Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Toronto Mike'd #26

Episode Date: March 6, 2013

Rosie and Mike talk about Mike's trip to Frankfurt, the story of Custom, Toronto one-hit wonders, musical guilty pleasures and the Oscars.

Welcome to the 26th episode of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything, often with a distinctly Toronto flavour. I'm Mike from torontomic.com. Joining me as always is Rosie from mytorontoscoop.com. And hosting this audio file are the good people at Core Fusion. Hey Rosie. Hey, Rosie. Hello, my friend. Did you miss me last week? I did. I felt like you were gone for a really long time.

I had a tour of duty to serve overseas. You know, you really are lucky. When I think of all the places I got to go for work, I think I got sent to Gananoque a couple times. Oh, yeah. You get to go to Europe. It's amazing. You're so lucky. So the trick is to work for a European company, I guess. Yeah, times. Oh, yeah. You get to go to Europe. It's amazing. You're so lucky. So the trick is to work for a European company, I guess.

Yeah, I got lucky, actually. I get to work from home, except when I'm walking the streets of Germany. It's pretty good. It's pretty good. It's pretty good. But now you're back, back to Toronto. I'm going to point out that I've been to Germany twice now. I went to Berlin last January for a week, which was a very cool city.

And then I just spent a week in Frankfurt. But no matter how many times I'm there, when I think of Germany, the first thing I think of is Nina's 99 Luftballons. I love this song. But only the German version, right? Yeah. Because the English version got a lot of play on the radio. No, this version, what you're playing right now, is the best.

And I think people of our age, this song just does something. It just makes you want to start jumping up and down. Oh, I know. It was just perfect, right? It was perfect. So I thought I'd have this song going in the background while I talk a little bit about Frankfurt. I'll be brief. But Frankfurt is sort of like a business capital of Europe.

So you got lots of like buildings owned by banks and crap like that. And it's a lot of like a lot of people there don't even speak. They speak German mostly, but there's so many people there speak other languages. It's like they all get together in Frankfurt. That's pretty cool. I remember traveling to Brussels and noticing that it's one of those cities where everyone speaks so many different languages. It's neat. It's really cool. It makes you feel almost silly that you only speak one or two languages, right? It's always like I was in these offices and I'd meet people in the

hallway and they'd always say something in German. And then I would always I'm sorry I speak English and then they would always break into English and it would be you hear the English would be in like a South African or a British accent or something like they were clearly like uh from London or something and then they just knowing they also know German it's like a language a business language it's funny when you travel you know you try depending on where you go, you make more of efforts, I think, to perhaps speak the language.

I mean, it depends, right? I've never been to Japan, but I suspect that I would probably make less of an effort to speak it just because I think I wouldn't have the confidence.

Whereas traveling to France or Italy, I made really good stabs at it. Yeah, those are good examples. Like I did in Paris, I tried really hard to speak French

because I had a grade nine French under my belt. there. And, you know, clearly everyone knows you're a tourist and I suspect, you know, they're rolling their eyes at your pronunciation. But when I forgot my umbrella in the restaurant and we went back, I was all like, parapluie. Most people don't know that umbrella, but I think, you know, as Canadians having that. No, I didn't know that either, Rose. That's amazing. I'm really, no, I'm like a hello, goodbye, thank you kind of guy. Still, though, that's more, I think, than, you know, well, maybe not hello, goodbye, but I think that you recognize more vocabulary than you realize from your rudimentary, you know, high school French. Did you pick up any German?

Can you say any German for us? Yeah, I always said, every morning, I'd walk into the office and say, Guten Morgen. Very good. And every night, I'd say, Guten Nacht. Guten Nacht. And then in the middle of the day, I'd say, Guten Tag. What's, that's just like, how's it going? I don't know, G'day or something. G'day or something. Anyway, it was like a common greeting, but that's Guten Tag. That's just like, how's it going? I don't know, good day or something. Good day or something. Anyway, it was like a common greeting, but that's about it.

That's awesome. But, you know, I did get out like on the Saturday. It was sunny and six degrees, and I walked the entire city, and I realized that there is not a lot of old stuff in Frankfurt, and it's quite simply because they got bombed to hell and gone in like 1942 or whatever. So Frankfurt got bombed, totaled, and then they rebuilt part of it. But it just can't match like a Berlin, for example, in terms of like historical spots. But I did take pictures of everything kind of interesting.

And the photo set came out very nice. It was a nice city, very nice city, but it just wasn't a big city. And it wasn't, know i would i would have chosen munich if they said mike where in germany do you want to go but they just said mike you're going to frankfurt so i said okay let's go i saw you raised a tiny bit of ire on your website by referring to before you left frank frankfurt as possibly the mississauga no i didn't a comment i was like i know somebody i can't remember cory maybe i can't remember who said said they were told Frankfurt was like, and I was like so offended on behalf of Frankfurt. It made me laugh.

Bless Mississauga's heart, but you got like some nice credit, some nice parts near the river and you got a big mall. I'm trying to think of like what is interesting in Mississauga outside of maybe the lighthouse area near Port Credit. Definitely the parts by the water. That's it. It's a little bit nice. Oh, my goodness. And then I'm, please. Yeah. I was looking at all your pictures and you took some really, really, really great ones.

But I have to say my favorites, and these are also my favorites of the pics you took in Paris, were the ones of the love padlocks, which I have to say, I've, you know, been to lots and lots of places. And this, I've missed this. I been to lots and lots of places and this, I've missed this. I've never seen the locks of love on the fences. You don't know where to look, Rosie. I must, apparently I either don't know where to look or I miss them. Well, most of these cities have like a nice waterway.

Like, uh, I'm thinking of like, like the river scene or all these like rivers or some kind of a waterway. And then they always have these nice bridges going over the waterway. Look for that. Like, yeah, if you don't know what the love padlocks were and i actually you know didn't and um such a romantic thing um in you know major um cities the the fences describe it they put oh yeah so basically if you go there let's say you and scott fell in love in 1998 let's say and you went to paris you would get a padlock and it would say, like, Rosie and Scott, 1998, forever in love,

on the padlock, and you'd lock it to the bridge. And then, like, you know, it would last forever, theoretically. You could go back in 10 years and then find your lock. It's so romantic. I love stuff like that. Paris is a big one. Like, in Paris, I think they wanted to take them down. A lot of people don't like them

because they take away from the beautiful architecture and everything. But I think it looks so beautiful. I'm actually cool with it. I liked it. Anyways, in Paris, it's ridiculous. Look at the pictures of Paris. Oh, yes. No, those are the ones that struck me initially.

And then I was so enamored of it. I started reading a little bit more. And then I saw that, and I saw this after on your site too. You had written this as well, that we tried to do it in Toronto. You don't remember this? You don't remember the big controversy? Because they said it was a few things like structural damage. And one night they just took them all down.

They snipped them all. This was a few years back. It was controversial, but they're gone now. We tried to be like Paris and all these other cities that do this. I think we should start it again. I have a wire fence in my backyard. No, the next day they'll be gone. I have a feeling that those guys just come and snip it that night now. I don't think.

I was clicking around and just reading about them and looking at pictures of them in different... I think I see why I didn't see them in Florence. I think they had taken them down in Florence just prior to me being there. Certainly companies have gotten into the commercial aspect of it. Master Lock has a website where you can go and you can order.

Oh, I got an email last night from a guy who his company, he Googled, I guess he's got an alert for people writing about love padlocks. He wrote me and just said he, their company does engraving on padlocks for lovers. And he wanted me to find a spot in toronto to get torontonians to start this again like somewhere else in toronto of course it's he's got a financial interest in toronto doing this of course so that's his incentive but i thought it was interesting like we should just pick a spot and do it but but you know i don't you know i think it's okay when

you know something so romantic if it inspires oh i'm. I like it. I would have kept it on the Humber Bridge. But I get a lot of commenters are like glad they're gone because they're ugly or whatever. But I personally think they're kind of romantic and neat. I think it's kind of cool. I just thought it was a neat thing. Oh, one thing about walking the streets of Frankfurt, which I did for hours and hours and hours on Saturday, is the strange sensation I now get when I walk the streets of anywhere without a data plan. So I put my Android device on airplane mode when I get on the plane at Pearson and then I keep it on airplane mode until I get back to Pearson because the roaming charges and stuff I'll get

from Rogers are insane. So I just basically, I go Wi-Fi only in Europe. And that means when I'm walking the streets of Frankfurt, I don't have, you know, Google Maps. I don't have access to, like, a phone. It's just the sensation is so strange. It's hard to believe that forever we walked everywhere without a data plan. I have to admit, you know what? I did most of my traveling of Europe pre I had old school paper maps.

You had to because you didn't have a data plan. Me too. I had a paper paper maps. So I had to, cause you didn't have a data plan. I did me too. I had a paper map too. Cause what else could I have if I don't have a data plan? Although I have to say, you know, having a GPS in the car,

you know, I used to always have a pearlies. My dad had bought me a pearlies map. He's like, learn to read a map. No matter where you're lost, you're going to figure it out. And it was,

it was, you know, good, good advice. So I always had a pearlies map in the glove compartment, but you know, having a GPS now, I, it's, it's amazing.

I mean, you don't even have to think. You really don't. Unless you're in Frankfurt and then you have to think. You've got to, like, open your map and think. But it was all worked out. But it was just interesting how all of a sudden I felt like something was missing because I didn't have a data plan. Well, it's like a security, too, right? Knowing that wherever you're walking or wandering, if you've got your map, you're going to be able to connect

and that connectedness will get you back to wherever you need to go. You know, even just not just the map, just the whole idea of like a phone. It's a phone. It's a map. It's a messaging system. It's an email system. You can tweet a picture. It just seems like you're just connected to the universe when you have your data plan. For sure. So when were there lots of spots, though, that you couldn't connect to the universe when you have your data plan for sure so when were there lots of spots though that you couldn't connect to wi-fi i would basically that day i didn't connect any i only connected in oh my phone's ringing and it's um i can tell you by the ringtone that it's my brother but uh he's recording his podcast later today oh very cool anyways i'll phone him back later but uh question wrote first of all, I forget your question because I'm listening to the phone.

What was your question? If there were lots of spots. Oh, yeah. Well, I didn't connect. It's not like I went from coffee shop to coffee shop connecting. I didn't connect at all during the walk. I just connected at the hotel and the office and that was it. It's great that you got a day to explore the city.

That's pretty cool because it's true when you travel for business, you can not see perhaps as much as you'd like. What's better is that apparently Germany's been sunless for 2013. Like Toronto? Worse than that. Except for one day? Worse than Toronto. So the day I got, my Saturday, which is my only free day in the city, was the sunniest day. It made me want to believe in a higher power.

It all worked out perfect. Oh, the sun feels so good too. That's wonderful. But now you're back. Back to reality. Question for you. it was like it was like it made me want to believe in a higher power it all worked out perfect oh sun feels so good too that's wonderful but now you're back back to reality question for you a european traveler who's been to florence recently etc i have a question do you sleep on the plane um i i can but i tend to be we all can do you think i can of course some people can some people well physically everyone can fall asleep if they i if they are appropriately drugged or whatever. I certainly can sleep without drugs on the plane. I have a neck.

What made it, what makes it possible, though, is the neck pillow. I don't think I could sleep on the plane without my neck pillow. That's the secret, the neck pillow. Because, you know, otherwise you're, you know. Yeah, your neck's just flopping around. You're flopping around or you're leaning on, you know, I have done this to Scott where I've just completely, you know, fallen asleep on his shoulder. Not very comfortable for him, but he's a good husband. He's got good movies to watch. Exactly. But the neck, with the invention of the neck

pillow, it's so good. You just can, you know. That's a good tip because I've been, I've done like four or five of these transatlantic things and I never sleep on the plane and it always messes me up. But I just can't get comfortable. I never get tired enough or comfortable enough to actually, I just watch my movies for eight, nine, ten, eleven hours. No, I admit that usually I'm too excited or, you know, sometimes you're overtired too and you prepare for a trip and

you don't really sleep so well. I tend to look forward to the few hours of relaxation and then read. And I tend to read more than watch the movies, although I have watched some good movies. Rosie, do you know this song at all? I do not. Okay. Interesting. So in 2002, let's say like 11 years ago, this song was, I would call it a pretty big alternative rock hit.

It's called Hey Mister. Let's see if the refrain rings a bell with you. I was going to say, maybe I'll know it. Like 102.1 would have played this, for example. Whatever they were then, Edge 102. So I used to run a site,

I don't run it anymore, but I used to run a site with my buddy Mark Carey called Smells Like Sour. And we ran it for years. Really? Yeah, like 1999 to 2005 or something. I did not know this. Yeah. So Smells Like Sour. And we ran it for years. Really? Yeah, like 1999 to 2005 or something. I did not know this.

Yeah. So Smells Like Sour, the premise was you would nominate a song to be included on the bi-yearly Smells Like Sour compilation, which was like 20 songs every six months. And let's say you heard a good alt-rock song that you dug, like let's say that one. You'd submit it.

And then there was a forum to discuss the merits of the song, like whether it was SLS worthy or not. So this was our fun project from the 90s. And every six months we put out a Smells Like Sour compilation, which was essentially just an illegal compilation. We would locate the songs from whatever Napster, whatever was the source at the time. Napster. And we would put together the best 20 songs that we were digging from the previous six months. Right. So in 2002, I wrote about Customs' Hey Mister because I really dug that song.

I liked the sound. I liked his blend of like, there's like a folksy rock, hip-hop-ish blend that I've always really liked. Sounds good, yeah. He found me because I was ranking very highly for Customs Hey Mister, and he wrote me an email. I love these stories when people find you. They're great. They're my favorite. And this is 03, I think, when we hooked up.

So we start chatting through email. It turns out his name is Dwayne, and he's from Calgary, but he's living in a Manhattan loft. And he's got this one album called Fast and that was the big hit Hey Mister and it was a big hit but it was one one hit off the album although the albums I had the album and it was a really cool album but so me and him for the next 10 years I'd say because we're on 10 year anniversary now we would every once in a while he would record a new song in his loft he did it all himself like I'm doing right now right and he would record a new song in his loft. He did it all himself, like I'm doing right now.

And he would send me a song and tell me, ask me for my feedback, because it was going to be on his imminent new album. And he had an imminent new album every single year for the last eight years, I'd say, to a point where I actually, I used to get excited about it. And I used to help him run a website for a while, his custom website. And then I just, he became the boy who cried wolf. Like I'd get the new songs.

Like this album never materialized. Like it was sort of like, all the ducks were lined up for the, so he has this one album called Fast in 2002. And now he's, he becomes an independent artist without a label. And he had new distribution deal for a new album. It was always like five months away for the next 10 years it was five months away so it's always been five months away and he was always sincere about it the greatest guy we had a great relationship

he he wants to play my wedding he wants to come and play my wedding on june 15th really yeah he's canadian who lives in new york i've heard of Custom. I have to admit, I'm not that familiar with that song. But over the years, I've collected, I have about 50, 5-0, unreleased Custom tracks that I have that are amazing, but he's never put out a second album. But I have a question. Why did he not have a label

after releasing the first album? Because he was with some company called Artist Direct and it went under, so his label went under and he was basically label-less. No one picked him up. I think there's a lot of artists with similar stories. So he is a bonafide one-hit wonder, I'd say by

every definition of the term. The greatest guy of the greatest tunes that I dig, but none of it's seen the light of day. But once again, he swears a new album is coming out in 2013 and he's planning a tour in a new album and he's got a new website launched and he's planning a tour in a new album, and he's got a new website launched, and he's darn serious about it.

But I just wondered if you had heard of Hey Mister, and I wanted to share this. The last 10 years, I've been this confidant for Custom the Musician, and he's the most awesome guy. One time, my ex had to be in New York to visit a friend, and he invited her to his big party. And during this night of craziness, Mark Wahlberg is showing up. And it's just like Manhattan.

One of those stories from girls or whatever. Custom is definitely on my consciousness. So he needs to release this album. He definitely needs to release it. Well, yeah. Of course he does. He's got so much great material and no distribution. Basically, he should roll his own, right?

But he's trying to get some kind of a label to help him distribute or something. I don't know. But anyway, he promises it's coming. So I just wanted to share my decade-long relationship with Custom. This is very exciting and I'm sure for him, he appreciates the support. I think a lot for musicians, people that were early fans, that are loyal.

I think for them, that means a lot, right? To have that long relationship. Two quick custom fans, because I'm sure he's got a lot of fans listening. One is, he directed a movie called Limp, I think. Limp. And it starred Michael Hutchence, and it was the last thing Michael Hutchence did before he died. Oh my God. Yeah.

You're kidding me. No, I'm not kidding. So there's that. And secondly, his name's Dwayne Laveau in airports when you see the French Dwayne and apparently customs in an airport. It's translated as Dwayne. So his friends always called him custom

because Dwayne was custom on the sign. Custom was Dwayne on the signs in airports where you saw the bilingual signs. So that's how he got his name. So that's how he got his name. That is really neat. So there you go. Look out for some new custom.

I'll share it as soon as he lets me. Yeah. Good luck to him getting the album out there. Persistence, obviously, for 10 years. Are you going to let him play at your wedding? Of course. Yeah, of course. He's got the open invitation.

If he's in Toronto on June 15, he can play an acoustic couple of tunes at the wedding for sure. It's done. Did he move to New York, obviously, just in hopes of more opportunity? I don't know. He's always surfing in San Diego or walking the streets of Italy. I get a sense from him. He's not doing this from the...

He can't have made enough money off one hit to do what he does. It feels like there's something going on. Trust fund baby? I don't know. I don't have that detail. But there's some money coming in from somewhere because he's got a loft in Manhattan and he's living a good life. Yeah, and those aren't cheap from what I hear. But Rose, since he's a true one-hit wonder, this ties in nicely to this BlogTO article that came out yesterday about Toronto one-hit wonders.

And this article, article you know I can read a lot of things and they're serious things and I don't even like raise an eyebrow like okay this is life but when I read an article about Toronto one-hit wonders that includes platinum blonde I go nuts like I was so upset that platinum blonde was listed as a Toronto one-hit wonder because as you know being my age we were raised in the 80s yeah and we were i don't know if you were a 680 girl or not uh cft yeah okay platinum blonde is not oh my god like i'm like six hits right like six top 10 hits you're saying somebody somewhere situation critical of course crying over you oh i'm not in love they haven't so many songs i didn't even it's funny i actually

didn't even i was just skimming. I was doing a lot of multitasking and I saw that entry on your site and I almost didn't even register. How could, and Atlanta Miles. Well, Atlanta Miles is another one. It's like,

I don't know, I remember Love Is was a, Love Is was a big one. Then, of course, the big Black Velvet and then there was, still got this thing for you and.

Clearly the author of that article, but I do tend to find with BlogTO best of, or any type of articles they do with lists, I'll get all excited, I'll check it out. It'll be the best grilled cheeses in Toronto. And it'll be like three restaurants with it. It's like, did you even go around the city? I can handle that.

These are the best Toronto songs. I get annoyed by this stuff sometimes. But One Hit Wonders, to me, there's a... It's factual, sure. There's some kind of rule set that you need to put in place for what's a hit. And by no definition of one-hit wonder in Canada, because it's a Toronto list,

would... Forget Plaid and Blonde. Even Pursuit of Happiness I felt bad for, because I'm sure they had bigger hits than I'm an adult now in Toronto. But I think the author of that completely missed the point of what a one-hit wonder is. Like, a one-hit wonder is somebody that had like, it's one hit. One

hit. I think the only one she got right might have been Len, because I will accept Len as a one-hit wonder. The steal my sunshine guys. I can't name a second hit from Len. But it's funny, because I went and I, after reading all the comments on your site, I went and looked at the article, and then I looked at the comments.

Oh, the comments, yeah. Oh, yeah. People were... Well, you can't get away with that shit in Toronto. Come on. Anyway, I wondered... She was lambasted pretty badly for that. Yeah, like, so Atlanta Miles...

The platinum blonde one was the worst one. That was the worst offender, but Atlanta Miles and Pursuit of Happiness are also pretty big offenders. And I'm not just saying that because my daughter uses She's So Young as her theme song. I was just about to ask you, did that inspire the title of Michelle's podcast?

Of course it did. You've obviously never listened because that song opens that podcast, Rosie. Did she pick that herself? Or did Dad help her a little bit? No, Daddy helped her, of course. Daddy helped her, but she loves the song once I introduced her to it. It's awesome. And I should point out,

in the most recent episode of She's So Young, Michelle sings, and Rick C. from Oakville left a comment last night that she, I don't know, as a father, I don't put judgments on my daughter singing, because I have this theory, everyone thinks their daughter is the greatest singer since Celine Dion or whatever.

So fine, Michelle sang live. I just came out of nowhere and it made her last podcast. And Rick was telling me like how great it was, like for an eight-year-old, what a great singing voice. And I was thinking, well, maybe Michelle's a good singer. I have no idea because everything she does sounds great to me.

But if everybody can listen. Singing lessons, you gotta get singing lessons for her. Well, she's already doing dancing, but if everybody listens to the most recent episode of She's So Young, let me know if she's actually a good singer or not. I can handle it if she's not. dancing, but if everybody listens to the most recent episode of She's So Young, let me know if she's actually a good singer or not. I can handle it if she's not. I can recognize shitty singing.

She has a nice voice. I think the first or second one I listened to, I just remember being struck by what a poised, lovely voice she has for broadcasting. She's going to be big. Maybe you can retire early. That's the plan, Rose. And I already got a referral to an orthodontist for broadcasting. She's going to be big. Maybe you can retire early. That's the plan, Rose. And I already got a referral to an orthodontist for her, so we'll get all that fixed up

before fame calls. Are we ready for the videos? Hey, I had braces grade, I think it was grades 7 and 8. Well, she's ahead of you. She's grade 3. Oh, she's little. Yeah, she's still little.

The teeth are everywhere. But it's better to do it young. I remember being very happy they came off before high school. That's for sure. Oh, yeah, that's little. Yeah, she's still little. Yeah, but the teeth are everywhere. But it's better to do it young. I remember being very happy they came off before high school. That's for sure. Oh, yeah. That's the goal. Yeah, it's a long road. Any parent that's had kids with braces knows it's...

My son's got the straightest teeth. Like, no orthodontist required. It's so lucky. And then my daughter, they're just coming in everywhere. Like, I look in, new teeth are coming in. I'm like, okay. Like, this is not normal. We need a referral here. Be prepared. It's painful. Like, new teeth are coming in. I'm like, okay. Like this is not normal. We need a referral here.

Be prepared. It's painful. Like she'll be in pain. When they first put them on, you're like, oh, wow, you know, have my braces. And then two days later. Maybe technology has come a long way since your braces. Well, I think definitely the type, like technology has changed in the type of braces. But I think the pain of teeth moving, I don't think that changes.

But just be prepared. Do you remember on The Simpsons when Elisa didn't have the dental plan and they had that archaic metal thing, but if she had the dental plan, it would squirt like Chanel, some kind of a perfume thing would squirt out every couple of hours. I had braces in the era where they were like full on metal, and I had the headgear at night and elastics. But it all worked out for you.

Now you have a beautiful smile. You know what? They came off off and it was pretty dramatic. It was like, oh, wow. Thanks, mom and dad. That was worth it. When I was younger, I liked Crying Over You.

It was a big hit. Oh, I loved it. But then right after it, they released Situation Critical. And I used to tell my friends in the... That one got overplayed. It kind of got on my nerves. Can I tell you? I used to tell my friends in the St. Pius X Schoolyard at Jane and Bloor. I used to tell them that situation... If you listen...

This is the day of... We only had cassette decks, basically. All me and my friends, cassette decks. And I used to say, listen to Crying Over You on one side and Situation Critical on the other side. They were actually the same song. I knew you were going to say that. Isn't that funny?

I'm like, he's going to say that they're the same song. Crying Over You, Situation Critical. It's actually the same song i knew you were gonna say that it's not funny i'm like he's gonna say they're the same song situation critical it's actually the same song sort of like nickelback would do it totally i think that's why you just heard it for six months of crying over you but platinum blonde they're so great and they're such a toronto that's why it's so funny to say they're a one-hit wonder i remember when we would go you know clubbing in the university years sometimes you'd see them you know they be out, and they were fun. They were really fun. So that was like a guilty pleasure back then. Do you have any guilty pleasures now?

Songs you know you're not supposed to dig that you dig. Okay, I have a few guilty pleasures right now. Yes, definitely. There's an artist that I'm digging right now that makes me feel supremely uncool and sort of silly. But I love this song. A little birdie told me you were going there. At first, I'm like, it's just, you know, it's so catchy.

And then I'm humming along and then I'm downloading it on iTunes and playing it in my car. Okay, first of all, as a, I have an eight-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy. I've been hearing this song, I mean, this whole album I hear a lot. They really dig this tune. And I gotta say, it's very listenable. Like, I agree with you. This is not, it's a good guilty pleasure, actually. I also like her other one.

I knew you, oh, this is that one that uh we are never getting back together i love it it is so good i just i love it so then i started thinking you know if i like two songs by the artist maybe it's more than a guilty pleasure maybe i just like taylor swift and i need to accept that no shame in that she's a very bright talented woman lover so what are your guilty pleasures besides I sense you're like in Taylor Swift as well I don't mind that but I have another

another one that came out it was a big it was everywhere in the summer I would call it the song of 2012 if you ignore Gangnam Style which I never ever liked I just couldn't listen to it

that's not a song I'm sorry people call it I actually heard it on the radio once and I'm like what we're playing this like it's an actual song

no it was played on the radio yeah I was shocked like Kiss 92.5 and all that. We play it on regular rotation. I have to say, I like the Harlem Shake business, but the Gangnam Style. Although the shelf life of Harlem Shake, like I feel like it's gone already.

Like it was here and it came like a comet. Boom, gone. But Gangnam Style lingered. I know. Like way past its due date, right? Way past, yeah. Yeah, it was really annoying. It only died, I think, of the Super Bowl ad.

Like there, now we're done. We're done. It's over thank god but here's a song uh similar to your uh taylor swift song some can con so there's no way a 38 year old cool guy like me should be listening to this but it was all over the place because of my kids uh All over the place. Your kids. Yeah. That's my excuse. Blame your kids. What's yours? Is your three-year-old making you listen to Kelly Clarkson? You know what's funny is he, the song came on the radio, and he was, I swear he was singing.

This is awesome. I believe it is. This is awesome. Have you ever seen the Cookie Monster do this? It's so cute. Pardon me, I'm grooving out to this. The rest of the podcast, we're just going to listen to Carly Rae Jepsen.

So there, it's just a catchy little pop song you're not supposed to like, but there's another one. I hope she's not a one-hit wonder. I hope she does some more stuff. No, she's got a new hit. I don't know. I was forced to put more Carly Rae songs on Michelle's ipod i can tell you that uh a few years ago maybe we're going way back now but i used to watch american idol and this artist came out of american idol and then she had

this particular song i couldn't get enough of even though i knew it wasn't for me and i knew it was a pop song but it was way too good like I even wrote it I if you search my blog for this song I wrote an entry about how it's like too good to be a pop song and it was it made my it made my listening device like so I could hear it on shuffle once in a while and I'm gonna play it for you now and tell me tell me if it's okay that I totally dug this tune I love her voice. She has an amazing voice. My click's Kelly Clarkson.

I think I do, Rose. This is good. I feel better talking about it, actually. You know what? I watched American Idol back then when she won, and I remember thinking, this girl's voice is insane. Who would have thought she was going to be such...

She has longevity. She's the second biggest selling American Idol girl because I think, what's her name, Peter? Carrie Andrews. Yeah, that one. The one who's married to the hockey player. I like when she's saying the heart song that I love. Rose, the refrain's coming, please.

Have some respect. Here it comes. Yeah, it's a good one. Yeah, it's a good one. This is really fun. What else do you have for us? Also, Rose, I listen to an artist named Girl Talk a lot. And I think it's one guy named Greg Gillis, I think.

And he mashes songs. And he puts out these illegal albums, basically, where he mashes together dozens of songs. And that song is used so effectively in one of Girl talk songs and every time i hear it my head starts kind of going along with the girl talk song but if you ever get a chance the last two girl talk albums and they're free downloads because you can't like make money off them or whatever uh are exceptional and you would love them they mash up great pop songs and you would absolutely love it. So Girl Talk.

Download the last two albums from Girl Talk. I will do that. I introduced Monica to Girl Talk and she loves it too. Do you have any Celine Dion in there? What else you got in there for me? No, I didn't load up any Celine Dion.

But this is a song I'll play. Okay, so I love The Wire. And this is not a guilty pleasure because it's okay to like this one. Okay, it's cool. But there's a scene where Cuddy, so Cuddy is this guy, Dennis Wise,

came out of this jail, and he's just running. He goes for a run, okay? So Cuddy is this great character. He's going for a run on election day, and while he runs, this is on his, I don't know if it's a Walkman or what. And I think it might have been a Walkman.

So this is the song he runs to, and I liked this song before, but after this scene in The Wire, I can't get enough of this song. So if I'm going for a run or something, or a walk or whatever it is, and I got this tune going, I'm cutty. And it's this great feeling, like these endorphins are released. And we'll let it hook to the refrain, because this song is Curtis Mayfield, Move On Up.

And it happens to be loaded in my soundboard, that's why we're listening to it right now. It's not a guilty pleasure, it's okay to like Curtis Mayfield. Superfly. What is it about songs you love that make you feel they actually make you feel physically good?

You know? I tweeted about it yesterday. It's an endorphin that's released that makes you feel these chills. You'll feel chills. Music has this effect.

That's why when you hear a song you loved when you were 18 you feel you physically feel these positive chills that from these endorphins

it's a there's an actual neurological reaction. It's science. you physically feel these positive chills from these endorphins. There's an actual neurological reaction. It's science. It's definitely, and I definitely think there's something about the music that you, I guess, came of age with. The music that affected you when you were growing up, a teenager. Like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Exactly. When you hear that now, if I hear a I, you know, there's certain like,

if I hear a certain, you know, Keir song or a Lannis Morissette song, there's something that, Oh, you're Depeche Mode. Oh my gosh, exactly.

You know, that makes you feel a certain way. And I think it's because those songs affected you, you know, when you were growing up, right? Yep. Absolutely.

It's cool. Music's awesome. Music's awesome. Last thing before we close out, I wanted to, do you have anything to say about the Oscars? Because we haven't actually recorded since the Oscars. But it feels like it was 100 years ago now.

Not really. I kind of skimmed them this year. I finished second in your family Oscar pool, your aunt tells me. Yes, Aunt Carm. She blew everyone away this year. But coming in second is pretty impressive. Yeah, I know. I was impressed. I came in second. I didn't do well because I picked Django Un chain to win stuff and it won nothing oh no i knew jango and chain i didn't pick it to win anything except the award the two

awards it won are the only two i picked it to win so um no i i don't know i for some reason i was like annoyed by the oscars this year with all the um uh i have to admit the um i know the seth mcfarlane i didn't mind him as much as, you know, people are getting really feminist about it. No, please, it was fine. Exactly, it was fine. You know, I thought the boobs thing was kind of silly.

But really, if you didn't want that, you shouldn't have hired the guy from Family Guy. Like, what did you think you were buying? Exactly. But I have to admit, the one thing, and he didn't bother me too much about that because he's juvenile and that's his thing.

But I do think that the Oscars, I get this feeling it's becoming more of like a roast. Oh, I like roasts. We should make it more of a roast. Get Ricky Gervais back in there. I don't know. I don't really like the roast thing. I prefer it to be a little bit more dignified. It's so ridiculous.

If you don't laugh at yourself, it's so ridiculous. These famous guys get dressed up and they, you know, I won't use the term I was going to use, but they kiss each other's butts. Well, no, I know. Believe me. I know what you're saying, but I prefer if you're going to have all that air time,

I'd rather watch Jennifer Hudson sing or the Chicago... I like the music and the art. I prefer the art, right? What the heck was all the Chicago stuff about? You know what? I love the Chicago stuff. Come on. The producers of the show produced Chicago.

I know, and I love Chicago. It just didn't belong. This is 2013. That was my favorite part of it. To me, it was such blatant cross-promotion. My favorite part of it. I hate that. I would have taken that over Seth MacFarlane with his stupid tap dancing any day.

But I mean, that's just taste, right? It was okay. I always watched the Oscars, but I have to admit, I skimmed it a little more this year. I think we should host next year's Oscars. I think we'd be hilarious. Let's apply. Would you be nervous? Of course. There's a billion people watching.

I'm nervous knowing there's a few hundred people that are going to listen to this. Imagine if a billion people were listening. I read something that people thought Seth McFarlane did well because he was so not nervous. Like he really was comfortable and confident. One of our

listeners, and he tweets, he's on Twitter, Kevin, he turned me on to Ken Levine's blog, which is, you know, it's hilarious. And he actually wrote a pretty scathing review of Seth McFarlane, which a, which is, you know, it's hilarious. And he actually wrote a pretty scathing review of Seth MacFarlane, which a lot of people,

you know, disagreed with. There was a lot of debate over it. I say Tina, like everyone says, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler should host. They're adorable. I think we should bring back

David Letterman. Oh, God, no. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Anyone but Billy Crystal. That's all I'm going to say. I used to like David Letterman. He's gotten... Well, he can I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Anyone but Billy Crystal, that's all I'm going to say. I used to like David Letterman. He's gotten...

Well, he can't... I like him. He's passed his prime. I just don't think that's a job for him. Agreed. Agreed. Rosie, it feels good to be back in the saddle hosting Toronto Mic'd with you. Oh, great.

Well, it's great to have you back. It was fun. Thanks for listening, everyone. And that brings us to the end of our show. You can follow me on Twitter at Toronto Mike and Rosie at Rosie in Toronto. See you all next week. I want to take a streetcar downtown.