This probably won’t come as a shock, but I’m something of a nerd when it comes to technology. Yeah, I like gadgets and devices and toys and machines that go “ping,” but I’m especially interested in the tech that affects music—and vice versa.

Back around 2013, I got involved with a company that created a touring museum exhibit that went to science centres around North America. The owner of the company came up with the idea when he heard an “Ongoing History” program called “Format Wars,” which looked at all the different ways music was captured, stored, and distributed: vinyl, tape, CDs, and so on.

We called the exhibit “The Science of Rock’n’Roll,” and it explored how science and music have influenced each other, not just over the years, but over the centuries. The two things go hand in hand, each affecting the other and providing ways for creativity to expand into directions that were once thought impossible.

The exhibit did okay, too, booking runs at science centres in Toronto, Boston, Kansas City, Detroit, Cleveland, and a few other markets.

“The Science of Rock” spun off into a children’s book I co-wrote called “The Science of Song.” It’s aimed at kids 13 and under and STEM teaching: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

It’s been a minute since the book, the museum exhibit, and that original “Format Wars” show, so I thought it might be time to revisit the subject. And with that in mind, here’s a timeline of the biggest technological advances in music.

Prepare to geek out.

Songs heard on this show:

• Beck, Where It’s At
• Bjork, Headphones
• The Kills, Tape Song
• Kraftwerk, The Model
• SSQ, Walkman On
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, Give It Away
• Evanescence, Bring Me to Life
• Sarah McLachlan, Building a Mystery

Here’s Eric Wilhite’s 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 10am and 10pm
• The Goat Network/Interior BC
• WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Arkon, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown – Mon-Fri at 9pm

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

Hollerado is a weirdly creative bunch of guys. Take the case of their album, 111 Songs.

Someone in the group came up with the idea of writing a song for every fan who wrote in and asked for one. The initial concept was to release a special promotional bundle with the record, a T-shirt, a poster and a custom song that would go with their second album, White Paint. Fantastic.

But so many fans wrote in—more than a hundred people paid to be a part of this—that the project took two years to complete. The result is equivalent to more than five full-length albums and was finally released on March 24, 2015. Hollerado went to iTunes who then refused to sell a five-hour collection for nine dollars.

The band wouldn’t compromise—Apple wanted to sell it for $35—so the 111 Songs album has gone down in Hollerado history as a fantastic money-losing passion project.

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

On November 18, 1993, Nirvana went to Sony Music Studios in New York to perform an unplugged gig for MTV.  It was broadcast on TV and turned into a CD that came out after Kurt Cobain died. At first, MTV and the band’s label thought it was going to be a disaster because Nirvana insisted on playing some of the band’s more obscure stuff along with a couple of covers.

Kurt refused outright to do “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which freaked everyone out.  There were also concerns about Kurt’s health because he was going through withdrawal and vomiting blood.  Only a standby supply of Valium kept things on the rails.

At the end of the day, though, it was a magnificent performance.  Unplugged in New York is available in its full form on DVD and Blu-ray.  If you’re a Nirvana fan, it’s definitely worth it.

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

The key decision maker behind the mass layoffs at a century-old steel mill in Hamilton says “no amount of money” from the federal government would have convinced Stelco to continue manufacturing product with low demand in Canada.

On Monday, Stelco, which is owned by U.S.-based steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs, announced it would lay off roughly 350 employees and offer them positions at a nearby steel mill instead, as the company pauses production of galvanized steel.

The move was met with a sharp rebuke from Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said the company “betrayed” Canadian workers and insisted “there’s money on the table” to keep employees on the job.

In an exclusive interview with Global News, Lourenco Goncalves, the chairman and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, said the company’s decision was purely market-driven and that financial incentives could not fix the fundamental issues.

“I’m not shutting down, I’m not dismantling,” Goncalves said during a 10-minute phone call. “There’s no market in Canada for the amount of galvanized steel we produce in Canada. We need to export… to the United States.”

“Until we reestablish that there’s nothing we can do, nothing.”

Sources with knowledge of the high-level discussions between Goncalves and Ottawa said the federal government “tried everything” to convince Stelco to delay the layoffs, including short-term bridge financing, longer-term loans, retrofitting and access to new markets in Canada.

One source described it as the “most gratuitous terms to try and keep people employed longer,” but Goncalves “refused” the offers and expected something bigger.

“He quite literally said “nope”, we don’t want your help unless it’s a blank cheque to the tune of billions with no conditions,” the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks.

Goncalves vehemently pushed back against the assertion.

“That’s not true. That’s a completely untruthful statement. I did not ask for a blank cheque to the tune of billions with no conditions, that’s absolutely wrong,” Goncalves told Global News.

Goncalves said while the majority of his discussions were with a senior cabinet minister in the federal government, they did not rise to the level of the Prime Minister’s Office, despite his desire to escalate the conversation.

“I have never met Prime Minister Mark Carney. I tried to get to Prime Minister Mark Carney, but he never really talked to me.”

Despite his prior support of the Trump administration’s tariffs – and the federal government’s quiet belief, according to sources, that his relationship and donation record was a motivating factor – Goncalves insists the cut in production has little to do with his ties to the White House.

“I have been in this business for 45 years, so I have worked with so many different persons, Republicans and Democrats. Trump, then Biden, then Trump,” Goncalves said.

“That’s a fallacy, that’s absurd.”

Instead, Goncalves insists he shares the vision of a more integrated economy pushed by Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the federal government.

“I have been trying for too long to implement what’s called Fortress North America to create the preconditions to re-establish a bridge between United States and Canada. But I have been unable to convince the Canadian government on what to do,” Goncalves said.

“I bought Stelco based on the premise that Canada and the United States are friends. They were friends, when I closed the deal (in 2024),” he added. “ they are no longer friends.

While Goncalves declined to wade into specific conversations he had with the federal government, his own assessment of the current situation appears to lay heavy blame on Canada, while downplaying the impact of Trump’s tariff war.

“I need an ability to sell more galvanized steel. I can’t increase the domestic market in Canada. I cannot afford to block imports. But even if they shut down imports of galvanized completely – 100 per cent – we still have more production of galvanized steel in Canada than the domestic markets of Canada.”

“So there’s only one solution. We need to be able to export.”

Goncalves stressed that while Stelco is pausing some of the production at its facility in Hamilton, the decision is “not permanent” because the company is waiting for the market to “resolve itself.”

“Stelco will continue to produce the same amount of steel. I will concentrate on hot-rolled steel, because there’s no market for galvanized steel,” Goncalves told Global News.

Goncalves said without the ability to export to the United States at the current tariff rates, his “temporary solution” is to concentrate on products that still make the company money and “wait until the situation normalizes.”

While that could take two years – or longer – Goncalves said the company is committing to boost employment, once the trade war settles, allowing the company to export Canadian-made steel.

“Let’s assume that we were able to produce galvanized steel again. What am I going to do? Re-hire everybody and go back to produce galvanized Steel.

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

The U.S. military announced on Wednesday that it has completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group.

The last U.S. troops left an air base in northern Iraq under a deal between Baghdad and Washington.

The withdrawal, agreed on two years ago, comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war between the United States and Iran that has also sometimes spilled over into Iraq, with Iran-backed militias firing on U.S. troops and the U.S. striking the groups’ strongholds.

In recent years, Washington has appeared to seek to shift its focus from the Middle East toward Asia, but that shift has been inconsistent, with the Pentagon alternating between reducing its Mideast presence and then finding itself engaging in new conflicts — including the ongoing war in Iran.

Baghdad touted the end of the U.S. mission as a sign of the country’s increasing strength and sovereignty.

The withdrawal was also celebrated by Iran-backed groups but raised concerns among some other Iraqis, particularly in the Kurdish region, where many fear a resurgence of IS as well as more attacks by Iran-linked groups, possibly emboldened by the departure of U.S. forces.

Meanwhile, questions loom around the future of the Iraqi militias, which the Baghdad government has sought to disarm, with little success so far.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that U.S. troops and equipment had completed an “orderly departure” from the air base in Irbil, in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

“This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region,” he said. “It also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship.”

He added that the U.S. military “will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to our Iraqi partners.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi presided over the handover ceremony and described the U.S. withdrawal as the beginning of a “new phase, one defined by Iraq’s sovereignty, the strength of its institutions, the readiness of its forces, the unity of its decision-making, and balanced partnerships with its friends.”

He said Iraqi security forces will continue the fight against IS and the government will ensure that non-state groups no longer hold weapons.

U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. They departed in 2011, but three years later, Iraqi authorities invited a smaller U.S.-led mission to fight the Islamic State group, which had rampaged across Iraq, seizing large swaths of territory.

With the extremist group reduced to scattered sleeper cells, Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to wind the mission down.

U.S. troops pulled out of bases in most areas of Iraq last year but maintained a small presence of hundreds of troops in the semiautonomous northern Kurdish region. Bases there have regularly come under attack since the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran-backed Iraqi militias also have coordinated with Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia.

The Iraqi government initially linked the Sept. 30 deadline for U.S. withdrawal to the disarmament of non-state armed groups by that date.

While a handful of less-influential militias have agreed to turn over their weapons, powerful groups close to Iran rejected the prospect or set conditions for disarming that the government would be unlikely to meet.

Al-Zaidi has since walked back the deadline. He told The New York Times earlier this month that the deadline for militia disarmament has been pushed to June 2027.

The effects of the U.S. withdrawal may not be immediately visible, particularly since the U.S. military presence had already been scaled down. But officials in Iraq’s Kurdish region have expressed anxiety about the departure and particularly about the removal of U.S. air defense systems.

The Kurdish regional government’s Peshmerga Ministry said the Kurdish region had faced more than 1,000 drone and ballistic-missile attacks during the recent U.S.-Iran conflict.

“The departure of the United States from the Kurdistan Region under these complex regional circumstances, without the provision of a defense system, is a matter of concern,” the statement said.

Iran-allied groups in Iraq, meanwhile, have celebrated the U.S. withdrawal.

“The expulsion of the occupation forces, defeated, from the land of Iraq is the beginning of full sovereignty,” Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official with the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, said in a statement.

He added a warning to al-Zaidi and his government not to carry out American plans, threatening that “any government that does not work for the benefit of the people will be overthrown by all means.”

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Honest dialogue, ongoing learning and concrete action are necessary to right past wrongs, Governor General Louise Arbour said on Wednesday as Canadians across the country mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation for the fifth consecutive year, honouring the survivors of residential schools and those who never made it home.

“Many Canadians, myself included, did not grow up knowing this history. Facing it can be painful and unsettling, but understanding the truth is essential to building a more just future,” Arbour said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We cannot change the past, but we can choose how we move forward,” she added.

The work of reconciliation “begins with listening with empathy to First Nations, Inuit and Métis voices,” she said.

“It continues through honest dialogue, ongoing learning and concrete action to address the inequities inherited from past wrongs,” she added.

Between 1857 and 1996, more than 150,000 Indigenous children in Canada were separated from their families and communities and sent to church-run, government-funded residential schools where abuse, malnutrition and inadequate health care were rampant.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded in its landmark 2015 final report that the school system was a central element of a state-backed policy of cultural genocide.

The commission initially documented the deaths of 3,200 children at residential schools. However, experts at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation — who continue to comb through millions of records — say the actual number could be much higher.

The establishment of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30 was among the recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report.

CBC/Radio-Canada, APTN and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation are hosting their annual Remembering the Children event on Parliament Hill.

The 90-minute ceremony will feature speeches from residential school survivors, elders and Indigenous leaders. Performances by Tia Wood, Soleil Launière, Silla and Adrian Sutherland are also scheduled.

Guests and participants are encouraged to bring a pair of children’s shoes to place at the front of the stage to honour the children who attended residential schools.

Separate events to mark the day are taking place across the country, including in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Iqaluit.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to speak at an event in Edmonton.

“On this day, we gather to honour every child taken by the residential school system and to stand in solidarity with those who survived it. As denialist voices seek to distort the past, our collective responsibility to uphold the truth is more important than ever,” said Stephanie Scott, the executive director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

“Honouring these children means facing our history with unwavering honesty and ensuring that ‘Never Again’ is not just a phrase, but a binding commitment backed by meaningful action.”

Canadian Heritage Minister Marc Miller said the day is an opportunity for non-Indigenous and Indigenous Peoples to come together and reflect on the legacy of residential schools.

“Reconciliation is a responsibility we all share, and by connecting with each other and our history, we can help build a future grounded in understanding, respect and hope.”

— with files from Canadian Press

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

Think buying music is too expensive? If you look at things from a historical point of view, music has never, ever been cheaper.

If you go back to the 1950s, the average price of an album was about $5.50–and that’s in 1950s dollars. If you adjust for inflation, that’s over 60 bucks today.  Single digital albums sell for around 10 dollars on iTunes today. A CD certainly goes for less than 20. In the 70s, a 7-inch single sold for between 99 cents and $1.29. Adjust that for inflation, and that’s equivalent to over $7.50 at the high end.

Today on iTunes, singles go for between 69 and a buck twenty-nine. Talk about DEflation.  And that’s for physical and digital product. When you look at the free streaming from Spotify and YouTube, music costs nothing.

So, is it worth less or worthless? That’s where the discussion gets interesting.

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

Nearly two years into an escalating trade battle with the United States, the Ford government’s signature $5 billion ‘Protect Ontario’ account has spent just $140 million to shore up tariff-impacted businesses.

During the snap election in February 2025, Premier Doug Ford pledged billions of taxpayers’ dollars to help Ontario companies hardest hit by the Trump administration’s tariffs – an amount that was later codified in the provincial budget.

On Tuesday, during a financial and economic committee at Queen’s Park, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy was grilled by opposition MPPs on how much of that cash has actually been deployed.

Bethlenfalvy, along with government members, repeatedly tried to sidestep the question by asserting the fund was run by the Ministry of Economic Development before claiming the entire line of questioning was out of scope for the minister of finance.

Eventually, after repeated questions, Bethlenfalvy punted the question to a civil servant for the full amount.

“Since the launch of the program, 36 applications have been received totaling just under $100 million,” said Deputy Minister of Finance Gadi Mayman told the committee.

“Eighteen out of those applications have been approved; that represents about $40 million, in addition to the $100 million on Algoma steel support.”

Liberal Finance Critic Stephanie Bowman said the amount speaks volumes about what the government has on offer.

“What this government’s got on offer isn’t working,” Bowman told reporters after the committee.

“Only $40 million in funding to help Ontario businesses. That’s 0.01 per cent of our GDP, so clearly the program is not working.”

Bethlenfalvy pushed back and pointed to other supports that the government claims has had positive uptake.

“With the $30 billion in supports, multiple dollars have flowed the Ontario Together Trade Fund which has been well received by those who need the funds and want to pivot those businesses,” Bethlenfalvy said.

One year after establishing the Protect Ontario account, the Ford government said it would spin off billions in funding and redeploy it into an investment fund that would be managed by a private sector partner.

As part of the 2026 budget, the finance minister said the “Protect Ontario Account Investment Fund” would identify a “pipeline of new economy-enabling investment opportunities” in new sectors such as artificial intelligence, defence, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and critical minerals.

Six months later, faced with a potentially weakened economy, the finance minister said the fund has taken a back seat.

“I would say it’s not the top priority because we want to make sure that we continue to have powder available,” Bethlenfalvy said on Sept. 25. “We’re in a very uncertain time.”

Days later, the minister clarified that while the fund still exists on paper, the government isn’t actively working on it.

“It’s not that we’ve shelved it, we’re not advancing it at this point in time,” Bethlenfalvy said.

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

EDMONTON – The Manny Malhotra era for the Vancouver Canucks is off to a positive start, even if it was a lot closer than it looked like it was going to be.

Paul Cotter had a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, as the Canucks got off to a much better start to this season than the way they closed out the last, holding on to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 on Tuesday.

“It’s the first game, so maybe not the cleanest game but I think we were resilient,” said Canucks defenceman Jamie Oleksiak. “I think as the game went on, we handled the pressure well and we responded when they had their push. I think there are some good things to take away, and a couple things we can clean up as well.

“It’s a great feeling in the room. I think we’re going to enjoy tonight and then get back at it tomorrow. That’s the key to good teams, you can’t get too high or too low. You want to stay consistent, you want to stay level-headed.”

Marco Rossi, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Max Sasson and Elias Pettersson also scored for the Canucks (1-0-0) who are coming off a last-place finish in the NHL last season with a paltry 25-49-8 record.

Tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, the Canucks piled in three goals in four minutes to start the third. However, the Oilers battled back and got a goal with 43 seconds left to force overtime, where Cotter scored 1:59 into extra time.

“There’s definitely some areas we want to clean up,” said Pettersson. “If we’re up by a three-goal lead in the third, then we should definitely be able to win it. We won it, regardless, in overtime, but there’s some stuff we can clean up. But we’re very happy with the win.”

Cotter, who joined Vancouver as a free agent after the last two seasons in New Jersey, became the first player in Canucks history to score a short-handed goal in his debut with the team on the game’s opening goal as well as the first to score an overtime winner in his franchise debut. He is the sixth player in Canucks history to have a multi-goal performance in his initial game with the team.

He also joined Brendan Shanahan as the only players in NHL history to score a short-handed goal and an OT goal in a season opener.

Kevin Lankinen made 32 stops to earn the win.

“Not the way we drew it up, for sure,” said Canucks head coach Malhotra. “Obviously, a lot of really good things to be able to score five goals in a game. Obviously, we don’t want to give up three in the third period, that’s something that we’ll definitely need to work on. But just the resiliency to stay with it for us was a huge factor in the game. And then guys stepping up in big ways.

“Lanks made some key saves, especially down the stretch there. And our (penalty) kill did the job throughout the course of the game against, obviously, an elite power play and limiting them as much as we did, was good. But just overall, the joy of winning a game takes precedent right now.”

Malhotra became the fourth person to represent the Canucks as both a player and head coach in his career, following in the footsteps of Marc Crawford, Pat Quinn and Orland Kurtenbach.

“There was a lot of momentum swings, energy swings on the bench,” said Malhotra. “Just the overall pace of the game, trying to make sure I was keeping an eye on who was on the ice when they were on the ice. There was a lot of moving parts, but it was definitely a fun one to coach.”

The two teams have a rematch in Vancouver on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

EDMONTON – Paul Cotter capped a two-goal night with the game winner 1:59 into overtime as the Vancouver Canucks got off to a strong start in defeating the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 on Tuesday night.

Marco Rossi, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Max Sasson and Elias Pettersson also scored for the Canucks (1-0-0), who are coming off a last-place finish in the NHL last season with a paltry 25-49-8 record.

Kevin Lankinen made 32 stops to earn the win in the Canucks’ net.

Evan Bouchard had three goals and two assists and Vasily Podkolzin scored twice for the Oilers (0-0-1). Tristan Jarry made just 17 saves for Edmonton.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was in attendance for the Oilers’ home opener at Rogers Place.

Entering the third period tied 2-2, Pettersson capped a three-goal run by the Canucks 5:15 into the frame to swiftly put the Canucks ahead 5-2.

But Podkolzin scored at 8:56, followed by Bouchard’s third of the night 24 seconds later and Podkolzin’s second of the night with 43 seconds left in regulation to send it to extra time.

TAKEAWAYS

Canucks: Cotter, who joined Vancouver as a free agent after spending the last two seasons in New Jersey, became the first player in Canucks history to score a short-handed goal in his debut with the team.

Oilers: Bouchard became the first defenceman in Oilers history to record a multi-goal game in a season opener and just the third defenceman in NHL history to score a hat trick in a seasonal lid-lifter. He is also just the third blueliner in the last 30 years to have a four-point game to open the season.

KEY MOMENT

After the Oilers crawled back from a three-goal deficit to force overtime, Cotter scored 1:59 into extra time, lifting in a backhand.

KEY STAT

Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra became the fourth person to represent the Canucks as both a player and head coach in his career, following in the footsteps of Marc Crawford, Pat Quinn and Orland Kurtenbach.

UP NEXT

The two teams have a rematch in Vancouver on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press