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Day 29:
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings - Stoned
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are Canada's supergroup.
This tune, one of Tom's contributions to the BARK corpus, a freaking great rock song with a killer slide guitar hook.
youtu.be/v8KtHySl61I?...
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Day 28: Hawksley Workman - No Sissies
I first met Hawksley on Princess St in Waterloo. He was in a three-piece suit with an oversized sunflower on his lapel, looking the dandy, and repeatedly sliding down the street at breakneck speed
youtu.be/gHoGH10FURw?...
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Day 27: Stan Rogers - Northwest Passage
Alright now. Everyone damn well better join in on the chorus...
youtu.be/a9-ZGfidpow?...
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Day 26: Corb Lund - Time to Switch to Whiskey
I jammed w Corb and the band ~2001 and they made my songs sound all country, which I loved. He had an upright bass, which was awesome. Prompted me to completely rethink my arrangements.
youtu.be/TijIWdtZnlI?...
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Day 25: Gord Downie - Chancellor
I loved her dearly. I lost her. I listened on endless repeat and cried like a baby.
Twenty-five years later, this still takes me right back.
Twenty-five years later, I'm still in love with her.
youtu.be/xw3ZaEmMiRk?...
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Day 24: April Verch - The Steamboat Reel/ Billy in the Lowground
April may have the sweetest tone in the Canadian fiddle scene. Love hearing her play and love the funky beat-cut groove on the first tune of this set.
Pride of Pembroke
youtu.be/K8n3ldlrcnM?...
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Day 23: Ron Sexsmith - Strawberry Blonde
Sad little story song. Thought about this a lot years later when I taught grade four.
youtu.be/IppSS_-PFGM?...
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Day 22: Rufus Wainwright - Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk
I may have had a crush on Rufus as a teenager. 😏
youtu.be/Afcjy5fjB94?...
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Day 21: Danny Michel - Old Tattoo
I am fond of this little country song from Danny's second album.
I emailed him for help with the chords—there's a modulation in there I couldn't figure out—and he was kind enough to send me a chart.
youtu.be/Is6_F4SblBc?...
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Day 20: Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves - Augusta/ Skye Dance
Is "they're cute and Queer af" a sufficient reason to share? Dunno. They're also both supremely talented, so moot point. 😏
Note: Allison's from the 'peg, so 1/2 🇨🇦
youtu.be/-uijIpy7CCs?...
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Day 19: Lonesome Ace Stringband - Pretty Boy Floyd
Lonesome Ace is just a killer band. Chris Coole is as good a clawhammer banjo player as there is and, as a trio, they are tight and distinctive.
Cdn bluegrass at its most Cdn, imho.
youtu.be/Id0u_y1mPrk?...
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Day 18: rusty - misogyny
The first time I saw the video for this song, I sat with my eyes wide open in shock. It was... so... fucking... queer. I had absolutely no clue what the lyrics were and hoped like hell the title was ironic.
youtu.be/GiGKJCZLOVQ?...
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Day 17: Andy DeJarlis - Red River Blues
My kid is a serious fiddle player. Growing up, they did contests and home was filled w Métis music, both live and recorded.
Andy, from Manitoba, is a touchstone. Luv this damn funky little rag.
youtu.be/WHMOir87Kck?...
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Day 16: Propaghandi - The Only Good Fascist is a Very Dead Fascist
c.f. What it says in the wrapper...
youtu.be/AP9tomrsw6U?...
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Day 16: Fred Eaglesmith - Small Motors
Fred has an incredible skill for story songs. He tells these haunting little Southern (Ontario) Gothic tales in three verses, every word perfectly in place.
This one always makes me cry.
youtu.be/VDfny-KK7oA?...
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Day 15: Rheostatics - Saskatchewan
I sent Tielli and Bidini emails the morning after my band released our album. Only fan mail I ever sent?
Martin said something cryptic. Dave asked me to buy his book.
This might be their best song.
youtu.be/jcxOygqqvl0?...
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Day 14: Starling - Don't Deflate
Ontario band with squandered potential, destroyed (as per the cliché) by internicine strife*.
Was quite fond of this album when it came out.
*at almost the precise time my band immolated
youtu.be/N5wC_T6_vn0?...
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Day 13: Levon Ichkhanian - After Hours
The first time I heard Levon, I was floored by versatility.
Whether playing Armenian folk styles, Scofield-inflected fusion, or—as is often the case—an emergent hybrid of both, he kicks ass.
youtu.be/0gvTB2FsKY0?...
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Day 12: Colin Linden - Blind River Bound
Linden's a great lyricist and a killer bottleneck slide player. This song, with a guest cameo from Bruce Cockburn, is a killer pop blues.
Also, been to Blind River, so I get the story. :)
youtu.be/uIZAXnushrg?...
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Day 11: John Arcand - Grey Owl
John ran an eponynous Métis fiddle festival at his acreage outside Saskatoon for 20+ yrs. Fave parenting memories are watching kiddo, 11, compete in the fiddle contest there
This is my fave Arcand tune.
youtu.be/n2Vn1H1CCNw?...
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Day 10: Matt Osborne - I Want a Girl with Glasses
Matt was a friend and mentor—big guy who let his pisant little buddy play in shows while supressing eyerolls.
He let slip once that he liked her songwriting.
RIP Matt. We miss you.
youtu.be/t0GOH73QDPQ?...
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Day 9: The Fretless - Dirty Harry
Top notch progressive strings band. Prog bluegrass-adjacent.
Tight, creative arrangements and some top notch playing.
youtu.be/Gb-GQUG9K9A?...
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Day 7: Neil Young - I am a Child
The first album I loved in an "on repeat" way was Live Rust, at 10.
This simple song, originally recorded a Buffalo Springfield, is chidhood in the form of a musical hug. Pure, uncritical nostalgia.
youtu.be/Dl0SSEUeOYc?...
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Day 6: Willie P. Bennett - Blackie and the Rodeo King
I learned about Willie from the band that took their name from this song....
And what a song.
Heartfelt, sorrowful, and problematic in all the right ways.
Real storytelling.
youtu.be/CEqJDILaeL0?...
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Day 5: Chris Coole - Old Dog
I first encountered Chris busking in Toronto, then again years later via Lonesone Ace Stringband.
His clawhammer is delicate and intricate, raw and technical. His songwriting is sublime. He's a real joy.
youtu.be/218tAJxg-jA?...
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Day 4: Sarah Harmer - Around This Corner
I knew Weeping Tile/ Sarah Harmer for years, but was a little late to the appreciation society.
This song, with it's jaunty groove and clarinet(!) solo is the song that finally got me hooked.
youtu.be/LTfV03Ad0co?...
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Day 3: The Deep Dark Woods - 18th of December
I've lived in SK for close to 20 years and am always impressed with the quality and variety of music this little province produces.
This song rocks. Top-notch stuff.
youtu.be/dtntturqVIg?...
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Day 2: Don Ross - Klimbim
Don's combination of technique, creativity, and groove has inspired me for 30 yrs.
I'll never forget first hearing this song—almost single-handedly motivated me to switch from flatpick to fingerstyle.
youtu.be/gBwM9VqmxQE?...
