Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - July 2023 Memorial Episode: Toronto Mike'd #1301

Episode Date: August 1, 2023

In this 1284th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike pays tribute to those we lost in July 2023. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, The Moment Lab, Ridley Funeral Home and Electronic Products Recycling Association.

are dead or never dead to us until we have forgotten them as always i open this episode with that quote from george elliott because I believe it to be true. By remembering those who have passed, we give them life. Let's remember those we lost in July 2023. This memorial episode of Toronto Mic'd is brought to you by Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. She's always there to help me decide them She's the one that I trust, I tell her to carry

I tell her all my thoughts and the better With the reply she makes me feel better She's the one that I trust, I tell it to Carrie Oh, Carrie, oh I just don't know how to tell you, oh I feel I'm getting too dependent, oh And I, oh Yeah, I rely on you, girl And I don't know what to do

Don't know what to do Don't know, cause I just don't know how to tell you I feel I'm getting too dependent on you and I And I rely on you, girl, and I don't know what to do I just don't know Cause I feel so lost without you Tell It To Carry, the single before the album, produced by Bob Segarini.

Sorry, make that F-O-T-M, Bob Segarini. Back in May 2020, a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic, I phoned Bob Segarini. And we chatted for about 100 minutes as he walked me through his years in the Whackers, his many years as a solo artist, working on the radio at Chum FM and Q107, making the move to television on Much Music

and City TV's late great movies. We talked about it all. And you can hear that on episode 645 of Toronto Mic'd. Here's a taste. I mean, every record I've ever made, everything I've ever done, was to entertain me.

And that I, that people exist out there that like what I do. That is the most awesome, incredibly touching thing that I have ever had in my life, to know that I can do something from the heart and know that there are some people out there that get it. So when you asked me earlier about success, I have an amazing success in that I have been able to do this my whole life. I'm not financially successful. I'm not a big celebrity.

But you have to realize that those weren't my goals. I said, those weren't my goals. And I kind of feel respect and admire people who can do what they have to do to achieve those two things. But literally, speaking for myself, I can't do that. It just takes too much out of life. FOTM Bob Segherini passed away on July 10th. He was 77 years old. I called up his good friend, FOTM Cam Carpenter, to chat about Bob.

Cam Carpenter, thanks for chatting with me this afternoon. Always a pleasure, Mike. Please, if you don't mind, would you share the story of how you first came in contact, how you first met Bob Segherini, the Iceman? The Iceman. I never really called him the Iceman. He was always Bob to me. I met him in 1977. I was at the A&M record office on 939 Warden, which was a great old school record company back then. I was a journalist. I was writing for Music Express. I was writing for the New Music Magazine and got introduced to Bob because he had recently signed the label and had just put out a four-song EP. And that's when we first met and he found out I was a journalist. It's like, okay, you're going to interview me.

You're going to do this. You're going to do that. And we became fast friends. He just sort of took me under his rock and roll wing. I was 17, 18 at that point. I ended up writing a cover story for the Music Express, comparing his career to a round of golf in 18 holes and wrote for the New music magazine a story called bubblegum grows up but we just became fast friends and used to hang at his house on armadale and just we our family spent a lot of time together it makes sense that you would not call him ice man because that was his uh i had a long chat with him about three years ago and he told me that ice man was like his uh high I don't know grade school maybe primary school nickname and then when he started at Chum FM they they said like uh I think it was when he started in radio in the 80s that he kind of adopted re-adopted it so back in the 70s when

you met Bob he wouldn't be called the Iceman back then no he was just Segarini he was hardly ever Bob it was Segarini all the time and it it was funny when he first started with Chum FM, when Warren hired him, he talked about this on your show about getting the phone call at seven o'clock in the morning. Bob and I had been God knows where that night. I didn't drive back then and was still living at home. We probably ended up at Camiso Brothers getting a hot field sandwich at four in the morning somehow. Then we'd go back to his place and we'd watch Elephant Parts by Mike Nesmith or Superman. Right. Continue drinking. I remember when the phone call came in, Bob hung up. Warren called back. And it was it was totally legit. So Bob actually poured a beer over my head. I poured

one over his head in celebration. His wife Cheryl wakes up to get Amy ready for preschool as she goes to work. And we're sitting there singing I'm Chip, I'm Dale. We're covered in ale. And Cheryl just looks at us. It's like, you guys are out of your minds. These are rock and roll stories, Cam. Holy, yeah, that's the way to live. You dropped the name of Warren Cosford there, of course, who called him about the gig on Chum FM. I just want to shout out Warren

because he was nice enough to share the link to that episode of Toronto Mic with Bob Segherini. He shared it. I mean, I'm not sure how many people he shared it with, but he absolutely shared it. It was like 90 minutes, Bob just telling stories. It was great. so thank you Warren and those were the stories you could tell on air there's a lot more well that's it I need to get

I'm trying to think how do I I know you can't tell all those stories they have to you know go to the grave with you but are there any stories that you can share that you did not hear in Bob's episode of Toronto Mic'd? Yeah. One night, Bob opened for Ian Hunter at the Ryerson Theatre on Ian's first solo tour with Mick Ronson playing guitar. And they shared a manager at that point, and Bob actually sang on All-American Alien Boy by Ian Hunter. So they had a bit of a rapport with each other. All-American Alien Boy by Ian Hunter. So they had a bit of a rapport with each other. And there's two nights, as I said.

The second night, I got to interview Ian, which was frightening because I was a huge Mata Hupal fan. Right. And I'm this young kid with a Panasonic, you know, holding up, pressing play and record. And I said, Mr. Hunter, you did a lot of Mata Hupal songs tonight. He went, I did a lot of Ian Hunter songs. Next question. Oh, my God.

Anyways, later that night, after both sets, Bob made a call to Bemelman's, which was his hang in the 80s, on Bloor Street at Bay. Great restaurant. He could call day or night, night or day. He could call at one in the morning saying, have a tray of 12 Jack Daniels and Cokes ready and a table on the patio. Wow.

So he had that pull there. So we decide we're going to go up to Bemelman's for a late night dinner at like 1 a.m. after Ian Hunter's show. So Ian is with us, my wife at that point. We weren't even married then. Mick Ronson. I can't believe I weren't even married then. Mick Ronson. I can't believe I'm sitting having a cocktail with Mick Ronson, the man who

played on Ziggy Stardust and every great Bowie track and his solo albums. So there's about 10 of us. We're having an amazing time. Mick is getting a little wound up, to say the least. He's doing Monty Python bits and standing on his chair. Ian's talking to my wife he drops his

shades down says excuse me Susan Mick good evening we'll see you back at the hotel and Mick got up and just walked away like a puppy with his tail between his legs and that was all precipitated by Segarini and his relationships wow he sounds like uh I mean i only met him once so i met him at um these annual events that the radio veterans have i can't remember what we call those what are the names of those events uh radio and records old-timers event or something like that yeah you're too young to be in it because you're supposed to be also not only that i'm not only too young but don't tell anyone but i never worked a day in radio i feel like uh imposter syndrome when i crashed the party but uh i did crash the party uh john donabee put me on a list that's how that happened and i met bob segre and i knew stories of bob

i knew of course uh a little bit from living it in the in the 80s but i knew stories because i would often have Ed Conroy from Retro Ontario on the program. And we would talk about, for example, Bob Seguerini's being the first host of late great movies, like when they had an actual host. And then, you know, we'd have chats about kind of,

one of the common themes of Bob would be that, you know, he'd have these opportunities and then he kind of like punk rock ethos, he would see if he can sabotage it somehow and then he would succeed. Right? Am I right? Totally right. He sabotaged

every job he ever had. Yeah. Interesting. Is that just because that's just the way Segherini was? What is it like being his friend and watching him kind of do these things that would inevitably get him fired? He was a juvenile delinquent. he even has a song written about it it's basically about him it was frustrating it was really frustrating because you knew you know he should have been playing arenas

after gotta have pop which if you look at the inner sleeve of that you can write to me cam carpenter for andale road to get a burrito recipe from his mom. That's great. That's great. It was. And then, you know, he was an usher at my wedding in 1982. That's how close the families were. Wow. Wow. He knows my mom. You know, I knew his parents, which I was lucky enough to meet them both before they passed away.

I remember his daughter, Amy, when she was, you know, when they moved from Montreal, she was a year and a half. And I've watched her grow up to this, be this beautiful woman with, you know, Matilda and Marshall, which are his two grandkids that he loved more than anything else in the world. I'm so sorry for your loss. This, this sad news, we're all kind of affected by this, but you being a personal friend, I can only imagine. So I'm so sorry for your loss. Well, he was such a teacher to me. He taught me about, he taught me about Phil Spector. He taught me about American Hot Wax, who is a DJ. Alan Freed. He taught me about Dewey Phillips.

He showed me Elephant Parts by Michael Nesmith for the first time, which is where the Tragically Hip got their name, by the way. That's right. That's right. I'm going to loop back to that. Keep going. I'm going to loop back to that, actually. And he loved, I never liked comic books, but I, you know, he made me love Superman, the movie, the original one. He just taught me a million things. And we'd hang out and see all the cool bands together. He was a big part of the Toronto punk scene. He was like the Nick Lowe of that scene where he had just moved from Montreal and fell in with the Diodes, the B-Girls, all the bands.

He hung at the Crash and Burn. And he was accepted as an elder statesman, even though the music he made was nothing like they were making. He had the experience and the knowledge to teach that whole generation a lot about music, which was incredible. He also produced the first band I ever signed, the Rockadero's. And I'm going to send you an MP3 of this.

Okay. In 1981, I believe, the Quality Records band from Oakville, who had a hit single on CFNY called I Want to Dance Like Fred, which you might remember. I do because I produce Humble and Fred today. And Fred referenced it. And I, I listened to it and I'm like, oh yeah, yeah, of course. Okay. Cause it's really hard to find. It gets not on any of the streaming services. I think Ivor Hamilton kept a, like a vinyl copy or something.

And I think Ivor. A three song 12 inch with Patrick Harbrown did the, no, it wasn't Pat Harbrown. Nevermind. Yeah. A three song 12 inch on quality Wherever Freddy goes He's got them

watching his toes He's part rabbit I suppose Freddy flies right through the air He can't do that, he don't care He's so good, it isn't fair It's a bird, no, it's a bird

No, it's just Fred, he's dancing again I wanna dance like Fred No, it's just Fred, he's dancing again I wanna dance like Fred I wanna dance like Fred I wanna dance like Fred Fred I wanna dance like Tonight Freddy's too good to believe Defies the law of gravity

And takes all my guilt away from me me me Freddy show me them old shoes where's the rocket that you use it's not natural what you do It's not natural what to do It's a bird, no, it's a plane, no It's just Fred, he's dancing like a can I wanna dance like Fred

I wanna dance like Fred I wanna dance like Fred I wanna dance like Fred Fred I wanna dance like Ivor was doing a he had a high school reunion he came on my show actually to chat about it but he had a high school reunion and he was going to DJ this and he

with Russell Peters brother I believe and Ivor was going to he kept on to a whole bunch of what he called the CFNY tracks. And that was one of them that he had, you know, rare CFNY tracks that he was going to play at this high school reunion. Yeah. Wow. We had a few of those.

We had Corbett. There was a couple other records that were very rare, but only CFNY played back in the day. The big yellow apps. Did they talk to you for the CFNY documentary? Actually, they did not. You know, that's an oversight, Cam. I think so too, because I have some stories.

Okay, yeah, I bet you do. I would think you'd be top on the list there. Okay, you know what we need to do, Cam, before we revisit Bob, before we say goodbye here, but we need to make sure you get back here so that you don't have to be in the pouring rain on Toronto Mic'd and you can have a proper experience. We have so much more ground to cover. You need to return to the TMDS studio here for an episode

of Toronto Mic'd. I would love to. And you know, I can't eat virtual poma pastas. No, no. So we got to do that for sure sure but just before we say goodbye 77 years old bob segorini and i felt in my chat with him and again it was just a phoner it was a phone call during the pandemic so kind of low times and everything but particularly you know as we talked about you know the industry and then we we talked about about the Edison twins and then he was sharing the story of how if chorus would just stream that excellent show that I, I remember fondly like stream it. He talked about,

he could, he could afford to get some dental work that he needed. And then I just felt like it's been a tough go for Bob Segurini. And because of his natural instinct to shoot himself in the foot every time a good thing's going his way that's not a very lucrative way to if you cared about money for example that's probably not the ideal behavior but I'm just wondering like how how was he doing these last few years how was Bob doing he I hadn't seen him like he was a hermit during COVID so like he was he stayed in the apartment which was way north and I don't seen him. He was a hermit during COVID. He stayed in the apartment, which was way north,

and I don't have a car anymore. I used to see him at record conferences, be it CMW or North By. I posted a picture of me and him at North By from 10 years ago. And then I used to host a party every year at Canadian Music Week with an FOTM Mike Campbell. We used to do the East coast at the Rivoli, which they would bring seafood in from the East coast. That was amazing.

And Bob would be the first one there every year, eating the oysters, having the clam chowder, getting the drink tickets out of my pocket. And I would see him every year there. A bit of also hanging out at cherry colas a lot back then and hosting his podcast. And I'd see him every year there. He was also hanging out at Cherry Cola's a lot back then and hosting his podcast. I'd see him there.

But it had been a while since I'd seen him in person. Somebody on Facebook who knew him much better than I did, maybe not quite as well as you did, but called him kind of a little bit of a lovable grifter. There was always just a lovable grifter-type character in this city. Yeah, he didn't have much money, and he might be out of cigarettes or would need a drink. And yeah, you just took care of him when you could. So I know the feeling.

We all go through it. No, I know. But what a character. I'm attracted to characters. And I can name check a whole bunch of local Toronto characters that I just quite like. And they're always a little quirky. Part of what makes them such an interesting character is that they're not a paint-by-numbers, nice, bland guy. Like there's some kind of like sandpaper going on there that makes them interesting.

Mendelssohn Joe would be a perfect example of that at the same time. I don't know if you know the Mendelssohn Joe story. You know what? I have Bob Wiseman coming over later this month. In fact, depending on when this drops, he might have already been by. Me and Bob had an exchange when Mendelssohn Joe passed away about me capturing audio from his memorial and then sharing it and I got to revisit that. There's a guy I never got a chance to.

I biked by him and waved, but I never had a chance to have, you know, Mendelssohn Joe on the program, but he's another character. Yeah, much like Bob, didn't suffer fools, very opinionated, very well-written, very artistic. And yeah, they were similar in a lot of ways. That's an interesting compare.

Okay, Cam, this is really interesting insight from somebody who knew Bob. I enjoyed my convo, but I didn't capture all the stories. I got 90 minutes worth. But again, I'm so sorry for your loss. Any final words you'd like to say about your friend, Bob? And we're all going to miss him. I just want to say thank you for taking an impressionable 17-year-old under your wing and teaching him the rights and wrongs of the music business. All right, who hasn't done something yet today? Then the time is now, right? Come on up here.

These are some students of the Nancy School of Dance in Brampton. Let's find out who they are. Who are you? Cheryl. Cheryl, how old are you? Eight. What would you like to be when you're about three times as old as you are now? What do you think you'd like to be when you grow up?

Governor. A governor? Why would you like to be a governor? To earn more money. You think governors make a lot of money. Okay. Who's this next door? Lindsay.

How old are you, Lindsay? Seven. What would you like to do when you become a lady and grow up? What would you like to be? Millionaire. A millionaire. Why would you like to be a millionaire? What would you do with all that money?

But it'd be nice to know you had it, eh? Hi, who's this? Rosanna. Well, Rosanna, how old are you? Six. What do you think you'd like to do when you're about 26 or 36? What would you like to be? You'd be older than you are now, wouldn't you?

I'd like to be a banker. A banker, okay. And who's this in the back here? me. What would you like to be when you grow up? A teacher. A teacher. A teacher. If I could grant you each one wish, what would that wish be for?

There it is. A secret table. A secret table. A pot of gold. A pot of gold. Marry a prince. Marry a prince. And you?

Marry a prince, too. We need two And you? Marry a prince, too. We need two princes. Perhaps these wishes will all come true. Right now, you're all dancers, right? Do you want to get set and get all ready to go? Don't go too far away. Stay inside the province. How's that?

Okay? Here they come. Some students of the Nancy School of Dance in Brampton. And this is Rockin' Boogie Baby. I deeply regret the fact I never got an invitation to Bill Lawrence to appear on Toronto Waked. I think he would have been a fantastic FOTM. For 35 years, Bill Lawrence hosted and co-produced Tiny Talent Time at CHCH. It was the longest-running Canadian TV show, only surpassed by CBC's Front Page Challenge. At the CBC, he'd present weather and news.

He did it for 28 years, along with documentaries, game shows, specials, and programs like It's Your Choice, Juliet and Friends, VIP, and Such Is Life. For global TV, Bill announced for the lotteries, million-dollar sweeps, and travel analysis. and travel analysis. And many a TMU media student will tell you Bill Lawrence was one of the best teachers they ever had. Bill Lawrence died of a heart attack on July 14, 2023. He was 91 years old. It's tiny Valentine.

I suppose I did have a wish come true. I could make a wish come true. CJCL AM 1430 and the music of your life present Tony Bennett. The dreams we shall will always

remember remember with the music of your life. The big bands and classic pop vocalists are all here on AM 1430, CJCL. It's the music of your life. The loveliness of Paris Seems somehow sadly gay The glory that was Rome Is of another day Well, I was terribly alone

And forgotten in Manhattan I'm going home To my city by the bay I left my heart In San Francisco High on a hill It calls to me To beware little cable cars Climb halfway to the stars

The morning fog May chill the air I don't care My love waits there In San Francisco Above the blue Above the blue and windy sea When I come home to you San Francisco Your golden sun

will shine Cause I wanna be around See how he does it When he breaks your heart to bits Let's see if the puzzle fits So fine Let's see if the puzzle fits so fine. That's when I'll discover that revenge is sweet. That revenge is sweet. As I sit there applauding from a front row seat. When somebody breaks your heart like you broke mine.

mine When I come home to you San Francisco Your golden sun Will shine for me You just heard I Left My Heart in San Francisco

on the Ed Sullivan Show as performed by Tony Bennett. It's a signature song. In a moment, I'll play a song I actually prefer, but that's because I'm just a little bit off with apologies to Steve Paikin and Bruce Dobrigan. Who were my guests for episode 1010? Episode 1010 is where you should go

to remember Tony Bennett and his eight-decade career. The man had a number one album at the age of 85. The man had a number one album at the age of 85. Tony Bennett was a master pop vocalist. There'll never be another Tony Bennett. Episode 1010 with Steve Paikin and Bruce Dobigin truly pay homage to this legend that we lost on Friday, July 21st at the age of 96.

Now for that song that I love as performed by Tony Bennett. For my money, nothing beats those first six seasons of The Simpsons. And in the heart of those episodes is a season two episode called Dance and Homer. I loved, sorry, I love Dance and Homer. And it features this song, Capital City, as performed by Tony Bennett. Here's that gem. Well, kids, there it is, Capital City! There's a swinging town I know called Capital City People stop and scream hello in Capital City.

It's the kind of place that makes a bum feel like a king. And it makes a king feel like some nutty cuckoo super king. Look, it's Tony Bennett! Hey, good to see you. It's against the law to frown in Capital City. You're capable like a stupid clown when you chance to see Fourth Street and the end. Once you get a whiff of it you'll never want to roam

capital city my home sweet yeah capital city that happy tall city it's capital city my home sweet swinging home. Capital City, yeah! Love is in the air Everywhere I look around Love is in the air Every sight and every sound And I don't know if I'm being foolish. Don't know if I'm being wise.

But it's something that I must believe in. And it's there when I look in your eyes. Love is in the air. In the whisper of a tree. Love is in the air, in the whisper of a tree. Love is in the air, in the thunder of the sea. And I don't know if I'm just dreaming, don't know if I feel sane But it's something That I must believe in And it's there When you call out my name Love is in the air

Love is in the air Oh Oh Love is in the air Love is in the air is a 1977 disco song by Australian singer John Paul Young. But get this. Here in Canada, Martin Stevens received Young's demo recording and recorded a version of the song for his 1978 album before Young's song was even released. So here in Canada, Martin Stevens was already at number 21 on the charts by the time Young's version came out. Stephen's version of the song was a Juno Award nominee for Best Selling Single at the Juno Awards of 1979.

Martin Stevens died at his Quebec home on July 5th at the age of 69. Je t'aime Je t'aime Oui je t'aime Moi non plus Oh mon amour Que peut la vague Y résolure? Je vais, je fais et je viens

Entre tes rangs Je vais et je reviens Entre tes larmes Et je me retiens Je t'aime, je t'aime Oui, je t'aime Je t'aime Oh, mon amour Jane Birkin was an actress and singer

who rose to stardom in the film Blow Up. This started a tumultuous relationship with Serge Gainsbourg, with whom she recorded the hit Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus. Pardon my French. passing at her home in Paris on July 16th at the age of 76. That I learned why we call that purse the Birkin bag. It's named the Birkin because it was inspired by Jane Birkin. She apparently carried this hand-woven straw basket everywhere she went. Today, the Birkin bag is a status symbol. You might hear about the Birkin bag on Sex and the City. You can pick one up for as low as $10,000 US dollars. But if you want the good one,

that's going to cost you half a mil. I think I'd stick with the hand-woven straw basket.我醒来睡在月光里 下旋月让我想你 不相信过来谁明白 怕眼睁开你不在 爱人心深如海 带我去 把她造未来 亲爱我一万年

用心爱 说你爱我 我也为了爱沉睡 也醒来 Coco Lee was a Hong Kong musician, actress, dancer, and singer. You probably saw her perform A Love Before Time from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at the 73rd Academy Awards. She was the first Chinese-American to perform at the Academy Awards. Coco Lee suffered from depression, and although she had sought professional help and tried her best to battle the disease, she attempted suicide on July 2nd and passed away on July 5th at the age of 48.想念谁谁明白 我在月光下沉睡

我也在月光下沉睡 没有后悔 等待真心人把我吻醒 我在谁梦中遇见 还是在回忆中变说你爱我每逢終一天 還是再回憶重演 說你愛我 我也為了愛沉睡 到永遠 I'm sorry. All alone at the end of the evening And the bright lights have faded too

I was thinking about a woman I loved And I never knew You know I've always been a dreamer Spent my life running round And it's so hard to change Can't seem to settle down But the dreams I've seen lately Won't turn it out And burn it out

And turn it out the same So put me on a highway And show me a sign. And take it to the limit one more time. Randy Meisner left Poco to become a founding member of the Eagles. He co-wrote and sang Take It to the Limit, which reached number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 back in 1975. Randy died due to complications associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In Los Angeles, on July 26, 2023, he was 77 years old. Nobody seems to care And you can't find the door Can't find it anywhere When there's nothing to believe in Still you're coming back You're running back You're coming back Oh Bye. One more time Take it to the limit Take it to the limit

Take it to the limit One more time Take it to the limit Take it to the river, please Take it to the river, come on Take it to the river, for a time Take it to the river, please Take it to the river, please Take it to the river, for a time One more time

One more time Take it to the moon Take it to the moon Come on, take it to the moon One more time Take it to the moon Take it to the moon I know I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it.

I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. Hey! We're gonna go wacky at Phoebe's Playhouse There's a crazy rhythm coming from the puppet land Dirty door, cool cat, chicky baby, all the puppet bands You got a couple of talking fists And a genie in a grandelish Scrawly and scoops at Phoebe's Playhouse

Fluffy spinning, Mr. Windows winning Poor Terry's flying by Labrador's singing The picture farm is ringing And the dinosaur family goes Hi! Mr. Kite's soaring Pocky's soaring

There's a flashing magic tree The council's in the class The event's kind of sassy Another year established Which you've never seen Spend the day with TV And do what we mean Come on!

Get out of bed There'll be no more napping Put the weird kids in a place Where anything can happen Now we get back to bed Morning is gonna be That kind of morning We'll be in wacky We're getting nutty

Now we're in cuckoo At TV Playhouse While with the Groundlings, Paul Rubens came up with the character of Pee-wee Herman in 1978. In 1985, Pee-wee's Big Adventure came out, directed by Tim Burden, and I was hooked. I loved Pee-wee's Big Adventure came out, directed by Tim Burden, and I was hooked. I loved Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Soul's my horn ready yet? Yeah, it's ready. It should be loud enough for you now. Well, where is it? Let's hear it.

Wait, I want to talk to you first. You are talking to me. No, I want your talk to you first. You are talking to me. No, I want your undivided attention. Look, PB, this is important. Someone want to ask you. Mm-hmm. I... Mm-hmm.

I want to know if you'll do something. What? I want to know if you'll do something. What? I wanna know if you'll go someplace with me. Like where? The drive-in. Look, Daddy, I like you. Like? I like you!

That's the thing, I like you too. Daddy! There's a lot of things about me you don't know anything about, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand. I don't understand. You don't want to get mixed up with a guy like me.

I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel. I was also a fan of Pee-wee's Playhouse. Did you know that opening theme, we just heard a moment ago, was performed by Cyndi Lauper? One of many fun facts I could bury you with right now, but I'm still reeling from this news. Paul Rubens died from cancer on July 30th, 2023.

He was only 70 years old. He had been battling cancer for six years, but never made that information public. What else should I be? All apologies. What else should I say? Everyone is gay What else could I write? I don't have the right

What else should I be? I don't have the right What else should I be? All apologies In the sun, in the sun I feel as one In the sun one In the sun In the sun I'm married Buried Buried I wish I was like you

Easily amused. Find my nest of salt. Everything's my fault. I'll take all the blame. Acquiesce foam shame Sunburn with freezer burn Choking on

the ashes of her enemies In the sun In the sun I feel as one In the sun In the sun I feel as one In the sun, in the sun I'm married, buried, buried

All in all is all we all are All in all is all we all are All in all is all we all are All in all is all we all are All in all is all we all are All in all is home, we all are All in all is home I've been struggling with what to say about Sinead O'Connor. Much like Coco Lee, Sinead was public about her mental health challenges

and left us this month. Sinead died at her home in London on July 26th. She was only 56 years old. Her 17-year-old son, Shane, took his own life in January 2022. Sinead's public cries for help were heard by all of us now mourning her passing. I first became aware of Sinead O'Connor when The Lion and the Cobra was nominated for a Grammy.

Then, in 1990, her cover of Prince's Nothing Compares to You blew up. I bought I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got on CD and quickly fell in love with the follow-up single, The Emperor's New Clothes. In perhaps the most punk rock move I've ever witnessed, Sinead blew up her career by ripping her mother's photo of Pope John Paul II on

Saturday Night Live. She was right and sacrificed everything to say her peace. The world can and unfair place. I opened with her cover of Nirvana's All Apologies, but I'd like to close with one of her songs, an early single that still sounds amazing. Rest in peace, Sinead. Ooh, girl Ooh, girl I don't know no shame I feel no pain

I can't see the flame But I do know See the flame But I do know I'm ending up I do know I'm ending up I do know I don't know I don't know They're throwing it all this way Dragging it back to the start They say see how the glass is right

I have refused to take part I told them to bring something new I don't see the pain But I could've known and enough I could've known and enough And begun I do And begun I do I do I do

I said I do Still nothing giving up on you I swear I do Still nothing giving in my heart I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know

I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know

I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know

I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know

I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know

I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know

I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know

I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know This has been the Ridley Funeral Home Memorial Episode of Toronto Mic'd for the month of July 2023. If you lost someone you love in July, my sincere condolences. Peace and love to all. I'm Toronto Mic. Thank you.