As of 2026, there are something like 250 million songs available to the streaming music services. How do we even begin to wrap our heads around a number like that? Well, the first thing we do is attempt to put things in some kind of order.

That begins by sorting things into piles. Everything in each pile has something in common when it comes to sound, aesthetic, style, feel, and so on. [e’ve just taken our first step toward classifying songs into genres.

These piles are still too big. Each pile itself needs to be sorted into smaller sub-piles as our organization project continues. Then those smaller piles need to become even smaller, and more targeted and specific. Rinse, repeat until we have thousands of piles. We can get infinitely granular.

There’s a website called “Every Noise at Once” that tried to do this with a scatterplot diagram. It was created by a former employee at Spotify named Glenn McDonald, using all the names Spotify gave to songs to educate its music recommendation algorithm.

Glenn was laid off from Spotify at the end of 2023, so he no longer has access to Spotify’s classifications. But the site is active, featuring somewhere around 6,500 different individual and specific genres of music from around the planet.

I love these names. Truck-driving country. Swamp pop. Cantautor (no idea what that is, but it’s something Latin). Cavernous death metal. Finnish tango.

I was poking around “Every Noise at Once” the other day. You know, just looking for something interesting.

Buried in the upper third of this amazing website is trip-hop. It’s next to Indonesian hyperpop, Cape Town indie, and C-pop girl group. Click on the arrow next to it, and another scatterplot opens up, featuring an array of artists who have been tagged as being part of the trip-hop universe. Portishead was here, of course. So was Massive Attack.

But the more I looked around, the more I realized that there was more to this genre than I thought. This deserves some exploration.

Welcome to the story of trip-hop.

Songs heard on this show:

• Portishead, Glory Box
• Afrika Bambaataa, Planet Rock
• Massive, Any Love
• Massive Attack, Unfinished Sympathy
• DJ Shadow, In/Flux
• Tricky, Aftermath
• Portishead, Sour Times
• DJ Shadow, Best Foot Forward
• Massive Attack, Angel
• Massive Attack, Teardrop

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

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

Doesn’t it feel like the May long weekend was just yesterday? TIme to prep for Q4, the big one for the recorded music industry. Things start to pick up this week with single and albums. It is a busy one.

Singles

1. Alkaline Trio/Rise Against, split single (Independent)

This is strangely interesting. These two bands are great friends and are currently on tour. For this split single, Alkaline Trio covers Re-Education (Through Labour), a Rise Against song. Meanwhile Rise Against covers Private Eyes, which is an Alkaline Trio track. I can’t think of another situation where this has been done.

Listen to both songs on Spotfy

2. Blue October, She’s My Ride Home (Up/Down Records)

The press release that accompanied this single described Blue October as a “romantic ambient art rock band.” Um, okay. This is the third brand new video that celebrates the 20th anniversary release of their Foiled album.

3. Editors, Seriously (PIAS)

Birmingham’s Editors have been flying a Joy Division(ish) flag but with more flair since 2002. Now about to release their seventh album Surface, Echo & Sound on October 30, They say that this record is the most “organic” thing they’ve done in years. I never know what to make of a description like that, but this single is another indication of what we’ll get next month.

4. Nix Ironstone, Sincerely Me (coady./Patriam Records)

The first Canadian song on today’s list. Nix (once known as country singer Nicole Raye) now blends alternative with goth pop in a way that might make you think of The Pretty Reckless and Evanescence. Now that’s a pivot.

5. Jordan Klassen, Fall Apart (Fontana North)

More Canada. This song is built around a sample found on a CD-ROM catalogue that dates back to before the internet. Over the years, Klassen has toured with Dear Rouge, Half Moon Run and Silversun Pickups. A full album is coming early next year.

6. The R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H., Go! (The R.E.S.E.A.R.C.H.)

I have no idea if their name stands for anything, but I can tell you that these are three guys out of Vancouver. none of whom are identified by anything more than their first initial and their last names. Everyone works out of Echo Plant Studios. They also say “Our commitment is to provide a platform where artists can collaborate with our writers and producers and bring their next music vision to life.” Okay, then.

Listen on Spotify

7. Royal Bomb, Swallow the Bomb (Black Mammoth/Warner)

The return of Royal Blood continues with another single leading up to the November 13th release of Dead Company.Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher entered the studio to start work on this album eighteen months ago. What did they come up during that time? Well, this for one.

Albums

1. beabadoobee, Pylon (Dirty Hit/Interscope)

The woman with the funnest name to say is back with her fourth album, which features guest appearances that include Hayley Williams, Chino Moreno, Turnstile’s Brendan Yates, among others. If you hear plenty of 90’s style alt-rock, you’re not imaging thing. It’s the decade that just keeps on giving.

2. Beck, Ride Lonesome (Capitol)

It seems like we’ve been talking about Ride Lonesome for at least six months. Beck’s “spiritual companion” to his 2002 album Sea Change is smooth, melodic, and in some spots, easliy mistaken for a David Gilmour solo album. Nothin’ wrong with that.

3. Echo and the Bunnymen, Apples for Isaac (BMG Rights Management)

I thought we’d lost them, but nope. Mac and the rest of the Bunnymen are still with us, even though it’s been twelve years since their last album. Clem Burke, the late drummer of Blondie, appears on 10 of the 11 tracks. This single will take you back to 1984.

4. Five Finger Death Punch, Legacy (Better Noise Music)

The early decision on the band’s tenth album are decidedly split. It runs just 36 minutes with some calling it “commercial gold” and praising the band for sticking to their trademark sound. On the other side, critics call it safe, pandering, and predictable. What say you?

5. Ozric Tentacles, Harmonic Mind (Kscope)

Here’s a name from back in the 80s and 90s. They focus on space-rock-style instrumentals and have released more than 30 albums, none of which have ever been on a major label. A cult band? Yes, but a really interesting one.

6. Team Dresch, Furthermore (Jealous Butcher)

The riot grrrl/queercore legends led by Donna Dresch are back with an album for the first time in 30 years. Let’s go back to what it was like in Portland in 1993.

14. Tove Lo, ESTRUS (Pretty Swede Records / Virgin Music Group)

She’s back with her sixth album. What’s an “ESTRUS?” An animal in heat. I’m afraid to ask what “DNH” stands for.

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

In January 1996, Bono and his family were on vacation as guests of fellow musician Jimmy Buffett. Buffett had been extolling the awesomeness of genuine Jamaican jerk chicken, so the decision was made to pick some up.

The fact they were in Miami was no problem because Buffett had a Grumman HU-16 Albatross flying boat he called Hemisphere Dancer. He got it cheap from the US Navy and could fly it himself.

Buffett, Bono, his family, Island Records head Chris Blackwell, and a co-pilot piled into the plane and set course for Montego Bay. But once they arrived, the water was too rough to land, so they diverted to Negril.

However, this diversion was unannounced and when local authorities saw the plane, they assumed it belonged to another drug runner. So they opened fire. More than 100 rounds were fired at the plane with several hitting the fuselage and shattering the windscreen. Fortunately, no one was hurt, no one was charged, and everyone soon hightailed it back to Miami.

There’s no word on whether Bono got his jerk chicken.

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

Fireworks. Two national anthems. A packed house. And Josh Allen’s touchdown run.

The Buffalo Bills even rolled out a new grass carpet in hosting the Detroit Lions in the first regular-season game in their new $2.1 billion Highmark Stadium on Thursday night. Some six minutes in, Bills quarterback Allen capped a 10-play, 85-yard opening drive by scoring on a 1-yard run.

As a border city, Buffalo paid tribute to its fanbase by having both the U.S. and Canadian anthems performed with both country’s flags displayed on the field.

The Toronto musical group Barenaked Ladies was greeted by a loud cheer before singing “O, Canada.” They were followed by Hawaiian-born actress and singer Auli’i Cravalho performing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” U.S. pop group OneRepublic was scheduled to perform at halftime.

Fireworks went off about 90 minutes before game time and then again during the opening ceremonies.

Fans unfurled three banners with the words Bills and Mafia, and a logo commemorating the stadium’s inaugural season. An elaborate light show then followed with fans wearing bracelets that blinked, followed by a fireworks display as the Bills offensive starters were introduced, with Allen greeted by a roar and chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!”

As for the turf, the new grass looked improved.

The Bills chose to resod the entire field ahead of schedule following their preseason finale against Pittsburgh on Aug. 27. They did so after the original turf, which had been laid down in October, showed signs of wear and tear, and with large divots having to be replaced during two preseason games and two practices.

Bills players indicated after practicing in the stadium on Tuesday that the grass felt firmer, and noticed a larger infill of sand. That was evident in pregame warmups when clumps of sand came up when players made hard cuts on the field.

During the opening drive, an on-field official was spotted having to tamp down a clump of grass that came up at the 30.

The field was painted for the first time, with the word “BILLS” in large white block letters featured prominently in both end zones over red-painted grass. The team’s charging Buffalo logo was also added at midfield.

The new stadium has a capacity of just over 60,000, about 12,000 less than the old facility which now lies in rubble across the street.

What’s different is the layout, with the new facility’s seating structure built more vertically in placing viewers more on top of the action. The new building also features a canopy, which helps project crowd noise directly on to field.

Bills fans began arriving two and three days earlier, with a private lot nearly filled with RVs by Tuesday. And there were lengthy lineups before the gates opened, and despite a slight drizzle that fell.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

A fresh scandal is threatening to further engulf the BC Conservatives as the party’s MLAs and former executives, along with a Victoria reporter, confirm they have been informed they were the subject of a private investigator hired by a former senior Conservative party official.

BC Conservative leader, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, told Global News that the party is aware of the situation.

“We are looking into it as a party, and I’m part of that effort,” she said.

“But right now there’s some allegations out there, and we do have to find out what is real and what isn’t. So that’s really, it’s a very preliminary time on that, but we’re looking into it.”

Aisha Estey, who was the president of the BC Conservative Party for about three years and who resigned about a month ago, told Global News that she found out on Wednesday night that she was one of the people on the list.

“I haven’t seen the report itself,” Estey said.

“But I was notified of that last night and that, you know, it may involve some of the exposure of my personal information.”

“I was flabbergasted is probably my initial reaction,” she added.

“I have been disappointed, to say the least, in the leadership of Kerry-Lynne Findlay, frankly, since shortly after she was elected leader. Um, the conduct, you know, never ceases to amaze me. But then this last night was just a new low.”

Findlay said in a speech on Thursday morning that she is not going anywhere.

Her speech at the Union of B.C. Municipalities comes amidst a summer series of scandals that saw nine BC Conservative MLAs quit the party, many citing issues with Findlay’s leadership.

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

The Montreal police force said it has told officers to stop using a controversial “hog-tie” restraint technique after a man’s death last year.

The directive was issued after a Quebec coroner found the technique may have contributed to the death of 29-year-old Abisay Cruz during a 2025 police intervention in Montreal.

In her report, coroner Géhane Kamel concluded Cruz died from cocaine intoxication and probable positional asphyxia during the March 2025 police intervention. Kamel said it was ”highly likely” the position which he was held in contributed to his death.

Kamel determined Cruz had toxic levels of cocaine in his bloodstream when he died and ruled the death as being accidental. However, she said Cruz was held on his stomach with his limbs tied behind his back for more than two minutes, which poses serious risk for asphyxiation.

Cruz, was declared dead in hospital after an intervention with Montreal police in March of 2025 at his mother’s home in Saint-Michel neighborhood, a working-class neighbourhood with large Latin American, Haitian and North African communities.

Neighbours and family members took video recordings and photos of the incident.

“In one of the videos one of the officers involved did say ‘yes, we know that you’re in distress’,” family lawyer René Saint-Léger told Global News back in April of 2025.

According to the province’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), police were called to the apartment shortly after 8 a.m. responding to a person in crisis on an apartment balcony. Saint-Léger said the family didn’t know who placed the call, why police arrived in such large numbers, and why officers were, in the family’s view, overly aggressive.

“One witness said one officer kicked Mr. Cruz in the belly when he was already raising his hands as if to surrender,” said Fo Niemi, head of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), who advocated for the family of the Latin American man.

Saint-Léger told Global that once Cruz was on the ground he was forcefully subdued. “One of the officers had his knee on his back, almost touching his neck.”

In her report, coroner Kamel said officers should have moved Cruz to his side as soon as possible, even if he was still agitated.

In her recommendations, Kamel urged Montreal police to ensure its officers are able to recognize signs of medical distress, especially when in cases involving intoxication. She noted a sergeant was present and should have provided better directives to the officers.

Kamel’s recommendations also included implementing body cameras for police officers, as police and witness accounts of the events leading to Cruz’s death differ significantly.

Officers reported that Cruz charged at the first officer who arrived on the balcony of the apartment, and that the officer responded by kicking him in the stomach and tackling him to the ground to handcuff him. Police also said Cruz hit his head against the balcony’s metal structure and that they placed a pillow under him to prevent further injury.

But witnesses say Cruz was sat with his hands in the air, seemingly wanting to communicate with the officers who then kicked him in the stomach, head, and face before tackling him. Cruz’s mother said officers continued to hit him after he was handcuffed.

The mother said she begged the officers to stop and told them her son needed help and was in an altered state of mind.

According to Cruz’s family, he was under duress as he was in the midst of deportation proceedings to Honduras. They described him as an affectionate man who was very devoted to his loved ones and maintained close ties with his family.

The coroner believes Cruz went into respiratory arrest while officers carried him downstairs.

Montreal police say they support the coroner’s recommendations and will continue reviewing the report and implementing them.

–with files from Phil Carpenter and The Canadian Press

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

Search crews in the British Columbia Interior backcountry made an unusual rescue this week when they stretchered a Great Dane off a mountain trail.

Revelstoke Search and Rescue says in a statement on social media that they were called Sunday evening to Mt. Macpherson after two owners reported the massive dog had torn its paw pads on a hike.

Rescuers say the owners were exhausted from trying to get the 10-year-old dog off the mountain, and were not prepared for overnight stays in alpine terrain as evening temperatures dropped toward freezing.

Pictures shared by the group show the grey and white Great Dane lying with her head up and her front paws bandaged, receiving pats on a wheeled basket stretcher that rescuers say gave her “a first-class ride” back to the trailhead.

Crews were out on the rescue until 1 a.m. the next morning, and both the dog and owners are reported safe.

The name of the female dog was withheld for privacy reasons.

The American Kennel Club says an adult Great Dane averages around 76 centimetres in height at the shoulder and 64 kilograms in weight, calling them “powerful giants” can “tower over most other dogs.”

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Municipal elections are still a month away, but residents in West Kelowna already know who will lead their community.

Two-term councillor Stephen Johnston has been acclaimed as the city’s next mayor after no other candidates came forward for the position.

“I’m just so honoured to have this opportunity to serve as the next mayor of West Kelowna,” Johnston told Global News.

Johnston says he will remain focused on key issues such as homelessness, addiction and wildfire resilience.

However, he says restoring public confidence in the city’s government will also be a top priority.

The incoming mayor is currently a member of the council that faced criticism over what some residents described as a lack of transparency and accountability, particularly around major capital projects and cost overruns.

“It’s no secret that we did have a couple projects that went over budget. It was a difficult and challenging time,” Johnston said.

The new city hall and library project came in more than $6 million over budget while the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant also faced significant public scrutiny, including questions about how a large portion of the project would be financed and repaid by property owners.

West Kelowna resident Jackie Haynes said the city’s recent record raises questions about whether public confidence can be rebuilt.

“Not very, based on the recent past,” Haynes said, when asked how optimistic she is about Johnston restoring the public’s confidence.

“The water treatment plant was a big disappointment for everybody.”

Another resident, Cindy Charters, said she’s more optimistic.

“I think he can restore public confidence,” Charters added.

Following the cost overruns and capital project challenges, the city commissioned an independent review that identified improvements that could be made to its capital project delivery model.

While some changes have been made, Johnston says more are needed, including the budgeting process.

“One of the things I advocated for this year, which we’ve already changed, is historically West Kelowna has never shown budgeted versus actual expenses, and so we’ve got actuals in there,” Johnston said.

Johnston said the changes will provide greater accountability and will be important as council oversees major projects.

“Accountability is very important and for council to be able to follow the budget from conception through to completion of projects is really important,” he said. “We’ve been missing that piece for a long time and so big changes are coming.”

Johnston has spent the week at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention.

He says knowing he will be West Kelowna’s next mayor has already helped him build relationships with provincial politicians and cabinet ministers.

“It’s opened so many doors for me,” Johnston said. “You know, I’ve been bumping into cabinet ministers, MLAs. We’ve been going for coffee, exchanging phone numbers and it’s just been a huge leg up on building those relationships that we’re going to need to compound and grow over the years.”

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

Shovels, and not just the ceremonial ones, are in the ground on the Symons Valley Centre Library in the northwest community of Sage Hill, as Calgary works to address a gap in amenities in new communities.

Officials from the City of Calgary and Calgary Public Library were on hand Wednesday to break ground on the $43-million project, which includes a 15,000-square-foot library, a multi-modal street, and parking facilities.

The facility will replace the current library in Sage Hill which, at 1,700-square-feet, is one of the library’s smallest branches; it opened in 2017 as a temporary space.

“It was a small library that was just meant to fill the gaps until the new Symons Valley library opened,” said Calgary Public Library CEO Sarah Meilleur. “It is packed.  This library and the users of this library circulated over 180,000 books last year; this is a community of readers.”

The $43-million project is set to be complete in mid-2028 and comes after years of advocacy from the community.

According to Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness, the project was deprioritized when she was first elected in 2021 and required significant work to demonstrate the value it would have to the communities of Sage Hill, Kincora, Sherwood, Nolan Hill and Evanston.

Wyness said building amenities for new neighbourhoods in her ward remains a challenge.

“We just don’t have the services.  I do not have the transit, I do not have the libraries, to meet the growth of people choosing to live in the suburbs,” Wyness said. “Building a library like this allows us to show that we have not forgotten about where people are choosing to live.”

According to city officials, Sage Hill is one of Calgary’s fastest-growing areas and is one of more than 40 new communities in various stages of development on the city’s outskirts.

Despite recent announcements about Calgary Transit in the area, some who live in the area said the services and amenities still haven’t caught up to the thousands of new residents.

“It would be nice to see infrastructure while they do their planning,” Inge Kelly told Global News. “At least plan for it, not 10 or 12 years down the road.”

David Cooper, principal at Leading Mobility, said the challenge of increasing the level of services and amenities isn’t a new issue for neighbourhoods on the city’s outskirts, and it isn’t unique to Calgary.

Cooper said developers build the core infrastructure like water pipes and roads but city services take longer to catch up due to constraints for operating funds in the city budget.

“We’re good at putting in the infrastructure so that the area can function but there’s always been a lag in getting the city services that Calgarians expect in these new communities because it’s costly,” he said.

According to the city, there are a number of a new projects underway to address the gap including the Rocky Ridge Athletic Park, as well as the Belmont Fieldhouse and Library, as well as a library and fire station in Walden.

Catching up with the backlog is part of the city’s $50-billion infrastructure gap, Calgary mayor Jeromy Farkas said Wednesday, in which which he has vowed council will begin addressing during the next four-year budget.

Farkas said there will be “hard decisions” during budget talks in November to ensure service levels meet the needs.

“There’s a term that I think Calgarians are going to get used to from this council in the next four-year budget: capital velocity,” he told Global News. “How do we get these plans, these strategies, these hopes off the shelf and shovels in the ground as soon as possible?  That’s job number one.”

The mayor noted city council will also need to find ways to grow the city in “a more even way” to address some of the root causes of the infrastructure gap.

He said Calgary’s growth has historically been through “starts, stops and spurts.”

“In the seventies, there were a lot of rec centres and libraries built and then nothing was built for a good 15 to 20 years.  What that meant is the bill came due for maintenance on all of these facilities simultaneously,” Farkas said. “It’s about smoothing out these major facilities so it’s not feast and famine, but we’re gradually chipping away at the deficit.”

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

Four people have been charged after a months-long investigation into an illegal online cannabis distribution operation led to the seizure of more than $365,000 worth of cannabis, contraband tobacco and associated products.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and its specialized cannabis enforcement team began investigating the operation, known as “420 Highway,” in July.

Investigators determined the operation was allegedly supplying and distributing illegal cannabis products from multiple locations in Windsor, Ont. without proper authorization, OPP said in a news release.

On Sept. 2, OPP, with assistance from the Windsor Police Service, conducted three search warrants at two homes and a storage facility in the city.

According to police, investigators seized “large quantities” of illegal cannabis products, including dried cannabis, concentrates, hash, edible products and vape products. Packaging equipment, contraband tobacco and $24,000 were also seized.

Police arrested three men from Windsor and one man from Sarnia.

They all face charges of possession of cannabis for the purposes of distribution and selling.

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