When the news broke of Sinead O’Connor’s death on July 26, 2023, there were a couple of different reactions. One was “Who’s Sinead O’Connor?” That wasn’t terribly surprising. Her last hit album was released in 1990. A couple of generations have gone by since she was on the charts and may have never heard of any of her songs. The second reaction came from readers of tabloids and gossip columns, those who had at least peripherally heard about her struggles through middle age. The third reaction came from those who remembered not only what a talent she was, but that she was also a force of nature unlike almost anyone we had ever seen in music. That is why her death was front page news around the planet. Sinead O’Connor took a position—many positions, in fact—with her art and her public persona and never, ever backed down… she was always herself…she was a nonconformist. She would not be put in a box and refused to be silenced. Sinead spoke up on things few people would dare talk about, including her own personal struggles (of which there were many). She spoke up on women’s rights, children’s rights, organized religion, the struggles of gay, lesbian, and transgender people, aids patients, racial minorities, and the patriarchy of the recorded music business. Did you know that she donated her house in Hollywood to a family of refugees from Somalia? When she died, she left behind an intriguing body of work that includes solo material and collaborations. Two of those solo albums are all-time classics. But if you know Sinead O’Connor, you already know this and what you’re about to hear will bring back a flood of memories. But if you’re late to the party, you may still be asking yourself “What’s the big deal about Sinead O’Connor?” Here: let me show you. Songs heard on this show (all by Sinead O’Connor)

• • I Am Stretched on Your Grave
  • Heroine (with The Edge)
  • Troy
  • Nothing Compares 2 U
  • All Apologies
  • No Man’s Woman
  • Milestones

Here’s a playlist from Eric Wilhite. The Ongoing History Music can be heard on these stations. Don’t forget that there’s a podcast version, too, in case you miss any episodes. Get them for free wherever you get your podcasts.

• • 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7pm
  • Q107/Toronto – Sunday night at 9pm
  • Live 88-5/Ottawa – Saturdays at 9am and Sundays at 6pm.
  • 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener – Sunday nights at 11pm
  • FM96/London – Sunday nights at 8pm
  • Power 97/Winnipeg – Sunday nights at 10am and 10pm
  • 107-3 The Edge/Calgary – Sundays at 10am and 10pm
  • Sonic 102.9/Edmonton – Sunday at 8am and 8pm
  • The Zone/Victoria – Sunday at 8am and 9pm
  • The Fox/Vancouver – Sundays at 10anm and 10pm
  • Surge 105/Halifax – Sunday at 7pm
  • WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Arkon, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown – Mon-Fri at 9pm

Don’t forget about my other podcast, Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry. If you love true crime with your music, you’ll love this. Get Uncharted wherever you get your podcasts.

© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Many musicians engage in extreme behavior, including things that are dangerous and illegal. Why? Probably because artists can turn into thrill junkies. Neurologists believe dopamine—the body’s feel-good hormone—may have less impact on them. Okay, why? Hard to say.

Each of us has individual brain chemistries, meaning that we react to dopamine in different ways. Extreme people need extreme things to get the same dopamine hit as the average person. In other words, they may have a dopamine tolerance that’s built up over years of chasing that feeling on a daily basis. The longer they live, the harder they have to go to get a meaningful and transcendent dopamine high.

This may also extend to areas of their lives beyond music. Here’s where we get into things like becoming addicted to risky and dangerous behavior—anything to feel that feeling that most of us get a much lower levels of dopamine.

© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The very late/early 1990s were a volatile and prolific time in British indie music. Coming off the 80s rave and dance scene, the country was also spitting out Madchester, alt-dance, shoegaze, dreampop, and various forms of pre-Britpop. Among all that was grebo, a short-lived alt-rock/shoegaze cousin that had a lifespan of maybe 24 months. The key acts were Pop Will Eat Itself, Gaye Bikers on Acid, and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin.

Complex dance beats? Check. Fuzzy guitars? Bingo. Two bass players? Why not?

This was one of the singles from their 1991 album, God Fodder. Glorious stuff. Where’s me baggy shorts?

© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Everyone reacts to music at different levels and in different ways. You might be a laid-back kind of listener, someone who just sits back and takes it all in. Or you may be the kind of music fan that loses their mind over all music with singing and dancing and jumping about. Why the difference?

It’s largely neurological and chemical. The spectrum of musical reactions is related to how an individual creates and reacts to dopamine, the brain’s feel-good hormone. Dopamine can have wide-ranging effects depending on our own individual chemistries. It doesn’t mean that the quiet listener is less of a music fan than the spontaneous singer and dancer; it just means that the physical reactions are different. Dopamine is an interesting hormone.

© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A little hard rock and a little punk soaked in some beer and vague memories of some bad decisions made last night. That’s how this Vancouver trio describes what they do. They also say “Guaranteed to throw napalm on any party.”

As the host of a true crime podcast myself, I was immediately attracted to the opening track of their Gold & Silver album. And because I like the record, I’ve included the whole thing here.

© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

If you’ve ever gone on vacation to a place where the local music is everywhere—say, the Caribbean with its reggae and dancehall and so on—you may have noticed that this music sounds absolutely brilliant while you’re away. You might even try to listen to that same music when you get back home. But have you noticed that this vacation music doesn’t have the same boost as it did when you were away? Music researchers are interested in this phenomenon. They believe it’s related to the instinctive social bonding that comes through music. If we are immersed in local music, it helps us feel more included in that environment. But when we’re removed from that environment, the immediate need to bond with the locals dissipates and the musical boost lessens.

© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

It’s been very challenging for visiting teams to win in Los Angeles this season, and when you shoot yourself in the foot several times, it certainly doesn’t help your cause.

The Winnipeg Jets were undone by turnovers Tuesday night in L.A., dropping a 4-1 decision that improved the Kings’ impressive home record to 28-4-4 on the season.

The Kings turned three Jets giveaways directly into three goals and added an empty netter to end the Jets three-game win streak.

“We turned the puck over three times and it ended up in the back of our net,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “I liked a lot of what we did, our game plan against them. We did a good job of getting through the neutral zone.

“We didn’t spend a lot of time in our end of the rink, but again, we made three mistakes and ended up in the back of our net.”

The Jets fell behind by two goals early and Cole Perfetti’s 17th goal of the season in the second period pulled the Jets within one. But Andrei Kuzmenko scored off a Logan Stanley turnover late in the frame to restore the two-goal lead.

The Jets had single digit shot totals in each of the three periods and ended up getting outshot 20-19.

“The entire game, I thought we played pretty well,” said Perfetti. “They’re obviously a really good team in this building and they don’t give up much. But I thought we created some chances and had our looks and a couple of self-inflicted wounds and they capitalized on some of their chances.”

Perfetti has at least a point in five of his last six games.

With the victory, the Kings won all three meetings to sweep the season series for the first time since the 2012-2013 season when they met only once. The Jets scored just once in each of their three matchups this season.

“They’re extremely stingy,” said Arniel. “They don’t give you a whole lot. They’re the type of team that if you make mistakes they pounce on it.”

Luke Schenn missed the game and is day-to-day after stiffening up during the morning skate. Haydn Fleury dressed in his absence.

The Jets lead the Dallas Stars by only four points for the division lead and the Stars have a game in hand.

Not much happened over the first eight minutes of the game but a pair of misplays burned the Jets in a big way near the midway mark of the first.

The first mistake came when Colin Miller sent a grenade of a pass up the boards in his own end, too high and too hot for Mark Scheifele to corral. It landed on the stick of Brandon native Joel Edmundson at the point, who sent a shot on net that banked off Trevor Moore and into the net at the 8:28 mark.

Just over a minute later, Josh Morrissey sent a breakout pass to David Gustafsson that the forward couldn’t handle in the neutral zone. LA picked it up as Morrissey went off for a change with Adrian Kempe charging into the Winnipeg zone with the puck. He dropped it off to Andrei Kuzmenko who sent it backdoor to Anze Kopitar for a one-timer that beat Connor Hellebuyck to make it 2-0 at the 9:50 mark.

The Kings wound up outshooting the Jets 10-7 in the opening 20 minutes. Winnipeg started to generate some decent looks late in the period but couldn’t get on the board.

The Jets generated solid zone time in the early minutes of the second as well but continued to struggle to get shots to the net.

Los Angeles earned the game’s first power play when Kevin Fiala was tripped by the stick of Hellebuyck to the right of the Winnipeg net. The Jets managed to kill the penalty and moments later got on the board.

Perfetti served the minor penalty for Hellebuyck and right as he stepped out of the box, Morgan Barron made a great play to block a shot and collect the puck, leading to Perfetti being sprung on a 2-on-1 with Kyle Connor. Perfetti never looked to pass as he rifled a perfect shot that beat Darcy Kuemper to make it 2-1 at the 11:40 mark.

The Jets had the momentum as they looked to even the score but another big blunder set them back.

Logan Stanley skated out of his own end with the puck and as he attempted to cross the red line, Kuzmenko poke-checked the puck off Stanley’s stick, and as Stanley lost his balance and fell to the ice, Kuzmenko skated the puck into the Winnipeg end on an odd-man rush.

He looked pass the whole way, fooling Hellebuyck before he slid a shot through Hellebuyck’s five-hole to restore the Kings’ two-goal lead at the 16:07 mark.

The Kings maintained their edge in shots on goal heading to the third period, edging Winnipeg 18-13 through 40 minutes.

Winnipeg got their first power play chance of the night with 15 minutes to go in the third when Nikolaj Ehlers was tripped in the attacking zone but the Jets, operating at a 17 per cent clip on the power play since the Four Nations Faceoff, failed to generate any shots on goal over the two minutes.

Ehlers drew another penalty with 5:08 remaining but the power play again struggled mightily, never getting set up and failing to generate a shot once again.

Winnipeg pulled Hellebuyck for an extra attacker but Kempe sealed the win with an empty-netter with 55 seconds to go.

The Jets fall to 0-2-1 against the Kings this season and failed to register 20 shots on goal in any of the meetings.

Hellebuyck turned aside 16 shots in defeat.

The Jets will now head to Vegas to face the Golden Knights Thursday night. Puck drop is just after 9:30 p.m. with pregame coverage on 680 CJOB starting at 7 p.m.

© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Leon Draisaitl added to his NHL-leading goal total by scoring on a 5-on-3 power play to put the Edmonton Oilers ahead for good Tuesday night, but the Vegas Golden Knights clinched a playoff berth despite the 3-2 loss.

The Golden Knights, who had their season-high six-game winning streak snapped, were assured a playoff spot when the Calgary Flames were beaten 3-1 by the Utah Hockey Club.

Edmonton kept its slim hopes alive for the Pacific Division title, pulling to within seven points of the first-place Golden Knights. Both teams have eight regular-season games left.

Draisaitl’s goal was his 52nd this season and 399th of his career, drawing “MVP” chants from Edmonton fans. Jake Walman and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for the Oilers, Evan Bouchard had two assists and Calvin Pickard stopped 20 shots.

“They might be a playoff opponent we are playing,” said Arvidsson after the game. “That was a big game for us.”

Pavel Dorofeyev and Nicolas Roy each scored for the Golden Knights. Dorofeyev’s goal gave him a team-leading 32. Adin Hill made 17 saves. Jack Eichel’s six-game point streak (six goals, seven assists) ended.

TAKEAWAYS

Oilers: After a slow start, Edmonton began to find its game late in the first period and then scored all three of its goals in the second.

Golden Knights: Vegas is in the playoffs, but this was a missed opportunity by the Golden Knights to put even more distance between themselves and Edmonton and Los Angeles.

KEY MOMENT

Arvidsson’s goal came when he jammed the puck into the net under Hill’s leg pad. The Golden Knights challenged the goal, but the call was upheld to give the Oilers a 3-1 lead late in the second period.

“I just saw the puck where it went in and I took the chance,” Arvidsson said in reference to his game winning goal.

KEY STAT

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone played in his 700th career game.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Visit the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

Golden Knights: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

© 2025 The Canadian Press

TORONTO – A team bunting contest in spring training took a bite out of Blue Jays manager John Schneider’s wallet but proved to be a worthwhile investment Tuesday in a 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals.

Will Wagner bunted his way on to first base as part of a three-run second inning. And, after George Springer singled to open the bottom of the eighth with the game tied 3-3, Wagner got on base again when pitcher Jose Ferrer fumbled another bunt. Ernie Clement’s sacrifice bunt then advanced the runners.

After pinch-hitter Davis Schneider struck out, Bo Bichette lined a single down the right-field line to score both runners and restore the Jays’ lead.

“We actually had a bunting competition, true story, in spring training,” Schneider revealed after the game. “And we divided guys into teams with the winning team getting $1,000 courtesy of me. They worked hard at it.”

The bunting competition pitted six players on Team Blue against six on Team Jays, Schneider recalled.

The competition had players laying down sacrifice bunts, some bunting for hits and others bunting in a safety squeeze situation. First base coach Mark (Bud) Budzinski brought props, from cones to hula hoops.

“It gets repetitive when you get asked to come out and bunt early in spring training,” said Schneider. “So Bud and I, one night, came up with a little bit of a competition to make it a little bit more motivating for the guys to go out and do it. So far so good.”

Schneider pointed to Clement as an accomplished bunter with catcher Tyler Heineman an all-rounder who “can do a little bit of everything.”

“I think Ernie kind of stood out just with the consistency in which he practised. When it’s eight o’clock in the morning in Dunedin (Florida), it doesn’t matter unless you get it done here. So I think the reps were good and he stood out.”

“Whatever it takes to help a win,” added Schneider, who admitted bench coach Don Mattingly helped with the pot. “If bunting helps us get a win tonight, money well spent.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2025.

© 2025 The Canadian Press

With nine games to play and six at home, the Montreal Canadiens have the advantage for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The opportunity is in front of them, but they have to keep executing.

A full four-game season sweep would be a bit of a miracle against the defending Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers, but they did it with a shocking finish.

Wilde Horses 

Every night is Lane Hutson Night. The assault on the record book continues. He’s a point-per-game player since the Four Nations break. Hutson notched an assist on the first goal for the Canadiens on a deflection from Josh Anderson.

That line was a handful and the best on the night for Montreal. Brendan Gallagher is playing the best hockey he has played in years, and Christian Dvorak’s best moments as a Canadiens player are right now.

Hutson now has 57 assists in his rookie season. He has moved ahead of  Chris Chelios for second in assists all-time for a rookie defender. He trails only Larry Murphy for assists for a rearguard rookie in the history of the National Hockey League. Murphy had 60 assists. Three in eight games for the tie.

Hutson’s 62 points overall is also top-ten in the history of the game for rookie defenders. He could conceivably rise to third overall at his present pace. It must be stressed again that the entire top-15 list is from an era where the average goal total in a contest was 11 or 12; not six or seven goals.

The best this century before Hutson was Quinn Hughes with 53 points on 45 assists. Hutson has obliterated the best numbers in the last 25 years of rookies on the blue line.

Hutson is remarkable. They might just scout differently this kid is so special. Smaller players with world-class vision and creativity might not be treated like they will never make the major leagues.

What doesn’t get enough attention as he makes his meteoric rise to the upper echelon in the history of the game is he is improving tremendously in his own zone as well. It’s sometimes a mystery how he out battles someone who is six-feet-five-inches for the puck, but he does it time and time again.

He is almost like a whirling dervish around the opposition, and they are shocked that he is somehow inside their space removing them from the puck. The Canadiens are in the mix for a playoff spot, and he is, without a doubt, the single biggest change to this roster from last season.

Nick Suzuki is having his best campaign. Cole Caufield has had a strong season. Juraj Slafkovsky has had an excellent second half. The Dvorak line is giving the opposition fits these days. The fourth line had their remarkable run when they were best in the league in goals at one point for a fourth line.

On defence, Jayden Struble has improved. Kaiden Guhle is improving still. Alexandre Carrier was a great addition via trade. However, all of those reason pale in comparison to the difference Hutson has made to this team in five months.

He is just getting started. There are times that it is apparent that he will be even better than this when he sees how much he can actually fool the opposition. They have seen what he can do. They have adapted to him as well as they can. He still is playing chess to their checkers.

A remarkable young player. The most exciting player to join the Canadiens since Alex Kovalev. Next season, watch what he begins to develop with Ivan Demidov. Genius enjoys genius. Demidov is expected to be a superstar. Superstars enjoy break-out passes.

The rebuild is going just fine, Montreal.

However, the game wasn’t going fine at all until nine seconds remained. It was a little bit of magic and a little bit of luck. Hutson kept it in at the blue line deftly. He threw it to the net with hope. It bounded off the defender and right to a wide open Suzuki who forced overtime.

The Bell Centre erupted. That eruption didn’t even measure on the Richter scale compared to what happened 29 seconds into overtime. It was Hutson to Cole Caufield who won the zone. He fed it to Suzuki who took it wide and then did a wrap-around to score short side.

No one was sitting. The Canadiens with their most improbable moments of the year.

Are they destined for this playoff spot? It certainly felt like it in this moment. It certainly felt like it.

Wilde Goats 

Obviously not.

Wilde Cards

The Canadiens are in the midst of handling two important roster decisions. The future of Jacob Fowler and Oliver Kapanen hangs in the balance for this season and beyond after both were eliminated from title contention last weekend.

Fowler’s Boston College was the favourite to win the national championship in the NCAA, but the Eagles lost in the quarter-finals to Denver University.

Fowler now has three options to contemplate. He could return to Boston College for next season, but he has indicated recently that he would like to play professionally and feels that he is ready for it.

The Canadiens would want to get him signed as quickly as possible because of the college provision that if three years have passed since draft day, the player is free to choose his own future. This is why Montreal has been aggressive in signing Sean Farrell and Lane Hutson recently. They don’t want to lose a player like Calgary did when they drafted Adam Fox who waited, and then chose his own future, ultimately opting for the New York Rangers.

If Fowler does choose to turn pro immediately, then he has two options. He could sign a pro tryout that would see him play in Laval for the rest of the season. For Fowler that is an option that does not start his NHL entry-level contract, so it is unlikely that he would choose that route. Fowler would get more playing time, but he would not start earning big money choosing Laval.

Usually, a collegian gets an NHL game easily at the end of the season to ignite his ELC, but with a goalie that is a bit tricky. For the Canadiens, they need all the points that they can get, so a game at the NHL level while going for the playoffs has some complications. However, Fowler is an outstanding goalie, and those fears may be overblown.

Fowler’s teammates at BC Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault have already signed their ELC and will be joining the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, respectively.

The other situation is clearer. Kapanen will be flying to North America immediately. His contract is already engaged. He finished his season at Timra in the Swedish Hockey League last weekend.

Kapanen can play at either Laval or Montreal, and unlike Fowler, Kapanen can move freely between the two. It would seem that the Canadiens have a spot available for Kapanen. He won a job out of camp. He was the best player then, and after excelling at Timra, he is the best option now.

The club does not seem to favour Joshua Roy or Michael Pezzetta in the line-up at the moment. Emil Heineman has moved to the second line, and Kapanen would be a perfect addition to the fourth line.

He plays a mature game with awareness at all 200 feet. It’s just a matter of time to get him acclimated after coming over. When the Canadians season concludes, there will still be time to play for Laval.

The addition of Kapanen could be just what the Canadiens need to push them over the top considering the fourth line is not strong at the moment. The team is one forward short, and he is that forward.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.

 

© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.