Underachievers and proud of it, the makers of rap were introduced to American general public in 1981, thanks to the ABC News Report. A true genre of the people, and for the people, it’s a retro look at the mild contempt held in regard to rappers, determined to play inside the gates of the big music industry.
The CBC Retro ’74 Mod Bag Is Worth Saving The Station For
Just like the CBC is worth saving, this retro mod bag designed by Red Canoe is worth getting.
In 1999 Red Canoe was conceived in a bush plane over the pristine wilderness of Northern Ontario. The imagery, romance and heritage of the unique lifestyle this form of travel represents are hard to express. Those that live it carry forward a tradition of the Canadian pioneers who pushed the limits of possibility in the face of all the adversity our rugged landscape could muster.
Sudbury Ontario native Dax Wilkinson grew up with these experiences but had been transplanted to the big city of Toronto. While the aspiring entrepreneur and designer developed products for different brands, close friends from home were becoming professional Bush Pilots. Wilkinson decided to create a product line inspired by Canadian icons with great stories like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and you can get it here.
The Pogues finally have their own brand of whiskey
Sunlight and barley held together with water and left in an oak barrel for three years and a day. It can only mean The Pogues have their own brand of whiskey, made with the sole intention of spreading raucous joy.
As you would expect, The Pogues Irish Whiskey has as much character as the band itself. Made from a fine blend of grain and single malt Irish whiskey; this mighty drink has an aroma of malts and cracked nuts, with a sweet taste and a smooth intense flavour.
The Pogues Irish Whiskey is made by West Cork Distillers, one of Ireland’s last independent distilleries. From humble beginnings and the coming together of a Master Blender and his two fisherman friends it now has become a global success, built on friendship and a passion for innovation and quality. The Distillery is based in Skibbereen in the heart of West Cork, the cultural home of Irish Whiskey.
HALLER: The Indigo Girls Intimate Q&A Session with Social Media Influencers
With a nod to the historic and artistic significance that Toronto’s Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall have in the landscape of the city, HALLer is a new interactive happening that honours the tradition of bringing artists and their audience together.
HALLer brings the most prestigious stages in Toronto and the artists that grace them to the biggest stage of our time – the internet.
Think Inside The Actors Studio meets Live At The Rehearsal Hall with Toronto’s leading social media influencers in an intimate conversation with the artists, broadcast live through engaging the online community.
HALLer will have an exclusive, intimate conversation with scheduled artists, kicking off with The Indigo Girls on October 21 from 4:15pm-5:00pmET, and shared live through various social media networks like Twitter, Periscope, Facebook and Instagram. This will be the day before the Indigo Girls perform with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall.
The talk will have a feel of a fireside chat, with artists talking about the ideas that inspire them to write, perform and share their lives with the community they have created through their music.
It’s not an interview, but an authentic, organic and interactive sharing of ideas and expressions.
HALLer is produced by myself and my wife, Candace Alper, and we’ll be curating the influencers tailored for each artist and lead the conversation.
The influencers for our first session with the Indigo Girls include Scott Stratten, Alison Kramer, Louise Gleeson, Casie Stewart, Shawn Proulx, Melissa Bel, Glad Day Bookshop’s Michael Erickson, Lisa Lagace, Dee Brun Gow, Ali Martell, Environmental Defence Executive Director Tim Gray, and Tracey Nolan.
Follow @SoundboardTO, @RoyThomsonHall, @MasseyHall and @ThatEricAlper and #HALLer on Twitter to watch the proceedings, and future events!
Young fan asks Harper Lee for a photo, gets rule of life instead
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author Harper Lee received a request for a signed photo in 2006, and although he didn’t get one, he received some advice much more valuable.
Image: Nate D. Sanders
Transcript
06/07/06
Dear Jeremy
I don’t have a picture of myself, so please accept these few lines:
As you grow up, always tell the truth, do no harm to others, and don’t think you are the most important being on earth. Rich or poor, you then can look anyone in the eye and say, “I’m probably no better than you, but I’m certainly your equal.”
(Signed, ‘Harper Lee’)
Hip Hop Producer Pete Rock on Finding & Shaping the Perfect Sample
From NPR’s Bullseye with Jesse Thorn:
The revolutionary hip hop producer Pete Rock grew up in a house full of records, mentally cataloging the songs that excited him. His parents listened to all kinds of music, from jazz to classical to funk. Years later, he would reach back into his brain and record collection to select and transform the perfect sample.
He started out as half of the hip-hop duo Pete Rock and CL Smooth, later going solo and collaborating with and producing for many of the biggest names in rap, from Nas to Kanye West.
Pete Rock joins us to talk about his earliest music memories, meeting James Brown as an elementary-schooler, and how he took a sample from an album called “The Honeysuckle Breeze” and used it to create a classic hip hop track.
Pete Rock’s new album of instrumentals is Petestrumentals 2.
Public Enemy’s Chuck D on Creating One Of The Best Band Logos in History
Do you remember the first time you showed the Public Enemy logo to somebody and what their reaction was?
I used to do flyer designs back in the day on Long Island, so I would do logos for acts that didn’t have one, or make up names for acts that didn’t really exist when I was starting out. So when I made the Public Enemy logo, I was actually making a logo for a group that didn’t exist! When Public Enemy came up as this group option, I just moved it from this other situation on over to us, and it fit perfectly. The thing that impressed me was when I saw it in a big gigantic arena-sized way, when we actually opened up for the Beastie Boys in 1987. We had the large backdrop made, and when the logo went up across the back of the arena, I was really impressed. It went from a sketchpad to a stadium. I was blown back. It stood out.
People say I studied art. I didn’t just study; I graduated with an art degree. There’s a big difference. When it came to be around that potential time of making logos, I wanted to make something that understood what a logo could do, you know? Look at the Rolling Stones. The tongue and the lips say it all without you looking at the font. I wanted to be able to make something that detaches. I don’t think there’s too many logos out there that don’t deal with a font, that you can detach and know what it is. Wu-Tang is still the W, but that kinda comes close. But Public Enemy… no font whatsoever. Circle with a man, you know what it is.
Here’s Björk talking about her TV
I love this video. Björk is just on a different level of gifted than anyone else on this planet.
Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood on Treating Each Other With Kindness
“I think racism probably accounts for more of the world’s problems than any other single issue, especially if you include the oft-related issues of prejudice against various religions or non-religions.
We’re basically taught in kindergarten to be nice to other people and not bully people for the way they were born, yet people can’t seem to grasp that simple concept. Do onto others. I didn’t go to church all that often, but I actually heard that one.”
The Rolling Stones European Tour Documentary From 1976
The Rolling Stones’ Tour of Europe ’76 scratched the surface of the band at the peak of it’s powers, debauchery, and demand. Tickets were in high demand; on 1 April the promoters announced that they had received more than one million applications in the mail for tickets for three shows at London’s Earls Court; subsequently three more dates were added there. The routing also saw two dates in Yugoslavia – the Stones’ second visit to a Communist country after 1967.
The tour began a few days after the April 23rd release of the group’s album Black and Blue, and is documented by the 1977 concert release Love You Live. Much of the material on that album is from the shows at Les Abattoirs in Paris from June 4 to June 7.