Montreal electro/crunk duo Megasoid are attracting a lot of attention online and on the streets (literally) of Toronto, Montreal and beyond. Speakerbruiser (aka Spkrbruzr of Sixtoo fame) and Robert Downey DJ (aka Hadji Bakara of Wolf Parade) perform live bass-infused remixes using a wide-variety of top-notch, booze-soaked gear. Their shows get messy and some have notoriously ended prematurely as a result.

On the strength of a couple great mp3 mixtapes and a very helpful mention in The New Yorker, Megasoid have been fielding numerous remix and show requests, while playing gigs under bridges, on top of their van (see above photo), on the Drake rooftop at Nuit Blanche last Fall, and at their own Turbo Crunk monthlies at Montreal's Coda and the Drake here in town. On top of all of this, rumour has it they are working on a "real record".

I chatted with Speakerbruiser and Robert Downey DJ about record rumours, fictitious gear, and poor Becky.

According to its Wikipedia page, the remix originated in the dance hall culture of late-1960s Jamaica. Early disco DJs used remixes to keep men, women and drag queens on dance floors, and the underground rave scene always embraced remixes just as lovingly as they did original tracks.

Today, remixes are enjoying mainstream success. They are everywhere now - music sites, little blogs, big blogs, dance clubs, rock clubs, and even commercials.

Here we go again. The first edition of our blogTO Muxtape sparked some debate regarding the online fad's legitimacy and about music promotion in general.

Since last month's post, 27 Muxtape subscribers have favoured our mix and the site has automatically embedded a "buy now" link under every song. The link goes to Amazon MP3 - the popular US-only online music shop. The Canadian version may or may not be coming soon, so most of the songs we're posting will not benefit from this yet.

CBC Radio 1's show Q Radio has got into the Muxtape game. Check out their Muxtape at qradio.muxtape.com, and check the blogTO muxtape 2.0 over at: toronto2.muxtape.com.


Photo by Jerrold Litwinenko.

Last night Toronto saw the return of 90's Brit-rock heavyweights The Verve, reunited after a decade of inactivity. The band had conquered the world with their third full-length record Urban Hymns, a classic record in their genre that included the massive hit "Bitter Sweet Symphony".

Then the infighting started, mainly between lead singer Richard Ashcroft (pictured above) and guitarist Nick McCabe. There were rumours of fistfights and endless arguments that led to McCabe quitting and the band imploding shortly thereafter.

Does the term "sophomore slump" apply to music audio book authors like it does to bands? Maybe not, but either way the The Alan Cross Guide to Alternative Rock Volume Two: The 80's (out now on HarperCollinsCanada) definitely avoids that tag.

The music that was made in the 80's is perhaps the most scrutinized (at least for the clothes and hair that came along with it), but also the most studied by today's up-and-coming artists. Anyone over the age of 25 has seen their fair share of "retro 80's" dance nights around town - most recycling the same hits each and every week. But, as Alan's latest audio book points out, that decade produced some of the best and most influential pop music of all time.

Blurring the line between pop star and powerful man behind the scenes, Montreal techno artist Tiga has accomplished too many things to mention here. He is a world-renowned DJ, producer, remixer, songwriter and label owner who is credited with throwing the first ever rave in Canada. After a very long absence, he finally returns to Toronto with the Turbo Omnidance Tour.

There are many people in the world who know how to throw a killer party, and a lot of those people have even opened their own club to throw killer parties in. Among all his other accomplishments, Tiga also co-founded one of the best dance clubs in Canadian history back in the 90's. I sadly never made it to Sona in Montreal while Tiga was involved with the club, but I always heard great things about it.