The Ongoing History of New Music, episode 991: The History of the 2010s, part 4

It’s an established fact that music comes in many different types of cycles. A sound and style will be big for a while, reach a peak with the public, and then slowly fade out. But once established, it’s unusual for a sound to completely disappear, never to be heard from again.

The only genre I can think of is—maybe alt-rock-style rockabilly? It was big in the very early 80s with bands like The Stray Cats. But then it just kinda went away. There’s never been a rockabilly revival—at least in the sense and style and scope of what we heard way back then when it was huge for about 18 months.

Instead, after enjoying a time at the forefront of music, many of the cycle-prone rock sounds recede into the shadows, never really going away. They lie in wait until someone comes along—often a generation or two later—to rediscover and reactivate it.

When that happens, it’s usually given a sonic update and if the timing is right, the sound enjoys a new period in the sun before the cycle repeats yet again.

The longer you live and the more music you become familiar with, the more you begin to see these cycles play themselves out, sometimes over and over again. We see it every decade.

The 2010s were no different. We saw a series of revivals, rediscoveries, and comebacks, all based on the musical DNA of what had come before. Let’s examine that. This is the history of the 2010s, part 4.

Songs heard on this show:

    • Tool, Fear Inoculum
    • Tame Impala, Elephant
    • Besnard Lakes, People of the Sticks
    • The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die
    • Radiohead, Burn the Witch
    • The Struts, Body Talks
    • PUP, Kids
    • DC Fontaines, Boys in the Better Land
    • The Interrupters, She’s Kerosene

The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on the following stations:

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

© 2023 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

New Music Friday: 9 releases you should hear as September ends (29 Sept 2023)

Next to spring, fall is the most interesting time for new releases. Not only is this New Music Friday material out now but some of it also sets up the kind of material we’re going to get this winter.

Singles

1. AWOLNATION, Candy Pop (Eleven Seven Label Group)

Okay, so I missed this one last week so I need to make good. AWOLNATION has released this new single (and its accompanying short film) as the third part of a trilogy. Frontman Aaron Bruno describes everything as “a story about escaping from never-ending technological advancements and constant connectivity and scrutiny…The adventure of a lifetime can come from ‘tuning out.” An EP with the trilogy and more will be available on November 10,

2. Black Pumas, Mrs. Postman (ATO Records/Cadence Music Group)

Black Pumas have already been nominated for seven Grammy awards, so the anticipation for this sophomore record is pretty intense. With Chronicles of a Diamond due on October 27, Eric Burton and Andrian Quesada (along with keyboards JaRon Marshall) want to take their view of rock and soul a little further. The first advance single, More Than a Love Song, already managed some chart success, so let’s see where this piano-based song takes them.

3. Sum 41, Landmines (Rise Records)

When I spoke to Deryck Whibley earlier this year, he told me that the new Sum 41 album could very well be a double record and that all he had to do was finish the vocals. The first single from that record is now here. Deryck is still recovering from a bout of pneumonia that landed him in the hospital, but the band is still scheduled to play the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas on October 21 and 22.

4. Depeche Mode, My Favourite Stranger (Columbia)

Depeche Mode will tour the Memento Mori album deep into the fall. This is now the fourth single form the album and was co-written with Richard Butler of Psychedelic Furs. It comes with another enigmatic video shot by Anton Corbijn. Who’s the guy in the hat? And what does he want?

Albums

1. Art Bergman, ShadowWalk (weewerk)

Art Bergman, one of Canada’s most beloved indie cult artists, has dedicated this album to Sherri, his late wife of 31 years. The album “capture the darkness, grief and desolation that comes from such a soul-crushing loss, while also offering genuine hope that life will go on.” It might make for gut-wrenching listening.

2. Bakar, Halo (Black Butter)

All right, all right. I missed this one, too. British singer Bakar is just about ready with a highly-anticipated (and inevitably difficult) second album entitled Halo. He describes it as a song “fit for the indie sleaze generation.” Maybe this has something to do about most of the record being recorded in AirBnB’s and hotels between London and LA while he was in tour.

3. Black Stone Cherry, Screamin’ at the Sky (Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group)

This Kentucky band has been enjoying some decent success with the first single from this album (Out of Pocket was released in January) and now finally have a full album for fans. The video for Nervous was shot in an old piano factory that had been turned into a production studio filled with old TV and movie sets.

4. Taproot, SC/SSRS (THC Music/Amplified Distribution)

If you remember the nu-metal era of the late 90s, Taproot was a band from Michigan that was always hanging in the shadows of Limp Bizkit and Korn. Just when it seemed that they were going to break through, the whole scene seemed to evaporate in a puff of testosterone. Taproot stayed together, however, but haven’t released an album since 2012. Is nu-metal back? We’ll see.

5. Wilco, Cousin (dBpm Records/Sony Music)

This is the thirteenth album over the Jeff Tweedy and company have been in business and early reviews point out that there’s a slight change in attitude and approach, although it has to be said that this is still very definitely a Wilco record. The record is slower than most with little that can be described as being anything more than mid-tempo. It’s helped along by Welsh producer Cate Le Bon who has a reputation of being someone experimental.

 

 

© 2023 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Ongoing History Daily: Pearl Jam bootleg overload

Back when Pearl Jam was at their height, they had the clout to do anything they wanted. Anything.

On September 26, 2000, the band released 25 double CD live albums—what they referred to as “official bootlegs”—featuring performances from virtually every show they played on European tour in support of their Binaural album. Of those 25, five immediately made the top 200 album chart. This was the first time any act ever saw more than two new albums show up on the chart in the same week.

Two other sets just missed the cut. Had they made the charts that week, Pearl Jam would have joined The Beatles, The Monkees, and U2 as the only acts to that point with seven albums on the charts at the same time.

This was decades before Taylor Swift came along.

© 2023 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Throwback Thursday: It's Immaterial and Driving Away from Home (1986)

Looking for a driving song? This one from Liverpool’s It’s Immaterial (especially in this 12-inch iteration) fits the bill. It began with a full-on country-and-western vibe recorded with the Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison, but the band didn’t like it. They returned to England to re-record it while Harrison took his name off the project.

The song’s full title is Driving Away from Home (Jim’s Tune). The “Jim” is Jim Lieber, a harmonica player in a blues band the group saw while in Milwaukee. He’s the guy we hear on the recording.

 

© 2023 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Ongoing History Daily: Babies and live music

A question from new parents: “Should I expose my baby to live music?” The answer is “yes.”

A recent study at the University of Toronto revealed that infants have longer attention spans when experiencing live music. Sure, you might want to give them an iPad to stare at, but that apparently doesn’t work as well as live music. Videos don’t captivate them a whole lot but live music elicits physiological changes like a synchronization of heart rate to the music.

The final conclusion? “Findings suggest that performer–audience interactions and social context play an important role in facilitating attention and coordinating emotional responses to musical performances early in life.”

The big caveat? Volume. The live music cannot be too loud for those delicate little ears.

© 2023 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Inflation uptick could mean interest rates stay higher for longer

On Thursday, Bank of Canada Gov. Tiff Macklem stated that the risks of tightening monetary policy too much are being considered by the institution, amid this week's hold on an interest rate hike. The Governing Council decided to maintain the policy rate at 5 per cent, but acknowledged that it may be necessary to increase the rate further if inflationary pressures persist. He added, “But I want to be clear – we are not trying to kill economic growth.”

Stubborn inflation might not warrant another interest rate hike, but could mean the Bank of Canada keeps its policy rate higher for longer, according to new forecasts released this week.

An updated economic outlook from Deloitte Canada released Thursday shows a rougher path than first thought for gross domestic product — the benchmark measure for Canada’s economic output.

“Over the near term, we expect the economy to continue to struggle in the face of high household debt, soaring interest payments and stubbornly persistent inflation,” the report reads.

Many economists were surprised last month by news that Canada’s economy contracted slightly in the second quarter of this year. Deloitte is calling for continued GDP decline for the remaining quarters of 2023 before a return to modest growth starting in 2024.

All told, the firm now expects real GDP growth of 1.0 per cent in 2023 and 0.9 per cent in 2024, revised down from expected increases of 1.3 per cent and 1.0 per cent, respectively, in an earlier June forecast.

Deloitte said that while an economic slowdown tied to the Bank of Canada’s interest rate tightening cycle has long been expected, it’s finally coming to bear.

The report cites households drawing down pandemic-era savings and some homeowners shifting their mortgages into negative amortizations as factors that pushed back the slowdown, but said these impacts may have “run their course” en route to a slower fall and winter.

Deloitte also expects that population growth tied to strong immigration levels will outpace job gains in Canada, driving the unemployment rate to 5.9 per cent in Canada in early 2024, up from the 5.5 per cent reported for August.

With the economic cooldown finally arriving, Deloitte expects the Bank of Canada will have finished its rate-hike cycle aimed at restoring annual inflation back to the central bank’s two per cent target.

But inflation’s path back to target has not been linear.

The inflation rate has increased in two consecutive months, most recently rising to 4.0 per cent in August from recent lows of 2.8 per cent in June. Statistics Canada said earlier this month that higher gas prices and rising shelter costs including mortgage payments were largely to blame.

Deloitte considers this inflationary spike to be “transitory,” but does cite an acceleration in the core inflation metrics as something that might disturb the Bank of Canada.

A revised rate forecast from the Bank of Montreal this week also points out that the central bank is in a tough spot with the inflation uptick in the near term and expectations of further slowing in the economy in months to come as past rate hikes take hold.

BMO says the Bank of Canada will be paying close attention to the upcoming inflation and jobs reports in September before making its rate decision on Oct. 25 as it walks a “fine line” between overtightening and undertightening its monetary policy.

“While that line could still result in another rate hike, it’s more likely to involve keeping rates where they are… for longer,” the BMO rate forecast read.

As such, BMO now sees eventual rate cuts starting later than in its August outlook, and the Bank of Canada’s policy rate to ease starting in the third quarter of 2024 rather than the second quarter.

BMO expects the benchmark interest rate at the end of next year to be 4.5 per cent, a quarter percentage point higher than earlier forecasts.

Deloitte, too, has a modestly higher rate path for the Bank of Canada through 2024. But the firm still expects the policy rate to end next year at four per cent, with inflation returning to the two per cent mark in mid-2025 — the same timelines given by the central bank itself.

At that point, Deloitte expects the policy rate will fall to a “neutral rate” of three per cent.

Deliberations from the central bank’s latest decision on Sept. 6 show the governing council worried the choice to hold rates steady would spur market expectations that rate cuts could be imminent.

The Bank of Canada will release revised forecasts for economic growth and inflation in a monetary policy report at the same time it reveals its October rate decision.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Connor McDavid scores in overtime as Edmonton Oilers beat Canucks

Connor McDavid scored 55 seconds into overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 2-1 pre-season win over the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday night at Rogers Place.

The Oilers carried the play in the first period, but despite outshooting the Canucks 10-3, they couldn’t get a puck past Casey DeSmith.

“The majority of focus in our training camp has been on the defensive side of things and we’re seeing some positive results,” Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said post-game.

Quinn Hughes opened the scoring halfway through the second. His power play point shot went off Evan Bouchard’s leg and past Stuart Skinner.

“It took a little while for the game to get going. I had three shots in 30 minutes, so it took me a little while,” Skinner said. “After they got some shots I started to get the feel for the puck and started to feel a lot better.”

Skinner came up big against Teddy Blueger twice early in the third. He denied Blueger on a shorthanded breakaway, then stoned him on a wrister from the slot.

“(I) didn’t love the fact that we were in the box as much as we were tonight, but I thought the penalty kill dug in,” Woodcroft said. “I didn’t see a lot of polish offensively, but in the end, we found a way to score enough to win the game.”

In overtime, Evan Bouchard fired a sharp pass to McDavid, sending him in alone. He went to the backhand to end the game.

“The first day I got here I was pretty shocked,” defenceman Ben Gleason said of the Oilers captain. “It’s fun to see him on the ice and just giving him a little pass and he skates down the whole ice and scores a goal at the end and the whole crowd erupts–it’s pretty cool to see.”

The Oilers will play in Calgary on Friday (630 CHED, Face-off Show 5:30 p.m., game at 7 p.m.)

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Police hunt for suspect after alleged indecent act outside St. Vital school

Winnipeg police say they are searching for a suspect who committed what they call an indecent act outside a school.

It happened at around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning at Ecole Varennes in St. Vital, when school staff spotted the suspect outside a school exit door.

The suspect fled before police could arrive. Nobody was injured.

The accused is a man in his 20s with a thin build who was wearing loose-fitting pants and a sweater.

Anyone with information can call the investigating unit at 204-986-2861 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Some Vancouver 'view cones' could be scrapped under proposed review

Vancouver appears poised to review a policy that has literally shaped the city’s skyline for decades.

Love them or hate them, so-called “view cones” have been a critical feature of Vancouver’s development policy since 1989.

The view cones were designed to preserve ocean and mountain views from 26 specific locations in the city, and have limited the size and location of new construction.

Now, a Vancouver city councillor is proposing the view cones, along with the city’s building height policy, be reviewed with an eye to tackling the housing crisis.

“This is not really about making sweeping huge changes. We will always have view cones in Vancouver,” ABC Coun. Peter Meiszner told Global News.

“This is really about eliminating those lower priority view cones that are not visible or don’t make sense anymore due to other development that has occurred, but are actually holding up development around the city.”

Meiszner’s motion, set to be presented Thursday, would see city staff conduct a review of Vancouver’s view protection guidelines “to determine the amount of additional housing, job space and public benefits” if various view cones were removed.

Staff would also be directed to conduct a review on framed views that could be “eliminated to unlock additional housing and job space.”

“I say obsolete view cones because some of these view cones are very obscured, there’s trees in front of them, they’re not visible,” Meiszner said.

“We also have some view cones in Vancouver that are only visible from a moving vehicle, three of those are on the Granville Street Bridge, it’s just a second you can see them.”

Meiszner said he understands people value the cities views, but argued they need to be balanced with the need for more housing.

He pointed to the example of a social housing project being constructed at Richards and Drake streets that sits in the middle of a view cone. He said the project ultimately “sliced into a triangle” resulting in the potential loss of scores of units.

“Are we in a view crisis or are we in a housing crisis? I would argue we are in a serious housing crisis,” he said.

Vancouver OneCity Coun. Christine Boyle responded to the proposal by agreeing that view cones need a review.

But she said the city could do more to create housing by allowing the construction of four-to-six storey rentals and co-op housing citywide.

“I don’t want #TallAndSprawl,” she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

If the motion is approved, city staff would provide a preliminary report by the end of the first quarter of 2023, followed by a final report in Q2, 2024.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

'One taxpayer': Calgary eyes tools to address funding gap from other orders of government

The City of Calgary has explored other potential tools to address a gap in funding from other levels of government that isn't keeping up with population growth. As Adam MacVicar reports, Calgary's mayor says a better funding framework from the province and federal government is the preferred option.

The City of Calgary has compiled a list of potential options to help address a years-long funding gap from other orders of government, which is becoming a growing issue in other municipalities across the province.

However, when and if the options would be implemented is up to city council and not anytime soon.

It comes after a newly released city report revealed that, since 2007, Calgary faces an average annual funding gap of $311 million.

The numbers don’t mean the city is in a budget deficit. In fact, a surplus is expected this year; but they represent the city “stepping in to fund provincial responsibilities.”

“It’s actually pretty reflective of what municipalities are facing in Alberta and throughout the country,” Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek said. “It’s pretty clear that in order to serve our public better and to invest in infrastructure, we do need a better partnership and a better deal with the provincial government.”

Gondek said that while Calgary’s population has grown 34 per cent between 2007 and 2022, with more record growth expected this year, funding to accommodate that growth from other orders of government hasn’t kept pace.

The mayor added that lack of funding puts more pressure on municipalities to fund those services with limited tools available.

“The only taxation power we have right now is property taxes, and it’s regressive,” Gondek said. “It doesn’t work well; I think the time is long-overdue to understand how to properly fund and finance municipalities in partnership with two orders of government.”

City administration has put together a list of potential alternative options for the city to generate more revenue, based on recommendations from a financial task force as well as inquiries from city councillors.

The 39 potential options are both short and long-term mechanisms with most requiring legislative changes to piggyback on provincial and federal tax systems.

Seven options have been short-listed based on a set of proposed criteria, including a discontinuation of provincial property tax collection, a municipal fuel tax and the sharing of royalty revenues.

City of Calgary chief financial officer Carla Male said the report is “just the first step,” to guide future discussions and decisions from city council to close the funding gap.

“We need to continue to look at how we finance our future, our aging and our increasing infrastructure and be able to balance the revenues that we have with the expectations of citizens and our infrastructure over time,” Male said.

Male noted any next steps would come down to city council.

“This report was very important to highlight sort of contextually where we are and taking that longer view,” she said.

However, Gondek said the preferred option is for a better funding framework for municipalities from both the province and federal government.

“Instead of giving us new tools so that we are increasing taxation, simply provide us with our share of what they are generating,” Gondek said.

Gondek is in Edmonton this week with other representatives from cities and towns across the province at the Alberta Municipalities annual convention.

The municipal association is calling on the province to increase the base funding for the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) to $1.75 billion from its current $722 million.

The LGFF is a program that will provide infrastructure funding to municipalities in 2024.

Alberta Municipalities president Cathy Heron said infrastructure funding from the province has declined, causing an estimated $30 billion infrastructure deficit.

“The provincial government’s spending on infrastructure has dropped from 3.7 per cent of total spending a decade ago to just one per cent today,” Heron said.

The province said the funding is expected to increase 14 per cent to $820 million in 2025.

Lori Williams, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, said creative solutions are needed because all three levels of taxation come from “one taxpayer,” and many are facing escalating costs of living.

“The people that live in these municipalities are already pretty strapped, and asking more of them, or providing less to them of what they need is not going to to be very well received,” Williams said. “I think a lot of folks are tired of governments fighting with one another. They want those governments to take the problems seriously and to work with one another to try to solve these increasing challenges..”

Meanwhile, Calgary city council is preparing for budget deliberations in November; which will include decisions on a list of 30 unfunded, priority investments identified by city administration.

The investments would include more money for transit upgrades, improved firefighter response, affordable housing, and new infrastructure.

“Right now we’re figuring out how we do it alone because that’s what we’ve been left to do,” Gondek said. “It would be amazing to have a stronger partnership with both the provincial and federal governments.”

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

You May Also Like

Top Stories