Vangelis, the electronic composer who help take things mainstream with the Chariots of Fire theme, has died
His full name was Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou but the world knew him as Vangelis, the composer of electronic music. Born
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Music History
David Milgaard, the subject of The Tragically Hip song “Wheat Kings,” has died
I grew up five miles from the Stoney Mountain Federal Prison in Manitoba. In fact, I used to play minor
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Matt Cameron tested positive for COVID so a fan was drafted to play drums for Pearl Jam.
Ever been in the crowd and wished you could be on stage performing for the crowd? Bands like U2, the
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Today’s trailers, part 2: The Sex Pistols series, Pistol
Johnny Lydon isn’t happy about it, but Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle has turned the memoir of Pistols’ guitarist Steve
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Photos from Bruce Cockburn’s 50th-anniversary tour and his Canada’s of Walk of Fame star
[A report from Ottawa correspondent, Ross MacDonald. – AC] It is not often that a concert starts with a standing
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Billie Joe Armstrong shares video of him playing guitar at age 9
Long before there was a Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong was something of a child prodigy, releasing his first record
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A Continuing, Very Serious Anthropological Study: Where Did the Special Lyrics in Billy Idol’s Version of “Mony Mony” Come From? (Updated when new information becomes available.)
It was probably in the spring of 1987 when I first heard the special audience lyrics in the Billy Idol version of the Tommy James classic, “Mony Mony.” I was hosting one of the old CFNY Video Roadshows at a high school somewhere in Southern Ontario. When Martin Streek, the guy in charge of playing the videos, flipped to this clip, the dancers erupted.
At first, I couldn’t make how what they were yelling. “What are they shouting?” I asked Martin. He helpfully translated with the appropriate arm gestures.
Billy: Here she come now singing Mony Mony
Dancers: HEY MOTHERF*CKER GET LAID GET F*CKED!
Billy: Well, shoot ’em down, turn around, come on Mony
Dancers: HEY MOTHERF*CKER GET LAID GET F*CKED!
Billy: Hey she give me love and I feel alright now
Dancers: HEY MOTHERF*CKER GET LAID GET F*CKED!
I looked at him weird. “How do they know what to say?”
A puzzled look came across Martin’s face for a moment; it was apparent that he’d never considered the question before. Then he just shrugged and turned to deal with a very angry principal who was appalled that such obscenities would be chanted by his students in his gym at his school.
The question of the origins of the special audience participation lyrics has been in the back of my mind ever since. Perhaps it’s time to address it once and for all–if that’s even possible.
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There’s now a documentary on the Sam Roberts Band
Sam Roberts had his first Canadian hit twenty years ago, so it’s time to look back on his career–at least
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20 years ago today, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains died
Layne Staley had been in big trouble long before he died. He got deep into heroin addiction, interrupted only briefly
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What can a band do when a key member dies? Let’s explore the Foo Fighters situation
[This was my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca. – AC] One of the knocks against the Foo Fighters has been that
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Here’s another trailer for the upcoming documentary on Lowest of the Low
Lowest of the Low was one of Toronto’s great indie bands of the 90s. They started with a tremendous amount
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