Big in Canada

To the world, Men Without Hats' "Safety Dance" is one of the ultimate signifiers of music in the 80s. But behind this novelty song is a band that is deeply CanCon and also not a joke (most of the time). Please remove your caps, grab a little baby and a big Bonhomme and dance if you want to.

Also discussed: the Gulf of Tonkin, Drake's payphone, "The New Canadian Canon", Slo Pitch, Below, dressing for winter, Mao's wife, pogoing, prog, joke songs, dancing, not dancing, the future of dancing and much more.

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Mac and Laura participate in the least competitive draft of all time, choosing their favourite Canadian fall albums, songs, voices and music videos. It's cozy. It's spooky. Fall is CanCon.

This is an episode about Big in Quebec band Bündock but it's mostly about other things. Namely, The Doors. We also solve a certified CanCon-mystery.

*Cracks whip*

Also, discussed: RIP Sass Jordan, RIP Telephone Explosion Records, the Coors Light Twins, catfishing, Keshia Chanté and her mystery baby-daddy (Drake?) and other recent CanCon news, homoeroticism, singing European, English language French bands, Fa La La annnnnnd yeah, The Doors.

In part two of our investigation into whether or not Tegan and Sara are spiritually CanCon, the twins rise from the depths of despair to the Oscar stage and become major influences to some of the biggest pop stars in the world. But is everything CanCon? The verdict is in!

Also discussed: Orville Peck, Fefe Dobson on K-OS, Chris Walla, bad song titles, and more.

The first part of our investigation into whether or not fully famous twin sister duo Tegan and Sara are spiritually CanCon, takes us from their humble Calgary beginnings to the halls of Seattle Grace Hospital and the first season of Grey's Anatomy.

Can our CanCon doctors diagnose and treat this unique case? Symptoms include: Hawksley Workman, Jann Arden, and strange accents.

Also discussed: Big Shiny Tunes, a Certified CanCon Mystery™, Austin Powers, pervy dudes, brain rot, Angine de Poitrine, the internet, indie, female rage, Be Good Tanyas, Pye Dubois and much more.

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Everything Bryan Adams does, he does it for himself.

In anticipation of Bryan Adams' forthcoming album, which he describes as "a deeply personal musical love letter to Canada," we create a timeline of the CanCon Man's tumultuous relationship with CanCon rules and his baffling opinions about the Canadian music industry as a whole. How’s it goin’, Bryan? Not great!

In the final chapter of our K-OS deep dive, we take a look at his chaotic post-Crabbuckit career which includes teaming up with members of Broken Social Scene , Nelly Furtado, Bob Rock, and many others. Mac also argues that the CanCon-filled Yes! (2009) is K-OS' best album meanwhile Laura says no! to that outrageous claim.

Also discussed: Tegan & Sara, the Barenaked Ladies fumbling the national anthem, having fun and more!

We climb claw-first into K-OS's breakout 2004 album Joyful Rebellion and continue our quest to figure out what fuels and frightens K-OS. Hip-hop? The biz? Everything? Everyone? It's all in the music man.

Also discussed: Lake Ontario, Weaponized Canconpetence, Bryan Adams, Shaq, Electric Circus, choosing Canada, walking around, crab bucket syndrome and much more.

K-OS is one of the defining Canadian musicians of the 00s but his musical output begins in the mid 90s. We trace K-OS's evolution from his upbringing in Whitby, Ontario to him finally releasing his debut album Exit in 2002. We are just getting started here folks.

Also discussed: Lake Ontario, Blue Rodeo, Daisy Chain Fields, PISS, Jake Gold, Bryan Adams and much more.

Note: this episode was recorded before noted villain of CanCon Bryan Adams announced his new album "about Canada" - much more to come on that.

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In the late 90s, tens of Canadian men banded together to sing, dance, gel their hair and try to make it big with their songs of fantasy and insecurity. These are the ones you DON'T remember.

Plus, some Xav, Rush and Alexisonfire t-shirt talk.

We say goodbye to the summer months with Vol. II of our seasonal gab. We talk about our interview with Dave from Wave, the real origins of stomp-clap, Raine Maida and Chantal Kreviazuk's new marriage memoire, the rebroadcast of the final Tragically Hip concert and Mac's recent experiences at the Alexisonfire Crisis 20th anniversary show and the PUP The Dream is Over 10th anniversary show. Music is good!

In the late 90s, Dave "Dwave" Thomson was a 20 year old Brock University student who worked at Sunrise Records. But with a mega-hit in his back pocket and bandmate Paul Gigliotti by his side, everything was about to change.

Dave joins us for the definitive retelling of Wave's road from Niagara-region Oasis cover band to major label hit-makers. And yes, he answers the question that we at Big in Canada have been dying to know: had he been to California before writing one of the all-time great songs about California?

Also discussed: Marker Starling, Somewhere Out There Satellite Radio Conspiracy, Stomp Clap origins, and more.

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In the late 90s, tens of Canadian men banded together to sing, dance, gel their hair and try to make it big with their songs of fantasy and insecurity. These are the ones you DON'T remember.

Plus, some Xav, Rush and Alexisonfire t-shirt talk.

In the late 70s, Carole Pope and Rough Trade's campy, sexy and provocative live show made them a Toronto staple. But when "High School Confidential" took over the airwaves with its at-the-time shocking line about jean-creaming, they broke nationally and paved the way for generations of queer artists. We dive into the legacy of Rough Trade and review the new documentary Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions.

Also discussed: uncomfortable funkiness, the JUNOS in the 80s, Peaches, Jann Arden, kd lang, sketchy documentary timelines, David Bowie, Xav's big soon-to-be hit, stomp clap history, nostalgia, dissatisfaction and much more.

In this special Big in Canada Big Book Club episode, Laura is joined by Edmonton-based professor and author Brian Fauteuxto discuss his latest book, Music in Orbit: Satellite Radio in the Streaming Space Age. Laura and Brian explore the cosmos and chat about satellite radio's arrival in Canada, its impact on the Canadian music landscape, the current state of Sirius XM Canada, and much more.

Music in Orbit is out now via the University of California Press.

Now that we've done episodes on each of the most infamous Y2K Canadian boy bands, it's time to RANK them. We consider the look, the song, the talent, and the legacy of B4-4, soulDecision, Wave, Sky, McMaster & James, and The Moffatts. Which band of boys will capture the heart of Big in Canada?

Also discussed: The Tragically Chip ice cream, Weighty Ghost as the first stomp-clap song, Angine de Poitrine (again!), and more.

It's hot! And to celebrate, we have a gab about Shania Twain's retreat to the Horseshoe Tavern and the arms of Canadian music critics, Mac's experience seeing Angine de Poitrine open for Jack White at the Bud and finally we react to the Polaris Prize Short List (the PPSL) and the change in how the winner will be chosen this year.

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Alex Porat, Adam Rodway, Preston Pablo, Alex Samson...are these real people? Do you know them? Have you heard their songs? We dive deep to discover what all these random people sound like and find out what it takes to make a Top 40 CanCon hit in 2026.

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Paul Murphy, singer and guitarist of Wintersleep, is here to discuss the Nova Scotian origins of the band, playing shows wherever they could, the early 00s Halifax music scene, his voice, the weight of Weighty Ghost, writing about America, nostalgia, and much more. Wintersleep's new record Wishing Moon is out now via Dine Alone Records.

Also discussed: UFOs, Mac and Laura's love of Wintersleep, "51st State", Mustique, The Tragically Hip's various brand partnerships and much more.

It's 1984 and you are watching MuchMusic. Metal is ascendant. You are 14. A video begins to play. "Metal Queen" Lee Aaron is holding a sword as tall as her, wielding a voice twice that size. "Is this metal?", you wonder. It doesn't matter - you submit to the will of your new Queen.

Also discussed: metal, songs as boner metaphors, being sexy vs. empowering, hard rock trend chasing, the impossible 80s, The Friendly Frog Freak Show, Voices in Public, Zohran loves k-os, rockin hard and much more.