Like many, my life has a soundtrack. Music is both solace & motivation, every single day. Silence might be golden but music, is platinum. 2011 was a year of many things, including great tracks

In 1998, I had a bad breakup.  Breakups are rarely easy but this one was particularly difficult because not only was I heartbroken but also, my ego was crushed to its core.  I was too proud to cry on anyone’s shoulder so I sulked for longer than I wish to admit and found therapy via [...]

Music is my life despite the facts I can’t carry a tune, have little rhythm and make no loving from it. Still, from the moment I open my eyes, to the moment I close them at night, music is a constant. This year, my life was dominated by Haiti, by deadlines and by new and not so new music. Here’s the soundtrack of my 2010 life.

I just saw the commercial for the upcoming new season of Desperate Housewives. The beautifully shot 61 seconds features all four of the housewives and a newly-arrived-to-the-hood Vanessa Williams.

Il y a des rencontres qui nous nous marquent pro-fon-dé-ment. Lors d’un dîner chez de amis en commun, il y a quelques années, je rencontrais René-Frantz Durosel. Je le connaissais de réputation puisque c’est le Maverick derrière l’ascension de Corneille. C’est lui aussi qui a mis Gage sur le palmarès ici et en France. Mais [...]

Picture is the cover of Souche Magazine, now in stores. Rebecca Makonnen, Montréal | There is a new breed of hosts: those who can do just about anything. With an impressive resumé which started a decade ago at the all-video network Musique Plus, Rebecca Makonnen is part of that breed. Since then, she’s graduated to [...]

Photo by jean-barak.fr We are obsessed with the new. We are obsessed with the young. In music, and in almost everything else for that matter, these two epithets do not necessarily mean better. The music charts are filled with ingrate & talentless artists who want the accolades without the blood, the sweat or the tears. [...]

In an interview with the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company), the great Leonard Cohen wished for a moratorium on new versions of his song Hallelujah. I couldn’t agree more. Hallelujah is more than a classic. It’s a hymn that goes beyond religions and beliefs. To say it has soul would be a gross understatement. It is [...]

Rarely have I penned a post so fast. It was only a few hours ago that I discovered Londoner Tinashé. Late, I’m sure but nonetheless, I’ve been listening to his track “Zambezi” in-a-loop ever since. Style, substance with Zimbabwean flavor. Can’t go wrong with that. I’m so excited about this artist that I want to [...]

* Painting is by Heavyweight I was just reading journalist Mike Doherty’s article entitled “Too many Miles” inquiring “At what point does the constant paying of tribute turn into fixation? And furthermore, is there a danger that in looking back at the career of someone who was always looking forward, the jazz world is ignoring [...]

In an interview with the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company), the great Leonard Cohen wished for a moratorium on new versions of his song Hallelujah. I couldn’t agree more. Hallelujah is more than a classic. It’s a hymn that goes beyond religions and beliefs. To say it has soul would be a gross understatement. It is [...]

This morning while watching the Today Show, music genius L.A. Reid delivered the wisest words: “Turn down the chatter, turn up the music”. As a student of Michael Jackson – because if you can recite the lyrics to most of his songs, that’s what you are – I choose to remember the Greatness, not the [...]

If you live in Montreal, you are a Montrealer no matter where you were born. Montrealers have the same religion: hockey, no matter the name of the God they worship. The City’s hockey team, The Canadiens (also called the Habs), are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. The Habs made it to the playoffs and [...]

On Friday night, I was one of the 20 000 believers who gathered at Montreal’s Bell Center to be part of Britney Spears’ Circus. I left the show early and opted for an overpriced burger instead. Once at the restaurant, I was already doodling down ideas for this post which had all the makings of [...]

A week into RiRi-gate, I recognize the whole Rihanna-Chris Brown affaire as a PR nightmare. But beyond that and most importantly, I view Rihanna’s eventual coming out as potentially being one of Pop Culture’s most defining moments. Too strong? Not at all. Too many times, celebrities have bypassed the law. Too many times, domestic violence [...]

Photo by Sonia Bourdon Gage, between Montreal & Paris | He looks like a model but it’s in music that Gage has made his name (and a cool one at that). His first album, Soul Rebel, has become an Rn’B French classic and his soon to be released sophomore album, Changer Le Monde, will undoubtedly [...]

This year, the Easter Bunny was especially good to me. He not only brought dark Suchard chocolate but he conspired with his cousin, The Energizer Bunny to also bring me the Energi To Go portable power device for my iPod. If you’re often on the go and always rocking to your iPod when you are [...]

For so many years, for my generation and the one before, Rolling Stones Magazine was a reference. Showcasing worthy music, analyzing the business of music and forecasting its trends. With its latest cover, the Magazine has fallen victim to sensationalism, regardless of how in-depth the inside story is. Britney Spears is an American Tragedy? Hardly. [...]

Year ends bring on a ton of emotions and tasks. Regret, surprise, stupefaction, and lists. Top Ten this, top ten that. Who in the world is accredited to decide what and who’s cool? What looks good and who should wear it? Still, I have a list of my own. A wish list, if you will. [...]

“They tried to make me go to rehab I said no, no, no”.… and just like that, prophetically, Amy Winehouse’ first hit single, Rehab, was a glimpse into her less-than-perfect lifestyle. And now, emulating what seems to be the norm in the Entertainment biz, Winehouse is spiraling out of control in the difficult and unkind [...]

Ash Wednesday. No, not today. I’m not referring to the Catholic observation but rather the album. Elvis Perkins, the American singer released Ash Wednesday this year and it is, by far, one of my favourites. I don’t fancy labels but one could categorize his style as folky. To this blogger’s ears, it transcends genre and [...]

This is one of these days when little makes sense. Former lead singer of French Rock-Band Noir Désir, Bertrand Cantat, is being released today after serving four of the eight-year jail sentence he received for the brutal and deadly beating of his former love, French actress Marie Trintignant. Four years? I’m disgusted. Enough with defending [...]

In 1990, nestled in a sheltered private catholic school, I was shaken by Spike Lee. The movie “Do the Right Thing” had just be released, and its soundtrack, led by powerful Public Enemy tracks, exposed me to a world I didn’t really knew existed. Under the tartan uniform and behind the awkward braces, I was [...]

The Original velvet teddy bear has died. Luciano Pavarotti has always been great. Long before his ascension into popular charts with various duets alongside contemporary pop cultural iconic figures, Pavarotti had dominated a world where so few are chosen. Big and bigger than life, he was the Original. His tumultuous love life had only confirmed [...]

A recent study in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health revealed that Rock Stars are 2 ½ times more likely to die in the first 5 years of their success than the average (talentless, I suppose) American or European. Really? I have my own study: the average American, European and yes, even the average [...]

A few days ago, I experienced a return into time. I attended one of two The Police concerts in Montréal. Singing along every song and dancing like I was in front of my mirror, this concert brought me back and made me realize a few things. First, what is old is new again and is [...]

I’m late putting up this post today. I was waiting to take the pulse of American Idol-obsessed TV Viewers and critics before shouting from my own peanut gallery thus pardon my tardiness. Melinda Doolittle, arguably the best Idol has ever seen, was eliminated last night leaving Blake and Jordin as the Final 2. This morning’s [...]

And then, they were three: Blake, Melinda and Jordin. American Idol has weeded out the challengers and now three potential winners are left standing. Three different types of performers, three demographics but only two I actually won’t mind hearing on the radio. Blake: Enough with the beat-boxing. There is no longevity in it. Will Blake [...]

It’s been tough past months for anyone who’s little bit different. So much madness & too much hatred. Oversees, yes but right here as well. For too long, we’ve tolerated garbage in government, in Courthouses, in policies, on TV, in the charts and behind the mic. This weekend, fill that hole in our collective soul [...]

I had a wonderful surprise while flipping through the pages of the latest British GQ. There it was: a multi-page photo editorial of Bryan Ferry, chanteur extraordinaire and former lead singer for Roxy Music, one of modern music’s best and most important bands. Bryan Ferry first made my knees weak about twenty years ago when [...]

Hip Hop is not dead. I don’t care what Nas says. And how quickly mainstream media has jumped on the bandwagon to announce its demise. Decrease in album sales, no Hip Hop album on the Billboard’s Top 10. So, what? Hip Hop is not dead. Hip Hop took a step back to jump further. To [...]