Podcast titles have doubled since April 2020, when Apple announced the one-millionth entry in its podcast directory
The phrase “video killed the radio star” is often used as a metaphor for the domination of video over audio. It’s also a song by British new-wave band and one-hit wonder, The Buggles, and was the first selection played by MTV 40 years ago, on Aug. 1, 1981, sparking the music video revolution. It was…
Designation signifies late U of A professor’s importance to the Canadian cultural landscape as a renowned classical music composer
An archival collection documenting the life and accomplishments of a University of Alberta music professor has struck a high note by earning a world-class designation. The Violet Archer fonds at the U of A has been accepted into the Canada Memory of the World Register, part of a UNESCO program that showcases the most meaningful documents in humanity’s…
U of A choral director conducts live performances in a parking lot, with singers performing from the safety of their cars
In a year when in-person concerts have been next to impossible, U of A choral director Tim Shantz has found a way for the university’s Madrigal Singers to perform live before an audience. And it doesn’t involve Zoom. Gathered in a parking lot, the members of his choir sing into microphones from their cars – all safely contained in…It’s time to bring back Hee Haw and its successful brand of comedy and country music to a whole new generation of TV viewers
“SAA-LUTE!” Does that ring a bell? If not, maybe a quick “Howdy!,” “Pfft! You was gone!,” “Uh-huh, oh yeah!” or “Hey Grandpa! What’s for supper?” will bring back fond memories. Perhaps a short visit to Kornfield Kounty and Archie’s Barber Shop would help. Or we could grab a guitar and banjo and start pickin’ and…
Audiences took a while to warm up to a black country musician. He wasn’t promoted in this fashion and photos didn’t accompany his early singles
I didn’t grow up listening to country music. Nevertheless, there were country musicians I always liked. Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Charlie Daniels, Roy Clark (who was also a bluegrass legend), Kenny Rogers, Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama come to mind. Then there was Charley Pride. He was in a class of his…
Now a professor of music psychology, Susan Rogers will also discuss music and psychology in two virtual presentations for the U of A’s music department
Susan Rogers needed just one more lucrative gig to go back to school. It wasn’t that she didn’t already have a hugely successful career. She cut her teeth as a studio technician with David Crosby and Graham Nash after dropping out of high school, and was hired by Prince as staff technician in the early…
U of A vocal acoustics expert recruiting singers and infectious disease specialists to assess risk of transmission
The director of the University of Alberta’s Chorale Saint-Jean is doing research to determine the risk of transmitting COVID-19 through singing. Skeptical of what he calls the “anecdotal hysteria” about the dangers of choral singing, Laurier Fagnan points to a high-profile case of infection among members of a Washington State choir in early March, before social distancing and other…
A Twitter meme reveals more about race and music than the composer’s origins. Social media trend is a new twist on a century-old question
The year 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth, and in mid-June this year, he started trending on Twitter. Perhaps it wasn’t so strange that Beethoven was popping up on social media platforms, but what was unusual and certainly unforeseen: the claim that “Beethoven was Black.” Where did this idea come from?…
As an artist and an academic, Arsh Khaira explores the power of music to overcome divisions
Music has a major role to play in the fight against systemic racism, according to newly minted music PhD Arsh Khaira. The Edmonton-based musician and University of Alberta instructor, who graduated on June 12, wrote his thesis on how the trauma of ethnic conflict is passed down through generations. He focused specifically on the ways…
The Specials helped calm racial tensions and drew broad attention to the unjust imprisonment of Nelson Mandela
It has long been debated whether you can change the world with a song. If it’s not possible, one band came incredibly close. The Specials (or The Special AKA) rose to prominence in England in the late 1970s and achieved international fame in the early 1980s. Their sound fused the music of Jamaican immigrants with…