Monday, 1 July 2013

Happy Birthday, Canada: Part II

And now for the next installment...

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

Brian Adams: Summer of '69


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!


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