Like virtually every other music festival on the planet, Iceland Airwaves was deeply affected by COVID-19. The event went virtual in 2020 and last year under the banner “Live from Reykjavík” with the latter a socially distanced hybrid across just four venues on a single night that ended with the country going back into lockdown... Continue Reading →
Iceland shuts down, but music continues
Just like the disastrous 12-month period that was 2020, music tours and festivals continue to get scuttled this year, including Iceland Airwaves, the annual event that brings international artists far and wide to Reykjavík, the world’s most Northernly capital just below the Arctic Circle. Last year, organizers of Airwaves presented “Live from Reykjavík,” a highly... Continue Reading →
‘Live from Reykjavík’ music fest streams this weekend
Right about now, I should be chilling in a hot pot in the land of ice and snow for the annual Iceland Airwaves music festival, which I’ve been covering for nearly a decade. The coronavirus pandemic has put a hold on pretty much everything entertainment-wise though, and it’s become impossible to draw large groups of... Continue Reading →
30 Years Ago: ‘Back to the Future II’ Doubles Down on Time Travel
It's been three decades since the follow-up to the most successful film of 1985 delivered a sequel. Back to the Future II saw Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) go to the year 2015 then back again to 1955 in a tale full of time traveling twists and turns. For the... Continue Reading →
Havin’ it in Toronto
One of the musical acts I've been into for a couple years now is Sleaford Mods, an inventive duo out of England. Stripped down, it's observational punk hip-hop with frontman Jason Williamson spouting off about working class struggles with a mixture of humor, anger and disbelief backed by the laptop created beats from Andrew Fearn.... Continue Reading →
69 to 99 Moving Finds: Part Three
This one wasn't really a "moving find" per se, since it's been hanging on my wall since returning from the first time I went to Iceland in 2011. Jón Sæmundur Auðarson is an Icelandic artist who created the Dead project in 2003, nine years after he was diagnosed HIV positive. The message behind Dead is... Continue Reading →
“I Was Spinning Free…”
This week marks the 15th anniversary of Jimmy Eat World's breakthrough effort Bleed American. To mark the occasion, I did a short piece on the record for Diffuser. But personally, the album remains one of those which represents a particular period in time; in this case the summer of 2001. Having just graduated from college,... Continue Reading →
Double Talkin’ Jive
By design, I ended up in Las Vegas for a few days to catch the first "official" show of the Guns N' Roses reunion tour. What a trip that town is. Never really been a fan, in fact the only time I spent an extended period there was with an ex whose parents had a... Continue Reading →