What a great ride it’s been! If you are just tuning in now, make sure you catch up via the links. The comments are every bit as good a read. We started with self proclaimed unprofound, but in actuality very profound, M.E. Girard as she tripped nostalgic on the music of her youth, and how the different generations see Canadian music. Then we tried on some 80′s headgear with Loverboy, stomped the scene with Stomping Tom Connors, and finally we were anything but sedated with the Ramones as Tobin Elliot ran us through the gamut of Canadian Music and it’s impact.
And here we are, at facilitator number three… me, Dale Long, literary thriller, comedic prat fall artist and general Jack-of-all-trades. Eloquent, Tobin? I don’t think so, but then being on the inside looking out is a whole different veiw than being on the outside, trying to see in.
What a great segue! When I read On a Cold Road, I was struck by the depth and honesty of Dave’s voice. I have stood on the outside trying to see into the smokey room that is the music industry, trying to catch a glimpse of the greatness therein. I’ll admit I had the mistaken idea that musician are all hard partying, low conscience people to whom music fell from the sky. I’m happy to say that I’ve been proven wrong more times than that misconception has been reinforced. This book is a prime example.
There are demons that come in the package with great artistic talent. We all suffer from some sort of quirk that makes us unique but also adds fuel to our craft. Musicians are no different. On a Cold Road turns on the house lights, revealing these demons but at the same time shows Dave’s sense of unflinching respect for his Canadian roots, his respect for the work of others before him. Of the blood sweat and tears they paved the road across Canada with. Of careers beaten to a bloody pulp against the barrier between Canadian music and the U.S. market.
Dave Bidini shows, from the very start, a writer’s sensibility. He sees the world through the “writers eye”. To him a car travelling along a road isn’t a 1975 green Plymouth Volare driving north on Highway 404. To him, he’s driving wrapping in the rusted out, green memories of skin blistering, vinyl family vacations, along a pockmarked highway to his future.
I couldn’t help but make the connection between Dave’s respect and recollections of the past and how the traditional Canadian music of Anne Murray and Murray McLauchlan paint a rich tapestry of Canadian history and the essence of the Canadian wildness.
So, I ask you, do today’s Canadian artists still show that respect to their heritage or are they trying to hard to emulate the two dimensional music that makes up a large majority of what is popular today?
Do you think Canadian music has had an influence on new artists like Mumford and Sons, Adele etc (all considered folk music which is the new upcoming BIG genre)?
And finally, I have to make you think and keep this writing related, do you find more traditional descriptions easier to read or do you like the unusual, more visceral descriptions (a method I employ myself thanks to James Dewar and Sue Reynolds for cramming poetry down my throat)?
I had a good laugh at your last line. I have fallen prey (and soared to new writing heights) after many a workshop with Sue and James. I sometimes write poetry just for fun now. Imagine that!
I have to comment on your question about Canadian artists respecting their heritage. I’m not a huge music person, I have to admit. But I do have my favourite Canadian artists. Sarah McLachlan tops the list, but I do love Sam Roberts, Alanis Morissette, as well as Jann Arden and Bryan Adams (though it has been a long while since either put something new out). As for groups – I like both Hedley and the Bare Naked Ladies a lot. Do I feel like any of them show their Canadian roots?
Yes! In fact each of them speaks to something in Canada in some form – whether it be in longing for the mountains or rivers, or to mock the American dream (or at least Hollywood).
There is also something else they have in common – that is the pride they have in being Canadian. In interviews they often talk about Canada as thier grounding place from the craziness that the industry (and the rest of the world) seems to stifle them with.
I really did love Bidini’s account of the rock road travelled – it made me wish I was a musician, and also so glad that I’m not!
I must say, as an outsider (being English and all) I’m surprised by how many times artists like Anne Murray and Gordon Lightfoot have been mentioned in these discussions. Maybe I missed it, but I don’t think I’ve seen Joni or Neil Young mentioned once. Yes, I know they both moved to California, but they both write about Canada in their songs, and they’ve been hugely influential (to your point Dale) on the artists that followed them. Young has influenced everything from Seattle’s grunge movement to today’s folk rockers. Joni continues to influence young female artists the world over. I think Joanna Newsom lists her as a primary influence.
There are many artists following in their steps in Canada. I’ve only been here ten years, so I may be more in the dark than others, but several years of doing the rounds at North by NorthEast has introduced me to a wide range of Canadian talent… Feist, Luke Doucet , Melissa McClellend (Luke’s wife), The Dears, Arcade Fire, The Stills, Wintersleep, Caribou, Stabilo, Black Mountain, Sam Roberts, Matthew Barber, Jill Barber (his sister), Sarah Harmer, The Be Good Tanyas, Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers, Metric, Emily Haines (of Metric), Neko Case, Zeus, etc. etc.
The music scene here is alive and vibrant. I’ll admit I was taken aback by the depth and variety of it when I moved here from London. Canadians have every right to be proud of their artists: they are world class (although I know most Canadians would be too polite to say so). I say rejoice and enjoy it.
Fair question, Dale, and a tough one to answer. Like every other artistic endeavour, I think we have the ones that are blatantly and unforgivingly Canadian, and then there’s the ones who create a more generic, broad-spectrum style of music that can be “accepted” worldwide. Not to bash on him, but Justin Bieber strikes me this way. Think of him what you will, but the music he does is not distinctly Canadian, but you can’t deny his popularity. Hell, I don’t think even Bryan Adams could ever be accused of being blatantly Canadian in his songwriting.
You could find the same with writers and artists and photographers.
I think it comes down to a couple of things: do you want to be popular in your homeland, or do you want Total Global Dominance. I think TGD is possible if you’re American and write about distinctly American things. Not to harp on him, but he’s the one I know best…Stephen King not only put horror on the map, but also Maine. Maine as the horror state of the US…who’da thunk it? And again, you can’t deny the man’s popularity.
It’s different in Canada. I think it’s slowly changing, but I still think if you want that TGD achievement, you have to downplay the Great White North. Just my opinion.
I keep forgetting about Neil Young. I think he is one artist that embodied Canada and yet had worldwide appeal. To tell the truth, I honestly didn’t know Joni Mitchell was Canadian.
I think in the sixties and early seventies, Canada had a much wider global imprint, musically, than most people realize. I think that fell off a bit, but in the nineties, we started to pick up again. I am constantly surprised to find out a band is from Canada nowadays. Pleasantly surprised. But then they didn’t have that Canadian flavour. Hedley, for example, is mainstream. Don’t get me wrong, I like Hedley and I don’t go looking for strictly Canadian music, just music that sounds good and is different. Beiber isn’t it. I find his sound too generic.
Being from the east coast and growing up with Ryan’s Fancy and the Wonderful Grand Band I was under the mistaken belief that any group sounding remotely maritime is from Canada. Imagine my surprise to find out that Mumford and Sons is an English group.
Great Big Sea rocks!
And Maine, if you’ve ever driven through it, lives up to that label
.
Poetry for fun?? Are you on drugs? It’s painful, uncomfortable and… the best key to unlocking great description.
Canadian music…
I like to say I hate it, but really, what is it? And why does an artist have to “sound” Canadian??
I don’t care to listen to music that talks about Canadian landscapes, nor do I want to hear music that speaks of American landscapes. I just want a good voice and a good beat. I like hearing great tunes on the radio and if some of them are Canadian artists, then great. I don’t need “in your face” Canadians, in the same way that I don’t need anymore songs about L.A. or songs that ask DJs to turn up the music (or any variations of that overdone plea to DJs).
I like Justin Bieber. He’s mainstream, and that’s great. I like Sean Desman, Hedley, Kristina Maria. And Josh Ramsay of Mariana’s Trench is like, my singing boyfriend. He’s got SUCH an amazing voice. These people I like because they’re awesome, and whether they were Canadian or not, I’d listen to them. They just happen to be Canadian and their sound isn’t that weird folk Canadian stuff I despise.
Did I even answer the question?
As for the type of description I like:
I like stuff that isn’t pretentious. It’s hard to explain, but I know it when I see it. If it’s flowery, sometimes it works and I love it. Other times, it’s self-indulgent and I’m already predisposed to hating it because poetry is something I don’t care for. I tend to respond to a first-person voice describing what they see using their own unique way of explaining. A third-person POV getting caught up in dry, information delivery that’s supposed to “sound pretty”, makes me puke. I like quirky, visual/visceral descriptions and first-person narrating teens in YA usually give me exactly what I want.
I feel like I’m answering these questions stupidly.
“…Their stuff isn’t that weird folk Canadian stuff I despise.”
Heh. If you’re talking the Great Big Sea fiddle music, I’m right there with you. In many ways, I’m so not Canadian. Hate hockey. Hate Neil Young. Hate Joni Mitchell. Hate Great Big Sea. Despise Celine Dion. Tolerate Bryan Adams. Tolerate Corey Hart (though I do like that “Sunglasses at Night” song).
On the other hand, love Stompin’ Tom. Love Rush. Love the Guess Who. Love Loverboy. Love Harlequin. Love Trooper. Love Streetheart. Love Klaatu.
I suppose, then, that music is a lot like writing. Blatant, over the top styles or better yet trying too hard to be something, will do the opposite of what you want to do, take your listener/reader someplace special and unique.
Can’t please all the people, but the ones you can, you want to wow.
That observation is fitting considering that Dave’s book is both about music and writing. He’s managed to blend the two mediums nicely.
M.E., for the record, I’m not a huge poetry fan either, but I recognize the technique and understand the principles. I have the greatest respect for poets.
It’s funny, Tobin, that I love the Guess Who but am not a huge fan of Rush. Or the Hip, for that matter.
Don’t diss GBS
Don’t diss the GBS.
Well, in conclusion, I really did enjoy the book. I enjoyed the writing, the structure behind it (narrative and guest blurbs), the observations, the subject matter–all that. I especially liked the fact that I could read just a couple pages at a time and pick up up where I left off without feeling lost. It didn’t make me like “Canadian” music, but it made me appreciate the work/passion of the artists behind it.
Is that a wrap then? I think we covered about all we could. I’m not overly deep and being as how the book was essentially a documentary, I don’t think there is much to read into it.
Dave Bidini’s descriptions and artistic sense were on full display. They stopped me from being bored. Made it read as a story as opposed to a detailed list of events. They also made me go back and search my music collection to find out how many Canadian musicians I have on CD, tape or album. (Yes I still have albums AND tapes).
I would definitely recommend this book to my friends, in fact I already have. I feel it appeals to more than just the “Literati”, it has something for everyone. Music fans, biography junkies, and just about anyone that grew up in the last 20 plus years. It’s a great piece of printed history for the new music fans to see where it came from and a secret look backstage.
Thank-you Noelle for inviting me and thank-you Tobin and M.E. for being fun and gracious fellow facilitators. And thank-you to the readers and commentators for making this a fun ride.
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