Canadian Music, Olympic Misfire

Watching the latter part of the Olympic Closing Ceremonies last night I was struck by what awful choices of performers the organizers had made. I couldn't even respect them let alone enjoy them. As each act was announced I became more and more frustrated and ragey. Canada is home to some truly wonderful musicians. There are the world renowned standards such as Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and The Guess Who. Then there are the decidedly more contemporary established artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Celine Dion, Michael Buble, The Hip. And then there are the critical darlings, popular and bursting with talent; The Arcade Fire, The New Pornographers, Stars, the list really goes on and on. So why then was the concert portion of last nights ceremony packed with such dreadful artists? Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, Hedley, Simple Plan? Not only are these bands (save for Nickelback, unfortunately) irrelevent internationally. They are barely respected in Canada. Most people, excepting adolescents whose track record of music choice should be written off entirely, cringe when these bands come on the radio.

Now, nobody likes a complainer who brings no constructiveness to the situation so I've compiled a list of my dream performers/songs. They are mainstream enough not to scare off older/younger folks and relevant/hip enough to satisfy people like myself. A little more saucy and a lot more entertaining:


The Arcade Fire - Wake Up, Neighbourhood #3(Power Out), Rebellion (Lies)
K'Naan - Wavin' Flag (or, because that is the World Cup song), Take A Minute
Lights - Saviour or Second Go
Feist - Mushaboom or 1 2 3 4
Dragonette - Take it Like a Man
The New Pornographers - The Bleeding Heart Show
Stars - The Night Starts Here
Sam Roberts - Bridge to Nowhere