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© Big in Canada
Description
A show about songs and artists that are big in Canada, but nowhere else. Hosted by Mackenzie Cameron and Laura Stanley.
39 Episodes
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Welcome to Rocktober!They were a Boston-based rock band, until fate intervened.Big Wreck wanted to conquer America, because, well, most of the members were American. But Canada had different plans for Ian Thornley and co. Trapped in Canada after a failed border crossing, the band's not-quite grunge classic rock worship got picked up by Canadian rock radio and the rest is....Nickelback? Also discussed: Thornley, Lilith Fair draft, Dragonette rumours and gossip, Deryck Whibley is...a Jonas brother??, more Nickelback, Berklee College of Music, Big Wreck's long tail and more.
Countless choirs across the country, and across generations, have sung "O Siem" thanks to its uplifting message of oneness. But when Susan Aglukark began recording music, the thought of anyone even hearing her songs seemed improbable if not impossible. We look at how Susan Aglukark became the first Inuk artist to have a top 10 hit in Canada and the unsettling tension underlying her early recordings.Also discussed: Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, songs that insist you have a good time, accidentally becoming a pop star, country music, how phones ruined everything, and much more.
You've heard it. On the radio, in the club, the gym, the mall and in commercials. It is ubiquitous. And yet, who the hell are Dragonette? We trace the many sounds of Martina Sorbara and her band/moniker to try and figure out when CanCon became the realm of anonymous, uncontroversial mega successes.Also discussed: The Big in Canada Movement, "indie sleaze", late stage-Myspace Music, "music for tampon commercials", Girls, Gossip Girl, fake bands, DJ x Pop Singer CanCon collabs, being the CanCon version of other CanCon artists and much more.
On Big in Canada’s first trip out East, Laura and Mac discuss bad boy fiddler, Ashley MacIsaac. Blending traditional fiddle music with alt-rock and a punk attitude, Ashley MacIsaac was plucked from Cape Breton and found mainstream success with his surprising smash hit “Sleepy Maggie”. But as the age-old story goes, this too-fast-fame took its toll. After all, he just wants to be known as “Ashley MacIsaac, from Cape Breton, playing the fiddle.”Also discussed: the newly rebranded Great Big in Canada Concert Experience, Canadian rock operas, Jully Black on the Amazing Race Canada, the “poisoned” Canadian music atmosphere, indexes, and much more.
In America, Snow was a novelty. "Informer" was considered a one-hit wonder and a joke that everyone seemed to really like. But around the world, Snow continued to pump out hits post-"Informer" and he finally made his way back to the Canadian charts with the poppy patois of "Everybody Wants to Be Like You." Given all this, we had to talk about the Super Notorious Outrageous Whiteboy aka the Snowman aka Daddy Snow aka Darrin O'Brien aka Snow.Also discussed: the Jully Blackout, Laura's interview with Sarah McLachlan, the latest on The Great Big in Canada Singalong, woah woahs, the end of the Family Channel, being Big in Jamaica and Japan, "Imposter" and much more.
Jully Black is a foundational figure in Canadian R&B, a mainstay on your television, an incredible singer, the winner of Big in Canada’s Young Artists for Haiti RANKED Special, and the list goes on and on. Even if you can’t name a single Jully Black song, you know who Jully Black is.Also discussed: the Power of Music, the intellectual launch of the Great Big in Canada Singalong, Artists for Feel Out Loud, Snow Job (again!), the (bad) vibes, and much more. Note: This episode contains mention of suicide.
Bienvenue to an alternate universe of our own alternate universe of song. Lili Fatale were not big in Canada, but in Quebec they were as cool as it gets, and popular too. Jasamine White-Gluz aka No Joy is on the show to give us a peek into the world of music that was Big in Quebec.Also discussed: MusiquePlus, the influence of Cirque du Soleil, bands with many members, Bran Van 3000, the state of Francophone pop in Quebec in the late 90s, the long shadow of France, Francophones singing in English and much more.No Joy's new album Bugland is out now via Hand Drawn Dracula. Get it!
Whether in song, print, or on daytime television, Bif Naked is never afraid to bare the truth. After cutting her teeth in the Winnipeg and Vancouver punk scenes, Bif emerged as a singular, genre-blending, solo artist in the mid-90s. She played Lilith Fair and Warped Tour in the same year, has conquered cancer, and released a bunch of great records - rock on, Bif. Also discussed: Snow Job, Summersault Fest, Done With Dolls, the Canadian Circuit, and much more.
It's Big in Canada's first ever Summer Gab Fest! Laura and Mac somehow have even more to say about Wavin' Flag, wonder if Katy Perry is CanCon Coded, and talk new music from Ada Lea, Pig Pen, Billianne, No Joy, and Yawn.
In this special episode of Big in Canada, we rank the performance of every soloist featured on the Young Artists for Haiti version of "Wavin' Flag." We consider their artistic merit, effort, and the flare they add to their lines. Who will come out on top? Who did not care enough? Who added too much sauce?Also discussed: "Wavin' Flag", the choir, snubs, celebrity charity songs, the meaning of life, and much more.
Bongos. Drama. Three Strong Words. These are just some of the defining features of 90s alt-rock band I Mother Earth. For Mac, the band's psychedelic and latin infused tunes open his third eye while Laura is just happy this episode is over.Also discussed: The 90s alt-rock explosion, Edwin's Himbo Energy, bongos, Canadian songs about California Hall of Fame, terrible album art, riffs, prog, switching singers and more.
Does Amanda Marshall have another GOATED album? No! But that hasn't stopped us from digging into the hits (and misses) from the latter part of her career, her 20 year absence from the circuit, and her triumphant (and joyful) return to stages across Canada forever. Also discussed: the Federal Bureau of Canada Day Concerts, SWAG, Neil Young vs. Lynyrd Skynyrd, a (not so) brief history of Canadian diamond albums in Canada, Don Was, over production, not caring about sound, pivoting to clown, the purchasing power of suburban moms and more.
"First Amanda Marshall album GOATED." Given this undeniable fact, we go track by track through Amanda Marshall, an album that features at least one, but probably 4 or 5 songs, you didn't know you know.Also discussed: Amanda's early career, Jeff Healy, not the Globe and Mail's list of albums "you should hear now", Barenaked at Blockbuster, Emily Haines...just shy?, the Christian to bisexual pipeline, Mark Spicoluk, album sequencing, Neil Young covers and more.
Bass is Base burst onto MuchMusic brandishing rap and music nerd credentials, with a sound that was jazzy, funky, soulful, technical and that you might almost classify it as hip hop. Did this Cancon super group (in hindsight) prove that hip hop could go pop in Canada? Laura and Mac rev up the funkmobile to find out. Also discussed: Barenaked in America, celebrity chefs, even more Three Strong Words, the meaning of "base", Lou Reed's Cancon connections, the "California" streaming controversy, Young Artists for Haiti's "Wavin' Flag", the days of the week and much more.
Lights has never had a mega hit, but she has won a bunch of JUNOs, maintained a cult following (in Canada and beyond), and has low-key been ahead of her time at various points of her career. How did this happen? Was it the Cancon connections? The confused aesthetics? The comics? Christ? The cursive singing? We run down the 5 Cs of Lights.Also discussed: "True Colors", Drake trending towards Cancon, Three Strong Words (Underground Operations edition), One Weak Word, MySpace, Old Navy, plagiarism, inspiring Taylor Swift, and much more.
In part two of our dissection of professional Canadian rock band Metric, we reach a final verdict on whether or not Haines, Shaw and co., are indeed Cancon. Can this FACTOR-funded, Juno-winning outfit overcome their deep desire to be cool and a professional NOT Canadian rock band? Seems unlikely! Also discussed: cursed Cancon artifacts, Brian Wilson, the albums of Metric, theatre kid energy, Emily Haines' bad wrap, periods, war metaphor, the spectre of Broken Social Scene, FACTOR grants, touring with Billy Talent and new albums by Jimmie Kilpatrick, Kicksie and Emma Goldman.
In part one of a two-part exploration into professional Canadian rock band Metric, Mac and Laura go long on their Cancon field trip to the Metric and Sam Roberts Band show in Toronto. From there they set the scene for Metric's reluctant, yet clinical rise to Canadian rock royalty.Also discussed: Three Strong Words: Polaris Music Prize Edition, JUNO President and CEO Allan Reid and his awe-inspiring hair, t-shirts, s-o-c-i-a-l-i-s-m, Metric's popularity, their early days, Anthems For a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl and much more.
The Sky story has it all: triumph, tragedy, nepotism, confused aesthetics, too-fast-fame, a vast web of connections and one incredible song. But by the time this Quebec duo had peaked, it was, pretty much, already over (with all due respect to Karl Wolf). Also discussed: Three Strong Words, new music, Avril auto-tune accusation controversy, "Lean on Me" by ArtistsCAN, recording guitars one chord at a time, celebrity chefs, things girls liked at the turn of the century, phat bass, songs about America and much more.
Matt Bobkin and Adam Feibel are back to talk about their book In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World (out today!) . We get into artists like Alexisonfire, Gob, Skye Sweetnam, City & Colour, Avril Lavigne and Silverstein and discuss how as a whole this scene is greater than the sum (41) of its parts.Also discussed: Barenaked in America, Jay Malinowski's wedding, roller hockey, landscaping, hats, getting heavy on the radio, the close-knit nature of the 905 scene, writing books and much more.
Billy Talent arrived fully-formed, just in time to convert a generation of Canadian pre-teens onto the promise of punk. Matt Bobkin and Adam Feibel, authors of In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World, are on the pod to explain how this band of Mississauga misfits helped bring hardcore into the mainstream.Also discussed: "Young & Dumb", David Crosby, 60s California pop/00s Cancon pop punk connections, Pezz, Big in Germany, gateway music, At the Drive-In, not knowing who At the Drive-In is, enunciation, guitar heroes, suburban bands vs city bands and much more.
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yeah, I'm out
I worked. For polydor when their first album came out, we thought they were the next coming of the chipmunks.
Your best episode yet. Practice Practice Practice.
The moffatts were not signed to CBS or Sony music.They were originally signed to polygram records in Canada.I know this for a fact because I worked for polygram records.
Fantastic choice for a podcast. There is an endless amount of cancon that you can delve into and your first episode is a wonderful choice, as the kings are here, is one of my favorite albums to this today.