Toronto modular synthesis enthusiasts enjoyed some wired action recently at the inaugural Modular Synthesizer Information Sessions at west end self-styled dive bar and concert venue Wrongbar.

Eurorack is often referred to in the modular community as EuroCrack. It empties bank accounts, destroys relationships and ruins lives. On the plus side, it does make strange music that no one wants to listen to. My involvement with it was inevitable.

Toronto indie music and microbrew mainstay C’est What? celebrated 25 years of supporting local brewing and songwriting talent on Wednesday with an eclectic lineup of performers that represented the club’s history as a proving ground for both musicians and brewmasters.

A full generation of moviegoers now associates 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Randy Newman solely with the soundtracks and songs he has written for six Pixar films rather than the darkly sardonic ouvre he launched with a self-titled solo album in 1968.

The final mix of “They Want Subways” is done, and because people tend to skim over unadorned audio on the web I went ahead and created a video for it. Click the “read more” link to have a look, and a listen.

At various times during the construction of a new tune, I play a little home version of the David Letterman segment “Is this anything?” and the time has certainly come for “They Want Subways.” It is, much like the Toronto Transit System, a work in progress, but as I haven’t shared any music with you in some time, I thought I’d give you a preview.

I love music books. If I could play a tenth of the music in all the music books I have lying around I’d be some kind of piano hero. I had a piano tuner ask if I was a teacher. Nope. I just like the books. There’s a part of my brain that thinks that owning a book is like knowing a thing. That part of my brain is wrong.

This is probably some form of copyright infringement, but I have completed my transcription of Allen Toussaint’s Tipitina and Me, and since his publisher’s website clearly states they are not interested in publishing unsolicited transcriptions, I’m just going to give it away for free here.

I have a great fondness for New Orleans style piano solo, and it’s a nut I’ve been trying to crack for some time. It sounds very relaxed and natural, and not nearly as daunting as popular 20th-century forms like stride and rag. But the relaxed feel is very deceptive.

A few years back – well, just over 5 years as it turns out – I became a semi-regular Songfight contender, submitting five tunes in total of various degrees of quality. The mechanics of Songfight are pretty simple. Write and record a song based on a supplied title, upload it within a specified time period, and have your song voted and commented on by the forum community.