Those of us who delighted in the intelligent absurdity of Python will remember Terry Jones foremost as a Pepperpot, or perhaps as the bowler-topped City Gent.
Obituary
Neil Peart, 1952–2020
Neil Peart yielded an army of air drummers, and at one time or another many of us were the Jason Segel character from Freaks and Geeks, playing along to Tom Sawyer in our parents’ basement.
Gord Downie, 1964–2017
It’s too soon to say what Downie’s influence and legacy will be as these pertain to his twilight interest in Chanie Wenjack and Indigenous people generally. But his place in the firmament of Canadian music is well established.
Tom Petty, 1950–2017
When Tom Petty arrived forty years ago I was ready. I first got into music during that delicious interval when British rock was still king but when its chief rivals—punk, post-punk, and new wave—were charging the palace gate. It was the 1970s and Rock-n-Roll having crossed the Atlantic over a decade before was now crossing back.
Remembering Tom Magliozzi (1937–2014)
IT’S BEEN SO LONG now, I don’t remember exactly when I discovered Car Talk. But I know what got me hooked immediately, likely around twenty years ago: the infectious laugh of Tom Magliozzi. He and his brother Ray had already… Read More ›
Another Way of Looking at Minister Flaherty
THE CURRENCY of the word outpouring was notable this week: over at the National Post, Michael Den Tandt has not only described the phenomenon, but indulged it himself. His essay “Former finance minister Jim Flaherty’s death leaves a void in… Read More ›
Looking Back At Nirvana
KURT COBAIN WAS NOT a generation’s representative, a spokesperson, or even a rock star. Many tried to press him into these and other molds, much to his frustration, but it happens that he was a songwriter always on the search… Read More ›
Podcast #001: Paul Fussell, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ethical Oil … and more
• Podcast 001 | Week of 23.06.2012 Media Round-up / Retrospective of Paul Fussell (1924-2012) / Ethical Oil / Over- and Under-reported media stories / This week’s game: Portmanteau Titles (examples: “Erin Go Brockovich” “To Kill Two Mockingbirds with One… Read More ›
Remembering Christopher Hitchens
I FIRST CAME across the writer Christopher Hitchens when he was a young Socialist contributing his “Minority Report” to the Nation. Very much yet in his soixante-huitard, Trotskyist phase, if not in possession any longer of his Socialist International card,… Read More ›
Gaddafi: The Last of the Longest Rule
IF YOU are at or under the age of forty-two, Moammar Gaddafi has presided over Libya the full span of your life. This factoid must certainly describe the majority of Libyans, most of whom have never known of life under… Read More ›
Steve Jobs: an imperfect perfectionist
IN THE present context, the metaphor may well be an anachronism; nonetheless, I will begin with bookends drawn from my personal relationship with Apple products. The computer on which I have typed the words you are reading is an Apple… Read More ›
Remembering Rick Martin
It’s odd what one recalls years after — the expression of a face, a sound, words spoken which at the time seemed of no special importance. I remember the smell of the glossy hockey programs sold in the 1970s and… Read More ›
Jake Swamp, A Man of Roots
Jake Swamp, 1941-2010 I didn’t know Jake Swamp, but as the saying goes I knew of him. Few are the Kanienkehaka who don’t. Or rather — I must get used to this now — didn’t. This morning I was informed… Read More ›
