{"id":388,"date":"2013-10-08T23:03:58","date_gmt":"2013-10-09T04:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/?p=388"},"modified":"2013-10-08T23:11:22","modified_gmt":"2013-10-09T04:11:22","slug":"essential-canadian-indie-playlist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/?p=388","title":{"rendered":"Essential Canadian Indie Playlist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>So I was driving the other day listening to Matt May&#8217;s album &#8220;Coyote&#8221; when the song &#8220;Dull Knife&#8221; came on and I thought to myself &#8220;damn, that is one of the best Canadian indie rock songs out there, period&#8221;.\u00a0\u00a0 Which then got me thinking about what of all the amazing Canadian indie songs would I put on an essential playlist for someone unfamiliar with the genre.\u00a0 So here is my stab at it (in no particular order).\u00a0 Bear in mind that I&#8217;m pretty into the roots-rock, Canadiana genre.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Anti-social&#8221; &#8211; Cuff The Duke<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s hard to pick my favorite Cuff The Duke song because they have so so many great tunes.\u00a0 This track comes Cuff The Duke&#8217;s first album, &#8220;Life Stories For Minimum Wage&#8221; and was re-recorded for their self-titled second release but this was the one in my mind that started it all.\u00a0 Wayne Petti and company have recorded six albums and two EP&#8217;s since 2002.\u00a0 They have toured with Blue Rodeo and Greg Keelor has produced their last two albums.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JHYEb128vZU\" height=\"315\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Devil&#8217;s Got A Gun&#8221; &#8211; Whitehorse<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whitehorse is the husband and wife duo of Luke Doucet &amp; Melissa McClelland who have both had successful solo careers before joining forces as Whitehorse.\u00a0 Their two person stage show is something to behold.\u00a0 &#8220;Devil&#8217;s Got A Gun&#8221; is from their Polaris Prize shortlisted album &#8220;The Fate Of The World Depends On This Kiss&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RvUuBwzegpM\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Dull Knife&#8221; &#8211; Matt Mays<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matt Mays is in my opinion Canada&#8217;s preeminent rocker.\u00a0 His latest album &#8220;Coyote&#8221; is his best work yet.\u00a0 It contains several great tracks like &#8220;Indio&#8221; and &#8220;Take It Faith&#8221; but for me &#8220;Dull Knife&#8221; stands out from the others.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VdrmSjaJD9U\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Three Thousand Miles&#8221; &#8211; The Dustin Bentall Outfit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Regular readers of my ramblings will know that Dustin Bentall is one of my favorite Canadian musicians.\u00a0 Yes, you recognize his last name for a reason.\u00a0 He is the son of the 90&#8217;s rocker Barney Bentall (&amp; The Legendary Hearts).\u00a0 &#8220;Three Thousand Miles&#8221; is not a DB original but was written by Corin Raymond.\u00a0 Dustin has a slew of great original songs (i.e. Six Shooter, You Are An Island, Every Chord That Rings) but his take on this tune is infectious.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P_Jgqcn0fOQ\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Red Deer To Margaree&#8221; &#8211; The Skydiggers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Toronto&#8217;s Skydiggers are touring for their 25th anniversary.\u00a0 Over that time they have quietly amassed a nice body of work and are very much respected among other Canadian musicians.\u00a0 As part of the multiple releases marking their anniversary they recorded an album of covers of which &#8220;Red Deer To Margaree&#8221; is one.\u00a0 I can&#8217;t get it out of my head.\u00a0 They have a ton of originals that I can&#8217;t pick a favourite from&#8230;maybe another list some day.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Rs_5kfiOGUk\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Nowhere With You&#8221; &#8211; Joel Plaskett<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Joel Plaskett, like Matt Mays, is another east coast treasure.\u00a0 Since 1999 Plaskett has released a dozen albums both solo and with his band The Joel Plaskett Emergency.\u00a0 Originally from 2006&#8217;s &#8220;Make A Little Noise&#8221; EP the song &#8220;Nowhere With You&#8221; is likely his most recognizable.\u00a0 What I like about it is that it has a nice distinct east coast feel and it tends to get moving or at least tapping the beat.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wPZ42Bhqm-M\" height=\"315\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Loved On Look&#8221; &#8211; The Sadies w\/ Greg Keelor<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Sadies have earned a reputation as being one of the best live bands in Canada.\u00a0 While they are typically country-rock they can play anything and have played with everyone.\u00a0 They did the Ratfink soundtrack.\u00a0 They backed Neko Case.\u00a0 They did albums with Jon Langford, Andre Williams and more.\u00a0 &#8220;Loved On Look&#8221; from 2001&#8217;s &#8220;Tremendous Efforts&#8221; album is an Elvis Presley cover that features Greg Keelor (Blue Rodeo) on lead vocals.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F8tizxR9m3Y\" height=\"315\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Don&#8217;t Wanna Hear It&#8221; &#8211; Lindi Ortega<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Toronto born, Nashville-based Lindi Ortega has released three albums of really good country music.\u00a0 Her second record &#8220;Cigarettes &amp; Truckstops&#8221; was long listed for the Polaris Music Prize.\u00a0 &#8220;Don&#8217;t Wanna Hear It&#8221; off said album is my favorite by far.\u00a0 It&#8217;s about, in Lindi&#8217;s own words, half-assed apologies and how she doesn&#8217;t like them.\u00a0 Great tune.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8z4DWW08bPk\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Oh Baby Lie Down&#8221; &#8211; Kendel Carson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While you may not be familiar with her name, Kendel has been a very busy musician.\u00a0 She has recorded two solo albums with her song writing partner Chip Taylor (Wild Thing &amp; Angel of the Morning).\u00a0 She is a regular member of Dustin Bentall &amp; The Smokes (formerly The Dustin Bentall Outfit).\u00a0 She is 1\/3 of the Canadian fiddle &#8220;supergroup&#8221; Belle Starr.\u00a0 She has played with Elvis Costello, toured with Alan Doyle (Great Big Sea) and John Prine.\u00a0 She has played with The Paperboys, Outlaw Social and The Grand Cariboo Opry.\u00a0 Whew!\u00a0\u00a0 Sadly her commitments with everyone else has put her solo career on hold.\u00a0 I hope the already recorded, elusive third album one days see the light of day. \u00a0 &#8220;Oh Baby Lie Down&#8221; is the highlight from her second album &#8220;Alright Dynamite&#8221;.\u00a0 (Yes this video is from the same Dakota Sessions as the above Three Thousand Miles &#8211; Dustin Bentall clip).<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7J1BQJPWAqk\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;First Day In The New Home Town&#8221; &#8211; Luke Doucet &amp; The White Falcon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Luke Doucet is my favorite guitar player and one of the most respected in Canada.\u00a0 He began playing guitar for Sarah McLaughlin at 19 years old.\u00a0 He then played in the Vancouver based band Veal before striking off on his own and becoming one of the original Six Shooter Records artists.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hqatsYtVCl4\" height=\"315\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>So there you have it.\u00a0 That&#8217;s my essential Canadian indie playlist.\u00a0 I hope you enjoy it.\u00a0 Feel free to leave your comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So I was driving the other day listening to Matt May&#8217;s album &#8220;Coyote&#8221; when the song &#8220;Dull Knife&#8221; came on and I thought to myself &#8220;damn, that is one of the best Canadian indie rock songs out there, period&#8221;.\u00a0\u00a0 Which then got me thinking about what of all the amazing &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[27,20,14,79,22,23,11,43,12,80,10],"class_list":["post-388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-musing","tag-cuff-the-duke","tag-dustin-bentall","tag-greg-keelor","tag-joel-plaskett","tag-kendel-carson","tag-lindi-ortega","tag-luke-doucet","tag-matt-mays","tag-melissa-mcclelland","tag-the-sadies","tag-whitehorse","column","threecol","has-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=388"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":391,"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388\/revisions\/391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robpenfold.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}