But I Like It (2006) Joe Sacco Joe Sacco has made his name as a comic artist by reporting on some of the most troubled and violent regions around the world. Before becoming a war reporter however, Sacco followed neo-Psychedelic punk band The Miracle Workers to Berlin, where he later worked desiging posters and album […]
The life of a successful musician includes long days on the road. What better company than a good book? Before playing at the Reference Library in April 2011, Mike Belitsky of Toronto's The Sadies shared some of his favourite titles with the Make Some Noise crew. The Man in the High Castle (1992) Philip […]
Heavy Rotation: twenty writers on the albums that changed their lives (2009) Peter Terzian (ed.) What albums have had profound effects on your life? And what have they led you to do? In this collection of essays, Peter Terzian asks some of the brightest voices in literature what album has inspired them. Find out why […]
Riot Grrrl: Revolution Girl Style Now! (2007) Nadine Monem (editor) The Riot Grrl movement found its name in Olympia in the early 1990s, and was built (in the words of Beth Ditto) "by a handful of girls who felt empowered, who were angry, hilarious, and extreme through and for each other". Riot Grrrl is a […]
Cover Art By: New Music Graphics (2008) Adrian Shaughnessy In the age of the MP3, a record's sleeve or CD's cover is an often overlooked part of a recording. Yet the art that girds an album has the potential to be a critical part of the experience a recording creates as a whole. Toronto band […]
Treat me Like Dirt: an Oral History of Punk in Toronto and Beyond 1977 -1981 (2009) Liz Worth While Iggy Pop was tearing up CBGBs in New York and the Sex Pistols and The Damned were scandalising London, Toronto was home to its own punk rock explosion. Bands like Teenage Head, The Diodes and the […]
Grunge (2009) Michael Lavine In the late 1980's a new style of music started creeping out of the clubs and garages of the American west coast. Dubbed "grunge" in a tounge-and-cheek interview, this new sound quickly revolutionized both the hair rock and the punk scenes that it emerged from. Michael Lavine, an amateur photographer who […]
I Shot a Man in Reno: a History of Death by Murder, Suicide, Fire, Flood, Drugs, Disease, and General Misadventure, as Related in Popular Song (2008) Graeme Thomson In this slim volume, Graeme Thomson mines the fascinating relationship between death and popular music. Discounting the theory that death is simply too grim and depressing a […]
Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway (2010) Cherie Currie It would be easy to treat Cherie Currie's 2010 autobiography as yet another cautionary tale about the cost of fame at a young age. Her story, like those of so many other performers who achieved celebrity status as children, is full of substance addiction, manipulation […]
War Child: a Child Soldier's Story (2009) Emmanuel Jal In this powerful book, Sudanese rapper Emmanuel Jal describes his turbulent childhood in war-torn Sudan, and his journey to becoming an internationally recognised musician. When he was still a very young boy, Jal was forced into a guerilla army by his father. While other children were […]