Today's guest host was K-OS (Kevin Brereton).

Satire

It's Friday, October 12th.

Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the United States. The departure comes after a US congressional committee branded the killings - nearly a century ago - of Armenians by Ottoman Turks … a "genocide"

Currently, right on schedule, the UN Security Council is debating a resolution to intervene.

This is The Current.

Music

Artist: Radiohead
Cd: "In Rainbows "
Cut: CD 3, "Nude"
Label: W.A.S.T.E.

Future of Music Industry - Ingram

(We started this segment with a song from Radiohead). It might sound like just another Radiohead song. But for some, it's the sound of the music industry's future … a future that's online and off-label. That track is called "Nude" and it's from Radiohead's new album, “In Rainbows” - an album that doesn't have a record label, but which the band made available for downloading on a pay-what-you-want basis. Even if you decide to pay for nothing more than the dollar or so to cover credit card processing, that's all right with them.

And maybe it wasn't coincidence that the day before 'In Rainbows' hit the Internet, the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to two scientists whose work made the MP3 and iPod possible. Those are the very things, of course, that have caused the boom in music downloading and have shaken the music industry to its core … the things that put the consumer and some would say recording artists in control of music distribution and have led to massive drops in CD sales.

The legendary singer-songerwriter Patti Smith has compared the Internet and its digital music formats to CBGB's, the New York music club. A club that served as an incubator for punk rock and everything that flowed from it. We aired some of what she had to say at the Pop and Policy Conference last week in Montreal.

We wanted to hear more about what Radiohead's album means for the music industry, artists and consumers. This morning we were joined by Mathew Ingram. He's a technology and media columnist with The Globe and Mail in Toronto.

Future of Music Industry – Grand Analog

Obviously, not everyone buys into the Utopian spin on Radiohead's online gambit. Catherine Saxberg is the executive director of the Canadian Music Publishers Association we briefly heard from her on this issue.

Well, now for the perspective of one of my colleagues now … Odario Williams from the Winnipeg-based hip hop act called Grand Analog and we wanted Mr. Analog to talk about the digital age in music.

Music

Artist: Grand Analog
Cd: "Manitoba Music, Vol. 4"
Cut: CD 2, "I'll Walk Alone"
Label: Maria
Spine: Maria011

Listen to The Current:Part 1

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

The Current: Part 2

Music

Artist: K-OS
Cd: "Atlantis: Hymns for Disco "
Cut: CD 6, "Mirror in the Sky "
Label: Virgin
Spine: 3 54284

Celebrity Trainwrecks

We started this segment with the song “Mirror in the Sky “and it's about my own reflections on celebrity. On our televisions, our PC's, at the supermarket line-up, even at the dentist's office... our obsession with celebrity gossip is spread thin but wide. It's like a virus with every detail of Hollywood stars' crazy lives in big, easy-to-read print. We aired a sample of this month's celebrity trainwrecks.

But is there something about this celebrity voyeurism which actually feeds a deep human desire: A desire for a well told story full of heros and anti-heros. Gods...Goddesses???? Can we dignify or elevate celebrity gossip from the gutter like to the status of modern-day parable?

I mean, when you think about it, is it a stretch to cast Britney Spears and her child custody dispute as a modern day tale of Medea?

Our next two guests have some thoughts on just what value - if any - celebrity trainwrecks can offer us.Bruce Gronbeck is a Professor of Communications Studies at the University of Iowa. Cintra Wilson, is a Culture Analyst who writes for the New York Times and Salon. She is also the author of A Massive Swelling: Celebrity Re-examined as a Grotesque Crippling Disease and Other Cultural Revelations. She joined us from New York City.

Music

Artist: Britney Spears
Cd: "Britney Spears Greatest Hits/My Perogative"
Cut: CD 2, "Toxic"
Label: Jive
Spine: 82876-65294-2

Celebrities - Call Out

Well believe it or not, there are some celebrities trying to do more good than bad. Think Bono, George Clooney or Angelina Jolie.

So while the behaviour of the Paris', Lindsays and Britneys seems to grab a lot of headlines about their self-absorbed fantasy lives - we thought we'd also check in on the celebrities trying to understand the world outside the Hollywood fishbowl.

Sol Guy is the producer and Host of MTV's 4Real. A show that takes celebrity guests around the world and connects them with young leaders who are changing communities, we reached him in Vancouver.

Listen to The Current:Part 2

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

The Current: Part 3

Music

Artist: Cornel West & BMWMB
Cd: "Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations "
Cut: CD 1, "Bushanomics (Talib Kweli) "
Label: Hidden Beach
Spine: B000QUCPZ2

Cornel West Feature

So who has the most influence on how African-Americans think and live their lives? Most would say Oprah Winfrey … her empire of television, publishing, entertainment is built on messages of upliftment.

But what about the intellectual empire of Dr. Cornel West? He describes himself as a non-Marxist Socialist -- a political theorist who's worked on presidential bids by Bill Bradley, Al Sharpton and now Barack Obama. He's written or edited a plethora of books, he's a professor of religion at Princeton University and this guy's seriously plugged into pop culture not to mention his recurring role as Councillor West of Zion in the Matrix movie series.

I say Dr. West IS a hip hop artist. This middle-aged dude with big afro and sharp suits has just released his third album. It's called, "Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations". We aired a sample from that album, a track called “Bushonomics with Talib Kweli”.

With this album, Dr. West is back to critiquing the racism and repression in white America, while challenging African-Americans and rappers like 50 Cent, Snoop and the Game to raise their game where misogyny, homophobia and empty materialism are concerned. Dr. Cornel West is a professor of religion at Princeton University, and his new album is called “Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations”.

Last Word – Cornel West

We wanted to leave you today with a cut from Dr. Cornel West's latest album 'Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations'... the song is “Dear Mr. Man” and it features vocals from the man we all know as Prince.

Music

Artist: Cornel West & BMWMB
Cd: "Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations "
Cut: CD 4, "Dear Mr. Man (Prince)"
Label: Hidden Beach
Spine: B000QUCPZ2

Listen to The Current:Part 3

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

CBC does not endorse content of external sites - links will open in new window