The Year In Music According to George Stroumboulopoulos: 2007

11/25/08 4:45pm

by Aaron Brophy (CHARTattack)

He's your boyfriend/host of The Hour, an honourary doctor of law thanks to the University Of Calgary, and keeper of the spirit of radio via his buzzing new Sunday night gig, The Strombo Show. Most important for us, though, is that George Stroumboulopoulos remains the same sort of devoted record geek we all remember from those days at The New Music.

With that knowledge firmly in chain-walleted pocket, we got Stroumboulopoulos to riff on some of the most important happenings in the Canadian music universe over the last year.

The Barenaked Ladies and Radiohead, amongst many others, now releasing "albums" in various sizes, deluxe editions and delivery media types
I actually think it's a really good thing at this stage of the music business because I don't think it dilutes the concept of the album, but I think it's a part of the early stages of redefining what an album is. If you think of rock 'n' roll, when it first began it was a singles-based world. You think of "Rock Around The Clock," Ike Turner's "Rocket 88," Elvis' stuff — they weren't records, they were singles. This is a part of a redefinition of how people want music.

Sam The Record Man and Music World, the last big nationwide, Canadian-owned music store chains, have gone under
For a second I started to lament it, but then I thought, "When's the last time I went in to Sam The Record Man or Music World?" I go into Soundscapes [in Toronto], and in Vancouver I go to Zulu. I still go into independent stores. It's the independent stores where you are going to get the best music. It's the independent stores where the people working behind the counter are going to introduce you to something that may not have been the priority of the record company, and I think that the way record stores work and what gets racked where and what style deal this record company made with what retailer — all that shit — is part of the problem in the music business. So I don't worry that those are gone.

The Virgin Festival, Hillside and others finally sticking the concept of those wicked European music festivals in Canada
I think it's great because it's still the best event in my world, with my friends, in any town, depending on the bands. It all depends on the lineup, but if the lineup is interesting, which they often are, then that's what's talked about.

You remember the Edgefest days with Foo Fighters and Green Day? That shit was the most fun. You planned your weekend. It was a big thing. People were excited, and you were talking. It was also a way, which is hard to do musically now, to share within the community. Ultimately, if you have a festival, that's where there's a larger sense of community, and I think it's important that you feel like you're a part of that.

Broken Social Scene, not the band, but now as a much-copied concept
I think they are the real music equivalent of what Warhol was doing with The Factory. They are a creative hub, or umbrella, and that umbrella is the band. I don't think they're a business model as much as they're opening the door for the audience to be open to this kind of thing.

Apple, iTunes and the migration to the internet for music purchasing
It's great, except for the digital rights management. I was pissed off last night. I was trying to transfer a song I bought on iTunes to a stick so that I could play it on my radio show, and I couldn't because it was locked, and I thought "this sucks." But online music sales is good because I'm so in favour of "I want it all and I want it now." If I want to hear a song tonight, I'd like to have that song in 25 seconds.

The White Stripes playing shows in every Canadian province and territory on the same tour
This dude emailed me, said he was sitting in an airport of a smaller place in Canada, bumped into Jack White, and he said, "Why don't you guys ever play small towns? We buy all the records." He said to Jack, "We have to work harder to get your records because your records aren't as available here as they are in the major urban centres. Why don't you guys come and play to us?" The next thing he knows, The White Stripes announce this tour. I'm sure Jack White has heard it a bunch of times from fans. I think it's the greatest thing ever. More artists should do it.

The relative lack of high-profile Canadian hip-hop right now
I don't know why that is. Some guy asked me why The Beatles are The Beatles, and I said, "It's because every fucking radio station plays their songs." Hip-hop doesn't have a classic rock equivalent. And if you don't have the classic rock equivalent, you can't really extend on the foundation.

I think guys like Maestro Fresh Wes don't get the respect they deserve because unless you have a hit today, hip-hop stations don't really play you. I also think that hip-hop isn't artist-based. Hip-hop is producer-based. That's a big reason.

And I also think another big reason is that they don't tour. I think the hip-hop business model doesn't involve getting in the van and slugging it out for eight years like the way it does for bands like The Trews. There are exceptions, like Moka Only would hop a train, and he played the first hip-hop show in Kamloops. Guys like Swollen Members didn't get a lot of love from the hip-hop community, but they played shows.

Bring it to the people. There's not a lack of talented hip-hop in this country — there's tons of it — but the ones who have profile are the ones who take it to the people.

I play hip-hop on my rock show, but if you don't go and play Edmonton five or six times, no one is going to know who you are.

The ubiquity of the indie rock beard
I grew one last summer and I loved it. Every boy doesn't really become that darkened soul of a man until he grows some sort of facial hair. I think it's an important step. I'm so happy that the indie beard is no longer married to the trucker hat because fucking Ashton Kutcher ruined that.

This feature originally appeared in the December 2007 issue of Chart Magazine. To purchase the issue, head on over to the Chart Shop.