“I was a punk before you were a punk
You don’t believe me? Just step outside and see me baby
I was a punk before you were a punk
You want some action? I’ll put your ass in traction baby
I was a punk before you were
I was a punk before you
I was a punk before you were
I was a punk before you”
The Tubes (Spooner/Evans/Waybill)
Be it in Canada, or while visiting our neighbours to the south, I have always been an east coast type of guy. Give me Halifax over Vancouver, St. John’s over Victoria and, most definitely New York over Los Angeles. In the past I spent a lot of time in both New York and L.A. as back in the good old days these were the two epicentres of the record biz. L.A. can have its charms in the short term, what with the weather and the ocean, but it is strange to be in a town where nobody walks. I walk everywhere and think nothing of a quick jaunt from the Beach in Toronto to downtown. People in New York walk. Manhattan streets are an obstacle course of fast moving people, yellow cabs, constant honking and ever present sirens. There is an energy and attitude in NYC that is sadly lacking in L.A..
I’ve often called myself a Toronto snob. I was born and raised in this city, and no matter where else I go in the world, I’ll always think of it as home. I love Toronto so very much. There’s no better reminder of how much I love this city than when visitors from far away places come to the city, and I get a chance to show them my Toronto. Not the CN Tower, the Skydome (I will never call it by its other corporate name thank you!) I’m talking about the fun little places that I have come to love, and love showing off to people who come to town.
Kids today will never know the joy of endlessly browsing in a record store with no set agenda. The hours that were happily wasted on Saturday afternoons at Sam The Record Man, Records On Wheels, A&A’s or The Record Peddler are immeasurable. It was time well spent. CD shopping is just not the same and digital shopping/hunting is an aural and not visual experience. The album cover was a great size, 12” X 12” (versus the miniscule 5” X 5” of a CD). An album cover could capture your attention, demand you to pick it up and read the back for the vital information which would or would not persuade you to shell out your six or seven dollars.
Music and fashion are two things that have always interested me. Before I started writing about music, I wrote the occasional piece for local online magazine Toronto Street Fashion, and I really enjoyed it. So when it was pointed out to me recently that I tend to include the occasional fashion commentary in my music reviews, I wasn’t all that surprised. To me, music and fashion are two forms of self-expression that go hand in hand.
