When you think of punk pioneers, who comes to mind? The Ramones, the Clash, the Sex Pistols— many wouldn’t have a problem firing those names off quite quickly. But what about Canadian punk? Yes, at the end of the 1970s, something was also happening across Canada, and it changed the music scenes from Victoria to St. John’s: punk.
The history of first-wave Canadian punk rock is largely untold, but music journalist Sam Sutherland has managed to cover its cross country beginnings in his book Perfect Youth – The Birth of Canadian Punk. We thought he’d be the perfect gent to help us put together a Beginner’s Guide to Canadian Punk playlist to get you up to speed.
Here is his list of 10 bands to delve into, and why.
http://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/The-Diodes/Tired-Of-Waking-Up-TiredThe Diodes, "Tired of Waking Up Tired."
"This is one of the greatest rock songs ever written. The Diodes formed out of the Ontario College of Art scene, they helped build what ended up happening in the city of Toronto. They had a venue called the Crash and Burn, and it existed for a brief [period] of time in the summer of 1977. It played a really critical role in the gestation period of punk rock in Canada."
Teenage Head, "Picture My Face."ttp://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/Teenage-Head/Picture-My-Face
“Teenage Head come from the same school as the Ramones, where they were guys who were into awesome proto-punk garage stuff and loved rock 'n' roll but just hated how bloated and stupid it was. That’s the natural thing that happened all over the world at that time.”
http://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/DOA/General-StrikeD.O.A., "General Strike."
“D.O.A. are one of the longest running, hardest working punk bands in the history of the genre, and they’re from Vancouver. This is one of the songs that captures what made them a crucial band in the evolution of hardcore almost immediately.”
http://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/Pointed-Sticks/What-Do-You-Want-Me-To-DoPointed Sticks, "What do you Want me to Do?"
“They’re so perfectly catchy and just a little bit edgy and sort of cheesy, but very smart and kind of winking about it. I just think there’s no better power pop band from this era.”
http://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/The-Mods/Step-Out-Tonight The Mods, "Step Out Tonight."
"The Mods represented the bridge between the super early Toronto bands and what ended up being some of the later bands. They played a critical role in the Last Pogo, which was an infamous moment in Toronto punk history. 'Step Out Tonight' is one of the best singles to come out of Toronto, it’s so perfect.”
http://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/The-Dishrags/Past-is-Past “The Dishrags were one of the first all female punk bands anywhere. They were from Victoria. They played the very first punk show in Vancouver when they were 15, 16 with the Furies. The Dishrags kept going and they kind of carried the torch of Vancouver punk until you have the explosion of the Subhumans, the Pointed Sticks, D.O.A.”The Dishrags, "Past is Past."
“The Dishrags were one of the first all-female punk bands anywhere. They were from Victoria. They played the very first punk show in Vancouver when they were 15, 16 with the Furies. The Dishrags kept going and they kind of carried the torch of Vancouver punk until you have the explosion of the Subhumans, the Pointed Sticks, D.O.A.”
http://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/Young-Canadians/HawaiiYoung Canadians, "Hawaii."
"Art Bergmann is one of the greatest songwriters this country has ever produced. One of his first bands was the K-tels, which became the Young Canadians. This is early Art Bergmann developing his style and his particular brilliance as an insightful, crazed artist.”
http://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/The-Subhumans/Firing-SquadThe Subhumans, "Firing Squad."
"The Subhumans are part of this legacy of Vancouver punk rock. They produced a record called Incorrect Thoughts, which is easily one of the best records of that era recorded by any band, ever.”
http://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/The-Modernettes/BarbraThe Modernettes, "Barbra."
"Modernettes were part of what made the Vancouver scene so exciting and vibrant, and one of the reasons why it managed to grab as much attention as it did at the time, despite being remote (as compared to, say, New York). They were power-pop, but they didn't just mimic the Pointed Sticks — there were more nods to classic rock and roll than English punk, more Sun Records than the Buzzcocks. And the video for 'Barbra' has a dude just, like, dunking a basketball for no discernible reason."
http://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/Snfu/Shes-Not-On-The-MenuSNFU, "She's not on the Menu."
“SNFU are the promise of Edmonton punk. They were one of the first early Canadian punk bands to get substantial international recognition and not be a sort of a Canadian oddity, but actually be this influential and respected band.”
Check out all ten tracks in one playlist here!
What band introduced you to Canadian punk?
Post your comments on the blog or tweet @CBCRadio3
Related:
From punk to politician: D.O.A slows down so Joe Keithley can run
Watch'cha Readin'? Perfect Youth