O (Yeah) Canada!

A dozen of my favorite rock songs from our friends up north

Nancy "Canada" model by Paoletti Guitars

Greetings, Jagged Time Lapsers!

This Substack is currently teetering on the edge of 2500 subscribers, having made the slow but steady climb to that rarified altitude over the past two and a half years. I am immensely stoked about reaching this plateau, and want to thank every person that’s read Jagged Time Lapse, subscribed to it, recommended it to someone else — whether by sharing a post with a friend or by officially “recommending” JTL through your own Substack — and/or offered thoughtful comments, compliments and encouragement along the way.

I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the small but mighty percentage of you who support this Substack with a paid subscription; you keep the gas in my tank, both literally and figuratively, and I appreciate you all from the bottom of my ink-stained, garlic-infused heart. I know that most folks are feeling some serious tightness in the wallet during these uncertain times, and it’s not lost on me that there are a whole lot of other things you could be spending your hard-earned cash on right now, so I’m profoundly gratified that you view Jagged Time Lapse as something worth your support. I’d especially like to thank Tabitha Abbot for renewing her subscription this week as a Founding Member; Tabitha, who is a trans woman, also happens to be one of my oldest, dearest friends — and it means so much to me that we can still connect over music and pop culture the way we did back in 1978.

“What do I get if I become a paid subscriber?” you ask. Well, I’ll tell ya… in addition to the transcripts of (and the stories behind) various fascinating interviews I’ve done with famous musicians (like Dave Davies, Sérgio Mendes and Robbie Robertson) during my 30-plus years as a music journalist, you’ll get to read all the chapters I’ve been penning for the musical memoir-in-progress of my turbulent adolescence — like the one about why a Jimmy Buffett 45 was one of the first singles I ever bought, or the one about how the film Grease mirrored my hellish entry to junior high, or the one about how a Commodores LP soundtracked my arrival in Chicago as the seventies turned into the eighties. You’ll get full access to the Jagged Time Lapse archive, and to all the episodes of CROSSED CHANNELS, the monthly music podcast I do with my friend and colleague Tony Fletcher.

All of this (plus some additional treats I’m intending to serve up this year) can be yours for just five bucks a month — basically, the cost of one fancy-pants cuppa Joe or not-so-fancy beer at your favorite local coffee shop or watering hole — or $50 a year. Such a deal, right? And absolutely none of this “content” (ugh, I hate that term) is or will ever be AI-generated. It’s all the real deal here, baby, straight from my mind and my heart.

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That said, if you’re new here, be forewarned that I do occasionally mix my thoughts on politics with my thoughts on popular culture. Music and pop culture do not exist in a vacuum; context is often key to understanding a particular artist or record or musical movement, and current events can sometimes make one reconsider or reframe said artists and their work from a new perspective, like thinking about the immigrant roots of Van Halen.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, but a few readers have loudly objected. So if you’re not into that kinda thing, that’s fine — you are under absolutely no obligation to stick around. While I lost a few subscribers over the Curtis Mayfield-inspired piece I wrote after the most recent Presidential election, I happily gained quite a few more… but even if I hadn’t, I’d still continue to speak my mind.

Which brings us to today’s post: Of all the horrific things said and done this past week by the current resident of the White House — whether or not they were simply intended to distract from his deliberate efforts to centralize control of the federal government, including allowing a certain unelected South African fascist billionaire to illegally sabotage US government agencies — the most pathetic and embarrassing one was his attempted shakedown of Canada. Though clearly intended to telegraph toughness and dominance, it mostly just reminded me of that summer night about 40 years ago, when an uncle took my sister and I to dinner at a favorite neighborhood cafe of ours and proceeded to act in such an unnecessarily aggressive and obnoxious manner towards the restaurant staff that we were too ashamed to ever show our faces there again.

I absolutely love Canada; I’ve visited that beautiful country many times, traveling as far west as Vancouver and as far east as Montreal, and never had anything less than a wonderful time. (Hell, one of my all-time favorite vinyl digs took place in Calgary circa 2004, when I stumbled into a local record store with a few hours to kill and came out trembling under the weight of about fifty amazing — and amazingly affordable — rare 45s!) My girlfriend and I are actually hoping to spend some time in Montreal this summer; but after the recent bellicose blatherings of our Demander-in-Chief, I wouldn’t blame the border guards if they simply turned us around and sent us home.

My books (including the new one with Redd Kross) have consistently received enthusiastic support from Canadian readers and reviewers alike. I have made many Canadian friends online and in real life, a great many of whom have been quick to offer a favor or go the extra mile to help me out. Last summer, for example, when I posted this piece about Françoise Hardy’s 1969 photo session with the Montreal Expos, my Halifax journalist pal Philip Moscovitch selflessly volunteered to not only track down a hi-res copy of the French Canadian magazine article that my post was based on, but to also translate it into English. And that, right there, is the epitome of “good neighbor,” something which Canada has consistently been to the United States since at least World War I. To watch the current U.S. administration willfully shit on that longstanding friendship was both saddening and sickening.

So, in a demonstration of solidarity with my Canadian friends and readers, and in a small attempt to inject some good vibes back into the US/Canada relationship, I thought I’d take JTL head north of the border and salute a dozen of my favorite rock songs by Canadian artists. This list comes with a couple of caveats: For one thing, I’m not including anything here by Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, The Band or Steppenwolf — I love them all, but my favorite songs by those artists were all written and recorded after they moved to the United States. For another, as much as I dig Leonard Cohen and (especially) Gordon Lightfoot, I felt like sticking more to the rocking end of the spectrum for this list, since we could all use a little extra dose of musical uplift right now. Here then, in chronological order, are twelve Canadian rock jams that have made my existence infinitely better.

The Haunted — 1-2-5

This Montreal quintet was one of the first non-American bands I got into during my initial mid-eighties dive into the world of sixties garage, thanks to the inclusion of this classic 1966 track on the first Pebbles volume. They waxed plenty of killer cuts, including French-language versions of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” (recast as “Vapeur Mauve”) and The Music Machine’s “Talk Talk” (“Pourquoi”), but for me it always comes back to their stomping debut single. I mean, was there ever a more quintessentially sixties garage lyric than, “My name’s Mary Jane/I live down the lane/Awwlright!”? I think not…

The Ugly Ducklings — Gaslight

Back in the days when magazines and production companies occasionally sent me to Canada for work, one of my favorite things to do (besides seeking out the local delicacies and record shops) was to listen to the local oldies station in my rental car, because I knew that the Canadian Content requirements meant that I would hear some things that never got played on US stations. This intense and atmospheric 1967 Canadian hit from one of Toronto’s greatest garage bands was one of my favorite CanCon discoveries; I must have heard it six or seven times during my aforementioned Calgary stay — and though I couldn’t turn up a copy during my visit, I promptly snagged one off of eBay as soon as I got home.

The Guess Who — No Time

So many great Guess Who tracks to choose from, and the original, more Buffalo Springfield-y version of this song (as released on 1969’s Canned Wheat) is pretty stellar in its own right. But ultimately, the truncated, slightly faster re-recording of “No Time” is the one for me; between Randy Bachman’s super-fat and -fuzzy guitar riff, the perfectly layered vocal harmonies, and the melodic hooks that will take up residency in your skull for days, it’s just sheer rock perfection from Winnipeg’s finest. (Though I must admit that every time Burton Cummings bellows, “I found myself some WINGS,” I immediately picture him enthusiastically digging into a huge plate of chicken wings at some local roadside diner.)

Teenage Head — Picture My Face

I’d heard of Hamilton punk rockers Teenage Head for decades before ever actually hearing them — it wasn’t until the 2005 CD reissue of their 1979 debut album that I realized what I’d been missing. Still, my favorite track of their is the original 1978 seven-inch version of “Picture My Face,” which captured the band’s classic early lineup in all their lean and mean glory.

Trooper — Raise a Little Hell

Released the same year, but coming from a more arena-ready angle, was this stomping Randy Bachman-produced anthem from Vancouver’s Trooper. The band’s only single to make the US charts (where it stalled at #59), the goofily infectious “Raise a Little Hell” is regularly heard today at sports arenas all across the Great White North — which makes perfect sense, since it sounds like it was written by some guys who decided that Queen’s “We Will Rock You” could have been better if it hadn’t been so subtle.

Nick Gilder — (You Really) Rock Me

My love for the first three Nick Gilder LPs knows no bounds — suffice to say that I’m probably the only Substack author you know who has played in a Nick Gilder tribute band, and definitely the only one who has played in a Nick Gilder tribute band with Robbie Rist. (Yes, that Robbie Rist.) But while I liked his 1978 mega-smash “Hot Child in the City” well enough, “(You Really) Rock Me” — which only made it to #57 on the US charts in 1979 — was what tipped my scales into Gildermania. More heavy Queen influence going on here (News of the World must have been massive in Canada), but with more than a touch of Cheap Trick-style power pop, as well.

Rush — The Spirit of Radio

Like Thin Lizzy, UFO and ZZ Top, Rush were a band I’d never even heard of until I moved to Chicago at the tail end of 1979, whereupon WLUP duly clued me in to what I’d been missing. Permanent Waves dropped within weeks of my arrival — I wrote a love letter to the album five years ago for The Forward — and “The Spirit of Radio,” the album’s first single, was what turned me into a Rush fan.

April Wine — I Like to Rock

Nova Scotia hard rockers April Wine were likewise completely new to me until I switched on WLUP, where their ass-kicking spring 1979 hit “Roller” was still in regular rotation. The station also played “I Like to Rock” — which wasn’t as big of a US hit, but which I loved even more due to its gloriously boneheaded pre-chorus couplet of “Journey to the stars/Rock and roll guitars,” as well as the fact that I, too, like to rock. (The “Satisfaction” and “Day Tripper” riffs were an appealing touch, as well.) Dig lead singer Myles Goodwyn’s Loop t-shirt in the song’s video, clearly worn in thanks for the Chicago station’s (and its listeners’) avid support.

Martha & The Muffins — Echo Beach

At the exact time my youthful ears were sponging up everything that WLUP was serving up, the station was experimenting with adding “new wave” songs to their playlist. Synth-driven tunes like Gary Numan’s “Cars” and Alice Cooper’s “Clones” were big on the station that spring, but this artfully disaffected gem from Toronto’s Martha & The Muffins got some airplay, as well — and has remained dear to my heart ever since.

The Kings — This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ To Glide

This Bob Ezrin-produced two-song medley was probably the most popular new wave tune on WLUP in 1980; in fact, it was massive hit all across Chicagoland, eventually peaking at #9 on the countdown of pop-oriented WLS, even while stalling at #43 nationwide (and getting no higher than #59 in Canada). Nothing quite takes me back to my first few weeks of high school like the giddy charms of “This Beat Goes On”/ “Switching’ To Glide” — and though the Ontario-spawned band never had another hit, the recording’s seemingly eternal popularity has been sufficient to keep The Kings going to this day.

Sloan — Iggy & Angus

Of all the great indie pop and power pop bands that came out of Canada in the 1990s, Halifax, Nova Scotia’s Sloan were my favorite — especially around the time of their albums One Chord to Another (from 1996) and Navy Blues (from 1998). It’s hard to pick a favorite song by them, but “Iggy & Angus” (a meditation on the importance of sticking to your artistic guns like Mr. Pop and Mr. Young) never fails to give me a good headrush with its jaunty lope, phased-out power chords and Thin Lizzy-esque guitar harmonies.

Black Mountain — The Hair Song

Vancouver’s Black Mountain were one of my favorite bands back in the late oughts; I mean, all their records are pretty cool, but I was absolutely obsessed at the time with the psych/folk/space/hard rock blend they managed on 2008’s In The Future and 2010’s Wilderness Heart. “The Hair Song,” the opening track from the latter, still sends chills up my spine with its Zeppelin III-reminiscent folk-blues grind and the tart n’ tangy harmonies of Steven McBean and Amber Webber.

That’s all for this week, folks; thanks again to Canada for all the great tunes, and for everything else. (While it’s another conversation entirely, I should also mention here that no television show ever made me laugh harder or warped my mind more profoundly than the legendary Canadian sketch comedy program SCTV.) Love you guys; so sorry that our current President is such a hoser.

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