Big in Canada

Whether in song, print, or on daytime television, Bif Naked is never afraid to bare the truth. After cutting her teeth in the Winnipeg and Vancouver punk scenes, Bif emerged as a singular, genre-blending, solo artist in the mid-90s. She played Lilith Fair and Warped Tour in the same year, has conquered cancer, and released a bunch of great records - rock on, Bif. Also discussed: Snow Job, Summersa...

It's Big in Canada's first ever Summer Gab Fest! Laura and Mac somehow have even more to say about Wavin' Flag, wonder if Katy Perry is CanCon Coded, and talk new music from Ada Lea, Pig Pen, Billianne, No Joy, and Yawn. 

In this special episode of Big in Canada, we rank the performance of every soloist featured on the Young Artists for Haiti version of "Wavin' Flag." We consider their artistic merit, effort, and the flare they add to their lines. Who will come out on top? Who did not care enough? Who added too much sauce? Also discussed: "Wavin' Flag", the choir, snubs, celebrity charit...

Bongos. Drama. Three Strong Words. These are just some of the defining features of 90s alt-rock band I Mother Earth. For Mac, the band's psychedelic and latin infused tunes open his third eye while Laura is just happy this episode is over. Also discussed: The 90s alt-rock explosion, Edwin's Himbo Energy, bongos, Canadian songs about California Hall of Fame, terrible album art, riffs, prog, switchi...

Does Amanda Marshall have another GOATED album? No! But that hasn't stopped us from digging into the hits (and misses) from the latter part of her career, her 20 year absence from the circuit, and her triumphant (and joyful) return to stages across Canada forever. Also discussed: the Federal Bureau of Canada Day Concerts, SWAG, Neil Young vs. Lynyrd Skynyrd, a (not so) brief history of Canadia...

"First Amanda Marshall album GOATED." Given this undeniable fact, we go track by track through Amanda Marshall , an album that features at least one, but probably 4 or 5 songs, you didn't know you know. Also discussed: Amanda's early career, Jeff Healy, not the Globe and Mail's list of albums "you should hear now", Barenaked at Blockbuster, Emily Haines...just shy?,...

Bass is Base burst onto MuchMusic brandishing rap and music nerd credentials, with a sound that was jazzy, funky, soulful, technical and that you might almost classify it as hip hop. Did this Cancon super group (in hindsight) prove that hip hop could go pop in Canada? Laura and Mac rev up the funkmobile to find out. Also discussed: Barenaked in America, celebrity chefs, even more Three Strong Word...

Lights has never had a mega hit, but she has won a bunch of JUNOs, maintained a cult following (in Canada and beyond), and has low-key been ahead of her time at various points of her career. How did this happen? Was it the Cancon connections? The confused aesthetics? The comics? Christ? The cursive singing? We run down the 5 Cs of Lights. Also discussed: "True Colors", Drake trending tow...

In part two of our dissection of professional Canadian rock band Metric, we reach a final verdict on whether or not Haines, Shaw and co., are indeed Cancon. Can this FACTOR-funded, Juno-winning outfit overcome their deep desire to be cool and a professional NOT Canadian rock band? Seems unlikely! Also discussed: cursed Cancon artifacts, Brian Wilson, the albums of Metric, theatre kid energy, Emily...

In part one of a two-part exploration into professional Canadian rock band Metric, Mac and Laura go long on their Cancon field trip to the Metric and Sam Roberts Band show in Toronto. From there they set the scene for Metric's reluctant, yet clinical rise to Canadian rock royalty. Also discussed: Three Strong Words: Polaris Music Prize Edition, JUNO President and CEO Allan Reid and his awe-ins...

The Sky story has it all: triumph, tragedy, nepotism, confused aesthetics, too-fast-fame, a vast web of connections and one incredible song. But by the time this Quebec duo had peaked, it was, pretty much, already over (with all due respect to Karl Wolf). Also discussed: Three Strong Words, new music, Avril auto-tune accusation controversy, "Lean on Me" by ArtistsCAN, recording guitars o...

Matt Bobkin and Adam Feibel are back to talk about their book In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World (out today!) . We get into artists like Alexisonfire, Gob, Skye Sweetnam, City & Colour, Avril Lavigne and Silverstein and discuss how as a whole this scene is greater than the sum (41) of its parts. Also discussed: Barenaked in America, Jay Malinowski's wedding, roller hockey...

Billy Talent arrived fully-formed, just in time to convert a generation of Canadian pre-teens onto the promise of punk. Matt Bobkin and Adam Feibel, authors of In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World , are on the pod to explain how this band of Mississauga misfits helped bring hardcore into the mainstream. Also discussed: "Young & Dumb", David Crosby, 60s California pop/00s Cancon...

Manitoban man of mystery Remy Shand was poised to be big everywhere . But was it all too much, too fast for this soul savant? We consider the career of an artist that was both ahead of and before his time. Also: other songs about California by Canadians, Oakville rock city, magical boxes of vinyl, high school jazz bands, soulful jazzy teenagers, home recording, one-man bands, the Grammy Awards, ho...

Pack your bags, sunscreen and small town dreams because this week, we are going to "California" with one of the 7 wonders of Niagara, Wave. How did two boys from the Falls manage to write one of the best songs about going to California of all time? We trace this confusingly branded and magically signed pop duo's short but impactful trip to the Golden State and back. Also discussed: potentially fak...

Johnny Payne and James Younger of Impossible Way of Life join Mac and Laura for a journey back to the late 1970s. We discuss the ultimate double A-side by Oakville's own, The Kings and find out how a powerful Canadian super producer wound up working with and breaking this band of goofs. Plus: more 3 word band names, Mark Carney + Down With Webster, defining Cancon classic rock, our theme song,...

Tween/teen grunge-rockers Serial Joe (somehow) went from a basement in Newmarket, Ontario to rocking out at Woodstock '99. Mac and Laura try and figure out how that happened and wonder, is it all a mistake? Also discussed: YTV’s System Crash, Big Shiny Tunes 4, The New VR, Edgefest, evil doctors in Cancon music videos, and much more.

Kiki, we love you. Keshia Chanté redefined Canadian R&B before she could even get her driver's license. Mac and Laura discuss her career, her hits and what made her such a game changing figure in Canadian R&B. Also discussed: The Canadian Football League, the soft sounds of 90s R&B in Canada, teen stardom, the 2005 Junos, nerds, Cancon band names, Director X, scene building, becomi...

We take a big sip from our red solo cups and dive into the life and times of rap party rockers Down With Webster. But beware: the floors are sticky, the morals are questionable, the neon is bright, the outfits are bad and there are so many dudes in this band. Also discussed: walk-on and walk-off songs when becoming Prime Minister, Shrode, being in a band in middle school, MySpace, fan interaction,...

We (sort of) watched the Junos so you didn't have to. We dig into the big winners, the best performances and the fake awards. Cancon is alive and well at the Juno Awards. Also discussed: Sum 41, Anne Murray, Nemahsis, Michael Bublé, Peach Pit, Deantha Edmunds, Good Charlotte, old punks, international achievement and of course, our friend, Tate McRae.

Before she changed the words of "O Canada" at the Big Game, Chantal Kreviazuk was, somehow, kinda everywhere. A solo artist, writer of '00s pop smashes and scene setter for the most significant Canadian hip-hop album of all-time. How the hell did this happen? Also discussed: soundtracks, vowel sounds, hockey, influencing Avril, piano, Raine, Chantal's "Canadian career", bad album titles, Christian...

Oh Jann-ada. Mac, Laura and certified Jann Fann Dorothea Paas discuss the beauty, the humour, the sacred and the profane of one of Canada's greatest Adult Contemporary Musicians/Comedians, Jann Arden. Also discussed: The Launch, Jann the sitcom, singing in bars, anti-capitalist art, stage banter, 90s production, songwriting, humour, Mk. Gee and ML Buch, Calgary, horny Christians and much more.

Mac and Laura chart the rise, fall, and enduring legacy of Sugar Jones, the winners of Popstars (Canada) Season 1 and Canada's foremost turn-of-the-century girl group. Also discussed: a little more Moist, reality TV, bad dudes on reality TV, the cruel music industry, the pre-Idol scaries, girl groups v boy bands, the hangin' r&b vibes of Sugar Jones, pre-internet silos and much more.

Moist are one of the luckiest Canadian bands ever. Arriving on radio during the dog days of grunge, this band of dudes has gone platinum many times over (in Canada) and remain a mainstay of rock radio (in Canada) over thirty years later. But one question remains: who the hell is choosing to listen to this? Marlaena Moore, who's new album Because You Love Everything is out now, joins the show t...

Known feeler of song and host of CBC's Commotion , Elamin Abdelmahmoud joins the show to talk about Kingston, Ontario's foremost rudeboys, Bedouin Soundclash and what makes their unforgettable track "When the Night Feels My Song" a modern Cancon standard. Also discussed: Ska, Queen's University, Kingston's music scene, campus radio, musical influences, Canadian white regg...