Mullets Vs. Lillith Fair: The Current Canadian Musical Aesthetic
In 1995 Maclean's Magazine, (The Time of Canada, Americans), published a now-famous article entitled "Canadian Rock Music Explodes". The article noted the success of bands like The Tragically Hip, Barenaked Ladies, The Crash Test Dummies, and Sarah McLachlan. The article also wrestles with the confounding issue of what actually constitutes the "Canadian Sound".
But is there a Canadian sound? Well, there are certainly some distinctively Canadian acts - such as Toronto’s The Dream Warriors, a group that has created a West Indian-flavored rap style that has nothing to do with hip hop trends in Brooklyn or South Central Los Angeles. It is hard to imagine The Rankin Family, with its Celtic-influenced Maritime songs, or The Waltons, a Toronto-based band with its roots - and its heart - in Saskatchewan, coming from anywhere but Canada. Offers Finkelstein, who continues to manage Bruce Cockburn and other singer-songwriters: "We used to say it has to do with the big open spaces in our country. There’s a stillness, a coolness in what we do that’s inescapable." Dave Bidini, a member of Toronto’s passionately nationalistic pop group the Rheostatics, hears it in "the distance in the voice, the sense of place and the loneliness of the lyrics." J. D. Considine, a pop music writer for The Baltimore Sun and Musician magazine, cites the "strong sense of personal statement in Canadian music, a perspective that bridges the individual to the universal, that you find in the best work of The Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo and Crash Test Dummies."
Since 1995, it seems as though Canadian music has found its voice; a young, female voice. Look at the pop charts: the major Canadian acts in recent years are Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morisette, Celine, and Shania. On the other hand, Mullet Rock in the tradition of Rush seems to be making a comeback. Nickelback and the Tea Party are two names that come to mind.
My conclusion is that the Canadian rock aesthetic is split along gender lines. Canadian female music carries on along the lines of the folk vein of Joanie Mitchell and early Neil Young with a tinge of Divahood, and bands like the Guess Who and Triumph have spawned the true heirs of classic rock--a genre that has pretty much died in the U.S. where hip-hop reigns supreme.
Again, this is just my observation. Any comments from my Canadian friends would be much appreciated.
In 1995 Maclean's Magazine, (The Time of Canada, Americans), published a now-famous article entitled "Canadian Rock Music Explodes". The article noted the success of bands like The Tragically Hip, Barenaked Ladies, The Crash Test Dummies, and Sarah McLachlan. The article also wrestles with the confounding issue of what actually constitutes the "Canadian Sound".
But is there a Canadian sound? Well, there are certainly some distinctively Canadian acts - such as Toronto’s The Dream Warriors, a group that has created a West Indian-flavored rap style that has nothing to do with hip hop trends in Brooklyn or South Central Los Angeles. It is hard to imagine The Rankin Family, with its Celtic-influenced Maritime songs, or The Waltons, a Toronto-based band with its roots - and its heart - in Saskatchewan, coming from anywhere but Canada. Offers Finkelstein, who continues to manage Bruce Cockburn and other singer-songwriters: "We used to say it has to do with the big open spaces in our country. There’s a stillness, a coolness in what we do that’s inescapable." Dave Bidini, a member of Toronto’s passionately nationalistic pop group the Rheostatics, hears it in "the distance in the voice, the sense of place and the loneliness of the lyrics." J. D. Considine, a pop music writer for The Baltimore Sun and Musician magazine, cites the "strong sense of personal statement in Canadian music, a perspective that bridges the individual to the universal, that you find in the best work of The Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo and Crash Test Dummies."
Since 1995, it seems as though Canadian music has found its voice; a young, female voice. Look at the pop charts: the major Canadian acts in recent years are Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morisette, Celine, and Shania. On the other hand, Mullet Rock in the tradition of Rush seems to be making a comeback. Nickelback and the Tea Party are two names that come to mind.
My conclusion is that the Canadian rock aesthetic is split along gender lines. Canadian female music carries on along the lines of the folk vein of Joanie Mitchell and early Neil Young with a tinge of Divahood, and bands like the Guess Who and Triumph have spawned the true heirs of classic rock--a genre that has pretty much died in the U.S. where hip-hop reigns supreme.
Again, this is just my observation. Any comments from my Canadian friends would be much appreciated.
