This may seem like a silly thing to say, but once upon a time, the only way to get music was to listen for it. You turned on a radio or you bought a record.

If it sounded good, there was a chance the song might become a hit. That’s what mattered: the sound of the record.

That all began to change in the 1970s, and in less than ten years, sound began to matter less. How the song looked became the thing.

Critics laughed at the notion of a “music video” in the early days. But then came MTV, the world’s first 24-hour music video channel. They called it “illustrated radio”—and it worked.

After that we got MuchMusic, VH1, M2, Edge-TV, MuchMoreMusic, MuchLoud, The Box, and dozens of others around the world. And for years and years, if you wanted a chance to make it big, you had to make a music video. Yes, it was expensive, but too bad—it was all part of the game.

During the heyday, some videos cost millions and millions of dollars. Remember the video for “Scream” by Michael and Janet Jackson back in 1995? In today’s money, that video, which runs four minutes and 47 seconds, cost just under $15 million. Madonna made three videos with budgets of more than $10 million. You can make a feature-length movie with that kind of cash.

Pretty singers with mediocre songs often became stars, while less-attractive performers with good songs had a real chance of being passed over.

The art of the video affected the art of moviemaking. It influenced the way we look at television, not to mention fashion, language, politics, gender fluidity, LGBTQ issues, and so much more. Videos may have altered our attention spans—which kind of concerns me, because this program is an hour long and I need you to hang in there with me.

Music videos exported soft power from the West—especially the United States—to the rest of the world. At one point, MTV was one of the most influential creators and disseminators of culture—and by “culture” I mean America.

That was then. Music videos are still an art form and still necessary (well, mostly necessary) for promoting music, but things just aren’t what they used to be.

How did we get to this point? This is the rise, fall, and future of the music video.

Songs heard on this show:

• Captain Beefheart, Lick My Decals Off, Baby
• David Bowie, Ashes to Ashes
• The Buggles, Video Killed the Radio Star
• Peter Gabriel, Sledgehammer
• Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit

Eric Wilhite has a playlist.

The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on these stations.

• 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7pm
• Q107/Toronto – Sunday night at 9pm
• Live 88-5/Ottawa – Saturdays at 9am and Sundays at 6pm.
• 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener – Sunday nights at 11pm
• FM96/London – Sunday nights at 8pm
• Power 97/Winnipeg – Sunday nights at 10am and 10pm
• 107-3 The Edge/Calgary – Sundays at 10am and 10pm
• Sonic 102.9/Edmonton – Sunday at 8am and 8pm
• The Zone/Victoria – Sunday at 9am and 9pm
• The Fox/Vancouver – Sundays at 10anm and 10pm
• The Goat Network/Interior BC
• Surge 105/Halifax – Sunday at 7pm
• WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Arkon, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown – Mon-Fri at 9pm

Don’t forget there’s a  podcast version (along with hundreds of others) available, in case you miss an episode. Get them for free wherever you get your podcasts.

 

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Wet Leg, featuring Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, is one of the most exciting bands to come out of the UK this decade. Here are a few facts about them that might have escaped your attention so far.

First of all, the band is from the Isle of Wight. Rhian and Hester were friends for about ten years before they formed the band. Hester had a job making jewelry while Rhian was a stylist.

(2) They found their name by playing a game with emojis. When the emojis for “wet” and “leg” came together, they decided that was it. Well, maybe that’s the story. Another explanation is that “wet leg” is Isle of Wight slang for non-locals.

(3) When they first started playing live, they were booked for hour-long sets. The problem with that is they only had 35 minutes’ worth of music. They had to fill time with covers and extended jams of their own songs. It was…awkward.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Here are some facts about Linkin Park that you can use to impress your friends.

(1) Before he moved to LA to join Linkin Park, Chester Bennington had a job slinging Whoppers at a Burger King in Phoenix.

(2) Drummer Rob Bourdon decided he wanted to play the drums when he was ten. His mom was best friends with Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer. Mom got them both backstage, where Joey gave Rob his first-ever drum pedal.

(3) In August 2001, during an early Linkin Park tour—they were part of Ozzfest and playing Boston—Chester was bitten by a poisonous recluse spider at the band’s hotel. His reaction was so bad that he got a fever and endured delusions during a week-long hospital stay. A couple of shows had to be cancelled

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Jack White is a passionate sort of guy and when he was younger, he sometimes let those passions get the better of him.

In 2001, he produced the debut album for a fellow Detroit band called The Von Bondies. Things went well until some kind of beef between Jack and Von Bondies singer Jason Stollsteimer. On December 13, 2003, they got into a scrap which saw Stollsteimer sent to the hospital with a severe beating, claiming that he’d been sucker punched.

Jack was charged with misdemeanour aggravated assault, fined $750, and ordered to take anger management classes. Meanwhile, Jason was unable to do promotion for the latest Von Bondies album, and he maintains this fight killed the band’s momentum.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Kozak Financial Group, Talk to the Experts at 11 am on QR Calgary.

The Kozak Financial Group’s income-oriented approach is designed to ensure your financial future is safe and secure. For almost 30 years, we have provided Albertans with expert, consistent investment advice.  You have worked hard for your wealth, and we will work just as hard to ensure your family’s financial legacy lasts for years to come. Our dedicated team of investment professionals would be more than happy to offer a consultation on your investments. Reach out via our website.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

One of the surviving victims of the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., school shooting is expected to return home soon.

Paige Hoekstra, 19, was shot in the chest and had to be flown to a Vancouver hospital.

She underwent surgery last week and in an update posted on her GoFundMe on Feb. 16, her family said doctors are now confident it is safe to bring Paige home to Tumbler Ridge.

“Our family is so incredibly lucky to be able to share this little bit of good news with everyone who was worried for Paige,” the update read.

“To the other families affected, if there is ANYTHING our family can do to support you, even just a shoulder to cry on, please let us know. It’s the least we could do to help support our community through this.”

Another surviving victim of the mass shooting, 12-year-old Maya Gebala, remains at BC Children’s Hospital.

Her mother remains by her side, but Maya’s prognosis is still a delicate one.

“I think the gravity of what’s happened has finally sunk in… I’ve been staring at my sweet Maya moon for the past 6 days,” her mom wrote in her GoFundMe.

“I think I had a glimmer of hope that she might open her eyes… maybe she would recognize me..

“My baby is in there.. but how much is left.”

Her mother said time will only tell.

My sweet Maya, I miss you,” she wrote.

“To the moon, and all the stars in the sky.”

Maya tried to lock the library door to save her classmates when shots rang out on Tuesday, Feb. 10, around 1 p.m.

Last week, Maya’s aunt, Krysta Hunt, told Global News that her niece had undergone surgery to repair a brain bleed and she still had a lot of swelling.

“She has a bullet in her head, above her left eye, and she has a bullet in her neck,” Hunt said. “They are not sure if the bullet in her neck went all the way through or not, or if it’s still internal, but they’re leaving it for now to focus on her head.”

It has now been one week since the mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and the B.C. government says temporary classroom units for students are expected to arrive in the town on Tuesday.

The Peace River South School District said last week that students will not be returning to the high school and that temporary units will be set up on the grounds of Tumbler Ridge Elementary School.

It says it will take several days for crews to set them up, with water and heating and for the units to be furnished for students and staff.

A date has not been set for the resumption of classes.

Eight people were shot and killed in the shooting.

Six of those people were students, with the other two being identified as the shooter’s mother and stepbrother.

The shooter was also found dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, RCMP said.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A former chief administrative officer with the City of Winnipeg is being asked at a public inquiry why he met with and emailed a contractor about a major redevelopment project.

A civil court earlier found Phil Sheegl accepted a bribe from an executive with Caspian Construction, which won the bid for most of the work converting a former post office building into the new headquarters for the Winnipeg Police Service.

The project ran more than $70 million over budget by the time it was completed in 2016, and the inquiry is looking into what happened.

The inquiry’s lead lawyer asked Sheegl today about a meeting he had with the executive before the contract was awarded.

Sheegl says he doesn’t remember what was discussed but that, in retrospect, meeting one potential bidder without the others present was “probably not right.”

He was also asked about emails he sent to Caspian after the company and others complained the city was asking for too high a performance bond to bid on the work.

Sheegl says he and others at city hall wanted the contract open to as many bidders as possible in order to get a good price.

The bond was lowered soon after.

Sheegl has denied accepting a bribe. He said money he received from the Caspian executive was for an unrelated land deal in Arizona. The judge in the civil case said that explanation was “fictional.”

RCMP investigated but no charges were laid.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Two First Nations communities in Ontario have issued travel advisories urging caution when travelling to the U.S. and are underlining Indigenous rights under the 1794 Jay Treaty.

But what is the Jay Treaty and how does it relate to cross-border travel?

Right to freely pass into U.S.

The treaty was signed in 1794 between Great Britain and the United States and sets out that “American Indians” born in Canada have the right to freely pass into the U.S. for travel, for work or to live. They can also enter the U.S. freely for retirement or immigration.

“These rights have been identified as, it’s all of our rights as Indigenous Peoples in Canada to be able to cross the borders,” said Jessica Keeshig-Martin, acting chief of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation. “These borders never existed; they’re fairly recent in terms of our timeline being here on Turtle Island, which we refer to as North America.”

The Chippewas of Nawash is one of the two First Nations in Ontario to issue a travel advisory in recent weeks.

In their notice, they strongly advised each member who wishes to cross the Canada-U.S. land border to carry a valid, unexpired status card; other valid information; birth certificates with parental information and/or a Canadian passport.

The First Nation said the advisory was prompted by reports of First Nation and Native American members being detained and questioned by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“We’ve had inquiries from our members of the Chippewas of Nawash who are travelling and visiting relatives or friends, or to work and attend meetings to the south of us and so there’s definite fear,” Keeshig-Martin said. “Folks have contacted me as well, fear of being questioned and detained by ICE.”

The Assembly of First Nations confirmed last month that at least one First Nations person recently had a negative encounter with ICE and has since returned to Canada.

Indigenous people urged to carry status card and passport

In an email to Global News, Indigenous Services Canada said it was aware some First Nations “have been in contact with their band to report incidents.”

“While you may have previously crossed the Canada-U.S. border with only a secure status card, ISC now strongly recommends also carrying a valid passport when travelling outside of Canada,” the ministry said in the email.

It added that acceptance of all status cards is “entirely at the discretion” of U.S. officials.

U.S. may request proof of Indigenous status

Amid concerns over U.S. travel, Saugeen First Nation in Ontario also issued a notice that suggests “exercising caution” if going south of the border.

While it notes that Section 289 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act codifies rights from the Jay Treaty, members travelling south should still carry various documents.

It says members will need proof of lawful status through several documents, including a status card, a long-form birth certificate, a government-issued photo ID, a Form I-181 or I-551 (green card) if you have one, and what’s known as a blood quantum letter.

The letter is a requirement in which Indigenous people must prove they have 50 per cent blood quantum, showing the bearer of the letter is at least “50 per cent of the American Indian race,” according to the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Canada.

According to Indigenous Services Canada, such documentation must either come from a person’s First Nation or a letter of ancestry requested from the ministry.

The ministry adds a caution, though: “A letter of ancestry is an official document confirming registered ancestors, but, it does not list a person’s blood quantum. You may be asked for more documentation.”

The Chippewas of Nawash and Saugeen First Nation are just the latest First Nations communities to issue advisories since the new year.

Last month, the Okanagan Nation Alliance, which represents eight First Nation communities in British Columbia, issued its own, urging members “exercise extreme caution.”

“Although the Jay Treaty reaffirms our right to travel freely to and from the United States, we expect that not every federal law enforcement officer and ICE agent will be familiar with our rights to cross the border freely,” the alliance wrote in its advisory.

Alberta’s Blood Tribe Chief and Council also issued an advisory late last month urging members to use caution.

“Blood Tribe Chief and Council is urging Blood Tribe members to use caution when crossing the border into the United States, notwithstanding our inherent rights and the promises of the Jay Treaty, during the current time of political unrest,” the advisory said.

They added that Canadian federal certificates of Indian status have reportedly not been accepted as proof of blood quantum, and that such documentation must come directly from an individual’s First Nation.

The Assembly of First Nations, which has also issued its own advisory on U.S. travel, says in emergency cases, people can contact the Canadian Consulate.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Parry Sound, Ont., is getting ready to celebrate its Olympic medallist Megan Oldham, a skier who won gold at the Milan-Cortina Olympics this week after capturing bronze earlier in the Games.

Mayor Jamie McGarvey says the town is planning an event in honour of Oldham on Feb. 28 at Charles W. Stockey Center for the Performing Arts.

The 24-year-old freestyle skier survived a 75-minute weather delay to win gold in women’s big air in dominant fashion at Livigno Snow Park in Italy on Monday.

Oldham had already earned a bronze in slopestyle, recovering from a crash on her second run to make the podium on Feb. 9.

McGarvey says people in his community are proud of her achievements and were pleased to see her win her second medal at the Winter Olympics.

He says the town is co-ordinating logistics of the celebratory event with Oldham and her family.

“It’s like the community was abuzz when she won bronze, but right now it’s just humming, like, everybody is so pleased, so proud that she did a great performance in the big air,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.

“We’re just so pleased that she was able to achieve what she has achieved and, for a young person her age, so amazing.”

Oldham led the big air competition after the first two runs and was assured of the gold by the time it came to her third run as the final skier.

Her combined score of 180.75 included a first-run effort of 91.75, the best of the night. Chinese star Eileen Gu, who was runner-up in slopestyle, scored 179.00 to take silver ahead of Italy’s Flora Tabanelli at 178.25.

Oldham now has two of Canada’s 12 medals at the Games, including one of its three golds.

Parry Sound, a community of approximately 7,000 people two hours north of Toronto, is also the hometown of famed hockey player Bobby Orr.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

A bid by a U.S.-based group to bring two captive killer whales from France to a proposed seaside refuge in Nova Scotia is facing fresh criticism from a well-known but polarizing anti-whaling campaigner.

Paul Watson, 75-year-old founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, says he’s opposed to the Whale Sanctuary Project’s plans to place orcas Wikie and Keijo in a huge, floating pen near Wine Harbour, N.S., before the end of this summer.

“Transferring Keijo and Wikie to Nova Scotia risks their lives,” Watson, who is originally from Toronto, said in a statement released Monday. “If they die prematurely in Canada, the French government … will be held accountable.”

Watson took aim at the project during a meeting in Paris that brought together a committee of government officials and whale experts, as well as representatives from the non-profit Whale Sanctuary Project and Spain’s Loro Parque zoo on the Canary Islands.

The French government is also considering sending the whales to the zoo on Spain’s Tenerife Island, a move supported by the whales’ owners at the shuttered Marineland Antibes park in the south of France.

Watson, now a director of Sea Shepherd France, told the committee that the Whale Sanctuary Project lacks funding, has an unrealistic timeline and plans to build in a bay that he says will be too cold for the two whales, both of which were born in the French marine park on the Mediterranean Sea’s north shore.

“Having grown up in the Canadian Maritimes, I can attest to the harshness of its winters,” Watson said in his statement, referring to the fact that his family moved to southwestern New Brunswick when he was very young.

Those behind the Whale Sanctuary Project have argued the whales will get used to the colder weather because Wikie, Keijo’s mother, is a descendant of Icelandic orcas.

As for the WSP’s cash flow, project CEO Charles Vinick has said more private donors are expected to come forward now that the two whales are potential candidates for transfer. And he has insisted the summertime deadline is realistic.

Meanwhile, Watson says frequent storms and the accumulation of ice floes along Nova Scotia’s eastern coastline could present a threat to the project’s nets and other infrastructure. He also called attention to opposition from some adjacent landowners in Wine Harbour.

Vinick has said the WSP has conducted extensive studies showing the chosen bay, about a three-hour drive east of Halifax, is adequately sheltered from the North Atlantic.

Watson suggested the whales should be placed in a refuge on the Mediterranean coast. But nothing of that sort exists in that region or anywhere else in Europe.

“The project would be eligible for European Union funding, reducing reliance on uncertain private donations,” Watson said, adding that Sea Shepherd France is prepared to commit more than $800,000 annually to support Keijo and Wikie’s care at Marineland Antibes until a European sanctuary is built.

“This is not just about two orcas. It is about France’s commitment to ethical leadership,” Watson said. “The public demands a humane solution. And the science is clear: Nova Scotia is not safe for Keijo and Wikie.”

On Tuesday, the Whale Sanctuary Project issued a statement saying construction at the site is set to begin “when weather permits.” The deadline for completion is now “the second half of 2026.” And Vinick cited a recent statement from the French government indicating it  views the project as the “only ethical, credible and legally compliant solution.”

Watson, 75, is perhaps best known for leading dangerous confrontations with whaling vessels on the high seas, which has won him support from celebrities and earned him a spot on the reality-TV show “Whale Wars.”

In July of last year, the international policing agency Interpol removed Watson from its most-wanted list.

He was wanted in Japan following an encounter with a whaling research ship in 2010. At the time, he was accused of ordering the captain of his ship to throw explosives at the other vessel, an accusation Watson has denied.

Still, he was jailed for several months last year in Greenland.

Interpol said the decision to remove Watson from its wanted list did not reflect any judgment on the merits of the case in Japan. The agency, based in France, said an independent review found Japan’s involvement in the case may have demonstrated “the existence of political elements around the case.”

© 2026 The Canadian Press