49 Songs from North of the 49th Parallel

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is compiling a list of 49 Canadian-made songs to demonstrate to our new President-elect what Canada is all about. That’s pretty neat. Here’s a re-post of what they aim to accomplish:

“Beginning Monday, January 5, CBC Radio 2 invites Canadians to help select the top ‘49 songs from north of the 49th parallel’ that would best define our country to the incoming U.S. President Barack Obama. His playlist could definitely benefit from some Canadian content, especially given the depth of our musical offerings – spanning a wide variety of genres and representing our culture from coast to coast.”

On the list, you can see selections from Arcade Fire, The Band, The Guess Who, k.d. lang, The Weakerthans, Crash Test Dummies and more. Rush makes an appearance with “Closer to the Heart” although I would’ve gone with “Spirit of the Radio” or “Subdivisions”. I am disappointed that Bryan Adams didn’t show on the list. Have we forgotten all the good times back in the Summer of ‘69?

Canadians are quite nationalistic when it comes to their radio. Under the Commercial Radio Policy, 35 per cent of all music aired each week on all AM and FM stations must be Canadian. To qualify as “Canadian content,” music must generally fulfill at least two of the following conditions (the MAPL system):

* M (music) – the music is composed entirely by a Canadian.
* A (artist) – the music and/or the lyrics are performed principally by a Canadian.
* P (production) – the musical selection consists of a live performance that is (i) recorded wholly in Canada, or (ii) performed wholly in Canada and broadcast live in Canada.
* L (lyrics) – the lyrics are written entirely by a Canadian.

Voting ends Friday, January 16 at 11 p.m. ET. So, what do you think are the most definitive 49 songs from North of the 49th parallel?

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/obamasplaylist/

I <3 Canada,
Ivan