Tuesday marks the birthday of Johnny Cash, and CBC Music has prepared an exclusive and fitting tribute to the iconic Man in Black: a cover of his classic Ring of Fire performed at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium by the darling young Canadian singers and rising country stars Lennon and Maisy (a.k.a. the Stella Sisters).
Beyoncé's Life Is But a Dream a curated peek behind the curtain
Categories: Movies, Music, Television
Tags: Beyoncé Knowles, Blue Ivy, doc, Jay-Z, Life Is But a Dream, personal
Fresh from her fierce gig at the Super Bowl, notoriously private pop star Beyoncé Knowles is offering a glimpse at her vulnerable side in her doc Life Is But a Dream. But this self-directed, self-produced peek behind the curtain is more carefully engineered confessional (with some admittedly electrifying performance footage) than a true exposé of the real Bey.
6 bone-crushing football films
Categories: Movies
Tags: college, football movies, high school, NFL, Super Bowl
Gridiron athletes, embattled coaches, behind-the-scenes politics and hedonistic partying -- football films have definitely carved out a distinctive niche in the history of cinema. As NFL fans gear up for this weekend's Super Bowl, CBC News offers a quick look at 6 noteworthy films of the bone-crushing genre.
Justin Timberlake's musical comeback
Categories: Music
It's been nearly seven years since Justin Timberlake brought the SexyBack, but the former Mouseketeer and boy band alum has lined up a few major gigs next month — including the Grammys — to launch his long-awaited new album. Having spent the last few years on his fashion label, acting career and love life, Timberlake is returning to music with album The 20/20 Experience in March.
Hatchet Job Award toasts scathing book reviews
Categories: Books
The Omnivore's sophomore edition of its Hatchet Job of the Year Award celebrates the "angriest, funniest, most trenchant" English-language book reviews and promotes professional criticism. This year's contenders cut down such heavyweights as Martin Amis, Salmon Rushdie and Naomi Wolf. But is the fine line between negative and nasty disappearing in the world of professional book criticism?
7 returning TV hits to watch
Categories: Television
Tags: Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Girls, Mad Men, Mr. D., returning, Smash, television, The Walking Dead
For TV viewers, the new year brings a fresh wave of personal crises, romantic intrigue and ambitious scheming -- in settings as varied as a zombie apocalypse in Georgia, the New York of privileged millennials or a sprawling English country estate after the First World War. Plummeting temperature outdoors make it a perfect time to settle in on the couch and dig into a new batch of returning hits. Here's a few to catch up on.
Getting hands on with TSO's interactive symphony app
Categories: Live Performance, Music, Social Media
Tags: app, A Toronto Symphony, interactive, public, social, Tod Machover, TSO
Remixing a symphony for the TSO to perform? There's an app for that (sort of). Innovative composer Tod Machover is creating a brand new classical composition inspired by Toronto that incorporates actual sounds from the city and submissions by its residents.
Blackbird, Caught in the Web explore risks of online expression
Categories: Movies, Social Media
Tags: Blackbird, Caught in the Web, consequences, cyber-bullying, internet, media, online
Coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival, a pair of thought-provoking dramas -- from opposite sides of the world and depicting completely different stories and styles -- stood out for web writer Jessica Wong because of a thread common to both movies: the serious consequences we face as we express ourselves online.
13 buzz films unspooling at TIFF
Categories: Movies
Tags: buzz, film, movies, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival
Whether due to a hot director, an impressive cast, an extraordinary film shoot or perhaps previous kudos earned, a smaller crop of titles inevitably separate from the vast lineup of movies chosen to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival. CBC looks at 13 buzzworthy films heading into the fest.
Twitter experiment celebrates Tom Thomson online
Categories: Art & Design, Social Media
Tags: Canadian art, death, mystery, Tom Thomson, Twitter
A distinctly Canadian social media experiment has unfurled over Twitter this summer, uniting fans of artist Tom Thomson across the internet, as well as those simply curious about the enduring mystery of his death. The voice behind the digital diary looks back over the project, shares what surprised him and discusses plans for the future with Jessica Wong.
Five decades on, the Rolling Stones are still hanging on in the public spotlight, albeit largely through solo projects, the release of remastered albums, participation in films or as the subject of art exhibitions. According to occasional reports, the boys never rule out getting back into studio for a new album and, naturally, an international tour. To mark the Stones' 50th anniversary as a band, CBC takes a look back at five performances indelibly etched into our collective memory. Hey, it's only rock 'n' roll, but we like it.
Dallas returns to high expectations from viewers
Categories: Television
Tags: Dallas, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy, revamp, soap, tv
Dallas, the iconic, ostentatious and addictive evening soap that occupies some of my earliest memories of television-watching, is returning. Remakes are a risk and, in the case of Dallas, nothing will satisfy TV viewers but soapy melodrama, killer plot, fabulous clothes and some genuine cads.
Nearly a century after his mysterious death, both the evocative art and the tale of Tom Thomson continue to captivate us. But what he would have been like on Twitter? A historically sensitive Thomson buff is answering that very question.
Whitney Houston's final song Celebrate debuts
Tags: Celebrate, Jordin Sparks, last song, Sparkle, Whitney Houston
It seems somehow fitting that Whitney Houston's final release is an upbeat and uplifting duet in which she passes the torch to a younger singer with vocal powerhouse potential. In the high energy song Celebrate, from the upcoming film Sparkle, Houston duets with singer and former American Idol Jordin Sparks.
Lip dubs are nothing new, but a fan-made production starring a feisty group of cancer-stricken kids, family members and nurses has earned a high-profile fan: pop star Kelly Clarkson. The spunky Seattle troupe sing, dance and strut to her tune Stronger in a new viral video that offers a different interpretation of and touching nuance to the chart-topping pop anthem.
Did you hear a loud groan -- "Nooooo!" -- on Monday afternoon? That came from the closest classic movie buff in your vicinity when he/she learned that troubled actress-slash-tabloid fodder Lindsay Lohan has landed the role of the legendary raven-haired beauty and Oscar-winner Elizabeth Taylor in an upcoming biopic.
Reaction to Pulitzer's fiction snub
Categories: Books
Tags: fiction, jury, no winner, Pulitzer Prize
When the latest batch of Pulitzer Prize-winners was unveiled this week, shock, surprise and disappointment arose at the news the prestigious U.S. prize's board chose to have no fiction winner for 2012. Book critic Maureen Corrigan, one of the jurors who chose the finalists, was among those angry at the decision. Still, this has ignited debate about the merits of a wider swath of fiction writers.
The Hunger Games on the hunt for new director
Categories: Movies
Tags: director, film, Gary Ross, Katniss, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, trilogy
Dystopian teen tale The Hunger Games might still reign at the box office, but the budding movie franchise is losing its original director Gary Ross. Young fans have kept the movie No. 1 in ticket sales for a third week, but critics offered the first instalment mixed reviews, with many noting that Ross' take lacked the fire and potential of the books. Who should step in to tackle the post-apocalyptic world of Katniss Everdeen and Panem?
Avril trades baggy pants for black lingerie in Goodbye
Categories: Music
Tags: avril lavigne, goodbye, lingerie, music video
After teasing fans over Twitter for the past week, Avril Lavigne has unveiled her surprise gift to them: a stylized music video for her track Goodbye that sees the Canadian pop star trade her Sk8er Boi baggy pants for black lingerie.
Milestone Bieber birthday tied to greeting card launch
Categories: Music
Tags: birthday, greeting card, hallmark, justin bieber, scandal, target, whitney houston
Canadian sensation Justin Bieber has turned 18 and the interwebs are already aflutter with stories about some killer birthday gifts, tributes and tie-ins -- like his new Hallmark card line. Far from the bubblegum appeal of the Biebs, another greeting card controversy linked to the late Whitney Houston might prove a lesson on the downside of a life in the spotlight.
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About the Authors
Deana Sumanac (10)
CBC News arts reporter, lit lover and music geek.
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February (9)
- Canada's Stella Sisters sing a birthday tribute to the Man in Black
- Oscar swag the ultimate consolation prize
- Oscar predictions: the shoo-ins and the should-have-beens
- Authors bare all for PEN Canada
- Anoushka Shankar and the One Billion Rising campaign
- Beyoncé's Life Is But a Dream a curated peek behind the curtain
- Drake gets wild in the street over Grammy win
- 25 billion songs downloaded on iTunes, and counting
- CBC Music's Searchlight seeks best new artist
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January (16)
- 6 bone-crushing football films
- FILM REVIEW: Warm Bodies
- Justin Timberlake's musical comeback
- Argo moves to the fore in Oscar best picture race
- FILM REVIEW: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
- FILM REVIEW: Knife Fight
- FILM REVIEW: Parker
- Kroll Show parodies Degrassi with "Wheels, Ontario"
- FILM REVIEW: The Last Stand
- FILM REVIEW: Gangster Squad
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