I was not the biggest Tragically Hip fan.
But I know just from listening to the radio and watching social media in the days following Gord Downie’s death that many Canadians are taking it really hard.
As they should.
Downie and the Tragically Hip told stories of Canada, important stories that we need to tell.
Downie got to the heart of Canadian issues: the wrongful conviction of David Milgaard, the death of Bill Barilko, residential schools, eastern and western Canadian tensions, and Canadian places like Niagara Falls, Newfoundland and of course, Bobcaygeon.
He did it all in that beautiful way that was the poetry of Downie.
He did this all without sounding like a stereotypical Canadian – think Bob and Doug McKenzie, or how Canadians can be represented in the American media, with cooky accents, beavers, mounties, hockey and all that.
Even Downie’s hockey songs were not Canadian caricatures – they were just beautifully written and performed.
Thinking about the impact Downie had, one cannot help but think about how we measure success in the Canadian music industry. Are we keeping our identity alive while still expecting Canadian artists to be successes across the border?
We seem to have two forms of Canadian storytelling in our music industry. One is actual stories of Canada, like the ones Downie wrote in many of his songs. The others are the stereotypical or self-deprecating stories, the dark side of Canadiana.
We have amazing stories to tell, no matter how many times people sing about hating Winnipeg or Halifax – I am looking at you, Weakerthans and Barenaked Ladies.
While Justin Bieber mentions Canada once in one song, that I could find I will admit, and sees incredible success in the United States, I am surprised to see Drake, who also has plenty of cross-border success, keeping his Canadian identity alive in his music by giving shout-outs to all his Toronto connections.
However, we still see Canadian artists who talk about places in the United States as a way to placate US audiences. They sing about Nashville or Hollywood as a way to join that market.
Of course, Americans do not have to placate Canadians, and how they represent us in their industry is even worse than we could ever do with our own self-depreciating humour.
While some may say this does not really matter, representation, especially in the media, matters.
Have a look at How I Met Your Mother and its representation of Robin Scherbatsky by the very Canadian actress, Cobie Smulders. Not only was she a Canadian in New York, but she was a Canadian former ’90s pop singer in New York.
Too often, that is how they see us. Thick-accented Degrassi graduates, living in igloos and riding moose to work.
They do not see the Downies, the Lightfoots, the Blue Rodeos as measuring up to this idea they have of who Canadians are.
Do Canadian artists have to succumb to pressure to fit a stereotypical, American-made Canadian mould to be a success?
Record sales may say one thing, but Americans’ constant use of Canadian stereotypes say another.
They do not seem to catch the hint.
We need more of our stories told, especially in the style and beauty of musicians like Downie.
