searching for the real..

Some celebraties would rather be known as their on-screen made up name rather than their given birth name, however sometimes their real moniker leaks out and it's known to the world. According to Yahoo! Buzz here's a list of the top 10 of the top 20 celebs who were searched by their birth monikers. Others who were mentioned on the list include Triple H (Paul Michael Levesque), Prince (Prince Roger Nelson), and John Wayne (Marion Morrison)


1. Tiger Woods Real Name (Eldrick Woods)
2. Madonna Real Name (Madonna Ciccone)
3. Lil' Wayne Real Name (Dwayne Carter Jr.)
4. Miley Cyrus Real Name (Destiny Hope Cyrus)
5. Coco Crisp Real Name (Covelli Crisp)
6. Hilary Banks Real Name (played by Karyn Parsons)
7. Gene Simmons Real Name (Chaim Witz)
8. Hulk Hogan Real Name (Terry Bollea)
9. Larry the Cable Guy (Daniel Lawrence Whitney)
10. Ray Stevens Real Name (Harold Ray Ragsdale)

oh canada..

I know Canada Day comes on July 1st, but since this is the Canada Day long weekend (well, sort of), I thought I would post some Canada Day friendly stuff to help celebrate this yearly day of being happy that we live in the country that we do.

canadian bacon

Here's a clip from one of my favorite Canadian movies, Canadian Bacon

royal canadian air farce - canadian customs

As we continue to celebrate Canada Day on this long weekend here's one Canadian institution that always continues to bring smiles to the Canadian folk

vmt: canada day edition

It's Canada Day Long Weekend and for this we will celebrate with an all CanCon Virutal Mixtape . Some tracks I haven't heard in a while, and some I still listen to at least once a week. All done by Canadian talent. It's amazing how many great artists we have that came from the northern land. So, press play, turn it up and have a great somewhat of a long Canada Day Weekend.



-Everybody Knows - Lennard Cohen
-Somebody - Bryan Adams
-Call and Answer - Barenaked Ladies
-Heart of Gold - Neil Young
-Poets - The Tragically Hip
- Tessellate - Tokyo Police Club
-Jesus Doesn't Love Me - Dragonette
-Superstar - Ivana Santilli
-The Love Song - K-OS
- Once Again - Moka Only feat. Madchild
-Breath - Swollen Members feat. Nelly Furatdo
-Cryptik Souls Crew - Len
-The Story of An Artist - D-Sisive
-Dear Hip Hop - Dan-e-o
-Northern Touch - Rascalz feat. Kardinal Official, Choclair, Thrust, and Checkmate
-Conducting Things - Maestro Fresh Wes
-Almost Crimes - Broken Social Scene
-Them Kids - Sam Roberts
-These Eyes - The Guess Who

the wedding singer..

Here's another installment of movie triva. This time we look at the feel-good love comedy, The Wedding Singer. I've always loved Drew.


Kevin Nealon's second cameo in an Adam Sandler film. The first was as a golfer in Happy Gilmore (1996); this time he's a bank manager.


Carrie Fisher worked uncredited on the script.


Production of the film took over a year and a half.


The butterfly jean jacket that Julia wears throughout the movie actually belongs to Drew Barrymore . The director liked her jacket and told her to wear it as part of her costume.


The guitar that Adam Sandler's character is playing during "Somebody Kill Me Please" is a Gibson ES-335 Semi-hollow body in Heritage Cherry. The amp is a Fender Twin Reverb.


Robbie tells Linda at one point to "Get out of my Van Halen T-shirt before you jinx the band and they break up". David Lee Roth did leave Van Halen in 1985 (the year in which the movie is set).


The song playing at Robbie's aborted wedding to Linda is a string quartet arrangement of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'".


In 2006 it was adapted into a Broadway Musical.


The musical version of the Wedding Singer opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 27, 2006 and ran for 285 performances.

the bbq is back..

When I think of the golden days of my love for Hip Hop, I think of going down the dial on a Saturday afternoon trying to hear some faint tracks being spun by DJ X on a college radio station CKLN. It was about heading downtown to a record store and picking up a mixtape to hear some of the latest joints. And yeah, when I say tapes, I actually those little things that used to share a room on that huge thing that you used to listen to the radio on. As technology progressed, so did the culture and so did its kids.

One thing that I didn't get to experience, however - mainly due to age, was the nightlife. The early days of Hip Hop culture in Toronto. I'm proud to say that in the past decade, I've been able to witness some of the best moments in local urban history but I still wish I was there when the heads were planting the foundations on the ground that we rock on today. I hear from older friends about these clubs that I never knew existed, and of DJ's I never knew spun and of parties that I never knew went down. However, as a Hip Hop historian, especially of the Toronto scene, I knew of one party that inspired a bunch of local weeklies in the past 10 years including the one I personally threw in Richmond Hill just 8 years ago. The party was called Live At The BBQ which was inspired by that track by Main Source and more known for being Nas' first track. It was done by DJ X. It was a summer tradition which saw a bunch of venues including Toronto's classic nightspot, The Rivoli which brought together like minded music fans that were there to party and gathered for the same cause.

Hip Hop.

Over the years, that vibe inside the club atmosphere has been traded with people standing by the bar, not enjoying themselves and seem angry that they got all dressed up, battled traffic and paid money at the door to stand around all night to check out everyone else having a good time. However, Live at the BBQ - from what I heard - was never a let down. I even heard that time when former rapper turn actor Tom Green graced the BBQ stage with mixed feedback from the crowd. Every night was another chapter in Toronto's Hip Hop book.


More than 10 years later, the party is back. It will return on every long-weekend this summer starting off this Sunday doing an all day get-down from 3pm 'till the break of dawn at 3am. The lineup includes some old school T-Dot heavyweights and a huge all-day DJ list. It all goes down on the rooftop of The Drake Hotel which will also host a mid-day BBQ and performances starting at 11pm.


It'll be just a glimpse for the younger folk of what the local scene was built on. For the older heads, it'll be a ride back in time when Hip Hop, like the fans, were young and innocent and looking for some kind of ground to build on and a friend to help them grow.

littlest things - lilly allen

Here's one talent that isn't killing herself in the face of fame. Lilly Allen is reportedly recording new material and just dropped a brand new single Guess Who Batman which was about the British National Party. The English mate revealed that the track wasn't "a direct attack at anyone, it was originally written about the BNP in the UK but then I felt this issue has become relevant pretty much everywhere." To check out the new single go here.

This is Allen's track Littlest Things. One song I've been listening to a whole lot of lately.

guitar hero now on ds

The ever popular Guitar Hero that has old gamers back into the whole sitting in your living room on a Friday night cool again, is now portable. Hero is now available on Nintendo DS. The four button "guitar" plug connects to the DS slot which provokes the touch screen with a special pick shaped stylus. The new version of this groundbreaking do-it-yourself rock show goes for $49.99 however there's an exclusive DS with the game that goes up to as much as $180 bucks. Songs included in this version exclusively are Steve Miller Band's Jet Airliner and Daughtry's "What I Want.

Check out the official site here.

city looses another cornerstone..

On the heels of CHUM's morning break-up, the axing of longtime CITY-TV mainstay Peter Silverman and the loss of corner blabber booth, Speaker's Corner, Rogers continues to hand out the pink slips. This time it's hitting the younger guy demographic who fell in love with a puppet.

Ed is Gone.


After 20 years on the station, Ed The Sock has been released by CITY-TV. In an interview with the Star, the creator of the green haired, smoking hand puppet said "There's no ill will. Things change," said Steve Kerzner, "We just don't really fit, I guess, as presently constituted, with what they wanted to do with the channel" The station advised Kerzner that Rogers wants to brand CITY to more female viewers and his long standing late-night comedy show isn't a good fit and urged the talent to pursue other projects.

And it's in the works.


"There are potentially two Ed projects," Kerzner hinted to the Globe, "I can't say what they are, or who they're with yet. But we [he and his co-host/wife Liana Kerzner] are looking to use the medium in a different way - to peel open the hype and spin that's all around us. There's also been talk of an Ed movie for a while, and the script's almost done."

Meanwhile, Kerzner who is proud of the fact that his gig which started as a little community television show to going big time on CITY two years later, has been on the air almost as long as another trademark Canadian comedy show, Royal Canadian Air Farce.

"The present show is ending", added the 40 year-old Kerzner, "but Ed the Sock isn't going quietly."

Ed's last show comes August 31st.

I wonder how his former co-host feels about the news?

carlin's last interview

Here's an excerpt of an interview Psychology Today Blogs conducted with George Carlin just two weeks ago. Carlin passed away two days ago of heart failure. For the full interview check it out here.

You talked about how wonderful it is, this feeling of writing. So what is your process like?

I take a lot of single-page notes, little memo pad notes. I make a lot of notes on those things. For when I'm not near a little memo pad, I have a digital recorder. Most of the note-taking happens while I’m watching television.

Because the world is undifferentiated on the television set. You may be watching the news channel, but it’s going to cover the breadth of American life and the human experience. It's gonna go from suicide bombings to frivolous consumer goods. It's a broad window on the world, and a lot of things are already established in my mind as things I say, things that I'm interested in, things that are fodder for my machine. And when I see something that relates to one of them, I know it instantly and if it's a further exaggeration and a further addition, or an exception—if it plays into furthering my purpose, I jot it down.

When I harvest the pieces of paper and I go through them and sort them, the one lucky thing I got in my genetic package was a great methodical left brain. I have a very orderly mind that wants to classify and index things and label them and store them according to that. I had a boss in radio when I was 18 years old, and my boss told me to write down every idea I get even if I can't use it at the time, and then file it away and have a system for filing it away—because a good idea is of no use to you unless you can find it. And that stuck with me.

this made me cry in laughter today..

Some guy tries to get his mother to read the words "sofa king we todd did" really fast. too funny.

longtime chum morning team broken-up...

When I first heard the rumors about something big might be happening over at Chum-FM Mornings, I was going to make it a little blurb on here as a whisper. Not confirming anything and not even identifying who I was talking about. Not because I didn't have all the details or not that it wasn't confirmed but it was because I couldn't see it happening.

They're breaking up?
Really?
No.
Can't be!


But it does look like it's happening. Maybe the most successful morning team ever in Canada are parting ways. Well, at least one of their main voices will be leaving the table. It's just about time when the other two turn off the Chum microphone.

It was confirmed today by Astral Media that Chum's longtime morning sports guy Rick Hodge will bring his vet sports head and his Sports Snorts bit to CFRB in the coming months.

Hodge has left the Chum building - after 20 years as part of the Roger, Rick and Marilyn morning run.

Where does this leave Marilyn and Roger?


There's a rumor that one of the two has either put on notice or is about to announce their resignation while the other one is expected to stay around the CHUM studios.


Meanwhile, with a new program director in house over at Mix, could this mean this could be just the beginning of a very hectic era-ending radio summer?

Stay tuned.

rip george carlin

Comedian-actor George Carlin, known for his raunchy but insightful humor, died of heart failure Sunday in Los Angeles, his publicist said. He was 71.

hugh book tells all..

According to Perez Hilton, Hugh Hefner will be releasing a book about his life that will reveal some very shocking truths about the Playboy kingpin. "This is the most authoritative book ever written about me . . . It's all essentially true," says Hef, who co-wrote his story along with Steven Watts and gave him access to his personal papers for the soon-to-be released book Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream.

Some of the shocking stories to be told include his incestuous foursome with his brother, his wife, and his sister-in-law along with the story that Hef had a gay encounter.

When are they going to make a movie about this man? I'm sure it would do real well.

wino has emphysema

With another update on singer Amy Winehouse, the award winning songstress has emphysema as reported by her father, Mitch over the weekend. The father who has been by his daughters side since she collapsed last week and has been under doctors care since, fears that Amy will loose not only her distinctive British voice, but her life. "She's got emphysema. It's in its early stages, but had it gone on for another month they [doctors] painted a very vivid picture of her sitting there with a mask on her face struggling to breathe," he revealed in an interview on Sunday. "The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs it won't just ruin her voice, it will kill her."

About time that she sees what drugs can do to you.

Winehouse, who hasn't released any material in two years, has declared that she'll try to quit her drug addiction and stay clean. "I'm saying to those drug dealers, and they know who they are, if they are supplying crack to Amy, then they've got to take responsibility." Said Mr Winehouse, "I don't want her hanging out with her mates like Pete Doherty either. What hope does she have if people are taking drugs around her?"


Even though she wants to keep the dates, it's very unlikely that Winehouse will keep her upcoming shows including Nelson Mandala's Birthday celebration and the Glastonbury Festival.

get smart debuts at top spot..

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Get Smart," $39.2 million.
2. "Kung Fu Panda," $21.7 million.
3. "The Incredible Hulk," $21.6 million.
4. "The Love Guru," $14 million.
5. "The Happening," $10 million.
6. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," $8.4 million.
7. "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," $7.2 million.
8. "Sex and the City," $6.5 million.
9. "Iron Man," $4 million.
10. "The Strangers," $1.9 million

update on the wino...

As reported earlier, Brit singing sensation gone druggie Amy Winehouse checked into the hospital Monday after a brief fainting spell. Today it was released by London's Telegraph that the singer's Dad, Mitch, announced that his daughter will remain under doctor's care until they discover why she collapsed.

"Amy is doing fine, she is staying in as long as possible," shared Mitch. Her spokesman added: "She'll stay for as long as they can find out what's wrong with her. I don't know what's wrong with her and the doctors don't seem to.

vmt: a mish mash

I've been listening to a bunch of stuff this week. From classic rock to indy stuff to old and new hip hop to classical to even some country and oldies. Here's a little virtual mixtape full of stuff from every part of the music scale.


-We've Got Tonight - Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton
-Tonight we Celebrate Our Love - Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson
-Tell me Why - The Beatles
-Gangsters - The Specials
-Best Friend - English Beat
-Rudy - Kaiser Chiefs
-Evil - Interpol
-Ladyfish - The Go! Team
-In a Cave - Tokyo Police Club
-Shut 'Em Down (Pete Rock RMX) - Public Enemy
-What A Niggy Know? - KMD
-Girls - The Beastie Boys
-Angie - The Rolling Stones
-Turn The Page - Bob Seger

one of those other dreams..

I had another reoccurring dream last night. I woke up thinking that there were a bunch of people looking at me. Weird how when the lights are off, bodies can be made with clothes hung over the bed and shadows on the wall. I started to yell people's names see if they were really there. When they didn't answer, I wondered where they went. I guess I was still half asleep. When I came to, the whole thing made sense, once again and realized that I was again, dreaming and that I was safe at home with no one around.

I then had another dream. I'm in a room with two old friends from high school. We're talking to a girl. They're checking her out. She's eating this huge slice of pizza and just standing there. My friends are dressing her as if she's a huge celebrity and they're her stylists. They're dressing her in all white. White floral gown, white high heels, and even a huge white sun hat. They're looking at her and they tell her to change. She undresses' when I turn around to take a drink. I'm not doing too much there. Just standing around. The next thing I know, she's lying on the floor. Sleeping. My friends disappear. I leave the room to only find another girl getting dressed in white. My friends aren't there. We're alone. She asks me if she looks nice, I told her she looks nice. All girls look nice in white, I tell her. I wake up.

life is real - ayo

Ayo will be headlining a show here in the next couple of weeks with Hero.

rip cool tv

Cool TV is gone. CanWest Global - the guys who own the all-Jazz specialty station announced today that it'll cease broadcasting this summer.

Here's what the stations' website said today:

"Effective July 21 2008, CoolTV will no longer be available for viewing. Canwest Broadcasting continually reviews its assets and determines which have the most potential for growth, profitability and warrant investment. It is through our analysis, we as broadcasters are sometimes left with difficult choices. With the decision to discontinue CoolTV, we can now invest more in the channels that have the greatest potential and look forward to bringing our viewers more great specialty programming in the future.

We appreciate your support and we've enjoyed being the first in Canada to have a channel entirely devoted to Jazz music in its diversity."

russell peters on raceist people in china..

winehouse faints..

Amy Winehouse had a bit of a health scare earlier on today when she briefly lost conscienceless at home. Her assistant was able to catch her before the Brit singer hit the floor. After the troubled star came to, her father took her to the hospital as a precaution. A spokesperson for Wino hinted that she "may be kept in [the hospital] overnight for observation."


Could fainting be the new Hollywood keyword for drug problem? Even the doctors don't even know why she fainted. Tests are being done and then we'll maybe know the whole truth.

Again, get this girl to Rehab.

letterman grills pratt

David Letterman wasn't having any of Spencer Pratt's BS on his show when the California boy-toy from The Hills came by for a visit. Here's the best part of the interview.


Letterman: “What are you doing in your life?”
Pratt: “Working with a 12 year old musician who is better than Jay Z.”
Letterman: “Are you his manager?”
Pratt: “No. I’m his partner.”
Letterman: “No, but seriously, what do you do in life?”

And you still haven't heard the $100,000 crack. Check it out here.

happy fathers day..

Don't forget to spend time with the Popdukes today....

mmva2008 - update...

Watching the 2008 Much Music Video Awards right now. Pretty much of the same thing like every year. Nothing too much out of the ordinary and I guess that's a good thing seeing how the stations new owner seems to be changing everything that was right with the whole CITY slash Much brand. But I digress. This is a list of what you missed so far - awards wise. If you missed a performance, just Youtube it - just because I haven't seen anything so good yet to post it up on here.



Winners:

People's Choice Favorite Canadian Artist:Avril Lavigne
Best International Video: Bleed It Out - Linkin Park
Best International Video: Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna
VideoFACT Best Independent Video: Weighty Ghost - Wintersleep
Best Post-Production: Them Kids - Sam Roberts
Best Cinematography: For The Nights I Can't Remember - Headley
Best Director:For The Nights I Can't Remember - Headley

dreams on a couch..

I went away for the weekend for Father's Day and my Dad's birthday. Spent last night in Michigan at my Dad's. When I lived there almost a decade ago, I spent many nights on the multi-colored navy blue, red and white cotton couch. Last night wasn't too different. Perched in front of the television watching Traffic I soon opted to turn of the tube and get to sleep. With my favorite pillow under my head, I knew I would be in for a good night's sleep after one busy day.

I had a pretty good sleep but very weird dreams. Seems like I had a bunch of them all together rolled up as one huge subconscience slumber party for various parts of my ongoing mind.

I'll try to tell you about one, now as well as I can. Sorry if they seem jumbled up, but this is how I remember them. I'm at school. I'm going to take a test. I'm wondering through the hallways saying hello to everyone I see. I ran through one hall yelling to get a teachers attention. She goes into a classroom and shuts the door behind her. I can't get it. I end up walking some more around the school. I enter the washroom which is shared with the lower school kids. Big stalls. Small stalls. High schooler lockers and small lockers for the little guys. I go the washroom and then leave to head outside. I join a bunch of people in a circle talking. I light a smoke and hear people talking. I keep quiet even though they're talking to me. I don't know why I'm not talking. I'm then in a room smoking something. Don't know what. Pot? Cigarettes? Crack? No clue. It's a dark room. I see a couple of my friends there. It looks like an after party setting. Early morning in a shady part of town. I see my cousins. They're dancing. I'm then in a park and I'm taking photos of a baby sitting in a carriage alone. No one is around. I remember having this dream before - right before my niece was born. What could this mean?


Could another baby be on its way? Are my little niece and/or nephew in trouble? What's going on? It's the most dreams I had in one dream for as long as I can remember. They all had some kind of common thread to connect them all together.


I woke up to what seemed like a huge thunder strike hitting my Dad's place. It started to pour. Tried to head back to bed, but for the rest of the night, I ended up tossing and turning, wondering what kind of thoughts must've been going through my mind for me to dream what I did. Was it a reflection of the busy day I had? I wonder. It kept me on my toes while curled up listening to the storm hit Detroit.

rip speakers corner

Rogers is pulling another cornerstone that made the CITY-TV block. The blabber mouth outlet where everyday locals and even young kids named Mike Myers, and The Barenaked Ladies frequented on a weekly basis is going to be given the gag order.

Speakers Corner is gone.

Just a week fresh after the stations new parent company pulled the plug on longtime CITY crooner, Peter Silverman, Rogers has canceled the longtime motormouth spot that's been on the corner of Queen and John since the late 80's. Just for a loonie, people were able to come and do anything they wanted only to be seen later on that week on Television.



"The (Speakers Corner TV) program will stay on the air till August, so we're not pulling the plug right away. But the plans for Dundas Square were just that, plans. We have nothing committed, nothing announced." stated CITY head Jamie Haggarty. "We like the brand," hinted Haggarty. "It's a great brand. It's just that viewership isn't coming through on TV. Our wireless guys and our digital team are looking at how we can evolve it to the digital media. We may still have the booth, but it'll be more of a Web presence than a television presence."

So will they have a new concept when the station moves to their new digs at Dundas Square? There hasn't been any confirmation from Rogers, yet. Is Rogers doing the exact same thing we all thought they'd do when they took over from the family owned company? Yes.

"I told them, time and time again, that I wanted to do one more year," boasted Silverman, calling in from the cottage to the Toronto Star. "Twenty years of Silverman Helps had a nice ring to it. That would have been August of 2009, which would at least have given us the chance to tell the audience, `Look, he's retiring. He's an old crow now. He's done his bit. Don't write in any more, because the program is ending.'

"That would have been the decent thing for the people who relied on us to help them, and we had about 20,000 requests a year. That would have been the dignified way to go. Instead, we were called downstairs into the boardroom and told that, as of that moment, we were closed down.

"When we asked what the rationale was, we were told, `We don't have to give you a rationale.'"

Thanks, Ted.

While most might think that the CITY-TV we know and love is going to be just a memory Haggarty persists that they're not changing CITY's vision. "We have more user-generated content than ever," persisted Haggarty to the Star. "We're not any less committed to defending the consumer. We're reviewing and relooking at everything. This is all just a part of the process."

big brother is upon us..

A new copyright law is set to be introduced that will see new restrictions against file sharing, downloading your music to an iPod or CD, unlocking cell phones and recording "time shifted" television shows.


Following closely in the footsteps of the U.S' Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the bill will see a $500 fine for anyone who is caught swapping files online and up to $20 grand for anyone unlocking cell phones or recording TV programs.


"The core really is a desire to satisfy U.S. pressure by enacting something very close to the U.S. Digital Millenium Copyright Act," said University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist to the National Post, an expert in Internet commerce issues.


"The irony here is that while file sharing could be held up as the prime rationale for new legislation, the reality is that individual Canadians and the everyday products they purchase are going to be most deeply affected," he said, citing CDs and DVDs as examples of items that will likely have restrictions placed on their usage.


Meanwhile, entertainment lawyer David Zitzerman, thinks "you have the rights owners that feel that for e-commerce to really flourish on the Internet they need these protection measures," Mr. Zitzerman noted. "But you also have consumer groups and others who feel it will affect free speech [or] will curtail the rights that people feel they are entitled to as owners of the materials."



Either way, I should be able to listen to music whichever way I want if I bought it with my own coin be it via an iPod, CD-man or on my computer. If passed, the only ones who could really benefit from this would be iTunes and not even the mom and pop record shops that are already suffering. However, on the heels of the news breaking that Canadian artists only make an average of just over 16 grand a year due to unauthorized file sharing, this could be good for the homegrown talent. But will the consumer have enough love for their Canuk talent to continue to buy product when they're not allowed to even download it onto their wireless accessory? Are the days of just listening to tunes in your basement over? I think so. We've become an always moving society where portable music players and wireless DVD screens are essential to our progressing lifestyles, but it's "the man" who is keeping us from moving forward with technology. If this bill goes through, we will take a backseat in the development of modern technology and fade away from the natural progression of modern day life.

on my way..

On my way to where J Dilla lays
For three Days,
In the city where J Dilla lays.

sa-ra...

Music is a lot like graffiti. Every few years you have a whole new style or wave of next level artists that just shock the older heads. In the graffiti world, this usually happens every three years. In music, it takes a few more to actually find that true diamond in the rough. The artist or group that have pushed all elements and have made a whole new sound. Most of the time, these new cats aren't really new. They've usually been around for a while, but never noticed.

Sa-Ra Creative Partners are that type of group.


Made up of Om'Mas Keith, Taz Arnold, and Shafiq Husayn,the trio were originally signed to Kanye's Good Music label where
the group were to drop their debut full length album rumored to be called Black Fuzz. However, the project was dissolved by the label's distributor Sony BMG so free from restriction, the group moved over to the Babygrande imprint which had talent from GZA to Jedi Mind Tricks and Canibus. In 2006, the group released an album sampler that featured songs like Big Fame, Star Wars, and Hollywood that was followed up by the full length album called Hollywood Recordings which dropped last April on Babygrande Records.


Sa-Ra have that unique type of sound that makes their hiphop, soul, jazz, electro pop fusion sound both futuristic and soulful. Hopefully someone would be able to bring them to town as I would love to see this group live. Sa-Ra is for sure a group to check out.

feel the bass - sa-ra feat. talib kweli and erykah badu

better reasons festival

If you want to take a break from the North By North East Festival this weekend, the Better Reasons Festival would be a cool alternative. The festival is a fund raising mission for Sketch - a local group that creates art making opportunities for at-risk youth and the homeless. The festival that kicks off tonight and going on till Saturday will be based out of The Tranzac and features some of the best punk and rock bands Toronto has to offer.

Here's the full schedule:



Thursday June 12, 2008
* Doors open at 8:00pm
Out of this Spark presents:

Forest City Lovers
The Magic
Evening Hymns


Friday June 13, 2008
* Doors open at 8:00pm
Fuzzy Logic Recordings presents:

Lily Frost
Prairie Cat (backed by The Bicycles)
Scraps from Boil Street:
Puppet Shorts by Juliann Wildinrg and Henry Fletcher
Laura Barrett
Peter Project


Saturday June 14, 2008
*Doors at 5:00pm
There is a BBQ feast that begins at 5:00pm
Blocks Recording Club presents:

Kids on TV
Nif-D
The Phonemes
Tradition
Matias Rozenberg

michael retires..

Wham!. George Michael is retiring from touring. The 80's pin-up pop star has made it official that his upcoming August dates at Earl's Court in London, England will be his two shows forever.

"These very special shows will naturally feature Michael's hits, some tracks not previously performed in Britain," stated a blurb on the singer's official website. "These shows are truly not to be missed by any George Michael fan."

The shows, which will end off Michaels 25 Live Tour, will feature a whole new stage set and play list and will be videotaped for an upcoming DVD release.

Michael plans to hit North America (including a date locally at the ACC on July 17th) before wrapping up the tour that's been dubbed as the Final Two. The name makes reference to the sold-out 1986 Wembley Stadium show which was called The Final that saw the last time Wham! performed as a group.

peace lyrics could go for $600k

The handwritten lyrics to John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance could go for $600,000 next month in London.

The lyrics were given to 16-year old Gail Renard by Lennon while he and Yoko Ono were in Montreal doing a 1969 anti-war bed-in and later recorded the classic tune. The song, which was recorded in Lennon's hotel room, had Renard playing the tambourine and was later given a songboard with the lyrics on it by Lennon saying that they could be worth something, someday.


The songboard, which Renard saved for 40 years, will go on the block on July 10th to coincide with Beatles Day in Liverpool. The house has estimated that the songboard will go for anywhere between $400,000 to $600,000.

the wackness..

One summer flick I would love to check out. This is what it says over at IMDB..

Its the summer of 1994, and the streets of New York are pulsing with hip hop and wafting with the sweet aroma of marijuana. The newly-inaugurated mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, is only beginning to implement his anti-fun initiatives against crimes like noisy portable radio, graffiti and public drunkenness.

The Wackness centers upon a troubled high school student named Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck)a teenage pot dealer who forms a friendship with Dr. Jeffrey Squires (Ben Kingsley), a psychiatrist and kindred lost soul. When the doctor proposes Luke trade him weed for therapy sessions, the two begin to explore both New York City and their own depression.

Propelled by an exuberant hip hop score, The Wackness captures the spell of 1994--a time of pagers, not cell phones; a time when Tupac and Biggie were alive but Kurt Cobain had just died. Funny and moving, The Wackness is an offbeat tale of two lost souls stumbling towards maturity.

i stayed awake during awake..

After hearing some really bad reviews on Jessica Alba's psychological thriller Awake, I opted to check it out when it came out on video. Tonight was the night. At first I thought the movie would focus on Alba's character (Sam Lockwood) as a grieving newlywed when her husband Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen) dies from a surgery gone wrong. Extremely wrong while he was awake during the operation that saw him getting a heart transplant. However, they had some twists and turns along the way that made this movie pretty enjoyable and engaging. Another thing that I was surprised about was that there weren't as many sick-turn-your-face away type scenes while in the surgery room that I thought I wouldn't want to see.

Hate the sight of blood or anything that has to do with the insides. That's why I'm a writer and not a doctor.


The movie concentrated on other things. Can't say. Don't want to spoil it for you. It's the other things that made me stay on my feet wondering what will be next. If the production company had promoted it in a way that they would be something else than just a movie about some dude awake during his surgery maybe it'd would've done better in theaters. Granted the acting could've been better and some factual goofs were obvious to anyone with a grade one eduction in medicine, the mystery of it all would've made people overlook the minor flaws and think of this movie as a pretty good outing for Alba and company.


I gave it 6 1/2 out of 10 Alba heads.

pretty women trivia...

A few weeks ago, I posted some movie trivia. I it was received well, so I thought I would do it more often. Choose some random classic or even new flick and post trivia about that movie. Today I chose Pretty Women since I checked it out a couple of days ago. A real classic which saw the young actress Julia Roberts make her imprint in Hollywood.




The opera Richard Gere takes Julia Roberts to is La Traviata, which is about a prostitute who falls in love with a wealthy man.


Julia Roberts's head was superimposed on Shelley Michelle's body for the poster. Richard Gere's hair is brown on the poster, but graying in the movie.


Richard Gere is actually playing the piano. He also composed the piece of music that is played.


The red coat that Vivian wears was bought for $30 from a movie usher in the street shortly before filming.


In the final scene, Edward "serenades" Vivian with a recording of an aria from La Traviata. The aria has a vocal solo followed by the theme on strings and trumpet. That arrangement was not from the original opera but adapted for the movie.


Ralph Bellamy's final movie.


When Edward snaps the necklace case down on Vivian's fingers, was improvised by Gere, and Roberts' reaction (laughter) was totally natural. The filmmakers liked it so much, they decided to leave it in.


The film's working title was "$3,000".


Christopher Reeve was originally considered for the Edward Lewis role.


Al Pacino also turned down the role of Edward Lewis.


Molly Ringwald was originally offered the role of Vivian but turned it down.


Disney didn't want Julia Roberts for the role of Vivian, instead they wanted Meg Ryan.


In the shots of the city in the very beginning, you will notice that some of the neon letters in the hotel where Vivian lives are burned out. The only remaining lighted letters spell "HO".


The necklace that Vivian wears to the opera really cost $250,000. While filming, a security man from the jewelry store equipped with a gun was constantly standing behind the director.


Voted #4 Must See Movie of all time by listeners of Capital FM in London.


While shooting the scene where Vivian is laying down on the floor of Edward's penthouse, watching old I Love Lucy re-runs, in order to achieve a genuine laughter, Director Garry Marshall had to tickle Roberts's feet (out of camera range) to get her to laugh so hysterically.


During the lovemaking scene Julia Roberts got so nervous a visible vein popped out of her forehead. Director Garry Marshall got into bed with Julia and Richard Gere. Marshall and Gere massaged her forehead until the vein disappeared. Julia also broke into hives and was given calamine lotion until they were finally able to shoot the scene.

cross out at edge..

One of the most well known music nerds on local radio has been silenced as Program Director at The Edge. Alan Cross, mostly known as the host of The Ongoing History of New Music, is the new Programmer at Splice Media - which is an interactive division of Corus Radio. Corus' also own The Edge along with other guy stations, AM640 and Q107. "He just left one room in the kingdom to move to another" hinted one radio insider.

"I’m thrilled to announce that Alan Cross will be joining our team." read the company line. "Alan is a passionate devotee of all things interactive, an experienced and innovative program director, a prolific multimedia talent and arguably Corus radio’s premiere national radio personality as host of The Ongoing History of New Music. He’s also a dedicated techno-geek,so he should fit right in"

Cross had seen all shifts around CFNY since starting to work there in 1993 fresh from Winnipeg. First as the overnight guy, he then took the drive home shift until 2001 when he left for Y108 to become the stations PD. He then returned to The Edge as their PD in 2004.


Since Cross is still with the Corus umbrella, it's expected that OHONM will continue as usual on Sunday mornings on the Edge.

..and the drama continues

It must be hard when your roommate's people don't contact you about stuff they'll be doing at home when you're not there. Oh so the life that continues to unfold over on The Hills. It seems like the break out star Audrina Partridge had OK Magazine come over to take shots of the house she shares with Hills co-stars Lauren Conrad and Lauren “Lo” Bosworth. However, when flat mate Conrad came home, she had a fit saying that she had already had money coming in to talk to another 'zine.

"She was very, very, very mad," revealed Audrina. "She said it’s her house. But this is my room. I said, 'We’re not taking pictures of your house — don’t be rude.' It just adds to the tension. Now she thinks I’m sneaky and shady for doing this photo shoot, yet she and her team knew about it. She won’t let it go."


It's been rumored that the former BFF's haven't been talking for a while now. No word yet if MTV will have the girls mention this encounter next season as the cameras weren't rolling when it went down.

snoop wants jigga and beyonce's baby..

Snoop is telling Beyonce and Jay-Z to get their groove on and start to make a family. The west coast Hip Hop cornerstone who is a father of three told the RnB singer to hurry her life along with Jigga. "I told them to go home and start making babies" Snoop told People Magazine. "They should, that's the next step as far as marriage, having kids and add on to the family, so hopefully that's what they'll do!' He added, "Communication, and being able to fight and get back up - to have misunderstanding and then get some understanding – that’s the secret" which he stats as the secret of a happy marriage.

Meanwhile, Knowles doesn't want to hurry up her new hubby. "'You can't rush a man into anything whether it's a relationship, marriage or having children. When he's ready he'll let you know." She hinted last year in an interview.

Beyonce, 26 and Jay-Z, 38, tied the knot in a private ceremony in April at Jay's New York apartment.

girl power sunday..

I was listening to an interview with Maya Angelou the other day. The old poet always seems to inspire me. Today, she inspired me to dedicate today as girl power sunday We'll kick it off with some words from the beautiful Ms. Angelou.

feminest drop for rihanna?

R&B singer Rihanna is thinking about doing a feminist album with two of UK's finest voices. For her next album, the young starlet would like to join forces with Amy Winehouse and Duffy to make up a dream team of female singers. "How amazing would that be?" she revealed to BBC. "We've all got three different voices, it would be brilliant. Now that would be a feminist anthem". She continues, "I love Amy. I think she's great, so unique. I love her album. And I also love what Duffy is doing, she's brilliant, as well."

When asked on who would produce the groundbreaking release, she stated that "I love Mark Ronson. We've talked about doing something together on my next album".

This album - if it does happen, would be a very interesting one and I think would gain new ears for all the artists involved.

Breaking: Bad news. Looks like this project won't happen if Rihanna sees the latest video that has been released by a Brit tabloid that shows Amy Winehouse singing a racist chant at home while on heroin. Story is still developing. Who knows what will happen now. To see the video, go here.

vmt: girl power

Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Piece of my Heart - Janis Joplin
Anticipation - Carly Simon
If I can Turn Back Time - Cher
What's Love Got To Do With It - Tina Turner
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
Girl - Destiny's Child
Unpretty - TLC
Don't Let Go - En Vogue
Are You That Somebody - Aaliyah
Take A Bow - Rihanna
Say It Right - Nelly Furtado
The Rain (Super Duppa Fly) - Missy Elliot
Who's That Girl? - Eve
Don't Speak - No Doubt
Missing - Everything But the Girl
Smile - Lilly Allen
You Know I'm No Good - Amy Winehouse
Staten Island Dream Tour - Hunter Valentine
Cold Shoulder - Adele
Dr Blind - Emily Haines
Feist - I Feel It All
Mercy - Duffy
Take It Like A Man - Dragonette
Ladies First - Queen Latfiah ft. Moni Love

canada looses its theme

I hardly write about sports unless it's sports entertainment however, I just had to say something about this.

The Hockey Night in Canada theme has been dropped. Last night was the last time you'll hear the cornerstone tune that has become a second national anthem in many Canuk homes since 1968. Seems like CBC doesn't want to pay the big bucks to renew the copyrights for the theme.

Some people don't know Hockey Night in Canada without that theme. For some people, the theme is their national anthem. For some, the theme means love, family, goodtimes and good memories. The theme brings you back to cozy winter nights gathered around the TV set with the family watching Hockey while munching down on popcorn and sipping on hot mocha. It's as much of our countries fabric as bacon, the maple leaf and Brian Mulroney's chin.

And now it's done. It'll never be heard again.

Time will tell what will replace the iconic theme however, Scott Moore, the executive director of CBC Sports did promise, "We'd like to keep as much of it intact" However, he added "if we can't do a responsible and reasonable deal that's good for both sides, change happens."

justin changes his ways..

As an extra on the upcoming hockey cancon friendly summer flick The Love Guru I heard some really bad things about the stars of the film. Things I'd rather keep quiet. It's just sad that sometimes you think your favorite stars would be down-to-earth and friendly when the whole ego things becomes a factor. On the other hand, you never really know how much of these stories you hear about are true - like this one. During the club scene in the movie, it was reported from another extra that Justin Timberlake stopped the filming and asked the director to tell everyone on set not to look at him in the eye as it bothers him.

I wasn't too surprised, but still pretty disappointed in the young boy bander. I always wondered how true that story was - until now. It looks like Timberlake has the same rules for press when conducting interviews with the artist and to make it official they have to sign a contract promising that they'll take care of all of Timberlake's requests.

Well, it's been reported that The Love Guru production company has backed down to inforce this contact during this weekends press junket with Timberlake. Has he changed his ways or is he being forced to do so because the boss' are saying so? Time will tell.

hills heading to ny?

Looks like the rumors have been confirmed that MTV heads are looking to spin-off the stations hit (reality) TV series, The Hills. It looks like the producers are going to work a spin-off using the cute LC sidekick slash workmate Whitney Port. It'll have Port going from LA to New York back to LA "working" for a fashion PR firm and befriending a group of really hot New York gals including Olivia Palermo.

This sounds like an original idea for MTV. A group of young, single, beautiful women in New York getting their life started. It's not like we've never heard about that idea before. Maybe in a couple of years, a movie could work.

Either way, I rather seeing sweet Whitney than shady Spidi.

unbundled radiohead..

Radiohead and Apple iTunes have come to an agreement and now fans of the band can buy individual tracks from the band. "There has been massive demand for Radiohead's music on iTunes," EMI communications SVP Jeanne Meyer revealed toListening Post. "Once In Rainbows was unbundled, it was a natural progression to unbundle (the rest of) their catalog"

Previously, Radiohead would only allow Apple to sell their full albums rather than selling them as just singles. After Apple turned down their request, the band turned their back on the online sellers. However, with the release of In Rainbows, the band decided to go with the tunes' pricing-option debut.

Radiohead's Greatest Hits along with their back catalog will be available on iTunes Plus Store in the DRM-free AAC format.

machine gun - portishead

watch it buddy, city looses silverman..

BlogTO broke the news yesterday but it looks like Rogers is continuing to move around personalities at CITY-TV - the companies latest pick-up. According to a memo distributed yesterday around 299 Quest Street West, Peter Silverman's long running Silverman Helps bit during the stations evening newscast has been axed effective immediately.

The following is what the CITY newsers read yesterday:

Today we informed the group that works in "Silverman Helps" that this segment of the news will discontinue in its current format. For nearly two decades, Peter Silverman and Terry O'Keefe's unit have brought closure to many viewer complaints. We feel however that the marketplace for investigative journalism is evolving and CityNews will reformat the consumer beat in the fall. Effective immediately, the "Silverman Helps" stories will be discontinued. We thank Peter, Terry and Cristina for their contribution to the newscast.

Peter Silverman is just the second cut Rogers has made since taking helm. Amber MacArthur, who got axed just a few days into 2008, was the first victim.


In related CITY News, who will be getting the new seat over at CityLine after Marylin Dennis steps down? Looks like media insiders are looking towards Rogers' favorite female host Erin Davis. Even though the station still hasn't confirmed that the show will be returning for another run under new blood, it'll be interesting to see where they would go if they were to look for a new face.

just another day - blu

more on hollywood fire..

We now have more details on the early morning Sunday fire that burnt down a part of Universal Studios L.A. According to Perez, two crew workers were using a blowtorch to heat asphalt roofing shingles. They were using the shingles for a upcoming shoot on the New York Street set. When the crew members were finished at around 3am, they took a break. After they came back from the break however, a security guard saw some flames and reported the fire. That was at around 4.43am.

The fire gunned down 3 1/2 acres of the 391 acre theme park which saw it destroy the King Kong exhibit and parts of New York Street. Officials have confirmed that they'll replace all the sets and even fix the Kong exhibit while the popular Universal train studio train ride will go on as scheduled and just pass-by any effected areas.

simpson's get paid..

As reported here earlier, The Simpsons who were holding out to shoot next season until they get more money, have gotten the green. The main voice actors who were making $360,000 per episode will now make $400 grand an episode which will make them earn around a mill a year. Not too bad for a franchise that has made three generations of kids laugh. Another part of the deal will see Dan Castellaneta (who voices Homer) as a head writer.

While the show is set to last another four years on paper, Fox still hasn't renewed their contract, so this could be the last year for the much loved cartoon family.