Before record sales collapsed, everyone made most of their money from selling music. The idea of licensing your music for a commercial was considered the height of selling out. Today, though, this is considered to be a normal and necessary way of surviving as a musician.

But someone had to be first, right? But who?

It’s generally accepted that the Velvet Underground was the first true alternative band. And fifteen years after Lou Reed left the band, he might have been the first even alt-rock artist to “sell out” by licensing a song to a TV commercial.

In 1985, he appeared in an ad for a Honda scooter with his song “Walk on the Wild Side” in the background. He took some stick for it—that sort of thing just wasn’t done back then—but he did help start the destruction of the stigma of using actual songs in TV commercials.

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

True or false: Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers was in a band with Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten. True.

It was 1983 and the Chili Peppers were still an unknown group, and things weren’t going well. Flea thought maybe it was time to leave. At the same time, it just so happened that Johnny’s post-Pistols band, Public Image Ltd., was in LA looking for a new bass player. Flea went to the audition, which consisted of just him and the drummer jamming onstage.

Out in the audience in the dark was Johnny, who was listening intently. Flea completely blew everyone away and was offered the job on the spot–which he accepted.  All he had to do was come back in the morning and sign the contracts.

Flea went home but immediately had second thoughts. He and a buddy stayed up doing heroin all night–and at seven in the morning, Flea called Johnny and said, “No, thanks.”  Probably a good move, huh? Turning down the job, I mean. Not the heroin part.

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

If you spend any time at record shows or in record shops—anyplace you can find used physical products—you may stumble across some interesting counterfeit records.

A counterfeit release looks exactly like the real thing but was manufactured illegally by someone who is not the artist’s record label. This sort of piracy has been capped at the knees by the spread of streaming services around the planet, which has affected the sales of all physical products, including illegal stuff.

There are high-quality counterfeit CDs and LPs still to be found, many of which come from China and Russia.

But this is hardly a new thing. Even back in the 60s and 70s, there was something some record collectors call “mafia records.” These looked almost exactly like what you could buy in the store but were clever counterfeits. This was how some members of the mob earned.

Today, record collectors must beware of these fakes because they’re obviously not worth as much as the real thing.

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

October 14, 1982. It had been a cool autumn Thursday in Toronto, with light showers that had lingered for hours. In the Rexdale neighbourhood near Pearson International Airport, almost all the 1,500 employees at the Litton Systems plant on Cityview Drive had gone home for the night. Only a few workers and security guards remained. Traffic was steady on Highway 27, which also ran in front of the plant.

Just before midnight, a stolen pickup van with British Columbia plates pulled up next to the main building. In the back were 550 pounds of dynamite.

Fuses were set, and boom! The explosion blew off the front wall of the two-storey building. No one was killed, but four night-shift employees and three cops were hurt. A few people in passing cars were also hit by the debris.

The damage was severe, with some estimates putting the bill at $50 million. The bombers fled under cover of the night.

We’d later learn that five people were involved, including the former bass player of a fierce Vancouver punk band.

This is episode 75 of Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry. And this time, it’s the story of Canada’s punk rock terrorist bombing.

This is Episode 74 of “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry.” And this time, it’s the story of the mysterious death of Bobby Fuller.
In addition to the podcasts, you can hear Uncharted on these Corus radio stations (all times local):

• Toronto: AM 640 (4-5 am)
• London: 980 CFPL (4-5 am)
• Vancouver: 730 CKNW (1-2 am)
• Edmonton: 630 CHED (1-2 am)
• Calgary: QR77 (770 AM) (1-2 am)
• Winnipeg: 680 CJOB (1-2 am)

And don’t forget about my current national speaking tour that will feature a live Uncharted podcast presentation. Get your tickets here.

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

Here’s a trivia question.  Name two films that feature an on-screen appearance by The Tragically Hip.

Remember the curling movie, Men with Brooms?  The Hip shows up for about a second and a half as a curling team in the big bonspiel. If you blink, you’ll miss them.  All right, but what about the second film?

Trick question.  NO ONE has ever seen it.

Director Robert Altman shot a made-for-TV movie that acted as a pilot for a TV show.  It was centered around a rich computer geek who really wanted to be a guitarist.  At one point in the movie, he hires a group–the Tragically Hip–to play at a party.  However, the movie was never released, and no one (outside those connected with the production) has ever seen it.

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

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — A man whose toddler was among eight people killed in a mass shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania, said Sunday that the gunman was a grandfather who never seemed distressed or out of the ordinary.

“I think that was a front for him,” Julius Windham said as he stood at a memorial to victims of Friday’s shooting, including his 1-year-old daughter Amarianna, her pregnant mother and the woman’s 5-year-old son and unborn baby.

“Him every day, him smiling and being just — you would think of nothing like that would happen,” Windham said.

The 45-year-old gunman took his own life. Authorities have not released his name, but Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said he was related to seven of the victims. The eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman, he said. Police have not made their names public, either.

Those killed include 2 women outside the home

Mourners on Sunday placed candles, flowers and stuffed animals outside the home where the man opened fire shortly before 5 p.m. Friday. Windham wore a T-shirt with pictures of the slain woman and children and the words, “Forever In My Heart.”

“Words can’t even explain what I’m going through right now,” Windham said. “But I gotta be strong for my community, you know what I’m saying? My family, my daughters, my sons, everybody.”

Video and audio evidence recovered by investigators included muffled gunshot sounds coming from inside the home just before two “distressed” women arrived and began pounding on the door, Lorah said. The gunman then came out and shot them as they ran toward him, before returning inside.

Responding officers found the two women dead outside. After deploying a drone and robot, they went inside and found the bodies of the 5-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl on the first floor; two more women and two young men in a stairwell; and the shooter on the second floor.

“Out of respect for the victims and the families, I will not discuss the details of what our officers encountered inside that home,” the chief said at a news conference.

“But I want our community to understand the gravity of what happened and the profound impact this tragedy has had on those involved and on our community as a whole,” he said.

Police decline to discuss motive as investigation continues

Erie is about 120 miles (190 kilometers) north of Pittsburgh.

Lorah declined to discuss motive but suggested mental health could be a factor. He said investigators would talk to relatives and examine the cellphones of the women who were killed outside the home.

“They knew something was going on at that house,” Lorah said. “We have to figure out what that is.”

Nicole and Debra Eller, whose best friend was among the victims, said they’ve known the family for more than 30 years.

Nicole Eller said the shooter “was a good guy, and then he started going downhill with everything.”

“They were a lovely family. Who would have thought this would ever happen?” Debra Eller said. “Oh my gosh, this is so upsetting. This should have never happened to her or the kids or anybody. His grandchildren, his kids, how can you do that?”

The Erie shooting was reminiscent of a 1982 massacre in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in which a man killed 13 people, including five of his own children.

At a news conference on Saturday, Erie Mayor Daria Devlin addressed a portion of her remarks directly to the victims’ families.

“I am so deeply sorry,” Devlin said. What happened to you was horrific, and there is nothing that any of us can say today that will make this any easier. … Our entire community is with you, we’re grieving with you. And we are here to support you.”

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Halifax police say Nova Scotia’s police watchdog will investigate after an alleged hit and run Saturday involving a truck that was being followed by city police.

The force says police followed a pickup truck that did not have a licence plate after it fled a parking lot in Dartmouth at a high speed.

Police say the truck did not stop when the police vehicle turned on its lights and sirens, and it struck another vehicle at an intersection.

A 58-year-old man driving the other vehicle sustained serious injuries and was transported to hospital.

The truck, which is described as a black Ford F-150, continued onto the A. Murray Mackay Bridge connecting Dartmouth to the Halifax peninsula and has not yet been located.

Police referred the incident to the province’s Serious Incident Response Team.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Canada’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia said on Sunday the embassy in Riyadh remains open for Canadians in need of consular assistance, which came as Ottawa condemned Houthi attacks on the international airport in Riyadh.

Ambassador Jean-Philippe Linteau said in a video on Sunday that anyone in Riyadh who encounters military debris should walk away and contact authorities, and not post about it on social media.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen said another projectile hit a passenger terminal at the Riyadh airport on Sunday. That comes just a day after a missile attack on the same terminal killed 12 people and injured hundreds more.

Canada issued a travel advisory to avoid all non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia, and to avoid all travel to the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the violence late Saturday night, calling the Houthis’ attacks on civilian infrastructure “abhorrent” and unjustified.

“Canada condemns these reckless acts of violence in the strongest possible terms,” the prime minister said in his social media post.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and wish a full recovery to those injured.”

The airport remained closed Sunday and flight-tracking websites showed no air traffic around Riyadh on Sunday.

The most recent strike in Riyadh came shortly after the Houthis blamed the Saudis for a strike against an airport in Sanaa, Yemen.

The attacks mark an escalation in the broader Iran war in the Middle East.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said on Saturday he is weighing whether to join the fight against the Houthis and said he plans to talk with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand posted on social media on Saturday that she has been in contact with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud.

She said she conveyed Canada’s “unwavering support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity.”

Jeffrey Steiner, head of the Canada-Saudi Business Council, said in an interview that it’s important Ottawa condemns the violence, and moves to strengthen ties in the long term with the key regional economic and security partner.

“It’s quite a horrible experience, obviously for the families of those who’ve been killed, and it creates at least a short-term pause or concern about safety and commercial activity,” he said.

“We don’t know how long this will go on, but the Canadian government and diplomats have condemned the Houthis for this kind of activity at civilian targets.”

The attacks come as the World Petroleum Congress kicked off on Sunday in Saudi Arabia’s capital.

Another major business event, the Future Investment Initiative — a high-profile investment summit sometimes called “Davos in the desert” — is scheduled to take place toward the end of the month.

Steiner said he and other Canadian firms still plan to attend that major business forum, which is tied to moving ahead Saudi Vision 2030 — an economic road map for the Kingdom to attract investment and diversify its economy.

“We’ll have to monitor on a daily basis in the short term,” Steiner said.

“The long term vision of 2030 has all kinds of Canadian opportunity to participate in that. Saudi wants to diversify its economy away from oil and Canada wants to diversify its markets, in a way away from the United States, or at least have broader markets and choices.”

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is expected to lead a delegation of Canadian pension funds in the comings months to Saudi Arabia to discuss investment opportunities.

– With files from The Associated Press

© 2026 The Canadian Press

After a journey of approximately 2,300km over the span of 40 days, a monarch butterfly has arrived in Mexico from Winnipeg.

How exactly do researchers know? They’ve been tagging them.

A research team from the Assiniboine Park Zoo, in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada, began attaching miniscule tracking devices to monarchs in August.

Laura Burns, conservation programs manager at the Assiniboine Park Zoo, said the devices run on solar power.

“There’s two tiny solar panels and each little tag weighs 0.06 grams. They are solar powered, so they’ll continue running as long as they have access to sunlight and they ping off of cell towers, cell phones and wildlife telemetry towers to track migration,” she said.

Burns said more than 1,300 monarchs have been tagged this fall across North America.

The Assiniboine Zoo tagged 29, and they are patiently waiting to see more arrive in Mexico.

“Some of them are still on the move. There are a bunch in Kansas and Missouri and Oklahoma and Texas right now,” Burns said. “A few of them will be making it to Mexico the next few days I’m hoping, if the winds are in their favor.”

The journey though, is a dangerous one.

“They could run into cars, cities, agricultural fields, predators, bad weather events. All of these things can make the journey super dangerous, and we don’t really know the direct path they take,” Burns said.

But one butterfly tagged by the Winnipeg zoo has already made it to Mexico, one of three that have been detected in the country so far this season.

“It seems like it’s within the realm of normal, but she is one of the early arrivals in Mexico,” Burns said, adding the butterfly still has approximately 800 kilometres to go before it reaches its overwintering site.

Tracking the butterfly migration also allows researchers to identify what pathways they take so they can focus on conservation efforts in those areas.

“These data will show where those pinch points are, where are not making it past. And maybe we should be focusing our mitigation and conservation efforts on those spots to make the biggest impact,” Burns said.

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

Canada’s largest food rescue organization said it is “deeply disappointed and outraged” after a case of vandalism rendered seven of its trucks out of service over Thanksgiving weekend.

Second Harvest said suspects broke into its truck yard in Toronto and cut through the exhaust systems of seven food rescue trucks and allegedly stole the catalytic converters.

“The damage means we now have to replace both the catalytic converters and the damaged exhaust components, leaving seven trucks out of service,” Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest, said in an email.

The charity had been preparing for its previously advertised Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway.

Nikkel told Global News there were two trucks out on the road Sunday, but come next week, they may need to look into getting rentals.

She said the estimated repairs total $80,000.

“These trucks are a lifeline for our community. Second Harvest delivers rescued food directly to more than 300 non-profit organizations across Toronto, helping them feed people who are struggling to put food on the table,” she said.

“With seven trucks off the road, those deliveries will be directly impacted at a time when the need for food support is already overwhelming.”

Nikkel said she believes the suspects cut a hole through the fence to access the truck yard. That fence was installed after water was put into the tanks of the organization’s fleet on New Year’s Eve.

“We put up a fence so that we could deter that from happening again,” she said. “but this felt like a far more organized crime than that one.”

Toronto police confirmed to Global News it received a call Sunday regarding the incident and an investigation is ongoing.

Nikkel is asking the community to contact police if they have any information, or to consider donating to Second Harvest to help with the repairs.

“Our team is doing everything we can to restore our fleet and keep food moving to the communities that depend on us,” she said. “We won’t let this stop us.”

In Canada, Second Harvest and its partners rescued and redistributed more than 95 million pounds of food in 2025.

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