Another old Canadian, alright...Another one from that moment I associate with the Guess Who/BTO/Brave Belt is Scrubbalo Caine's "Feelin' Good on Sunday"--the Guess Who's Jim Kale was in the band, and I saw them open for the GW at Exhibition Stadium circa 1974.
― clemenza, Saturday, 24 October 2020 02:11 (three years ago) link
That song and band I only know because it was the theme song for Psychedelic Psunday on Q107. CFRB and Q107 are the two poles of my knowledge of pre-1980 Canrock.
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 24 October 2020 02:20 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhEA4vGbvBs
― earlnash, Saturday, 24 October 2020 02:33 (three years ago) link
Come on you all, it's obviously "The Rodeo Song"
― Lee626, Friday, 30 October 2020 06:16 (three years ago) link
Heard this the other day for the first time in ages: Steel River, Toronto band circa 1970, better known for "Ten Pound Note" and "Southbound Train." I thought at first it was Bob McBride.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kW0OfXdSVI
― clemenza, Friday, 26 March 2021 22:15 (three years ago) link
I know the two songs you mentioned, but never heard this one. It does indeed sound most Canadian.
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 27 March 2021 01:54 (three years ago) link
Dunno, the obvious missing artist here would be the Hip: I don’t love either song, but “Ahead by a Century” or “Bobcaygeon” seem like obvious picks.....
― Swag Heathen (theStalePrince), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:07 (three years ago) link
those are great and everything but
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9wW9ENBPlQ
because "You said you didn't give a fuck about hockey/And I never saw someone say that before" is the most Canadian thing I've ever heard.
― maf you one two (maffew12), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:12 (three years ago) link
Sounds like he should’ve spend more time among immigrants.
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:15 (three years ago) link
I was listening to Love Junk by The Pursuit of Happiness in preparation for the Todd Rundgren poll (he produced it). I hadn't heard the whole album, but the four singles were all over MuchMusic at the time. I was imagining an alternate reality where Moe Berg became a Gord Downiesque Canadian hero.
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:16 (three years ago) link
*spent
xp
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:18 (three years ago) link
thread made me remember how funny it was that Sloan's "Twice Removed" topped "best Canadian album of all time" list(s?) around 2000. I looked up this song and it turns out they put out a video on the occasion of the reissue. What a cute time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXgLzlRJRYI
"To me you seem giant" i bet that's about Canada
― maf you one two (maffew12), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:19 (three years ago) link
xp I just kinda dig that song's vibe and how he clearly meant Heard someone say, not Saw. It's just yknow, Canadian or whatever
― maf you one two (maffew12), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:20 (three years ago) link
Love “Penpals”! “Underwhelmed” might be my vote for most Canadian Sloan track though....
― Swag Heathen (theStalePrince), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:25 (three years ago) link
I dig it too, and my response was mostly in jest, but it did get me thinking about how the only people I know who follow hockey are, to quote Stephen Harper, ‘old stock Canadians’.
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:25 (three years ago) link
It's definitely the most Sloan Sloan track
― maf you one two (maffew12), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:25 (three years ago) link
I really didn't get what he meant by "had her hands around him and she's been giving it a beating" in Grade 6. I realized when watching recently that Berg even mimed it in the video.
― Just Another Onionhead (Sund4r), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:26 (three years ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/bfgB4G9.png
a part of me died when they stopped making this in 09
the only "malt liquor" product sold in Nfld
― maf you one two (maffew12), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:28 (three years ago) link
I may or may not have had one of those without realizing it.
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:30 (three years ago) link
do tell
(i realized i also got married that year...hmm)
― maf you one two (maffew12), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:30 (three years ago) link
Tbf, watching now, he may just be shaking his fist for emphasis.xps
― Just Another Onionhead (Sund4r), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:31 (three years ago) link
Nothing exciting, but I’m pretty sure it made its way into one of my teenage binges and I only took stock of it the morning after.
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:32 (three years ago) link
It's true, though, that Moe was pushing sexual boundaries in 80s CanRock.
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:33 (three years ago) link
Isn't part of the point in "Fireworks" that the protagonist's worldview was limited and provincial before meeting the love interest?
You held my hand and we walked home the long wayYou were loosening my grip on Bobby Orr......Isn't it amazing what you can accomplishWhen you don't let the nation get in your way...
...Isn't it amazing what you can accomplishWhen you don't let the nation get in your way...
― Just Another Onionhead (Sund4r), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:35 (three years ago) link
i have only ever shouted along to this song holding Extra Old Stock, you're blowing my mind
― maf you one two (maffew12), Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:37 (three years ago) link
Gord Downie singing about his "grip" on Bobby Orr has different connotations than The Pursuit of Happiness.
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 27 March 2021 02:41 (three years ago) link
I just post old Canadian stuff here because it's convenient--I'm not really making grand "most Canadian" claims for these songs (although, if you're of a certain age, they resonate).
As I've pointed out before, I'm a non-fan (and one-time hater) who loves "Fireworks." Besides the significance of that goal, what makes the Bobby Orr line so perfect is "I never saw someone say that before." It's like Bo Diddley's "you should've heard just what I seen," the way it scrambles up senses.
― clemenza, Saturday, 27 March 2021 03:34 (three years ago) link
"Canadian Railroad Trilogy", come on
― frogbs, Saturday, 27 March 2021 03:37 (three years ago) link
Some of the early posts aren't loading, so here's Stompin' Tom Connors's "Sudbury Saturday Night" in case it hasn't shown up already.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl751CDdRZI
Kim Barlow's "Humminah" (wish it were easier to find online) captures northern isolation well: "We rolled around in the snow beside Lucky Lake / I built him a table out of lumber to try and make me like him better."
― too cool for zen talk (Eazy), Saturday, 27 March 2021 04:13 (three years ago) link
The joker in me wants to nominate “So. central Rain”
― "The Pus/Worm" by The Smiths (hardcore dilettante), Saturday, 27 March 2021 05:56 (three years ago) link
Not with that pronunciation of "sorry", it's not!
― Just Another Onionhead (Sund4r), Saturday, 27 March 2021 11:07 (three years ago) link
"Fireworks" is kind of brilliant imo in relating the central relationship to iconic national/historical events like the Hockey Summit, Cold War, and National Fitness Program, but ultimately expressing cynical ambivalence with regards to nationalism - the marriage to the woman who doesn't give a fuck about hockey is the "one thing" that "doesn't have to go away". That might actually make it the most Canadian song?
― Just Another Onionhead (Sund4r), Saturday, 27 March 2021 14:31 (three years ago) link
idk if it's "the most Canadian song" but this is definitely the most Canadian stanza
Isn't it amazing what you can accomplish?When you don't let the nation get in your wayNo ambition whisperin' over your shoulderIsn't it amazing you can do anything?
Kind of hits the nail on the head
― flamboyant goon tie included, Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:02 (three years ago) link
The most Canadian stanza is also the most un-Québécois. Checks out.
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:10 (three years ago) link
the opening line of "problem bears" by the tragically hip is "writing a song about lake memphremagog" which feels the most canadian to me
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:11 (three years ago) link
i see the hip were summoned yesterday as well
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:12 (three years ago) link
"fireworks" a very good choice
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:13 (three years ago) link
That’s Anglo imperialist talk, like when people claim poutine is Canadian. Lake Memphrémagog is in Quebec (and, well, Vermont).
(Not being serious btw.)
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:15 (three years ago) link
I feel a "most" Canadian song has to do a lot of work reconciling the rural with the urban (Margaret Atwood probably has a record review somewhere about this). Like Martha and the Muffins' "You Sold the Cottage".
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:19 (three years ago) link
If we’re going to seriously answer the question only bilingual songs should qualify imo. So far most answers would in fact satisfy the staunchest of Québécois sovereignists because they imply an almost complete disconnect between Quebec and the ROC.
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:23 (three years ago) link
Kind of how the Hip never meant shit to the overwhelming majority of francophones here.
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:25 (three years ago) link
Gowan covering Harmonium?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZZk8skMY0U
― Just Another Onionhead (Sund4r), Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:30 (three years ago) link
Btw pom I have an Albertan friend who would argue equally strongly that all these answers are 'Eastern' chauvinism.
― Just Another Onionhead (Sund4r), Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:42 (three years ago) link
Sure, but I think it’s fair to argue that there are fewer cultural differences between Alberta and other parts of Canada than between Quebec and the ROC due to the language barrier. I don’t have a horse in this race btw, I just think the question is more complicated than first meets the eye and the answers that have been offered so far betray a very specific conception of Canadianness that provides a great deal of grist for the separatist mill.
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 15:52 (three years ago) link
there are fewer cultural differences between Alberta and other parts of Canada than between Quebec and the ROC
Haha you tell them that!
― Just Another Onionhead (Sund4r), Saturday, 27 March 2021 16:03 (three years ago) link
There's also the issue that many francophone artists don't see themselves as Canadian and would reject that characterization. You end up with this sort of CBC tokenism that doesn't satisfy either side. But OK, "Complainte pour Ste. Catherine" by Kate and Anna McGarrigle.
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 27 March 2021 16:04 (three years ago) link
If I were to address the thread topic specifically, and not just post old stuff I hear on the radio, I'd go with some obvious picks: Ian & Sylvia's "Four Strong Winds," Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain" (he has more definitively Canadian songs, but my second criteria would be that I love or at least like the song), Neil Young's "Helpless" or "Journey Through the Past." "Fireworks" would be a reasonable pick. I can't think of a Guess Who song that qualifies--"Runnin' Back to Saskatoon" is the first thing that comes to mind, and that's good but not good enough. The Demics' "New York City" actually gets at something very Canadian, wanting to light out for somewhere else.
― clemenza, Saturday, 27 March 2021 16:06 (three years ago) link
There's also the issue that many francophone artists don't see themselves as Canadian and would reject that characterization. You end up with this sort of CBC tokenism that doesn't satisfy either side.
Absolutely, which perhaps points towards the impossibility of reconciliation?
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 16:11 (three years ago) link
Hey, I posted a solid federalist effort at cross-solitude outreach and it went unremarked!
― Just Another Onionhead (Sund4r), Saturday, 27 March 2021 16:14 (three years ago) link
Precisely!
Tbf I can’t think of a single national designation that isn’t bursting at the seams with irreconcilable contradictions. Like, what is Americanness, really?
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 March 2021 16:17 (three years ago) link
P'tit Belliveau record is p good!
― Sequel to Sadness (Sund4r), Thursday, 22 April 2021 00:45 (two years ago) link
I couldn't figure out where the best place to post this, but somehow I did not know until today that the Canadian supermarket chain No Frills put out a rap album late last year:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDipchuzGnI
― MarkoP, Thursday, 27 May 2021 02:58 (two years ago) link
I did know about this, wish I didn't
― intern at pelican brief consulting (Simon H.), Thursday, 27 May 2021 03:09 (two years ago) link
Someone at head office is trying to take advantage of having to buy public performance licences for their stores. I've never heard this while I've been shopping there, though; grocery shopping is basically my only exposure to the music that most people listen to.
― Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 27 May 2021 03:20 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV3ubZ6fu3I
― Are Animated Dads Getting Hotter? (Tom D.), Thursday, 27 May 2021 09:07 (two years ago) link
I don’t think it’s going to be a title winner in this thread, but kinda want to give a shout out to the multiple songs by Maestro Fresh Wes that incorporate/sample specifically Canadian rock hits (Haywire, Guess Who, Gowan, maybe more?)
― Kim, Thursday, 27 May 2021 16:29 (two years ago) link
i try to avoid no frills - crap produce, the local one is owned by an infamous slumlord family - although it is the closest grocery store to me and my immediate neighbourhood is a slight food desert, but i do end up going there for necessaries once in a while, toilet roll or that sort of thing. have definitely never heard this music before.
― 《Myst1kOblivi0n》 (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 27 May 2021 16:48 (two years ago) link
I spoke too soon, I heard "Bag It Up" at No Frills this morning, and I realized I had heard it there before.
I never realized that Maestro's "Drop the Needle" samples "Dance Desire" by Haywire. Though I am not and never have been a Haywire fan, I always thought that it was neat the way the guitar riff and bassline play off of each other in the intro of that song.
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 28 May 2021 14:23 (two years ago) link