Can you conjure some CanCon for my show content?

November 19, 2014 8:35 AM

What are some great Canadian alternative bands from the 80s and early 90s? Plus: what would you name my radio show?

I am doing an audition tape for my own radio program on CFRC, a local college-community radio station here in Kingston, Ontario. Because I love nostalgia and am knowledgeable, my focus will be the "golden age" of college radio, starting somewhere around 1980 and ending at 1995 (though I feel 1995 was a bad year by then because most things had gone so mainstream). Of course, this being Canada, I must provide at least 30% of CanCon in my program (roughly three songs per hour) and it shouldn't have cracked the Canadian Top 40. But as an American, I am only familiar with a handful of bands from that time period (Blue Rodeo, the Hip, Shadowy Men, Odds, Grapes of Wrath, Sloan). What are some gems I am missing?

And yes, I would love suggestions for naming the show. The two I thought of don't really work.

posted by Kitteh to Media & Arts (52 answers total)

Could hardcore fit within that umbrella? If so, Shotmaker would definitely work. They were active from 1993-96, and boy were those guys great.

Sky
Controller Controller
Driver
posted by saladin at 8:43 AM on November 19, 2014

Moxy Fruvous (though I can understand being reluctant to play them right now, all things considered)
K.D. Lang
The Smalls

Actually, if you want more Canadian punk rock, I can really help you out....
posted by 256 at 8:44 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

54-40, who you might know from their 1986 hit, "I Go Blind"
posted by gsh at 8:45 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You will no doubt get a lot of great suggestions here but since you are in Kingston, what about the Headstones? They did crack the top 40 in the late 90s, but only briefly--and they broke up soon after. Hugh Dillon is also a moderately successful actor now.
posted by methroach at 8:45 AM on November 19, 2014

Best answer: The Lowest of the Low?
posted by AndrewInDC at 8:45 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The Be-Good Tanyas
Blinker the Star
Great Big Sea

... Rush? (ducks under table)
posted by jbickers at 8:49 AM on November 19, 2014

As for show name: Take Off.
posted by jbickers at 8:50 AM on November 19, 2014

You will no doubt get a lot of great suggestions here but since you are in Kingston, what about the Headstones?

Oh yeah, and it would be a shame not to play some of the amazing somgs from Hard Core Logo, even though it came out in '96.

Who the Hell You Think You Are?
Edmonton Block Heater
Blue Tattoo
posted by 256 at 8:52 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Show Name: "The Degrassi Years"
posted by 256 at 8:55 AM on November 19, 2014 [2 favorites]

Early Barenaked Ladies might fit the bill. "Gordon" (1992) was their first album, and it's more of a collaboration between Page and Robertson, songwriting-wise, and then "Maybe You Should Drive" (1994) has them both writing songs separately, and showing their styles off a bit.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:11 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Kim Mitchell? Tom Cochrane?

And yeah. Rush.
posted by spinifex23 at 9:12 AM on November 19, 2014

Best answer: Add Eric's Trip, Thrush Hermit, Furnaceface, Hardship Post and Rheostatics to your list for sure.
posted by futureisunwritten at 9:19 AM on November 19, 2014 [2 favorites]

The Tragically Hip
posted by steinwald at 9:23 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Mecca Normal.

Zumpano just barely fit your time frame; my understanding is they are mostly know as Carl Newman's band before the New Pornographers.
posted by mountmccabe at 9:23 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

If you're looking for alternative sould/R&B: Bourbon Tabernacle Choir
posted by methroach at 9:27 AM on November 19, 2014

Sons of Freedom
I Mother Earth
Age of Electric
Limblifter
Odds
posted by wats at 9:28 AM on November 19, 2014

Best answer: Check out Hayden's 1995 album Everything I Long For. Also Eric's Trip is truly a gem, one of my favourites.
posted by to recite so charmingly at 9:39 AM on November 19, 2014

Best answer: The Pursuit of Happiness
Cowboy Junkies
Prairie Oyster
The Northern Pikes
Payolas
Bruce Cockburn's catalog is so wide there will always be something suitable period-wise
posted by sylvanshine at 9:43 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Spirit of the West.
Mae Moore (not sure how popular she got in Canada)
posted by penguinicity at 9:44 AM on November 19, 2014

Skydiggers!
posted by misseva at 9:51 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Also, Bootsauce.
posted by misseva at 9:52 AM on November 19, 2014 [2 favorites]

Weeping Tile! Especially good for a Kingston show. They're just hitting up against the late end of your time period, though.
posted by sabotagerabbit at 9:52 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

You could call the show "Night Lines" in tribute to the CBC radio show of that era which was devoted to playing alternative Canadian bands. Welcome to the airwaves, Kitteh!
posted by Cheezitsofcool at 10:40 AM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: There were a lot of great pop bands coming out of Halifax around the time that Sloan were on the rise, at the tail end of your time period - check out Thrush Hermit, The Super Friendz, Jale, Plumtree, Eric's Trip (and related side-projects).
posted by Gortuk at 11:16 AM on November 19, 2014

If you want super obscure and hard to find.... mid-90s in all its glory... Calgary's own...

The Ramada Gods

but it will be seriously hard to find; if you do pls send me mp3s, will be 4ever grateful
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:18 AM on November 19, 2014

OMG, St. Peepsburg, that calgarycassettes site is amazing! (You did download the album from the link, right?) There's so much old, obscure stuff there - a lot of compilation albums with possibilities.

Bringing back memories of the era, keeping on the obscure Calgary tip, what about Huevos Rancheros orChixdiggit ?
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 11:39 AM on November 19, 2014

Ideas for show name (best of luck, by the way -- we're all rooting for you!):

The East Indie Company
The Golden Indies
Vintage Indie
Walkman Days
Cassettera
College Rad
Uni's Gold*
The Back Catalog
Alt Who Goes There

(I'll confess I also got kind of smitten with the idea of calling the show "Wino Forever," if you don't need a name that's more literal. Winona was in Pump Up the Volume, of course, and Johnny Depp changed the tattoo sometime after their 1993 breakup, kind of marking the end of your era....)
posted by argonauta at 11:50 AM on November 19, 2014

Big Sugar
Junkhouse
Dutch Mason
Wonderful Grand Band
Our Lady Peace
posted by yqxnflld at 11:55 AM on November 19, 2014

Best answer: Pure. I just heard "Blast" by Pure on the radio. That is some 90s Canadiana for sure.
posted by misseva at 11:57 AM on November 19, 2014

Not 80s and early 90s, more late 90s early 2000s, but some good CanCon that I stridently support: The WPP (Edmonton) and The Beans (Vancouver). Hardcore/indie/post rock etc.
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 12:24 PM on November 19, 2014

Best answer: Play "Home for a Rest" by Spirit of the West and watch all the middle-aged people sing along. I would have been hard-pressed to come up with the previously suggested bands, but they're all really good suggestions. Having been in university in Canada in that timeframe they're all right on.

Also: The Spoons, specifically "Romantic Traffic" which is maybe the most Canadian music video ever.
posted by GuyZero at 1:00 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Specifically for the Payolas, "Eyes of a Stranger" - that's pretty much burned into the mind of every Canadian who lived through that period. Or me at least. But the rest of their stuff is good too.
posted by GuyZero at 1:05 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You can browse the RPM archives by date for the dates you're interested in and all of the CanCon is marked with the MAPL logo. RPM was basically "the charts" for Canada.

Edit: I looked up the date I graduated from Queen's and found one no one's mentioned: Jeff Healey.
posted by marylynn at 1:11 PM on November 19, 2014 [2 favorites]

The Gandharvas
I dont' think their albums broke the top 40, but some of the singles may have.
posted by Kabanos at 1:52 PM on November 19, 2014

Best answer: The Killjoys: Today I Hate Everyone
posted by Kabanos at 1:54 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm disappointed, a little, that late-80s synthpop band Kon Kan, though mainly a one-hit wonder ("I Beg Your Pardon," based on the 1971 Lynn Anderson hit "Rose Garden."), was too popular to qualify for the given criteria. I knew they were Canadian, but only now do I suspect I know the origin of their band name.
posted by Sunburnt at 1:58 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Forgotten Rebels!
I love this live version of Surfin on heroin.
posted by Kabanos at 2:02 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My two favorite Canadian bands from that era:

The Smugglers. They put out several albums, this one's my favorite.

Bum. Harder to find, only put out one album, but pretty solid pop-punk hybrid.

There's also the Evaporators, Nardwuar's band, but they're...not for everybody, let's say. Very strange, yet very awesome. Like Nardwuar himself.
posted by pdb at 2:32 PM on November 19, 2014

Skinny Puppy
Front Line Assembly
Images in Vogue (but they probably made the Top 40 list)
posted by praiseb at 6:01 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Obligatory Quebec suggestions:

Me Mom and Morgentaler
Grim Skunk and early albums from their Indica label.
Groovy Aardvark
Various artists distributed by Cargo
Obliveon
Arguably, Voivod
Lesbiennes d'Acid
Dédé Traké
Les Secretaires volantes
In the 80s you'd probably count Marc Drouin and stuff he wrote (Pied de poule)
If you have access to an archive of the Montreal Mirror, you could see what was hot back then.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 6:12 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Here are some more from the West Coast:

D.O.A.
Dayglo Abortions
Nomeansno
Bob's Your Uncle (with singer, Sook-Yin Lee)
posted by praiseb at 6:30 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Treble Charger - Even Grable or Red.
Age of Electric - Ugly
Limblifter - Tinfoil
posted by urbanlenny at 6:34 PM on November 19, 2014

Best answer: All-girl bands:

Cub
Maow (with drummer and singer, Neko Case)
posted by praiseb at 6:48 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

it was a good time for goth! My faves from that list are Vital Sines and The Birthday Massacre.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 7:13 PM on November 19, 2014

Barney Bentall
posted by thegoldfish at 8:36 PM on November 19, 2014

Best answer: The Dik van Dykes.

Leslie Spit Treeo

Corky and the Juice Pigs
posted by LynnDee at 10:26 PM on November 19, 2014

Rheostatics.
posted by miles1972 at 11:13 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I'm not 100% sure which cracked the top ten, but I think I'd have heard these on CFNY or the Wedge maybe:
National Velvet - Sex Gorilla, Flesh Under Skin
Mary Margaret O'Hara - Body's in Trouble
Crash Vegas - Inside Out
Lhasa de Sela - Por Eso Me Quedo
Meryn Cadell - The Sweater
The Spoons - Romantic Traffic
Martha and the Muffins - Echo Beach
Men Without Hats - Safety Dance (ok this one definitely must have but I feel compelled to include it)
The Demics - New York City
Al & George - I Am the Least Machiavellian Person I Know
Maestro Fresh Wes - Let Your Backbone Slide (also a winner, I feel sure, sorry)
posted by cotton dress sock at 2:27 AM on November 20, 2014

Response by poster: You guys are magnificent. Cursory research on some of these indicates they qualified as hits, but this just means I get to explore more of the catalogue of that artist.

(Also, Meryn Cadell's The Sweater was one my husband hipped me to over the weekend. How good was that song?)
posted by Kitteh at 7:55 AM on November 20, 2014 [2 favorites]

Gah, sorry :/

Also - Bob Wiseman (from Blue Rodeo), e.g. - Response of a Lakota Woman to FBI Intimidation Circa 1973 Pine Ridge, We Got Time
posted by cotton dress sock at 2:23 PM on November 20, 2014

I know I am late to the party, but I am just reeling (in a good way) from the nostalgia in this thread...THANK YOU because this is basically my university music experience in one AskMe thread. In residence, everyone would have a CD of their favourite hometown band, which is where I first heard lots of these musicians. Oh, AND! Meryn Cadell is the best! I saw MC at a tiny show at UBC in the early 1990s when "The Sweater" was very popular. So exciting. And did you know, now he (MC transitioned in the early 2000s) is a prof (Creative Writing) at UBC! Also, if you would like to weep uncontrollably you should listen to "The Cat Carol."

Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes. So I actually came in to recommend The Waltons, introduced to me by my friend from Saskatchewan. Specifically, "Colder Than You." Now I'm off to relive being 19 years old again.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:27 PM on November 24, 2014

13 Engines - Smoke and Ashes
The Box - Live on T.V.
posted by rocket88 at 12:48 PM on November 27, 2014