12: Canadian Content
Can Con, Rush, SCTV, Bob and Doug, Trailer Park Boys, Alan Cross and that thing people do when you don't know a thing they think you should.
Just in case:
Canadian Content laws were only a decade old when we were discovering music. We had never heard of the rule, but we kept an eye on Canadian bands, because they were Canadian. Can Con was a set of broadcasting rules about which percentage of music on Canadian stations was Canadian. Prior to Can Con, Canadian radio avoided Canadian artists entirely - there’s a reason the first Canadian Big Acts moved to the USA (Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, etc.) - that’s where they made it.
We played a game, out loud, perpetually, called Which Bands Are from Canada?, and our sources were based on rumours and a couple of books at the bookstore (one of which claimed Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson had originally met in “a suburb of Toronto called Sarnia” - which blew our minds because it mentioned us, and offended us because it was wrong. Sarnia is about 3.5 hours from Toronto, driving. First time for that feeling).
Rush in 1981 were the greatest, tastiest band on the planet. Moving Pictures still works, and never didn’t. They had a singular career as a band. They never “left” Canada - it’s not that weird to spot Geddy around town. They never got “too big” for Canada, remaining ours despite having millions of fans around the world, despite being Gods in Brazil. They show up on Trailer Park Boys and other low-art celebrations (see below under Bob and Doug McKenzie). They’re funny guys.
They never changed members (except after their first record, which decision brought to the world Neil Peart). And they lived their lives with their music - they didn’t ruin their family lives, they stopped touring whenever they needed to, they didn’t get addicted - they just did both things at the same time in a measured, smart way that seems uncommon. Role models. A few years ago they retired. Well done, sirs!
And musically - jeeeesus they were good.
All that being said, I personally listened to all of their records, until 1985 - and then bowed out. My tastes changed, they changed, and I didn’t listen to them again for years.
And THAT being said, ALSO, lots of what they did was really boring. They hit the mark a few times, and they were always talented, but I don’t intend to ever listen to Hemispheres again.
A lot of it was Prog Rock, which was mostly horrible. I have a specific deep love for heavy rock from THIS particular era of only a few years - 80-82? - and a theory about it, which I will share when we discuss The Short Period When Prog Rockers Learned to Write Songs and Rock, Immediately Before Becoming Awful. Wait for it.
In my mid-20s, Geddy Lee came into the bookstore where I was working (Lichtman’s Bookstore at Yonge and Bloor if you knew it). I was busy with a line-up, but heard this little voice off by the door that said “Hey man, can I bring my coffee in here?” I looked up - and I was actually star-struck.
I don’t get star-struck, but Mr. Lee must’ve come into my consciousness early enough to be hardwired. (I suspect I’d be unable to speak to Steve Martin if I met him, too.) I looked up already surprised by the question - because nobody usually asked or cared if they could bring their coffee into the store, even in polite Toronto.
Geddy Lee is polite for a Canadian. That’s top-level, son.
Then I thought “I loved you when I was 12!”; then I realized nobody says “I loved you when I was 12” to an artist who’s still going. So I said, “Yeah, man.” And he said “Thanks.” He was carrying a baby, and was with a woman, and they eventually bought about 20 home decor magazines.
About 10 years later I would spot him again, as I stepped out of my front door. He was visiting with someone across the street, and they were standing on the sidewalk chatting. I was glued to my spot, and did that thing where you pretend you’re looking at something else. I kind of couldn’t look away. Then I did.
Bands that we thought might be Canadian that were NOT included The Who (cuz of the Guess Who, I think) and Deep Purple. We were also certain Steve Martin was Canadian. He should be. We didn’t consult an encyclopedia at the library - there might have even been a couple of books. It just wasn’t weird to carry incomplete information around in your head then. You just held the spot open - for years, you could wonder about something. And then stumble across it. It was kind of nice.
We knew plenty of bands, though - thus the running list - and tracked them jealously. Knowing Canadian bands made me feel Canadian, made it feel like Canada was real - the same way seeing the word Sarnia in that book made us real. It would be another few years before Canadian rock bands would sing about Canada (YYZ’s title was the most Canadian thing in a Rush song, and it was an Easter Egg - it’s the airport designation for Toronto). But they would.
Coincidentally to my thinking about Rush, this year is the 50th anniversary of Can Con, which turned out to be a phenomenal success: Canada now has a real scene, with production infrastructure and labels and international stars. Alan Cross’s podcast has an episode on the anniversary and the detailed history of Can Con (did you know it was created in part by the cats who started RPM magazine?) - check it out here or click the picture below. (It’s the Feb 24th episode.)
Canadian Content laws were widely derided at first, as all big new ideas are. And being a governmental/bureaucratic phenomenon, some very silly instances of its poor application have occurred.
The greatest instance was with SCTV - a very, very Canadian comedy show, with Canadian comedians filmed in Canada by Canadian crews and shown in Canada - which the CRTC informed needed more Canadianness. Irritated by this, the writers threw together a series of skits with two dopey hosers who would sit, drink beer and talk shit in toques and parkas, in front of a big map of The Great White North. And then it took off.
Bob and Doug Mackenzie
Bob and Doug McKenzie became a massive fad: they put out a comedy record, with a single featuring Geddy Lee (see?) singing “Take off!”, and we all worshipped it, with no idea that it was all a satirical take on Can Con. We enjoyed it purely as a collection of catch phrases and silly, drunk jokes. My wife and I re-listened to it over the Xmas break and it’s only funny now when you consider the roots. At 12 we loved it at face value. I can still remember how it felt to hear this stupid song - what a great feeling. The video at the bottom is the show at its best.
Thank you for reading. If you like it, please share it.
Stay groovy.
xo jep