Ponytail Picks #63 - Canada
We stand on guard for thee, dear readers, as we stand by this collection of Canadian picks.
LISTEN
(If it isn’t already official) we’re officially adding Willie Dunn to the pantheon.
When I chose the theme for this week, my first thought went to the music. Because music—and songwriting in particular—might be the artform on which Canada’s had the most lasting impact:
We gave the world Joni, Leonard, and Neil.
The legacy continues with the likes of Dan Bejar (of Destroyer fame), Leslie Feist, Andy Shauf, Colter Wall, etc.
I could go on. But at some point this week, I realized I shouldn’t. You don’t need to be told about the importance of Joni Mitchell or The Tragically Hip to the fabric of this nation. Any Canadian will have heard all that before. If this segment is going to benefit anyone, it will do so by correcting a historic oversight. And no artist from this country matches that description better than the Irish-Mi’gmaq Montrealer Willie Dunn.
From his first album in ‘71 to his death in 2013, Willie Dunn released his razor-sharp political folk songs under the radar. His approach—a blend of Cohen-style guitar strumming, the soundscapes of this land, and the music of his people—was, for one reason or another, too much for the colonial-capitalist box of the music industry to bear. He wouldn’t shrink to size, so we left him out.
But now, in these post-Truth-and-Reconciliation-Commission, sovereignty-threatened times, I think we need to connect our national identity to this man’s truth-telling, bullshit-cutting words. He had his elbows up this whole time.
Exhibit A.
Exhibit B.
Exhibit C.
-AK
Any other Canadians you think should be added to the Canon?
WATCH
Nardwaur at his best
Speaking of cultural icons, it’s time that Canada gave proper credit to one of our most consistent exports—the master investigator, former Evaporator, the one, the only, Nardwuar the Human Serviette.
It’s impossible to whittle John Andrew Vernon Ruskin’s three decades of interviews down to his best work, but we only have so much room in an email, so I chose a few to represent this Serviette’s breadth.
Nardwuar might be best known for his reputation amongst rappers. His 25-year relationship with Snoop Dogg, for example, is the stuff of legend. The video above gives you a sense of how he managed to build that reputation.
Nardwuar’s impressive knowledge of punk and hip-hop has extended his reach beyond the music industry enough to allow him access to figures from other corners of entertainment as well. Comedians like Fred Armison and fellow Vancouverite Seth Rogen are fine examples, but his recent interview with current A-lister Timothée Chalamet shows you just how wide his fanbase has become.
Nardwuar’s lesser known but equally important service to the world is his long history of interviewing politicians. His piss-removing, at times surprisingly direct questions have resulted in some of our nation’s most memorable political quotes3. And of course, we can’t forget the Hip Flip Challenge!
The example above of federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh shows how Nardwuar’s disarming approach can help us see “under the hood” and at times get past the squeaky clean demeanor of most politicians.
What do you think? Would Carney or Poilievre do the Hip Flip?
-AK
READ
A few reading choices for when you’re chilling on your chesterfield
If I had a million dollars, I would definitely call it a chesterfield and not a couch because it sounds way fancier, but I digress:
The New Canadiana - Matthew Joel Vanderkwaak
Turns out, Ponytail Pal Matthew Joel Vanderkwaak is as thoughtful and provoking an interviewer as he is a writer and musician. In this series on his Substack he sets out on “a journalistic quest in search of the spirit of Canadian folk and country music right now,” interviewing a different Canadian singer-songwriter each month. The results have been interesting and inspiring. His final question each time has been “What for you is the New Canadiana right now?” and the first three answers have varied widely. Check out the full conversations below:
Chirp / Chickadee / OWL Magazine - ed. Jackie Farquhar, Mandy Ng, Melissa Owens
If any Ponytail Press readers have a special kid in their life, I highly recommend getting them a subscription to this set of Canadian magazines (Chirp for ages 3-6, Chickadee for 6-9, OWL for 9-13). A wide variety of interesting content, lots of fun opportunities for reader submissions and engagement—you just can’t get better than a good ‘zine! My daughter just baked cookies from a recipe she found in her latest issue of OWL. Reading turning into inspiration turning into creative action—a parent’s dream!
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America - Thomas King
We Canadians seem to take a certain pleasure in pissing on our neighbours to the south, and it’s certainly easier than ever these days to feel a sense of national superiority when comparing ourselves to the apocalyptic shit show that the political entity of the USA seems to be right now, but our cultures are probably more alike than we’d like to admit, and when it comes to our treatment of Indigenous people we have no less to be ashamed about. So it’s unsurprising that Thomas King, when explaining why he didn’t just focus on only one of the two countries in his historical narrative, said he “would have found it impossible to talk about the one without talking about the other”:
While the line that divides the countries is a political reality… For most Aboriginal people, [it] doesn’t exist… I get stopped every time I try to cross that border, but stories go wherever they please.4
He goes on to say in the first chapter that “Canadians, like most Americans, have a shockingly poor grasp of their own history”:
Dates, people, the large and small nuances of events have all been reduced to the form and content of Classic Comics. This isn’t a complaint. It’s an acknowledgement that people are busy with other things and generally glance at the past only on holidays. Given our hectic schedules, the least I can do is to provide a little historical background so no one will feel left out when our story gets complicated.5
Thomas King is the type of guy who has so much charming cheek and sharp wit that you fall in love even when you’re the one getting skewered. Full disclosure, I haven’t finished reading this book yet (just so many things going on, you know?), but King’s frank and humourous prologue is all I need to read before I can confidently recommend the book and say that I can’t wait to keep getting provoked and prodded by this account “fraught with history”:
A good historian would have tried to keep biases under control. A good historian would have tried to keep personal anecdotes in check. A good historian would have provided footnotes. I have not.6
Footnotes are pretty fun, though.7
-JB
The maple leaves have fallen and the beavers no longer give a damn. But you’re invited to party with us next time as we talk about
birthdays.
Lightfoot and Downie (for all you outsiders).
Literally any PM, from Macdonald to Carney. No joke.
In 1997, After asking then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien if he supported the RCMP’s pepper spraying of protesters outside the APEC conference in Vancouver, Chrétien responded, "For me, pepper, I put it on my plate."
Thomas King, The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America (Toronto: Anchor Canada, 2013), xvi. Cf. my tribute to King’s Green Grass Running Water in Ponytail Picks #2 - Borders.
Ibid., 11.
Ibid., xii.
They’re like little surprise textual treats!
Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'mma just leave this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZmh_PNMImE
The Inconvenient Indian might be my all-time favourite non-fiction book. It completely changed my perspective of my country.