Scan, by Walter Jury and S. E. Fine Tate hates the intense pressure his dad puts on him, and in a moment of rebellion, breaks into his lab and steals a piece of equipment he’s never seen before. Turns out it’s highly sought after by both sides of a struggle he never even knew was […]
The Hit, by Melvin Burgess Adam and Lizzie were at the concert that started it all – the one where Jimmy Earle died onstage after taking the drug Death, which gives you one amazing week, and then kills you. The riots that are heading for revolution started that night, as did a week of romance […]
Vinland Saga, vol. 1 – by Makoto Yukimura Life among Vikings was never easy, but when mercenaries are hired by bloodthirsty Jomsvikings to deal out penance to a former hero turned deserter, it’s going to get ugly. This is just the start of the story, of course, as you can bet his young son is […]
Last week Sub Pop, one of the grandaddies of what you might think of as modern indie labels, turned 25. For those of us who are, er, more than 25, this is pretty amazing, seeing as they were right at the epicentre of grunge, and the label that put out Nirvana's 1989 debut, Bleach. (Not […]
Even if The Beatles were so long ago they could have been your grandparen’ts' music, you've almost certainly heard of them. They are, after all, about as iconic as it gets in music, keeping company with the greats easily. (If you're curious, there's a sweet little graphic novel about their early days on our music […]
Music can remind you instantly of a person – or can strongly evoke a place you know (or once knew). Referring to places, too, can bring up an image of a familiar place, an exotic locale, or a bustling city, just with a name. It's a strange power, that, and one songwriters tap into regularly. […]
There's something about a love song. The right one will hit you right where you live and make you think of a person, place, or time in a strikingly raw and visceral way. We all have those songs, right? I've been realizing, as I read through some of our summer books, how many books tie […]
And afterwards, if you are the brothers in the graphic novel series Black Metal (#2 is on our summer list!). Or, if you start early, that could be a loooong time away. The 12 year olds who make up the metal band Unlocking The Truth, for example, have got a whole lifetime of thrashing ahead […]
Last winter, the TV show Wedding Band was my favourite guilty pleasure. It centres around the lives and escapades of a wedding band that plays covers and themes as the clients wish, and features personal drama, ridiculous costumes and scenarios, a rival band, and of course, lots and lots of covers of songs by other […]
The Rock Doc is nothing new – hell, there's even been mockumentaries like the famous This Is Spinal Tap going way back, the ultimate stamp of "yep, it's a genre." Usually, I'm not super excited about seeing behind the scenes – it always seems a little… anticlimactic, maybe? This spring, though, Green Day launched a […]