Magazine

Independent, provocative, now! The CJLO Magazine is the resource for features, reviews, and interviews. Established in 2004, and run by dedicated CJLO volunteers, the magazine covers the latest and best in local and international music, art, theatre, film, festivals, and more!


Santigold + Trouble Andrew + Amanda Blank

Even though I'm a born and raised Montrealer, I have always had a special place in my heart for Brooklyn, New York.  Memories of travelling to get there for shopping and visiting family are as vivid to me as if they happened yesterday. That said, I identify vicariously with any hip hop song or artist that makes reference to Brooklyn. 


Steve Earle

Right now the popular music scene has seen a revival of country and folk acts. Oddly enough, a few older punk rockers are making some interesting strives with the likes of Drag the River, Tim Barry, Saw Wheel, Wayne the Train Hancock & Hank Williams III leading the way. Ask anyone of them who have influenced their music, and I’ll bet dollars to donuts, they’ll say Steve Earle.


Heaven and Hell

It is often hard to come up with the right words to describe heavy metal music. The words 'crushing', 'brutal' and 'dark' are often conjured up from the heads of writers… they are the go-to choices that evoke cheap imagery and simple cop-outs. Sometimes, though, these words are necessary evils that genuinely reflect the music, and in The Devil You Know's case, these words also manage to reflect the package as a whole. The word dark, in particular, matches the thematic qualities of the album.


The Streets

 Everything is Borrowed is the fourth album from Mike Skinner aka The Streets. I actually heard about The Streets last year through a guy I worked with. He gave me a copy of “The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living”, The Street's third album released in 2006. I immediately became a fan of this UK rapper and producer. I was excited to get my hands on his new album. It is definitely different from the last one. “The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living” had a Hip Hop sound.


N.A.S.A.

So I'm sitting here with my headphones listening to what must be one of the most hyped projects of 2008/09. 5 years in the working, Sam Spiegel (related to Spike Jonze) and Ze Gonzalez (famous DJ) have rustled up the who's who of music, dead or alive: David Byrne, Seu Jorge, Karen O, ODB, Ghostface, Tom Waits, Kool Keith, Kanye, Lykke Li, Santogold, George Clinton, Z-Trip, etc. etc. etc. Basically, every conceivable niche represented by its respective master or artist-of-the-moment.


John Legend

As I got to Metropolis around 7:15 p.m., I noticed that the place was already packed. I still managed to get a decent spot not too far from the star that hung to the right venue wall. Around 7:30 the show got started with Devon Anthony (John Legend’s little brother) opening up for him. Anthony sounds a little like his older brother but with a different style; he has more of a dub reggae vibe mixed with a typical neo-, Chris Brownish R&B style. His songs were focused on acts in the bedroom and the women loved it.


Megadeth

If anything, Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine must be applauded for his workmanlike ethic. The rather eccentric frontman/guitarist lay down the 'deth moniker earlier on in the millenium, only to decide to reform with new members for a pair of highly satisfactory albums (2004's The System Has Failed and 2007's United Abominations). These albums found Mustaine abandoning his desire to come up with "monster anthems"/hyper-accessible songs and instead become a veritable Memorable Riff Machine (patent pending).


Corpus Christi

I'm sure at one point or another, everyone reading this has been swayed by an alluring sticker on the front of an album. It may be something simple like a highlight of the singles, or a description of what the band sounds like. In truth, I'm all for these stickers when they tell me what the band sounds like, because if I'm going to throw hard earned money at something, I want to know what I'm going to be getting.


The Creepshow

A preface: This is why I love this city: after an hour of driving up and down unpopulated roads in the downtown core trying to find parking, I came to the conclusion that every road in Montreal I needed to use was blocked. It may have been an hour, it may have been half, all I knew is that I was late for The Creepshow. I mumbled to myself that I must’ve missed the first two opening bands: The Hypnophonics from Montreal and The Dreadnoughts from Vancouver as I slammed the door to my ’92 minivan and hiked up two blocks to the venue.


Silversun Pickups, Cage The Elephant and An Horse

Silversun Pickups

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been in love with Silversun Pickups since just before the release of Carnavas. I saw them for the first time at the 2007 CMJ Music Marathon in New York in the back room of Piano’s.  An intimate setting in which it was next to impossible to get in. Buzz was growing, and the band was just on the verge of breaking as big as an indie band can break now a days.


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