Music Rags: That old ChesnuTT is new again

by | Mar 14, 2013 | Culture

Cody ChesnuTT is a musical renaissance man. He embodies everything an artist should be: daring, brave, intelligent and willing to do it all on his own terms. Listening to his music is like getting a lecture from a black music historian, a man who has absorbed all the...

Music Rags: Nothing peculiar about the Odds’ success

by | Feb 28, 2013 | Culture

You probably know Canadian rock icons the Odds. And if you don’t think you do, you probably do anyway. Songs like “It Falls Apart,” “Eat My Brain” and “Love is the Subject,” among others, have burrowed their way into the Canadian consciousness, even though many people...

Music Rags: Roger Steffens and reggae survival

by | Feb 14, 2013 | Culture

In 1973, music aficionado Roger Steffens stumbled upon this line in a Rolling Stone piece written by Australian gonzo journalist Michael Thomas: “Reggae music crawls into your bloodstream like some vampire amoeba from the psychic rapids of upper Niger consciousness.”...

Music Rags: The punk politics of people power

by | Jan 24, 2013 | Culture

For 35 years, Joe Keithley and D.O.A. have been bringing politically charged, socially aware punk music to the masses. An entirely new genre when Keithley entered the realm, punk grew from the same base that fuelled another genre closely aligned with the struggles of...