[direwolf74]

Just picked up the latest issue of Chart. Every five years or so they do their top 50 list of Canadian albums and songs of all time, which is always a fun read. According to the mag, here's how they do the voting:

"Everyone actively participating in "the biz" were permitted to vote. Even drummers! Eventually 450 separate peeps ended up checking in to the polling station. Folks were allowed to nominate up to 10 albums and five songs, ranked in order. The songs and albums were then given point values based on their ranking, which would then get added together."

So here's the official results. Not a bad list if you ask me. My only complaint is that it's a little too Sloan-heavy. Nothing against Sloan of course. I think they're a great band, but 4 albums in the top 50?? Gimme a break.

Albums:

1. Sloan- Twice Removed
2. Neil Young- Harvest
3. Joni Mitchell- Blue
4. Broken Social Scene- You Forgot it in People
5. Neil Young- After the Gold Rush
6. The Weakerthans- Left & Leaving
7. The Lowest of the Low- Shakespeare, My Butt
8. The Tragically Hip- Fully Completely
9. The Band- The Band
10. Rheostatics- Whale Music
11. K-OS- Joyful Rebellion
12. The New Pornographers- Mass Romantic
13. Sloan- One Chord to Another
14. The Band- Music From Big Pink
15. Rush- 2112
16. Sloan- Smeared
17. Arcade Fire- Funeral
18. Rush- Moving Pictures
19. Sarah McLachlan- Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
20. Leonard Cohen- Songs of Love and Hate
21. The Tragically Hip- Day for Night
22. Blue Rodeo- Five Days in July
23. Hayden- Everything I Long For
24. Neil Young- Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
25. Metric- Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
26. Eric's Trip- Love Tara
27. The Constantines- Shine a Light
28. The Guess Who- American Woman
29. Neil Young- Rust Never Sleeps
30. The Constantines- The Constantines
31. Thrush Hermit- Clayton Park
32. The Tragically Hip- Up to Here
33. Superfriendz- Mock Up Scale Down
34. NomeansNo- Wrong
35. Sarah Harmer- You Were Here
36. Blue Rodeo- Outskirts
37. Sam Roberts- We Were Born in a Flame
38. Billy Talent- Billy Talent
39. Neil Young- Tonight's the Night
40. Bryan Adams- Reckless
41. Sloan- Navy Blues
42. Leonard Cohen- Songs of Leonard Cohen
43. Feist- Let it Die
44. Rheostatics- Melville
45. Rufus Wainright- Rufus Wainright
46. Cowboy Junkies- The Trinity Session
47. Alanis Morissette- Jagged Little Pill
48. Death From Above 1979- You're a Woman, I'm a Machine
49. Our Lady Peace- Clumsy
50. Matthew Good Band- Beautiful Midnight


Ok, I'm getting tired of typing, so I'll just give ya the top 20 songs:

1. The Guess Who- American Woman
2. Sloan- Underwhelmed
3. Neil Young- The Needle and the Damage Done
4. Gordon Lightfoot- Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
5. Bryan Adams- Summer of '69
6. Rush- Tom Sawyer
7. The Band- The Weight
8. Neil Young- Cortez the Killer
9. Neil Young- Heart of Gold
10. Leonard Cohen- Hallelujah
11. Neil Young- Rockin' in the Free World
12. Maestro Fresh Wes- Let Your Backbone Slide
13. Gordon Lightfoot- If You Could Read My Mind
14. The Tragically Hip- New Orleans is Sinking
15. Payolas- Eyes of a Stranger
16. Neil Young- Cinnamon Girl
17. Joni Mitchell- A Case of You
18. Leonard Cohen- Suzanne
19. The Weakerthans- Left and Leaving
20. Sloan- Coax Me

Amazingly the Hip only have one song in the top 50, while the aforementioned Sloan have 5, reinforcing my opinion that there's way too much Sloan on these lists. A few other bands they missed: Headstones, The Watchmen, Junkhouse, Weeping Tile, The Pursuit of Happiness, Change of Heart, The Northern Pikes, Kathleen Edwards, Skydiggers, The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, and Ron Sexsmith. Each and every one of these bands has released at least one amazing album worthy of being on this list. Strange how after polling 450 people these bands were somehow left out.

[thipfan73]

I notice lots and lots of newer stuff on there. It's about what's fresh in the mind it looks like.

[cferneyh]

It's always nice to see a list that was voted on by the parents of the guys in Sloan.

I consider myself a fan of Sloan but Twice Removed as the Top Canadian CD of all time? Yikes! Way to blow out any credibility with the rest of the list.

[Stephen Dame]

So here's the official results. Not a bad list if you ask me. My only complaint is that it's a little too Sloan-heavy. Nothing against Sloan of course. I think they're a great band, but 4 albums in the top 50?? Gimme a break.

Somewhere Josh is smiling huh?

ArcadeFire and The Constantines in the top 50 of all time? And where the hell is Stompin' Tom?

[direwolf74]

So here's the official results. Not a bad list if you ask me. My only complaint is that it's a little too Sloan-heavy. Nothing against Sloan of course. I think they're a great band, but 4 albums in the top 50?? Gimme a break.

Somewhere Josh is smiling huh?

ArcadeFire and The Constantines in the top 50 of all time? And where the hell is Stompin' Tom?

Haha! Yeah, I'm sure he's loving every minute of this. The Arcade Fire's album and the Constantines' "Shine a Light" are amazing records, and they definitely deserve to be on a list of "best albums of the last 5 years" but in my opinion they're both too new to include on a best of all time list. You have to let an album age a little bit before giving it that kind of honor.

[tigerthelion]

I find these lists ridiculous to be honest. I know I'm biased, being a Hip fan but all these "music guys and gals" are biased also. It's all opinion.

I'm glad to see so many Neil Young songs in the top twenty because he deserves all the credit he gets and more. The man is a musical genius. The song "Underwhelmed" by Sloan being #2 on the list is a complete and utter farce.

There are way too many indie bands, or almost indie bands in the top 50 albums list. Broken Social Scene, The Weakerthans, and The Lowest of the Low don't deserve to be that high on the list. They are all good bands but I just don't see them deserving a spot that high. I mean, top 50 albums should be top heavy with cd's from Canadian heavyweights like the Hip, Neil, Joni, Rush, The Band. I've yet to comprehend the critical acclaim of "Twice Removed". Sure, Sloan are a decent band but it baffles me how they get so much credit. Is it because they aren't that big in Canada that people rebel and say they are better than they actually are to prove a point? If Sloan sold as many records as the Hip, would they still get the critical acclaim?? I think, NO they wouldn't. I mean, why not put "The Dinner is Ruined" on the list. haha I wouldn't have a problem if Neil Young had the top 6 cd's. I mean, he's that good!!! IMO Sloan are not Canadian legends. They are a semi-big band from eastern Canada who put out a few decent records. Somewhere along the way, the word got out that they were a GREAT BAND!!

[thipfan73]

HEY! WHERE'S ELVIS!!!

Oh wait...wrong country...nevermind :oops:


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Stephen Dame]

I still don't know why Eric Clapton isn't considered on these lists. His dad was a Canadian soldier who knocked up a war bride (Well, she woulda been if he'd stuck around and married 'er) during WWII. He qualifies as a citizen, although not as CANCON, but I'd still like to claim him... even if it's a flimsy claim.

[direwolf74]

I find these lists ridiculous to be honest. I know I'm biased, being a Hip fan but all these "music guys and gals" are biased also. It's all opinion.

I'm glad to see so many Neil Young songs in the top twenty because he deserves all the credit he gets and more. The man is a musical genius. The song "Underwhelmed" by Sloan being #2 on the list is a complete and utter farce.

There are way too many indie bands, or almost indie bands in the top 50 albums list. Broken Social Scene, The Weakerthans, and The Lowest of the Low don't deserve to be that high on the list. They are all good bands but I just don't see them deserving a spot that high. I mean, top 50 albums should be top heavy with cd's from Canadian heavyweights like the Hip, Neil, Joni, Rush, The Band. I've yet to comprehend the critical acclaim of "Twice Removed". Sure, Sloan are a decent band but it baffles me how they get so much credit. Is it because they aren't that big in Canada that people rebel and say they are better than they actually are to prove a point? If Sloan sold as many records as the Hip, would they still get the critical acclaim?? I think, NO they wouldn't. I mean, why not put "The Dinner is Ruined" on the list. haha I wouldn't have a problem if Neil Young had the top 6 cd's. I mean, he's that good!!! IMO Sloan are not Canadian legends. They are a semi-big band from eastern Canada who put out a few decent records. Somewhere along the way, the word got out that they were a GREAT BAND!!

I agree that the list should probably feature more heavyweights near the top, but just because a band is "indie" or "new" doesn't mean their music isn't as good as the stuff that came before it. The Lowest of the Low are Canadian legends in my opinion. Along with the criminally underrated Change of Heart, the Low are partly responsible for the Canadian indie-rock explosion of the early 90s. And the Weakerthans may only have 3 albums so far, but they certainly deserve to be high up on the list. They're seriously that good. John K. Samson is easily one of the greatest songwriters this country has ever produced, period. There, I said it. And he's just gettin' warmed up too!

But I definitely agree with you regarding Neil Young. The guy deserves every ounce of credit he gets. When you think about it he's pretty much the godfather of modern Canadian rock. One of my favorite quotes of his was when a Canadian reporter asked him about how he spends so much time working with Pearl Jam, and why he's never given a similar helping hand to the Hip. Neil simply responded by saying, "They don't need my help."

I wonder if the Hip and Neil will jam at the Junos?? One can only hope.

[cferneyh]

One of my favorite quotes of his was when a Canadian reporter asked him about how he spends so much time working with Pearl Jam, and why he's never given a similar helping hand to the Hip. Neil simply responded by saying, "They don't need my help."

I'd never heard that. Very cool!

[j-monster]

I really like Sloan a lot... but it does seem like they are over-represented on those lists. For some reason they became the darlings of the critics... hard to say why that happens while equally good bands don't get that response from the critics.

These lists seem not too bad to me... while it's easy enough to ask why certain artists aren't represented, at least to me there are very few that don't deserve to be mentioned at all.

I would say that, if TPOH's "I'm an Adult Now" didn't crack the top 50 song list, I'd be disappointed... to me that's the quintessential Canadian indie rock song of the '80s... not to mention the lyrics are so cool (unfortunately, as I get older I'm starting to realize they are also so TRUE... damn that growing up!).

[direwolf74]

I really like Sloan a lot... but it does seem like they are over-represented on those lists. For some reason they became the darlings of the critics... hard to say why that happens while equally good bands don't get that response from the critics.

These lists seem not too bad to me... while it's easy enough to ask why certain artists aren't represented, at least to me there are very few that don't deserve to be mentioned at all.

I would say that, if TPOH's "I'm an Adult Now" didn't crack the top 50 song list, I'd be disappointed... to me that's the quintessential Canadian indie rock song of the '80s... not to mention the lyrics are so cool (unfortunately, as I get older I'm starting to realize they are also so TRUE... damn that growing up!).

TOPH's "Love Junk" is such a classic album. Anytime I'm feeling nostalgic for the heydey of Canadian rock, I always throw it on for old times sake. Moe Berg wrote some great pop songs in his day, and the band could rock out with the best of 'em. "The Downward Road" and "Where's the Bone" were also good albums.

[tigerthelion]

I find these lists ridiculous to be honest. I know I'm biased, being a Hip fan but all these "music guys and gals" are biased also. It's all opinion.

I'm glad to see so many Neil Young songs in the top twenty because he deserves all the credit he gets and more. The man is a musical genius. The song "Underwhelmed" by Sloan being #2 on the list is a complete and utter farce.

There are way too many indie bands, or almost indie bands in the top 50 albums list. Broken Social Scene, The Weakerthans, and The Lowest of the Low don't deserve to be that high on the list. They are all good bands but I just don't see them deserving a spot that high. I mean, top 50 albums should be top heavy with cd's from Canadian heavyweights like the Hip, Neil, Joni, Rush, The Band. I've yet to comprehend the critical acclaim of "Twice Removed". Sure, Sloan are a decent band but it baffles me how they get so much credit. Is it because they aren't that big in Canada that people rebel and say they are better than they actually are to prove a point? If Sloan sold as many records as the Hip, would they still get the critical acclaim?? I think, NO they wouldn't. I mean, why not put "The Dinner is Ruined" on the list. haha I wouldn't have a problem if Neil Young had the top 6 cd's. I mean, he's that good!!! IMO Sloan are not Canadian legends. They are a semi-big band from eastern Canada who put out a few decent records. Somewhere along the way, the word got out that they were a GREAT BAND!!

I agree that the list should probably feature more heavyweights near the top, but just because a band is "indie" or "new" doesn't mean their music isn't as good as the stuff that came before it. The Lowest of the Low are Canadian legends in my opinion.


I wonder if the Hip and Neil will jam at the Junos?? One can only hope.

My point is--- just because a band is an indie band, they shouldn't get more critical acclaim than an established band. I see it all too often. I mean, I'm almost positive the Hip would get better reviews if they sold only about 400,000 records in their career. For a lot of music writers, it seems it's the cool thing to do to hype a band that isn't popular and sing it's praises!

Being indie doesn't mean the music isn't as good but it shouldn't mean the music is better either. It reminds me of the movie "Open Water". Some "indie movie" fans loved it and said it was amazing and way better than those "Hollywood" movies. It's as if being "indie" automatically adds creditibilty. Hey, if I think a movie is good, I'll say it's good whether the budget was 1 million or 100 million.

[soquester]

Where's Trooper!?

Raise a Little Hell should be on the songs list at least...

[direwolf74]

My point is--- just because a band is an indie band, they shouldn't get more critical acclaim than an established band. I see it all too often. I mean, I'm almost positive the Hip would get better reviews if they sold only about 400,000 records in their career. For a lot of music writers, it seems it's the cool thing to do to hype a band that isn't popular and sing it's praises!

Now this I totally agree with. As a music fan there's nothing more annoying than elitist holier-than-thou music critics who write off a band like the Hip simply because they're on a major label and that they've sold few million records. I've often heard certain critics (Mike Bell of the Calgary Sun, I'm lookin at you) call them a "glorified bar band", which has always bugged me, mainly because as a fan I know that there's so much more to their music than what the critics see. I still find it interesting that the majority of positive Hip reviews always come from the U.S., while Canadian critics are always trying to find new ways to shit on them and knock them from their lofty perch. I thought it was great last year to see Gord going off on the critics in some of the interviews he did. I imagine that stuff was brewing up inside him for quite some time.