I'm just back from a one-week European swing. As I moved from airport, to train station, to restaurant, to hotel, I was followed everywhere by Daft Punk's "Get Lucky," the ubiquitous song of the moment. The inescapability of "Get Lucky" is part of the story.

Performing live is difficult for most musicians. Successfully conveying emotion to a crowd takes practice. Even professional musicians make mistakes. One great gig can be the difference between fame and obscurity, so don't sabotage your debut before you even arrive. Follow these tips to avoid shooting yourself in the foot onstage.

Sadly, neither Drake nor Director X was there to accept the award. They robbed me of probably my best moment to run on stage and "Pull a Kanye." I think that's what sent me into the downward spiral. I ordered another drink. Then a double. Then a triple. And a Regina triple is pretty stiff, let me tell you

In the 24 hours since I touched down in Regina for the Juno awards, I've been overcome by the stark landscape, the kindness of the locals and the strength of the alcohol in my body. I'm hungover. I found myself at the Juno reception which was held at a Mountie training facility. There were Mounties everywhere.

The Luv-A-Fair was a giant warehouse at the intersection where the red light and gay districts met. The bouncers were tough and mean. There was one incident where a bouncer had not only barred a yahoo from entering the club, but also chased him around the block wielding a bicycle chain.

I got the job with MuchMusic. It's a 24 hour music station that plays videos, sort of like radio on your TV. Do you have such a channel over there in the U.K.? My role is rock and roll newsman for "the nation's music station." It's exciting, intense, aggravating, and glitzy all at once.

There is a trend or idea or general genre of the female singer-songwriter who somehow has to shrivel to remain sincere. This floppy prospector hat wearing type who whispers her feelings to you while maintaining a little pout. If all you have to say is you are mad at your boyfriend and your Etsy store is tanking then cool. Just get away from me and make a new Tumblr about it.

Directors both upstart and established are able to create whatever worlds their imagination (and technical know-how) can conjure. And quite frankly, when it comes to music videos it's the animated ones that are often more story-rich - not to mention pretty or hallucinatory or just in glorious defiance of the laws of physics.

Hearing "Hey Jude" live? How can that not be on your bucket list? Is there another song anywhere in the universe that begs the same effect, or comes with the same aura, when its played to people who've paid to see and hear it? On Sunday night, Paul McCartney had his way with 60,000 Canadians.

Youth love music and consider it one of the most important things in their lives yet the education system rarely exploits this passion as the remarkable teaching tool it can be. (Consider that when we were in kindergarten we memorized 26 abstract concepts, in order, by singing our ABCs.)

I got into Nick Drake's music the way most people did. A friend gave me a tape and said "you've got to check this guy out." The friend was the other guitarist in my band at school and it was the late 80s in North-West London. Nick's music grabbed me instantly. It was timeless, beautiful and melancholy.