From the first Canadian VJ Christopher Ward; Is This Live? captures the pure fun and rock rsquo;nrsquo; roll rebellion of the early years of MuchMusic television. On August 31; 1984; the Nationrsquo;s Music Station launched; breaking ground as the Wild West of Canadian televisionmdash;live; gloriously unpredictable; seat-of-the-pants TV; delivered fresh daily. The careers of Canadian legends like Blue Rodeo; Corey Hart; Jane Siberry; Bryan Adams; Platinum Blonde; Glass Tiger; Colin James; the Parachute Club; Honeymoon Suite; Barenaked Ladies; Maestro Fresh Wes and Sloan were launched when Much brought them closer to their fans. Much also gave us international acts (Duran; Duran; Tina Turner; Iggy Pop; David Bowie; Madonna; Motorhead; Guns Nrsquo; Roses; Nirvana; Red Hot Chili Peppers); and covered the second wave of music activism with events like Live Aid and the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tour. Ranging from Torontorsquo;s iconic studio at 299 Queen Street West; to Vancouverrsquo;s MuchWest; MuchMusicrsquo;s programming travelled across Canada and connected the Canadian music scenes in an unprecedented way. The dream child of TV visionary Moses Znaimer; and John Martin; the maverick creator of The New Music; Much was live and largely improvised; and an entire generation of Canadians grew up watching the VJs and embraced the new music that became the video soundtrack of our lives. With stories of the bands; the music; the videos; the specialty shows; the style and the improvisational approach to daily broadcast life at Much; Is This Live? is told by the people who were theremdash;the colourful cast of on-air VJs; the artists who found their way into our living rooms of the nation as never before; and the people behind the cameras. As our tour guide to the first decade at MuchMusic Christopher Ward delivers a full-on dose of pop culture nostalgia from the 1980s and rsquo;90s; when the music scene in Canada changed forever.
2016-01-29 2016-01-29File Name: B01B8TCQ2Q
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A fun winnerBy JudithUsually I give the Uncle Johns Bathroom series a four star rating--very good but not up there with the best. However; this one devoted to music gets the full five stars from me. It is crammed with fascinating facts from all genres of music; from classical to rock. There are fun facts about music stars from Sinatra to Dylan. It goes country; it goes opera; and punk. Also; it includes short doses of music theory. Since I read on a Kindle Im not always aware of how long a book is; but this one seemed like it was longer than the other Uncle John books.This book inspired conversations / debates amongst my friends about why older women had a crush on Liberace--even though he was gay; about Sinatras character; about who was more influential; the Beatles or Dylan; and who was more important in the history of rock n roll; the Beatles or Elvis. There is lots of fodder for conversation in this book.Highly recommend for anybody who likes any type of music.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Uncle John Scores AgainBy Ancil H GreerGreat.......Uncle John has scored again!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great trivia on musicBy Gregory K. MyersAnother good companion for the crapper
