Canada is home to some awesome music, whether it's folk from the Maritimes, or rock from the west. You might think to yourself, "but I don't know of any Canadian bands," and that's where you're wrong. You know them when you hear 'em, you just might not have been able to connect the dots.
With that in mind, here are some of my favourite Canadian artists, so grab a brew, kick back, and enjoy the sounds of the Great White North!
First, some old school sounds...
Alanis Morisette: All I Really Want
The Guess Who: No Sugar Tonight/ The New Mother Nature
April Wine: Could Have Been a Lady
Rush: The Spirit of Radio
Kim Mitchell: Patio Lanterns
Triumph: Lay it on the Line
Loverboy: Workin' for the Weekend
Blue Rodeo: Till I Am Myself Again
Neil Young: Helpless
Paul Anka: Put Your Head on My Shoulder
Tom Cochrane: The Big League
And now for something a little bit newer...
Hedley: Perfect
Barenaked Ladies: The Old Apartment
kd. lang: After the Gold Rush
Dragonette: Hello
Redlight King: Bullet in my Hand
Great Big Sea: The Night Pat Murphy Died
Feist: 1234
The Sheepdogs: Feeling Good
Sloan: Rest of My Life
Of course, there are also some honourable mentions.
When Chris Hadfield was aboard the International Space Station, he joined forces with the Barenaked Ladies, where they performed a song they wrote called I.S.S (Is Somebody Singing?). Certainly, Hadfield doing "Space Oddity" was awesome, but I.S.S deserves some serious kudos as well.
Canada used to have a show back in the 1970's called SCTV. Up in this part of North America, there was a segment called Great White North with Bob and Doug McKenzie. It would always feature every Canadian stereotype known to the human race. Well, for an anniversary special, the McKenzie Brothers wrote a song called "Take Off", which featured Geddy Lee, frontman of Rush (as in the awesome band doing "Spirit of Radio" above). The cooing noise you hear is a spoof of the background music from Hinterland Who's Who, which was then "used" as the Great White North theme song.
It's no secret that this is a hockey nation. CBC used to have the best hockey theme song ever. It was our other national anthem, until contracts ran out, and the CBC lost it to TSN. But still, originals from the CBC still exist, so here you go.
On the subject of hockey, a tip of the hat needs to be given to Stompin' Tom Connors, a Canadian icon who died earlier this year. His most notable song would probably be his hockey song.
But, of course, you can't have Canada Day and Canadian music without O, Canada! Mix it with hockey, and you have the best anthem ever. Period.
Happy 146th birthday, Canada!
