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Ignatieff quiet on economy
When Michael Ignatieff officially becomes Liberal leader at the party’s convention in Vancouver, which starts today, don’t expect any big policy announcements, especially when it comes to the economy.
Since replacing Stéphane Dion in December, the former Harvard professor has mostly been mum on the global recession and what he’d do to fix Canada’s financial fortunes if he became...
Desperate Measures
For one full week at the end of April, Coldplay let its fans download the first single off its new album, Viva La Vida, for free. While that’s not a revolutionary idea in itself, the fact that 600,000 Internet users downloaded the track in a 24-hour span, and 1.4 million more grabbed it during the week, suggests expectations are high for Coldplay’s new album, out June 17. Undoubtedly, the...
Ignatieff not anxious for election, but could force one soon: Goodale
It’s no secret that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff wants to reform employment insurance — he’s been loudly pushing for changes since he officially became leader of the opposition at the beginning of May — but is he really willing to bring down the government, as he says he would, if the EI system isn’t altered? Maybe, according to Ralph Goodale, opposition house leader and...
White Rabbits — It's Frightening
White Rabbits
Album: It’s Frightening
Label: TBD/MapleMusic
Rating: ***
Driving rock made this sextet the must-see band of 2007, so it’s a bit of a surprise to see the group tone things down here. While there’s still some amped-up tracks — namely the disc opener Percussion Gun — there’s also a number of softer grooves. The more relaxed tunes, like The Salesman, are actually the highlights...
The Crystal Method — Divided by Night
The Crystal Method
Album: Divided By Night
Label: Tiny E Records
Rating: *** (out of five)
When The Crystal Method exploded on the dance scene in the late-’90s, their competition was limited to a handful of acts. Now, everyone’s playing loud, big-beat dance music, so the duo has to step it up if they want to stay relevant. They’ve tried to do just that by enlisting a bevy of popular indie artists,...
Melissa McClelland – Victoria Day
Melissa McClelland
Album: Victoria Day
Label: Six Shooter/Universal
Rating: *** 1/2
The Hamilton-based songstress delivers a lush collection of layered country tunes and orchestral jazz-tinged numbers, all delivered in her spectacularly honeyed voice. While it’s not Earth-shattering stuff — she plays it fairly safe on most tunes — it’s still a comprehensive and moving listen. This album is...
Ahead by a century
Green Day was never supposed to be one of the biggest bands in the world. The trio’s apathetic songs about suburban life — smoking weed, boredom, self-loathing — backed by simple chord progressions that any middling guitar player could have created, were never good enough to see the outside of a garage.
But, the band’s songs were unbelievably infectious and, if the ’90s proved anything,...
Apostle of Hustle — Eats Darkness
Apostle of Hustle
Album: Eats Darkness
Label: Arts & Crafts/EMI
Rating: ***½ (out of five)
Andrew Whiteman has always been odd — he channels spirits and once co-owned a bra store in Winnipeg — and he’s used that quirkiness to his advantage. Apostle of Hustle again delivers a boundary-pushing collection of rollicking indie sounds mixed with slick guitars and airy instrumentation. The strangest...
Bryan Borzykowski is a Toronto-based writer and editor working mainly for business publications. He writes for the New York Times, Canadian Business magazine, Globe and Mail, Bloomberg Businessweek Custom Publishing, Toronto Star, MoneySense and more. Bryan's the editor of Review magazine and is a senior editor with Connected for Business magazine. He's also a contributing writer with Hello! Canada and was once a weekly music columnist for Metro News. He's been nominated for several National Magazine Awards and he's co-authored