The Kings have just wrapped up their Aussie/Kiwi tour with their Montreal buddies, The Stills (who they've toured with every year for the last four years). Thanks to Youtube a bit of what may be in store for KOL fans on their next album has been revealed and let me be the first to say... it sounds GOOD!
If you've been following the (kind of hard to believe) extraordinary rise of the Kings of Leon over the past few years, you'll know that each album put out by The Kings tends to be different from the last. They started out in 2003 with Country sounding Bluesy/Boogie-Woogie Rock on Youth and Young, which turned into frantic and immature sounding Country/Rock and Roll on Aha (arguably their best album to date), which then became Hard Rock and Roll on Because of the Times, which most recently kind of slumped (IMO) into generic anthemic Pop Rock on Only by the Night (It's still a great album though, aside from a few choice tracks... the B-sides are stellar though). So hearing this new track "The Devils Song" (?title?) has me breathing a sigh of relief to know that now that they've broken the worlds music markets with their somewhat lackluster and overplayed single"Sex On Fire", they'll finally be able to get back to making good music again.
We all know the Southland gave birth to the Blues and this track sees them reaching back into their Tennessean roots. It seems to be an ode to their church hollering and praising days, with lyrics including "ain't gonna sell my soul to the devil, ain't gonna go down to her level, ain't gonna sell my soul to Lucifer, tell your girlfriend I ain't got know use for her". It is heavily influenced by soul/negro-spiritual/blues (almost reminds me of YAYM's "Dusty") which are a couple of genres that I personally love. So if this track is a telltale sign of the direction that their next album will be taking (which they said should be out sometime in 2010), then I'm 100% on board and forgive them for the sad sad song that is "Sex on Fire" and will agree to put the past behind for better or for worse.
Caleb explained: "I think it's up to us to keep our heads on straight and try to make an album that's better than the last. And I don't necessarily mean one that has pop hits on it or anything. I don't think a song has to be verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, double chorus. But who knows? I don't want to encourage it [though], I don't want someone to get dropped from their label for having a 45-minute slow jam." - Daily Record
Kings of Leon will be back in Toronto on April 21st playing a sold out show at the Air Canada Centre. Enjoy- SLICE Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Australia - 03.22.09 Share and Enjoy! .
Faronheit Blog claims to have friends in high places. Friends that apparently are kind enough to share half of the possible 2009 Lollapalooza line-up (Aug 7-9 @ Chicago's Grant Park). In an alleged email sent to Faronheit from an anonymous "friend", they state that 90% of the line-up is indeed accurate while 10% is possibly fake. Right now it seems to be one of the only "credible" lists floating around out there for the festival so I thought I'd share it with you seeing as Lollapalooza is the only festival I might actually be making it to this year. (Well... maybe Oshega too). Read Faronheit's full post here.
Chicago Reader Blog takes a different approach at predicting possible Lolla performers. They calculate which bands have an album coming out, are able to command higher fees than what Pitchfork's festival offers(also held in Chicago) and are currently on tour but have inexplicably skipped Chicago (due to possible adherence to Lollapaloozas blackout rules).
According to the Chicago Reader post, these artists include: Girl Talk, Bon Iver, No Age, Peter Bjorn and John, Animal Collective, Atmosphere, Bat for Lashes, the Decemberists, Jason Mraz, Lykke Li (AHHHHHHHHH), Taylor Swift, Fall Out Boy, MIA, PJ Harvey, Lil Wayne and Sonic Youth
Early-Bird tickets for Lollapalooza go on sale on March 31st (that's in 3 days ya'll)
Headliners that have already been confirmed: *Beastie Boys *Depeche Mode *Jane's Addiction *Kings of Leon *The Killers *Tool
Possible performers according to Faronheit: ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead A.C. Newman (Download: Miracle Drug) *Andrew Bird Animal Collective (Download: Peacebone) *Atmosphere (Download: Trying to Find A Balance) Band of Horses (Download: No One's Gonna Love You) Bat for Lashes *Ben Folds Ben Harper & Relentless7 Bon Iver (Download: Blood Bank) Chairlift Cursive (Download: From the Hips) *Delta Spirit Dirty Projectors Eagles of Death Metal Eels Ezra Furman and the Harpoons Fleet Foxes (Download: White Winter Hymnal) Franz Ferdinand (Download: Darts of Pleasure) *Friendly Fires (Download: Jump In the Pool) Glasvegas Heartless Bastards *Kaiser Chiefs Langhorne Slim (Download: In the Midnight) Lily Allen *Lou Reed Matt & Kim Metric MSTRKRFT *Neko Case (Download: Hold On, Hold On) OK Go Passion Pit *Paul Green's School of Rock All Stars Peter Bjorn and John (Download: Let's Call It Off) Ra Ra Riot (Download: Each Year) Rancid Razorlight Regina Spektor (Download: Us) Rise Against Rodrigo y Gabriela Sam Roberts Band Santigold School of Seven Bells (Download: Connjur) Silversun Pickups Tenacious D The Airborne Toxic Event *The Decemberists (Download: The Engine Driver) The Gaslight Anthem The Hold Steady (Download: Chips Ahoy!) *The Raveonettes (Download: Aly, Walk With Me) *TheNewNo2 TV on the Radio (Download: Staring at the Sun) Vampire Weekend Yeah Yeah Yeahs
By now everyone must have seen the Telus commercial with the cute prairie dogs and the puzzle pieces for the new Smartphones. Ever wonder who sings that catchy tune in the back? It's none other than Toronto's own band Stars & Crosses, with their song titled ' Got Me'. Consisting of Clara Klein and Marcus Trulli, Stars & Crosses has got a fresh new electronic sound that incorporates traditional rock and is bound to get anyone listening. The band was formed in late 2008 and you can bet that you will be hearing more from them in the future. You can purchase their debut single 'Got Me' on cdbaby or you can go onto itunes and download it there.
Check out the commercial for yourself: Stars & Crosses - 'The Pieces Fit'
You may remember Paolo Nutini from way back in 2006. He's a young Scotsman from Paisley with an incredibly soulful voice who released his debut album, These Streets to much fanfare 3 years ago, hit up the festival circuit then quickly dissolved back into the Paisley tapestry of Scotland.
I bought his debut Album back in 2006 as an impulse purchase while at a grocery store in the UK. I was paying for my lunchtime sandwich at Sainsbury's and saw his album sitting on a lonely rack marked £4.99. I had heard a bit of buzz about the album so I picked it up and decided to give it a listen. I was FLOORED when I heard it. His melodic and bluesy soulful tunes gave me chills (think of a male Amy Winehouse sans the drugs), I couldn't believe he was only 18 when he recorded it. The album did extraordinarily well in the UK peaking at #3 on the charts, despite not making any sizable waves in the notoriously hard to crack North American market.
After a long 3 year hiatus and a year spent recording (which saw the likes of Kings of Leon producer, Ethan Johns, help out on the production front) Paolo is finally ready to reveal his sophomore album, Sunny Side Up due for release on June 1st. He claims that it is his best work to date, so I'm super poised to here it.
One of the most common questions I get from people when traveling, is to name a few traditional Canadian dishes. For all of the Canadians out there reading this, you know that that isn't always easy. Having been founded by two different countries and not having historically really "broken" away from either country (we're not really known for our revolutions), Canadian cuisine is strongly influenced by traditional British, French and Native dishes. Canada is an extremely young country whose population growth was really only experienced within the last 2 centuries. Given Canada's recent immigration history and the introduction of dishes from around the world, Canada was never truly able to develop a strong sense of traditional quintessential Canadian cuisine. Recipes are passed down from generation to generation and considering the fact that Canada is a beautiful cultural mosaic many traditional Canadian recipes that had been developed in the past, have not been widely shared. There are of course some exceptions; Beaver Tails, Poutine, Dry Meat, Maple Syrup, Butter Tarts, Tourtiere, Canadian Bacon, Apple Pie with Cheddar Cheese etc. So... given that SLICE is a magazine hoping to shine a spotlight on Canada and our culture, I thought we'd start a monthly "Cookin' n Canada" segment, where we'll introduce you to some of Canada's traditional recipes that you can print out and add to your family food diary.
Nanaimo Bars First on our list is a staple in highschool cafeterias across Canada. It is the almighty Nanaimo Bar.
Legend has it that Nanaimo Bars originated in Nanaimo BC in the 1950's. A local housewife submitted the recipe to a newspaper competition and subsequently her recipe was selected, leading to a great deal of publicity.
Nanaimo Bars are a non-bake confectionery consisting of 3 layers. Smooth chocolate at the top, light vanilla custard in the middle and graham cracker and coconut at the base.
It's time for my indulgent post again. (I've been doing this a lot lately but...)
The other day, while browsing blogs, I came across one of my latest blog crushes (Keep it like a Secret), and was delighted to find a post on my most favourite man in the world... Mr. Alec Baldwin.
He may be a notorious Hollywood asshole , but he only respects people that deserve and have earned his respect. Anyway, I absolutely LOVE him, he is my all-time favourite Hollywood star, and is probably the only person in the world that would leave me entirely star struck if I were to ever meet him face-to-face.
So I got to thinking about Alec Baldwin and naturally I recalled his infamous telephone message to his then 11-year-old daughter. Although the message is incredibly harsh and inappropriate, I always burst out in laughter every time I hear it. Oh Ally... you so crazy! So I thought I'd post it up here for your evening amusement.
"Hey I want to tell you something okay, I want to leave a message for you right now, cause again it's 10:30 here in New York on a Wednesday and once again I made an ASS of myself trying to get to a phone to call you at a specific time. When the time comes for me to make the phone call I stop whatever I'm doing and I go and I make that phone call. At 11 o'clock in the morning in new York and if you don't pick up the phone at 10:00 at night and you don't even have that god damn phone turned on. I want you to know something okay. I am tired of playing this game with you. I am leaving this message with you to tell you you have insulted me for the last time. You have insulted me. You don't have the brains or the decency as a human being. I don't give a damn that your 12 years old, or 11 years old or that your a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass, who doesn't care about what you do as far as I'm concerned. You have humiliated me for the last time with this phone. And when I come out there next week... I'm going to fly out there for the DAY just to straighten you out on this issue. I'm going to let you know just how disappointed in you I am, and how ANGRY I am with you, that you have done this to me again. You have made me feel like shit and you have made me feel like a fool, over and over and over again. And this crap you pull on me with this god damn phone situation - that you would never DREAM of doing to your mother - and you do it to me constantly, over and over again. I am going to get on a plane or I'm going to come out there for the day , AND I AM GOING TO STRAIGHTEN YOUR ASS OUT when I see you. Do you understand me? I am going to REALLY make sure you get it. Then I'm going to get on a plane, I'm going to turn around, and I'm going to come home. So you better be ready FRIDAY THE 20TH, to meet with me to let you know just how I feel about what a rude little pig you really are. YOU ARE A RUDE, THOUGHTLESS LITTLE PIG. OKAY."
If you find yourself sitting at home on a Thursday night wondering if there's anything fun going on in Toronto, look no further than Strangelove (located at 587 College St).
My bro's, The Jons, host it every Thursday night and always show the guests the best time ever. Feel like having a vodka shower or enjoy dancing on tables? Then Strangelove is the perfect place for you. It's always great music(electro/house), and always has Toronto's best Dj's. If you're also on a budget, have no fear, it's free to get in! I really can't explain anything else about the cities hippest hangout, so I guess you just have to come and party and witness it for yourself! Come Dance Like You Fuck every Thursday night!
Meet Toronto native Chase Cohl. This is Chase Cohl in her NY apartment. She's 21, a university poetry major, a singer in a band, an accessories designer and an NYC "it girl".
Chase has taken up headdress design under the label Little Doe is Love to finance a rather lofty lifestyle in SoHo. The two years young label began when "I was going to some event I can't remember and I got it in my head that I wanted to wear flowers in my hair," she told the Toronto Star's Bernadette Morra in 2008. Her flower headress was such a hit among her hipster friends that she began giving them away as birthday gifts. Soon, her headdresses were popping up in fashion blog posts the world over as friends would be photographed in them on a night on the town. Thus, requests from the likes of M.I.A., Fergie, Theodora Richards etc began to pour in and Little Doe is Love was born. These headdresses don't come cheap though. They are priced between $200-$400 depending on the requested style. They are all hand crafted and made with the "finest quality antique material". -littledoeislove.com photo by Rylan Perry
Chase Cohl is also a singer. She makes up 1/3 of the indie folk band, Weepaw. Her brother (Liam Cohl) and friend (Duncan Davies) round off the sound on Bass, Guitar, Mandolin, Ukulele, Parrot, Banjo and Tambourine. This is Chase Cohl's life in a nutshell. An enviable one to say the least.
Toronto's Sound Academy on the beautiful lake shore will be hosting competitions in 2D, 3D and Motion Graphics for this years Digital Design Tournament.
Cut and Paste is generously offering up 5 free tickets to SLICE readers interested in attending this incredible creative bash.
These tickets will be given to the first 5 (in total) people to comment on this post to request tickets. Leave your name, E-mail address, the number of tickets you're hoping to grab and quickly answer this simple question... "If you were able to design anything in the world (with the limitations of science etc not being an imposition) what would it be?"
Details: When- Saturday, March 28, 2009 Doors open 6:30 PM Show starts 7:30 PM Where- Sound Academy 11 Polson St. Toronto, Ontario (416) 649-PIER (7437)
Any band that takes their name from a Leonard Cohen song is already a winner in my books. While Windsor, Ontario’s Songs from a Room don’t have a whole lot in common with the great Canadian singer-songwriter, they are a talented Canadian post-punk rock band that puts on a hell of a live show. I was lucky enough to catch Songs from a Room play twice during Canadian Music Week, and they’ve got a pretty rousing stage presence. My favorite song on their self-titled EP is “The Black That We Clad”, but the album is full of good songs that sound great live.
Songs From A Room has more pop-culture references for you to love with song titles like the fantastic, “Schooner is a Sailboat”. Mallrats, anyone? So don’t be a “stupidhead” and check out Songs from a Room on tour!
27 Mar 2009 21:00 w/ The Artist Life and Young Rival @ The Outback Shack London, Ontario 28 Mar 2009 21:00 w/ Young Rival, Death or Comber and Sean Connery Super Group @ Dominion House Windsor, Ontario 1 Apr 2009 20:00 w/ Brasstronaut and Weak Genes @ The Casbah (April Residency) Hamilton, Ontario 8 Apr 2009 20:00 w/ Hooded Fang, The Whitsundays and mystery headliner @ The Casbah (April Residency) Hamilton, Ontario 9 Apr 2009 19:00 w/ Arkells @ The Stubborn Mule Sarnia, Ontario 15 Apr 2009 20:00 w/ TBA @ The Casbah (April Residency) Hamilton, Ontario 16 Apr 2009 20:00 w/ Murder By Death @ The Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, Ontario
While most upstanding Torontonians don’t frequently party Day n’ Night(literally) on a Thursday evening, the opportunity to do just that has been presented in the form of Decadence.
I’m so excited to see MSTRKRFT, The Bloody Beetroots, Crookers, Steve Aoki, and Perry Farrell that I pre-ordered my ticket on Ticketmaster weeks ago. Just last night, I received a text message from my younger brother asking me if I had purchased a ticket for an all-night rave party. “Perhaps,” was my simple response, to which he replied, “Dad has your ticket and he isn’t impressed”.
Great. I knew I should’ve used the print-your-own ticket option. Instead, I had the ticket mailed 4 hours south of where the event is occurring and where I presently live. All self-deprecating insults aside, I have a new crush on The Bloody Beetroots and their dirty mixes. I’m literally shoulder popping as I’m typing this because their beats are so crisp.
If you want to party from 9pm Thursday April 9th to 9am the next day, get your tickets for Decandence. Maybe my dad will be there with his dancing shoes on. MAYBE.
Check out Toronto band, The Balance! They recently (as in days ago recent) finished recording their new album and will be celebrating its release on April 24th at the Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto. Stay tuned for an interview with the band and the chance to win some goodies!
For now, check out their myspace for some old tracks, a music video, and more info on The Balance!
Is everyone stoked about the upcoming Juno Awards this year?? Yeah me neither. To be honest, I think they kind of suck because they never profile all of the true amazing Canadian artists and groups that they should and if I have to look at Chad Kroeger's stupid hair one more time, I may vomit. Although I must admit this year seems like there might be some strong points. My bro's in the Cancer Bats are nominated for best "New Group", funny...they're not new at all, but hey, at least they're starting to get recognized. Fucked Up are also nominated for best Alternative album! That's kind of a big deal. Russell Peters is hosting the awards also, and I'm not gonna lie, he may or may not make me pee my pants from laughter. So with those 3 elements to the 2009 Juno awards, it should be a pretty good show, make sure you check them out this coming Sunday at 8pm on CTV.
SLICE can't seem to keep our hussie ways in check. If you can think back, oh I don't know, less than a month ago, you'll remember that we were fawning all over Daydream Lily's blog. We were even considering planned parenthood. Since then SLICE's eye has wandered, although she will always been in our heart... and on our linkage list (in case we are in need of a quick romp around).
Slice would now like to introduce you to our two new crushes: Keep it Like a Secret and Sweet Pea
Keep it Like a Secret is an incredible blog based out west in Beautiful British Columbia's Vancouver. Lily blogs about Fashion+Fashion+Fashion, some hot Photography and ALEC BALDWIN. Yes... Alec Baldwin. Honestly though, throw Alec Baldwin into anything you've got going on and I'll be falling all over myself to get to it (God I love him...*shiver*).
She basically has a collection of inspirational photos that we love and she blogs about why she loves them and how they relate to her life. ( I.E. cool photo of living room = My place is a mess. I should sort my shit out, and make it look something like this.)
Lily is hipper than hip, and we love her personal style and her cyber "space" and we hope you'll lover her just as much as we do. She's got quite a great post archive to dig through so have a great time ya'll.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sweet Pea
Sweet Pea is "the other blog" in this relationship. She may not have Keep it like a Secret's Canadian sensibility, but she's so sweet and totally understands us (what to do, what to do).
Sweet Pea is based in Wellington, New Zealand. According to her twitter, she's not impressed with this seasons New Zealand's Next Top Model. She has admitted that she enjoy's living outside of reality and is often carried away by her random thoughts. So we at SLICE like to check up on her every once in a while to make sure she's not getting too ahead of herself.
She maintains a wonderfully quaint blog about all things sweet and beautiful. If you enter her "reality" you'll soon be carried away into her world of pink dolphins and broad rimmed hats.
Sweet Pea is an excellent blog choice and I'm sure you'll all love her.
"The Neighbourhood" will be a new monthly post featuring an exciting hood in a city or town across Canada. Hopefully it'll encourage some more exploration of this gorgeous country. We'll also be starting up "The Neighbourhood" feature on Slice Magazine Tube this summer. For obvious reasons we'll be limited to Ontario and Quebec for the mean time, but we encourage everyone out there to send in your edited hometown videos to be posted up on Slice Magazine Tube!!
Today we'll be looking at Mile End, Montreal, Quebec.
MILE END: Mile End is an artistic hood located northeast of downtown Montreal in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal (although residents make a distinction between Mile End and the primarily francophone inhabited Plateau.) The area has gone through extensive gentrification beginning in the mid 90s with many boutiques, galleries and cafes opening up within the area, and with them bringing the artistic community as well (all musicians, artists and writers love cafes and galleries!).
Mile End has been described as the heart of Montreal's independent music scene by Pitchfork and Spin Magazine, playing host to many music venues such as Le Salon Vert and Casa del Popolo.
The ethnic makeup of Mile End is incredibly diverse, and has experienced many cultural waves throughout the century. The area has substantial, Jewish (home of the late but great author, Mordecai Richler), Italian (home of Montreal's largest public market Jean-Talon Market), Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese and French-expat communities.
Its 23,965 residents eat, sleep and curse the crooked floors in a motley array of triplexes, duplexes and apartment buildings, all with little gardens and those quintessential spiral staircases. Quintessential, really, is the key word here. Mile End embodies most of what’s best about Montreal: the effortless mix of languages, the whimsical architecture, the easygoingness and the sense that sitting in a leafy terrasse on St. Viateur Street is more important than whatever mundane task you’re neglecting. Urbanphoto.net
Mile End (and the surrounding Plateau area) has one of the lowest car-ownership rates in Canada. Le bicyclette is the preferred method of transport. The area continues to grow and thrive, welcoming recent immigrants while other groups move on.
While in Mile End find: Jeans Jeans Jeans (designer jeans for 50% to 75% off!) For a more indepth look at the area visit: Urban Photo
Okay, if you've been reading the blog since we started out (January) you'll know that I have quite an affection for Dubstep music. You may not have known however that I am also a MASSIVE Snoop Dogg fan.
Okay. This has NOTHING to do with Canadian arts OR culture, but I have to post this link up, cause I'm tres excited.
This is the last mix from Snoop and Wild Animals for their new track. It's Snoop and the Hustle Boyz ft. Tanvi Shah. It's being hailed as a "Dubstep breakthrough". (Very exciting stuff.) The original mix is called Eastern Jam by Chase and Status (also a flawless track). Some love what Snoop has done... some hate it. Take a listen and decide for yourself.
Summer is fast approaching and it's about this time of year I hit E-bay and Amazon and start spending money on seemingly needless items that I will never use (last year it was exercise equipment...that I subsequently left in London...sigh). Anyway, this summer I'm going to invest in some DVD's. But not any kind of DVD's... I'm only buying late 80's early 90's TV show DVDs (not including 90210, Full house etc)
Here's my list so far 1) Ghostwriter 2) Are you afraid of the dark? 3) Today's Special 4) Blossom 5) X-files 6) The Wonder Years 7) Boy Meets Word ( I LOVED COREY) 8) Sister Sister 9) Jack & Jill (this is a mid-late 90's show that was on for like 1 season, but I LOVED it) 10) All of the Degrassi's (exc. The Next Generation) 11) Power Rangers 12) Alf 13) Family Matters 14) Unsolved Mysteries
Help me add to this list, as I attempt to build my 80's/90's TV DVD library.
I can be a bit of a nerd sometimes, especially when I'm supposed to be working on another more important and pressing project. I have a tendency to procrastinate or get sidetracked by other things of personal interest. Tonight or... this morning (as it's 5:00am) it's a website I came across while scouring Wikipedia and doing some interest reading on the history of Chatham, ON and the War of 1812. (Don't ask me why I find these things fascinating, I just do!)
Anyway, I came across a site that I thought someone out there might want to take a look at.
The site is called "Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History" and tells the now mythical stories of such unsolved mysteries as the "Viking story of Vinland" (Rumoured to be located in Newfoundland), "The masacar of the Black Donolley's" and the story of "Angelique and the Burning of Montreal". The site also makes use of multimedia, including visual and audio aides to peak and maintain interest.
If you're interested in history, or a good unsolved mystery then check out the site. I enjoyed it, maybe you will too.
Okay, SLICE is by no means a gossiping blog, but this news seems SLICE worthy. Vancouver's funniest son, Seth Rogen is on the cover of the March issue of Playboy Magazine (becoming only the 9th male in it's 56-year history to shoot a Playboy cover).
Seth Rogen along with Judd Apatow have successfully brought the "Pot-Humour" genre back to front form in Hollywood. This once overweight, but still Canadian Jew (can he be anymore self deprecating?) is a box office golden boy. In less than 5 years (2005-2008) he managed to spew out a number of hilarious films including but not limited to, 40-year-old Virgin, Superbad, Knocked-Up, Pineapple Express and Zack and Miri make a porno. Although his acting career began in 2001 on the set of Freaks and Geeks, (hello? James Franco, Busy Phillips and Jason Segel - all freaks) he actually got his start in comedy performing stand-up around Vancouver at the early age of 16.
Superbad, a film he wrote with long time friend Evan Goldberg in Grade 10, was based on his experiences as a high school student growing up in Vancouver. All characters retained their original names and some, such as Steven Glanzberg (the high school loner) were even given an honourable mention and tickets to it's Hollywood premier.
"In Hollywood, after the premiere, everyone that meets me is like, 'Did you really eat alone in high school?'" Glanzberg told CBC News back in 2007. "And we're like, 'You Americans just don't get it. These are our friends. We're just having good times,'" Glanzberg said.
Good-times indeed. Rogen has officially cemented his wise-cracking status within Hollywood's modern comedic realm. He joins the likes of other Canadian "funnyman" exports such as, Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Thomas Chong (of Cheech and Chong.. the original Pineapple Express duo) the list goes on and on.
Anyway, I think he's great, and thought I'd put up the Playboy cover for your enjoyment.
So I checked in on Twitter just now and noticed a Tweet by @JessiJaeJopin for a video about how to smoke Smarties. So I clicked on the link, and thought... mmm how could your possibly smoke the chocolaty goodness of Smarties?
When I arrived at the youtube link and saw that what the kid was infact holding were Rockets and not Smarties, I got confused and assumed the kid had made a mistake. Then I noticed on the sidebar that other kids had made videos on how to smoke Smarties as well (but all of them were actually smoking Rockets). So I quickly googled the term "Smarties" and wikipedia informed me that Smarties are actually a European and Commonwealth Nation (i.e. Canada, Australia, South Africa) candy coated chocolate, and that they are not widely available in the US.
For the American readers out there, Smarties are basically M&M's, but in my opinion they are way better. But the M&M vs Smarties debate still rages on in the forementioned locations.
Anyway, I was just so in shock that I had to spit out a quick blog about this. So not only do our American cousins miss out on Ketchup chips, but they don't get to taste Smarties either. (I genuinely feel horrible for them right now).
I leave you now, with this very old classic commercial (of which you will still hear sung on play school grounds across Canada to this day).
Questions: a) When you eat your Smarties do you eat the red ones last? b) Which do you prefer, Smarties or M&Ms?
They kick off their Cross Canada tour in Toronto with a giant chilled out party at Whippersnapper Gallery on March 26th (Thursday) and have invited Black Hat Brigade, Cool Dad and L'embuscade (all fabulous bands) to open up the event.
SLICE, The Darcy's and Audio Blood are giving away two tickets to any stop on their tour, their CD, Endless Water, and a T-shirt to one lucky winner.
So enter the contest below to check out this amazing melodic band (think Bon Iver/Deerhunter) that we at SLICE have been jamming out to.
Find out when they'll be coming through your city on their Tour Dates link, then enter the contest below before Wednesday 21st 11:00pm. If you're anything like us and just love a chilled out show with a groovy environment then this is a gig you don't want to miss!
If you're like us and couldn't make it down to Texas for the SXSW festival... FEAR NOT because Fader Magazine Online is streaming live from certain shows. Yes you heard right... Slice was just updated and we're passing the info on straight to you!
So head to www.thefader.com, pop open a Brewski and party in your living room.
Rolling Stone has merged two things I enjoy - photographer Terry Richardson and Gossip Girl, and for this I am eternally grateful.
Apparently this is the first cover Terry has shot for Rolling Stone - which I do not believe. The man's provocative, tongue-in-cheek style is perfect for the alternative, and sometimes jaw-dropping, style of a magazine that has had the iconic shot of Britney Spears that made the world question her vow of virginity (and violated a Teletubby's innocence), and a cover with a naked Janet Jackson (with someone else's hands blocking her breasts).
The fact that he's photographed the young stars of TV's guiltiest pleasure is perfect.
Let's take some time and appreciate how freakin' cool the world is. Two words: Dolphin. Bubbles. Check it out, be amazed and a little jealous that you can't be a dolphin :)
So we're totally in love with the Black Cab Sessions and have blogged about them before. We will be bringing you different performances by way of the Black Cab Sessions on youtube site every once in a while. Check them out, they've had every performer worth listening to in the back of their cab. Today we bring you performances by My Morning Jacket and Spoon.
So we thought it was high time for some SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION y'all! Click on the links below to be our ever loving BFF's for LIFE! Add, Subscribe, Befriend, Follow...
N.B. Youtube- We'll be posting up regular interviews and features beginning this summer. (If you live in Canada and you want to contribute to Slice Magazine Tube, by creating a film about what's going on in your city or town, send it in and we'll put it up!)
Share and Enjoy! .
The South by Southwest Festival kicked off this week and SLICE has compiled a list of Canadian performers slated to perform during the 5 day music portion of the festival. It's quite a lengthy list, with more than 100 acts due to perform, representing all corners of Canada.
AIDS Wolf - Montreal QC (punk) Alex Cuba - Vancouver BC (Latin) Ann Vriend - Edmonton AB (Pop) Arkells - Hamilton ON (Rock) Aun - Montreal QC (Avant-Garde) BEAST - Montreal EC (Avan/Experimental) Bedouin Soundclash - Toronto ON (pop) Birds of Wales - Toronto ON (Alt Country) Black Diamond Bay (formerly Krief) - Montreal QC (Rock) Boats - Winnipeg MB (alternative) Bonjour Brumaire - Montreal QC (Rock) Buck 65 - Halifax NC (hip hop) Caracol - Montreal QC (Pop) Classifield - Enfield NS ( hip hop) Codie Prevost- Saskatoon SK (Country) Colin Moore - Montreal QC (Rock) Colin Munroe - Toronto ON (pop) D.O. - Toronto ON (Hip hop) Dan Mangan - Vancouver BC (Singer-Songwriter) David Martel - Montreal QC (Singer-song writer) DD/MM/YYYY - Toronto ON (Avant-experimental) Delhi to Dublin - Vancouver BC (World) Elliott Brood - Toronto ON (Rock) Emma Lee - Toronto ON (singer-songwriter) Empire Isis - Montreal QC (pop) Felix Cartal - Vancouver BC (DJ) Final Flash – Montreal QC (Rock) Gavin Stephens - Toronto ON (Comedy) Gentleman Reg - Toronto (Rock) Gordie Tentrees - Whitehorse YT (folk) Grand Analog - Winnipeg WB (hip hop) Handsome Furs - Montreal QC (Rock) Hey Ocean - Vancouver BC (Pop) Hollerado - Montreal QC (Rock) Hot Panda - Edmonton AB (Rock) Human Highway - Toronto ON (Rock) Immaculate Machine - Victoria BC (rock) Jay Semko - Saskatoon SK (Country) Jenn Grant - Halifax NS (Pop) Jesse Dangerously - Ottawa ON (hip hop) Jill Barber - Halifax (Singer Songwriter) Jokers of the Scene - Ottawa On (DJ) Jon Lajoie - Montreal QC (comedy) Josh Martinez - Regina SK (Hip Hop) K'Naan - Toronto ON (Hip Hop) Keys n Krates - Toronto ON (electronic/Dance) Krista Muir - Montreal QC (Pop) Led Handclaps - Montreal QC (Alternative) Lights - Toronto ON (pop) Lindi Ortega - Toronto ON ( Pop) Little Miss Higgins- Nokomis SK (Blues) Lorrie Matheson - Calgary AB (Singer/Songwriter) Luke Doucet - Toronto ON (Alt Country) Magenta Lane - Toronto ON (Pop) Mark Sultan - Montreal QC (Rock) Megasoid - Montreal QC (Electronic) Melissa Auf der Maur - Montreal QC (Rock) Melissa McClelland - Toronto ON (Alt Country) Moka Only + Def 3 - Regina SK (Hip Hop) More Or Les - Montreal (Hip Hop) Mother Mother - Vancouver BC (Pop) MSTRKFT - Toronto ON (DJ) No Kids - Vancouver BC (Electronic/Dance) NQ Arbuckle - Toronto ON (Americana) Oh Susanna - Toronto ON (Singer-Songwriter) Ohbijou - Toronto ON (Pop) One Hundred Dollars - Toronto ON (Folk) Pat Thornton - Toronto ON (Comedy) Po' Girl - Vancouver BC (Alternative) Priestess - Montreal QC (Rock) Ruby Coast - Aurora ON (Rock) Sam Roberts Band - Montreal QC (Rock) Sebastien Grainger - Toronto ON (Rock) Shad- London ON (hip hop) Shout Out Out Out Out - Edmonton AB (Alternative) Skratch Bastid - Montreal QC - Hip hop) Slim Twig - Toronto ON (Rock) Smokekiller - Saskatoon SK (singer-songwriter) Social Code - Edmonton AB (Rock) The Deep Dark Woods - Saskatoon SK (Folk) The Details - Winnipeg MB (Rock) The Evaporators - Vancouver BC (Rock) The Golden Dogs - Toronto ON (Pop) The High Dials - Montreal QC (Rock) The Joys- London ON (Rock) The Orchid highway - Vancouver BC (Rock) The Pack A.D. - Vancouver BC (Rock) The Painted Birds - Vancouver BC (Rock) The Perpetrators - Winnipeg MB (Blues) The Pink Noice - Burlington ON (Punk) The Rural Alberta Advantage - Toronto ON ( Rock) The Telepathic Butterflies - Winnipeg MB (rock) The Wet Secrets - Edmonton AB (Rock) The Wooden Sky - Toronto ON (Alt Country) Thunderheist - Toronto ON (Electro) Torngat - Montreal (Avan/Experimental) Twilight Hotel - Winnipeg MB (Americana) Two Hours Traffic - Charlottetown PEI (Alternative) We are Lovers - Saskatoon SK (Pop) Winter Gloves - Montreal QC (Pop) Wintersleep - Halifax NS (Alternative) Women - Calgary AB (Rock) Woodhands - Toronto ON (Electro) Young Galaxy - Montreal QC (Rock) Zaki Ibrahim - Toronto ON (R&B)
So we blogged about Winnipeg's indie Bros, Inward Eye, on SLICE a few months ago. Now they are back with a new video for their song Shame (which is one of our favourite songs right now).
Mansion are a Toronto based dj duo remixing their way across Canada's party scene and churning out the fist pumping beats. These two are definitely up and comers so we'll be a keeping a close watch.
Indie Love Radio is an online radio station that is committed to playing 100% Canadian artists. The channel plays all styles and forms of music, with absolutely no bars or restrictions on content other than the whole "Canadian Only Indie" thing and we think that's fantastic. The station is based in Toronto and they regularly have artists into their studio to perform live sessions.
So we encourage all of you out there (especially in Canada) to turn off your radio and send a strong message to the CRTC and their "Canadian Content Laws" and support REAL Canadian artists struggling to be heard within our own borders.
New York City, New York A riot broke out at ANTM's latest casting call as girls cued up outside of a Manhattan hotel. The cause of the riot is unknown, although rumours are flaring that it was caused by a bomb threat. 6 people were left injured and three under arrest, while thousands attempted to flee the area.
(I don't know why I find it so funny... it's something about the imagery and the thought of thousands of models running hysterically on a NY side street) Enjoy- SLICE
SLICE blog was created to display and promote primarily Canadian artists, as well as to encourage discourse among the arts and culture community. We hope to foster and spark interest in the Canadian arts scene and we would like to use this as a platform for Canadian artists to gain attention for their work and thrive within Canada and hopefully beyond our borders. Fashion/textile, visual/fine arts, musicians, writers/poets, video/photo, general arts and culture will all be discussed on SLICE.
Noteworthy International artists will also be featured on the website and blog. Anyone can submit their work to be featured on SLICE, so please feel free to email us.
This will be short I promise.
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