UK Rioting Engulfs Music Biz

  The rioting, looting and burning that broke out first in London and then spread to other parts of the UK has now begun to affect the music business. A distribution warehouse in Enfield was set ablaze around 4am London time today (August 9).  Owned by Sony DADC, it was the repository for CDs from [&hellip.. more

More on the Death of Hi-Fi

More and more people are settling for sub-par audio. And there's no cure for this widespread acceptance of mediocrity. .. more

U2’s The Edge Turns 50: What to Do?

Dave Howell "The Edge" Evans turns 50 today. I'll bet someone gives him a toque. .. more

The Recommendation Project Part 3: Covers

I'm convinced that social music--the ability to share music recommendations among friends and strangers alike--is gonna be hot. To test that theory, I've launched The Recommendation Project. Time for part three of the experiment. What's your favourite cover song of all time? .. more

AoF Break-Up: Should Have Seen It Coming

When I heard about the break-up of Alexisonfire, I had a flashback to a drinking session with George and Wade over two years ago. Suddenly, everything that they said that day made sense. .. more

Spreading the Word on a Musical Term

The word boffins in charge of the complete Oxford English Dictionary--the language police, if you will, for those of us who speak English--are constantly editing and re-editing their work. That used to be extremely difficult when the OED was solely a physical published work. But now that it's all online, new words are being added all the time. That's where I'm hoping to enlist your help in getti.. more

Musical Vacation Snaps–Such As They Are

I'm always looking for cool musical things, even in the strangest places. Here are two things that caught my fancy while here in Europe. .. more

Weekly Music Sales Report

Sorry for being a day late with the weekly report, but out here on the Adriatic, Internet access can be, er, challenging. Back to normal by Sunday. Promise. .. more

Cruise + Music = Cruise-sick

No one goes on a mega-ship cruise expecting to find cool music (except, of course, the upcoming Weezer cruise. Go on: Google it.) But does it really have to be this wretched? .. more

A Brief History of Sports Anthems

Last week, I appeared on both the regular panel discussion of TSN’s Off the Record, but then I also stuck around to do a one-on-one segment on sports themes.  This is what happened.. more

U2 360 = $736,136,344

The biggest tour the universe has ever seen has FINALLY wrapped up. When it began, there were critics who thought it was too big, to ambitious, too crazy. Yet they pulled it off, thanks in very large part to Arthur Fogel, the mysterious Canadian in charge of global touring at Live Nation. .. more

The Death of the Radio Storyteller

Over the last fifteen years, there's been a fundamental shift in the way radio recruits, nurtures and develops talent. When I was making my way up through the business, it was expected that you needed to pay your dues and make your mistakes through a series of jobs in smaller market radio stations. That's not the case anymore because jobs at those smaller market stations are disappearing. Depres.. more

The Hit of the Summer Is Up to You

It's not as easy as it used to be coming up with the song of the summer. .. more

The Recommendation Project Part 2

Here’s another playlist assignment. An alien lands on your street.  “It’s a long way back to Velpecula, so I’d appreciate it if you made me a mixtape.  What songs best exemplify Canada?” Here are the rules for The Recommendation Project. 1.  Look me up on Rdio (www.rdio.com/people/AlanCross) and find the playlist marked The Recommendation Project [&hell.. more

The Recommendation Project – Update 1

Part 1 of The Recommendation Project went well. This is a solid 90 minutes of interesting music. .. more

Could the Loudness Wars Be Ending?

Say a prayer tonight asking the Almighty that this may be true. .. more

I Like This: Stuck on Planet Earth

SoPE has a new EP entitled Realities.  They’re kicking things off by offering a free download of the title track.   Realities by stuck on planet earth.. more

A Visit With the Nevermind Baby

Spencer Eldon--aka The Most Famous Penis in Alt-Rock--is back in the spotlight thanks to the upcoming 20th anniversary re-release of Nevermind. If you remember when the album first came out, prepare to feel...old. .. more

Why Dad’s Stereo Sounds Better Than Yours

I have a Carver receiver that I bought in 1989 that's built like a tank. And as amps go, it sounds substantially better than my newer (and more expensive) home theatre receivers. Here's why. .. more

South Korean Pop Payola

Think payola is confined to the American and British music industries? Think again. Or, more correctly, think 증회. .. more

I Like This: Hooded Fang

I keep getting emails from a mysterious person who signs his name “-Ben-.”  I always look at them because the dude–whoever he is–has very good taste in music. His latest tip is Hooded Fang, a Toronto band who have a release entitled Tosta Mista.  This track is called “ESP.”   ESP by HOODED .. more

Jay-Z and Kanye Piss Off Record Stores

I think it's safe to say that the biggest stars in hip-hop are Jay-Z and Kanye. To have them collaborate on an album should be a record retailer's wet dream. Normally, yes. But not this time. And lots of people are supremely pissed off. .. more

Best. Superhero. Ever.

Brent Chittendem writes an opinion column for Comic Book Daily called Just a Thought. He's working on an upcoming column which resurrects the eternal nerd argument of who is the best superhero ever. .. more