A.C. Newman (far left) has been binging on the Netflix show Narcos lately.Jenny Jimenez
With a 48-date tour coming to an end on Saturday at Toronto's Massey Hall, the pop-rock maestros the New Pornographers will take a break from the road. The band's latest LP is Whiteout Conditions, a hook-laden collection inspired by krautrock and 5th Dimension "champagne soul." We asked founder and frontman A.C. Newman what occupied his time on the tour buses these past few months.
What he's reading: "I started rereading Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut, and since I read it 20 years ago, it is essentially new to me. Vonnegut is the author I want to get my son reading as soon as possible. He says so much simply and hilariously. What's a good Vonnegut age, 10?"
What he's watching: "I've been binging on the Netflix show Narcos. The story of Pablo Escobar and Colombia is so insane, it's hard to believe it happened. Juan Gabriel Vasquez's novel The Sound of Things Falling is a great companion piece, set in the same messed-up time and place."
What he's listening to: "I've been rediscovering the American pop duo Sparks recently. I saw them in Oslo and was blown away that, at the ages 68 and 72, Russell and Ron Mael are still so relevant and amazing. Their 2015 album with Franz Ferdinand, FFS, is also really great. I put them up there with the giants."
The New Pornographers play Massey Hall on Oct. 14, 8 p.m., $18.94 to $39.50, 178 Victoria St., 416-872-4255 or masseyhall.com.
Brad Wheeler