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.
Tuesday November 20th
When you were young, did you imagine your plush animals or action figures could come alive? The story behind Toy Story is not a modern concept. Igor Stravinsky'sPetrushka is the story of a puppet (named Petrushka) who falls in love. Unfortunately, another puppet is pursuing the same lady-puppet. In the end, Petrushka dies in the battle for his love. Were you conjuring up similarly romantic, dramatic, and tragic stories for your little teddy bear?
(our on-air broadcast featured this piece being performed by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra)
Elixir is a band that encourages contra dancing. For those who aren't familiar, contra dancing is comparable to square or line dancing. But this is not out of fashion whatsover, as Elixir specializes in continuing this musical/dance fusion throughout the year. So get in motion! Add some dance to your music rituals. Check out the dancing style, but the camera work in this video is not ideal:
(our on-air broadcast featured Elixir's song "Daybreak".)
There is a correlation between chocolate and intelligence. The countries that consume the most chocolate also have won the most Nobel Prizes. Is it because chocolate is an indication that the country, if indulging, must also have its education and business infrastructure well handled? Or are you about to go buy a chocolate bar?
The only thing better than a great invention is an equally hilarious failed invention. In 1950s and 60s Japan, some of the best failed inventions of all time were created. A "walking toaster" is just the beginning of the fun.
It's hard enough to become a CEO of a corporation. But new research has found one more task required of any good CEO: relax. A relaxed CEO trickles down to every level of the business. So kick your feet up!
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 ).