Big in Canada

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.