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Showing posts with label 1990. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1990. Show all posts
June 12, 1990: "No, Mr. Speaker"-- Manitoba MLA Elijah Harper draws the Meech Lake Accord to a halt.
And so as it begins, it ends. Three songs, all Canadian, all from the year 1990, to complete our list of fifteen. So now that you've seen them all, what's the verdict? I would have to say 1990 was a pretty good year for homegrown music, launching the mainstream careers of two very big names (Celine Dion, the Tragically Hip) and giving us enduring classics, from the Dream Warriors' "My Definition" to Maestro Fresh Wes' "Let Your Backbone Slide," to this next song.
Spirit of the West- "Home for a Rest" (from Save This House)A lot of Canadians have Celtic roots, and this song taps into that with its musical style. But the real beauty of it is its actually an extended complaint about being in "the old country," and wishing to be back in Canada. A St. Patrick's Day classic.
MCJ and Cool G- "So Listen" (from So Listen)
From Nova Scotia, this duo traded in what they called "Double R&B," and this album garnered them Juno nods for Best R&B Soul Recording and Best Rap Recording. The chorus actually kind of sounds like the Backstreet Boys in their early days, the rap is locked firmly in the transition between Run-DMC and Rakim, and the beat is clearly influenced by Afrikaa Bambaataa. Fresh.
Jane Child- "Don't Want to Fall in Love" (from Jane Child)
So that's it, my list of fifteen Canadian songs from 1990 is complete. What did you think? Did you discover anything new? Did I miss something important? Let me know in the comments or using the contact info in the "about me" section to the right.
May 12, 1990: The Bloc Quebecois is formed
So in case this is your first day here, all this week I'm embarking on a quest. A mild quest, mind you, but a quest nonetheless. And that quest is to post three Canadian songs a day from the year 1990. Part one is here, part two is here, part three is here, and this is part four. Read on!
The Northern Pikes- "She Ain't Pretty" from Snow in June.
I didn't even know this song was Canadian before doing this project, so now it's fun AND educational. After Colin James' "I Just Came Back to Say Goodbye," on Tuesday, I think it's safe to say 1990 was the year of using extended sentences to create an idea in the listener's mind, pause, and then completely flip those ideas around. "I just came back--" (YAY!) "...to say goodbye" (sadness). This song does much the same in the chorus. "Oh, hey, this song is about someone who isn't pretty-- wait, what? She just looks that way? But that means she.... oh, geez, he's talking about INTERNAL prettiness." Not only does this song challenge us to address our preconceived, skin-deep notions about beauty, it anticipated the 90s elementary school trend of using "NOT!" at the end of sentences to completely reverse the meaning of everything you just said. Well done, Northern Pikes. Well done.
The Dream Warriors- "My Definition (of a Boombastic Jazz Style)" from And Now, the Legacy Begins
I feel kind of bad including this song, because it's pretty much all anyone knows the Warriors for anymore, despite the high quality of their other work (see "Ludi" or "Wash Your Face in My Sink" from the same album, just for a start). Yet at the same time it's just so undeniable-- the riff, recycled from the Definition game show and later incorporated into Canadian comedian Mike Myers' Austin Powers vehicle is undeniably part of the Canadian landscape (even if it is by Quincy Jones). And you have to love Capital Q's vocals at the 2:38 mark. (Fun fact: L.A. Luv from Tuesday's 1990 post (part one) was the Warrior's DJ and would officially join the group in 1993.
The Jeff Healey Band- "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," from Hell to Pay
You hear that guitar? You feel the emotion? This is what a proper cover sounds like.
Last post in this series comes tomorrow, so if you're wanting to get a word in, now's the time.
1990: Year of the Oka CrisisHere's the drill: five days, fifteen Canadian songs from 1990. Part one, part two, here's part three.
Type rest of the post here
Blue Rodeo- "Til I Am Myself Again" (from Casino)
Blue Rodeo went 4x platinum with their debut, 3x platinum with Diamond Mine, and "only" 2x platinum with 1990's Casino. One of their weaker albums, yes, but for a group of this calibre it doesn't mean much. This track is rightfully a greatest hit.
Kon Kan- "Puss n Boots" (from Move to Move)
Kon Kan was a snythpop duo back before there was anything ironic/hipster about it. Oh, and they were doing crazy mainstream mashups (Led Zeppelin, Nancy Sinatra) years before Girl Talk. One is now a semi-pro golfer, the other is in Thunderpuss. The name, by the way, is a take-off on "Canadian content," which is what insired the name of this blog. Keen!Celine Dion- Where Does My Heart Beat Now? (from Unison)
A young francophone singer learns English, enlists soft rock/adult contemporary producers, and repeats dozens of times over the next nineteen years. It started here, folks!
March 6, 1990: The National Gallery of Canada acquires Barnett Newman's Voice of Fire for $1.8 million causing a storm of controversy
All this week, I'm posting three songs a day that help define the year that was 1990, ending up with a final list of fifteen. I suppose a disclaimer should be put in place-- in 1990, I was only five, so I'm doing this based on retroactive research rather than any first-hand knowledge. So if you have any additions/revisions, feel free to give me a holler-- comment or use my contactify. Now, on to Part Two. (Part One is here)
Colin James- "Just Came Back" (from Sudden Stop)
Before the swing of 1993's Little Big Band and fresh off the success of his self-titled debut, James released Sudden Stop, a blues rock album that would spawn five singles, the most successful of which is this snarky send-off.
Maestro Fresh Wes- Let Your Backbone Slide (single)
"This is a throw-down, a show-down, hell no I can't slow down." The first Canadian rap single to go top 40, the number one selling Canadian rap single (as of 2008), and the sound of rap commercials on MuchMusic while I was growing up. A classic.
Voivod- "Nothingface" (from Nothingface)
June 1990: Jean Chretien becomes leader of the Official OppositionFrom today until Saturday, I'm posting three songs a day that have two things in common: they're Canadian, and they're from the year 1990. Other than that, anything goes, as can be seen from today's songs, which you can read about (and hear) below. More info in the previous post, which you can access here.
The Tragically Hip' "Blow at High Dough" (from Up to Here)
OK, so technically the album came out in 1989, but I'm putting this on here because 1990 is the year the Hip won the Juno for "Most Promising Group." If only the Juno's could be this right more often.
Michie Mee & L.A. Luv- "Jamaican Funk, Canadian Style" (single)
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In looking at the list I've come up with, in many ways 1990 was the last year of the 80s, perhaps moreso than it was the first year of 90s. This is exemplified by the hip-hop of the time, which garnered enough prominence in 1990 to have the Junos add it as a category the next year. Nominated was Jamaican-Canadian pioneer Michie Mee, with collaborator L.A. Luv, for "Jamaican Funk, Canadian-Style."
Alias- "More Than Words Can Say" (from Alias)
And if 1990 was the last year of the 1980s, how could any list leave off the hair-rock international chart-topper "More Than Words Can Say," from Toronto quartet Alias? A super-group for the 80s, it consisted of members of the forgotten Canadian group Sheriff and three guys from Heart (yes, that Heart). This one has it all-- emotive vocals, tinny production, and a guitar solo that doesn't stray below the twelfth fret.
That's it for today-- I'll be posting three more tomorrow, so until then let me know what you think.
I realize I've already posted one CBC Radio 3 supplement on here, but this one goes beyond that. On their R3-30 Podcast this week, they did a "Salute to the 1990," playing the Rheostatics and Eric's Trip. But that's not enough. And that's where I come in.
One of the limitations of Radio 3 trying to do throwback shows is that their library is limited to the tracks that artists have chosen to make available on their site. And while that's often enough for contemporary acts, anyone whose career highlighted pre-2000 doesn't have much reason to get on there. So when you do a show like that, you're pretty much limited to, well, the Rheostatics and Eric's Trip. Hardly indicative of the state of Canadian music in 1990.
So I did a little research (ie. Wikipedia and allmusic.com) and came up with my own list of Canadian songs from 1990. There is no method to my madness-- some of these are award winners, some were chart toppers, and some were underground burns. Some artists are familiar and some I never heard of before doing this. But all songs came from the year that was 1990. So from today through Saturday, I will post three songs a day, resulting in a playlist that will be known as 15 Songs: 1990.
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