Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy

Subject: RE: Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy
From: GUEST,Uncle John
Date: 07 Apr 17 - 11:37 AM

The fact that so many of us mentioned so many different people that others didn't testifies to the breadth and variety (but also fragmentation) of the Canadian folk music scene. Distance is not on our side.

Subject: RE: Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 09 Apr 17 - 10:50 PM

I spent Sunday evening at a performance by Ten Strings and a Goatskin. They didn't sound cheesy to me, although they did mention cheese.

Subject: RE: Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy
From: GUEST,John
Date: 10 Apr 17 - 06:04 AM

Meself,

"Witness, on another thread, a poster asking what accent they should sing 'folk' in - since they are Canadian, so obviously their own speaking accent is inappropriate."


I saw that post, the poster was obviously joking. The joke was that people in North America are not all from the United States.

I can't believe that went over your head.

Subject: RE: Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy
From: GUEST,Jim
Date: 10 Apr 17 - 06:08 AM

"In Windsor, ON, CKLW, which was considered the most influential radio station in North America, complied by using 'Canadian' recordings as occasion for ridicule and buffoonery. This was not long after the time that Ronnie Hawkins was assembling his back-up band that would go on to become The Band, and had to pass off his Canadian musicians as Americans in order to get bookings in Canada."



Can you explain this further? I live in Windsor and CKLW is definitely NOT one of the most influential radio stations.


Windsor has a problem of being the most southern and secluded medium sized city in Ontario. To the North west you have Detroit, and to the North East you have a two hour drive to London. Everything else is virtually blocked by the great lakes.

This results in most broadcasts coming in from the States (Radio, TV, etc.) so the Canadian identity is weaker here than elsewhere.

Probably a bad idea to mention Windsor in the context of Canadian folk, as Windsor has a culture completely separate from the rest of Canada. (And the United States, I would argue.)

Windsor even has its own unique accent.

Subject: RE: Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy
From: GUEST,Elfcall
Date: 10 Apr 17 - 09:12 AM

Didn't see this band get a mention Ad Vielle Que Pourra

Subject: RE: Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy
From: meself
Date: 10 Apr 17 - 12:00 PM

Wikipedia: "It [CKLW] is best known for having been one of the most influential Top 40 stations in the world in the 1960s and 1970s." You can probably read the rest there. Otherwise - Google is your friend.

"Probably a bad idea to mention Windsor in the context of Canadian folk, as Windsor has a culture completely separate from the rest of Canada."

There are, in fact, lots of places in Canada that could be said to have "a culture completely separate from the rest of Canada", and some of them are considered (rightly or wrongly) as bastions of folk music. Oh, let's say, Newfoundland? If Windsor is unique, it is in that it is so thoroughly and determinedly amnesiac regarding its own history and culture, and in its extreme reluctance to celebrate its own. Ever heard of Orlando Bracci, for instance?

Windsor, though, however unique, has every right to be mentioned in the context of Canadian folk.

Subject: RE: Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy
From: meself
Date: 10 Apr 17 - 12:10 PM

"I can't believe that went over your head."

Yeah, well, lots of things go over my head - and under, and right through, for that matter.

Be that as it may, my broader point stands - that is, that most Canadian 'folk'/pop/rock/whatever singers affect, or try to affect, their idea of American accents - or, occasionally, Scottish or Irish ....

Subject: RE: Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy
From: GUEST,King Knapperty
Date: 11 Apr 17 - 01:44 AM

What do you think is the solution to this phenomenon, if any?

Subject: RE: Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 11 Apr 17 - 06:18 AM

Canadians may choose to distance themselves from the United States at the moment.

Subject: RE: Canadian Folk That Doesn't Sound Cheesy
From: meself
Date: 11 Apr 17 - 04:20 PM

Solution? I don't know of any solution. Although I don't think it's as bad now as it used to be; a lot of Canadians now seem to be singing in a generic newscaster accent - unless they're doing rap/hip-hop (or whatever they call it nowadays) or C&W ....