Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine found another target for his ire last week when Men’s Wearhouse didn’t ship a gift certificate he’d bought for his tour manager. Mustaine says the store had guaranteed him 2-day shipping, but had kept the order on hold without notifying him, which prompted him to blast them on his band’s Facebook wall. “I really think that it sucks when people make false claims, that they don’t care to make good on a problem that is clearly their fault, and with all of the ‘ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE IT’ crap I just had to say something.” Wrote the metal head, adding “I for one, will never set foot in a Men’s Warehouse, even for shelter from a blizzard.” It’s a step down in crazy from his rant last August about Obama staging the Aurora shooting as well as the Colorado shooting at the Dark Knight premiere, but it’s just strange enough to get our attention.
Writing a better birthday
In case you didn’t know, the song “Happy Birthday” is actually copyrighted by Time Warner Music Group, and they’ve made a good chunk of money off the song: they rake in an estimated $2 million a year in royalties and the like (technically, their copyright should have been voided long ago given that nobody even knows who wrote the lyrics anymore, but that’s big business for you). Well, the folks at the Free Music Archive are hoping to chip away at that figure by challenging songwriters to write a better birthday song that they could license under a creative commons license. “The Birthday Song Contest seeks a few new Happy Birthday songs that are simple and catchy, with great earworm potential that can be sung in restaurants, bowling alleys, and even in TV shows and movies,” reads the contest announcement on the FMA’s website. If you’re interested in trying your hand at song smithing, the deadline for submissions is Jan. 13, so get writing!
For he’s a jolly bad felon
Thirty-five-year-old Lostprophets lead singer Ian Watkins appeared at Cardiff Crown Court via webcam on Dec. 31 on alleged child sex offense charges, including conspiracy to rape a one-year-old girl. In addition, he faces five other charges, including conspiring to engage in sexual activity with two young children as well as making, downloading and distributing child pornography. He is also accused of accessing and possessing “extreme pornography,” in this case relating to beastiality. The rest of the band released a statement earlier last month after learning of the charges: “[W]e find ourselves in a state of shock. We are learning about the details of the investigation along with you. It is a difficult time for us and our families, and we want to thank our fans for their support as we seek answers.” Watkins was remanded and has a case management hearing scheduled for March 11.
For every Dinosaur Jr. fan who’s longed to gently cradle the band in their arms, you can thank the doll makers at Mediodescocido for making your creepy dreams a little more feasible. Apparently the Argentine artists were so impressed by the band’s 2012 album I Bet On Sky, that they’ve have fashioned a trio of dolls in honor of J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph. The miniature musicians are completely hand-painted, one-of-a-kind, 35 centimetre dolls packaged in a custom box made to resemble the album’s art. The doll designers have even thrown in skateboard and guitar accessories to complete the package. Unfortunately, the junior Dinosaur Jr.s are not for sale, which means you’ll have to find something else with which to stuff your Christmas stockings. But if you’re dead-set on getting your hands on something Dinosaur Jr.-related, you could always pick up the J Mascis Throbblehead bobblehead that came out earlier this year.
He must still be at war with the mystics
About two weeks ago, The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne tweeted “Sorry Sorry Sorry!! Everyone that was inconvenienced because of my grenade at OKC airport!!” and yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. The singer allegedly brought a grenade or grenade-like object with him to the Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City and prompted the TSA to shut down the airport, which meant that a number of passengers missed their flights.
“I was stuck near the food court, wasn’t able to cross the airport to get to my gate. Flight left without me, all because of Wayne Coyne,” one unlucky passenger told local blog The Lost Ogle.
“I think Wayne Coyne should reimburse me, at a minimum I want to drop acid with him and Yoko Ono. Can you help me out to let Wayne know that his music is fucking weird and I could use that $1000 ASAP. Thanks.”
Wu-Tang is for the children
It seems that Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA must have done some serious background research for his upcoming album Dark Matter, as he’s now preparing to play on the role of science teacher in a new physics program aimed at inner-city kids. The rapper, in collaboration with Columbia University professor Christopher Emdin and rap lyric site Rap Genius, will be testing out a pilot project to bring hip-hop to science classrooms in 10 New York City public schools. The idea is to get students to formulate their own science-themed rhymes in order to learn course material, the best of which will be featured on the Rap Genius website.
“You never know. This could turn into something in the future as big as the spelling bee,” GZA said. “A hip-hop cypher is the perfect pedagogical moment, where someone’s at the helm of a conversation, and then one person stops and another picks up. There’s equal turns at talking,” Emdin added. “When somebody has a great line, the whole audience makes a ‘whoo’, which is positive reinforcement.”
RTM is located in the alley between Bishop St. and Mackay St., below Sherbrooke West St. Photo by Jay Ploss
Walking down the concrete steps into the Right to Move bike co-op, a man brushes past me and steps through the door, holding it open for me a second before he skirts off into the underground store. I step in to see him holding up a series of photos featuring the co-op’s volunteer staff in the nude, much to the approval of his fellow bike shop volunteers.
RTM is located in the alley between Bishop St. and Mackay St., below Sherbrooke West St. Photo by Jay Ploss
Having explicit photos of the staff waved in front of them is not the typical greeting most visitors to the bike co-op receive, though it is something the Right to Move are hoping their patrons will be interested in paying for; as of this week, they’ll be selling a nude calendar featuring the shop’s mechanics, with all proceeds going towards helping Montreal’s community bike shops.
The Right to Move’s mission, for those of you not in the know, is to promote cycling as an accessible and environmentally friendly form of transport. The shop, located in the alley between Bishop and Mackay behind the Hall building, gets roughly 3500 drop-in visits a year for things like general maintenance, repairs, and bike building. Even in winter, they help between 10 to 15 people a night. The co-op also seeks to provide an alternative to regular bike shops and is geared towards bikers who might not be able to afford expensive parts or are too intimidated by the formality of big cycling stores to ask for help.
“We provide the tools and the expertise for them to learn how to repair their bikes, we also have used parts which are really cheap and new parts when you can’t find a part to suit your bike,” said volunteer Shanty Richer. “It’s basically just about people coming in and wanting to learn about bike repairs, and we’re here to help them with that.”
Richer has been working with Right to Move since it first debuted its naked calendar three years ago. She says that their non-profit organization is in a unique position to be able to help their fellow community bike shops thanks to their arrangement with the university.
“We’re very fortunate in that we don’t have to pay rent or electricity since Concordia’s providing that for us, but it’s not all bike shops that are that lucky,” she said. “Most of them have to pay rent and utilities, so it can be hard for people who want to get together to form a community bike shop to actually start one without having expertise or money; we want to provide some backing for them.”
Photo by Jay Ploss
Richer says that since the inception of the calendar fundraisers, four new shops have appeared in Montreal.
“The calendar is a way to help them get a bit of funding to start as well as raising awareness about Montreal bike co-ops.”
One startup that will be receiving funds is a new shop near the theatre production studio at Loyola campus, tentatively set to open next spring.
What of the product itself? Far from being a raunchy sexposé à la Hustler, the calendar photos are tasteful yet cheeky (in every sense of the word), reproducing classic paintings like Raphael’s The Three Graces, and staging mock ‘bike fights’, among other tableaus. Each photo features a volunteer from one of Montreal’s community bike shops as well as clever repurposing of bike parts as props, clothing or something in between, lending the photos a peculiar junkyard chic.
The calendar is also a chance to give the Montreal bike shop volunteers a bit of recognition for their efforts.
“A lot of times, visitors come to these places, they receive help from people, but don’t necessarily see them as people. It’s nice to get the chance to glorify, for lack of a better word, the people involved,” said newly minted RTM board member Alex Woznica. “It’s their time to shine!”
So why should you buy a calendar? Woznica presented a simple ultimatum. “Buy these calendars, or we’ll start killing cats!” he joked. Richer objected to this sentiment immediately, offering her own form of incentive to potential purchasers: “You won’t need to buy me a drink to see me naked!”
The calendars themselves, however, are $15 each and are available both through RTM’s website and its downtown location, as well as at venues like Bike Curious, Le Yeti and La Bicycletterie Jr.
RTM is located in the alley between Bishop St. and Mackay St., below Sherbrooke West St.
Outkast rapper Big Boi’s upcoming album Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors boasts an all star cast of collaborators, with big names like Ludacris, Kelly Rowland, Kid Cudi and T.I. having already lent their talent to the rapper’s second studio album. As Big Boi told The Village Voice, though, there was one noticeable exception to the A-list roll call; his Outkast mate, Andre 3000. “He could’ve been on any song he wanted to. I gave the motherfucker about five songs, but I guess he was just too busy,” said Big Boi. “He said he had to do some Gillette shit.” Though the comment, referencing the series of Gillette ads the Hey Ya! hitmaker starred in, spawned laughter during the interview, Big Boi made sure they knew he was serious. “No for real. He said he had some contractual obligations.” Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors is set to drop on Dec. 11.
Did they try to shake him out?
In terms of embarrassing reasons to miss a gig, this one’s way up there. Florence and the Machine drummer Chris Hayden nearly missed his band’s BBC Radio 2 In Concert show because he couldn’t get himself out of the bathroom. “I didn’t know whether to say it on stage because I didn’t want to embarrass him, but he got trapped in the loo. He was screaming,” said singer Florence Welch. “He got really freaked out. We could hear him trying to bash the door down, and they had to take the door off its hinges, so my Dad did offer to stand in. But he did escape.” Thankfully, the band was able to play on time for presenter Jo Whiley’s Radio 2 show, but the question still remains: if you didn’t want to embarrass him, why did you tell the media about it?
After more than a decade of working on the project, John Mellencamp and Stephen King’s musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County will soon reach completion. The musical deals with two sets of brothers fighting over a woman, 30 years apart in the same cabin. Mellencamp originally hatched the basic idea in the late nineties while spending time in his cabin in Bloomington, Indiana — which he claims is haunted. As far as splitting duties goes, each man has a clear idea of what they contribute to the project. “It was Steve’s job to tell the story,” said Mellencamp. “It was my job to develop the characters through songs. That’s different than most musicals. The best example of that is My Fair Lady. They had a story with Pygmalion, so they just stuck songs in there.” Though an early version of the show ran in Atlanta earlier this year and there was a recent table reading in New York for investors, there are no plans to put the show on Broadway just yet. “John believes in reaching for the stars in everything he does,” said King. “But a lot of Broadway these days is fucking Disneyland. It’s blue-haired ladies from Westchester County. They come in buses and they want to see Aida or the Lion King. It’s almost like an amusement park.” If you’re interested in seeing the early version of the show, a CD/DVD deluxe edition, which will feature the soundtrack, handwritten lyrics and a mini-documentary about the making of the musical will go on sale March 19.
Last week, thousands of masked protesters observed Nov. 5 by protesting at Britain’s House of Parliament, re-enacting the final scene from the 2005 movie V for Vendetta, and Alan Moore, creator of the graphic novel that inspired the masked mobs, decided to provide them with a soundtrack. The graphic novelist released a song in support of the group on the Occupation Records label entitled “The Decline of English Murder.” The title is a nod to a 1946 George Orwell essay, and the song itself features Moore sing-talking over sparse instrumentation provided by Joe Brown. The lyrics deal with the greed of the banking industry and the failings of government. Those lucky enough to have purchased the track online on Nov. 5 were entered into a draw to win a Guy Fawkes masked signed by Moore himself. Though the draw is over, the track can still be downloaded from Occupation Records’ website for about $1.60, with all proceeds going to the Occupy movement.
Brace yourselves, musicians are coming
If you’ve ever looked at the drummer from Coldplay and thought to yourself “Now there’s a guy I’d like to see in a gritty, medieval television series,” your prayers have been answered. Will Champion is set to have a cameo appearance in the upcoming season of HBO’s fantasy show Game of Thrones. As Champion is a drummer by trade, his cameo will consist of him, well, drumming. Though we don’t yet know how this will come up in the show, fans are speculating that he might be drumming in a band at a wedding. Another musician to enter the world of George R. R. Martin next year will be Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody, though we don’t know under what capacity he’ll be appearing.
But how will I know who’s cool?
Composer Thomas Bergersen, who has worked on several movie trailers and films, came out in defense of dubstep and other “unpopular” music forms in a lengthy Facebook post last week.
“People identify themselves through music, and express themselves through their taste in music. Sometimes people get so caught up in the attributions of genres that they forget what music is about in the first place,” he writes. “They limit themselves to certain styles because their mind is not free. Music can and should be enjoyed across all genres, regardless of social value, political statement, mainstream success, stigma and so on, because great talent is to be found in every aspect of art, from the popular to the most obscure and unknown.” He ends his post by asking readers to reject the herd mentality when it comes to music and “cultivate that which resonates within you, not what resonates with others.”
May the pants be with you
Through the constant campaigning, speech giving and handshaking across the country is probably what won Barack Obama his second term in the White House, Katy Perry admitted to having tipped the odds in his favor by giving the president elect a pair of lucky Y-front briefs with his face on them. Perry reportedly spent nearly £200 on the underthings at a store in Hampstead in north London. “She was delighted when she got to hand him a pair at a political rally just before he won, “ a source told the UK Sun. “Katy’s been saying he won because of the lucky pants.”
Allow me to set the scene: a man has just finished his business on the side of the road and goes back into a car filled with his buddies. Thinking themselves to be clever, the man-filled car edges just out of his reach each time he goes to open the door. Sheepishly, the man
Graphic by Phil Waheed
attempts to grab the door handle again and again, much to the delight of his friends who continue to edge the car forward. Then suddenly, the car edges over a cliff the men were too busy laughing to see, leaving their friend staring down at the ravine as the words “why we insure only women” flash on screen, followed by the logo for 1st for Womeninsurance brokers.
As a man, if reading that description didn’t make you wince, then you haven’t been exposed to the commercials I have. The problem with this ad is one that has been a disturbing trend for as long as I care to remember.
The difficulty here comes from the overwhelming presence of this “men are morons, women are wiser” trope in advertising. If someone unfamiliar with our culture were to assess it based solely on what they saw on television, men would come off as a sorry bunch of ne’er-do-wells who just can’t figure out that incredibly simple Fedex shipping plan and have the hardest time getting the Febreze plug-in to work properly.
In many of these ads women consistently come off looking better, more grounded and sensible than their male counterparts. Should you question the sexist nature of this; simply reverse the genders and see how people would react to clueless women constantly being corrected by doting men who roll their eyes at their male’s incompetence?
Some may think this is not an issue and merely representative of some good-natured ribbing between the sexes. Surely we men can take the occasional jab to our pride; we’re not perfect, after all. Men are not above being ridiculed, and should not have their feelings spared more than any other demographic. Having said that, a recent study from the University of Illinois confirmed that the stereotypical ‘dumb guy’ cliché not only offends many viewers, but has proven counter-productive as a marketing gimmick as well.
“While partying and promiscuity are often depicted in advertising, some men find these images to be negative portrayals of their gender and are, in fact, turned off by them,” said Cele Otnes, marketing professor at the University of Illinois and co-author of the study. “Those stereotypes don’t actually fit the vast majority of males. Advertisers and marketers need to broaden the spectrum.”
In brief, there is no need to put down an entire gender every time you want to sell a cleaning product. We men have to buy detergent too and if your product is really that complicated for men to use, maybe we’ll just switch to another brand instead and save ourselves the trouble.
When he was faced with a particularly vexing problem, Albert Einstein had a simple method for coming up with a solution: he would pick up his violin and improvise melodies. Soon enough he’d experience the elusive “eureka” moment, put down his instrument and resume his work.
Though this may seem like the eccentric approach of an unconventional mind, it is actually grounded in science. A new study from the University of California in Santa Barbara claims that it’s actually in your best interests to indulge in the occasional bout of mental meandering. Researchers at the university asked participants to perform an “unusual use task” in which they had to come up with as many uses for an object as they could, and then split them into four groups.
Graphic Phil Waheed
The first group then performed a demanding task, the second an undemanding task, the third took a break and the fourth immediately repeated the “unusual use task.”
What the study showed was that only those who completed the undemanding task showed significant improvement the second time around. The study concluded that “engaging in simple external tasks that allow the mind to wander may facilitate creative problem solving” and the implications of this could be substantial.
“The discovery that under the appropriate circumstances mind-wandering can foster creative processes could eventually lead to the development of programs and techniques that facilitate creative incubation in professional and pedagogical domains,” said Benjamin Baird, co-author of the study.
He mentioned programs like Google’s ‘20 per cent time’ and 3M’s ‘15 per cent program’, which allow employees to pursue special projects on company time, as evidence that the business world has lost no time in taking advantage of this fact.
They are programs that allow their employees to take a portion of their paid time to decompress and let their imagination and creative thoughts take over. He thinks that further research like his could provide “the foundation for programs like this to become part of the structure of competitive businesses and other institutions in a society increasingly driven by innovative ideas.”
In her article Rest Is Not Idleness: Implications of the Brain’s Default Mode for Human Development and Education, University of Southern California professor Mary Helen Immordino-Yang argues that the “time off” our brains take also enables us to make sense of our past as well as prepare for the future.
“Rest isn’t idleness, we are doing something, we’re making meaning out of our experiences, rehashing and formulating them into coherent narratives that we can then make into personal memories we can learn from and move forward with.”
She also suggests that this down time allows our brain to appreciate and imagine hypothetical and future scenarios that allow us to try on sets of events before they happen and get a sense of what the possibilities are for the future.
“We know that these kinds of future oriented mindsets and the ability to imagine hypothetical events in the future is critical for success, especially academic success.”
Though Einstein played the violin in search of answers, keep in mind that Nero fiddled while Rome burned; before you go flitting off into flights of fancy, be aware that your daydreaming is a double-edged sword.
According to one study from researchers at the University of North Carolina, daydreaming can actually be detrimental to whatever task you find yourself escaping from. Allowing the mind to wander “tends to lead to poorer performance on whatever ongoing activities we’re partaking in,” said professor Michael Kane, the author of the study. “In part this seems to be because we do less processing of the external world while mind wandering, and we are less likely to over-ride automatic, ‘auto-pilot’ responses while engaged in task-unrelated thoughts.”
So in short, do feel free to let your mind wander, just make sure that it doesn’t go too far.
In an hour long interview set to air on Al Jazeera English this month, Paul McCartney has finally cleared up something that has been pestering Beatles fans for decades; did Yoko Ono cause the fab four to break up? “She certainly didn’t break the group up, the group was breaking up,” says McCartney, who took the opportunity to offer some praise for Ono’s influence on former bandmate John Lennon. The former Beatle claimed that if it wasn’t for the avant garde outlook she introduced him to, Lennon might never have penned such classic songs as his 1971 hit “Imagine.” “I don’t think he would have done that without Yoko, so I don’t think you can blame her for anything. When Yoko came along, part of her attraction was her avant garde side, her view of things, so she showed him another way to be, which was very attractive to him. So it was time for John to leave, he was definitely going to leave [one way or another].” Though he did admit that he found Ono’s presence during recording vexing, he says the real wedge driver for the group was Allan Klein, the businessman who tried to take over after their manager Brian Epstein died in 1967.
Couldn’t find an actual fan, I guess
In a new interview with Men’s Health Magazine, Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger related a cringe-inducing story from his band’s early tour days. The anecdote involves a tour stop in Germany, boredom, roughly $375 in cash, genitalia and metal fan blades—the exact combination of which you’d best read straight from the source. “In a back room in the venue where we were playing, there was an old fan with a metal blade. I don’t remember the last time I saw a fan with a metal blade. And we paid the drum tech…. Oh god, I forget the exact amount. I think we got the pot up to about 600 deutschmarks.” That pot, Kroeger goes on to intimate, went towards convincing their unfortunate drum tech to “stick his johnson in the fan,” to the delight of band and crewmembers, who reportedly filmed the incident. “I can still hear the ‘bleh-bleh-blehhhhhhh’ of the blade slowly sputtering to a stop, and this blood-curdling scream. It was fantastic.”
For sale: one bass, slightly destroyed
Are you a fan of Nirvana? Bass guitars? How about stuff broken by famous people? If you answered yes to all three questions, Christie’s London auction house has the perfect item of music memorabilia for you; Kris Novoselic’s smashed up bass guitar, as seen in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video. The bass, a Zen-On which was purchased by Novoselic from a pawn shop with the express intent of smashing it on screen, is estimated to sell for between $25,000 and $40,000 at auction in Christie’s entertainment memorabilia sale on Nov. 29. Also up for auction is a personally inscribed copy of Bob Dylan’s High school yearbook and the original whip used in the Indiana Jones movies.
In an interview with the A.V. Club last week, Noel Gallagher was his usual frank self. When asked why he doesn’t hang out with musicians, he said, “Because they’re fucking idiots.” Gallagher went further, explaining his reticence at the thought of forming a new group with British artists: “Oh, fuck that. I don’t fucking mix with anybody—British or any other musicians.” The interview also revealed the singer’s sentiments on his increasingly popular Tales From The Middle Of Nowhere tour blog, which he admitted he only started at the insistence of the people who run his website: “Let’s be under no illusions about what this actually means. It’s just a way of drawing people to the website so I can sell them some shit. That’s all it is.” In response to the mandatory Oasis reunion question, Gallagher acknowledged that a lot of his old band’s contemporaries were reforming, but that didn’t mean it was a good idea for them. He said he knew from experience the one way to get people to stop asking about a reunion was to do it, but he still was not interested. “I’m afraid I won’t be getting involved in any of that. There’s no need for me. I’m not interested in that kind of a thing.”
Bon Iver’s been scraping a lot of barrels lately
Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon has designed a new guitar made from old Bushmill whiskey barrels and built by fellow Eau Claire resident Gordy Bischoff. The guitar, named “The 1608” after the year Bushmills was founded, will be auctioned off on eBay, with proceeds going to Eau Claire’s Confluence Project, which hopes to build a community arts center in Vernon’s home town. “The goal is to put art back on the map in Eau Claire. Far too many artists from this area have had to leave because what we want to do with our lives just isn’t possible here. That’s what the Confluence Project is: to build a center that can be a nucleus for art here in Eau Claire,” said Vernon. Interested in owning The 1608? The auction closes Nov. 1 and the latest bid as of this writing stands at over $8,000.
“Better run, run, run, faster than the bouncer”
Foster The People frontman Mark Foster was kicked out of a Prince gig in Los Angeles last week for using his cell phone. Prince has strictly forbidden the use of phones with recording capabilities at private shows, a rule Foster had apparently disregarded, which got him escorted out of The Sayers Club. The frontman begged security to let him back in, claiming he had an unpaid bar tab and promising that he wouldn’t use his phone to take photos, at which point they acquiesced and allowed the singer back in after checking his phone at the door. Foster was very understanding of the security’s reaction and said of the incident “It’s cool … Prince doesn’t play in front of 100 people every night.”
New York University music students are in for a treat this spring as musical Renaissance man and The Roots drummer Questlove is reportedly on board to teach a course entitled Classic Albums. The idea for the course was partly inspired by an NPR intern’s lackluster review of Public Enemy’s seminal It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. The NPR interns were asked to review classic albums they’d never heard before, and after writing that, given the choice, he’d rather “blast Drake’s infectiously triumphant mp3s every time,” Questlove responded saying it was his job to find out why an album is considered a classic. “He’s one of the smartest people in music, besides being a fantastic musician,” said associate professor of Recorded Music Jason King. “We thought [this class] would speak to his strengths.” The two-credit class will reportedly cover such notable albums as Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Led Zeppelin’s IV, Aretha Franklin’s Lady Soul and Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, among others.
Gaga’s La Vie en Toes
Lady Gaga’s long-time interest in French singer Edith Piaf has taken a turn for the bizarre, as she is reportedly in talks to buy a number of items once owned by the star, such as clothes, shoes, perfume bottles, private letters and even her toenail clippings. Gaga’s people are also looking into buying footage of Piaf’s first filmed performance, as well as licensing some of her songs from EMI. The “Just Dance” singer’s love for the French star has been apparent of late; she’s been playing the icon’s music as an entrance theme at parties and has even requested a party be held at Piaf’s hometown during Paris Fashion week.
Didn’t he graduate from Degrassi?
Ontarian rapper Drake announced his latest accomplishment via twitter last Wednesday; he finally made it through high school. “97% on my final exam. 88% in the course. One of the greatest feelings in my entire life. As of tonight I have graduated high school!” Drake, 25, dropped out of high school to pursue his acting career on Degrassi: The Next Generation, but says an invite to be a guest coach for the University of Kentucky inspired him to get his diploma. “I never really got like a great school experience. And when [University of Kentucky’s] Coach Cal asked me to come here for the first Midnight Madness it just really gave me a sense of school, a sense of love, a sense of belonging to something,” said the new graduate, adding that he felt he belonged to the U of Kentucky family and was “inspired by UK, inspired by these boys right here.”
Goodbye my lover
Ladies, get your hankies. If you haven’t yet caught this English crooner’s live rendition of “You’re Beautiful,” you may have missed your chance. James Blunt revealed to a reporter at The Daily Mail over the weekend that he is officially calling it quits on the music industry. “I just want to take some time out for myself. I haven’t got any plans to do more songwriting,” said Blunt. “I have been chilling out since I finished my world tour and I’ve spent a lot of time in Ibiza, where I have a villa.” Twitter had a field day with the announcement, even Blunt joined in tweeting “I’m pretty sure Adele and James Blunt were dumped by the same man.”
“I’m pretty sure Adele and James Blunt were dumped by the same man.”
“I’m pretty sure Adele and James Blunt were dumped by the same man.”
Grammy-award winning rapper Nelly ran into a bit of trouble last week when border-patrol officers performed a routine search of his tour bus that turned up more than half an ounce of heroin, 10 pounds of marijuana and a loaded .45-caliber pistol. Nelly and his crew were detained but eventually set free once a man named Keith Jones admitted the illegal articles were his and was subsequently arrested. “I’m not gone front I’m MAD as Hell about this,” Nelly tweeted, “2have some1 who works 4u n who u call a friend 4 ova 10years jeopardize ur life WTF?… No excuses for wad he did!” Oddly enough, the search occurred at the now-infamous Sierra Blanca checkpoint in Texas, where musicians such as Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and most recently Fiona Apple were all arrested for drug possession.
Nicks nixes threatening Nicki’s neck
Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks has apologized for her hostile statements regarding Nicki Minaj after the rapper reportedly threatened Mariah Carey on the set of American Idol. “I’m not fucking putting up with her fucking highness over there,” said Minaj in a spat between the two performers during a filming of the show. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Nicks stated her opinion bluntly: “How dare this little girl! . . . If I had been Mariah, I would have walked over to Nicki and strangled her to death right there.” Now the “Edge of Seventeen” singer has thought twice about her harsh words. “I want to apologize for my remarks about Nicki Minaj’s behavior toward Mariah Carey, which I said during a long and exhausting day of interviews.” Nicks said that the comment was completely out of character and that she truly regretted having said it. “I feel very protective toward Mariah Carey, who has gone through many difficulties in her life, and I spoke without thinking. I think all artists should be respectful toward one another and that includes me. I am truly sorry.”
Communication breakdown
The media got to share an uncomfortable moment with Led Zeppelin last week as a press conference for the band’s new DVD Celebration Day, which documents their 2005 reunion show at the O2 arena, went a little sour. “There’s a masseuse in here who’s not a journalist. I think that’s ever so exciting,” said a visibly annoyed Robert Plant early on. Soon after, a radio host commended the new film, but claimed it might not “quench the thirst of those who wished to see you in the flesh” to which the band remained silent, until Jimmy Page replied simply, “Sorry!” Rumors and questions regarding a possible Led Zeppelin reunion swirled around the conference, which Plant addressed obliquely, speaking about the O2 concert: “There were moments where we took off . . . but the responsibility of doing that four nights a week for the rest of time is a different thing. We’re pretty good at what we do but the tail should never wag the dog, really.”
Vegetarian Thai restaurant ChuChai makes for a calm and modern dining experience. Photo by Marilla Steuter-Martin
Editor’s Intro
Whether it’s a food trend, a generational thing, or the number of studies we are bombarded with on the health risks of red meat, there is no denying that vegetarianism is spreading across Canada. According to the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s “Canadian Food Trends to 2020,” citizens have become more cautious as to what they are eating, continually increasing their consumption of meatless meals. Restaurant owners and media outlets, like the Food Network, are paying attention to this shift in healthy living, incorporating vegetarian options on their menu and teaching viewers how they can prepare a healthy, meatless meal in under 20 minutes. Even Mario Batali, a well-know American-Italian chef who is no stranger to a great piece of prosciutto, has integrated Meatless Monday options to 14 of his restaurants. While we’re not expecting everyone to take on a vegetarian lifestyle, there are delicious ways to incorporate some meatless meals in your omnivorous diet; here are few of our favourite choices around Montreal!
Chow down at ChuChai
Andrew Guilbert
Staff Writer
ChuChai is back in business after a long reconstruction period that started way back in February, and Montreal vegetarians are grateful for its return.
Vegetarian Thai restaurant ChuChai makes for a calm and modern dining experience. Photo by Marilla Steuter-Martin
This restaurant sells itself as Thai vegetarian food with an upscale feel and a wine list to match. Though the menu can seem pricey to the uninitiated (meals run from 12$ to 20$), the unique presentation and intimate atmosphere make for a dining experience that accentuates the calm, modern vibe that goes hand in hand with chef Lily Sirikittikul’s creations.
The main attraction here is the series of “fake meat” dishes you can order; fish, duck, beef, chicken and shrimp are all reproduced in both taste and texture through the magic of soy, seitan and various vegetables coming together.
The simulacrum is so uncanny that a vegetarian friend of mine recounted how he once shocked an acquaintance of his by inviting him out to ChuChai and chowing down on the fake meat in front of his incredulous dinner guest. A personal favorite is the duck in red curry with pineapple, tomato and basil, which comes drizzled and stepped with a liberal amount of sweet, tangy sauce that demand you order an extra rice bowl just to finish it off.
The main courses aren’t the only draw to this modern St-Denis eatery; the appetizers are a brilliant amalgamation of oriental tastes, vibrant colors and simple, delicate presentation. Warranting particular note is the award winning Miam Kram, a unique combination of tastes like ginger, lemon and peanuts is served on a leaf you fold around the piled ingredients and pop into your mouth. It makes for a fresh, crisp morsel you won’t find the likes of anywhere else on the island.
ChuChai is located on 4088 Saint Denis St.
Aux Vivres deceives the palate
Andrew Guilbert
Staff writer
Aux Vivres was my go-to place during my lean, vegan years and despite my relapse into the world of carnivorism, it remains a mainstay
of my restaurant rotation. Why, you ask? Because it’s not a good vegan restaurant; it’s a good restaurant that just so happens to be vegan.
Vegan restaurant Aux Vivres serves veggie bowls, burgers, salads and soul food. Photo by Madelayne Hajek
The menu features a wide selection under different sections; veggie bowls, burgers, salads, soul food, sandwiches and smoothies, ranging between $10 and $20. Whatever piques your fancy, you can find something to your liking.
There’s also a detailed tea list with a dozen different brews to choose from, as well as a dessert menu that features a fantastic “uncheescake” that will make you wonder how they can make this stuff without cream.
If you’re curious about their vegan cuisine, I recommend the BLT on chapati bread. The ‘B’ in this case is a coconut confection made to resemble, but not reproduce, the texture of bacon. What makes this sandwich truly remarkable, however, is the faux mayonnaise they use to lend it a nice, moist counterpoint to the hard crunch of fresh lettuce and coconut bacon. It’s enough to warrant suggesting they enter the commercial market with an “I can’t believe it’s not mayo!” product of some sort.
If Asian cuisine is more your thing, give the Macro bowl a try. A generous serving of steamed spinach, sauerkraut, bok choy, wakame, sprouts, miso-tahini sauce and grilled tofu or tempeh makes for an impressive amount of food that will leave you satisfied, but won’t leave you feeling bloated.
Aux Vivres is located on 4631 Saint Laurent Boulevard.
Lola Rosa gets creative with veggies
Marta Barnes
Contributor
Lola Rosa café is one of those places for vegetarians and carnivores alike. it’s not just that their food is amazing for veggie monsters, it’s
Photo from Flickr.
that this food is just plain amazing and should be added as a point of pilgrimage for all Montrealers.
Their menu is a long list of imaginative dishes like tomato pie, hempburger, and the Rosa salad with chickpeas, oranges, feta cheese and hot peppers. With that said, their most popular choices are quesadillas, three cheese and spinach lasagna, and the quiche of the day which is always a fail-safe for the indecisive.
The quiche, served with a side of rice and salads, is wholesome with a crust that would give your French-Canadian grandmother envie. They have an excellent take on quesadillas as well, which taste more like they’re folded with a crepe rather than your run-of-the-mill corn tortilla.
If put to a vote though, the best has to be the lasagna, a generous portion of baked cheese melting in and over creamy layers of spinach and pasta. All is mid-priced, averaging around $12 a dish.
For dessert, the absolute standout is the seasonal pumpkin pie. The filling is velvety, halfway between a pie and a cheesecake, but it is the pressed sesame seed crust that makes it a superstar among pumpkin pastries. Dusted with cinnamon and served à la mode, the pie absorbs the senses so thoroughly, even the rowdiest table crowd will fall silent for the first few bites.
As for a quick appreciation of the décor, the wood paneling, chalkboards, cushions, and worn wood furniture packed close together give it an easy-going, yet carefully styled bohemian vibe. Don’t forget to leave a note behind in one of the hidden drawers!
Lola Rosa is located on 545 Milton St.
Bonnys is a humble, earthly, hidden gem
Nicole Yeba
Contributor
When I stepped inside Bonnys, I noticed a wall that consisted of long branches of wood and speakers inside a small log near the ceiling.
The boca burger at Bonnys restaurant. Photo by Nicole Yeba.
With only 12 tables, the restaurant has a very intimate atmosphere. The wood, plants, and shades of green and yellow give the room an earthy feel. They have reusable tablecloths rather than paper napkins which are only used once, perfectly suitable for such a restaurant.
I ordered a platter of the boca burger, which consists of a homemade chickpea flour and black bean burger. It’s served with an avalanche of fresh salsa, cheddar cheese, organic sour cream and sliced avocado. The platter comes with a large chef’s salad and nachos. The burger is covered with salsa, making it almost impossible to eat without utensils.
I had never tried a vegetarian burger before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was very good and extremely filling. With taxes, it was roughly $16, so not cheap, but worth it if you’re willing to splurge a little.
Owner Bonnie Tees wasn’t at the restaurant so I chatted with one of her employees, Jazmine Johansson. She has been working at Bonnys for three years now, and is a fellow Concordia student. When I asked her about the clientele, she informed me that they are mostly regulars. Some customers even go daily to buy their lunch. Johansson mentioned that the crowd is older, with few students and she said she doesn’t understand why.
In my opinion, the lack of young clients might be due to the fact that Bonnys is located in an uncommon area for students. Overall, we could both agree that the restaurant is a hidden gem for veggie lovers!
