This is dedicated to a friend from the old neighborhood who is now a resident of the Great White North, and who recently complained about hearing "Turn Me Loose" on the radio, twice in the same day. My top ten favorite musical artists from Canada:
- Neil Young - I'm guessing this comes as no surprise to anyone.
- Rush - For most of my teenage years, this was my favorite band. Then, I took a few years off from idolizing Canadians before Neil Young became my most revered.
- Joni Mitchell - The fairer sex can certainly hold their own north of the border.
- Wolf Parade - based on my current level of interest, these indie-rockers from Montreal would probably rank second on the list, but I had to give some credit for historical significance.
- The Band - Four Canadians and an Arkansan (Levon Helm) who met up in Toronto in the late-50s/early-60s. There's no Canadian band that does Americana better than these guys.
- The New Pornographers - This Vancouver super-group consists of Zumpano's A.C. Newman, Destroyer's Dan Bejar, and the oft-considered hottest woman in indie-rock, Neko Case.
- Kathleen Edwards - Even if Neko is the hottest woman in indie-rock, Kathleen is still the hottest woman on this list, in my opinion.
- Sunset Rubdown - Excellent Wolf Parade side project. Or, is Wolf Parade a side project of Sunset Rubdown?
- Triumph - They're no Rush, but the other power trio from Toronto is still worthy of top ten honors.
- Arcade Fire - I thought Funeral was a bit over-rated, but I really liked Neon Bible, and it was either them, the Cowboy Junkies (the most boring live act I've ever paid to see) or one of the following...
Nostalgic Honorable Mentions: - Bryan Adams - I have to admit that I saw him live, on the Reckless tour, in 1985.
- Corey Hart - I wasn't a big fan of his music, but for several years, I wore my black Wayfarers at night and my hair with his trademark spikey wet look.
- Aldo Nova - Aldo Caporuscio, as he's known in his native Montreal, can count Mike Stanton and, at one time me, among his biggest fans.
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This is a fine list, and I'm going to check out some of the groups with which I'm not familiar.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Blue Rodeo is on your radar, but they're worth a listen.
Dan
Thanks. Blue Rodeo definitely used to be on my radar. To be honest, I never really gave them much of a chance. Is there a particular album you would recommend?
ReplyDeleteNo love for Choclair? Kardinal Offishall? Saukrates? Sir Scratch & K-Cut?
ReplyDeleteHow boot the Toronto indie surf rock surge of the early 90's? Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Phono-comb, Don fucking Pyle!
...or the SubPop feeding frenzy of the same era: Sloan, Eric's Trip, Jale, Hardship Post, Thrush Hermit, Superfriendz, Bubaiskull, etc.
What the hell am I talking about?
I've got a Blue Rodeo greatest hits compilation CD that I picked up in Calgary a couple of years ago, and that's mostly great stuff. I don't have any of the individual albums to recommend or warn you off.
ReplyDeleteWolf Parade is fantastic!
ReplyDelete