Seriously?

Like most people, I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the bands that were involved with the closing ceremonies to the Winter Games Sunday night. Inward Eye, Simple Plan, Hedley, Nickelback and Avril Lavigne to close out the biggest international sporting event held in Canada in over 22 years? Horrible.

It’s not a matter of personal taste, either. While yes, I’m not a fan of any of the bands/performers listed (and in one case, had never even heard of Inward Eye) the decision to include these folks was mind boggling.

Canada has been getting talked up as this incredible musical meccha and has been churning out a ton of remarkable artists over the years. Rolling Stone and Spin magazine both did features on Canadian music back when the Arcade Fire first blew up internationally. There’s a ton of great artists out there and yet we’re stuck with Avril Lavigne singing ‘Girlfriend’?

That’s the biggest problem I have with the performers. Sure, if those performers have a song that could fit in thematically with the Olympics, by all means, go hog wild. But what in the hell does ‘Girlfriend’ have to do with the Olympics? What does Nickelback’s ‘Burn It To The Ground’, a song that serves as the opening theme for WWE’s Monday Night Raw show, have to do with the Olympics? Hell, what does Nickelback, the most ‘American’ Canadian band in the world (read: creatively, intellectually bankrupt, self-described as being ‘the McDonald’s of music’) have to do with Canada?

Nothing, that’s what. It was a stupid attempt at pushing merchandise. Given the amount of crap hockey goalies were given for including corporate logos on their masks, I’m amazed that such a brazen sales attempt made it past the IOC. I was expecting Sugar Jones to take the stage at any moment, then I realized that Sugar Jones were a product of a Global television show, so no, they wouldn’t have appeared. But it didn’t stop Eva Avila from appearing (gotta plug CTV’s Canadian Idol, after all!)

As for Simple Plan and Hedley? They’re jokes, artistically and financially. It doesn’t hurt that both of them are complete shills for CTV, who also own MuchMusic and MTV. Hedley, of course, features Jacob Hoggard, another Canadian Idol alumni, so it was almost a given that they would appear in some capacity seeing as how they also hail from British Columbia.

Simple Plan, well, they’ve been cozy with CTV for ages. Recall how they had that godawful ‘reworking’ of the classic Hockey Night In Canada theme? Or how there are contests involving Simple Plan and CTV?

The running joke with those two was that if you had an event, be it a liquor store opening, a bar mitzvah, the MMVAs or something else, either one of them will be there with bells on, because they literally have nothing else to do. So, congratulations on your years of servitude, guys. Your song selections (’Love Is A Lie’, ‘Cha Ching’) really embodied the Olympic spirit, as well as serving as something that totally embodies Canada.

That said, I have to say that including Alanis Morissette and Neil Young were good calls. I’m not a huge fan of Alanis, but she definitely belongs in the list of top Canadian performers in the past two decades or so. Neil Young was a perfect (ableit surprising) inclusion, as the guy is a living legend. He represents Canadian music of the past and his song ‘Long May You Run’ actually worked incredibly well thematically for both the Olympics and the closing ceremonies.

The fact that there were so many great performers overlooked really grates on my nerves. I can’t imagine that in a country that boasts so many great musical artists and performers that none of them couldn’t have made themselves available for the closing ceremonies. Who?

Well, the obvious choice for me would’ve been the Tragically Hip. Can you name a more blatantly Canadian group out there? (The Barenaked Ladies, maybe.) ‘The Lonely End Of The Rink’ would’ve been a great way to cap off the women’s and men’s gold medal wins.

What about Metric? ‘Gimme Sympathy’ could’ve been a barnburner.

Arcade Fire? They were ‘only’ just featured in that Spike Jonze flick and are one of the bigger Canadian bands out there.

The New Pornographers? They’re BC based and just wrapped up a new album, so they could’ve been available.

Sloan? One of the bigger groups of the 90s who are still going strong. ‘If It Feels Good Do It’ could’ve been another good Olympic anthem.

Tom Cochrane? If you have Bryan Adams, there’s no reason to overlook Tom Cochrane.

Rush? They have the credentials and blow Simple Plan out of the water in terms of talent, staying power and the like.

City and Colour? I hate them, but they’d be another superior choice, as I can appreciate what they do.

K’Naan? Bedouin Soundclash? The Stills? The Trews? Arkells? Malajube? Joel Plaskett? Sam Roberts? Your favorite band that I completely forgot about?

So many great artists and this is what we got. A Superbowl halftime show, Canada style: safe and saccharine with a giant inflatable beaver. If Vancouver was attempting to create a closing ceremonies that served as an exclamation mark, an ‘THIS IS CANADA’ statement to end the Winter Games, they failed miserably by making such a horribly Americanized closing segment. Worse, the closing ceremonies came off as looking way, way too old. Canadians were hoping for Conan O’Brien: hip, cool, something to be proud of. Instead, we got Jay Leno: old, contrived, boring.

Yeah, I’m probably losing my mind here over what is essentially an inconsequential television program. But Canadian music is something I’m passionate about. I think Canada has a ton of great artists and performers, Vancouver being one of those great hotbeds for Canadian music. There are government programs, like FACTOR, that have been able to help out artists who haven’t established themselves and there have been so many great stories in the past couple of years that it frustrates me so much to see the route CTV took.

The music industry is rapidly moving in a new direction, iTunes have seen to that. It’s moving past the force-fed, you must listen to this as you have no choice that the industry has largely consisted of for the past 60+ years. Despite what music guru Alan Cross says, we don’t need Nickelback. Or Avril. Or Simple Plan. Or anyone else for that matter. The industry is largely one that is niche-filled and fragmented, almost multicultural, distinctively Canadian. It’s moving away from the large melting pot of American music.

The closing ceremonies could’ve been a great way to show that Canadian music is progressive, that Canadian music is a part of the future, not a relic of the past. They blew it.

2009 had some fun stuff, some disappointing releases and a couple of outright horrible ones. So, here’s a look at some of my faves, plus a couple of forgettable purchases. I’m going to do this in a bite-sized format, simply because a couple of people had been bugging me about what I liked, so here you go.

Metric – Fantasies
I’ve gushed about Emily Haines and the rest of Metric before so I’ll try and spare you a repeat. Let me just say that this is a great album that continues to find me regularly hopping to it whenever I’ve got iTunes open.

Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
There’s an ad down in Spadina station here in Toronto that had this album advertised for ages. I think the last time I saw it was like back in June or so, which is amusing, since the album came out in March. I like to think that it’s because the ad people really like Neko Case and are simply doing their part to promote how amazing she is. I prefer her previous effort, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, over this, but it is still a fantastic listen.

Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster
Man, 2009 really belonged to the females. Yeah, I’m gaga for Gaga. Great performer, great voice, awesome videos. I doubt I’ll ever reach some sort of introspective zen-high listening to her music, but goddamn if this isn’t totally fun music to listen to.

Dangermouse & Sparklehorse – Dark Night of the Soul
I love Sparklehorse. I think Danger Mouse is pretty swell. Them coming together to do an album with the likes of Iggy Pop, the Flaming Lips, Julian Cascablancas and Frank Black is magic. Not technically an official released, as DM’s record label blocked the release, but it’s out there if you know the right places to look.

Silversun Pickups – Swoon
Got into these guys when ‘Lazy Eye’ was all the rage and this, their second album, is better than their first. Another one of those albums I kept hopping over to listen to on iTunes, who knew that there were people out there who knew how to make rock albums still?

Them Crooked Vultures – s/t
Speaking of rock albums…Josh Homme, John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl making a record together? If you need to have this one explained to you, well, there’s not much hope for you, is there?

Tom Waits – Glitter and Doom Live Album
Tom Waits’ live performances are legendary. I’ve never had the privilege of catching him live, so this disc is damn near close to an essential for me. This 2 disc set features a second album of Tom Waits bullshitting around on stage and if you haven’t heard Waits telling you some ‘Tom Tales’, you really owe it to yourself to pick this album up.

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
There’s always one album that stands out as a ’summer’ album for me: something you listen to nonstop when the sun is out and the weather is warm, then put away as soon as fall comes along. This is that album for 2009. Fun in musical form.

‘Meh’ Albums

Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown
Green Day team up with Butch Vig, with mixed results. American Idiot was a great album, this one, not so much. Too much piano and autotuner, of all things. Conclusion: Butch Vig should not be allowed to produce anymore albums. I also wrote a rather lengthy review, if you want to check that out.

Matthew Good – Vancouver
While this album isn’t going to slot anywhere near to Good’s worst material (in the sense that there’s no ‘Song For The Girl’ on it, for example), it simply didn’t grab me at all. Most people who know me would find this surprising, given how big of a Good fan I’ve been. Dunno what to say to that. Maybe I’m outgrowing him?

Muse – The Resistance
Much was made about Muse employing an orchestra and creating a symphonic movement and…it just all sort of fell flat for me, which is disappointing. Not as fun of an album as Black Holes and Revelations.

Worst

Weezer – Raditude
I am officially no longer part of Weezer’s target demographic. I mean, christ, here is a song called ‘In The Mall.’ How old is Rivers Cuomo again? Why is he writing songs about hanging out in a mall? Bonus: guest appearance by Lil Wayne that does absolutely nothing to improve the record.

Eminem – Relapse
This was supposed to be a great album. A disc exploring the emotional fallout of Eminem’s drug addiction and the death of his friend, Proof.  Instead we get Sarah Palin jokes and an annoying as hell accent.

U2 – No Line On The Horizon
What a boring album. Not really surprising, I guess, as U2 has been phoning it in for years now. Proof that everything Rick Rubin touches doesn’t turn into gold.

And that’s 2009. Rather sparse list this year, but living on a shoestring budget’ll do that! Feel free to share your own favorites down in the comments section.

I’m not sure what the point of releasing the long list is, beyond perhaps simple promotion, but it’s nice to see what albums are given serious consideration before announcing the short list. For a music nerd like me, it’s handy to be able to have a cheat sheet of Canadian music I might’ve been oblivious about, as I’m always getting stuck trying to find new music to listen to.

Since I’ve been snubbed as a juror for the Polaris Prize, I thought I’d give my own shortlist and plug some of the music I’ve been listening to as of late as well. Also, because doing ‘list’ posts are really easy to do and I am anything if lazy. Anyway, onto my shortlist!

Metric – Fantasies

I’d like to know what Faustian deal Emily Haines and company have made that lets them continue to keep cranking out absolutely solid records. This is Metric’s third release and they haven’t really missed a beat or slowed down at all. Quite amazing, really. Haines’ voice is part of the problem, really, as she’s capable of becoming incredibly intimate, drawing you in and making it seem like you’re the only one in the world she’s addressing. Her voice is capable of provoking a range of emotions, be it wistfulness, sincerity, desire, excitement, the whole gamut. I realize that I’m veering off into sounding like a reject from Pitchfork here, but her voice is just so flexible and I adore it.  She could read the phone book and I’d sit there stupidly, loving every minute. But that’s only part of it! The rest of the band are capable of providing insanely catchy hooks and just fit together seamlessly. It really is scary how well this band gels. As great as I think Fantasies is from top to bottom, I think that Metric will be shortlisted but will end up getting the Arcade Fire treatment: too big for Polaris’ britches.

Malajube – Labyrinthes

You’ve probably heard the music of Malajube before if you’ve watched any television in the past year or so, as one of Malajube’s songs was featured in a Rogers Wireless commercial. Whatever, Malajube are a great franco-indie band and continue the tradition of artists whom I enjoy who also sing in a language that I don’t understand (yeah, sadly, despite being Canadian I’m only fluent in one of our two official languages, for shame.) They write great poppy stuff that I can just listen to and have fun with, even though I don’t understand a word of what they’re saying. Reminds me of my days when I was interested solely in metal and punk rock. HAR HAR. There’s no real buzz on Malajube AND they’re Francophone, which could either help or hinder their chances with the award…honestly, the Polaris has only been around for such a short time it is hard to say. That said, I think that there’s more than a good chance that Malajube will get shortlisted and I would love it if this great band would get some greater recognition as a result.

Chad VanGaalen – Soft Airplane

I first got to see Chad VanGaalen when he opened for Matthew Good at a show in Calgary. I believe it was around 2004, which would’ve been about five years ago. Anyway, I was blown away by him, as he was a one man act, but he was able to capture the attention of most everyone in attendance and earned a huge ovation at the end of his set…something you don’t see very often with opening acts. It may have been that he was a local boy and there was a bit of civic pride at play, but I think it’s because VanGaalen is fucking awesome. If you like minimalist indie rock, you ought to check out Soft Airplane.

Joel Plaskett – 3

I was only casually interested in Joel Plaskett until I picked up Ashtray Rock back in 2007 and then I became hooked. Plaskett’s triple album is something that I’m just starting to get into, but I’m finding it quite enjoyable thus far. Perhaps I’ll write up a longer post once I’ve gotten a better feel for it. At any rate, Plaskett was shortlisted in 2007, losing out to Patrick Watson, so look for Plaskett to get the nod again, either setting him up to win the Polaris or to become the Polaris equivalent of ‘always a bridesmaid, never a bride.’

K’Naan – Troubadour

This is the only album on the list I haven’t really had a chance to sit down and listen to, but out of all the nominees listed thus far, I think K’Naan stands the greatest chance of taking home the prize. Why would I say such a thing before I get a chance to sit down and listen to his album (and believe me, that will be forthcoming very soon)? One, because the Polaris Award is seemingly about celebrating Canadian music, regardless of genre. Are we really going to see yet another Canadian indie rock group win the Polaris? And c’mon, k-os is fucking boring, if the award is going to go to a hiphop album, K’Naan is a great choice.

Anyway, my second reason for K’Naan getting the nod is because, while I haven’t listened to the entire album, I’ve been playing the hell out of ABC’s while I’ve been out and about. I love listening to up tempo music when I’m commuting, as I use my bike as my primary means of transportation and ABC’s is off the wall. If the rest of the album is half as good as this single, my God.

The third reason that I think K’Naan stands a good chance of getting the Polaris is because of his background. Canadian music is more about music that is made in Canada: we’re a multicultural nation and it should be reflected in that. K’Naan was born and grew up in Somalia and his aunt (thank you, Wikipedia) was a rather well known Somali singer. That sort of background is part of what makes Canadian music great: it’s part of what you’re bringing to the table. You aren’t ascribing to preconceived notions of what music ought to be like. If there isn’t any room for you at the ‘table’, well, dammit, we’ll make room for you.

So yeah, those are my 5 choices of potential albums that are going to get shortlisted for the Polaris. The full list of 10 will be announced July 7th, and I’ll try to have more to say about K’Naan before then!