We've entered the hip-hop nostalgia era of legacy tour acts
And the lack of proactive disclosure
Statistics Canada says there are now more millennials than baby boomers in the country, ending the 65-year reign of the post-Second World War generation as the largest cohort in the population.
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As of July 2023, the average age in Canada was 41.6 years, down slightly from 41.7 the previous year. It was the first decline since 1958.
In related news, Ice Cube is coming to town.
Ice Cube’s run as a top-tier artist was roughly 1988-1993, moving toward legacy act stage by the late nineties and early 2000s with soundtrack songs and a greatest hits album — putting his peak between 20 and 30 years ago. By that measure, his forthcoming performance at the CN Centre is about the same for people born in the 70s, 80s and 90s as Elton John performing at the CN Centre in 2010 was for those born in the 40s, 50s and 60s — a chart-topper coming to town two decades after they stop topping the charts based on much more than nostalgia. This isn’t to disparage either artist, it’s just to put things into context for someone like me who might still think of someone like Ice Cube — or k-Os last week, or acts like D-12 who are currently touring the Okanagan — as contemporary, rather than legacy acts. By all accounts, still a top tier performer just not one who appeals to the youth, as they are today, except as maybe that musician their parents listened to. I know for years I’ve heard people my age wonder when we’re going to get “newer” artists playing in town and probably a lot of them are excited about it finally happening (I know I am)… but we just need to remember it’s not that we’re getting newer acts, it’s that the newer acts got older. We’re just a decade away from Cariboo Raps the North tailgates in the parking lot with Obie Trice and Choclair up on the main stage.
We do not live in a world of proactive disclosure from authorities
The Citizen reports on the death of a mill worker who was injured in a workplace accident:
The person who contacted the Citizen said Lefebvre’s family was wondering why the news media was not given any notice of the accident.
And honestly, fair enough. For people who don’t work in the world of news, I think there is still the (reasonable) belief that items of public interest — like workplace accidents that may have led to a death — woud be proactively disclosed by the relevant bodies. Maybe it used to be that way, maybe it is in other jurisdictions. But in my years in the news industry, I have found that one of the biggest discrepancies between perception and reality is the idea that information like this is easily received — let alone volunteered — from those who have it. Back to the Citizen article:
According to WorkSafeBC, "the worker was holding the control pendant and leaning on a metal guardrail to view the area of the lift when they collapsed. An exposed 347-volt conductor was subsequently found on the electric hoist power cable in close proximity to where the worker had been.”
There is no mention of a later death, and
WorkSafeBC spokesperson Ashley Gregerson said that due to privacy requirements she was unable to publicly comment on the extent of injuries Lefebvre suffered in the accident.
Likewise, the coroner’s office had little to say. Again, this is par for the course. And, frankly, it is understandable that privacy policies would be in place — not every mourning family wants their loved ones name and likeness pushed out into the media, and no one wants people to find out a loved one died by reading about it in a news report. Having safeguards in place makes sense.
But the flip side is situations like this one — which I have also seen many times — when a loved one dies and friends and family, not aware of how things (don’t) work, expect that the death will automatically make the news at some point and feel confused or possibly even like it doesn’t matter when it doesn’t. Having a death go public, I’ve learned, for some people can be validating, particularly if they feel the death shouldn’t have happened and getting more attention on it might enact change.
This isn’t the case for everyone, I get it, and no one should be forced into it, but it is helpful for some people and I do kind of wonder if rather than simply buttoning their mouths about things, there’s room for someone in the agencies that do have the information about deaths to work with or at least talk to victims’ families about whether they would like the news of the death to be publicized and give them some direction on how that could happen.
Quick news:
The ice oval says the best skating conditions of the season are happening now.
PG Fire Centre preparing for 2024 wildfire season following above seasonal winter.
Demonstration being held in PG to mark second anniversary of Russia-Ukraine war.
Prince George sees resurgence in canning tradition as concerns for regional food security grow.
Monthly art workshop sees strong attendance at Omineca Arts Centre.
Barkerville becomes BC Winter Games skiing venue this weekend.
Today’s song:
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"the newer acts got older" brb crumbling into dust. I have a very specific memory of blasting a burned copy of D12's Devil's Night album when I was 15 - in a tent trailer in my grandparent's backyard at 11pm, which caused Grandma to come out and bang on the door so I'd turn it down. (In her defence, she did try to get my attention from the porch, but of course I couldn't hear her over Purple Pills.)
On a more serious note, my heart goes out to the family of Gary Lefebvre. I agree that the family of any killed worker should be consulted regarding publicizing the death, to balance informing the public (and publicly shaming/pressuring the companies involved) and allowing them the privacy to grieve in peace. I'll be keeping an eye out for the WorkSafeBC report on this incident.