Author | Lightnews

the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · 14d

When words fail, Vivek Shraya sings. On New Models, the multi-hyphenate artist lets language fall away, and feelings take the lead.

“Breaking Our Pattern”

When words fail, Vivek Shraya sings. On New Models, the multi-hyphenate artist lets language fall away, and feelings take the lead.

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · 19d

Funny how the 1980s anxiety and angst of Tears For Fears’ Songs from the Big Chair feel uncomfortably familiar for a forty-year-old album.

Letting out all my thoughts on THE quintessential album of the 80s.

#tearsforfears
#songsfromthebigchair

“Listen”

Funny how the 1980s anxiety and angst of Tears For Fears’ Songs from the Big Chair feel uncomfortably familiar for a forty-year-old album.

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · 28d

Rec Centre’s Squash and @nationoflanguage.bsky.social's Dance Called Memory trace echoes of the past without getting lost in them.

“In Another Life”

Rec Centre’s Squash and Nation of Language’s Dance Called Memory trace echoes of the past without getting lost in them.

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Oct 3

I wonder what the stats are on the number of people who changed their social media statuses to “afflicted by a terminal uniqueness” today?
#eldestdaughter
#theLifeOfAShowgirl

the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Sep 30

The first stop of a reverse reflection on the music of @bobpetesarah.bsky.social / Saint Etienne is 2025’s International, their latest—and last ever—album as a band.

“The Last Time”

The first stop of a reverse reflection on the music of Saint Etienne is 2025’s International, their latest—and last ever—album as a band.

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Sep 18

Cleared for takeoff.
Air Etienne: INTNL → ALPHA, a reverse reflection on the music of Saint Etienne @bobpetesarah.bsky.social from International (2025) to Foxbase Alpha (1991) is now boarding.
[credit: Rob Baker Ashton]

Air Etienne: Now Boarding

A reverse reflection on the music of Saint Etienne, from International (2025) to Foxbase Alpha (1991)

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Sep 16

Two albums, two very different moods, one post. Sweat it out with Hidden Cameras' Bronto, then drift away with Winter's Adult Romantix.

“How do you love?”

2 IN 1: The Hidden Cameras, Winter

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Sep 15

Dan Gorman @yckmd.bsky.social of the Discover Tab invited me to share five Canadian crate-digging-worthy records from @raespoon.bsky.social @purelava.bsky.social #VivekShraya #Devours, and #LittleKid.

Digging for Something with Jim Di Gioia of the act of just being [t]here

Overlooked, underrated, over-hated or regionally specific gems.

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Sep 9

And be sure to scroll to the end to follow the *suede list* playlist on Apple Music and Tidal.

the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Sep 9

Antidepressants is alive with urgency, proof that @suedehq.bsky.social aren’t anywhere near taking their last breath. Read the final installment in a retro-flection series that has come full circle from past to present.

“Life is Endless, Life is a Moment”

suede: a retro-flection, POSTLUDE, Antidepressants (and a playlist)

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Sep 4

This is the last Intermission in the suede: a retro-flection series. Tomorrow, the band releases Antidepressants, and I will share my thoughts as a postlude review for the whole series next Tuesday.

the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Sep 4

No one:
Me: Why, yes! I do have 10 favourites from @suedehq.bsky.social's Sci_Fi Lullabies Vol. 2!

Re-Introducing the B-Sides: 10 Best from Sci-Fi Lullabies Vol. 2

Suede: a retro-flection, FOURTH INTERMISSION

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Sep 2

@thetragicallyhip.bsky.social has long carried a complicated weight in Canadian culture: symbols of pride and place, yet often embraced in ways that skim the surface of their music’s depth. There’s still so much more to unpack in what their songs say about who we are, and who we pretend to be.

“To Boldly Clap in a Room Full of Nothing”

What the Tragically Hip tells so-called Canadians about who they are and what they pretend to be.

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 28

Summer’s almost over, pumpkin spice is plotting world domination, and I’m not ready. Good thing these four new albums from Hand Habits, TOPS, Water From Your Eyes, and Kathleen Edwards are all kinds of blue (the sleeves) and none of them are blue (the music).

“Bluebird[s] of Happiness”

4x4 with Hand Habits, TOPS, Kathleen Edwards, and Water From Your Eyes

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 26

With 2022’s Autofiction, @suedehq.bsky.social proved that old geezers can still be punk into their pensioners’ era. Restless, urgent, and unexpectedly intimate, it's an album that punk has no best-before date. The penultimate act in my retro-flection revisit is now live.

Autofiction

suede: a retro-flection, ACT NINE

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 22

What in heavens name is a Labubu?

the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 22

Includes my favourite New Pornographers song of all time: “The Bleeding Heart Show.” Classic album.

Stereogum @stereogum.com · Aug 22

The New Pornographers' power-pop motherlode 'Twin Cinema' turns 20 tomorrow. A look back:

The New Pornographers' 'Twin Cinema' Turns 20

Carl Newman was on an unstoppable tear — an all-time NBA Jam “HE’S ON FIRE” power-pop onslaught. His band the New Pornographers had exploded out of Vancouver with their high-powered, ultra-catchy 2000...

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 21

You wanna talk shoegaze? Come at me. But @nojoy.bsky.social’s Bugland is more than just shoegazey, it’s its own living, breathing world.
[ @handdrawndracula.bsky.social / @soniccathedral.bsky.social ]

“I Hate That I Forget What You Look Like”

No Joy, Bugland

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 20

Thanks to everyone who has supported my recent Substack launch.

There is now a dedicated instagram account set up for @theactofjustbeingthere where I will be sharing all future posts.
Please follow me there:

www.instagram.com/theactofjust...

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 19

@suedehq.bsky.social’s The Blue Hour felt like a duty to write about more than a joy, but even still, their late-career ambition proves hard to ignore and reminded me why taking risks always wins over playing it safe.

#suede #mysuedestory #thebluehour

The Blue Hour

suede: a retro-flection, ACT EIGHT

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 12

In 2016, @suedehq.bsky.social released Night Thoughts, a richly orchestrated, late-career album that’s as cohesive as it is ambitious. The latest entry in the retro-flection series revisits its place in their story.

#suede #mysuedestory #nightthoughts

Night Thoughts

suede: a retro-flection, ACT SEVEN

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 10

Bloodsports reconnected @suedehq.bsky.social with the essence that made them vital in the first place. Their 2013 return is a confident, tightly focused album that feels like a reset.

#suede #mysuedestory #bloodsports

the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 7

🎧 the act of just streaming here 🎧

Yes, it’s a playlist. No, it’s not radical. A lightly haunted jukebox. Some new. Some old. Some weird little in-betweens. The Hidden Cameras, Saint Etienne, Vivek Shraya, Nation of Language + more.
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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Aug 5

Bloodsports reconnected @suedehq.bsky.social with the essence that made them vital in the first place. Their 2013 return is a confident, tightly focused album that feels like a reset.

#suede #mysuedestory #bloodsports

Bloodsports

suede: a retro-flection, ACT SIX

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the act of just being [t]here @theactofjustbeingthere.ca · Jul 31

Congrats to King @vishkhanna.bsky.social on the 1000th episode of Kreative Kontrol! Much deserved love to a national treasure!

A Thousand Episodes Deep, Vish Khanna Is Still In Kontrol

Ian MacKaye, U.S. Girls, and Cadence Weapon discuss Khanna and 'Kreative Kontrol,' his essential interview podcast.

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