A factual report about unsung DJs who contributed to the foundational principals of the music known today as Hip Hop. This documentary chronicles the mobile deejay scene that existed in Brooklyn before and alongside what was happening in the Bronx in the late 60s, early 70s.
Ottawa Plans Major Cultural Policy Review And Wants Your Input
On April 22, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly announced that all of Canada’s major cultural policy instruments will be going up for review, including the Broadcasting Act, Copyright Act, Telecommunications Act, CRTC, CBC, NFB, Telefilm Canada, Canada Council for the Arts and the Canada Music Fund.
Joly seeks to establish a new, integrated model for governing all aspects of Canada’s cultural economy – on which more than 600,000 jobs and $47.7 billion of GDP currently depend (making it a greater overall contributor to the national economy than fisheries, agriculture and forestry combined).
The Department of Heritage launched public consultations on April 23, with an online questionnaire that can be filled out until Friday, May 20, 2016.
Cineplex to Host One-Night-Only Screening of Prince’s Purple Rain at Theatres Across Canada
Cineplex Events today announced that it will be celebrating the life of musical legend Prince with a special screening of the musician’s iconic film, Purple Rain. Screenings will take place on the evening of Monday, May 2 and tickets, which are now on sale, are $6.99.
Cineplex Events will donate $1.00 from every ticket sold to MusiCounts, Canada’s music education charity associated with The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). The film will screen at 54 Cineplex locations across Canada. A complete list of participating theatres can be found here.
“Bringing Purple Rain back to the big screen is a perfect way to honour the life of Prince,” said Brad LaDouceur, Vice President, Event Cinema, Cineplex Entertainment. “This special screening will allow fans to celebrate the artistry of Prince together as a community.”
“We are very honoured that Cineplex has chosen MusiCounts for this donation,” said Allan Reid, President and CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards & MusiCounts. “The funds raised will help put musical instruments into the hands of children and youth who needs music in their lives – a fitting legacy in memory of Prince.”
MusiCounts, Canada’s music education charity associated with The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) is helping to keep music alive across Canada. MusiCounts’ mission is to ensure that children in Canada, regardless of socio-economic circumstances or cultural background, have access to music programs through their schools and communities. This is achieved through the Band Aid Program, the TD Community Music Program, the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award, Scholarships and other music education initiatives. Since MusiCounts’ establishment in 1997, over $9,000,000 has been awarded to help support music education in Canada. These funds have benefitted over 850 schools and communities from coast to coast, supported over 350 post-secondary music program graduates and honoured 11 extraordinary music teachers through the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award.
Originally released in 1984, Purple Rain stars pop icon Prince as a young musician who must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance and his own dissatisfied band as his star begins to rise. Tickets and showtimes are available at participating theatre box offices, on the Cineplex mobile app or at Cineplex.com/Events.
Alan Sparhawk of Low on not repeating yourself after 20 years
Ones and Sixes is the eleventh studio album by Low, released on September 11, 2015, and was co-produced by the band and engineer BJ Burton, at Justin Vernon’s April Base Studios in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In this excerpt, he discusses how to keep things fresh for a band, even after 20 years.
How difficult is it not to repeat yourself at this point?
Alan Sparhawk, Low: Well, I think it is something you have to be on top of, but I feel lucky that I don’t feel like that comes up very often. Every once in a while, you have to wonder “Is this a step backwards?” or “Is this okay? We sound like that, but where does this song need to go beyond that?” I hope we don’t repeat ourselves. I don’t think we do. I know there’s certain traits, and if someone listened to us long enough they could say, “Oh, yeah. Alan likes this certain chord” or “He likes to go from this one to this one a lot.” And that’s fine. We’ve been doing it for 22 years, and at the end of the day the music styles of the world haven’t changed very much. At least [with] The Beatles, technology was changing so fast that it was super recognizable and styles were changing so fast. Now we have computers and stuff, but is there anything new happening in the last 22 years? Is anybody really creating anything new? Hip-hop and R&B are dominating Top 40, sprinkled in every once and a while with some folky person, and then your obligatory two or three Foo Fighters-type bands that are up on top playing arenas.
That’s pretty much the trend. It hasn’t gone to ’50s to ’60s to ’70s. If you’re looking back relatively in history, there have been some new things, but it’s really not much. Point being, if you’re a band that started doing one thing and has been continuing, and you’ve done 10 or 12 records by now, you’re either repeating the same thing over and over again or you’re all over the place in a certain way. I guess I hope we’re more like that. I don’t know that we think about it too much, other than just “Hey, let’s not have the same song over and over again on the records.” Obviously, there are times when I’m writing, and I have three or four songs and think, “Wow. These all have the same vibe.” And you’ll end up using only one or two of them sometimes. That’s probably the most I’ve ever had to think about whether I’m repeating myself or we’re progressing.
What It’s Like To Fly When You Have A Fear Of Flying
From the first line, I laughed. I can relate to this on ever single level. Every thought has been through my mind at least once (except for calling Jesus a bad name.) Come on, we’re hurling in the air in metal tube at 1,000 miles an hour, and people don’t even clap anymore when we land?
Patti Smith on Getting Bleeped
When people say fuckin‘ shit, they don‘t think of a big turd, or two people makin‘ it anymore” – Patti Smith in May 1976, as told to Mick Gold
In the spring of 1976, Patti Smith made her debut in London. She wasn’t even 30, yet. The brilliant PBS’ Blank On Blank going inside her hotel, the Portobello, a Bohemian place popular with the fashion biz and musicians. Several journalists are inside the room asking Patti questions. For nearly two hours Patti holds court on her love of the French poet Rimbuad that spawned her creative path while still a young woman in New Jersey, her publicized relationship with Bob Dylan once she arrived on the scene, and her ability to dip into her unconscious pretty much anytime she wanted to.
It’s vintage Patti Smith, unvarnished and unfiltered.
Deaf cab driver thanks Uber for lifeline
Shaf Hoque is one of a handful of deaf or hearing impaired Uber drivers in Toronto. He takes Global Television’s Kris Reyes for a ride to show how he works.
The Simpsons’ Couch Gag reimagined by Eric Goldberg in Disney-inspired twist
One of television’s most famous introductions is from The Simpsons. Even viewers who aren’t fans know the intro music. After being on TV of years and years, the show often has artists take a stab at recreating the Couch Gag as it’s become known as. This time, artist Eric Goldberg takes the classic intro and adds a Disney inspired twist.
https://youtu.be/9qcY2ERwmaU
Infographic: 22 Internet Firsts
“First!” is the calling card of internet commenters across the globe. It’s a symbol of nonchalant pride and achievement, and an iconic idiom of the age we live in.
Things weren’t always so connected, though. Prior to the 1960’s computers could not communicate with one another. By the late eighties that they became small enough to approach the mainstream market. (As they could now fit inside houses, rather than being the size of them.)
However, it was arguably the turn of the century that witnessed the birth of the information age we know today.
Our modern lives are dominated by our phones. The internet has grown from a quirky technical experiment to the dominant channel for information exchange. Even if that information is just endless streams of instagramed of dogs in fancy dress, viral videos about Daniel’s impressive trainers, and Twitter updates on breakfasts across the world. Crucially, the internet is now with us wherever we go.
Last month Twitter turned ten, and a whole host of once innovative apps and sites are beginning to show their age. Start-ups have become dominant cultural media channels, influencing everything from the language we use to the opinions we are exposed to. Not bad for a few lines of code.
YouTube introduces six-second Bumper ads
YouTube announced a new ad format today that’s all about brevity.
In a blog post, Product Manager Zach Lupei said YouTube has been exploring formats that are better-suited for smartphone video watchers. Hence the creation of Bumper ads — video ads that are only six seconds long.
The idea of a really short ad isn’t new — the name suggests that the inspiration comes fromthose brief bumper videos you see on TV. And it makes sense that as online videos get shorter, ads will follow suit. (It’s not great when you sit through a 30-second pre-roll to get to a video that isn’t much longer.)