The Globe and Mail - Music News

CHICAGO RULES 3 OPERAS 1 DOLLAR 1 VOTE ...

ROBERT EVERETT-GREEN — Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00 EDT

The voting is well under way in Chicago, and if the governor wants to sway the result, he'll have to put his money on the table like everyone else. I'm talking about the vote to decide one of three operas on the bill for a future spring season at Chicago Opera Theater (COT), which has found a novel way to involve its audience in programming and raise money at the same time.

Canadian musician sets solo music record in Paris

Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00 EDT

Montreal-born musician Gonzales is trying to catch up on much-needed rest after setting a Guinness World Record for performing the longest concert by a solo artist.The singer-songwriter and producer played piano for 27 hours, three minutes and 44 seconds over the weekend in Paris.

POP

Brad Wheeler — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00 EDT

ABNORMALLY ATTRACTED TO SINTori AmosUniversal**1/2To the non-acolytes, the diehard fans of Tori Amos must seem abnormally drawn to the fairy-voiced singer-pianist. She's a fringe taste for sure, and it's doubtful her 10th studio album will charm new listeners. The believers, though, should like a decorative 17-song disc that explores themes of self-doubt, despair and the reclaiming of power. The baroque pop of Welcome to England comes from a native North Carolinian who is now Britain-based. Empathetic selections like Maybe California (a lush, Alanis-like tune about a self-harming cliff-jumper) and the mirror-gazing Curtain Call share space with the excellent, shiny rocker Police Me and the lighthearted cabaret of Mary Jane. Over all: New-agey and occasionally unconvincing, but certainly attractive enough. B.W.

RAP EMINEM

ROBERT EVERETT-GREEN — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00 EDT

RELAPSEEminemInterscope/Universal***''Time for you to hate me again,'' chants Eminem, and it sounds less like a taunt than a plea. Being hated is so much better than being ignored or forgotten. Eminem has been virtually silent for five years, which is a long time in the rap scene. Relapse is the first of two comeback albums (the second is due later this year), and plays like a summary of all that he has been.

ESSENTIAL TRACKS

Brad Wheeler — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00 EDT

UNTITLED by Steamboat, from Steamboat EP (Independent) The first handful of tracks on this tidy and excellent EP are likable recollections of Randy Newman and feel-good RandB-rock. The untitled finale is an agile funk instrumental, though - a signal that there's more to come from this savvy Toronto sextet.

ROOTS

Brad Wheeler — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00 EDT

MY WALKING STICKJim ByrnesBlack Hen****

ROCK

Robert Everett-Green — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00 EDT

EATS DARKNESSApostle of HustleArts and Crafts***The voice comes to you like a field holler juiced up with reverb, over a bed of rubbery bass-heavy keyboards. ''Think about the perfect fit/ between the life you lead and the death you get,'' sings Andrew Whiteman. Welcome to the dark new world of Apostle of Hustle, the Toronto trio that first came together under the sunny influence of Cuban music and street culture. You can still hear some Latin rhythms in this album, rubbing against the straight, steady eighth-note pulse that these indie rockers treat as home base. The album combines social commentary and introspection with loose instrumental jams that sometimes have that Broken Social Scene feeling of a bus running without brakes. The audio collages between tracks enhance the sense that AoH isn't just a band, it's a mobile sound laboratory.

New media, old rules

MATT HARTLEY — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00 EDT

TECHNOLOGY REPORTER When news came down last month that the United States had placed Canada on an international watch list of the worst digital pirate havens and copyright offenders in the world, many MPs on Parliament Hill rolled their eyes.