Top 102 Canadian New Rock Songs of All Time

[ForeverAutumn]

To help celebrate Canadian Music Week this past week, our so-called alternative station put together a list of the the top Canadian new rock songs of all time, as determined by a listener survey.

In the top 10 are four of my most hated songs ever (#s 6, 7, 9, and 10). So, it's not hard to figure out what I think of the list. Although it's nice to see some older bands like Skinny Puppy, Chalk Circle, and Images In Vogue represented. How Blue Rodeo got on the list for new rock is beyond me. I don't think that I've EVER heard Blue Rodeo played on this station.

1 Sloan - Underwhelmed
2 The Tragically Hip - New Orleans Is Sinking
3 The Demics - New York City
4 Arcade Fire - Rebellion
5 Nickelback - How You Remind Me
6 The Pursuit Of Happiness - I'm An Adult Now
7 Billy Talent - The River Below
8 Spirit of the West - Home For A Rest
9 Martha & The Muffins - Echo Beach
10 Alexisonfire - This Could Be Anywhere In the World
11 Our Lady Peace - Naveed
12 Rough Trade - High School Confidential
13 Finger Eleven - One Thing
14 Gandharvas - First Day Of Spring
15 Viletones - Screaming Fist
16 Sam Roberts - Brother Down
17 Matthew Good Band - Apparitions
18 Diodes - Tired Of Waking Up Tired
19 The Tragically Hip - Wheat kings
20 Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know
21 Barenaked Ladies - If Had A Million Dollars
22 Lowest of the Low - Eternal Fatalist
23 Pure - Anna Is A Speed Freak
24 The Extras - Circular Impression
25 Blue Rodeo - Diamond Mine
26 Tea Party - The River
27 Teenage Head - Let's Shake
28 Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights
29 Moist - Push
30 Shadowy Men On a Shadowy Planet - Having An Average Weekend
31 Treble Charger - Red
32 Three Days Grace - I Hate Everything About You
33 Men Without Hats - Safety Dance
34 Odds - Eat My Brain
35 I Mother Earth - One More Astronaut
36 Payolas - Eyes Of A Stranger
37 Neverending White Lights - The Grace
38 Econoline Crush - All That You Are
39 Doughboys - Shine
40 Bedouin Soundclash - When The Night Feels My Song
41 City & Colour - Save Your Scissors
42 Blue Peter - Don't Walk Past
43 The Tragically Hip - Fifty Mission Cap
44 Sloan - Coax Me
45 54-40 - Ocean Pearl
46 Our Lady Peace - Clumsy
47 Rusty - Misogyny
48 Parachute Club - Rise Up
49 Sum 41 - Pieces
50 Arcade Fire - Neighborhood # 3 (Power's Out)
51 Spoons - Nova Heart
52 Billy Talent - Devil In A Midnight Mass
53 The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
54 Northern Pikes - Teenland
55 k-os - Crucial
56 54 40 - Baby Ran
57 Vital Signs - Collage
58 Nickelback - Someday
59 Sum 41 - Fat Lip
60 Breeding Ground - Happy Now I Know
61 Metric - Dead Disco
62 The Tragically Hip - Bobcaygeon
63 Chalk Circle - April Fool
64 Our Lady Peace - Starseed
65 I Mother Earth - So Gently We Go
66 Dream Warriors - My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz Style
67 Sarah McLachlan - Possession
68 Tea Party - Temptation
69 Images In Vogue - Lust For Love
70 Sloan - The Other Man
71 54-40 - One Gun
72 The Rheostatics - Record Body Count
73 Sam Roberts - Where Have All The Good People Gone
74 Skinny Puppy - Testure
75 The Grapes Of Wrath - All The Things I Wasn't
76 Mobile - Out Of My Head
77 Nickelback - Photograph
78 BB Gabor - Nyet Nyet Soviet
79 Three Days Grace - Animal I Have Become
80 Hot Hot Heat - Bandages
81 Jane Siberry - Mimi On The Beach
82 The Tragically Hip - Locked In The Trunk Of A Car
83 Big Wreck - That Song
84 Trans-X - Living On Video
85 The Watchmen - Stereo
86 Limblifter - Ariel vs.Lotus
87 Pukka Orchestra - Might As Well Be On Mars
88 Hayden - In September
89 Strange Adavnce - Worlds Away
90 The Forgotten Rebels - I'm In Love With The System (Not Myself)
91 The Weakerthans - The Reason
92 Barenaked Ladies - Be My Yoko Ono
93 Chalk Circle - This Mourning
94 Billy Talent - Try Honesty
95 illScarlett - Heaters
96 The Pursuit Of Happiness - Hard To Laugh
97 I Mother Earth - Not Quite Sonic
98 Tea Party - Save Me
99 Rheostatics - Claire
100 Delerium - Flowers Become Screens
101 Death From Above 1979 - Black History Month
102 Our Lady Peace - Superman's Dead

[Dusty Chalk]

I don't see any Loverboy on there...

[3-LockBox]

Are my eyes deceiving me, or is there no Bryan Adams or Tom Cochrane & Red Rider in this list? Not that I'm a huge fan, but they definately help put Canada in the public eye for a few years (musically speaking of course). And the absence of any April Wine is a glaring omission as well.

And what's wrong with POH's I'm An Adult Now? Its especially important to me now, as I have a 22 year old strep-son who would like to live in my basement until he's 30 (or so), if I didn't stand in his way that is. He hates the song too.

[Mike]

What no Stills!

Logic Will Break Your Heart was one of my favourite albums from the last few years, shame the follow up was so naff, and what about The Junior Boys.

As always nice to see Barenaked Ladies, but I wouldn't call them rock and how can you not like Martha.

Cheers
Mike

[Stone]

I don't see any Loverboy on there...

Or Platinum Blonde...

[kexodusc]

No Trooper either??? Guess they weren't alternative.
Biggest omission for me has to be the Crash Test Dummies. C'mon....
Followed by "Change of Heart". I think Canadian alt-rock in the early 90's it was them.

Tea Party and Moist I remember hearing in school in Atlanta. Love them. Got to Party with Tea Party after a show in Seattle when a few of us dressed up as Kiss and they invited us backstage after the show. (back in 1996, before Kiss made their "comeback").

K-OS beat out both Maestro Fresh Wes AND Snow? For rizzeal? Let your backbone slide....

[ForeverAutumn]

Are my eyes deceiving me, or is there no Bryan Adams or Tom Cochrane & Red Rider in this list? Not that I'm a huge fan, but they definately help put Canada in the public eye for a few years (musically speaking of course). And the absence of any April Wine is a glaring omission as well.

While all very important to Canadian music overall...this is "new music". The bands that you mention would be found on the "classic rock" station. Hence...no Rush, Saga, or Prism on the list either. They'd all be found on a different station.

[nobody]

all time new songs made me laugh

Looks like some fun stuff on there though. I wish I had heard more of the stuff on there. I'd expect to like a song called Anna is a Speed Freak. I had no idea Our Lady Peace was Canadian.

And, my personal vote for best canadian song of all time...

Slave To My Dck by the Subhumans

[SlumpBuster]

I live across the river from Windsor, Ontario, so I get all the cool Canadian radiostations including the University of Windsor.

I was surprised by how many favorites were on that list. Men Without Hats made some of the best albums of the 80s. Pop Goes the World is probably in my top 20 favorite albums. I think I've pimped it hear before. Unfortunately, they were relegated to one hit wonder status in the US.

Sloan's live record FourNights at the Palaisis a masterpiece live records. Super raw and sloppy, but masterpiece nevertheless. Definately in the "best worst" catagory.


Sloan's new record Never Hear the End of It should be considered a humbling experience for any song writer.


The Tragically Hip was one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Didn't even have a sigle record going into the show, but came out a fan. Another one of my favorite live Records:


As far as ommissions: My favorite Canadian band is entirely missing in action Chixdiggit! One of the best pop-punk bands of the last 20 years. WTF?! If they can't even make it on a Canadian list, what hope is there for the world?