That time I asked Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready what he thought was so great about Neil Young

By Steve Newton I like Pearl Jam a lot. And I really love Neil Young. So when those two got together for the Mirror Ball album back in 1995 I was in hog heaven. I would listen to my favourite track, "I'm the Ocean", over and over again. When I interviewed Pearl Jam guitarist Mike … Continue reading That time I asked Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready what he thought was so great about Neil Young

Rock and Roll Damnation: the heavy-metal concert review as post-secondary writing exercise

By Steve Newton There's a comedic reading series running in Vancouver called Teen Angst Night, where people read embarrassing things they wrote as a youth. This is kinda like that. When I was taking English 304 at UBC one of the assignments was to write something where each sentence started with a different letter of … Continue reading Rock and Roll Damnation: the heavy-metal concert review as post-secondary writing exercise

Pink Floyd blows Vancouver away on its A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 18, 1987 By Steve Newton Seeing Pink Floyd live is a luxury that every rock fan should allow him or herself at least once. Yours truly took advantage of the opportunity to do just that last Thursday (December 10), along with about 44,000 other lucky dogs at B.C. Place. It was my first Floydian experience, and … Continue reading Pink Floyd blows Vancouver away on its A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour

I played Neil Young’s “I’m the Ocean” eight times on my shitty commute today

By Steve Newton My morning commute from Delta to Vancouver can really suck—mainly because of a concrete montrosity called the Alex Fraser Bridge—but every now and again I slide in a CD that makes the trip a little less painful. Today I chose Neil Young's Mirror Ball album—that awesome one from '95 that he recorded with the … Continue reading I played Neil Young’s “I’m the Ocean” eight times on my shitty commute today