![]() My biggest disappointment was the vast array of brilliant Canadian writers who have not penned a single unarguably Canadian song (Sarah McLachlan, f’r’instance) and those whose only musical mention of Canada is disparaging, or in parodies or secondary works. And I confess that, lacking Francophone nominators, the selection of French language songs in the list is iffy. So the list below is conspicuous for the absence of a great many enormously talented Canadian writers and composers. Nevertheless, I will now send a ballot to the three brave souls (Robert Cooke, Darren Barefoot and Chris Corrigan) who agreed to beg, borrow or steal a copy of all qualifying nominated songs (there were 76 in all) between now and April 11, and help me winnow the list down to about 12 finalists, which the four of us will then, in a wild exercise in subjectivity, attempt to rank. Additional volunteers to judge will still be accepted. Alert the media — here we go. Attempts to influence the judges in the comments below, or with lavish gifts, are welcome. Attempts to argue with me on my disqualifications from the list will be cheerfully ignored. As in all contests, the judges’ decision, boneheaded or not, is final. |
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Wow. Weird spam.To my question: what are the asterisks in the list for?
Very wierd spam. Number 76… totally. I played that song so often growing up I think my dad through my record player (remember those) out on the front lawn.Number 76.
I move that you name all 76 as winners. What good is voting on music? All these different songs have touched different people. This is going to prove that my tastes are different from the mass average, and make me feel as an outcast from the “group mind” simply because a different song may touch me than “people” think is right. Is this trip necessary?
And furthermore… There are so many brilliant players in Canada. There are music forms available nowhere ales. Have you ever seen April Verch go at it with her fiddle? Now there is a Master of the insturment and dance which is 100% Canadian. This contest is actually a poll on the marketing penetration success of various entertainment brands peddling their intellectual property. The music itself is merely a product unit in this context. Which Canadian record label stamped their brand on your head the hardest?
No mention of Robert Paquette?
I played with April Vertch…sigh…it was amazing…I agree…as a judge I’m not going to pretend that we are coming up with a definitive list, but all 76 do make a great playlist to give to newcomers. It’s fun, really, that’s all.
Gregor…I do want to take some exception with the idea that these songs have all come down the big media pipe. The fact that folks nominated performers like Gerry Alfred, The Rheostatics, Wade Hemsworth, Lucie Blue Trembley, the Arrogant Worms, Lynn Miles, Stan Rogers and James Keelaghan speaks volumes to the gems that are buried in the indy market. These aren’t your average big market penetrators, but they have made a mark on the culture nonetheless.
In as short a time as the white settlers have occupied the northlands, their culture has certainly eclipsed all of the songs sung for hundreds or even thousands of years by the previous residents who lacked recording studios.
Spirit of the West – now there’s a blast from the past for me. We used to hear them here in Seattle (they were from BC) in the early 80s when Irish-style music was the only thing that would soothe our 4-yr-old son’s savage soul. Wonder if they’re still around? I have one or two vinyl albums.
As a mom, my cultural world has shifted tremendously. I was sorry not to see a Raffi song, you know the children’s singer, on your list. Seriously, I’m a big fan of Stan Rogers (who by the way performed on a Raffi song along with Daniel Lanois) so I’m happy.