There are a ton of bad pop-punk albums out there. Most of them sprung up in the late-90’s in the wake of the success of bands like Green Day, NOFX, Pennywise but really mostly Green Day. Suddenly you couldn’t turnRead more…
Tales from the Bargain Bin: Life of Agony – Ugly
Back in September I lamented the decline of CD shops in Toronto. But I took solace in the fact that Neurotica was still occupying Queen St. West. (aside: Sonic Boom occupies a prime spot on Spadina north of Queen andRead more…
Tales from the Bargain Bin: No Doubt – Return of Saturn
In the mid-90’s, No Doubt was an omnipresent force. Their album “Tragic Kingdom” had blown up. The first two singles “Just a Girl” and “Spiderwebs” enjoyed plenty of airplay on alternative rock radio and Muchmusic. But it was “Don’t Speak”Read more…
Tales from the Bargain Bin: Goo Goo Dolls – S/T
People love to rip on the Goo Goo Dolls. They have had some of the most persistent ballads on alternative rock radio. First there was “Name” from 1995’s “A Boy Named Goo” and then there was “Iris” from the “CityRead more…
Tales from the Bargain Bin: Jesus Jones – Liquidizer
Jesus Jones will forever be known as the group that spawned super-duper hit “Right Here, Right Now.” The album that contained it, “Doubt,” was pretty good. What I didn’t expect was for its predecessor “Liquidizer” to be even better. InRead more…
Tales from the Bargain Bin: Clothes Make The Man
I recently picked up Clothes Make The Man’s self-titled record in a dollar bin on Queen West. The bin was actually on the sidewalk a couple feet from the store. It was almost as if the store was saying “please,Read more…
Tales from the Bargain Bin: Dance Hall Crashers – Blue Plate Special
It dawned on me the other day that I’m going to have fewer bargain bins to dig around in. Sunrise Records is pulling out of Toronto, to the surprise of no one. Sonic Boom has also been reducing the sizeRead more…
Tales From the Bargain Bin: Romeo Liquor Store – Switchblade
You’ve gotta respect the tenacity of Toronto band Romeo Liquor Store. I was stunned to learn a couple months ago that they are still playing shows. But I shouldn’t have been. They play a timeless sort of take-no-prisoners bar rock.Read more…
Tales From the Bargain Bin: Sugar Ray – 14:59
I once heard that Sugar Ray’s album “Floored” was the most returned album of all-time. Fact or myth, it’s not much of a stretch. The lead single off the album was a sunny reggae-tinged pop song called “Fly” and thereRead more…
Tales From the Bargain Bin: De La Soul – Saturdays
Over the weekend I did a surprising amount crate digging. I had a little break from the city and spent a couple of days checking out some small towns in south western Ontario. I had no intention of looking forRead more…