Whether you're happily married or told Cupid to shove it a long time ago, we can all agree on one thing: to quote the one-and-only Nazareth, "Love hurts/ Love scars/ Love wounds/ And mars." Or something.
That's why we went ahead and compiled a list of 36 Songs To Soothe the Pain, from the bloodletting confessionals of Neko Case, Bright Eyes and Sunny Day Real Estate to the melancholic melodies of Sigur Rós, the Shangri-Las… more »
Indie-rock in the '00s was hardly the same animal as indie-rock two decades before, and much of the blame should probably go to Nirvana. In the '80s, labels like SST and Touch & Go were built on testosterone. But when grunge went multiplatinum in the '90s, rock bands brandishing palpable physicality suddenly qualified as mainstream again, and the bigger indies started adopting a more effete and introverted aesthetic. So if you skim down a list… more »
Datelines Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Montreal circa 2003: Something happened in the asymmetrical four corners of Canada. We don't know what it was, but it was perpetrated by Canadians - who are not unlike Americans but, as their socialized medicine, relative humility and widespread knowledge of French make clear, are not like Americans at all. Throughout the '90s, Canada was viewed as an indie-rock backwater, home to oddball outfits - DIY-folk duo Mecca Normal, psych-guitar… more »
