BRAD WHEELER
The Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009 1:45PM EST Last updated on Thursday, Apr. 09, 2009 10:23PM EDT
CBC Radio 2 asked its listeners to help select a list of the top 49 Canadian songs that best defined the country to Barack Obama, a music listener with self-described "pretty eclectic tastes." In an interview with Rolling Stone, the President-elect boasted of an iPod of Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Yo-Yo Ma and Jay-Z. Some of the music he favoured while growing up was of the classic-rock FM-radio variety, namely the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Earth, Wind & Fire.
As Obama mentioned no Canadian artists, CBC Radio 2 came up with the idea of a 49-tune sampling of True North music (49, as in the 49th parallel, the symbolic latitudinal line between the North American neighbours). The resulting list is representative enough (although the omission of the Band's Acadian Driftwood is glaring), but the jukebox of Canadiana is not a particularly rollicking one. Where's Loverboy's Working for the Weekend or Trooper's Raise a Little Hell? And while Malajube's Montréal -40°C gives Americans an idea of Canada's tumbling temperatures, why not Randy Bachman and Neil Young's ode to Winnipeg, Prairie Town, with the rousing chorus of "Portage and Main, 50 below"?
Of course, the best thing about lists such as these is the discussion (and the hooting and hollering) that inevitably follows. With that in mind, readers are invited to submit comments on the CBC Radio 2 list of Canadian-centric music, or suggest songs that were overlooked.
Arcade Fire: Rebellion (Lies)
The Arrogant Worms: Canada's Really Big
Barenaked Ladies: If I Had $1,000,000
Beau Dommage: La complainte du phoque en Alaska
Daniel Bélanger: Rêver mieux
Measha Brueggergosman: I'm Going Up a Yonder
Michael Bublé: Home
Bruce Cockburn: Wondering Where the Lions Are
Leonard Cohen: Democracy
Leonard Cohen: Suzanne
Jesse Cook: Mario Takes a Walk
James Ehnes: Barber Violin Concerto
Glenn Gould: Goldberg Variations
Great Big Sea: Ordinary Day
The Guess Who: American Woman
Harmonium: Pour un instant
Ben Heppner: We'll Gather Lilacs
Ian & Sylvia: Four Strong Winds
Karkwa: Oublie pas
Moe Koffman: Swingin' Shepherd Blues
Diana Krall: Departure Bay
k.d. lang: Hallelujah
Daniel Lanois: Jolie Louise
Daniel Lavoie: J'ai quitté mon île
Raymond Lévesque: Quand les hommes vivront d'amour
Gordon Lightfoot: Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Gordon Lightfoot: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Malajube: Montréal -40°C
Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now
Joni Mitchell: A Case of You
Mes Aïeux: Dégénérations
Marjan Mozetich: Affairs of the Heart
Parachute Club: Rise Up
Oscar Peterson Trio: Hymn to Freedom
Oscar Peterson: Place St. Henri (from Canadiana Suite)
The Rankin Family: Rise Again
Sam Roberts: The Canadian Dream
Stan Rogers: Northwest Passage
Rush: Closer to the Heart
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Universal Soldier
Shad: Brother (Watching)
Stompin' Tom Connors: The Hockey Song
Marie-Jo Thério: Évangeline
The Tragically Hip: Wheat Kings
The Tragically Hip: Bobcaygeon
Gilles Vigneault: Mon pays
The Weakerthans: One Great City!
Neil Young: Rockin' in the Free World
Neil Young: Helpless
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