Nominated for a Gemini in the best talk/general information series category, the irreverent The New Music shares the nominee podium with more grown-up fare such as Pamela Wallin’s Talk TV and Vicki Gabereau among others. The show that gave J.D. Roberts and Jeanne Beker their career jolts, and established Daniel Richler as a pop culture guru, has been running for 23 years. It has won two Geminis. The current host is former Edge 102 DJ George Stroumboulopoulos, with contributions from videographer Larisa Gulka.

‘We spend more time dealing with issues and emotions and politics than on when an artist’s album is out,’ Stroumboulopoulos says.

MuchMusic bills the show as ‘Attitude. Adrenaline. Analysis.’ Since its beginning, most fans have watched it for in-depth interviews with stars, musical travelogues and pop culture coverage. ‘We live in a soundbite culture, but we try and have conversations with artists. The biggest challenge is to cut down a conversation with someone like Joe Strummer into a six-minute interview. You just want to talk.’

The show travels around North America, with a lot of coverage coming from New York and Los Angeles, although Stroumboulopoulos says they’ll also cover small events in the suburbs, such as a punk show outside of Houston.

The New Music is seen in more than 15 markets, including Belgium, Switzerland, Brazil and New Zealand. *