No, sadly, this post is not about sexual toursim, I just thought it was a cool sounding title. I am personally tired of Canada’s music being only associated with Nickleback, Avril Lavigne, and Celine Dion. I am sure there are other nations out there who bow their head with shame when that one overplayed stereotypical song comes on the radio and all eyes fall on you for your geographical association.
In response to being associated with songs I don’t even like, and didn’t like the first ten thousand times I heard them, I am going to recommend some tracks to refresh your audition view of Canada. Later I am going to move on to some tunes from the UK that I quite fancy. Lets all get involved, let’s not just export commercial crap tunes. Currently, it seems like there is there some kind of tariff on originality
Oh, if you click on the names of the group/musician it will link you to a site where you can listen to their songs for free.
My personal favorite The Awkward Stage (rock singer songwriter)
With some of the best lyrics (meaningful, dark and funny all at once) I have ever heard, the leader singer, Shane Nelken (who also works at a funeral home) inspires my confidence in Canadian Indie music. Hell, he makes went want to move to British Columbia (a province in Canada) so I can live in his bushes and calculate how to steal his thoughts.
Listen to this gem “West Van girl, delicate and frail, I will read your skin like braille in your suburban hillside jail.” (Note that West Van is referring to West Vancouver, a city in the province of British Columbia NOT the capital as I foolish said please forgive me oh great CAPITAL city of Victoria)
Try– The Morons are Winning, Anime eyes, and West Van Girl
Pop paradise Two hours traffic (alt pop)
These guys may be from the smallest province in Canada (Prince Edward Island) but that doesn’t stop them from plastering a smile on my face and unconsciously forcing me to tap my toes. Don’t be afraid of the term ‘pop’, it doesn’t mean that they’ve cut back on the lyrics. Given that their band name is a Shakespearian reference I think you can put two and two together.
Try– Stuck for the Summer, Heroes of the Sidewalk, and Jezebel
Electric excellence Junior Boys (electronic, maybe a bit minimalist)
Hamilton, Ontario you have never sounded so good. Junior Boys (and MSTRKFT and The New Deal) stretched my music enjoyment into the world of the electronic. That lot also simultaneously prepared me for the UK’s love of the electronic dance music. I could not get the song “In the Morning” out of my head for about a month and before I learned I could electronically download Canadian albums (via the Itunes store- I don’t advocate pirating the underpaid, the lesser known and the truly original) I simply continually listened to the same CBC radio 3 podcast (with Grant Lawrence). I played that same podcast so much that when I try to play it now it sounds like a dusty record from the 1800s.
Try– In the Morning, Bellona, and Double Shadow
Personal thanks to CBC Radio 3 for having an awesome website. Really, isn’t that why the Internet still exists so we can piggyback the hard work and coolness of others? Listen to those tracks and you will know the truth, those scientists at CERN (who actually created the internet- sorry Mr. Gore) just really craved some Canadian beats.
Shovelbums of the world unite! 