CanCon

#1073: An Hour of Radio in the Morning (2014)

I decided like Aaron to cover an hour in the morning, so it’s not too different from the programming he heard.  If I had done an afternoon, there would be some LeBrain promos on Marko’s show, but I chose the Midday Lockdown with DJ Patrick Dynamite.

PATRICK DYNAMITE 10:00 – 11:00 Aug 12 2014

  1. Oasis – “Don’t Look Back in Anger”

Station ID

  1. Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (single mix)

Patrick announces Kiss/Def Leppard show tonight, and upcoming songs.  “Here’s Kiss from ’79’s Dynasty, thanks for rockin’ with Dave.”  Knew the album and year – bonus.  (The computer doesn’t always give them this info because it often pulls songs like this from a greatest hits CD.)

  1. Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”

Station ID for morning show (5 seconds)

  1. Big Wreck – “A Million Days” – great guitar solo often mistaken for Steve Morse! (CanCon)

Patrick announces contest to win tickets to Alice In Chains/Monster Truck next week.  Also meet and greet!

COMMERCIALS: Funny clip from morning show, Tim’s, car loan, auto parts, lawyer, Athletic Club, Waterloo Brewing Company, Seagram coolers, station ID.

  1. Trooper – “We’re Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time)” – first song I could skip. (CanCon)

Station ID for “new rock” – Theory of a Dead Man.

  1. Theory of a Dead Man – “Drown” – crappy post-grunge. (CanCon)

Patrick announces chance to win the last Dave FM Backyard Bash for the summer.  Party for 20 plus a new patio set.

COMMERCIALS:  Tim’s, Hyundai, arrive alive (drive sober), Moparfest.

Patrick – weather

  1. The Police – “Synchronicity II” – awesome tune

LEGENDS OF CLASSIC ROCK with Jeff Woods – Eric Clapton throws a legendary party in ’79:  the Beatles reunion that never was, because Lennon didn’t know.

  1. The Beatles – “Come Together”

Station ID (5 seconds)

  1. Three Days Grace – “Chalk Outline” – more crappy post-grunge. (CanCon)

Patrick – recaps the last songs, announces Alice Cooper concert on Halloween in Kitchener!  Pre-sale info available for Dave FM members.

COMMERCIALS:  Dave FM ride to end Multiple Sclerosis, debt resolution, Subway, auto sales, Fido, drivercheck.ca, Moxy’s, an evening with Alice Cooper, station ID.

  1. Triumph – “Magic Power” (CanCon)

Station ID (about 30 seconds)

  1. AC/DC – “TNT”

 

More Classic Iron Sheik Tweets

Here are a dozen more tweets from the Iron Sheik’s Twitter account.  Rumour has it that his account is handled by a couple Canadian guys.  What do you think based on the Can-Con in some of the tweets below?  Canadian Beer Day and Carly Rae Jepson?  There’s definitely something Canadian going on with his Twitter.

Love you Sheiky Baby!

#471: Canadian Rawk

STRAT

GETTING MORE TALE #471: Canadian Rawk

What do you think of when you read the words “Canadian rock”?  Perhaps you imagine the vocal shrieks and drum thrills of Rush?  If you have a negative impression of Canadian music, no doubt your mind drifts to the sultry sounds of Nickelback.  Landmark artists from the golden age that you know would include Neil Young, the Guess Who, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Joni Mitchell, Steppenwolf and countless more.

Canada has always had an inferiority complex when it comes to our southern neighbours, the Americans.  In the music world, this is manifested in “CanCon”.  Simply put, Canadian radio broadcasters must play at least 40% Canadian content.  Starting in 1968, fears that American artists would flood our airwaves resulted in the first CanCon rules.  If you have ever bought a Canadian CD, perhaps you have seen the letters MAPL on the back.  MAPL is an acronym that determines if content does indeed qualify as Canadian.

MAPL

M:  Music.  Did a Canadian write the tune?
A:  Artist.  Is the primary artist a citizen of the Great White North?
P:  Performance.  Was the recording made in Canadian, in a Canadian studio?  Or for live albums, was the concert on Canadian soil?
L:  Lyrics.  Separate from the music qualifier, this determines if the lyrics were written by a Canadian.

Controversy erupted in 1991.  Bryan Adams had the biggest record of his career, Waking Up the Neighbors, which was co-written by Robert John “Mutt” Lang and recorded overseas.  Under the MAPL rules (since tweaked to avoid this situation), Adams did not qualify as CanCon.  His manager Bruce Allen was quite vocal against these rules.  Allen was never one to mince words, but he sparked a discussion on CanCon rules and how they ultimately hurt Canadian artists.  Flooding the airwaves with Canadian songs that weren’t that good was one issue commonly discussed. Another was that some international artists qualified for CanCon by recording in Canada with some of our most in-demand hit-makers such as Jim Vallance or Bruce Fairbairn.   Finally, these rules implied a lack of confidence in the strength of our own music.

Some feel that there is a stigma in being Canadian.   Though controversial, some feel there is such thing as a “Canadian sound”.  While this is obviously not universal, I do think there is something to it.  There is a commonality in Canadian bands that defies description.  To my ears, the Tragically Hip sound Canadian.  BTO and the Guess Who sound Canadian.  So does Bryan Adams.  I can’t explain it nor do I want to open that can of worms.  I think the roots of Canadian rock, going back to Neil Young and the Guess Who, are basic folksy traditional origins.  I think this has somehow been passed on in our DNA.  This is not always considered a good thing.  The alternative rock band I Mother Earth put out their debut album Dig in 1993, utilizing Mike Clink as producer and hoping to break open in the American market.  They were hyped as “the next Jane’s Addition”, but they did not want to be openly identified as Canadian in promo materials.  They felt that there was indeed a Canadian stigma and they would have more success if their citizenship wasn’t brought up.  M.E.A.T Magazine covered this story but were firmly in the pro-Canadian camp.

Here at mikeladano.com, we don’t have to follow CanCon rules, but Canadian content has dominated regardless.  I believe that our music is strong enough to stand proudly on its own.  We have so much talent in this country.  So many incredible songs have emerged from the frozen tundra.  Countless incredible, under-appreciated, creative artists:  VoiVod, Paul MacLeod, Sloan, Death From Above 1979, Blue Rodeo, Strapping Young Lad, the Trews, Sarah Harmer, Big Sugar…the list truly is endless because great new performers emerge every day.  When I worked at the old Record Store, we were fiercely proud Canadians.  We put a little Canadian flag sticker on the header cards of every Canadian artist.  A lot of customers would say, “I didn’t know that singer was Canadian!”

This week, join me each day for a close look  at some good Canadian Rawk albums that you may have missed over the years.  Trust me, you do not want to miss these reviews or you may miss a future favourite record.  Grab a Timmies or a wobbly pop and get ready to rock!

 

REVIEW: Lee Aaron – Lee Aaron (1987 remastered)

LEE FRONT

LEE AARON – Lee Aaron (1987 Unidisc Music)

Lee Aaron: Canada’s “Metal Queen”. It is a name she will never live down despite the credible jazz career.  Try as she did to distance herself from the Metal Queen tag, Lee’s seems to embrace it more recently, even throwing a funky jazz-tinged version into her sets, as a mash-up with “Mysterious Ways” by U2!  And it works!

In the late 80’s, Lee (aka Karen) was less comfortable than today with being the Metal Queen, and her 1987 self-titled disc is possibly the best example of this.  All shades of metal were dropped; what was left is a mainstream pop rock record co-written with professionals such as Marc Ribler and Joe freakin’ Lynn Turner.

Growing up in Canada, you basically had two mainstream choices in female rock singers: Lita Ford, or Lee Aaron. That was all MuchMusic would play.  OK, sure the odd Joan Jett track too, after her resurgence with Up Your Alley.  That was it.  Otherwise the Pepsi Power Hour was pretty much devoid of regular female rock heroes.  There were the odd flashes in the pain — Vixen, Madame X — but Lee and Lita were the only two to get regular play year in year out.  Lee of course had the trump card labelled CanCon in her deck.

I got this album for Christmas 1987, and I was so disappointed. The sound — plastic, turgid, processed, synthetic, with hardly any guitars. The songs — commercial pop designed to get played on the radio and not a hint of metal to be found anywhere.  John Albini (now blonde all of a sudden?) is still her guitarist and co-writer, but there’s much less guitar on this album.  There are also some truly awful, awful songs on here, most notably “Don’t Rain On My Parade”. I won’t tell what that rains smells like, but it don’t smell good.

The single/ballad “Only Human” is a decent song, very soft, but not too far off from stuff the Scorpions would do later on!  (Lee actually sang backup vocals on “The Rhythm of Love” by the Scorps in ’88.)  The best track is actually the pop keyboard rocker, “Powerline”.  The guitar is not as dominant as the keyboards, but it does at least have some guitar.  It has Joe Lynn Turner’s melodic sensibilities and songcraft, hooks galore, and a smashing chorus.

But then you get tripe like “Goin’ Off the Deep End”, “Dream With Me”, and…ugh.  There was just no way, as a 15 year old, I was going to let anybody catch me listening to those songs.  People might have thought I’d stolen my sister’s Tiffany tapes or something.

Turns out that Lee, despite that powerful voice, just wasn’t cut out to be a Metal Queen. She’s doing great as a jazz singer, and I think that’s just fine.

1/5 stars