With a rotating membership of over 3,000 people, Choir! Choir! Choir! make sprawling indie rock bands like Broken Social Scene seem compact. Founded in February 2011 by Nobu Adilman and Daveed Goldman, the group meets every Tuesday at No One Writes to the Colonel and every Wednesday at the Monarch Tavern to sing pop favourites.
On Saturday (December 15), 100 members will travel by school bus to perform at Sunnybrook Hospital, Holland-Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and the Briton House Retirement Centre (the last is closed to the public). They’re asking audiences to donate to The Stop Community Food Centre, and you can sponsor a singer at choirchoirchoir.com.
K’naan admits to self-censorship
In Somali-Canadian rapper K’naan’s revealing and moving essay in the New York Times last weekend, he admitted that his label influenced his decision to tone down references to his ethnicity and politics on his fourth album, 2012’s Country, God Or The Girl.
We’d noticed the shift in his approach on the preceding EP, More Beautiful Than Silence, and were disappointed to have to give it only a NN rating. K’naan makes a much better leader than he does a follower of top-40 trends, so here’s hoping he’s put that anxiety about building his audience to rest for good.
Dave Bookman Leaves the Edge
News broke Monday, December 10, that veteran on-air personality Dave Bookman is leaving 102.1 the Edge after more than 20 years behind the mic. It feels like the end of an era he was the last of the CFNY hosts still associated with the station. No word yet on what’s next for Bookman, but we’ll bet good money it’ll be music-related.
In brief
Canadian prog rock legends Rush are finally being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
