aka La Métropole, La Belle Ville
The precarious polka dot is everywhere these days, it seems. Spots of white adorn garments of many different shapes and sizes, ranging from the itsy bitsy teeny weeny itty bitty string bikini to the casual summer dress, full-on cocktail party dress, high-waisted skirt, one-piece jumper, wide retro headband, and little flat ballet shoes. Bold primary colors go best with these fun, round companions: red, green, navy blue, and black. Read More
It seems that illegal downloading has taken a new and highly sophisticated turn. Well, I don’t know if I would call it sophisticated exactly, but lately bloggers have been posting download links directly in their blogs. Sneaky little bastards! This is a great way for them to enhance the number of hits they get on their site as well as share music with their friends and the world.
Typically I hate action movies, but there is a particular category of action movies that I love: action movies starring Angelina Jolie. As lovely as it is to be engrossed by the throes of a psychological mind-f*ck or a deeply moving drama, sometimes it’s nice to sit back, kick up your feet, open a huge bag of popcorn, and watch the bullets fly and the get lost in the smouldering gaze of the eyes of a woman who, despite her controversial choices, possesses such intensity and beauty that when her face flashes on the screen, it is nearly impossible to look away. Read More
There is nothing I despise more than an artist who sells out. It really pisses me off. Let me clarify a little here: by ’selling out’ I do not mean ‘making it’. I have nothing against success. I want the artists I like to gain recognition. What I do not want is for them to sacrifice their sound and style and interrupt the flow of the music during a performance with constant direct addresses to the crowd, demanding that we “put our hands together” and “make some noise…” Puh-lease! Read More
La Boite Noire is no secret, but damn is it ever good. In Montreal, its Mont-Royal location offers two levels of cinematic heaven, neatly subdivided by category, spanning a rich depth of genres, eras, and styles. Read More
Choice cuts often come from unsuspecting places. Those little places you could easily wander by without a second glance unless you already knew they were there. These places are often where the most magical buried treasures lie. Whether seeking food and drink, music, a new outfit or an iced cappuccino made with a little extra care and attention, you may just get even more than what you were originally hoping for. Read More
Paper Synths @ Thecoolist.com
Click, click, click. Book a ticket. To a concert, or a faraway land. Click, click, click, look at pics of magic origami tricks. Trying to make them isn’t so easy, but they sure are pretty to look at. Click again and you can download some muzak. It’s like magic. The world is at your fingertips. The Web has revolutionized the way we shop for everything from groceries to clothes, music, and travel.
There is a fine line between a fashion faux-pas and a happy fashion accident. The distinction between total and absolute cheez, tacky combinations and a brilliant fashion move is a muddy one that depends as much on personal taste and color preference as it does on that perfect balance of style and textures. Read More
Apparently in Japan, sushi is normally reserved for special occasions, whereas noodle bars and izakaya (snacks accompanied by beer in loung-ey sorts of places) are where all the locals hang out. It wasn’t until very recently that I had the pleasure of sinking into the plush black pleather booth of Montreal’s newest addition to the Izakaya kingdom: Big In Japan. You can get far more than just sushi and sashimi here. They also have a grilled meat platter, pork and potato stew in miso broth, two different kinds of daikon salad, edamami, charcoal bbq skewers, and a host of other Japanese-flavoured drinks + snacks. With beer on tap, umeshu on ice (Japanese plum wine) and a kitchen that stays open till midnight 7 days a week, Big in Japan is the perfect post-concert chow-down spot.
Every now and then there is a contest that comes along that changes somebody’s life. Where an artistic challenge is met by an equal stroke of genius and miracles happen. This is precisely what happened in the case of Hobo With a Shotgun. Read More
Thanks to the Internet, you can do just about anything without ever having to move your ass. You can order groceries from Antidote Épicerie, a delivery service specializing in healthy, organic and locally-grown food. While you are perusing the selection of cheeses, organic fruits, bakery-fresh artisan breads and organic veggies, you can tune into soulseduction.com and look around for some new tunes. Whether it is acid jazz, disco, minimal techno, reggae, Latin, world beat or straight up rock’n'roll, this site’s user-friendly interface and wide selection makes it an ideal way to shop while you…shop. Read More
As I casually sipped a glass of merlot at the MUTEK opening cocktail reception, a video reporter came up to me and asked: “What does MUTEK mean to you?”
“MUTEK is the future of techno,” I replied, “with a dash of absurdity and a twist of experimental flavour.”
When it comes to Indie, it’s hit or miss. Some bands are amazing and others totally suck. This is, of course, according to my humble opinion. To my discerning ears, popular artists like Grum and The Twelves sound like garbage, whereas equally popular psychedelic bands like Caribou tickle my eardrums with delight. There is something soothing and more than a little magic embedded in Caribou’s current offerings “Sun” and “Odessa.” Read More
A typical Saturday in Montreal may go a little something like this: wake up painfully, rub the dust out of your eyes as you glance sideways at the clock beside your bed, realize — Mon Dieu — it’s almost 1pm and you feel like you may still be tipsy. Read More
