Canada vs Australia

There is little or no doubt that the two countries most responsible for the most music and the direction it has taken over the last 50 years have been America and Britain. They clearly have dominated and rightly so given some of the amazing music that has enhanced all of our lives.

However, what about the second string? Who belongs in the second class? Well, and I am talking about english language music here. There are really only two contenders. Australia and Canada. If you beg to differ then please answers below. In fact the more I think about it, the less there is any argument what so ever. Yes there will be some that will steadfastly put Scandinavia or the Nordic countries up there. But really? I do not want to belittle any of the music that has come from that region, but it has never been as consistently good as the music from Canada and Australia.

But who is better? Now, I will declare my biases at the beginning of this. I was raised in Australia, I know more about that music than I do about Canadian music. However, my editor and wife is Canadian. So it is a country I have been to many times. I have listened to a lot of the music given this is the digital age. Because with the globalisation of the music we listen to, it doesn't matter where it originates, just as long as you can understand it, at least on a basic level. No deep long diatribes about the meaning of individual songs here.

So let's start at the top. Who are the standard bearers? the flag wavers? Well on the Australian side you have AC DC

Ha take that lumber jacks!!

Now I will admit that I could be very wrong here, I am sure I will be told about this as well, but I think the standard bearers for Canadian music are. .

Ok Joke over.

The mighty Neil young comes from Canada. It is always hard to choose a song from one with such an extensive catalog, but my current favourite song is Like a hurricane, just for that first line. If nothing else

So there we have the two best. There is no doubt that depending on your mood on a particular day, you could make a very good argument for them being better than each other. So let's call it a tie. I think that is the only fair thing to do, again if you would like to comment on one being better than the other then please feel free.

So whom comes next, well next up from Australia we have the immense Midnight Oil. This band actually played a large part in my moving to guitar based music and away from pop when I was in my formative years. My Mother had bought their album, Place without a Postcard, and I played it a lot. A lot. When I think of a song that you should listen to by them I do struggle because again there is a lot, but I think this is a great introduction to them ..

Throughout their years together Midnight oil were a very loud voice in the conservation and the aboriginal rights areas. Recently the lead singer because the minister for the environment in Australia. I say recently but it was 2007. He messed it up royally, with some very strange, with hindsight policies. He is now the minister for youth development. I do not put this here to ridicule him, because I am a great admirer of his. But I think it is very easy to stand on the sidelines and yell, clearly much harder when you are the guy being yelled at.

Anyway, So back to Canada, well there are a surprising number of brilliant bands that come from Canada that you didn't know about it, unless you are Canadian obviously. For example The Band, the Band are Canadian. Who knew? Well I guess them and the rest of Canada, but you know what I mean. This is still my favourite Band song

I love the line 'I was feelin about half past ten'. I got into the band about 8 or so years ago. I read an article about them which said that they taught the world that the new rock and roll had history, roots, and that it was an evolution. Interested I bought the album, Songs from the Big Pink. amazing album. Amazing. Such a great album to put on towards the end of the night, have another scotch and get all nostalgic. . .

So back to Australian music, and one of the most beautiful songs written

Back to Canada

What can we take from those two songs? Well again extremely different, but there to illustrate the depth of the music diversity that comes out of these two great nations. Is one better than the other? Well, I think that you would have to say that the Go betweens song is a perfect piece of pop bitterness. The tea party song is great, very serious and deep, an amazing sound from a three piece it has to be said. I got a bit of a shock when I was looking for the song as the Tea party is now a political movement in America that I really do not any association with, even to show up on my You Tube search history!!!

I am still marking this a s tie. Sorry but you may think that Tea party and The band have more weight (sorry) than Midnight Oil and the Go Betweens, but it is about the song writing and the effect the music has on you. Not how serious it is.

It has to be said though that there is almost no prog that comes out of Australia. Canada has Rush. I am not going to put Tom Sayer in here, because you all know it anyway. Australia hasn't really produced any prog like music over the years. About the closest you get in modern times is perhaps Hunters and Collectors. A great band, sort of prog in so far as they wrote complicated songs. Not really prog though I guess. No prog from Australia ( if I am wrong tell me)

No one however does pub rock better than the Australians though. It was invented there and the best of it is just great. here is a band you would probably not know unless you are Australian

It is almost punk, but not quite. It has a similar time lineage to punk, but a much longer shelf life. Imagine listening to someone playing Aloha Steve and Danno in a sweaty pub full on punters getting into the music.

here is the rub. I think that Australian music is more fun than Canadian music. Even the pop world reflects this. Kylie vs Alanis Morrisette. one is fun, the other is so serious and angst ridden . . I think is somewhat reflective of the music scene in general over the ages. I am not saying that Canadian music can not be fun, or that Australian music can't be serious. But , on the whole the statement stands. Australian music is more fun than Canadian music. I think this is a climate thing. You have to play more fun music when your crowd can walk outside into the sunshine. When it is freezing cold and everyone is very introspective and morose, serious music is the way to go.

So unsurprisingly, Australian music wins, because music is about entertainment at the end of the day. You can be entertained positively or negatively, happy or sad, better to be happy . . . well maybe. . .sometimes better to be challenged . . . my blog . . . Australia wins . . .and my editor is away so no one to point out my biases!