Top 30 Canadian Indie

I have spent countless hours since my arrival on the West Coast listening to CBC Radio 3 podcasts and several of my previous playlists refining the Top 50 Canadian 'indie' list I put together before I left Ottawa 3 weeks ago. Upon hopping into the car in Toronto with my friend and driving mate, I realized I left out several of my fave artists. Here's my revised list, to be revised several more times this summer I'm sure. It's one of my many West Coast projects.

To be eligible for the list, an artist must have 2 recent (2006+) songs that I've been listening to regularly. Here are my top 20 artists (Alphabetical), featuring a song or two for consideration. I also have a Top 15 "On the Radar..." list of artists about to break into the next top 30 list.

Top 30
1-10

1. Caribou- Melody Day & Desiree (Dundas, Electronica)
2. Chad VanGaalen- Willow Tree & Cries of the Dead (Calgary, Experimental Rock)
3. Forest City Lovers- Don’t Go & Waiting by the Fence (Toronto, Indie Pop)
4. Great Lake Swimmers- Your Rocky Spine & Imaginary Sky (Port Colborne, Melancholic Folk)
5. Hannah Georgas- The National & The Beat Stuff (Vancouver, Folk)
6. Hey Rosetta!- New Goodbye & A Thousand Suns (St-John's, Intense Gospel)
7. Numéro#- Chewing-Gum Fraise (avec Omnikrom) & La Vie D'Artiste (Montreal, Euro-Dance)
8. Sunparlour Players- Battle of 77 & If the Creeks Don't Rise (Leamington, Alt-Country)
9. Two Hours Traffic- Jezebel & Heroes of the Sidewalk (Charlottetown, Power Pop)
10. The Weakerthans- Pamphleteer & Tournament of Hearts (Winnipeg, Indie Rock)

11-20

11. Danny Michel- Feather, Fur & Fin (Kitchener, Folk Rock)
12. DL Incognito- Universal Love & Savoir Faire (Ottawa, Hip Hop)
13. Hot Hot Heat- Talk to Me, Dance with Me & Let Me In (Victoria, Dance Punk)
14. Metric- Rock Me Now & Gimme Sympathy (Toronto, New Wave)
15. Neko Case- Hold on, Hold on & Wayfaring Stranger (Vancouver, Alt Country)
16. Plants and Animals- Goodfriend & Feedback in the Field (Montreal, Indie Rock)
17. Rae Spoon- Come on Forest Fire Burn the Disco Down & We Become Our Own Wolves (Montreal, New Skool Folk)
18. Royal Wood- A Mirror Without & Juliet (Toronto, Chamber Pop)
19. Tegan & Sara- Call It Off & Take Me Anywhere (Calgary, Indie Pop)
20. Wintersleep- Avalanche & Weighty Ghost (Yarmouth, Indie Rock)


21-30

21. The Acorn- Crooked Legs (Ottawa, Folk)
22. Alex Cuba- Agua del Pozo (Smithers, Latin)
23. Jim Bryson- Clear the Crowds (Ottawa, Folk)
24. Classified- No Mistakes & Hard to Be Hip Hop (Halifax, Hip Hop)
25. Les Cowboys Fringants- Les Etoiles Filantes (Repentigny, Néo-trad)
26. Handsome Furs- Cannot Get Started & I'm Confused (Montreal, Indie Rock)
27. Newberry vs. Newberry- Upon the Boat (Peterborough/Toronto, Folk)
28. The New Pornographers- Adventures in Solitude & The Bleeding Heart Show (Vancouver, Power Pop)
29. The Souljazz Orchestra- Mista President (Ottawa, Afro Beat/Jazz)
30. Zaki Ibrahim- Joy & Die (Toronto, R&B)


Top 15 "On the Radar..."

1. Tricot Machine- L’ours (Trois-Rivieres, Pop)
2. Library Voices- Step Off the Map and Float (Regina, Indie Pop)
3. Dan Mangan- Robots (Vancouver, Indie Rock)
4. Deep Dark Woods- All the Money I Had is Gone (Saskatoon, Alt-Country)
5. Pierre Lapointe- Deux Par Deux Rassemblés (Alma, Rock)
6. The Arkells- Pullin' Punches (Hamilton, Indie Rock)
7. Sleepless Nights- Got Caught (Yarmouth & Halifax, Indie Rock)
8. Masia One- Return of the Bgirl (Vancouver, Hip Hop)
9. The Rural Alberta Advantage- Summertime (Toronto, Indie Rock)
10. Maybe Smith- You Would Never Survive the Winter Here (Saskatoon, Rock Pop)
11. Holy Fuck- Frenchy's & Jungles (Toronto, Electronica)
12. Julie Doiron- Consolation Prize (Sackville & Moncton, Indie Rock)
13. Hollerado- Got to Lose (Manotick, Indie Rock)
14. Paper Moon- People Were Talking But Now They're Forgetting (Winnipeg, Indie Pop)
15. Tanya Davis- Art (Charlottetown, Pop)

My Love of Playlists

Here I am, planning my imminent departure for the West Coast, going through song after song planning 50 hours of music for the drive to Vancouver. In perusing my previous playlists and pouring over new ones on the likes of CBC Radio 3, I identified some themes. I made a selection of my favourite 50 (or so) Canadian independent artists of the last 2-3 years. Here they are, with their Canadian connection and an accompanying song to get the discussion going. Feel free to send me your picks in the comment box below!

1-10 (Alphabetical)

Caribou- Melody Day (Dundas, Electronica)
Forest City Lovers- Don’t Go (Toronto, Indie Pop)
Hannah Georgas- The National (Vancouver, Folk)
Jean Leloup- Le paradis perdu (Montréal, Eclectic Rock)
Lhasa- La Confession (Montreal, Eclectic Global)
Neko Case- Hold on, Hold on (Vancouver, Alt Country)
Numéro#- Chewing-Gum Fraise (avec Omnikrom) (Montreal, Euro-Dance)
Plants and Animals- Goodfriend (Montreal, Indie Rock)
Tricot Machine- L’ours (Trois-Rivieres, Pop)
Two Hours Traffic- Jezebel (Charlottetown, Power Pop)
The Weakerthans- Pamphleteer (Winnipeg, Indie Rock)

11-20

The Acorn- Crooked Legs (Ottawa, Folk)
Danny Michel- Feather, Fur & Fin (Kitchener, Folk Rock)
Elliott Brood- Edge of Town (Toronto, Alt Country)
The New Pornographers- Adventures in Solitude (Vancouver, Power Pop)
Metric- Rock Me Now (Toronto, New Wave)
Newberry vs. Newberry- Upon the Boat (Peterborough/Toronto, Folk)
Po’ Girl- Old Mountain Line (Toronto & Montreal, Urban Roots)
Rae Spoon- Come on Forest Fire Burn the Disco Down (Montreal, New Skool Folk)
Royal Wood- A Mirror Without (Toronto, Chamber Pop)
Tegan & Sara- Call It Off (Calgary, Indie Pop)

21-30

The Arcade Fire- Haiti (Montreal, Indie Rock)
Basia Bulat- Snakes and Ladders (London, Indie Pop)
The Be Good Tanyas- Littlest Birds (Vancouver, Alt Country)
Black Mountain- Modern Music (Vancouver, Psychedelic Rock)
Broken Social Scene- Our Faces Split the Coast in Half (Toronto, Indie Rock)
Hot Hot Heat- Talk to Me, Dance with Me (Victoria, Dance Punk)
Jill Barber- In Perfect Time (Halifax, Folk)
Jim Bryson- Clear the Crowds (Ottawa, Folk)
The Souljazz Orchestra- Mista President (Ottawa, Afro Beat/Jazz)
Spymachine 16- Reassured Backpacker in Search of Truth but Still a Little Nervous (Guelph, Post Punk)

31-40

DL Incognito- Universal Love (Ottawa, Hip Hop)
The Fugitives- French Tattoo (Vancouver, Folk/Spoken Word)
Justin Nozuka- After Tonight (Toronto, Acoustic Soul)
Les Cowboys Fringants- Les Etoiles Filantes (Repentigny, Néo-trad)
Matthew Barber- I’m Gonna settle my Accounts With You (Toronto, Folk)
Old Man Luedecke- Roustabout (Halifax, Bluegrass)
Rueben deGroot- You Should Put on Your Glasses (Kingston, Folk)
Stars- Calendar Girl (Montreal, Indie Rock)
Tokyo Police Club- Nature of the Experiment (Newmarket, Garage Rock)
Wintersleep- Avalanche (Yarmouth, Indie Rock)

41-51

Classified- No Mistakes (Halifax, Hip Hop)
Dehli 2 Dublin- African Odyssey (Vancouver, Global)
Feist- One Evening (Calgary, Indie Folk)
Handsome Furs- Cannot Get Started (Montreal, Indie Rock)
Mes Aïeux- Le Temps des semences (Québec City, Néo-trad)
Miracle Fortress- Have you Seen in Your Dreams (Montreal, Indie Pop)
The Most Serene Republic- The Protagonist Suddenly Realizes What He Must Do in the Middle of Downtown Traffic (Milton, Indie Rock)
Pierre Lapointe- Deux Par Deux Rassemblés (Alma, Rock)
Rock Plaza Central- Are We Not Horses? (Toronto, Indie Rock)
Serena Ryder- A Little Bit of Red (Peterborough, Blues/Pop)