This is fairly cool news for those of us under 30. Frank Black gets it. If you want to attract a younger demographic to your shows in 2013, you can’t charge $45 because we just don’t have that kind of expendable income to spend when we also have to eat that week. Adjusting the ticket price accordingly means everybody wins. He gets fans who have maybe just discovered the Pixies and his other projects in the door, rather than the just same people that would always go to his shows, and the generation that’s been completely screwed financially can actually afford to see a music legend live.

Of course, those who are over 30 might claim this is discrimination, but there are actual statistics that show just how much harder it has been for the Millennials to not just get jobs but get paid what the generations before us easily received. It’s not arbitrary bullshit. Everyone is cool with the 65+ population receiving discounts because they just don’t have as much money now that they’re no longer working, it’s no different for the generation that wants to work but graduated right into a recession. As someone who was laid off in January, I especially appreciate things like this.

Now if only Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen would do the same.

How do you feel about it? Should more musicians implement age based pricing?  

Happy long weekend, everyone! How are you spending Victoria Day? I think we all know how good ol’ Mayor Ford will be spending it. But really, drug abuse is a serious, horrible thing, so as much pleasure as we are all taking in this final epic fall he is taking for being the ULTIMATE anti-drug hypocrite, it’s important to remember that if it all turns out to be true – this man has a serious problem and he needs help. But first and foremost, he needs to get the hell out of office. 

Speaking of office, did anyone else watch The Office series finale? It made me sad of course, but I didn’t love it. I know Michael was just making a cameo, but if he’s gonna come back, let him come back and be Michael! That was a little disappointing. It felt more like a finale for the cast of this season rather than a finale for the entirety of the show.

Anyhow, the links:

• 10 Embarrassing Moments From Rob Ford (Possibly Explained By Crack Cocaine) It really does help explain away most of these ‘incidents.’
• Help get the video out by donating money before Ford buys it!! They’re almost at $30,000 already and it’s only a few hours in. This can happen. And if it doesn’t, they’re donating the money to CAMH, which is an incredible organization that does great work for people with addiction and mental health issues.
• Twitter reaction to crackgate. Oh my.
• What We Do and Do Not Know About Rob Ford and Drug Use I hate the man for destroying my city, so it was of course easy to jump on the hell yes, fuck you Ford, bandwagon, but Torontoist presents some very valid points here.
• Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman: ‘Apps are in every artist’s future’. Truth.
• Rdio And Shazam Expand Full Music Track Streaming Partnership To UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil And Mexico. Finally.
• Shazam Is Generating Big Bucks for iTunes and Amazon. This is the future of music, labels can’t claim digital is harmful anymore.
• Rock the microphone: Shazam unveils the top tagged music of 2012. Oh god. Sadly this is what the general population is listening to.
• The Ten Worst Bands of the Nineties. Apparently Rolling Stone did a poll and somehow (aka in a desperate attempt for pageviews) they put Nirvana as an option – and they came in 5th. Nirvana is the 5th worst band of the 90s??!! According to who? Probably the people who Shazamed the music in the link above…
• How Music Blogging Landscape Has Changed.
• Our Favourite Toronto Music Blogs – I got a nice little shout out on View the Vibe as one of their fave bloggers, the write up is too kind!
• Take a sad song and make it better: Listening to downbeat music helps people get over a break-up. I realize this is a ‘tell me something I didn’t already know’ link, but apparently the general consensus is that you should listen to happy music when you’re sad? God knows when I’m unable to eat, sleep, stop crying and leave my bed, the last thing I want to hear is a fucking Carly Rae Jepson song. But I am known for my love of sadsack music, so I digress.
• Mother of Alice in Chains front man sues dead son’s bandmates.
• LimeWire to Pay Labels $105 Million to Settle Copyright Suit. Really? I think I last used LimeWire almost a decade ago.
• 30 Unconventional Business Cards. If you recall my business cards, you’ll know I’m all about a memorable card. Everything else just gets tossed.
• This Is The Most Epic Brand Meltdown On Facebook Ever. Absolutely hilarious, but also, kind of sad and scary. Watch the Kitchen Nightmares episode if you haven’t, these people are the definition of lunatic. This woman needs years of extreme therapy, and a husband that isn’t a creepy enabler.
• Pete Cashmore: Top 10 Things My Generation Likes. The Times issue all about the Millennials is quite inspiring. We’re not all that bad, or so they say. The idea that we’re all entitled spoiled brats needs to go, for once and for all.
• My Medical Choice. So Angelina Jolie’s surgery was big news this week. I hate to play devil’s advocate on a touchy subject, but I can’t help but have it cross my mind that she really just wanted her boobs back after 3 kids sucking out their glory, and this provides an easy out for the “omg you bought new tits!” insults she would otherwise get. Of course, I think it’s awesome to be proactive about your health and she definitely tested high, so I shouldn’t be such a cynic, but it does seem like convenient timing. Breast removal and implants are incredibly extreme before you even have any kind of cancer, but more power to her. The normal female population can’t really afford to do such a thing.
• Are foodies quietly killing rock-and-roll? Heh, I can’t imagine life without either.
• HELLO! magazine shames Canada and beauty by naming Avril Lavigne Most Beautiful Canadian. No, really. Why not just put Rob Ford on there with his crack pipe?
• Metal Concert Bracelets - would you wear this? Unless it’s solid gold I get really bad reactions to jewelry (I’ve had my ears pierced no less than 5 times in the same spot because of bad reactions – finally gave up) so I know it would probably be a nightmare for me, but even-so, I’m not sure I would want to wear that. Concert bracelets are annoying enough when they’re just plastic.
• Portraits of Soldiers Before, During, and After War. This is quite stunning.
• Guys: Holding A Guitar Makes You More Attractive. It’s science, guys. You don’t even have to know what to do with it, just hold it. Panties will drop. But really, it’s an instant visual cue to women that you are potentially ‘sensitive’ and in touch with your emotions, and that’s all we really want.
• Finally, our man in space returned this week, but not before making this crazy cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” IN SPACE. Truly, Chris Hadfield is the coolest astronaut of all time:

No one can say Bowie’s lost his edge. This video is incredible, so incredible YouTube actually pulled it briefly, and now it has an adult’s only rating. Xavier Dolan made a similarly shocking music video that I want to talk about in a different post, but for now, enjoy the wonder that still is David Bowie, taking on the Catholic church with “The Next Day.”

I’d love to hear your opinions on this one.

Happy Friday! I’m just finally starting to get over my disgusting cold, and thinking about actually leaving my house again, which means today is gonna be a productive day. I hope that is the case for you as well. This weekend is packed with great shows in Toronto, are you headed to Foals, The Breeders or Charles Bradley?? Let me know.

Anyhow, here’s what has interested me over the past couple weeks:

• Westboro Baptist Church To Picket Jeff Hanneman’s Funeral By Singing Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Crazy Train’. I think the world is excited to see this picket happen, because the WBC psychos will finally get to experience the wrath they deserve, by way of scary Slayer fans.
• Westboro Baptist Church Claims ‘God’ Killed Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman, Fans Dare Them To Picket Funeral. Seriously, it’s gonna be funny.
• Adam Yauch Park officially open in Brooklyn Heights. Awww. Awesome.
• Beastie Boys Sign a Memoir Deal. Also awesome.
• Gwen Stefani ‘Wild Horses’: No Doubt Singer Screws Up Song In Front Of Rolling Stones. Oh my god this is terrible. I almost feel bad for her because how incredibly embarrassing that must have been, but if the Stones ask you to sing with them you learn the lines. And it’s a simple song! Most of it is the chorus repeated!
• Lust For Laughs: Iggy Pop’s concert rider funniest in rock history? I wanna hang out with the guy who wrote it.
• The Invention of David Bowie. A great, detailed look back at his career.
• From Hannah Georgas to Alex Cuba: Canadian musicians on their 1st instruments. This is cute. See them when they were kids!
• See What Sigur Rós Looks Like On The Simpsons. I know no one really cares about the Simpsons anymore, but it’s kind of cool Sigur Ros is gonna be on. I’m gonna make it a point to actually tune in.
• Neutral Milk Hotel Reunites, Announces 2013 Tour Dates. YES! I already saw Mangum and it was probably in my top 3 concert experiences of all time, so I can only imagine with the full band it’ll take the number 1 spot. Praying for a Toronto date.
• Music Dealers: ‘Brands are picking up the pieces of the music industry.’ “It’s almost not cool if you don’t have a brand behind you. If somebody doesn’t think you’re valuable enough to put in a commercial, it’s almost an insult to a band these days.”
• Ticketmaster Accuses 21 of Fraudulent Ticket Buying.
• 5 reasons Why #Coachella’s Social Media Strategy is Genius. It really is great, but it has the large audience and years behind it to account for that.
• Troy Carter Says The Next Technology Disruption In Music Will Happen In Terrestrial Radio.
• In Songza 3.0, Music Isn’t A Choice. It’s A Lifestyle. Hell yes. Songza is my most used and most loved app on my Android. Highly, highly recommended if you’re somehow not already addicted.
• Discover Music Through TV Shows You Like.
• El Mocambo set to close for the summer (or longer). Boo.
• Do Not Touch: A crowdsourced music video, where your mouse pointer is the star. This is neat.
• Rap, Both Good and Bad for Business.
• Music-Map – the Map of Music. This is neat, type in any artist to see all the related artists, then click on another artist to see more related artists. Great way to find new bands you may not know but will probably dig.
• What Song Did You Lose Your Virginity To? Tell me! Mine was Radiohead but I can’t remember which exact song because I was kinda busy.
• World’s most expensive turntables. Insane.
• This Ad Has a Secret Anti-Abuse Message That Only Kids Can See. I like the idea but I agree with the comments - publicizing this kind of defeats the purpose, parents are going to crouch down to look at it. But hopefully it still helps some kids out.
• These 4 Sisters Were Photographed Every Year For 36 Years. I kinda wanna do this with my sis, so cool.
• Banned Captain Beefheart TV Commercial: 60 Seconds The Networks Did Not Want You To See. Lol why was this banned??
• Book Publishers Scramble to Rewrite Their Future.
• Finally, more Beastie Boys greatness – a very early interview with them:

Anita is a look back at what the exact moment where sexual harassment became a valid work problem that is taken seriously. Prior to Anita Hill infamously speaking out against the sexual harassment she endured working for Clarence Thomas, this kind of treatment was tolerated by women (and men) because they didn’t know they had any other option. She gave us all a voice and right to speak up without the risk of losing our jobs.

I was so young when she did this for feminism that I didn’t even realize I have her to thank for the times where I’ve felt uncomfortable at work and been able to do something about it. The beauty of this film is that it is educating my generation and those women younger than me on what she did for us, and how different the world was just 20 years ago. How acceptable that kind of workplace abuse was. I feel so incredibly lucky to have been born in the time of history that I was.

It was startling to watch her give her testimony facing a large panel of old white men, as they interrogated her and accused her of man hating, revenge, bitterness and lying. They tried to tear her apart because she was honest, and yet she remained calm and poised throughout the entire process. I have no idea how she did it. She deserves a medal from every woman. As if it wasn’t bad enough that she suffered through his harassment the first time, they put her up there and did everything they could to humiliate her in front of the entire world, making her relive every minute detail.

And of course, in the end, they didn’t even care about her testimony. Thomas made it into a racial issue (which is such crap considering she shares his race) and nothing ever happened to him. He took his seat on the Supreme Court and she had to move to another state to avoid all the death threats and harassment she endured after it was over. That in itself is depressing, but the film makes it very clear that what she did is an act of heroism that will be remembered for generations to come.

Thank you Anita.

Kathleen Hanna is another fascinating, inspiring woman to my generation. As much as I could never really get into the whole riot grrrl scene because of my aversion to vocals that involve screaming, I have incredible respect for its place in the third wave of feminism that sparked because of the injustices faced by women like Anita Hill at the time.

While I never really enjoyed Bikini Kill’s sound, I did like Le Tigre to some degree, but I was never quite interested enough to dig into their story. This film definitely made me realize what I was missing out on, and how incredible Kathleen was (and still is).

She is exactly the kind of person I aspire to be – and I have been living by her manifesto, despite not being particularly aware, of it all along. Her “ALL GIRLS TO THE FRONT” mentality at shows is literally the best concept in music history, ever. EVERY BAND SHOULD DO THIS. The way they explained it in the film made me so happy, because men don’t seem to realize that they make such a hostile environment for women at shows – or they do realize and they just don’t care. The last thing I want to deal with is getting head butted by moshers (this has happened to me) because I’m at the front trying to actually see the band. If the male population were kind enough to do that shit in the back, and stand back so that women who are generally at least 5 inches shorter, could actually see the stage – the concert going experience would be oh so wonderful for everyone.

I wish I could have went to a Bikini Kill show just to be a part of a concert where there was a priority put on women actually being comfortable/having a stage sight-line.

The look into her health issues and the decision to end Le Tigre was also insightful. Lyme disease is something most people (myself included) certainly don’t understand, and it went a long way to explaining how dreadful the disease can be – especially when it makes a singer lose control of her most precious asset – her voice. I also loved when she talked about meeting Adam Horovitz and feeling conflicted about dating someone who sang such sexist songs in those early Beastie Boys days, and how you don’t choose who you fall in love with.

If you are at all interested in 90s music culture, feminism, riot grrrls or just want to see a doc about a groundbreaking artist, make it a point to see The Punk Singer.

I’ll admit I was fairly uninterested in the whole Pussy Riot thing. I heard about it non stop to the point where I just decided to tune it out. Again, not being all that into the riot grrrl scene, I just didn’t pay much attention. When I hear Peaches is involved in something I kind of lose interest, as it always tends to feel like a spectacle.

Of course, seeing Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer made me feel foolish for not paying attention. It is scary to me that this kind of church meets state environment still exists in what looks like a modern part of the world. They were doing nothing more than what Kathleen Hanna and the riot bands did 20 years ago, but they are in jail for it!

The best part of Hot Docs is that it shocks me into remembering just how lucky I am to be living where I do, in the age that I do. After watching the injustice these girls are going through, I am thanking my lucky stars that I do not live in Russia. It literally boggles my mind that things could still be so backwards in a developed country – but religion makes people act in very strange (ungodly) ways.

Can you imagine being sent to jail for 2 YEARS for just barely starting to sing a ‘punk rock’ song in a church? It’s absurd. I agree that it was crossing a line since so many people were offended by it, and they could have maybe banned them from the church for life or something – but putting them in jail away from their babies for years because they created art in public? Insane.

The film gives these women faces, families, and history – which is something you don’t get through our exploitative news. Watching their parents talk about how they were as kids, and how they grew into feminist artists trying to move their part of the world forward in the same way that Kathleen Hanna did, makes it a must see. It’s also inspiring to hear them talk during sentencing – the fearlessness these women have for the message they are trying to spread of equality for all women is so powerful. I know that when they get out they will continue to create positive change and hopefully help move Russia into the current decade.