THE NORTH STARS
A LEX LIFESON. NEIL YOUNG. FRANK MARINO. JEFF HEALEY. CANADA HAS never had a shortage of guitar heroes. But for every six-stringer who braved the winter cold in their youth before going on to international fame and fortune, there are tons more who have settled for being beloved heroes at home. The average American might not know who Paul Langlois and Robbie Baker are, but every Canadian can sing the intro riffs to Tragically Hip classics like “Little Bones” or “New Orleans Is Sinking.” Over the past decade, Canada’s musical reputation has only grown — the world’s biggest pop star (Justin Bieber) and rapper (Drake) were both born and raised in the province of Ontario, as was the Weeknd.
“ONE OF THE THINGS I’VE NOTICED WITH CANADIAN ARTISTS IN DIFFERENT MEDIA IS THERE’S A LOT OF INDIVIDUALITY — EVERYONE FROM NEIL YOUNG TO JONI MITCHELL TO WHOEVER. PARTLY BECAUSE THERE’S A CERTAIN FEELING OF ISOLATION IN WINTER. I DON’T KNOW” — DAVID WILCOX
But when it comes to rock, Canada has flown largely underground in recent years. During the early 2000s, an influx of guitar-based bands made the pilgrimage south to dominate American airwaves. Sum 41 and Avril Lavigne were the darlings of the mall punks. Nickelback and Theory of a Dead-man were beloved by aggro dudes and Metallica tribute aficionados.
And then, the heavy guitars from north of the 49th parallel went quiet. Sure, Canadian indie acts like Arcade Fire were big among the cool kids with interesting haircuts, and they So what happened? Did the entire country forego Gibson Les Pauls and Marshall stacks to join accordion-heavy art collectives? Have we decided to change our National Anthem from “O, Canada” to “Hotline Bling”?
