In the News: Juno Highlights, Radiohead's Free Paper + What to Expect on Record Store Day

The 2011 Juno Awards took place in Toronto last night and surprisingly, it wasn't a total disaster. A jam-packed Air Canada Centre, full of fans and artists alike, were entertained by a number of great performances and the slick hosting ability of Toronto's own rap superstar, Drake. While the Juno's are often regarded as a total snoozefest, with hosts that tell jokes that are barely laughable, this year's event was actually presented very well and didn't feel like a complete waste of time. I feel like I'm being really harsh here, but I know that's what everyone thinks! I swear I'm not a horrible person.

Arcade Fire cleaned up house having won four awards; Best Album of the Year, Group Of The Year, Best Alternative Album Of The Year, and Songwriter Of The Year. Rock legend Niel Young took home a Juno for Artist of the Year while the Biebz received awards for Pop Album of the Year and the Juno Fan Choice Award. It was definitely surprising to see Drake, who was nominated in six different categories leave empty handed. He did however leave a smile on peoples' faces having done a couple of pretty funny sketches such as the one below. Who needs Young Money when you got Old Money?!



There were a number of great performances from the likes of Tokyo Police Club (“Bambi”), Chromeo (“Hot Mess”), Hedley (“Perfect”) and Arcade Fire (“Rococo”). There was also a great tribute to Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot and The Band performed by several artists including Dallas Green, Sarah Harmer and Jim Cuddy. All in all, it was probably the best Juno Awards I've seen.

In other news, Radiohead published their very own newspaper entitled The Universal Sigh. The free paper began being distributed today in various locations worldwide to celebrate the release of their latest album The King of Limbs in its physical format. The paper features lyrics, stories, poems and artwork from the band. Visit the paper's website to find out if you can still grab yourself a copy. For those of you in North America, The Universal Sigh will be available starting tomorrow while supplies last. However, if you're like me and will be stuck at work, you can checkout the .pdf version right here. Below see frontman Thom Yorke distributing copies of The Universal Sigh in London this morning.

Record Store Day will be taking place on April 16 and to commemorate the event, a number of different artists will be releasing 7-inch vinyl singles. The Beastie Boys will drop their track “Make Some Noise,” off their upcoming album, as well as singles from Tinie Tempah, Gorillaz, Danger Mouse and Jack White. The Twilight collabo featuring Beck and Bat For Lashes will also be released, with a Bat For Lashes b-side demo track titled “Dark Time.”