It seems to me that for every Celine, Shania and Alannis that my country has produced, there are so many other bands and musicians that are perhaps more deserving of international acclaim. So I would like to nominate the following Canadian bands for worldwide recognition:
Big Sugar
Blue Rodeo
54-40
The Tragically Hip (sidenote here: the surest way to get beaten to a pulp in any bar in Canada is to loudly proclaim “the Hip SUCK!”).
So - how about you? Any bands in your country that have been sadly overlooked?
This is like the “over-rated under-rated band” thread with a Canadian flair so I’ll add Wide Mouth Mason, Colin James, and The Jeff Healy Band. Too many people are missing some great Canadian homegrown here…
We also hold you responsible for Bryan Adams, Loverboy and Anne Murray.
On the other hand, Canada did contribute four-fifths of The Band. And the Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet did write one of the coolest television theme songs ever.
As far as Canadian bands go, Sloan and Treble Charger deserve mention.
Geography aside, I think it’s pretty surprising that Archers Of Loaf never really got more than a cult following. One of the most consistently amazing bands of the last decade.
Radar Bros., Giant Sand, Guided By Voices, Ass Ponys, and Mother Hips are bands which deserve more recognition as well.
I think The Super Friendz, Eric’s Trip, The Vees, JALE, The Flashing Lights, Thrush Hermit and Suckerpunch are/were also underrated Canadian bands. Not to mention Crash Vegas, The Gandharvas, Thirteen Engines, The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Al Tuck and No Action, Skinny Puppy and The Pursuit of Happiness. As well as all the other ones people mentioned in this thread already like Blue Rodeo, 54-40 and the Hip.
Is it me, or is “Canadian” an unfortunate synonym for “underrated”?
Duke, I don’t think it’s so much that Canadian bands are underrated as it is that, unless they break internationally, their fame tends to stop at the border. Witness the aforementioned Tragically Hip. Within Canada, you would think that they were one of the world’s biggest bands. Here in the US, they play smaller venues.
It’s a bit frustrating at times to think of all the artists from other countries that I’ll miss out on hearing simply because they don’t appear at all on the radar. For Canadian bands, that might change somewhat with the prevalence of satellite TV. Now a lot of people here are getting MuchMusic, which, as I recall from my time in Canada, is vastly superior to MTV and VH-1 in the range and amount of music it plays. Not only mainstream stuff which was accessible most anywhere, but also less well-known bands. One of the things I remember fondly from MuchMusic was a regular show dedicated exclusivly to Canadian french-speaking artists. Now if only the video stations from other countries became internationally accessible as well…
I’d go with the band Finger Eleven. They’re kinda famous, kinda not.
Both of their albums kick.
Heard them play live the other night, they opened up for Creed, and they are really really good.
Not that this really seems to bother them. The Hip are millionaires anyway, and how many people have to love you before you’re not really worried about breaking into more markets anymore?
I’ve mentioned these bands, countless numbers of times before:
VENT and Linkin Park.
Linkin Park is sorta famous. They have radio play now which is cool, and have made a vid for MTV. I’ve been on their street team since last April, and I really want them to gain exposure, but then I still want them to be MY band. Do I sound selfish?
VENT has family ties to Incubus. Incubus’ lead singer is the older brother of the lead singer in VENT, and the lead guitarist for Incubus is the older brother of the lead guitarist for VENT. Both the lead guitarist and the bassist for VENT are half-brothers, or step brothers. Kinda cool.
Alright…keepin the theme of underated canadian bands:
Skinny Puppy
Front Line Assembly/Delerium
Tea Party
VnV Nation( they lived in toronto for a while…so they’re sorta canadian)
Numb
Aren’t shadowy men from a shadowy planet canadian?
If so, I nominate them. They wrote the best theme song for any TV show. Having an average weekend- KITH (r.i.p)
HalberMensch242- Im pretty sure that both skinny puppy and frontline assembly have recieve QUITE a bit of international acclaim.
Stop laughing! He’s seriously a good artist (though severely whacked). Heck out his Graciasland album sometime, especially for the track Aztlan (a take off on Paul Simon). Good stuff. Unfortunately, he’s touring Europe until 2001.
