Posted by Laurie Brown on
Tuesday January 10, 2012 at 2:50 PM
Your greatest concert experience?
I'm pretty sure we can all say we've been to lousy concerts and to really good ones - but have you ever been to a live show where you've thought: I am witnessing one of the finest shows this group is EVER going to give? A night that you would call 'a happening'? A performance where both the people on stage and in the audience knew they were part of something very special?
Posted by Laurie Brown on
Tuesday December 13, 2011 at 11:05 AM
It's that time of the year when all good radio shows put together their "best of" lists. In fact, CBC Radio 2 is in the midst of voting for the Top 50 Artists of 2011.
Meanwhile, here at The Signal we have a slightly different list. In fact there's a long list of albums we're mulling over, but we'd also love to get your suggestions. What did you hear on the show that you figure deserves a spot on our year end list of favourites?
Here's our preliminary list, in no particular order:
This is truly a democratic happening. If you've had the chance to see Rich Aucoin in one of his many gigs across the country, you'll know he's a dynamite musician and entertainer that gets everyone in the house singing along. That applies to this album as well. Over 500 contributors, it's a Where's Waldo? situation trying to pick out the voices you'll know in this record.
Posted by Laurie Brown on
Thursday November 3, 2011 at 12:30 PM
We're up to our knees in shrinkwrap here at The Signal and thought we should make a short list of some of the spectacular new music that has found its way on to the show. That so much of this new music comes with phenomenal images is probably not surprising. So here we go, in no particular order. Hope you find something here that encourages you to delve into these new CD's.
Posted by Sarah Liss on
Monday September 19, 2011 at 7:01 PM
If you missed it last night, we came to you live from the 2011 Polaris Music Prize Gala, during which Montreal's Arcade Fire were awarded the year's top Canadian critic-determined award for their album The Suburbs.
If you weren't part of the action, fear not: you can replay our liveblog below to get a sense of what the gala was like in real-time. (It runs chronologically, from beginning to end. Scroll down to the bottom of the embedded blog to see additional pages.) And better yet, watch the highlight video above to see how it all went down.
Posted by Li Robbins on
Monday September 19, 2011 at 3:00 AM
This is it, the day when the prestigious, $30,000 Polaris Music Prize is bequeathed upon an album chosen by a jury of critics and journalists as the best Canadian album of the past year. Tonight the winner will be announced at the Polaris gala, a heady, sweaty and even giddy event including performances by shortlisted artists Ron Sexsmith, Galaxie, Hey Rosetta!, Austra, Braids, and Timber Timbre.
You can hear how it all goes down as Radio 3 streams live, and get the lowdown from the CBC music team live blogging -- right here at Radio 2.
Meanwhile, let's get to it -- put your virtual money down! Who do you think will take the prize?
Posted by Laurie Brown on
Monday August 22, 2011 at 2:30 PM
Wanna win something good? How about a collection of the ten Canadian albums that are vying for the Polaris Music Prize? We're giving away five sets of albums to five lucky Signal listeners. You're probably wondering how you can be one of those lucky five listeners, right? Glad you asked! Just post a comment on our blog telling us about the things you've won in the past. Bowling trophy? Trip for 2 around the world? Participant ribbon? Free can of Spam? Or maybe you've never won anything in your life -- we don't care! We just want to hear a story about you and Lady Luck.
Posted by Andrew Sheppard on
Friday August 12, 2011 at 3:30 PM
Even though many of us are still in full summer torpor mode, you can hear the gears of the fall season spinning if you listen carefully. Ah yes: The cooler nights, the inevitable back-to-school advertisements... and the early glimpses of big-name record releases.
Posted by Li Robbins on
Wednesday July 6, 2011 at 2:25 PM
How would you whittle down a top 40 list of strong Canadian albums (in a range of musical genres) to a top ten?
That was the task of the Polaris Music Prize jurors in recent weeks. And mere minutes ago, the Polaris Music Prize Shortlist was revealed in a press conference emceed by none other than our Radio 3 pal Grant Lawrence.
Laurie Brown's going to be playing lots of the music from these albums over the summer on The Signal -- "If you're looking for some new music to be your soundtrack to the summer of 2011," she says, I bet you'll find it on this list!" -- so stay tuned for that.
Meanwhile, do you agree with the jurors' picks? Did your favourite albums of the year get left off, or is this list on the money?
In alphabetical order, so no handicapping at this end, here is The Shortlist, complete with songs from each of the albums.
Posted by Li Robbins on
Tuesday July 5, 2011 at 2:40 PM
It is with sadness that we learned that one of Canada's most notable contemporary composers, Member of the Order of Canada Malcolm Forsyth, has died at the age of 74. He was also famed as an educator, conductor, performer, and as father of cellist Amanda Forsyth. As a composer his work has been performed all around the world.
Tonight The Signal pays tribute to the composer with music from his Atayoskewin suite, as well as a conversation with Amanda Forsyth about the concerto he wrote specifically for her, Electra Rising.
The Signal and CBC Radio 3 have collaborated to create a Contemporary Music Page. Are you a musician that plays music similar to what we program on the show? Sign up and you could get played on air.
It's that time of the year when all good radio shows put together their "best of" lists. In fact, CBC Radio 2 is in the midst of voting for the Top 50 Artists of 2011. 
OK. Here we go with this week's list of faves. In no particular order they are:
This is it, the day when the prestigious, $30,000 
Wanna win something good? How about a collection of the ten Canadian albums that are vying for the Polaris Music Prize? We're giving away five sets of albums to five lucky Signal listeners. You're probably wondering how you can be one of those lucky five listeners, right? Glad you asked! Just post a comment on our blog telling us about the things you've won in the past. Bowling trophy? Trip for 2 around the world? Participant ribbon? Free can of Spam? Or maybe you've never won anything in your life -- we don't care! We just want to hear a story about you and Lady Luck. 
Even though many of us are still in full summer torpor mode, you can hear the gears of the fall season spinning if you listen carefully. Ah yes: The cooler nights, the inevitable back-to-school advertisements... and the early glimpses of big-name record releases.
It is with sadness that we learned that one of Canada's most notable contemporary composers, Member of the Order of Canada 
