The Invisible Crash

A critical examination of economics' past and future, and how it needs to change, by one of the most eminent political economists of our time

Another terrific thematic collection from those imaginative folks at Omni. Although there have been quite a few albums devoted to country prison songs this is a particularly well chosen collection featuring 28 tracks recorded between 1956 and 1972. It opens strongly with the superb Harlan Howard song The Wall given a powerful performance by Freddie Hart and keeps up the quality with Jaycee Hill's Crash-Out, Marty Robbins is here with one of his most intense performances The Chair - probably inspired by controversial execution of Caryl Chessman whose story is also dealt with in songs by Country Johnny Mathis, Ronnie Hawkins, Hoyle Miller and Jimmy Minor.

It's hard to believe but 2011 is indeed the 40th anniversary of the legendary rock group, Queen. Even though lead singer, Freddie Mercury is no longer with us, their music continues to live on and manages to make an impact with each and every new generation. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the band, Universal Music Group will be reissuing all 15 studio albums as deluxe remastered editions which will include additional bonus material!

Contemplation of the fate of the universe, and of course the end of the world, reminds me of the story of a traveler in the Swiss Alps. After hiking high into the mountains he and his guide spent the night in a chalet. Early the next morning he was awakened by a resounding crash, followed by a deafening roar and several loud cracks. Jumping out of bed in fright he ran to his guide and yelled, "What is happening? Is the world coming to an end?" The guide calmly sat up in his bed.

Kevin Lau is one of Canada’s most active young composers. A prolific composer of orchestral, chamber, ballet, and film music, he served as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s RBC Affiliate Composer from 2012-2015. He recently composed the score for the National Ballet of Canada’s original full-length ballet Le Petit Prince (2016), and has since collaborated with choreographer Guillaume Côté on a second ballet (Dark Angels, commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra.) His music has been recorded commercially on many albums, including the JUNO-nominated fusion album “Spin Cycle” (Centrediscs), featuring the Afiara String Quartet and DJ Skratch Bastid. Kevin holds a doctoral degree in music composition from the University of Toronto where he studied with renowned Canadian composer Christos Hatzis.