Results tagged “sonicboom”

Once upon a time, people shopped for music in these things called "record stores." Some of these relics still exist, and although Toronto's motley crew of music retailers is still licking its collective wound after not being deemed good enough to be considered Canada's best—or even one of the top five best!—in CBC's initial Searchlight contest, they're a beloved part of our city's storefront scape.

American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann will be making an appearance in Toronto this week. She’s about to embark on a tour in support of her new album, @#%&*! Smilers (out June 3), which will see her back in Toronto for a concert on August 28, but you can catch a sneak preview instore at Sonic Boom (512 Bloor Street West) this Friday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m.

Nominations are in for CBC Radio 3's #1 Independent Record Store in Canada. Of the 47 stores repping St. John's to Victoria, Toronto holds a tidy seven spots. Best city odds of the competition. Drumroll: Penguin Music, Criminal Records, Monster Records, Slinky Music, Rotate This, Sonic Boom, and Soundscapes.

Hot on the heels of a sweet little in-store at Sonic Boom, Brooklyn's Nada Surf have further endeared themselves to Torontoist (and allowed us to make yet another obvious "Popular" joke) by so obviously featuring our wonderful city in their new video for "I Like What You Say" (via Chromewaves) from their upcoming full-length, Lucky. How weird would it be if the band actually played a show at Filmore's? Only a sad animated cardboard box knows.

Sure, they penned the obviously raddest one-hit-wonder of 1996, but since that fateful year, full of cheerleaders and homoerotic football players, Nada Surf have continued to rage against the dying of that hit-single light. They may have fallen off MTV's radar, but so have most things north of Christina Aguilera's baby-bump. Since leaving Elektra in 1998, the band have built a quiet following of appreciative indie rockers around the world, unconcerned with attaining the high-rotation status that launched their career in the first place. Their last record, 2005's The Weight is a Gift, was called "a top-notch collection of sad-eyed guitar ballads" by Rolling Stone, and was their second album to be released by some label that also includes a band that's all about killing people in taxis, or something. Its follow-up, Lucky, is scheduled for release on February 5, and for no particular reason at all, the band are celebrating early with a Toronto in-store this Wednesday, January 9.

Each weekday morning, we pick a recent image from the Torontoist Flickr Pool and feature it here on the site. It's our way to give the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention they deserve!

, seemed to be getting attention in Toronto too, including a large display at Sonic Boom. But Jim Noir himself was not so lucky crossing the ocean. When Sean Lennon took the stage at the Opera House last week, he welcomed Noir and his band, saying he was glad they could finally join them - apparently trouble at the border had forced them to cancel their appearance at some shows. Fortunately for us, Noir was able to not only take the stage, but speak with Torontoist for a moment as well.

It’s weird to think of used CD stores belonging to another era, but apparently it’s true. In just a short time, stores like Sonic Boom and Second Spin have added vinyl to their selection, while others are going out of business. One of these is Flash and Crash- its selection is/was second to none and never outrageously priced. (Note to other used record stores: you just can’t price a used cd at $19.99 and write “NEW” on the tiny white sticker. Nobody is going to believe you.) Passing by Flash and Crash today, it was advertising its imminent closure with all CDs selling for 25% off. So if you’re out on the weekend and nearby, check out the sale or just pay your dues to one of the former highlights of the record shopping ritual.

In this episode, we find our hero getting his used CD's turfed at Sonic Boom, the "we'll take anything" new and used CD shop. Illustrated by Continue reading "The Further Adventures of...Torontoist at the CD Store"