A moment of appreciation for the Bloorcourt street signs
Richie Assaly
@rdassaly.bsky.social
Writes about music, books and politics. https://linktr.ee/richieassaly
Some thoughts on last night’s Kelala show at the Danforth, which was exceptional. Don’t think I’ve heard a louder, more exuberant audience at a venue of that size. For @exclaimdotca.bsky.social
Kelela's Otherworldly Vision Came to Life in Toronto │ Exclaim!
Danforth Music Hall, October 7
exclaim.ca
Didn’t realize Anne Carson wrote concert reviews. This is incredible
Anne Carson · On Rosalía
We require heroism of our entertainers. We want them sacrificing themselves to a certain ultimate degree of input. No...
lrb.co.uk
Very big news for Canadian literature. My buddy Zak wrote a beautiful piece on Anne Carson a few years back (she even answered a few of his questions!): www.thestar.com/entertainmen...
Tender and ironic, gorgeous and sensationally weird — considering Toronto poet Anne Carson’s best-known work as it turns 25
“Autobiography of Red” is a mesmerizing opening gambit to the poet’s astonishing body of work.
thestar.com
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2d agoBreaking News: The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson. nyti.ms/4yCUebH
Check out the guy who was set to co-host Brad Bradford’s campaign event on Thursday www.thestar.com/news/gta/bra...
Kawhi Leonard is a Raptor and Deerhunter is reuniting… welcome back 2019!
Stereogum@stereogum.com · 4d agoDeerhunter's Bradford Cox and Lockett Pundt, who haven't performed together since 2019, have been added to next year's Big Ears lineup
We’ve got a great food and drink guide to Toronto’s Little Manila in the new issue of @thegrindto.bsky.social Comes with a handy map, too! www.thegrindmag.ca/5-essential-...
Stunning artwork here my latest piece in @forwardcanada.bsky.social, which seeks to unravel the separatist belief that Alberta would be more independent as a petro-state that relies almost exclusively on trade with the U.S.
How Independent Would an Independent Alberta Actually Be? | By Richie Assaly | Forward Weekly
Forward Weekly feature for October 4, 2026.
forwardweekly.ca
I’ll be chatting with Nyla Matuk about her new novel at TPFF tomorrow afternoon. Details: www.tpff.ca/program-2026...
Which high quality local print magazine with a slime-green-and-yellow front page colour scheme are you reading this weekend? @thegrindto.bsky.social @exclaimdotca.bsky.social
“Where are the Zionist organizations who screech about rising antisemitism in the Palestine solidarity movement, when one of their own basically appears to call for the death of the only Jewish leader of a political party in Canada?”
The Breach@breachmedia.ca · last wk.Avi Lewis is a Jewish politician refusing to be silent about Israel’s genocide—and now he’s being threatened with violence. @judred.bsky.social writes that the lack of uproar reveals just how powerful the pro-Israel consensus remains among Canada’s elite. breachmedia.ca/im-familiar-...
Had a chat with Julian and Eph from Polo Lewis, a propulsive pop duo that started their journey busking outside of a weed shop Kensington Market. Their debut is out today. For @newfeelingcoop.bsky.social
Polo Lewis’s Propulsive Pop Channels the Warm Melancholy of Youthful Ennui
Richie Assaly chats with the Toronto group about their colourful, genre-bending sound, blending R&B, garage, drum and bass and hyperpop.
newfeeling.ca
The interview is out! @parismarx.com's Hyperscale is out Oct 20th, and you can catch them explaining what Hyperscale means and why these data centres have become the flashpoint for AI resistance below or anywhere you catch your podcasts. open.spotify.com/episode/0IAx...
The Sudden Rise of the Data Centre w/ Paris Marx (1038)
Green Majority Radio · Episode
open.spotify.com
Richie Assaly (@rdassaly.bsky.social) talked to the duo behind alter-ego musical project Polo Lewis about making genre-bending pop, and how the character helps them navigate the grind of being a young, independent artist in Toronto. Read it here: www.newfeeling.ca/polo-lewis-i...
Polo Lewis’s Propulsive Pop Channels the Warm Melancholy of Youthful Ennui
Richie Assaly chats with the Toronto group about their colourful, genre-bending sound, blending R&B, garage, drum and bass and hyperpop.
newfeeling.ca
The Dinosaur Jr. profile is full of so many gems, so many beautiful and bizarre stories of functional dysfunction. Some of the best and most enlightening music writing I've read in a long time
How Dinosaur Jr. Learned to Tolerate One Another, Kind Of
For 40 years, J Mascis has quietly led his incredibly loud band into the annals of indie rock. But during his annual vacation in Cape Cod, he opened up about almost everything: interpersonal dynamics,...
pitchfork.com
“Reconciliation prompted us to relinquish negative feelings over the past, but many, including myself, were not willing to do that. Because we have not severed from the past. The past endures,” says Billy-Ray Belcourt in an interview about his latest book.
Billy-Ray Belcourt’s Poems Insist on Indigenous Freedom
In his first poetry collection since 2019, the acclaimed author from Driftpile Cree Nation challenges readers to imagine new political possibilities…
thegrindmag.ca
The total amount of rubble in Gaza is 61 million tonnes, approximately 20 times the amount of rubble generated in all wars across the world over the last 18 years. Between 8,000 and 10,000 bodies may still be buried.
61m tonnes of rubble: Gaza aid workers face delicate task of clearing ruins concealing up to 10,000 bodies
Removal of war debris, in which lives, memories and unexploded Israeli bombs lie buried, is one of largest clearance operations in modern history
theguardian.com
Ladies and gentlethings, I present to you the first excerpt from @beckbook.com Many thanks to @nymag.com for putting it in print and to @vulture.com for presenting it so beautifully online Please read, if you are so inclined CW: Uh… intense emotional distress? I don't want to give anything away…
Losing Beck
His acclaimed album, Sea Change, was inspired by a breakup. For his ex-partner, it was the story of how the Church of Scientology took over his life.
vulture.com
Geddy Lee says “he’s not one to make public statements about politicians” before endorsing Brad Bradford. Lee, who just played four sold-out shows in Toronto and was given a heroes welcome at TIFF, says he “truly fears for the future” of the city.
Extraordinary photo from the Polaris. Belongs in a museum
The reason why a lot of Remain campaigners are silent on the immigration questions are because most of them are also trying to take part in the scapegoating, and yes, that includes both the federal Conservatives and Mark Carney.
Opinion: Alberta’s shameless attempt to scapegoat immigrants
Opponents of secession have been vocal, but where are the people standing up for newcomers to the province?
theglobeandmail.com
This is extremely depressing. Three Australian grifters living in Vietnam “because it’s cheap” destroying the media ecosystem by buying up small publications and churning out AI-slop
jon christian@jonchristian.net · 3w agoNEW: We spent months investigating a little-known media startup called Brown Brothers Media, which buys legit news sites and turns them into AI-powered zombie content farms What blew my mind was its traffic -- it appears to be getting more readers than NPR or CBS News futurism.com/artificial-i...
Activists Win Pause on Data Centres in Mississauga, but Questions Remain About Provincial Regulation Mississauga "one of the first big cities to address this matter and push back against this data rush” pressprogress.ca/activists-wi...
Activists Win Pause on Data Centres in Mississauga, But Questions Remain About Provincial Regulation
Mississauga
pressprogress.ca
Just passed Chris Alexander looking very awkward and out of place in Kensington Market
New investigation: an Israeli app that allows political campaigns to feed supporters AI-generated arguments to use on social media has arrived in Canada. It's being used in the highest profile mayoral campaign in Canada, @rorywh.bsky.social reveals.
Toronto mayoral candidate Bradford using Israeli app that feeds supporters AI-generated comments
The Victory App, a campaign tool built by the Israeli company LogiVote, prompted users to participate in a mission to post AI-written comments supportive of Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford.
nationalobserver.com
Everyone’s talking about Charli XCX at Scotiabank, but not a peep about the STAIND/SEETHER/HOOBASTANK/HINDER show at rhe ampitheatre. Taste is dead
