by SCOTT C

I remember having a discussion with my next-door neighbour Richie Alexander when we were trying to get to the bottom of the whole "presents under the tree" thing. At seven years old, this was probably the most pressing thing on our minds at the time, and we devoted long hours to solving this insane mystery. Richie was entirely certain that he had seen his mother trying to hide a brand new pair of soccer cleats under a bag of fruit and vegetables in the car the year before. That same pair of cleats graced the feet of his younger brother Randy, who was scoring champ later that year.

Although Richie provided unequivocal proof that Santa had absolutely nothing to do with the cleats, he was puzzled by the strange unexplainable tag that appeared on the wrapped box under the tree. It said, "TO: Randy, FROM: Santa."

Impossible as it seemed, we decided that Richie's mother had actually forged Santa's handwriting. Why she would do something like this I didn't know, but I made sure that I told my own mother about the horrors of Christmas next door.

Even though Christmas is right next door, there's still a lot going on in the city before we all pack it in for a few weeks. Dibondoko brings its funky soul to the stage over at l'Escogriffe this Friday, Dec. 5, 10 p.m. If you're in the mood for some true-school hip hop, make your way up to Quai des Brumes for the next installment of On the Mix, now pushing volume 11. The night will feature a double mix tape launch for Stack Money & Jaber, and Naes & Jabz, as well as performances by Egypto and Dee, Wyzah and Tactical Crew. $5 as always.

If you haven't already heard, our good friends De La Soul have decided to dip into MTL once again for a show on Sunday, Dec. 7, at le Medley. Hopefully they'll get a handle on the sound this time, something that everybody always complains about after a show in there. Next Wednesday, Dec. 10, you might want to check out one of Toronto's most colourful reggae personalities when the mighty Whitey Don rolls into Rub-a-Dub with Don-Ray and Micah at Blizzarts. The tax is $3 before 11 p.m. and $6 after, so make a move, seen?

Just in! The piece that Heavyweight whipped off last Saturday night at the Bugz in the Attic show (shown left). Nice job, guys! Look for it to grace the cover of the next Waxpoetics magazine.

Seven reasons to question seasoned white meat:
1. The Procussions "We Gotta!" (Traffic)
2. The Genie Rebel Music (HLM)
3. Voodoo Jazz Mo Fat (independent)
4. Jeru the Damaja Divine Design (Redeye)
5. Don-Ray f/ Alma Horton "Give a Little" Dubline mix (CDR)
6. Erykah Badu "Back in the Day" (Motown)
7. DJ Junk Power Moves (SecondtoNone)

My back hurts... fathead@videotron.ca

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