Welcome to Shift, where Tom Allen takes you on a daily musical journey from the stalwarts of Classical music to the cutting edge of Contemporary tunes. Join us here on CBC music for a round-up of the stories of the day, some videos of music (or maybe just videos interesting to music fans) and a place to speak your voice.
Wednesday October 17th
Today on Shift, you'll get two very different versions of a classic tune. We're playing "Steal Away," composed by Nat Turner. But do Hank Jones and Charlie Haden play it best? Jarvis Church has also thrown his hat in the mix with a brand new interpretation of the classic. But can the new out-shine the old? Check out Jarvis Church's brand new tune in this live clip from CBC Music:
And CBC Music keeps the content coming. In honour of Blue Rodeo's 25th year as a band, we're giving you as much Blue Rodeo as you can handle. They've re-released some of their best albums, and we've dedicated streams of music to playing those albums all day and night. You can pick to stream from Outskirts, Diamond Mine, Casino, Lost Together, and Five Days in July. All those albums have been compiled for their brand new box set, called Blue Rodeo: 1987-1993.
When did everybody start saying "cheers"? Since when was it normal to claim somebody "has their knickers in a twist"? Did President Obama really use the word "gobsmacked"? It seems that British coloquialisms have made their way into North American vocabulary. Apparently this connected world means we exchange more than just viral cat videos online.
How much to you love your favourite television shows? Or sporting events? Would it be worth 21 minutes of your life? I don't mean the 21 minutes it takes to watch your screen, but that you lose 21 minutes in the long run. It turns out, on average, that it may be a realistic assessment of the impact of television watching. So would you rather watch that show now, or have those 21 minutes to watch your favourite show 50 years from now?
On a celestial level, it seems we've angered somebody. Or something. And it's Pluto. We took away the designation of "planet" away from the furthest large rock in our solar system, and now Pluto is seeking revenge. The BBC has pointed out that Pluto was hiding moons from us, and is giving plenty of trouble to NASA probes.
You can contact us at SHIFT with your ideas, questions, or anything else by sending us a message on our Facebook page. Through email, you can reach show producers Alison Howard ( alison.howard@cbc.ca ) or Alex Redekop ( alex.redekop@cbc.ca ).