Features / Music

For our first 2012 retrospective, we're passing the mic to record labels and artists to tell us what they thought of the past twelve months in music. As well as asking about their favourite albums of 2012 and what they're looking forward to for 2013, we also ask bands, artists … Read more

Pass the Mic is a Scene Point Blank tradition dating back to 2006 in which we turn the tables, sending a set of questions to bands, artists, and labels to get their opinions and memories of the past year in music. This year we've broken it into two pieces. Instead … Read more

Every year we pause in our relentless quest to document the best music coming out of the punk, hardcore and indie scene and ask those on the other side to tell us what they've enjoyed: first the bands and artists, and secondly, the record labels. In this year's instalment we … Read more

Every year since 2006, Scene Point Blank has made it our mission to find out what our community thought of the previous twelve months in music. At the end of each year we reach out to artists, record labels and other industry figures working in punk, hardcore and more to … Read more

Now in its tenth year, Pass The Mic is a SPB tradition where we ask the artists and record labels producing some of our favorite music to comment on the year in music: what albums they enjoyed, what bands they discovered, what their label released and what they're excited for … Read more

Pitchfork Media announced on January 19th, 2007 that they would hold their third music festival in Chicago, IL at Union Park on July 13th through the 15th, having three days of music as opposed to only two at previous festivals. Technically, this was only Pitchfork's second festival using their name. … Read more

Pitchfork Music Festival descended on Chicago’s Union Park for the thirteenth straight year (their "curation" of 2005’s Intonation Music Festival notwithstanding) for what’s turning into a third weekend in July tradition. What started as a summertime platform for a lot of buzzy under-the-radar acts has swelled into a verifiable hodgepodge … Read more

  Hey punks: Put down those razors and electric shavers, it's time to let the facial hair flourish. You too ladies; nothing says sex appeal like a well-grown dirt-lip. And to all the social drinkers and self-professed professional drunks: you better start cracking open the cold ones. It's time to raise … Read more

It's that time again – Record Store Day 2015. We all have a favorite or recommended store to pick up new releases, discover hidden gems or even sell old unwanted albums onto unwary shoppers. In this feature, we round up nine of our favorite local record stores, ranging from Dublin … Read more

Most of you are still recovering from Fest, but let’s not forget that Red Scare had a little fest of their own for their 10th Anniversary show. Maybe you were cool enough to catch both, maybe you missed out on one. Either way, we’ll be covering both so you can … Read more

Hey folks, Toby here, and the SPB team asked me to provide some insights about some stuff from our catalog now that Red Scare is (you gotta be shittin’ me?!) twenty years old. Specifically a “memory or modern take” on some past releases, and they picked some doozies, so let’s … Read more

Refused are fucking alive, but they’re still fucking mysterious. I’ll never forget that late Sunday night in winter 1999 when I saw the premiere of “New Noise” on MTV’s 120 Minutes. (Back then that show was the way to find out about cool bands before everyone else.) My father, who … Read more

  I told my little sister that Tuesday night that Elliot Smith had killed himself. I couldn't say I was surprised when she responded with a "Who's that?" Yet, I had a gleam of hope that in some way, she would understand what had happened, that she would be as shocked … Read more

Today we lost Erik Peterson, the frontman and mastermind behind anarcho-punk act Mischief Brew. I had met Erik on a handful of occasions. I covered a couple of his Toronto shows when he was in town, and caught him headlining an outdoor concert in Tompkins Square Park the last time … Read more

Alright. Full disclosure: While the moniker Iron & Wine blipped here and there on my radar and your humble narrator thinking that it would not be the worst name for a band anchored in the unsägliche genre that has become known as Neofolk, I had never actually listened to Sam … Read more

It’s third weekend in September and for the second year in a row I’m waiting at Downsview station. Downsview is Toronto’s Northern most subway stop. While technically still in the city, it’s a forty-minute schlep from the downtown core, which is basically an impossible journey to any self-respecting urbanite. I’m … Read more

We had such a blast at Riot Fest 2019 that we want to share our favorite moments and also give you recommendations for how you can recreate and/or relive those moments for yourself! Summer’s definitely over, but that doesn’t mean life has to be a total bummer. Check out our … Read more

The bus I'm on smells terrible: a mixture of body odour, cheap beer, and anticipation. It's filled to the brim with concert goers, mostly teenagers, but also a handful of adults who are dressed like teenagers. We're on our way to the Toronto leg of Riot Fest. This is the … Read more

It's been an interesting year thus far. There's been some disappointing records, some exciting new ones, some dismal follow ups and jaw dropping singles. We've seen bizarre new medical discoveries and more terrorism threats. But above all, we've seen Scene Point Blank post features late. Quite why this is the … Read more

It's that happy time again - Scene Point Blank's fashionably late midyear feature. If you're a regular reader of the site, you should know what to expect by now; if you're new to the site, this feature is generally where we spout statistics and lists for several pages at our … Read more