Music Monday: Canada Day Edition

By Leon Stevens on July 1, 2024

There is a radio show on CBC here in Canada that occasionally does a feature called SYNTH: Songs You Need To Hear.

Now, I can't say to someone, "You'll like this song" (or book for that matter) because I can't presume that others will share my taste in music (or books), so it is safer to say, "You might like this" and if they don't like it, so be it.

Maybe you will find a new favorite.

CBC MUSIC, Central · Mornings with CBC Music

What do you get when you Google greatest Canadian bands? Well you get this Rolling Stone headline:

Sorry, Nickelback. Here Are the 50 Greatest Canadian Artists of All Time

Every country has their fair share of great musical artists, yet many don't reach beyond their borders for one reason or another, so I try to feature some less than well-known bands. And since today is Canada Day, I thought I'd share some Canadian music that I have not featured on my blog before.

From 1967: We lost Gordon a year ago. I grew up hearing his songs either on the radio, record, of coming from my father singing his favorites. I think of my dad* whenever I heard one of Lightfoot's songs.

From 1969: You couldn't grow up in the 60s and 70s in Canada and not know The Guess Who.

From 1974: Joni Mitchell. That is all.

From 1977: Rush. The Nickleback of the 70s and 80s. People either loved of hated them.

From 1980: If any tune brings me back to my high school days, this is it.

From 2014: Apparently, in 1998, The New Pornographers were only going to record one album.

Carly Rae Jepsen hit the music scene with her 2012 hit, Call Me Maybe, but here is her latest offering.

From 2016: I saw sisters Tegan and Sara at a folk music festival when they were just starting out. Two girls and two guitars. You might have heard another of their songs, Everything is Awesome, from The LEGO Movie.

From 2020: I was in Chicago in 2015 and saw a marquee sign on an old theater and a huge lineup stretching down the street. I said, "Who is The Weeknd? And someone should tell them they spelled the name wrong."

-Leon

^{*No worries, he's still alive...}

Want to read more music blogs? Here are some of the ones I follow: Mostly Music Covers, Take it Easy, Beetley Pete, A Sound Day, PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture, SuperdekesVinylReviews, Peat Long's Blog, Fox Reviews Rock

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/