Before, Behind and Between

It hasn't happened yet. But wouldn't it be cool? Either as a Lee-Lifeson project of taking several songs and rearranging them for an unplugged, accoustic performance? This could be a one-off.  Or it could also be the next iteration of Rush, especially if such a project produced one or two new songs.  Either way, fans would be treated to a catalog of renewed and reworked material. And this really w...

Death and celebrity together create a profound effect among people. Death is hard enough, but when we add "celebrity" to the mix, the result is often deeper than is the case with family members. This year, like most, has a large roster of celebrities who have passed. However, this year, unlike most, also features the enormous death toll that has affected many, many ordinary people and families aro...

Halloween is around the corner. This year is going to be different, we know. But two ways in which Halloween season will remain the same is through the decorations -- which have already begun adorning neighbourhood houses and lawns -- and, of course, the movies we binge on throughout the month of October. This Halloween Season episode talks what a horror film actually is, and throws into the mix a...

Canada's Speech from the Throne is a ceremony and document that commences a new governing session of Parliament. Will this plan be enough to steer Canada through the global pandemic? Will it be enough to keep the government afloat? This episode breaks down the main policy thrusts of this year's Throne Speech, and talks about what happens if it doesn't receive the support the government hopes it wi...

Star Trek: The First Frontier is a fan-made production that explores the very first commander of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, Captain Robert April, and his crew on their maiden voyage. This episode talks about what went into putting this labour of love together, and how you can watch the film online. Star Trek: The First Frontier was released on the most recent Star Trek Day, September 8, 2020.&nb...

Rush material you never heard live? Songs that were never played live? This is the ultimate Rush setlist of more-or-less un-setlisted material -- great, interesting and odd stuff that just never made it to a setlist.  

His most well-known quote tells us that there is no such thing as bad press. It turns out that PT Barnum had a lot more wisdom about promotion than just long-lasting quotes. I recently read Barnum's memoirs, originally published in the late 1860s. PT was not only a showman and promoter, but he knew people, how to read people, and how to build and retain a customer base. And the main advice he shar...

Did you know that some researchers  claim that the roots of so-called classical music can be found in ancient Egypt? Music genealogy is fun stuff. It's that fascinating connection of one style of music, even a single performer, to another style or performer. And the connections can sometimes be surprising. This episode highlights some of those connections, and talks about the sources of sever...

We have to fall in love with a problem, savoring it, otherwise we can never know that problem or understand it. And without that knowledge, we never build a sustainable solution. This advice has been conspicuously absent in political strategy -- until lately. The Democrats might have hit on something valuable by endorsing the Biden-Harris ticket in the 2020 presidential election. It depends more o...

Forty years of making music and touring results in a seriously large vault of live recordings. Each recording captures not just the setlist from a particular show (or series of performances), but the feel of the time, ambiance and acoustic quality of the venue, the fan response, and, of course, the technology available when the recording was made. Suffice to say that isolating one live recording a...

We generally enjoy lazy, hot days at this time of year, with motivation to do little more than take a vacation or kick-back at the beach. Surprisingly, August 2020 has been quite busy. This episode surveys the news updates during this year's summer dog days. 

The Australian Football League has been a darling of football during the 2020 summer, as there is no football in Canada and no NFL pre-season.  But wait. We suddenly received news over the last several days that the XFL may yet, again, be fielding live football in the not-too-distant future.  Fingers crossed.

Using music to help convey or promote a message is a practice that is centuries old. Music captures attention, and it helps cultivate appeal, community and affinity. In short, music matters. In the world of politics and political messaging, music is just as important, and used increasingly in various forums. From elections to awareness-raising events, and sometimes even as a component of lobbying,...

Season 1 of Star Trek Picard is great. But if you want a fuller appreciation, consider reading the tie-in novel, Star Trek Picard: The Last Best Hope . This story gives fans a seamless transition from where we left off with Nemesis and Star Trek (2009) to the new series. The Last Best Hope gives us the before, behind and between, and the fills the gaps about which many have commented. Not only do...

This episode of the BBB Podcast takes listeners on a tour of southwest Ontario, specifically to a town that was once called Berlin, and in a province that was once called Upper Canada. Changing place names seems all the rage right now, but, in fact, there's a long history associated with the practice. One could review the history of names like New York or Toronto, and find original names that were...

Some have very good quality, others have great soundtracks. But what is common to all overrated films is the exaggerated rating given by fans who deem the quality far greater than the movie ever will be. Movie reputations and accolades sometimes give a film a certain "must-see" or cult-like status. The reviews and reputation, however, don't always add up to making it a great picture. All reviews,...

In some instances, we find more in a name than we would like. Sometimes we find histories and legacies of racism, hate and exclusion. There are examples of such names that pretty much everyone considers clear-cut. Then there are those that are questionable, as this episode explores. The takeaway here is that we cannot be guided by an ideological tilt towards cleansing; we've experienced too much t...

The art of illusion is critical to the successful cultivation of brand and image. Theatre and drama are at least 75% of everything we do. Those who understand and embrace this fact are those who become successful. And if you think this doesn't apply to you, think again. Have you ever asked which photo makes you look thinner, younger or healthier, or considered why that business suit makes you feel...

Star Trek Lower Decks, set to engage on August 6, is the second animated series in the Star Trek family of productions. The Animated Series of the early 1970s was, more or less, a translation of the original series that retained its high-brow science fiction story-lines with mediocre animation. Lower Decks, in contrast, seems to be a somewhat lower-brow take on the TNG era, told within superior an...

Companies taking a stand on social causes hasn't been around all that long. Granted, during the major wars, companies were recruited to extend wartime messaging. But having a company's leadership declare that it stands for stronger environmental protections, social equality or inclusion, for example, date back only within recent decades. The reason for this should be obvious: companies exist to ma...

It sometimes hits us bluntly, like a hammer. Other times, it's more like an elegant symphony. Creative Destruction happens when one technology (and all associated with it) is replaced by a new innovation, which eliminates (and destroys) what was once there -- but often blossoms into something new and perhaps even better. While it can be interesting to read the lists of jobs and areas of employment...

This year we see the United Nations reaching its 75th anniversary. The UN's leadership has chosen to mark this occasion by looking inward and looking back, rather than patting itself on the back. Where has the UN failed, how has it done well, in what ways can it improve? These are the questions that drive the UN's efforts in consultation, and, hopefully, action toward improvement. This year also m...

The general worldly opinion of Rush music videos is generally quite low. Even members of Rush themselves have remarked on the videos as not really standing up to a quality that represents the output of the band. But is this an accurate or fair assessment? This episode talks about the difference between Rush's concert footage, the mini movie productions specially put together for stage complement,...

From the Original Series, through the films, and right up to Star Trek Picard, Canada makes its presence known. Even in the fan and expanded universes of Star Trek, there's a little bit of Canada every now and then. So as we celebrate Canada Day, when we honour the contributions of Canadians, we can also look to future (albeit a fictitious one), and applaud the fact that Star Trek writers and prod...

One of the many great features about Toronto is the fact that there's so much Rush just about everywhere. Imagery from albums including Power Windows, Fly by Night, Moving Pictures and Hemispheres (to name a few) find there sources in all sorts of landmarks, buildings, music venues and streets. Some fans have even built their tours of the city around an album-oriented, Rush landscape guide.  ...