# 100 Best Canadian bands ever....according to CBC



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

http://music.cbc.ca/#!/blogs/2015/6/The-100-best-Canadian-bands-ever

As with all such lists, get ready for a battle and endless criticism


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

I reviewed just the top 20. I am ashamed to say I don't even know half of them and I cannot agree with number 1 either


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

I hate to say it but that list sucks. There are at least 50 more bands that should have been on that list.


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## Xelebes (Mar 9, 2015)

Some of the bands are very iffy. Braids is a good band (I have seen them live) but quite niche-y and have never seen them headline.


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

Those CBC guys and gals sure are hip to know who the hell most of those bands are. I just can't take a list like that seriously.


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I thought that list was well done. That album by Arcade Fire deserves that first spot, if you ask me. And, Father John Misty's write-up is dead on.

That album can near bring me to tears, because he _does_ manage to get his point across on so many levels. 

When the "childhood memories" thread came up, I brought up a Yeats poem - the writer for the Arcade Fire will bring you as close as you can get to an honest childhood memory. You bask in it for a moment, and then are depressed because it's fleeting and there are no words (your memories just beat around the bush and simply never get you there). Yeats nicely throws that in your face.

It's also good to know that my old guitar is now being rocked by band #14's guitarist.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

I checked out the top 20. The only ones I listen to are Oscar Peterson and The Band. For me it would be a toss up which would be number 1 between these two and they would probably share the billing.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I couldn't get the list to come up. What am I doing wrong?


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Steadfastly said:


> I couldn't get the list to come up. What am I doing wrong?


I wouldn't worry about it. Arcade Fire ahead of Tragically Hip, Rush, Blue Rodeo and The Guess Who. Sheesh


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Guitar101 said:


> I wouldn't worry about it. Arcade Fire ahead of Tragically Hip, Rush, Blue Rodeo and The Guess Who. Sheesh


True. If The Guess Who and Rush aren't one-two, then the whole list has to be out of whack.


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## limelight65 (Jun 2, 2014)

did i miss something here ?

no Triumph, Prism, Payolas, The Pumps, Streetheart , Max Webster( Kim Mitchell)?

not fans of all of them but very well known in their day.

CBC must be smokin' crack.


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## Xelebes (Mar 9, 2015)

This isn't an aggregated list of votes, but a list of favourites from recognised and not-so-recognised figures in the current music industry. It is not a ranking.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

mhammer said:


> http://music.cbc.ca/#!/blogs/2015/6/The-100-best-Canadian-bands-ever
> 
> As with all such lists, get ready for a battle and endless criticism


Not much battle or endless criticism, most seem to agree that the list, when you can get it to appear, sucks.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Guitar101 said:


> I wouldn't worry about it. Arcade Fire ahead of Tragically Hip, Rush, Blue Rodeo and The Guess Who. Sheesh


Just a week or two ago, I found out that hip-hop was the most influential music ever. And now this. I am so disconnected. Where did my parents go so wrong????


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

limelight65 said:


> did i miss something here ?
> 
> *no Triumph, Prism, Payolas, The Pumps, Streetheart , Max Webster( Kim Mitchell)?*
> 
> ...


Amen to that. Each of those bands deserves it more than about 50% of the preppy 'flash in the pan bands' that did make it. Not a fan of all of them, but they were serious acts, getting serious play at the time, and playing for serious crowds (my particular fave were The Pumps/Orphan). I would bet 20% of that list doesn't get anything bigger than a coffee house. Not that that's the be-all and end-all, but it should be considered. Pretty hard to argue against a band that's only been seen by 5000 people (because the other 29,995,000 of us haven't heard them), but even harder to argue for it, IMO.


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

limelight65 said:


> did i miss something here ?
> 
> no Triumph, Prism, Payolas, The Pumps, Streetheart , Max Webster( Kim Mitchell)?
> 
> ...


In their prime, all of those bands were huge in the large club/small arena shows. You listed two of the most dynamic bands I have ever seen - Max Webster and Streetheart with Paul Dean and Matt Frenette before they formed Loverboy.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I don't worry too much bout these things, well actually very little, if any.

I'm just posting to say the most important lists of this type are yours & any that introduce you to new (& new to you) bands you wind up liking.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

If you've ever listened to some of the garbage CBC radio puts out, it helps us realize why the list is so stupid.


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## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

High/Deaf said:


> Just a week or two ago, I found out that hip-hop was the most influential music ever. And now this. I am so disconnected. Where did my parents go so wrong????


I must of had the same parents....lol
This is truly crazy shit...
When I heard the "hip-hop" comment ( I think it came out of England) , first I shook my head then I laughed out loud.

one vote for Steppenwolf...Best band ever ..thats all the list you need.

keep on rockin

G.


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

The Suburbs album has been in heavy rotation for me since it came out and I have no problem with being placed #1 in terms of current relevance. This is songwriting at the highest level IMO

Nice to see the Weakerthans being called out in the top 20 as they are another one of my favourites.










adcandour said:


> I thought that list was well done. That album by Arcade Fire deserves that first spot, if you ask me. And, Father John Misty's write-up is dead on.
> 
> That album can near bring me to tears, because he _does_ manage to get his point across on so many levels.
> 
> ...


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Finally went through the entire list. Wasn't familiar with the material of all of them, but there were only about 8 I had never heard of...even on CBC. They tended to be cult bands (some all female) in Vancouver, Halifax, Hamilton and Oshawa.

I was pleased to see Karkwa on there. We caught them mid-afternoon on Canada Day, 2008, in Charlottetown. I had heard them often on Jim Corcoran's _Appropos_ show, so when the announcer said they were coming on, I was dumbfounded. Sadly, there were only a few dozen people in attendance for what was an incredible show. Their description as a Quebecois Radiohead is apt.

Nice to see a bunch of Quebec bands, like Les Colocs, Voivod, and Harmonium, included. These lists tend to be a little anglo-centric a lot of the time. Good for folks to know that Arcade Fire isn't the only thing coming out of Quebec.

And yes, the absence of Max Webster is rather puzzling, considering how many other bands from the same area and era, and how many bands ON the list seem to have tried desperately to *be* Max Webster.


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

I think that you actually have to listen to CBC or be a regular club goer to know who many of the acts on the list are. Both of those things are something everyone should do to keep on top of Canadian Music. Unfortunately, a man my age walking into a club usually filled with twenty-somethings might feel a little out of place and I haven't turned on a radio since FM went commercial. I do like the diversity of music that CBC plays but I just don't think of turning it on during my daily activities.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Well, my lovely wife has some, um, "nostril issues" when she sleeps, so I usually go to bed with ear buds on, and my little radio tucked under the pillow and tuned to either CBC One or Two. Laurie Brown's show on CBC 2 plays a very wide variety of contemporary music, with a good Canadian selection. Nightstream, which follows it, plays even more contemproary Canadian music, although with no announcer, you tend not to find out who the artists are. Of course, if I've fallen asleep, it doesn't really matter. And if you're in the kitchen cutting up vegetables for dinner later in the day, I recommend The Vinyl Café. Stuart McLean brings a lot of contemporary Canadian acts on the show when he's on tour, and when he's not recording live shows, he'll kick back and play an hour of Canadian acts. It's a family show, so he's not going to play D.O.A. or SNFU, but you will hear Patrick Watson, or Corb Lund, or Great Lakes Swimmers, or the Weakerthans.

I learn about a lot of artists I certainly wouldn't know about, listening to commercial radio, but that still doesn't stop my reaction to most music awards shows as generally "Who ARE these people? Never heard of them.".


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

bluzfish said:


> I think that you actually have to listen to CBC or be a regular club goer to know who many of the acts on the list are. Both of those things are something everyone should do to keep on top of Canadian Music. Unfortunately, a man my age walking into a club usually filled with twenty-somethings might feel a little out of place and I haven't turned on a radio since FM went commercial. I do like the diversity of music that CBC plays but I just don't think of turning it on during my daily activities.


I actually recognize more of the acts than I thought I would, probably a third, but was wondering where a lot of groups were. The Grapes of Wrath were on there but not Doug And The Slugs or Powder Blues. And Trooper should have been right there with Chilliwack. Bluz, we couldn't afford to walk into a club these days. I'd probably try to convince one of those 20 something young ladies to go for a ride.


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## Steve_F (Feb 15, 2008)

Sloan at #4. There IS some justice in the world!


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## J-75 (Jul 29, 2010)

Steadfastly said:


> I couldn't get the list to come up. What am I doing wrong?


It's a poorly constructed website - took me a few minutes to figure out how to navigate it. Too much clutter.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

bluzfish said:


> _*I think that you actually have to listen to CBC*_


That's my problem. Once they finish the news and start with the music my body automatically follows my finger to the power button and turns it off.

- - - Updated - - -



J-75 said:


> _*It's a poorly constructed website*_ - took me a few minutes to figure out how to navigate it. Too much clutter.


Thanks for clearing that up. That is understandable since the station has the same poor construction.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Of course there will be disagreement in this forum. I suspect the average age of those involved in making this list is younger than the average age of those on this forum. I'd imagine that here the people are generally older - more middle age and definitely more fogies like me. I still have no idea how modern DJs work with those dual turn tables and how they do their dance mixes etc. and so on.


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

Electraglide said:


> I actually recognize more of the acts than I thought I would, probably a third, but was wondering where a lot of groups were. The Grapes of Wrath were on there but not Doug And The Slugs or Powder Blues. And Trooper should have been right there with Chilliwack. Bluz, we couldn't afford to walk into a club these days. I'd probably try to convince one of those 20 something young ladies to go for a ride.


Yeah, these days the only clubs I ever go into are blues and jazz clubs. I do plan on seeing Uncle Wiggly at BOW though if I can find someone else who'd like to go (hell, I may go anyway). I'll just nurse a beer or two for the evening and avoid eye contact with the 20 something ladies in case I turn into the butt of their night's entertainment.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

bluzfish said:


> Yeah, these days the only clubs I ever go into are blues and jazz clubs. I do plan on seeing Uncle Wiggly at BOW though if I can find someone else who'd like to go (hell, I may go anyway). I'll just nurse a beer or two for the evening and avoid eye contact with the 20 something ladies in case I turn into the butt of their night's entertainment.


Not too sure if the 20 somethings would be there to see Uncle Wiggly.....possibly some big old pussycats and nursing a beer or two will probably scare them off. If that don't work, go see if the band remembers your work from the day. Then you could post a sound bite or two here.


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## avalancheMM (Jan 21, 2009)

I am waaaayyyy out of touch, I only recognized a handful of these bands. But, I would rather listen to a choir of smoke detectors and mating cats than listen to the CBC. Are these bands known in your neck of the woods? I sure don't know them out here in ******* no culture and soon to be no money or jobs NDP Alberta!

Regards


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

avalancheMM said:


> I am waaaayyyy out of touch, I only recognized a handful of these bands. But, I would rather listen to a choir of smoke detectors and mating cats than listen to the CBC. Are these bands known in your neck of the woods? I sure don't know them out here in ******* no culture and soon to be no money or jobs NDP Alberta!
> 
> Regards


Yeah, some of them.....even Harmonium. And things are starting to pick up a bit. Not the NDP's fault tho. It started to go downhill when the keys to the vault were handed over to whats her face....the one who flew her kid around and then disappeared. ******* no culture? Lethbridge isn't that bad is it.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Arcade Fire at number 1?

Who compiled this, Rolling Stone?


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## isoneedacoffee (Oct 31, 2014)

Milkman said:


> Arcade Fire at number 1?
> 
> Who compiled this, Rolling Stone?


I love the CBC. But sometimes it seems like they try to hard to be hip.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I think in some cases - particularly with the cult bands - they were nominated because the nominator had seen them live, or knew someone in the band.

Much like the Order of Canada awards, it's not so much who is ranked where and who was omitted from the list that should matter. Rather, you have to look at the entire list to realize that:
a) there is a lot of great music and bands in Canada
b) there have been great bands in Canada for decades
c) there is a lot of very _different_ music in Canada - it's not all just Gordon LIghtfoot and Blue Rodeo
d) there aren't many regions that _don't_ have great bands

As an illustration of that, I think it's a pretty good list. Probably would have been less irritating if it had been presented alphabetically, rather than by rank. But then the die-hard Rush and Sloan fans would have felt a little cheated.


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## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

mhammer said:


> I think in some cases - particularly with the cult bands - they were nominated because the nominator had seen them live, or knew someone in the band. Much like the Order of Canada awards, it's not so much who is ranked where and who was omitted from the list that should matter. Rather, you have to look at the entire list to realize that: a) there is a lot of great music and bands in Canada b) there have been great bands in Canada for decades c) there is a lot of very different music in Canada - it's not all just Gordon LIghtfoot and Blue Rodeo d) there aren't many regions that don't have great bands As an illustration of that, I think it's a pretty good list. Probably would have been less irritating if it had been presented alphabetically, rather than by rank. But then the die-hard Rush and Sloan fans would have felt a little cheated.


Well said. ?


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

Speaking of the Order of Canada, one of my local singer/songwriter/guitar god heroes has been added to that prestigious list!

http://news.everythingsaltspring.ca...ill-henderson-selected-for-prestigious-award/


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## avalancheMM (Jan 21, 2009)

Bill is a heck of a good guy, had the pleasure of opening a show for them once about 15 years ago, and then again a few years ago, - great all around musician for sure! The last time we were with them (Chilliwack, I mean), he used two Fender Champs in monitor position, wicked good tone, can't remember what he had for pedals, tho. Congratulations, Bill!

Regards


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

bluzfish said:


> Speaking of the Order of Canada, one of my local singer/songwriter/guitar god heroes has been added to that prestigious list!
> 
> http://news.everythingsaltspring.ca...ill-henderson-selected-for-prestigious-award/


It's about time Bill got some recognition.


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