A sampling of links to recent articles/reviews I’ve written, mostly for Exclaim! Magazine. (last updated: 02/26/2010).
**For Signal to Noise pieces I’ve written, please visit this page.**
DOOM / D-Sisive – Kool Haus, Toronto, ON, February 25
What the fuck are we doing here? Some semblance of this question was muttered by many of those in attendance, clinging to faith against all odds and reason at DOOM’s inexplicably ill-fated Toronto appearance, which was, well, doomed from the get-go…(read more)
| A Silver Mt. Zion Shine a Light
Though often superficially associated with a contrary bleakness, Montreal’s Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra exhibit outright joy in their stirring music. For some, SMZ remain an offshoot of the hugely influential collective, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, where Efrim Menuck, Thierry Amar, and Sophie Trudeau first gained recognition. Godspeed came to epitomize all that was free and unconventional about music making ― from the textured sprawl of the work itself to a vocal cynicism for the music industry, including the press.….Read More |
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Wavelength 500 – Constantines Toronto, ON February 13
Reverent, respectful and spurred by their old friends in Rockets Red Glare, Constantines honoured WL 500 by playing their wildest show in recent memory. The day before, Con Will Kidman entered a hospital with an undisclosed ailment, preventing him from playing. Weirded out, the Cons forged on, with a plan to play pre-Will songs, fatefully blossoming into performing their self-titled, 2001 debut album in its entirety. Inspired by RRG and all that WL meant to the band when they too began some ten years ago, Constantines flailed at their origin songs, roaring lyrics and headbanging like the hungriest band around.
Wavelength 500 – Rockets Red Glare Toronto, ON February 13
One of the most anticipated reunions at WL 500 was a flawless performance by the tightest unit to emerge out of southern Ontario hardcore. With such a mixed crowd, some were surely curiously confused by the huge ovation that greeted guitarist/vocalist Evan Clarke, drummer Gus Weinkauf, and bassist Jeremy Strachan, as they took the stage as RRG for the first time since 2003. For their part, the utilitarian trio played thoughtfully advanced compositions with uncommon precision and vigour. They don’t make punk rock like RRG anymore, and really, no one but this band ever could.
2/5/2010 By Vish Khanna Not surprisingly, one of the hardest working bands in … The group’s Dallas and Travis Good have revealed to Exclaim! that the next…
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Exclaim!
By Vish Khanna Even without its sad epilogue, Don’t You Forget About Me is a poignant testament to the power of the late, beloved writer/director John …
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Aziz Ansari – Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening
Exclaim!
By Vish Khanna From the second he walks on stage, actor/comedian Aziz Ansari is a fiery ball of energy and hooks, approaching stand-up from a surprisingly …
Exclusive: Broken Social Scene Put the Brakes on Tortoise    1/29/2010 While Tortoise are set to leave their Chicago home for a short North American tour next month, the instrumental rock pioneers haven’t made much headway writing new material since the release of last year’s excellent Beacons of Ancestorship, according to bassist/guitarist Doug McCombs. And who do they have to thank for the hold-up? Broken Social Scene. (More after the jump.)… Full Article |
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Stephin Merritt to Do Live Score for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Magnetic Fields released Realism, their latest album, this week, but band mastermind Stephin Merritt is still coming up with new conceptual ideas. The latest: A live score for the 1917 silent film version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Rip-roaring undersea adventure and hyper-literate indie pop, together at last!
What I Play – Dallas and Travis Good |
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Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields – It’s Only Time (Exclaim! Timeline)
Exclaim!
By Vish Khanna Whimsical curmudgeon Stephin Merritt is undeniably one of the most …. Merritt wakes his band members up by exclaiming “Indie rocks! …
The Jesus Lizard’s Mac McNeilly
Exclaim! – Toronto,Ontario,Canada
By Vish Khanna For countless fans, the Jesus Lizard are one of the most significant … Mac McNeilly chatted with Exclaim! just prior to their Toronto stop.
| Kevin Breit & Jesse Stewart Exclaim! – Toronto,Ontario,Canada By Vish Khanna Although an unfortunate accident brought them together for Collisions, it was a fateful meeting point for collaborators Kevin Breit and Jesse … |
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Richard Laviolette and the Oil Spills – All of Your Raw Materials |
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Them Crooked Vultures |
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Evangelista – Prince of Truth |
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Etaoin Shrdlu – Mating Calls |
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Bob Dylan – Christmas in the Heart |
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Nirvana – Live at Reading |
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Heavy Trash – Midnight Soul Serenade |
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| Evening Hymns – Spirit Guides Exclaim! By Vish Khanna On his debut record as Evening Hymns, Peterborough, ON’s Jonas Bonnetta harkens back to singer-songwriters of the early ’70s, evenly weaving … See all stories on this topic |
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| David Mott Quintet – Downtown Runout Exclaim! By Vish Khanna Occasionally mellow yet intensely arresting, Downtown Runout features compositions by David Mott, as rendered by a stellar and increasingly … See all stories on this topic |
The Jesus Lizard/Brides – The Phoenix, Toronto, ON 11/12/2009 -
Exclaim! – Toronto,Ontario,Canada
By Vish Khanna In what was simply a haymaker of a show, a young, untested noise rock band impressed an amped-up room that wanted nothing more than to …
Eugene Mirman lives in New York City and is one of the funniest comedians of our times. He’s renowned for two ingenious comedy records, entitled The Absurd Nightclub Comedy of Eugene Mirman and En Garde, Society! and has been a key supporter of his contemporaries with events like Invite Them Up! and the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival….Read More
Sufjan Stevens
Exclaim! – Toronto,Ontario,Canada
By Vish Khanna One of the most celebrated and respected artists in all of contemporary pop music, Sufjan Stevens is a Michigan native who calls Brooklyn, …
Sufjan Stevens’ Inner State
Exclaim! – Toronto,Ontario,Canada
By Vish Khanna Though recently implying that he’s tapped out musically, Sufjan Stevens has never created something as pointedly ambitious as The BQE. …
Do Make Say Think Other Truths
Exclaim! – Toronto,Ontario,Canada
By Vish Khanna Though they’ve never been predictable, twisting and turning down a veering path of whatever post-rock is supposed to be, Do Make Say Think …
Lou Barlow Goodnight Unknown
Exclaim! – Toronto,Ontario,Canada
By Vish Khanna As things have come full circle for Lou Barlow in recent years, it’s fitting that Goodnight Unknown is an alluring pastiche of all the sonic …
One Hundred Dollars My Father’s House |
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Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle Let’s Just Stay Here |
Over the past 20 years, Lou Barlow has been a key member of influential and abrasive underground rock bands like Dinosuar Jr, Sebadoh, and the Folk Implosion. He’s also credited with being one of the leading figures responsible for the pervasiveness, from the early ’90s onward, of emotional home-rock by men….Read More
 With the roar of an appreciative audience behind him, Old Man Luedecke descended the steps of the main stage at Sappyfest IV in Sackville, NB this past August with a look of bemused befuddlement on his face. Judging from past experience at festivals across the country, the scene’s familiar but he still seems overwhelmed…. Read More
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Even as Nick “Diamonds” Thorburn sits idly by, listening to his band-mates in Islands discuss their excellent electro-rock record Vapours, he projects a serene restlessness. Since the 2005 break-up of popular Montreal art-rockers the Unicorns, Thorburn has maintained a hectic schedule….Read More
Vic Chesnutt 
A resident of Athens, Georgia, Vic Chesnutt’s ability to overcome a severe disability and write his wondrous songs has been an inspiration to legions of fans and musicians over the past 20 years. He’s composed critically acclaimed records, collaborated with the likes of Michael Stipe, Lambchop, Bill Frisell, Emmylou Harris, and most recently, Elf Power and Jonathan Richman….Read More |
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Joe Pernice 
A noted musician from Massachusetts who now calls Toronto home, Joe Pernice has been the central voice in acclaimed indie rock bands like the Scud Mountain Boys, the Pernice Brothers, and Chappaquiddick Skyline among others….Read More |
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Nick Cave 
Nick Cave is one of the most respected singers and songwriters in the world, whose storied 30-year career has seen him lead innovative and influential punk-infused rock ‘n’ roll bands like the Birthday Party, the Bad Seeds, and Grinderman, not to mention collaborating with Kylie Minogue and Johnny Cash, among other notable artists….Read More
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Merge Records’ Laura Ballance & Mac McCaughan |
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Writer’s Rock |
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Failed Musician |
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Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II |
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Spring Breakup
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