Vote Now!
"Sticks To The Ice" by Robert Fraser Burke and ``Canadian Gold" by Colin Oberst are the two finalists from over 14,000 entries in the search for a new Hockey Night in Canada anthem.
Voting for the winner has already begun.
Burke is a 13-year-old composer from Toronto who jumped for joy when he was announced as one of the semi-finalists. He participates in the school band and has been playing piano for as long as he can remember.
"Sticks To The Ice" was initially intended only for his friends' enjoyment until his uncle heard it and encouraged him to enter the Anthem Challenge.
Oberst, composer of "Canadian Gold," is an elementary school teacher from Beaumont, Alta., and has been teaching music for the last decade.
Oberst, an avid music writer and member of an Edmonton-based band, submitted five entries to the challenge.
The Anthem Challenge winner is to be announced Saturday during the traditional Saturday night NHL double header (Montreal at Toronto or Detroit at Ottawa/Vancouver at Calgary) on CBC-TV.
People can vote online, by phone or by text messaging.
Before Thursday night's announcement, some major Canadian entertainment figures had weighed in on the Anthem Challenge.
Rock icon Burton Cummings listened to the five tunes in the running and said the high-energy, funky "Ice Warriors" by Gerry Mosby of Toronto "kills the rest of them."
Apparently, it didn't.
"Sticks to the Ice," caught the attention of Chris Patterson of the Toronto-based group the Arrogant Worms and David Hamelin of the Stills in Montreal.
Canadian country music star George Canyon said he was drawn to the Oberst composition.
Beastie Boys Plot Star-Studded Vote Shows
The Beastie Boys have drafted Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Jack Johnson and Ben Harper to join them on the Get Out and Vote tour, which will begin Oct. 28 in Richmond, Va. Shows are also set for Nov. 1 in St. Paul, Minn., and Nov. 2 in Milwaukee.
"This election is too important to stay at home," the rap trio said this morning (Oct. 10), adding that it is endorsing Barack Obama for president. "We hope that you can come out, have a nice night, dance, sing, get your freak on, and then wake up the next morning and get everyone that you possibly can to get out and vote."
Crow, Jones, Johnson and Santogold are on the bill for the Richmond show, while Harper and Tenacious D will support in St. Paul. Harper, Tenacious D and David Crosby and Graham Nash will join the Beasties in Milwaukee.
For ticket information, visit the Beasties' Website.
Green Day working with Nirvana producer
Green Day are working on new material with former Nirvana producer and Garbage drummer Butch Vig, according to Vig's bandmate Shirley Manson.
Manson confirmed that Vig was working with the band in an interview on 'MTV's Last Call With Carson Daly'.
Asked whether Garbage were going to record any new material, Manson said: "I don't know, to be honest. We're sort of doing our different things. Butch is producing Green Day, so he's busy, so we'll see."
No more details about the sessions have yet emerged.
Green Day reappeared under the name Foxboro Hot Tubs last year. Their last album under their usual moniker was 2004's 'American Idiot'.