced that Paul Gross (who some may recognize as the mountie from the now-defunct television series Due South), will be joining the Private Lives cast as Cattrall’s love interest.
Zadie's Shoes is good, middlebrow fun
The honour of being a regular theatre critic can often be overwhelming and even embarrassing: how on earth did I miss Adam Pettle’s highly-praised tragi-comedy Zadie’s Shoes a decade ago at the important Factory Theatre, and shortly after at the Winter Garden Theatre? And how can I catch it (in its new and improved version) before it closes at this coming Sunday’s matinee?
The Dressing Room: gearing up for the great outdoors
Summer has arrived, and with the shortened seasonal hours and warm weather comes the conspicuous reluctance of friends to commit to weekend plans. The reason: cottage season. Even for those without a cottage of their own to escape to, the hope of winning an invitation to a weekend luxuriating on a dock in cottage country is enough for them to politely decline your invite to a Saturday afternoon backyard barbecue.
T.O. Sales Roundup: pretty in white
There’s an archaic tradition that dictates one should only wear white between Memorial Day and Labour Day. The reasoning seems to stem more from an old-fashioned code of etiquette than logic. Fashion trends have been obviously bucking that adage for decades, but with this weekend being Memorial Day for our Yankee cousins, we thought we’d play along with Miss Manners just this once. Here’s this week’s sales roundup.