Hey everyone. We haven't been consistently updating the blog... mostly because many of us have found summer or career jobs and simply do not have the time to devote to the blog anymore :( the most awesome blog on the internet!

Last week we were out and about in Toronto as part of NXNE festival which really took a physical, emotional and psychological toll on us... mainly due to sleep deprivation. I have yet to regain my regular sleep pattern due to the demands of work and my wanting to be contribute to this bog as well. I think i've reached my breaking point (you know that point when you become hysterical and everything that unfolds around you is hilarious?).

Luckily tomorrow is Canada Day so I get the day off work... which means I can sleep till the afternoon. HOLLER! I was considering heading downtown and checking out the Jazz festival and maybe stopping by Holt Renfrew to get a custom blend of Prescriptives, but I'm sure I'll end up sleeping well into Wednesday evening.

As for Canada Celebrations, I don't think I'll be doing much. I've made tentative plans to go over to a friends place to smoke my Hookah and maybe a couple "bowls". I'm not sure if my family is doing anything though? If they do it'll either be dinner, downtown or fishing. I'm pretty sure it's going to rain though.

Anyway, I just wanted to check in, and update all of the faithful readers (and our new lovers too) on what's happening with the blog and why we keep coming and going.

As for the NXNE diary, we've still got two more diary entries to edit and upload... Look for those before Sunday. The two interviews (TARA and Crystal Antlers) have not even been looked at yet, so once those have been sorted out, we'll let you know.

xoxo,
Thanks for your support! - SLICE

Here's my longtime friend Angela attempting to do a throw for Day 4 of the NXNE festival... :) (we were so tired we were saying Day 5 and didn't pick up on that... P.S. Angela is awesome... I'm going to try and get her more involved with SLICE!)


We would really appreciate feedback from people that read the blog often or new visitors. What sorts of things you'd like to see more of, less of etc. (I.E. more video diaries and candids... less random posts like this lol).

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Completely forgot to blog about this, but The Toronto Jazz Festival kicked off in Toronto today with some amazing performers on the bill.

Today, Sonny Rollins Performed at the Four Seasons and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings performed at Nathan Phillip Square.

You can catch performances at 40 different venues around the city (much like NXNE except for Jazz) until July 5th.

Visit the website for more information on performers and the schedule.

Also the Shuffle Demons are calling all Saxophonist to join them on Canada Day (at Dundas Sq I believe) in a rendition of O Canada to assist with the entry into the world records.
In grade 12? I headed down with some fellow saxophone playing friends to break another record (I don't remember which one.. but i've still got my shuffle demon shirt ;)

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I'm sure many people are experiencing Michael Jackson excess, with the numerous radio stations running Jackson music marathons along with tributes and television networks airing 24 hour coverage of the events surrounding his death, but I just came across this amazing video of Michael Jackson, reminding us (not that we really need reminding) why he was the greatest entertainer of our generation.

Like many others out there, I've been digging through and dusting off old cassette tapes of the Jackson 5 as well as my first two Michael Jackson cassettes, Anthology '86 and Dangerous '91 (the latter is probably the one we can all remember best--white tee flowing, sparkling shirt, Jerry curl, hat... smoke in the background.. HOLLER) bought the albums at a garage sale for 50 cents as a kid, and decided to pay homage, in my own little way, to the "Man in the Mirror", whose music transcended all barriers. (Don't act like y'all don't have a copy of "Ben" lying around the house somewhere, that you used to lip sync in the mirror to.)

Anyway, here's a video of Jackson doing his "signature move", the moonwalk, made famous by him in the early 80's.

The one and only,

P.S.I have my window wide open and someone just drove by BLASTING Billie Jean out their car window...ha

Also, MJ's albums and singles are currently dominating the charts, most notably in music downloads on itunes and Amazon where all 10 places in all fields are MJ recordings.

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Shocking and heart-breaking news of Michael Jackson death at the age of 50, out of Los Angeles, California this afternoon.

Roland Martin (CNN Analysts) reports that Michael Jackson claimed to be feeling ill last night and called over a doctor who assesed him that night and they elected not to go to the hospital. He subsequently collapsed and stopped breathing this morning at his Los Angeles home. Paramedics were called by the doctor, to his home at approximately 12:30pm where they attempted to resuscitate him for approx 40 minutes prior to transporting him to UCLA Medical Centre, however he was reportedly unresponsive. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County has confirmed that his office have pronounced Michael Jackson dead at 2:26pm (local time), due to cardiac arrest and have plans to investigate and perform an autopsy with the results of the autopsy being made available as early as tomorrow afternoon.

Jackson was due to begin his 50-date concert series at London's O2 Arena in his first tour since 1997 and was reportedly in Los Angeles preparing and training for the physically demanding performances required.

Michael Jackson was one of the most successful and influential artists of the 20th century and will go down in history joining the ranks as one of the worlds greatest performers with Sammy Davis Jr.

Coming to fame in the 60's as the youngest member of The Jackson 5. He grew up in the public eye and remained there till his death. He was described by Rolling Stone Magazine as a "prodigy". As one of the first African-American artists to boast a cross-over following on MTV and credited with revolutionizing the art of the music video with Thriller, Michael Jackson's music has undoubtedly touched the lives of many. He was an advocate for the rights of artists, championing an artists music publishing and ownership rights over their own music. Michael Jackson also owned 50% of the Beatles Catalog along with Sony Music.

With great success and adulation came much speculation and controversy. Jackson had been marred by many allegations of sexual molestation (all of which were either thrown out or settled out of court). Many accusations however have been embroiled in scandal and allegations of extortion (via Larry King). There is no doubt that Michael Jackson was considered an eccentric individual with a subtly abnormal relationship with the world around him, but many believe that this was due impart to his reportedly abusive childhood, upbringing and simply the fact that he lived his entire life in the spotlight.

He paved the way for many performers to follow in his wake, such as Justin Timberlake and Usher and was a leader and pioneer within the recording industry with epic hits such as Thriller, which was certified double diamond and has gone down in history as the best selling album of all time.

Overnight vigils are expected to occur near his Los Angeles home as well as remembrances around the world.

His family are reportedly stunned and devastated by the event of his death. He is survived by his 3 children. Our thoughts are with them during this time.

- SLICE :(
(Via CNN news network)

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Check out our NXNE Diary for Day 3. Coeur de Pirate + Wintersleep + MMVA (Shiloh's Sound check) + Dinosaur Bones. Subscribe to our Youtube Videos :)

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Hey Everyone... So it's Pride Week in Toronto and festivities got started on Saturday with some kick off parties around the city. The culmination of Pride week will be the Parade on Sunday which will be heading down Yonge Street this year (click here for the route). There will be week long events and parties taking pace all around the city in celebration of North America's Largest Pride parade. So get off your asses and head downtown, whether or not you consider yourself to be part of the LGBTQIA community, show your support and party it up in the city.

Have Fun Y'all
SLICE

P.S. We feel as though this has slowly turned into a Toronto blog, and we apologize about that, we haven't forgotten about the rest of Canada, but there's just been SO MUCH going on in Toronto over the last week or two and it's so accessible for us. If there's something of note going down in your city or town and you want to write about it, just shoot us an e-mail and we'll post it up for you... pics/videos/stories whatever. xoxo

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Here's our Video Diary from Day 1 of NXNE. For more Videos, Pictures and Blogs from the festival click here.

NXNE Diary Day 1 - NYLON Summer Music Tour in Toronto from Slice Magazine on Vimeo.

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Youth Poverty is no laughing matter and just like any other major cosmopolitan city, street kids are part of the reality of urban areas.

That being said... Toronto probably has the coolest street kids in the World. While walking down Queen Street W, the entire Queen and John area, where Much Music is located, was abuzz and barricaded as crew members set up for this Sunday's Much Music Video Awards. Shiloh was sound checking at the time, and loads of people were watching (we've got footage of it and will be posting it over at the NXNE Diary blog in a bit) and gearing up to camp out along Queen in the hopes of gaining wristbands for the MMVA award performances (The Jonas Brothers are hosting the show this year so it's bound to be a ridiculously huge affair).

Adjacent to the festivities was the above street kid holding a sign saying "Much Music Blows" (I don't necessarily dissagree)... I was walking by and read the sign quickly and thought the sign read "Blows for change" or something, and I kinda laughed because I thought he was being a smartass. Then I re-read the sign and laughed again, got a picture of it, gave him a buck and made small chat. He told us that he plans on playing during the awards when performers aren't on stage...(He was selling art too, but I didn't have money for that shit). Anyway, he was a cool kid and I walked away thinking that Toronto's got the best street peeps in the world.

Peace,
SLICE

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Woodhands are ridiculously amazing. I've been tweeting about them nonstop, but I thought I'd do a quick post. You have to check these guy's out (they're beats are phenomenal live). They are hands down my new favourite T. O band.

(I'll do a proper post on them next week).

Woodhands performing at The Drake (courtesy of Now Magazine)

Woodhands @ Drake Underground from NOW Magazine on Vimeo.

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Mosey on over to our NXNE Diary for more...

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Hey y'all.

We've decided to create a separate NXNE blog to update you on all of the craziness that will be going at the festival. We're going to put together a daily video diary entry (which you can view the following day) about what we get up to at these shindigs. We'll also include a bunch of pictures and interesting stories from parties etc.

Where will we be tomorrow?...Check Our Schedule Bitches... then come find us and say "YO"

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Okay East Siders... here it is.

Those of you located along or near America's Eastern Seaboard (NY, Chicago, Montreal, Ottawa, Windsor, London) and will be traveling to Toronto to partake in the madness that is the NXNE festival... LISTEN UP! Those of you that don't (or are unable to join us) watch this space for our daily NXNE updates.

Tomorrow, NYLON Magazine's Summer Music Tour rolls into Toronto's Mod Club as part of NXNE. Headlining the tour is multi-talented LDNer Patrick Wolf and with him he brings, French lovelies, The Plasticines, Portland Bros, Jaguar Love and St. Louis boy's, The Living Things.

This party is guaranteed to be ridiculously awesome. So come and join us! Show your NXNE wristband at the door or grab tickets for the show. We'll be there in all our glory, rockin' out and taking pictures.

See you there,
SLICE

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Last weekend we headed down to the TARA building on Queen Street East in Toronto to check out the Great Bloomers at the "Secret Sessions". TARA is a recording studio/academy located downtown Toronto. They've teamed up with AUX TV to put together some free intimate gigs for all music lovers. They've gathered some of the best indie talent to perform every Saturday afternoon for anyone who is willing to spare an hour out of their day and check it out.

The Great Bloomers performance last weekend was fantastic. The crowd was chill and friendly and it was definitely a unique and rare experience. So come down, make your self comfortable, grab a drink, chat to some strangers and take in the music. All performances can be watched on Aux TV online.

We'll be heading down to the Secret Sessions this Saturday for their NXNE show @ 3:30pm featuring Holler! Wild Rose, The Paint Movement and Josh Reichmann. We'll be talking to TARA as well as Holler!, and will be posting up those interviews for your enjoyment!

See ya there,
SLICE

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Photo by: Ingram Brass

I don't think I have to introduce you all to Joel Plaskett, Halifax native and 2009 Polaris Prize nominee. (The man is amazing and makes the most incredible music).

Here's his new music video for his light and fun summer song, Through & Through & Through off of his new critically acclaimed triple disk set, Three.

Check it out,
SLICE

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Next Wednesday (June 24th) head down to our beautiful Harbour Front in Toronto to the the SIRIUS Satellite Radio Stage and witness the fitness as Toronto's top Music Critics play a NAME THAT TUNE challenge.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio is on the hunt to find Canada’s top music know-it-all with a ‘name that tune’ type challenge and is kicking it off with a media challenge between Toronto’s music elite. Top music journalists and critics will be going head to head to be crowned the 2009 Face the Music Media Challenge Champion. SIRIUS will donate $5,000 to the winner’s music charity of choice.

The competition is open to the public to come and cheer on their favourite music critics. Everyone is invited to enter the competition through one of the kiosks that will be located on site to win great prizes.

WHAT: Music experts face off against one another in a trivia battle for the title of Canada’s
Face the Music Media Champion and $5,000 to donate to their favourite Canadian
music charity.

WHO: Canada’s top music media and experts

WHERE: Toronto Harbourfront, SIRIUS Satellite Radio Stage 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, ON

WHEN: Wednesday, June 24^th – media sign in at 11:30 a.m., competition from 12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.

MORE: This is the kick off for the SIRIUS Face the Music Tour, which invites Canadians to test and tout their musical trivia knowledge to win great prizes.

Play Online
Sounds like fun,
SLICE

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We have no clue what that is... But we've got a group over there, so if you've got an account too join us in Bebo fun and help us navigate through our new profile.

We're also on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and Youtube so show us how much you love us and follow, fan, friend and subscribe!!!

Air Kisses
SLICE

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This Wednesday there is a lot of shit going down in the city and SLICE is now being faced with the mother of all major dilemas... and we need your help to solve it:

Which party should we attend?

So it goes like this... Nylon Magazine's Summer Music Tour is making it's stop in Toronto on Wednesday and with them they bring the Plasticines, the Living Things, Jaguar Love and the legendary Patrick Wolf; musician, singer/songwriter and designer extraordinaire @ The Mod Club.
However, going on at the same time, somewhere across town is the City Sonic official NXNE kickoff after party @ The Drake Hotel, where we will be treated to an incredible line-up including The D'Ubervilles and DJ sets by Fucked Up and many others. Both are guaranteed to be a great time. So you see our dilemma.

What to do What to do?

I think homegirl was high when she tweeted this!? lol

We were gonna skip out early on the Nylon Gig after being invited to the CitySonic Party, but then we realized... we'll be missing THEE Patrick Wolf and we can't have that!

Solve this problem for us and we'll buy you a drink at the virtual bar... or if you're in Toronto the bar of whichever place we end up.

Sick and Tired
SLICE

Update: So the dilemma has been semi- solved... we're gonna split off and try and cover both because we care THAT much about our readers. We'll be missing out on each others gig's but you'll be able to come with us to both... JEALOUS!

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Okay... So I was just reading Dlisted and was SHOCKED and DISTRUBED by this video. It's a video of Robert Pattinson (dude from those new vampire movies) being mulled by girls on his way from the set of his new movie (?) to his trailer. Okay, I read enough gossip blogs to know that Robert Pattinson is a pretty popular guy amongst the teens since filming those vampy movies that kids seem to love, but I honestly never realised how out-of-control "famous" this guy was. Like... I wasn't even able to watch the entire video because it was far to disturbing. I don't understand it... what has this Brit done besides that one Vampy movie? Is the movie really THAT popular? I haven't seen the film because I had never heard of the books until this vamp-film-clusterfuck-of-ridiculousness was released and I didn't really realise that it was the new "Harry Potter" of the literary world, but for horny teens. Regardless, this poor guy can no longer walk two minutes down the street... in NEW YORK no less (a city that prides itself on aloofness and being too cool to ever approach or admit recognizing a celebrity) because of these hysterical teenagers obsessed with some pale ass, bushy browed, frothy looking kid from London. Seriously guys, have you seen pics of him before the vampy movie? You really find that shit attractive? MY GOD!

Utterly Confused,
SLICE

I just had another thought....WHO PLANS THEIR DAY AROUND HANGING OUT BY THE SET OF SOME DUDE ALL DAY WAITING FOR HIM TO HEAD TO HIS TRAILER...SERIOUSLY?

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Cancer Bats talk about their first gig experience and the DIY club scene in Toronto. Video was produced by CitySonic directed by Bruce McDonald.

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SLICE will be covering NXNE Fest '09 so check out our NXNE Schedule to date.
The festival begins June 17th, but we're still fine tuning our schedule and figuring out where we'll be and who we'll be speaking to. So far our schedule looks something like this. If you haven't grabbed your wristband yet, get it now...

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Okay... I'm going to bring it back to Twitter right now. (If you're not on twitter...get on it like NOW... it is the single best medium for "discovery" out there)

So a little while ago on twitter we met the Stellar Dexterz. We checked out their myspace page and were totally blown away by these guys. On the tail of the "Alt-Hiphop-Bro" revolution, this Orlando based duo are switching it up by experimenting with dance/electro AND hiphop. The Dexterz dropped their debut LP, Weird Science, in December 08 (pick it up for a buck here) and followed it up with a promotional tour called "Back of the School Bus". Their tunes are "freshhh" and we at SLICE are big fans.

Listen to: Freshhh (this song is an ode to the 80's)

Freshhh Music Video from Stellar Dexterz on Vimeo.

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Tin of KayvonTV caught up with KRS-One at Toronto City Hall the other day, while the legendary rapper was on his "Stop the Violence Movement" tour. Check out the interview here.

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Hey guys, guess what? WE'VE FINALLY UPDATED OUR PLAYLIST!!
We haven't really touched the sidebar since Canadian Music Week back in Feb(?), so we figured a fitting time to update our tunes is for the upcoming NXNE festival.

Can't make it to Toronto for NXNE? Listen to the bands that will be performing all around T.O. right here and make sure you check the blog often because we'll be covering some of the hottest shows going down during the festival and interviewing some of the bands! (we've already got a few in the works)

It's gonna be a hell of a week, and it all kicks off on the 17th, so you still have time to get your wristbands and organize a ride to the city if your coming from out of town. This is one festival you don't want to miss and Toronto is a hell-of-a fun city so it's guaranteed to be a good time.

Some of the Major performers during the festival are The Black Lips, The Cool Kids, Matt and Kim, No Age, Aids Wolf, The Sonics, GZA, Mika Miko...

The list is ridiculous... It's a hardcore indie lovers wet dream.

So bookmark this page and make sure you check it daily to see what we've got in store for you

Happy Listening
SLICE

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Cast of Gossip Girl wearing the new Ray-Ban Clubmaster (remastered) Sunglasses

As some of you may remember, we talked about round sunglasses during Hipster Week. Clearly, we at SLICE were ahead of the curve when talking about this trend since the New York Times just featured an article on the round sunglasses in their Fashion section. Talking about the past and the future of this trend, the NYT provides a comprehensive overview of this new look. Check it out here!

Lucky for me, I managed to score a pair of round-ish Ray Ban's on my recent trip to Hong Kong. Too small to be aviators but not 100% circular, they are a perfect, wearable version of this funky trend. So jump on these babies before they're over like shutter shades...or worse, Wayfarers!

Enjoy!

Phoebe

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I aspire to be as cool as President Obama... That's why I want a Blackberry

I want a Blackberry you guys!
Yes... me... girl who doesn't even check her voicemails wants a Blackberry.

I have recently fallen victim to the spell of recessionary consumerism.
Although I'm usually not one for bells and whistles, when it comes to cellular phone technology, all reason goes out the window at the sight of a sleek and aesthetically pleasing design. Ya...I like the flash factor... so fuck off! (In the warmest way possible of course...)

I'm moving far, far away from home in a few months, which of course makes running an arts/culture blog kind of difficult. Specifically when it comes to organising interviews etc (especially at this time in our young blogs life... as things seem to be going rather well). But when The Queen calls, you don't hang up the phone.

I am currently a slave to my laptop; e-mailing, tweeting, blogging--well constantly social-media-ing really-- in an attempt to perpetuate our "brand" before we launch our site. But once I step away from that computer I am incommunicado. I am virtually unreachable. I rarely answer my phone or respond to text messages (unless necessary), I never check voicemail and I operate on a "don't call me, I'll call you" basis. But I've been told, many-a-time, that this is impractical and a hindrance to those attempting to contact me. As a student, I could get away with this, but as a professional...(especially in techno-culture driven London, where people don't even bother with landlines because they can be constantly reached on their "mobile") the whole "Why-don't-you-answer-your-cell-phone?" routine is becoming a bit redundant.

Enter new hot and flashy phone... the supposed saviour to all of my problems.

Blackberry Curve 8900

Right now I use a simple but reliable Sony Ericsson k800i. It has seen me through the best and worst of times. It has flirted with boys, It has told boys off. It has hung up on sisters, and it has hung out with friends. And it has, on occasion, received severe beatings by yours truly. I'm not abusive or anything, but I am a bit of a klutz (everyone that knows me and is reading this right now just nodded their head). Although I love my phone, it is definitely time for an update. (If I recall correctly I got this phone back in '07).
So I recently began my search for a new phone to replace the bruised and battered brick I currently own and the two front runners by far were the new iPhone 3G and the relatively new Blackberry 8900 Curve.

iPhone 3G Cons... It's a touchscreen. I HATE TOUCHSCREEN TECHNOLOGY... like, more than I hate fish. The novelty of my sisters Prada LG wore off after about 5 minutes with the thing. Why would you want dirty, greasy, fingerprints all over your screen. Like seriously? Not to mention the fact that I'm anal and have serious issues with friends mistreating my devices. lol. I just couldn't handle it. (Okay, I should stop airing all of my "crazy" on this blog...)

Blackberry 8900 Curve Cons... It doesn't have Tweetie or Beejive (definitely the two greatest applications developed for the iPhone). I mean, you can get Beejive on your Blackberry, but only for instant messaging conversations not for threaded SMS/text messaging (as is available for iPhone users...although in the UK I don't think the Beejive SMS service is available at all...but STILL). As for Tweetie... it is hands down the best Twitter application available in the mobile world at the moment. There is a Blackberry application similar to Tweetie called "Ubertwitter" but it just doesn't compare (nor does Twitterberry).

Anyway, the reason for this post, isn't to get into a iPhone vs Blackberry debate... they both have their pro's and cons --and I've already decided to go with a Crackberry (It has a full keypad, which is the point of my getting a proper phone on the go... I basically need a cellular version of a laptop. Moreover, I feel the need to support my Canadian Research In Motion buddies).

So, a quick message to the Blackberry users that read this blog (if there are any), let me know what great applications you've found... specifically for threaded SMS/texting!

Thanks xoxo
Maria
If this 90 year old man can operate a Crackberry then so can I.

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Great interview with Tyler Stewart of the Barenaked Ladies regarding the history of the band and their hometown of Toronto. The video was produced by Citysonic and directed by Peter Lynch.

Enjoy
SLICE

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As many of you know I lead a pretty sheltered life, emerging occasionally to eat, shower, party, and reconnect with the world around me. Well, on my last trip to the surface, I decided to turn on the television (what better way to get informed?). So I sat there taking in the latest commercials (I'm a fan of the new GM one) and preparing myself for the CNN news of the world segment.

And to my utter disbelief... LISA LINGS SISTER, Laura Ling and another fellow journalist, Euna Lee, have been captured by the North Korean government for "trespassing" into North Korea and are being sentenced to 12 years in a labour camp? What. The FUCK. Is this about?

Apparently this has been an ongoing thing for the last few months, and I'm honestly embarrassed to say that I had NO idea! Me, being somewhat of a narcissist, immediately had to call attention to the fact that this reclusive existence is clearly no longer working out for me. I need to at least start listening to CBC radio or something. A major fuckery like this shan't go unnoticed on my watch again. I feel like the Glass Man in Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie, watching the tapes recorded by Amélie Poulain for the first time. Even though the news was stale, it was rather refreshing and somewhat shocking to him but most importantly, he was saddened that he had missed out on so many events in life.

So I'm calling to action my fellow head-in-the-sand brethren, to emerge from your shelter, reconnect with the Age of Aquarius and to get informed.

The funny thing is, I had seen Laura Ling's name in the trending topics on twitter, but out of sheer laziness I didn't bother clicking on it, mostly because I assumed she was probably some finalist in X-Factor or something-- as twitter has apparently been hijacked by tweens since the MTV Movie Awards... btw when did that farce occur? (Rants like these are probably what @theswellelife meant when she asked me why I'm always so angry. lol)

On a side note, I also missed the NBC special "Inside the Obama White House"...was it good ya'll?

Anyway, although I'm sure our readers are far more in touch with today's breaking rhetoric, (I turned the T.V. set off for good when Susan Boyle's mental breakdown made breaking news over at BBC... I'm not kidding... that shit occurred) I felt it my duty to inform the 1 or 2 of you out there in the same boat as me, to this horrible situation.

I encourage you all to read up about the Laura Ling and Euna Lee sentence "for the grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing", as well as to sign the UN petition for their immediate release.

Fully Informed,
SLICE

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Make the Girl Dance is a french electro duo who are relatively new to the scene. Their new EP and single are entitled "Baby, Baby, Baby" and can be purchased here or on itunes.

Check out their new traffic stopping video (via Mossip and Pigeons and Planes)
- SLICE

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Delmarquis (of the Scissor Sisters) has released a new album entitled Litter to Society. The title track of said album shares the same name. He recently released the video for his first single and it is as darkly artistic as the song itself. The video was directed by Embryoroom and is definitely a visual feast.

Enjoy-
SLICE

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WE'VE MOVED -- > SLICE IS DEAD! HABIT IS FOREVER!

Find image and full article at Habit Magazine

Over the last 3 years the iconic Ray-Ban "Wayfarer" sunglasses have been making a resurgence in pop culture and fashion. Created in 1952 as a revolutionary form of sunglass eye wear, the Wayfarer design made use of plastic frames rather than the tradition metal. Although originally developed for pilots and targeted towards men, Wayfarers were quickly adopted by Hollywood starlets like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. John F. Kennedy was also a notable fan of this particular Ray-Ban design. In 1961, in a little film entitled, "Breakfast at Tiffany's", Audrey Hepburn's character, Holly Golightly, legendized the Wayfarer, opting to wear the design in tortoise shell.

Throughout the late 60's and 70's, Ray-Ban Wayfarers experienced a slump in sales and were on the verge of discontinuation before signing a deal with Unique Product Placement of Burbank to have their sunglasses used in films and television programs throughout the 80's. Perhaps their most successful placement was in the 1983 film, Risky Business, starring Tom Cruise. Sales of the Wayfarer took off and this design managed to define the entire 80's decade... cont

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Innerpartysystem have remixed the Beastie Boys track BBoys in the Cut and are generously offering it up as a free download.

They will be in Toronto, July 10th as part of the Vans Warped tour as well as many other Canadian cities. For full tour dates click here.

Listen to: BBoys in the Cut (Innerpartysystem remix)

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Bluegrass band, The Strangeboys,(based in Halifax) have been on tour for the last month or so and will be playing their last Ontario show date in Ottawa on the 10th of June at Irene's.

If you're in the Maritimes then you're in luck because they'll be continuing their tour heading eastbound towards home. Check out when they'll be in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI here.

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Toronto based indie artist, Matt Henderson, recently released his debut album entitled, People with Places to Go, and from what I've heard so far I've gotta say it's definitely a unique take on the acoustic sound. Henderson marries electronic synths and clean vocals with acoustic arrangements creating incredibly sonic tracks somewhat reminsent of animal collective.

People with Places to go is available for purchase on CD Baby.

Listen to: Farmer's Tan

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Photo by - Kid With Camera

So, we posted about this RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING band a while ago and they've finally returned with a full length album entitled Borders. The album was released April 28th, and we know that this is kind of "After-the-fact" but we're going through back e-mails right now, and we received this one in the midst of our exam period so it went unnoticed and we're updating you now.

Sorry y'all.

Read our old post on Green Go or check our their myspace

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Okay y'all... the long awaited much anticipated interview with "Waffles" of Vancouver based Waffles + Falafels is FINALLY HERE! We know you guys have been waiting patiently for this since we teased you with THIS post.

This interview answers everything you've ever wanted to know about the infamous Waffles Girls. So watch the damn video...AND GET INFORMED you guys.

ENJOY!
Slice

Listen to: Get 'Em Mamis: Cold Summer

Slice Magazine Interviews: Waffles + Falafels from Slice Magazine on Vimeo.

whoa... the quality of sullywoods throw is really bad, we'll have to fix that when we get around to it)

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So I do a lot of blog browsing, and almost always come across blogs that I love and that I claim I will feature here on Slice. Usually going so far as to go out of my way to tell the blog owner that I intend on featuring them... getting them all hot and bothered, then forgetting. (If I've done that to you please drop a comment to remind me... I know there were a few... at least 3 or 4... but now I don't remember who). I'm very absent minded and thus have a horrible memory (some blame weed, I blame my inability to compartmentalize).

Anyway, today on twitter (follow us @slicemag) @theswellelife messages us and says "You always seem so angry! You need a hug my fellow Canadian girl. But I agree...big snore". She was responding to a comment we had made earlier about Dan Humphrey intending on going into music, "Oh CHRIST another gossip Girl wants to go into music?...seriously? Why can't these fuckers stick to what they do (I was gonna say "good at")".

I was a bit taken aback by someone saying that I seemed angry cause I've never considered myself to be "angry" person. Although I will admit that since becoming ill (I think I have swine flu you guys... lol) I haven't been the most pleasant person on the block. So I explained to her that I was annoyed by all these "actors" trying to bogart every arts profession in the industry rather than sticking to one bloody thing.... Christ, they can't all be J.Lo.

Anyway, this encounter led me to her twitter page which of course led me to her blog which is.... AH-MAH-ZING!

Our regular readers know that we have a tendency to crassly compare our blog crushes to relationships (one night stands, polygamous relationships, threesomes etc)... well this time around, I think I may have found "the one" and am ready to take the plunge into the black hole of ... Monogamy.

Denise Grayson is a Canadian expat living in Northern England with her husband and young daughter. She's lived in Paris for a brief time and was clearly incredibly inspired by the most beautiful city in the world. Her blog, The Swelle Life, is primarily a fashion inspiration blog deeply nestled in romance. Every post screams to me, it's incredible how similar our tastes are. Anyway, I could gush about this blog for the next day or two, but I'm pretty sure you've already clicked on the link so I'll stop wasting my...type(?)

I am insanely mad about this blog and I think you all should check it out NOW!!!

- SLICE

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Today is the Skydome's 20th birthday. Now called the "Rogers Centre" (pfft) and home to the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Argonauts and the Buffalo Bills, the Skydome is a Toronto landmark and a defining structure of our cities beautiful skyline. The $600 million dollar dome was designed by Rod Robbie and Michael Allen back in 1989 and took approximately 2 1/2 years to build. Prior to the opening of the Air Canada Centre (across the street), the 55,000+ seat dome played host to many pop act concerts passing through Toronto while on tour (Madona, U2, Radiohead, BSB and N'Sync etc). Located at the base of Toronto's CN Tower, the arena was the first North American structure to boast a retractable roof.

Due to some financial difficulty the dome was purchased by Rogers Communications in 2004 and was subsequently renamed, the Rogers Centre, although the dome is still referred to as the Skydome amongst Toronto residents.

If you're ever in Toronto, we suggest taking in a baseball game at the dome and checking out the incredible expanse of this structure.

From Third Base,
SLICE

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Meet Colin Wynter, a waiter from Calgary Alberta (only a fellow Canuck could get down like this). This guy started a MAJOR DANCE PARTY during Santigold's performance at Sasquatch in Washington a few weeks ago.

Watch the FULL video... I promise it's well worth it.

Fucking Priceless,
Sarah Styles

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In a new book written by James "Tappy" Wright entitled, Rock Roadie, it is being claimed that Jimi Hendirx was murdered by his manager, Michael Jeffery (see below) as part of an insurance scam because Hendrix had threatened to fire him.

Jimi Hendrix died September 18th 1970 in his girlfriend, Monika Dannemann's, apartment in Nottingham London, of apparent asphyxiation (he had choked to death on his own vomit comprised mainly of red wine). There has been a flurry of controversy over the inconclusive results and circumstances surrounding his death and the eventual suicide of his girlfriend in '96. However in his new book, Wright claims that Hendrix's Manager, Michael Jeffery, confessed to him on a drunken night out, that he had in fact murdered the guitarist in order to financially secure his own future. Wright states that Jeffery claimed, "I had to do it, Tappy. You understand, don’t you? I had to do it. You know damn well what I’m talking about."

He quotes Jeffery as saying: "I was in London the night of Jimi’s death and together with some old friends ...we went round to Monika’s hotel room, got a handful of pills and stuffed them into his mouth ...then poured a few bottles of red wine deep into his windpipe.

"I had to do it. Jimi was worth much more to me dead than alive. That son of a bitch was going to leave me. If I lost him, I’d lose everything."

Wright claims that that night Jeffery had also told him of a life insurance policy that he had taken out on Hendrix worth $2 million with Jeffery as the beneficiary.

Jeffery died 3 years later in a plane crash.

To read more about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the rock legends death click here.

(story via Mailonsunday)

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Vancouver based DJ KnG aka Ken Gauley and owner of Electro-Fried Productions is offering SLICE readers an amazing free download of his latest mix, "Suck it Up Buttercup". For the love of music check him out y'all.

Listen to: Summer Sampler


Download: Suck it Up Buttercup

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