Skip to main content

The Sound Bites Canada 150 (Part 3 of 15)

To commemorate my homeland's 150th birthday, I wracked my brain for a while and came up with a long, long list of Canadian rock artists with the intention of doing a playlist of some kind. Well, because I seem to have too much time on my hands and a nagging tendency to rank things, I decided to take this to the next logical step of making a Top 150 Canadian Rock Songs of All Time. What have I done?

Before we get into this chart, allow me to set a couple of ground rules. First, there are no repeats, by which I mean I've limited it to one song per artist (there may be a teensy bit of overlap here and there in terms of solo artists vs. their bands, but no more than one song by the same solo artist or band). Secondly, I didn't get hung up on technicalities, by which I mean it doesn't matter if the artist wrote the song themselves, if they recorded it in Canada or if they currently live in Canada; my only prerequisite is that the artist performing the song is or has been a Canadian citizen. Lastly, as much debate as to what song should go where is bound to ensue in our minds, keep in mind that the point isn't so much ranking "worst to best" as it is celebrating all of the diverse and awesome music that our nation has helped produce over the years. It's all love here.

The Sound Bites Canada 150 is being presented ten at a time every weekday between June 12-30. Feel free to follow along, scoff in disapproval at the rankings and, most importantly, get patriotic and loud!

Here are songs 130 to 121:

130 THRUSH HERMIT French Inhale (1994)


129 LEE AARON Metal Queen (1984)


128 METZ Wasted (2012)


127 THE MONOXIDES (Can't Get) Excited (1997)


126 ARKELLS Knocking At the Door (2017)


125 CHILLIWACK Whatcha Gonna Do (1982)


124 BY DIVINE RIGHT 5 Bucks (1999)


123 BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE 7/4 Shoreline (2005)


122 KILLER DWARFS We Stand Alone (1988)


121 THE DEARS Death or Life We Want You (2006)


The countdown continues tomorrow!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Year in Rock 2025

  Alright, I've got some explaining to do.   By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but:   a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...

Year in Rock 2013 Nominee: Arctic Monkeys

ARCTIC MONKEYS Do I Wanna Know? From: AM Released: September 10 That Year in Rock 2012's Single of the Year R U Mine? ended up on this album is pleasing, and it fits the motif well enough. But R U Mine? isn't what makes Arctic Monkeys' fifth album an Album of the Year contender. Sweaty, sultry and pulsing with sexual energy, AM is the kind of record that's just as effective whether you're chilling out after a long day, staring into a mirror prepping yourself for a late night clubbing session or setting the mood for some escapades in the boudoir.

Year in Rock 2023: Album of the Year #10-1

Now we're getting somewhere; the top ten, where there are no duds or mids, only bangers. Also, no more teasing it out; let's wrap this up!  What I've learned this year from my ten faves this year is that it is indeed still possible for a dude approaching his fifties to more or less stay up to date on the new school. Of course, there are some listed here that got a boost from playing tribute to the old school, but there is an undercurrent happening in rock that points to the future. But, I'm getting ahead of myself; here come the champs. 10 MILITARIE GUN Life Under the Gun June 23, 2023 • Loma Vista Highlights Very High Will Logic Never Fucked Up Once Rising from the ranks of the still-potent L.A. hardcore scene, the debut record from Militarie Gun (following a trio of EPs) bears a dash of polish that's expected with backing from a larger label; the tension and energy remain, though, resulting in one of the catchiest hardcore albums I can think of in recent years. 9 ...