Billy Bragg is a British songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist whose unusual style includes the use of solo electric guitar and reverb-drenched vocals. Born in 1957 in Barking, Essex, Bragg’s musical career took some time to develop. There are many inspirational stories about his dogged persistence in pursuing contracts and opportunities that reveal a great deal about his indomitable character...
Vaporwave: a wtf moment The A E S T H E T I C is a type of sound, not a type of music. It is the essential element of vaporwave. The music in vaporwave is not governed by melody, rhythm, or even good taste. None of this is to speak negatively of the genre, only to describe. The philosophy behind vaporwave is that it conveys an experience. It can be like sitting in a shopping mall listening to the...
KAROLINA WISNIEWSKI
<Opinions Editor>
If you listened really carefully, you could probably hear the collective exasperated sigh let out by Canadian music enthusiasts at 8 pm on March 11th when the lineup for Osheaga 2013 was announced.
TOM WILSON
<Contributor>
In its 195,000 years, homo sapiens has witnessed some incredible musical moments. Who can forget GRAWR SMASHES TWO ROCKS TOGETHER IN A CAVE
TRAVIS WEAGANT
<Editor-in-Chief>
I first saw singer-songwriter Andrew O’Brien in February 2011 as part of Canadian Music Week, right here in Toronto, and I’ve made a point not to miss him ever since. I saw him again last fall at the Free Times Café on College St, and on September 28, he returned to Free Times in fine form.
To begin, the music festival was called “Riotfest”. With a name like that, It’s hard not to draw up visions of crusty punks and black clad anarchists throwing garbage cans through windows and burning copies of the Constitution. In terms of the lineup, it was the musical equivalent of that vision. However, since Riotfest was held on a Sunday, the crowd reacted more like “Hungover-fest”.
KAROLINA WISNIEWSKI <Opinions Editor> All Photos by Rob Noehammer Editor’s Note: The Obiter Dicta doesn’t run in the summer but we couldn’t resist sending Karolina off to Montreal to cover what was perhaps the most well-attended Osheaga ever. Partially a consequence of its exponential surge in popularity within the last year, Osheaga 2012 can best be characterized by a...
WAX FATERSON <Contributor> We all have our ways of coping with law school. I know a girl that bakes to shake away her stress, I know a guy who crawls under his bed when he’s overwhelmed with reading, and I know handfuls of people that cry in the shower during exams. My way of coping with academic stress is to go to hardcore shows. To the uninformed person, hardcore shows may sound like the...