This playful report on the state of radio broadcasting in Canada travels from St. John's to Vancouver to the Canadian north, taking a critical look at how and why our radio sounds the way it does. It snoops into stations across the country, visits a radio training school, and asks radio critics to deconstruct the wireless world. Although the series was made in the 1990's, surprisingly little has changed two decades later.

Garrett Hongo's passion for audio dates back to the Empire 98 turntable his father paired with a tube amplifier in their modest tract home in L.A. in the early 60s. But his adult quest begins in the CD-changer era, as he seeks out speakers and amps beefy enough to honor the top notes of the great opera sopranos. And in recounting this search, he describes a journey of identity where meaning, fulfillment, and even liberation were often most available to him through music and its diverse delivery systems. Hongo writes about being a Hawaiian-born, Japanese kid growing up in the shadow of the shameful internment of his ancestors during World War II; about picking up music tips from kids with darker skin than his own; about being a fish out of water with his white peers. Along the way, he nerds out with visits to eccentric collectors of decades-old audio components, drinks in wisdom from blues musicians and poetic elders, and turns his ear toward the memory-rich strains of the music that has shaped him: Hawaiian steel guitar and ukulele, barbershop and the Beatles, Bach, Verdi, and Duke Ellington. And in the decades-long process of perfecting his stereo setup, Hongo also discovers his own, now celebrated voice.

Smith profiles one of the 20th century's most innovative musical icons, the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown. Drawing on extensive research and captivating interviews, Smith chronicles Brown's rise from abject poverty to the pinnacle of fame, while also detailing Brown's work as a civil rights activist and entrepreneur.

In the summer of 2016, more than a third of Canadians tuned in to watch what was likely the Tragically Hip's final performance, broadcast from their hometown of Kingston, Ontario. Why? Because these five men were always more than just a band. They sold millions of records and defined a generation of Canadian rock music. But they were also a tabula rasa onto which fans could project their own ideas: of performance, of poetry, of history, of Canada itself. In the first print biography of the Tragically Hip, Michael Barclay talks to dozens of the band's peers and friends about not just the Hip's music but about the opening bands, the American albatross, the band's role in Canadian culture, and Gord Downie's role in reconciliation with Indigenous people. When Downie announced he had terminal cancer and decided to take the Hip on the road one more time, the tour became another Terry Fox moment; this time, Canadians got to witness an embattled hero reach the finish line.'This is a book not just for fans of the band: it's for anyone interested in how culture can spark national conversations.

The Musician Healer resurrects a long-forgotten role for musicians and provides clear guidance for preparation and self-development as a musician healer in order to reactivate this role for the modern world. It begins with the author's personal musical story that draws upon her Mi'kmaq/Abenaki First Nation and French roots, followed by a section on the history of musician healers from ancient Egypt and India. Runningdeer then explores the energetic aspects of music healing, especially the quality of personal energies that a musician channels through her music, and how to elevate and emanate those vibrations for positive healing outcomes.

It took me a lifetime to have the courage and the clarity to write my memoir. I want to tell the story of the moments - the ups and downs, the triumphs and traumas, the debacles and the dreams, that contributed to the person I am today. Though there have been countless stories about me throughout my career and very public personal life, it’s been impossible to communicate the complexities and depths of my experience in any single magazine article or a ten-minute television interview. And even then, my words were filtered through someone else’s lens, largely satisfying someone else’s assignment to define me. This book is composed of my memories, my mishaps, my struggles, my survival and my songs. Unfiltered. I went deep into my childhood and gave the scared little girl inside of me a big voice. I let the abandoned and ambitious adolescent have her say, and the betrayed and triumphant woman I became tell her side. Writing this memoir was incredibly hard, humbling and healing. My sincere hope is that you are moved to a new understanding, not only about me, but also about the resilience of the human spirit. Love,Mariah.

Musicologists today give him credit for creating the modern canon of Newfoundland folksong. A star of regional radio and television with over a dozen record albums to his credit, Omar Blondahl was once a household name in Newfoundland. Then at the peak of his career four decades ago he suddenly disappeared, never to sing again. Even his family had no idea where he went. Beginning with genealogical records in Reykjavik and ending with an old man and a box of mementos in a Vancouver apartment, THE MAN WHO SANG GOODBYE sleuths out what happened.

Siberia's story is traditionally one of exiles, penal colonies, and unmarked graves. Yet there is another tale to tell. Dotted throughout this remote land are pianos--grand instruments created during the boom years of the nineteenth century, as well as humble, Soviet-made uprights that found their way into equally modest homes. They tell the story of how, ever since entering Russian culture under the westernizing influence of Catherine the Great, piano music has run through the country like blood.

A complete history of Toronto’s legendary Horseshoe Tavern, “the Birthplace of Canadian Rock,” to coincide with its seventieth anniversary. Like the Queen Street strip that has been its home for seven decades, the Horseshoe Tavern continues to evolve. It remains as relevant today as it did when Jack Starr founded the country music club on the site of a former blacksmith shop. From country and rockabilly to rock ‘n’ roll, punk, alt/country, and back to roots music, the venerable live music venue has evolved with the times and trends — always keeping pace with the music. Over its long history, the Horseshoe has seen a flood of talent pass through. From Willie Nelson to Loretta Lynn, Stompin’ Tom Connors to The Band, and Bryan Adams to the Tragically Hip, the Horseshoe has attracted premier acts from all eras of music. In The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, David McPherson captures the turbulent life of the bar, and of Canadian rock.