Canadian Cover Content #13: Happy Canada Day!

It's Canada Day today, which means it's also free agent frenzy in the NHL, like a double national holiday. Like every year it seems, there's lots of high drama surrounding my hometown Oilers trying, and often failing in a spectacular manner, to lure the big fish to town. I'm a big fan of our goaltending switch (from Roli to the Bulin Wall), but that's enough hockey talk for now. I've got my all-CanConCover playlist going and I'll share some tunes with you in honour of our country's birthday.

Damhnait Doyle - Everlong [originally by Foo Fighters]
The most overlooked and underrated cover album of 2008 has to go to Damhnait Doyle's Lights Down Low, which was produced by Danny Michel. You'd think with Danny's involvement I'd be all over this, but for some reason I neglected to check it out until earlier this year when I stumbled on it at Amie Street. Maybe it was the track list that didn't blow me away which includes a few that have already been over-covered like I Want You to Want Me or Love Will Tear Us Apart (again and again). But I was wrong, Doyle's versions they're worth listening to regardless. Danny's fingerprints are all over the album from his distinct guitar sounds, back-up vocals, and even the song selection. Covers of Train in Vain and a duet with Damhnait on Bob Marley's Is This Love? shouldn't surprise anyone who knows Danny digs The Clash and reggae in general as evidenced during his DJ stint on CBC's Under the Covers. Here's a gem (among many) from the album, an atmospheric cover of the Foo Fighters' great Everlong. For all their stature here in Canada, The Tragically Hip don't get a lot of cover love so it was cool to hear Damhnait's version of Bobcaygeon on the album too.

Danny Michel - Helpless [originally by Neil Young]
Colin James - Heart of Gold [originally by Neil Young]
Speaking of Danny Michel, a couple weeks ago he was part of Luminato 2009 in Toronto where a ton of Canadian musicians including Jason Collett, Cowboy Junkies, Steven Page, Sarah Slean, and more gathered to re-create Neil Young's 1971 concert at Massey Hall. The whole show can be streamed here, but here are Danny's cover of Helpless and Colin James' reggae-tinged version of Heart of Gold. By the way if you missed it, a very special guest showed up in the middle of Neil Young's frequent concert closer The Beatles' A Day in the Life-- great youtube vid here.

Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For [originally by U2]
In the past 6 months, this has probably been one of my most played covers. It starts off fairly normal with just a pair of voices and guitar before the gospel choir resoundingly echos the chorus and later lines. Then the cover takes a bluesy rock turn and kicks it into high gear with the choir still in tow. Most excellent.

The Euphorics - When the Night Feels My Song [originally by Bedouin Soundclash]
I prefer the sound of four-part a cappella groups over the big college a cappella groups, so I was very pleased to discover The Euphorics whose album Born to Sing includes great covers of Billy Joel's River of Dreams, I Wanna Be Like You (from Disney's The Jungle Book), Neil Young's After the Goldrush, and this version of When the Night Feels My Song by fellow Canadians Bedouin Soundclash.

John Stetch Trio - The Mighty Hercules (live in Edmonton) [originally by Johnny Nash]
I don't often get an opportunity to trumpet hometown cover content, but earlier this week I learned about Edmontonian jazz pianist John Stetch whose Juno-nominated CD TV Trio is all jazz covers of 70s and 80s TV themes. And there are some awesome cover picks from the Looney Tunes' This Is It, The Price is Right, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Star Trek and many more. However, my favourite pick is of the 60's Canadian cartoon The Mighty Hercules, which featured a theme written and performed by Johnny Nash, later of I Can See Clearly Now fame. There have been some doubts whether it's the same Johnny Nash, but all my research seems to point to yes. The show must have been re-aired in the 80s because most of the people I know distinctly remember Hercules, his centaur sidekick Newton ("Herc! Herc!"), and Toot the pan-piping satyr battling the villanous Daedalus in crappy, often re-used animation. AND the awesome theme song: "Softness in his eyes, iron in his thighs, virtue in his heart, fire in every part of the Mighty Hercules!" sung without a trace of irony. I love it and it's great to find someone finally cover it. This live version recorded at the Yardbird Suite in Edmonton is from a show that's up on CBC Radio 2 in its entirety.

TV Trio is available at iTunes, Amazon.com (um, not .ca for some reason), and CD Baby. Check out the Japanese version of the theme here.

Wide Mouth Mason - Billie Jean [originally by Michael Jackson]
One more MJ cover for you, a bit of a rarity from Saskatchewan rockers Wide Mouth Mason. I actually got this from a Wide Mouth Mason Greatest Hits album that was only released in China. I didn't realize until I got back that their cover of Billie Jean only appears on that album, so I lucked out when I picked it up in Beijing though it's probably a bootleg.

D.D. Jackson - Head Over Feet [originally by Alanis Morissette]
D.D. Jackson - Hand in My Pocket [originally by Alanis Morissette]
Here are two great piano renditions of Alanis Morissette's Head Over Feet and Hand in My Pocket by Ottawa-born jazz pianist D.D. Jackson. This is from a tribute night to Alanis Morissette, a CBC's Radio 2 concert that is unfortunately no longer available online.

Coincidentally, I'll be down in Seattle this weekend for Jason Webley's Elevanniversary Spectacular and Camp Tomato, so for the very first time I'll be in the US for Independence Day festivities. Amanda Palmer has also twittered her presence at both events with a potential ninja ukulele gathering in the works... should be an awesome weekend.

Canadian Cover Content #12: Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!

A week or so ago, I randomly happened across free concerts by BC rockers 54·40 on two consecutive days. First they were playing a free street concert in celebration of the re-opening of Cambie Street, which has been majorly disrupted for over 3 years as the SkyTrain was extended underneath the street to the airport in anticipation of next year's Olympics. The next day I went skiing up at Whistler and I guess they were playing a free show up there too. I have no idea how well they're known outside Canada, but they've been a staple of Canadian rock for well over 20 years with songs like One Day in Your Life, She La, Since When, and their biggest hit Ocean Pearl. One American band that was influenced by them was none other than rock punchline ("cheaper than a blank tape!") Hootie & The Blowfish who scored a major hit with a rote rendition of 54·40's I Go Blind. After watching 54·40 perform their own song live, I had semi-obscure originals on the brain (a fascination that naturally goes hand in hand with my cover song obsession)... with a Canadian spin, of course:

First, here's 54·40's Neil Osborne talking with Danny Michel and Emm Gryner on last year's Under the Covers. Amusing and honest answers about the impact of the Hootie cover. [link removed]

54·40 - I Go Blind
Hootie & The Blowfish - I Go Blind [originally by 54·40]
Perhaps I completely blocked out my high school social studies class, but I didn't realize it until recently that 54·40 takes their name from the 54°40′ N parallel, the border between BC and Alaska, which factored into a territorial dispute between the British and Americans in the first half of the 19th century. In overly simple terms, there was a strong public outcry urging US president James Polk to defend their claim of the entire Oregon territory up to 54°40′ N, hence the slogan "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" Less excitingly, Hootie and Blowfish got their name from two friends, one that looked like an owl and one with chubby cheeks.

Original Caste - One Tin Soldier [written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter]
Me First & The Gimme Gimmes - One Tin Soldier [originally performed by Original Caste]
Listen children to a story that was written long ago... This anti-war song (valleyfolk vs. mountain men) brings back fuzzy memories from elementary school where this song was a staple of music class and I think was sung annually by the grade 6 kids in concert. Ah, how I don't miss recorders and glockenspiels. Apparently this wasn't unique to our school as I recently talked to a friend who also sang this at their school every year around Remembrance Day. Was this a local thing or all across Canada? I just found out a couple weeks ago that One Tin Soldier was first recorded by Original Caste, a folk group from Calgary, which may explain a proximity influence on classrooms throughout Alberta. It was later a hit for the American band Coven in the early 70s. Me First & The Gimme Gimmes do their usual thing... not that there's anything wrong with that-- in fact, I love it!

The Temptations - War [written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong]
D.O.A. - War [originally performed by The Temptations]
War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothin'! The most famous version was performed by Edwin Starr, though I was a little stunned to learn it was first recorded and released by The Temptations. Apparently the original version was withheld as a single because the label didn't want to invite any potential controversy for The Temptations regarding the anti-Vietnam War anthem, so it was re-recorded by labelmate Edwin Starr, for whom it went to #1 on the US Billboard charts. Seminal Vancouver punk band D.O.A. recorded this cover for their 1982 release War on 45.

The Eleventh Hour - Lady Marmalade [written by Bob Crewe & Kenny Nolan]
Don Gillis - Lady Marmalade [originally performed by The Eleventh Hour]
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Growing up with mandatory French classes (our second official language), I doubt most Canadian kids need any help deciphering the chorus to Lady Marmalade, which was a hit for Labelle and was later revived in 2001 when Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink covered it for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. However, the very first recording was by the Eleventh Hour, a downtempo funk version which is quite different when compared to later incarnations. The other cover is from Canadian composer/arranger Don Gillis, which I snagged from the It Came From Canada, an amazing site for ultra obscure Canadian acts. There are some cover song nuggets like this one if you dig around, but be prepared to lose yourself for a while. It should be noted that Don Gillis was also the musical director for Fraggle Rock and even had a Fraggle named after him! You should also check out Funky16Corners for an all-French cover by Québec-based New Yorker Nanette Workman, who once sang back-up for the Rolling Stones.

Otis Rush - Keep On Lovin' Me Baby
Colin James - Keep On Lovin' Me Baby [originally by Otis Rush]
Canadian blues rocker Colin James gets plenty of regular play on our rock radio stations with Keep On Lovin' Me Baby from his 1990 album Sudden Stop, but I just found out a few months ago it is actually a cover of blues guitarist Otis Rush. A little band called Led Zeppelin also covered the Otis Rush song I Can't Quit You Baby on their self-titled debut.

Indio - Hard Sun
Eddie Vedder - Hard Sun [originally by Indio]
Jon Krakauer 's non-fiction bestseller Into the Wild that later became the award-winning film of the same name tells the story of young Christopher McCandless who gave away his life savings to charity, hitchhiked across the US, then headed into the Alaskan wilderness to live off the land. Hunters later found his body in an abandoned bus where he starved to death, possibly after ingesting a poisonous plant. Sean Penn, who wrote and directed the film, had personally called Krakauer when the book originally came out, but waited 10 years to get permission from the McCandless family before embarking on production. He hand-picked Eddie Vedder to write the soundtrack, which featured a cover song Hard Sun with Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney on back-up vocals. Hard Sun was originally by Ontario singer-songwriter Gordon Peterson (AKA Indio) from his one and only album 1989's Big Harvest, which happened to feature Joni Mitchell on backing vocals. Here's an interesting article from last year about Peterson who retreated into a life of anonymity, whereabouts unknown...

Canadian Cover Content #11: Hard Core Logo, Cover Podcasts & Crash Test Dummies

Some belated Canadian cover happenings...

On August 14th in Toronto, there's a whole tribute night devoted to Canadian cult rock film Hard Core Logo with a screening of the film, a Q&A with director Bruce McDonald, punk bands covering the fictional band, lots of prizes, and "unannounceable but very special SPECIAL GUESTS". Hmmmm... Joe Dick himself perhaps? Mr. Hugh Dillon is currently enjoying success on Flashpoint, a big hit both in Canada and the US, which is cool because it's clearly filmed in Toronto and Canadianisms have a way of sneaking into the episodes (a Timmy's run anyone?). How surreal would a reunion of the original Hard Core Logo line-up be with Joe Dick, Billy Tallent (Callum Keith Rennie), John Oxenberger, and Pipefitter performing? Uh, technically impossible if you've seen the movie and actually kinda strange considering the 1996 film was about a very reluctant reunion tour, but I'd pay to see that anyway. For Torontonians or hardcore Hard Core Logo fans, details on the Tribute Night are here. Only $12!

Hard Core Logo - Rock 'n' Roll is Fat and Ugly
54•40 - Rock 'n' Roll is Fat and Ugly [originally by Hard Core Logo]


Last week CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence devoted an entire podcast to Canadian artists covering Canadian artists. It can be downloaded here in various formats. What's cool is that for several covers he chats with both the coverer and the coveree (as put by Danny Michel & Emm Gryner in a similar themed episode of Under the Covers). We get The Be Good Tanyas covering Geoff Berner, Kathleen Edwards covering Jim Bryson, Cuff the Duke covering the Rheostatics, and much more.
**UPDATE: Also check out this week's Part II - The Originals of the songs featured last week.

Speaking of Danny & Emm's Under the Covers, last week's episode was about "Covers You Didn't Know Were Covers". One that greatly surprised me was finding out Kim Carnes' eighties hit Bette Davis Eyes was not the original... it was co-written and recorded in 1974 by Jackie DeShannon. It has a radically different tone-- almost country & western with chorus girls. Sounds like a weird cover, but it's the original! Between this, Tainted Love, and There's Always Something There to Remind Me, how many more 80's one-hit wonders are actually cover songs?? There's no doubt that all covers of Bette Davis Eyes are of Kim Carnes' version. My favourite is an acoustic cover featuring the deep baritone vocals of Crash Test Dummies' frontman Brad Roberts, from his solo live disc Crash Test Dude. A couple years ago I was slow in ordering the Crash Test Dude CD/video combo from Maple Music then it went out of stock forever. I always kinda regretted that, though eventually it ended up on iTunes and eMusic. The album also contains a handful of unlikely covers: La Grange, Da Do Ron Ron, Trident Gum Theme(?), Unbreak My Heart and Baby One More Time.

Brad Roberts - Bette Davis Eyes [originally by Jackie DeShannon]
Ever wonder what Brad Roberts is up to these days? He's a guitar/songwriting instructor at the Paul Green School of Rock Music (!), which likely was the inspiration for the film School of Rock and was featured in the documentary Rock School. Incidentally, a School of Rock 2 was announced a couple weeks ago with Jack Black, writer Mike White, and director Richard Linklater all returning.

Brad Roberts - Superman's Song
I'm of the mind that one can't technically cover oneself, so here's Brad Roberts revisiting the Crash Test Dummies' first hit, Superman's Song, a plaintive ode to Superman released a year before the big S actually "died".

Brad Roberts - One of Us [originally released by Joan Osborne]
Here's something curious I just learned while writing up this post. Direct from the Crash Test Dummies FAQ: "the song's writer, Eric Bazilian, had written the song with Brad Roberts' bass baritone in mind. When the two met, Brad recorded the song just by himself with an acoustic guitar. When news of the song first broke, it was expected to appear on the Armageddon soundtrack. It did not, and so far, the song has only been made available to the public in a leaked MP3 that found its way onto file-sharing networks." Wow, so could this be considered almost the original One of Us...?

Crash Test Dummies - The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead [originally by XTC]
I remember buying the Dumb and Dumber soundtrack specifically for this song, finding out it was a cover many years later. This is the first Crash Test Dummies single to feature the band's only female member Ellen Reid taking over lead vocal duties from Brad Roberts who sings back-up. The Dummies also recorded another XTC cover All You Pretty Girls for the XTC tribute album A Testimonial Dinner.

Jaymz Bee & The Royal Jelly Orchestra - Superman's Song (feat. Melleny Melody) [originally by Crash Test Dummies]
An unlikely lounge cover from Jaymz Bee & the RJO's Cocktail: Shakin' and Stirred album of Canadian covers.

Weird Al Yankovic - Headline News [parody of Crash Test Dummies' Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm]
I remember reading an interview years ago with the Crash Test Dummies and they were asked how they felt about Weird Al parodying their song. Of course, they were excited and honoured, going so far as to be Weird Al's back-up band on a MuchMusic Video Awards performance of the parody. The parody makes now dated references to headlines at the time (Tonya Harding, Lorena Bobbitt, and that guy who got caned in Singapore), though Weird Al changes it up in live shows with current headlines. When I caught his show last summer he sung about Britney's shaved head incident and Paris Hilton. The original has the very dubious distinction of being one of Blender's 50 Worst Songs Ever (#31), VH1's 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever (#15), and called by the Rolling Stone's blog as one of the 20 Most Annoying Songs Ever (#15). Yikes, I don't think it's that bad.

Covers of a different sort:

Bacchus and Ariadne [originally by Titian] ;)



(note: I only made one of these...)

Canadian Cover Content #10: Happy Canada Day!

It's Canada Day today! Time to get together, fire up the barbecues, watch the fireworks, and revel in all things Canadian. I was shocked to learned a few days ago that skill-testing questions for contests is a "Canadian thing" after years of thinking that was perfectly normal. Ketchup potato chips are apparently not common south of the border... again something we just take for granted. Canada Day, coincidentally or not, is also the first day of NHL free agency, traditionally a frenzied period of player activity, shuffling team rosters for the upcoming season. And really, it's very Canadian to frantically call/text/e-mail everyone you know saying "_______ just got traded to Montréal!" or "Did you hear who the Oilers just signed?!?" and so on.

Some Canada Day events, as swiped from CBC Radio 3:

Victoria
Juno-winning artist K'Naan is headlining tomorrow's festivities, which also include aboriginal blues artist George Leach and Zimbabwean music makers Chikoro Marimba, on the lawns of Victoria's legislature.

Vancouver/Surrey
Pour yourself into a pair of leather pants and head for Surrey, BC where classic Canadian bands The Payola$ and Loverboy will be rocking a crowd of thousands with ‘80s camp. Another local ‘80s favourite, 54-40, is performing at Canada Place in Vancouver.

Calgary
Vancouver singer-songwriter Jeremy Fisher will wrap up a day of festivities in Calgary's Princes Island Park, where classic Canadian singer-songwriter David Wilcox will also perform along with many others.

Winnipeg
Hop aboard a free shuttle and head for Canada Day events in Osborne Village and the Forks, where there's lots of live entertainment - or head for the Garrick Centre where the Drive-By Truckers are playing.

Ottawa
THE Canada Day party is happening in the nation's capital, where you'll find tons of great bands, including Joel Plaskett, Shad, Hawksley Workman, Serena Ryder, Basia Bulat, Torngat, Eccodek, Blue Rodeo and more.

Montreal
The Montreal Jazz Festival is full swing, and recently returned ‘90s stars Bran Van 3000 is playing a free General Motors Stage at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Jeanne Mance - or you can turn TV on the Radio's show at the Metropolis into your very own Canada Day party. Legendary musician and producer Daniel Lanois is also playing at Cabaret Juste Pour Rire.

Quebec City
Quebecois favourites Malajube will join Montreal rockers Simple Plan, Marilou and Hedley for a free concert on the Plains of Abraham, followed by a full fireworks display.

A couple other gigs I know about:
Bedouin Soundclash in Lake Louise, AB
Paper Lions in Spruce Grove, AB
and
In London, England they got started early yesterday with a 2-day Canada Day celebration in Trafalgar Square(!) with street hockey and a free concert with Kathleen Edwards, The Trews, Jesse Cook, and The McDades.

Here are a handful of Canadian covers if you need something to spin at your Canada Day shindig:

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson featuring Terrance & Phillip - O Canada
Two-thirds of Rush singing our national anthem with Terrance and Phillip, a bit of, uh, CanCon from South Park.

Mike Ford - I've Been Everywhere [made popular by Lucky Starr]
Covered by Johnny Cash, Hank Snow, Rolf Harris, Willie Nelson, Stompin' Tom Connors, and more, I've Been Everywhere written by Geoff Mack and first a hit in Australia for Lucky Starr is unique as a cover song in that the lyrics are changed up to reflect the home country of the performer. The song is a increasingly fast-paced listing of all the local towns/cities visited by the song's protagonist. Since Moxy Früvous's hiatus, Mike Ford has released several solo albums and has been visiting high schools across Canada singing original songs about Canadian history. Nope, never quite had a social studies class like that! This cover is from his first collection of these songs, 2004's Canada Needs You, Volume 1. Where else can you hear songs about Louis Riel, Gabriel Dumont, Sir John A. MacDonald, or um, Thanadelthur? The follow-up Canada Needs You, Volume 2 just came out last month. All his CDs can be bought at his live shows or from everyone's favourite exclusively Canadian online music retailer, Maple Music.


Dirk Doom & The Overdrive Orchestra - Having an Average Weekend [originally by Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet]
Even if you don't recognize the title, you should definitely recognize the song, which served as the theme to Kids in the Hall in the late 80's/early 90's. The gang has been touring over the past few months and will be inducted later this year to Canada's Walk of Fame.

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet - Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) [originally by Cher]
In high school I discovered the Shadowy Men's CD Dim the Lights, Chill the Ham at the library and it got more than its fair share of spins in my discman. This was the first time I had ever heard Bang Bang and I didn't find out it was a cover until years later.

Cross Canadian Ragweed - Hey Hey, My My [originally by Neil Young]
Cross Canadian Ragweed - The Needle and the Damage Done [originally by Neil Young]
Despite their name, Cross Canadian Ragweed are NOT Canadian, but instead an American alt-country band(!) drawing their name from the combination of three of its members Grady Cross, Cody Canada(!!), and Randy Ragsdale. Honouring their non-existent Canadian origins, they do a couple Neil Young covers. Though kinda like their contradictory name, this doesn't sound like country music to me, just straight up rock.


The Hanson Brothers - The Hockey Song [originally by Stompin' Tom Connors]
Canada's second national anthem may have switched TV stations, but there's still a chance that the, uh, third national anthem The Hockey Song by Stompin' Tom Connors could kick off Hockey Night in Canada next season. It pretty much gets played at every hockey game anyway and everyone knows the words already! The Hanson Brothers, sort of a hockey-themed Ramones named of course for the goons from Slap Shot, are the alter-egos of punk rock band Nomeansno. Originally a side project, they've released three full length albums of hockey-themed songs including this cover. It's tempting to say "Gee, only in Canada!" if not for The Zambonis who hail from Connecticut.

Pezz - New Orleans is Sinking [originally by The Tragically Hip]
The Tragically Hip are pretty much the epitome of Canadian rock, you don't get any bigger than them (and no, Nickelback doesn't count). I remember one year biking through the river valley in Edmonton with friends to see the Canada Day fireworks and some guy whose house was near a prime viewing spot had speakers set up as he and his literal garage band cranked out covers of the Hip, which seems like a pretty typical Canada Day celebration to me. Ontario band Billy Talent were formerly known as Pezz before being threatened with legal action by a US band with the same name... ack, struggling mightily with temptation to say "typically American"-- oops! I kid, I kid... In this hidden track from their indie release Watoosh!, they do a cranked up version of The Hip classic.

Stereophonics - Fiddler's Green [originally by The Tragically Hip]
UK band Stereophonics, who are no strangers to cover songs (good and bad), started off as a cover band called Tragic Love Company... guess what the "Tragic" refers to? Yes, apparently they were big fans of the Hip! There's my Canadian trivia factoid of the day. Wait, did you know Trivial Pursuit was created by Canadians? For the pie!

Happy Canada Day!

Canadian Cover Content #9: April Wine Uncorked

All these posts of originals this week were instigated by a bit of an "originals" google bender last week. Of the originals dug up, none were more surprising to me than the following bit of CanCon classic rock. (Apologies in advance if this post holds absolutely no interest for non-Canucks)

In short, CanCan (Canadian Content) regulations require a certain percentage of radio and television broadcasting to be Canadian in origin. For the classic rock stations, that means we were taught early to love The Guess Who, Rush, BTO, Steppenwolf, and The Tragically Hip. That also means we're exposed to an unnecessary amount of Trooper, Loverboy, Streetheart, Harlequin... and April Wine. I mean there's really no reason I should be able to sing-a-long faithfully to 15+ April Wine songs, yet I can. In fact, I'm not even entirely convinced April Wine had that many hits, but they sure are played on the radio as if they did.

Here are a few April Wine songs you should recognize:

• April Wine - Bad Side of the Moon
  
• April Wine - You Could Have Been a Lady
  
• April Wine - Sign of the Gypsy Queen

Guess what? They're ALL covers.

A few years ago when I discovered Elton John's great live album 11-17-70, that's when I first realized that the April Wine hit Bad Side of the Moon was in fact a cover song.
Elton John - Bad Side of the Moon
Elton John - Bad Side of the Moon (11-17-70)
The original studio version was released as the b-side to my favourite Elton John song, Border Song.

Hot Chocolate - You Could Have Been a Lady
Here was another shocker: You Could Have Been a Lady was originally by Hot Chocolate, probably most famous for You Sexy Thing!

Lorence Hud - Sign of the Gypsy Queen
From his self-titled 1973 album, Lorence Hud wrote this song popularized by April Wine and played all the instruments on the track.

=======================

I like April Wine fine enough, though they're best when taken in moderation (like wine!). I've even seen them live once, performing a free show in Sunshine Village in between ski runs. Here are a few covers of April Wine for you. Props to this fansite since I didn't really know anybody actually covered April Wine.

Treble Charger - Roller [originally by April Wine]
From the soundtrack to the cult Canadian mockumentary FUBAR, which featured several contemporary bands (Sum 41, Sloan, The New Pornographers, and more) covering Canadian metal and rock hits from the 70's/80's.

Clout - Oowatanite [originally by April Wine]
This is a pretty sweet cover of a song many of us now permanently associate with a Lotto 6/49 commercial that used to get a lot of airplay up here. "Ah, the lotto song!" is a familiar reaction to anyone who hears the distinctive bells that kick off Oowatanite. Clout was an all-girl rock group from South Africa who were active in the late seventies. If you imagine Heart covering April Wine, that'll give you an idea of this cover.

The Heelwalkers - Weeping Widow [originally by April Wine]
I have to admit I was surprisingly stoked to find a cover of this song.

Frost - Sign of the Gypsy Queen [originally by Lorence Hud]
Sure we now know it's a Lorence Hud original, but undoubtedly this metal cover is of April Wine.

Canadian Cover Content #8: Juno Wrap-up

There's a new Juno juggernaut and her name is Leslie Feist. After winning 3 Junos during the non-broadcast gala on Saturday, Feist completed the sweep last night with two more (Album and Pop Album of the Year), winning all 5 of her nominations. Celine Dion who led all nominees with 6 nominations and Avril Lavigne who had 5 were both shut out. Wintersleep won New Group of the Year, Blue Rodeo won Group of the Year, and Paul Brandt won best country recording. Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé proved to not be such a juggernaut after all, only taking home the Doritos Fan Choice Award. Bublé joked as he accepted the award, "This is for all those people who said I couldn't vote for myself enough times to win. I’d like to thank Doritos for making such tasty treats... Sometimes when I eat them it makes my fingers go orange—but it’s worth it!” I'm just listening to the CBC's Q podcast right now and host Jian Ghomeshi thinks Bublé would make a good host for next year's Junos which are being held here in Vancouver. I agree. He's a natural performer with an irreverent sense of humour. Equal parts artist and entertainer, a fan favourite, and a hometown Vancouver boy, I can't think of a more appropriate host for the Junos '09.

Michael Bublé - This Love [originally by Maroon 5]
From his Caught in the Act DVD, Bublé riffs through a goofy sing-a-long version of the Maroon 5 hit, ending with a little operatic flourish.

Feist - Inside + Out (Apostle of Hustle UnMix Live at the BBC) [originally by The Bee Gees]
Another version of Feist's cover of The Bee Gee's Love You Inside Out from her album Open Season, a collection of Feist "remixes and collabs".

Feist - Sealion [traditional; popularized by Nina Simone]
A traditional folk song that goes by many names: Sea Lion Woman, See Line Woman, Sea-Line Woman... It was first recorded by Christine and Katherine Shipp in 1939 for the Library of Congress and is available on a CD called A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings. The liner notes to that even offers some more variations: See [the] Lyin' Woman or C-Line Woman. Nina Simone recorded her version See Line Woman for the 1964 release Broadway-Blues-Ballads. At last night's show, Feist performed a show-stopping version of Sealion from her now Juno-winning album The Reminder.



Remember how I mentioned that there was a controversy about who was on the Best Album list that shouldn't have been? Quick recap: Anne Murray was left off the nomination, but after recalculating the figures for Best Album (one of several categories where nominations are based on sales) they added her to the ballot, so now there was an extra nominee. Up against two Celine Dion records, Michael Bublé, Avril Lavigne, and now Anne Murray, I sort of suspected that it may be indeed Feist who was the odd one out. I really couldn't imagine her outselling the other nominees, each of whom have huge demographics driving their sales. Please forgive the broad generalizations, but Avril has her teen/pop crowd; Celine has Québec and Oprah; Anne Murray skews to an older, nostalgic crowd with a gauntlet of superstar guests; and Bublé kinda appeals to everyone. What about Feist? Indie types and people who liked that iPod commercial? Weeks ago Anne Murray told the Canadian Press, "The person who is not supposed to be in there could conceivably win..." And I don't mean this as a slight against Feist, but rather the methodology behind the nominations. For example, a couple years ago you know who was up for Album of the Year? Nickelback, Bublé, a Diana Krall Christmas album, and TWO Canadian Idol contestants. That about sums it up right there. I just found out that Anne Murray flub wasn't the only Juno "logistical error" this year. After the nominations were announced, they also added Jill Barber to the New Artist list and rapper Classified was all out replaced by JDiggz because his album was already nominated last year. Whoops!

McNutt blogs about Feist's "mistaken victory" here and notes that this has happened before, not too long ago...

Canadian Cover Content #7: Juno Weekend, Part II

As it turns out almost all of the Juno awards were given out last night at a gala dinner except for the 7 major awards in the televised portion, which is on tonight hosted by comedian Russell Peters. Feist already claimed two Junos for Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. She's also up for three more tonight. Blue Rodeo was the other double-winner for Adult Alternative Album and Best Video. The Arcade Fire's Neon Bible won for Best Alternative Album. I was rooting for Serena Ryder and she did in fact win for New Artist of the Year. Way to go! There's too many to mention, but a PDF of the non-broadcast winners can be looked at here.

Serena Ryder - Good Morning Sunshine (remix) [originally from the musical Hair (MacDermot/Rado/Ragni)]
The music of Hair was written by Montréal-born Galt MacDermot with lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni. I wouldn't have realized the Canadian connection without this cover from Serena Ryder's collection of covers by Canadian songwriters If Your Memory Serves You Well. The alternate mix of Good Morning Starshine is a hidden track on the album.

Boy Kill Boy - Maneater [originally by Nelly Furtado]
Panic! at the Disco - Maneater [originally by Nelly Furtado]
Richard Clapton - I'm Like a Bird [originally by Nelly Furtado]
Nelly Furtado - Crazy [originally by Gnarls Barkley]
Last year, Nelly Furtado hosted the Junos and ended up sweeping all 5 of her nominations. This year the only category she's up for is the Fan Choice Award, though she is a "friend" on the multi-nominated Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends.

Rufus Wainwright - Puttin' on the Ritz [originally by Irving Berlin]
Rufus was up for Adult Alternative Album and Songwriter of the Year, going home empty-handed after last night's ceremony. This cover is from his Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall live album where he re-created Judy Garland's 1961 Carnegie Hall concert backed by an orchestra with special guests, including a duet with Judy's daughter Lorna Luft.

Relient K - Manic Monday [originally by The Bangles; written by Prince]
I didn't know Relient K were Canadian... and they're not really. Lead singer/songwriter Matthew Thiessen was born in Ontario before moving to Ohio at an early age, meeting best friends and future band mates Matt Hoopes and Brian Pittman in elementary school. So I guess there's enough Canadian blood in the band to satisfy Juno criteria. They were up for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year, which was won by Brian Doerksen. This is from a Punk Goes 80's compilation.

Holly Cole with Bob Belden - Purple Rain [originally by Prince]
From the jazz tribute album Blue Note Plays Prince. Holly Cole was up for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, which was won by Sophie Milman.

Jake Shimabukuro - My Heart Will Go On [originally by Celine Dion]
Celine Dion - I Wish [originally by Stevie Wonder]
Universally loved and hated, I debated about including some Celine, but she is Canadian and she does lead all nominees with 6 nominations. I'm a fan of ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro so if you've been looking for a palatable version of the Titanic theme, here you go. Plus, her Stevie Wonder cover gives you the rare opportunity to hear Celine Dion reminisce about her days as a "nappy-headed boy".

Tegan and Sara - Rebel Rebel (featuring Grace Nocturnal) [originally by David Bowie]
Tegan and Sara were in a tough category for Alternative Album of the Year with Arcade Fire (who won), Holy Fuck, Patrick Watson, and Wintersleep rounding out the nominees. This Bowie cover is from all-girls The Spiders From Venus compilation released by the soon-to-be-defunct label Skipping Discs, though it's still available on CD Baby.

The Arcade Fire - Five Years [originally by David Bowie]
While we're on the topic of The Arcade Fire, Bowie, and compilations... here's The Arcade Fire's live cover of Five Years from the 2-disc Bowie cover compilation .2 Contamination.

Canadian Cover Content #6: Juno Weekend

This weekend is Juno weekend and I don't mean last year's much-beloved indie film, even though that does has more than its fair share of Canadian content-- director Jason Reitman, Ellen Page, Michael Cera... even Jason Bateman has a Canuck connection: he's Paul Anka's son-in-law! Anyway, the Junos are the annual music awards given out by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Think Canadian Grammies. Ironically, Juno (the film), despite being filmed in Vancouver with its Canadian stars and director, was ineligible for this year's Genies (think Canadian Oscars) because it wasn't made with Canadian money...

No, not Juneau, though coincidentally the Junos are named after Pierre Juneau, one-time head of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and architect of our Canadian content regulations. This year's Junos are being held tomorrow night in Calgary, Alberta with host Russell Peters.

There's a bit of controversy this year's awards. At first, Anne Murray's album Duets: Friends and Legends (which has some covers on it, FYI) was left off the list of best album nominees due to an error in the way sales figures were calculated. They've since added her to the nomination, but now there are 6 nominees, leaving everyone wondering who's the weak link of the category... The other nominees are Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion (with two nominations), Michael Bublé, and Feist. A lot of nominees for the major categories are based purely on sales and there's even a Doritos (ugh) Fan Choice award. I have no idea what's the deal with the "International Album of the Year" category with this year's nominees Bon Jovi, Fergie, Josh Groban, Rihanna, and Timbaland. Clearly a celebration of Canadian music. Juno nominations have always been a little suspect: in 2004, Fong Songs fave Danny Michel was once nominated for Best New Artist after his 5TH album since 1997, eventually losing to Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé.

Record sales and stuff aside, at the very least the Junos remind us how awesome Canadian music can be. To celebrate here's a tasty sampling of covers by and of some of the nominated artists.

Danny Michel - After the Gold Rush [originally by Neil Young]
One Juno nominee honours another. Neil Young's Chrome Dreams II is nominated for Best Adult Alternative Album (whatever that means) and Danny's live DVD is nominated for Music DVD of the year. His newest album Feather, Fun & Fin just came out a couple weeks ago and he's currently on a cross-country tour with a stop in Calgary for the Junos. His live shows are not to be missed and I'll probably be seeing back-to-back shows here in Vancouver at the end of the month.

Serena Ryder - Some of These Days [originally by Shelton Brooks]
Serena Ryder - It Doesn't Matter Anymore [originally by Buddy Holly; written by Paul Anka]
Serena Ryder is nominated for Best New Artist of the Year and my vote's for her, though admittedly I'm pretty unfamiliar with the other artists (Belly, Jeremy Fisher, Justin Nozuka, Suzie McNeil, and Jill Barber). I'm still not sure what the criteria for this category is since her debut album is from 2005 while her collection of Canadian cover songs If Your Memory Serves You Well came out in 2006. Her soulful renditions of Some of These Days and It Doesn't Matter Anymore just floor me. I was also blown away when I found out that deep rich bluesy voice was attached to someone in her mid-20's... in fact, younger than me by a few months. Très bizarre.

Suzie McNeil - Remedy [originally by The Black Crowes]
Another of the New Artist nominees is Suzie McNeil, a former contestant on the reality show Rock Star INXS who came in 4th overall. In fact, of the 15 contestants vying to be lead singer for the Aussie rock band, three were Canadian including the eventual winner JD Fortune. From the show's official soundtrack, she does an okay job covering the Black Crowes.

James Keelaghan & Oscar Lopez - Follow Me Up There, Carlos [originally Follow Me Up to Carlow by P. J. McCall; traditional]
James Keelaghan & Oscar Lopez first teamed up in 1997 for the album Compadres, combining Latino and Celtic influences into what they dub "Celtino". I first heard them at the 2000 Edmonton Folk festival and became hooked on that album, which features this traditional Irish tune. I didn't even realize it was a cover until I heard a Celtic punk cover last year. Their long overdue follow-up Buddy, Where You Been? is nominated for a Juno in the category of Roots & Traditional Album of the Year (Group).

Feist - Inside and Out [originally Love You Inside Out by The Bee Gees]
Feist - We Can Work It Out (with Arthur H) [originally by The Beatles]
Jack Penate - 1234 [originally by Feist]
Feist, who's already won a few Junos in past years, could walk away with a few more this year with 5 nominations including Album, Artist, Pop Album, Single (1234), and Songwriter of the Year. Her Beatles cover with French singer Arthur H is from the French TV show Taratata, which I'm starting to realize is a great source for live cover songs. In 2006, Feist was even nominated for a cover song! Her Bee Gees cover was up for Single of the Year, eventually losing to Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé.

The Corb Lund Band - Sixteen Tons [originally by Merle Travis]
Corb Lund's Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! is nominated for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year (Solo). The first time I heard of Corb Lund he was playing a show in the basement theatre of the downtown library I was working at. Earlier this week, he and his band The Hurtin' Albertans played to a hometown crowd of 6000 fans at Rexall Place, home to our Edmonton Oilers (who are now packed up for the golf season). What a difference a few years makes. Even just last night I happened to catch a feature story about him on The National (Canada's national news broadcast). I'm one of those people who say "I listen to everything... oh yeah, except country music". Of course there are always exceptions to that and Corb Lund is one of them. His debut album Modern Pain was released on cassette in 1995 with only 1000 copies in circulation. It was re-released in 2003 with some bonus tracks including this live cover of Sixteen Tons. To me, the deep baritone of Tennessee Ernie Ford's version of Sixteen Tons will forever be associated to Grade 12 art class where this and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue seemed to be in constant rotation (no complaints though, I love 'em both!).

Jamie T - When the Night Feels My Song [originally by Bedouin Soundclash]
English singer/songwriter Jamie T performed this cover of Bedouin Soundclash's biggest hit on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge show. This year, Bedouin Soundclash is nominated for Pop Album of the Year and Video of the Year. A couple years ago, When the Night Feels My Song was nominated for Single of the Year, eventually losing to Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé.

Pascale Picard - Wish You Were Here [originally by Pink Floyd]
Québécois artist Pascale Picard is in tough against Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Feist, and Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé for Artist of the Year. Not sure how Picard's only nomination ended up in this category. Artist of the Year with no other nominations? Her debut album came out last year and she's not even up for Best New Artist! Silly Junos. She contributed this cover and a great Shine On You Crazy Diamond to the compilation album Pink Floyd Redux, an underrated album that I've posted about a few times.

Michael Bublé - I'm Your Man [originally by Leonard Cohen]
From this year's nominee for Best Album, Call Me Irresistible, Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé swings Leonard Cohen's I'm Your Man. He's also up for Best Pop Album, Artist, Single, and the Doritos (ugh) Fan Choice Award. Call Me Irresistible has already won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at this year's Grammies down south. Bublé was nominated in that same category at last year's Grammies too for his Caught in the Act, eventually losing to Tony Bennett's Duets: An American Classic... featuring Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé.





Tune in tomorrow on Juno night for more Canadian covers!

Canadian Cover Content #5: Grab Bag

Before I regale you (i.e. bore you to death) with long-winded tales of last weekend, here are some covers by and of Canadian artists. Completely by accident today, I stumbled upon this interview on a NYC-based webzine called PsychoPEDIA talking about (of all things) Edmonton's music scene. Shocking, I know. It was Shout Out Out Out Out (Out?)'s Jason Troock discussing local veggie eateries, the Edmonton mentality, and lying on a rubber beach in the middle of winter. They're probably one of our biggest exports in years, but their name reminds me of that Demetri Martin joke: Bana... Bananana… damn!

In that note, here's a country cover of Canadian childhood icon, Raffi's ubiquitous Bananaphone!
Rhonda Vincent - Bananaphone [originally by Raffi]
This is from the unexpectedly delightful album Country Goes Raffi with various country singers performing Raffi classics. Country music generally causes me to involuntarily twitch, but this... this is okay. Ha, where else can you hear Keith Urban singing Apples and Bananas? Um, that one's not a particular highlight.

The Bad Plus - Tom Sawyer [originally by Rush]
Experimental jazz group The Bad Plus walk a precarious line between a sweet cover and utter chaos. It's not for everyone's tastes and their original compositions can try one's patience, but they have a penchant for cover songs, which is what brought them to my attention in the first place a couple years ago. I find they work better as a cover group since the familiarities of the tune provide an anchor when they veer off into avante-garde territory. In any event, I'm lovin' this Rush cover from their latest release Prog.

Serena Ryder - Good Morning Starshine [originally from the musical Hair (MacDermot/Rado/Ragni)]
I don't know much about Serena Ryder, but her name seems to be cropping up a lot lately and there are long waits at the library to get her CDs. Her second album If Your Memory Serves You Well is mostly a collection of covers of Canadian songwriters plus a few originals. Probably indicative of The Simpsons' massive cultural impact on our generation (as if it wasn't readily apparent in the past couple weeks), when I hear this song I picture a gooby-looking Mr. Burns singing it with Leonard Nimoy, Mulder, Scully, and all of Springfield with Chewbacca going ARRRARARHHRRH in the background. Am I crazy?

Tin Foil Phoenix - Man of Constant Sorrow [originally by Dick Burnett]
This cover by Winnipeg band Tin Foil Phoenix has been getting a fair bit of airplay on our modern rock station here. It's doesn't match the heights of Osaka Popstar's Man of Constant Sorrow, but it's pretty decent.

Great Big Sea - Run Runaway [originally by Slade]
I was walking past when Great Big Sea was playing in Edmonton at our Capital Ex festival and two days later they were the headlining act at the Calgary folk fest. I couldn't help but wonder how they feel playing probably the same 4 or 5 songs from their 1997 Play album every night 'cause that's what the audience expects. I guess this could be said about any band, but it struck me particularly while watching them. Gotta give them credit for playing with an infectious level of enthusiasm all the time.

Captain Tractor - Lord of the Dance [originally by Sydney Carter with excerpts of Slade's Run Runaway]
Super underrated Edmonton band that deserve to have been way bigger than they were. Consistently great songwriting, impressive musicianship, awesome live shows, and the best damn cover of London Calling ever. I'm not biased just because they're local; these guys were great. Technically, I guess they're still around but the shows are sporadic and the line-up's slightly changed (not bad, just different). Bought the Farm is a brilliant album.

That is all for now.

Canadian Cover Content #4: Barenaked Ladies

The big news earlier this week is that I booked my Ben Folds Cruise for next February. I would never had predicted it, but this Ben Folds cruise is the concert I've been unconsciously waiting the last ten years for. Since his Ben Folds Five days, he's been my favourite artist/band yet I've only had the opportunity to see him perform once, 2 years ago just outside of Seattle while I was living in Vancouver. Other than that, he's never toured anywhere near Edmonton. I figure (probably exaggerating) that this cruise costs about the same as me travelling to one of his regular gigs. In some sort of crazy wish fulfilment in my little world, Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls was also announced as an onboard guest for the festivities. In a word: UNBELIEVABLE.

I try not to do shameless plugs too often, but here's an exception. If anyone out there is also planning to go on this Ben Folds cruise too, please use my Sixthman ID SXM-029727 as a referral when you book. The reason I ask is because if I refer somebody, I would get to go to an exclusive intimate acoustic performance by Ben Folds. Yes, for purely selfish reasons, I make this plea to LET ME REFER YOU! Um, if Eef Barzelay (of Clem Snide) is your thing, he's coming. Corn Mo is aboard too. Not official yet, but Ben said The Streets is coming (and no, that is not grammatically incorrect). And of course, Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, who is reason enough on her own to attend. More artists to come over the next 8 months including comedians apparently, but in any case it should be an event for the ages to be sure. So if anyone out there decides to take me up on this offer, let me know via e-mail because I can be easily persuaded to send you a stack of some of my cover CD collection (oh dear, I've resorted to bribery). Public sale starts June 11th. End plea.

In anticipation of the pre-sale which started Tuesday, I was reading up on the Barenaked Ladies' Ships & Dips cruise that took place earlier this year and already has a follow-up in place for next year. In fact, Ben's touring this summer with John Mayer who recently announced his own cruise vacation too... now it's just getting out of hand. All of these experiences are organized by a great, great company called Sixthman, who genuinely seem to be working hard to fulfil everybody's music dreams. They supposedly have 16 events in the works for next year... I cannot even imagine.

Anyway, while perusing the Barenaked Ladies forums, I stumbled upon a link to The Bathroom Sessions, a whole series hitherto unbeknownst to me of youtube videos that BNL Ed Robertson (and sometimes Steven Page) recorded in Ed's bathroom. One of my favourite BNL songs The King of Bedside Manor gets the Bathroom treatment with a brilliant acoustic performance by Ed and Steven (even a couple cover snippets sneak in there). Check it out here. Man, that whole performance just cracks me up!


Barenaked Ladies - The King of Bedside Manor
The original from 1992's Gordon.


I feel goofy when I do these "Canadian Cover Content" posts and Barenaked Ladies covers pop up by default, so I thought I'd post a few choice covers and lay off them for while.

Barenaked Ladies - Psycho Killer [originally by Talking Heads]
Years ago I had heard the Moxy Früvous cover of Psycho Killer (one of my favs!) from their Live Noise album that I borrowed from the library. After I got my iPod and was attempting to amass my mp3 collection over again, I tried tracking down that cover but mistakingly thought it was the Barenaked Ladies. See, when I was 9 years old I first heard Moxy Früvous' King of Spain on the radio and had thought it was Barenaked Ladies, so this initial confusion has plagued me since. Interesting trivia I just read (thank you wikipedia!): King of Spain was the second Canadian independent #1 hit in Canadian history, preceded only a few months earlier by BNL's Be My Yoko Ono. Coincidentally (or not?), the Barenaked Ladies DID do a cover of Psycho Killer and this just confused matters further since I knew it wasn't the same version I had heard years earlier. That is, until I re-discovered the Früvous Live Noise album about five years ago. And until that point I didn't even realize this was a cover song (embarrassing but true). Since then I've of course heard the Talking Heads original and fell in love with that too. Great song with lots of covers.

Barenaked Ladies - Careless Whisper (live) [originally by Wham!]
There also seem to be a lot of covers of this song cropping up lately. Ben Folds also semi-regularly covers this live...

Ben Folds & Rufus Wainwright - Careless Whisper (live) [originally by Wham!]
...and there you go. Canadian content provided by Mr. Wainwright.

Barenaked Ladies - When Doves Cry (live) [originally by Prince]

Barenaked Ladies - Do They Know It's Christmas? [originally by Band Aid]

Barenaked Ladies - Legal Age Life at Variety Store (live) [originally by the Rheostatics]
Canadians covering Canadians.

Captain Tractor - Legal Age Life at Variety Store [originally by the Rheostatics]
A little bit of Edmonton cover content too for ya. This was the first time I had heard this song ever.

Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson [originally by Barenaked Ladies]
Possibly the most conceptually surreal cover ever: Brian Wilson performing Brian Wilson. Ack, brain meltdown!MalkovichMalkovichMalkovichMalkovich!

The Bathroom Sessions have even inspired a youtube user by the name of tornadocanemusic to post his own series of Odes to the Bathroom Sessions. And wow, this guy can actually play and sing. Check out his cover of BNL's Brian Wilson here. The best thing is that Ed Robertson leaves this comment on one of his other videos: "Your voice is better than mine... but my bathroom's better."

Canadian Cover Content #3

Right on the heels of the last post, I had to put up this next track that I found at the library a couple days ago. Because who knows when the next CCC feature will surface...


You may know Neko Case from her solo career or (like me) from her membership in the Canadian indie supergroup The New Pornographers. She's American, by the way, though she could be considered an honourary Canadian for being well entrenched in the Canadian music scene starting with her career beginnings in Vancouver, British Columbia.


You may also know Sook-Yin Lee possibly as the lead singer of 90's alternative band Bob's Your Uncle or more than likely as a former MuchMusic VJ turned CBC radio host of Definitely Not the Opera. She's Canadian, by the way, and she has also appeared in several films, most recently last year in a controversial lead role in John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus. So controversial, in fact, she almost got sacked by the CBC (read all about it here) if not for large public outcry and some celebrity rallying from the likes of Yoko Ono, Michael Stipe, and Francis Ford Coppola.

So I saw this compilation album at the library called Fields and Streams, and lo & behold there's this song by Neko Case written by Sook-Yin Lee. From the liner notes: "Hi my name is Neko. I live in Chicago but I spend lots of time in Canada where I've met lots of great songwriters like my friend Sook Yin Lee who's [sic] song 'Knock Loud' I really love and covered for this compilation. I recorded it in my kitchen."

Neko Case - Knock Loud [originally by Sook-Yin Lee]
Excellent cover. Check out the original on Sook-Yin's myspace page.

Rufus Wainwright - The Origin of Love [originally from Hedwig & The Angry Inch]
Now here's another Canadian Rufus Wainwright covering a tune from the film Hedwig & The Angry Inch, which was also directed by John Cameron Mitchell. Sook-Yin Lee also has cameo is this as well-- Aha! See the connection?

Some covers for Yoko, Stipe, and Coppola, the "Celebrity Defenders of Sook-Yin Lee":

Cornbred Red - Be My Yoko Ono [originally by The Barenaked Ladies]
The Barenaked Ladies' first album Gordon is still their best, yet here we are 15 years later and they're still around. They must be doing something right. One of those things is their Barenaked Planet initiative to address environmental concerns. I saw Steven Page & Ed Roberts talking about this on The Hour last month, a CBC newsmagazine show hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos, also a former MuchMusic VJ. If you're Canadian, you should be watching The Hour regularly. Fantastic content.

Paul Anka - Everybody Hurts [originally by REM]
Canadian pop icon Paul Anka covers a little REM. Did you know he's Jason Bateman's father-in-law? As in, Arrested Development's Jason Bateman? I didn't know that until about 5 seconds ago.

Harry Connick Jr. - Speak Softly Love [originally by Larry Kusic and Nino Rota]
No Canadian content here, but that's okay I only need 35% to meed CRTC standards. This is the love theme from The Godfather directed, of course, by Francis Ford Coppola. You'll know it when you hear it.

And because I can't resist:
Steppenwolf - Sookie Sookie [originally by Don Covay]
Steppenwolf, might I add, also Canadian.

Etta James - Sookie Sookie [originally by Don Covay]

Canadian Cover Content #2

Time for another round of Canadian cover content.

Sarah McLachlan - Dear God [originally by XTC]
DMC feat. Sarah McLachlan - Just Like Me (will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas Mix)
[a variation on Cat's in the Cradle by Harry Chapin]
Originally I was just going to post the Dear God cover (which I love, by the way), then I read this remarkable story of how Sarah McLachlan saved the life of Darryl "DMC" McDaniels (yes, THE DMC of Run DMC), which led to this unique collaboration. In DMC's own words, read this IGN interview from last year. The unlikely end result is. . . curious.

Styx - Summer in the City [originally by The Lovin' Spoonful]
Styx themselves are an American band, that is until Canadian Lawrence Gowan took over vocal duties from Dennis DeYoung a few years back. In 2005, they recorded an album of covers called Big Bang Theory, which is not as horrible as one might imagine. In fact, I quite dig this Summer in the City cover.

Shirley Bassey - Spinning Wheel (DJ Spinna remix) [originally by Blood, Sweat & Tears]
BS&T are another American band fronted by a Canadian, David Clayton-Thomas (who incidentally was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996).

Blood, Sweat & Tears - Sympathy for the Devil [originally by the Rolling Stones]
This is unlike any Stones cover you've ever heard. Blood, Sweat & Tears put their distinctive psychedelic jazz-rock stamp on this song, though the degree of success is open to debate.

Dread Zeppelin - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes [originally by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young]
Speaking of bands with a Canadian in their midst, there's of course Mr. Neil Young who put the Y in CSNY. Here's proof that Dread Zeppelin can also belt out some pretty sweet non-Led Zeppelin covers. I posted this a couple years ago, but I like it so much it's getting another round in the spotlight.

The Allman Brothers Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [originally by The Band]
Now here's a band that's predominantly Canadian with American Levon Helm on drums 'n vocals. Ah, The Band, the "Who's on First" of rock music (probably moreso than the Who).
I can just hear it now:
"What band is this?"
"The Band."
"Who?"
"No, not the Who. The Band."
"What the deuce?"

Duane Allman & Aretha Franklin - The Weight [originally by The Band]
Apparently the Allman Brothers like The Band.

Canadian Cover Content #1

Hey, I'm back from San Francisco. More about that in a later post. I'm also testing out a new file-hosting site... let me know if that works okay.

Part of the fun of maintaining a blog is inventing on-going features that may or may not be actually on-going (see: Cover Riddles). Sunday night I caught the Tragically Hip in concert and I've been inspired to add another irregular feature whereby I highlight covers by and of Canadian artists. Our radio stations in Canada are required by the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) to play 35% Canadian content per week in the interests of promoting our uniquely Canadian culture. In other words, so our airwaves aren't hijacked by American pop stars. Usually on the classic rock station this means listening to an undue amount of Trooper, April Wine, Triumph, and Loverboy. Yikes. Of course, we have our homegrown classics like Neil Young, Rush, Joni Mitchell, The Tragically Hip, The Guess Who, and others. Fortunately, our recent exports like The New Pornographers, The Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, and many more indie rockers are starting to get wide recognition over the past few years. I'm under no such obligation to provide Canadian content, but I thought it'd be fun as a Canadian blogger to occasionally wave the maple leaf. So here it goes!


Sarah Polley - Courage [originally by the Tragically Hip]
Canadian actress Sarah Polley would probably be known best for her roles in Go and the recent Dawn of the Dead remake, but most Canadians would remember her best as the child star of Road to Avonlea. I had never even seen Road to Avonlea growing up, but even I knew who she was. Here she sings this haunting, 180° take on the Tragically Hip song. The cover comes from the soundtrack to Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter, which Polley also starred.


The Tragically Hip - Springtime in Vienna
Not a cover, but at Sunday's gig The Hip played one of my favourite songs of theirs, which is from the Trouble at the Henhouse album.

Captain Tractor - The Log Driver's Waltz [originally by Kate and Anna McGarrigle]
You can hardly get much more Canadian than this. Local E-town folk rockers Captain Tractor plug into a little Canadian nostalgia with this cover. Any Canadian kid from the 80's is bound to remember the Log Driver's Waltz and the National Film Board animated short that accompanied it with the light-footed log driver dancing with a beaver and leaping over moose all the while "birling down" the river on a log... I distinctly remember this playing often on YTV in the commerical break between Dr. Who and Ninja Turtles. See the original NFB vignette here. Little bit of trivia: Kate McGarrigle's son is none other than singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright.

Barenaked Ladies - McDonald's Girl [originally by Dean Friedman]
I used to like the Barenaked Ladies back in the day (their first album Gordon was one of my first CDs ever). I haven't really liked much since their second album, but it's hard to believe they're still kickin' around. This early live cover (recorded for radio?) is an old favourite, although I didn't even know it was a cover for years. Some background on the song can be found on the original songwriter Dean Friedman's site.

Fates Warning - Closer to the Heart [originally by Rush]
This is a fairly straight forward cover of the Rush original. I used to hate Rush years ago. I'm not sure exactly when and how, but at some point I became a huge fan. I guess the Canadian Content indoctrination worked!

Until next time, people.

EDIT: Speaking of Canadian Content, I just noticed that Steve's most recent post over at Cover Freak features Canadian Danny Michel's cover of Davie Bowie's Young Americans. In last year's year-end post, I mentioned that this cover was the top cover that I had heard in 2005 (it's actually from Danny's 2004 all-Bowie cover album, Loving the Alien). Now I would not hesitate to say that it is among my top 5 covers ever. In addition, Danny Michel's original material is top-notch and I'd say he's is one of Canada's most underrated singer-songwriters. If you ever get a chance to see him live, he puts on a great show. So head on over to Cover Freak and download it while you can. He's also posted another one of my fav's: Gina Jeffries' amazing version of Creep, a great cover of the over-covered Radiohead song. Great post!