Wednesday, April 28, 2010

April Shananigans: Local

When I was a teenager, I used to hunt for obscure Canadian music just to make myself feel like I somehow had the upper hand on other people. I used to feel that the more cool, random, local music I could find, the more powerful I was.

As I grew into my 20s, my hunt for Canadian indie music became a matter of wanting to support Canadian and independent artists. Canada's music scene is bloody tough, and in a country our size, every little bit counts.

These days, I still listen to primarily Canadian tunes. One could argue that this is a knock on effect of SOCAN regulations and that my little brain has been washed into a deep maple red. Be that as it may, I've found that if you actually give a damn, and spend a bit of time researching new music (as simple as reading Exclaim! and your local music rag) you can find Canadian indie artists as good as anything you'll find in this world, within nearly every genre. Do I still listen to stadium rock from the states? Yes. Do I still love Scandinavian stoner rock? Yes. In my two years overseas, did I develop a love of British Indie rock? Hell no. I'm not saying people should be Canadian exclusive, however just like SOCAN, it's really not that hard to keep a good, healthy ratio.

Besides, you might be amazed what you find.


-Divide me by zero and watch me blow