It's Big in Canada. Mac monologues on what you need to know about the show including a reality shattering experience with noted CanCon classic rock radio regulars, The Kings.

On the first episode of Big in Canada, Mac and Laura discuss reluctant boy band b4-4's massive, dirty and super fun smash hit "Get Down".

Other topics covered include: the MAPL system, legal vs. spiritual CanCon, Electric Circus, Canadian boy bands, Modrobes, Tom Green, brothers who harmonize, RyanDan and much more.

Mac and Laura start to untangle Fefe Dobson's unique and ground-breaking career by diving into her debut single, "Bye Bye Boyfriend". Turn on that solid-state distortion button because Fefe rocks.

Other topics include: the Prozzäk-extended universe, courage, the importance of representation, the post-Avril pop landscape, Big Milk, Fefe's "lost" second album, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, the Canadian daytime TV circuit and much more.

Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Prozzäk. Mac and Laura dive into one of Cancon's most forward thinking pop success stories, and find out how Simon and Milo became the first true cartoon band.

Other topics discussed include: fake British accents, fighting, cartoons, YTV, Uh Oh!, emo, humour in Cancon, a time when people cared about things such as the JUNO Awards, utopia, Destroyer, lists, and Gorillaz. Plus, the Big in Canada hosts introduce a new segment, "We're Sorry".

Special thanks to Niko Stratis for scripting and production assistance on this episode.

*Belch* Mac and Laura leave the major label system behind and jump in a lake. Gob went from unlikely MuchMusic approved skate punks to radio rockers who paved the way for the next wave of Canadian pop punk exports. They fuckin' rule.

Other topics discussed include Sum 41, funny music videos, public access MuchMusic, EA Sports Vancouver, video game soundtracks, zombies, hockey rock, Vancouver rock, Cancon teen comedy "Going the Distance" and much more.

From Portuguese-language teen phenom to MuchMusic dominating pop star, Shawn Desman has endured despite an industry that kept letting him down. Did he pave the way for pop sustainability in Canada?

Also discussed: Cancon haircuts, the "Sidewalk", Portuguese pop stars named Shawn, dancing, Cancon brothers and cousins, Drake, the TDot, Mac's Year in The Club, come backs, live albums and much more.

By the time they were 18 years old, the brothers Moffatts had been country kids, boy band heartthrobs and serious rock guys. It all feels bad. What's going on with these kids?

Also, discussed: the 2025 Junos, the "Asian Blackmarket", triplets, family bands, hitting the road at 5 years old, pop parents, soul patches, Hanson, ripping off songs, synthesis, Music Travel Love, movie soundtracks, bad vibes, and much more.

Known feeler of song and host of CBC's Commotion, Elamin Abdelmahmoud joins the show to talk about Kingston, Ontario's foremost rudeboys, Bedouin Soundclash and what makes their unforgettable track "When the Night Feels My Song" a modern Cancon standard.

Also discussed: Ska, Queen's University, Kingston's music scene, campus radio, musical influences, Canadian white reggae, one-hit wonders, fedoras, what it means to sound a mosaic and much more.

Moist are one of the luckiest Canadian bands ever. Arriving on radio during the dog days of grunge, this band of dudes has gone platinum many times over (in Canada) and remain a mainstay of rock radio (in Canada) over thirty years later. But one question remains: who the hell is choosing to listen to this?

Marlaena Moore, who's new album Because You Love Everything is out now, joins the show to dive deep into Moist. Yuck!

Also discussed: small world Cancon, David Usher, David Usher's good looks, David Usher's bad lyrics, 90s Canrock dudes vs. 90s Canrock women, returns on investment, scale, David Usher's solo career, AI and much more.

Before she changed the words of "O Canada" at the Big Game, Chantal Kreviazuk was, somehow, kinda everywhere. A solo artist, writer of '00s pop smashes and scene setter for the most significant Canadian hip-hop album of all-time. How the hell did this happen?

Also discussed: soundtracks, vowel sounds, hockey, influencing Avril, piano, Raine, Chantal's "Canadian career", bad album titles, Christian music, and much more.

Oh Jann-ada. Mac, Laura and certified Jann Fann Dorothea Paas discuss the beauty, the humour, the sacred and the profane of one of Canada's greatest Adult Contemporary Musicians/Comedians, Jann Arden.

Also discussed: The Launch, Jann the sitcom, singing in bars, anti-capitalist art, stage banter, 90s production, songwriting, humour, Mk.Gee and ML Buch, Calgary, horny Christians and much more.

Mac and Laura chart the rise, fall, and enduring legacy of Sugar Jones, the winners of Popstars (Canada) Season 1 and Canada's foremost turn-of-the-century girl group.

Also discussed: a little more Moist, reality TV, bad dudes on reality TV, the cruel music industry, the pre-Idol scaries, girl groups v boy bands, the hangin' r&b vibes of Sugar Jones, pre-internet silos and much more.

We (sort of) watched the Junos so you didn't have to. We dig into the big winners, the best performances and the fake awards. Cancon is alive and well at the Juno Awards.

Also discussed: Sum 41, Anne Murray, Nemahsis, Michael Bublé, Peach Pit, Deantha Edmunds, Good Charlotte, old punks, international achievement and of course, our friend, Tate McRae.

We take a big sip from our red solo cups and dive into the life and times of rap party rockers Down With Webster. But beware: the floors are sticky, the morals are questionable, the neon is bright, the outfits are bad and there are so many dudes in this band.

Also discussed: walk-on and walk-off songs when becoming Prime Minister, Shrode, being in a band in middle school, MySpace, fan interaction, music that impresses adults, Franklin the Turtle, emo plus rap equals pop, the dying days of Cancon and MuchMusic, meeting the moment and more.

Kiki, we love you.

Keshia Chanté redefined Canadian R&B before she could even get her driver's license. Mac and Laura discuss her career, her hits and what made her such a game changing figure in Canadian R&B.

Also discussed: The Canadian Football League, the soft sounds of 90s R&B in Canada, teen stardom, the 2005 Junos, nerds, Cancon band names, Director X, scene building, becoming the circuit and Chanté's not-yet-famous ex-boyfriend, Drake.

Tween/teen grunge-rockers Serial Joe (somehow) went from a basement in Newmarket, Ontario to rocking out at Woodstock '99. Mac and Laura try and figure out how that happened and wonder, is it all a mistake?

Also discussed: YTV’s System Crash, Big Shiny Tunes 4, The New VR, Edgefest, evil doctors in Cancon music videos, and much more.

Johnny Payne and James Younger of Impossible Way of Life join Mac and Laura for a journey back to the late 1970s. We discuss the ultimate double A-side by Oakville's own, The Kings and find out how a powerful Canadian super producer wound up working with and breaking this band of goofs.

Plus: more 3 word band names, Mark Carney + Down With Webster, defining Cancon classic rock, our theme song, Helicopter Canada, the act of switching into glide, layin' pipe, Bob Ezrin, the transition heard round the world, the Heatwave festival, "clown" and much more.

Pack your bags, sunscreen and small town dreams because this week, we are going to "California" with one of the 7 wonders of Niagara, Wave. How did two boys from the Falls manage to write one of the best songs about going to California of all time? We trace this confusingly branded and magically signed pop duo's short but impactful trip to the Golden State and back.

Also discussed: potentially fake origin stories, compilations, letters as words, anonymous pop music, sponsored tours, are Wave a boy band, big hits from small towns and much more.

Manitoban man of mystery Remy Shand was poised to be big everywhere. But was it all too much, too fast for this soul savant? We consider the career of an artist that was both ahead of and before his time.

Also: other songs about California by Canadians, Oakville rock city, magical boxes of vinyl, high school jazz bands, soulful jazzy teenagers, home recording, one-man bands, the Grammy Awards, how to disappear completely and much more.

Billy Talent arrived fully-formed, just in time to convert a generation of Canadian pre-teens onto the promise of punk. Matt Bobkin and Adam Feibel, authors of In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World, are on the pod to explain how this band of Mississauga misfits helped bring hardcore into the mainstream.

Also discussed: "Young & Dumb", David Crosby, 60s California pop/00s Cancon pop punk connections, Pezz, Big in Germany, gateway music, At the Drive-In, not knowing who At the Drive-In is, enunciation, guitar heroes, suburban bands vs city bands and much more.

Matt Bobkin and Adam Feibel are back to talk about their book In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World (out today!) . We get into artists like Alexisonfire, Gob, Skye Sweetnam, City & Colour, Avril Lavigne and Silverstein and discuss how as a whole this scene is greater than the sum (41) of its parts.

Also discussed: Barenaked in America, Jay Malinowski's wedding, roller hockey, landscaping, hats, getting heavy on the radio, the close-knit nature of the 905 scene, writing books and much more.

The Sky story has it all: triumph, tragedy, nepotism, confused aesthetics, too-fast-fame, a vast web of connections and one incredible song. But by the time this Quebec duo had peaked, it was, pretty much, already over (with all due respect to Karl Wolf).

Also discussed: Three Strong Words, new music, Avril auto-tune accusation controversy, "Lean on Me" by ArtistsCAN, recording guitars one chord at a time, celebrity chefs, things girls liked at the turn of the century, phat bass, songs about America and much more.

In part one of a two-part exploration into professional Canadian rock band Metric, Mac and Laura go long on their Cancon field trip to the Metric and Sam Roberts Band show in Toronto. From there they set the scene for Metric's reluctant, yet clinical rise to Canadian rock royalty.

Also discussed: Three Strong Words: Polaris Music Prize Edition, JUNO President and CEO Allan Reid and his awe-inspiring hair, t-shirts, s-o-c-i-a-l-i-s-m, Metric's popularity, their early days, Anthems For a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl and much more.

In part two of our dissection of professional Canadian rock band Metric, we reach a final verdict on whether or not Haines, Shaw and co., are indeed Cancon. Can this FACTOR-funded, Juno-winning outfit overcome their deep desire to be cool and a professional NOT Canadian rock band? Seems unlikely!

Also discussed: cursed Cancon artifacts, Brian Wilson, the albums of Metric, theatre kid energy, Emily Haines' bad wrap, periods, war metaphor, the spectre of Broken Social Scene, FACTOR grants, touring with Billy Talent and new albums by Jimmie Kilpatrick, Kicksie and Emma Goldman.

Lights has never had a mega hit, but she has won a bunch of JUNOs, maintained a cult following (in Canada and beyond), and has low-key been ahead of her time at various points of her career. How did this happen? Was it the Cancon connections? The confused aesthetics? The comics? Christ? The cursive singing? We run down the 5 Cs of Lights.

Also discussed: "True Colors", Drake trending towards Cancon, Three Strong Words (Underground Operations edition), One Weak Word, MySpace, Old Navy, plagiarism, inspiring Taylor Swift, and much more.

Bass is Base burst onto MuchMusic brandishing rap and music nerd credentials, with a sound that was jazzy, funky, soulful, technical and that you might almost classify it as hip hop. Did this Cancon super group (in hindsight) prove that hip hop could go pop in Canada? Laura and Mac rev up the funkmobile to find out.

Also discussed: Barenaked in America, celebrity chefs, even more Three Strong Words, the meaning of "base", Lou Reed's Cancon connections, the "California" streaming controversy, Young Artists for Haiti's "Wavin' Flag", the days of the week and much more.

"First Amanda Marshall album GOATED."

Given this undeniable fact, we go track by track through Amanda Marshall, an album that features at least one, but probably 4 or 5 songs, you didn't know you know.

Also discussed: Amanda's early career, Jeff Healy, not the Globe and Mail's list of albums "you should hear now", Barenaked at Blockbuster, Emily Haines...just shy?, the Christian to bisexual pipeline, Mark Spicoluk, album sequencing, Neil Young covers and more.

Bongos. Drama. Three Strong Words. These are just some of the defining features of 90s alt-rock band I Mother Earth. For Mac, the band's psychedelic and latin infused tunes open his third eye while Laura is just happy this episode is over.

Also discussed: The 90s alt-rock explosion, Edwin's Himbo Energy, bongos, Canadian songs about California Hall of Fame, terrible album art, riffs, prog, switching singers and more.

Does Amanda Marshall have another GOATED album? No! But that hasn't stopped us from digging into the hits (and misses) from the latter part of her career, her 20 year absence from the circuit, and her triumphant (and joyful) return to stages across Canada forever.

Also discussed: the Federal Bureau of Canada Day Concerts, SWAG, Neil Young vs. Lynyrd Skynyrd, a (not so) brief history of Canadian diamond albums in Canada, Don Was, over production, not caring about sound, pivoting to clown, the purchasing power of suburban moms and more.

In this special episode of Big in Canada, we rank the performance of every soloist featured on the Young Artists for Haiti version of "Wavin' Flag." We consider their artistic merit, effort, and the flare they add to their lines. Who will come out on top? Who did not care enough? Who added too much sauce?

Also discussed: "Wavin' Flag", the choir, snubs, celebrity charity songs, the meaning of life, and much more.

It's Big in Canada's first ever Summer Gab Fest! Laura and Mac somehow have even more to say about Wavin' Flag, wonder if Katy Perry is CanCon Coded, and talk new music from Ada Lea, Pig Pen, Billianne, No Joy, and Yawn. 

Whether in song, print, or on daytime television, Bif Naked is never afraid to bare the truth.

After cutting her teeth in the Winnipeg and Vancouver punk scenes, Bif emerged as a singular, genre-blending, solo artist in the mid-90s. She played Lilith Fair and Warped Tour in the same year, has conquered cancer, and released a bunch of great records - rock on, Bif.

Also discussed: Snow Job, Summersault Fest, Done With Dolls, the Canadian Circuit, and much more.

Bienvenue to an alternate universe of our own alternate universe of song. Lili Fatale were not big in Canada, but in Quebec they were as cool as it gets, and popular too. Jasamine White-Gluz aka No Joy is on the show to give us a peek into the world of music that was Big in Quebec.

Also discussed: MusiquePlus, the influence of Cirque du Soleil, bands with many members, Bran Van 3000, the state of Francophone pop in Quebec in the late 90s, the long shadow of France, Francophones singing in English and much more.

No Joy's new album Bugland is out now via Hand Drawn Dracula. Get it!

Jully Black is a foundational figure in Canadian R&B, a mainstay on your television, an incredible singer, the winner of Big in Canada’s Young Artists for Haiti RANKED Special, and the list goes on and on. Even if you can’t name a single Jully Black song, you know who Jully Black is.

Also discussed: the Power of Music, the intellectual launch of the Great Big in Canada Singalong, Artists for Feel Out Loud, Snow Job (again!), the (bad) vibes, and much more. 

Note: This episode contains mention of suicide. 

In America, Snow was a novelty. "Informer" was considered a one-hit wonder and a joke that everyone seemed to really like. But around the world, Snow continued to pump out hits post-"Informer" and he finally made his way back to the Canadian charts with the poppy patois of "Everybody Wants to Be Like You." Given all this, we had to talk about the Super Notorious Outrageous Whiteboy aka the Snowman aka Daddy Snow aka Darrin O'Brien aka Snow.

Also discussed: the Jully Blackout, Laura's interview with Sarah McLachlan, the latest on The Great Big in Canada Singalong, woah woahs, the end of the Family Channel, being Big in Jamaica and Japan, "Imposter" and much more.

On Big in Canada’s first trip out East, Laura and Mac discuss bad boy fiddler, Ashley MacIsaac. Blending traditional fiddle music with alt-rock and a punk attitude, Ashley MacIsaac was plucked from Cape Breton and found mainstream success with his surprising smash hit “Sleepy Maggie”. But as the age-old story goes, this too-fast-fame took its toll. After all, he just wants to be known as “Ashley MacIsaac, from Cape Breton, playing the fiddle.”

Also discussed: the newly rebranded Great Big in Canada Concert Experience, Canadian rock operas, Jully Black on the Amazing Race Canada, the “poisoned” Canadian music atmosphere, indexes, and much more.

You've heard it. On the radio, in the club, the gym, the mall and in commercials. It is ubiquitous. And yet, who the hell are Dragonette? We trace the many sounds of Martina Sorbara and her band/moniker to try and figure out when CanCon became the realm of anonymous, uncontroversial mega successes.

Also discussed: The Big in Canada Movement, "indie sleaze", late stage-Myspace Music, "music for tampon commercials", Girls, Gossip Girl, fake bands, DJ x Pop Singer CanCon collabs, being the CanCon version of other CanCon artists and much more.

Countless choirs across the country, and across generations, have sung "O Siem" thanks to its uplifting message of oneness. But when Susan Aglukark began recording music, the thought of anyone even hearing her songs seemed improbable if not impossible. We look at how Susan Aglukark became the first Inuk artist to have a top 10 hit in Canada and the unsettling tension underlying her early recordings.

Also discussed: Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, songs that insist you have a good time, accidentally becoming a pop star, country music, how phones ruined everything, and much more.

Welcome to Rocktober!

They were a Boston-based rock band, until fate intervened.

Big Wreck wanted to conquer America, because, well, most of the members were American. But Canada had different plans for Ian Thornley and co. Trapped in Canada after a failed border crossing, the band's not-quite grunge classic rock worship got picked up by Canadian rock radio and the rest is....Nickelback?

Also discussed: Thornley, Lilith Fair draft, Dragonette rumours and gossip, Deryck Whibley is...a Jonas brother??, more Nickelback, Berklee College of Music, Big Wreck's long tail and more.

As Rocktober rolls on, another list is born!

For this two-part bonus episode of Big in Canada, Mac and Laura listened to over 100 shiny major label CanRock tunes and determined once and for all what the best Big Shiny Tunes compilation is based solely on their Canadian content.

Also discussed: the history and legacy of the Big Shiny Tunes franchise, the evolution of the Canadian rock sound, the notable absence of women, who listens to The Tea Party, and much more.

And the winner is...

For this two-part bonus episode of Big in Canada, Mac and Laura listened to over 100 shiny major label CanRock tunes and determined once and for all what the best Big Shiny Tunes compilation is based solely on their Canadian content.

Also discussed: the history and legacy of the Big Shiny Tunes franchise, the evolution of the Canadian rock sound, the notable absence of women, who listens to The Tea Party, and much more.

Skye Sweetnam crashed onto YTV and the Family Channel under the shadow of Avril, but from the jump, she knew she was no Avril-lite. Through sheer force of will, Skye managed to escape CanCon pop punk princess purgatory and sever into something else entirely.

Also discussed: the Big Shiny Tunes 2 controversy, Katy Perry (somehow unrelated to her new boyfriend), the hair salon to major label pipeline, Sumo Cyco, and more.

In a surprise and live off the floor episode, Mac and Laura recap all the great CanCon moments of the World Series: Drake. Rufus. Geddy. JP. The cast of Schitt's Creek. National anthem thirstiness and more much.

Then, Mac goes over his experience of DJing a wedding while Game 7 unfolded.

In the 2000s, Burlington was the de facto centre of Southern Ontario's hardcore music universe, thanks largely in part to Silverstein, whose local shows eventually got too big for the city's biggest venues.

Silverstein's bassist and archivist Billy Hamilton takes us through the various bands, people and players who have roots in the Burlington scene and explains why Silverstein are not spiritually CanCon - or are they?? He also dishes on Silverstein's biggest brushes with CanCon elite: Bublé, Theory of a Deadman, Avril, Bryan Adams, Down With Webster, Shrode and many more.

soulDecision is probably the most successful Canadian boy band of all-time. Which is somehow not the greatest musical achievement of the band's lead singer Trevor Guthrie. This bland man has it all figured out. Good for him! But also, what the hell is going on?

Also discussed: capitalization, the power of sports, 5 people 1 guitar!, Big Shiny Tunes (The Yellow Album), CanCon charity concerts and compilations, marketing, the same old story, songs concerning consent, pop bands and much more.

Last week Big in Canada went viral. Well, relatively speaking. In this episode, your hosts react to the reactions from Instagram users about Mac's theory on three word band names and, for all of our new listeners, we lay out the official rules of Three Strong Words. 

Before Drake, Swollen Members were the benchmark for commercially successful hip-hop in Canada. Combining hardcore and halloween aesthetics with hip-hop, they won JUNO Awards, MMVAs and were constantly on MuchMusic. But was CanCon ready for rap to be pop? Will it ever be?

Also discussed: Canadian Idol vs. BSS, cool words, extreme sports, being Ringo, getting into hip-hop, rapping at parties, Madchild and Prevail being fated, Bad Dreams, Nelly Furtado and much more.

His vestige haunts the bathrooms of several Toronto bars years after his death, but the music Haydain Neale made with jacksoul and the impact he had on CanCon will never die. Had Neale lived, he would be Canada's king of soul. Even in death, he may still be.

Also discussed: slow jams, sex jams, being a live band, the Philosopher King to hit-maker pipeline, cover songs, Ashlee Simpson, more Three Strong Words, the rule of three, "Les", Mac "CanCon Nostradamus" Cameron and much more.

While Michael Bublé and Céline Dion may be the king and queen of CanCon Christmas, the system churns out an endless stream of MAPL-safe Christmas music to ensure the most wonderful time of the year is distinctly Canadian. We dig into our personal Christmas music preferences, check out some Big in Canada-favourites' contributions to the canon and count down our Top 5 Canadian Christmas songs.

Also discussed: Chantal Kreviazuk's upcoming album of "her" songs, Christmasy artists, shopping, the birth of Jesus Christ, blue christmases and much more.

Because yeah, we're a music podcast too.

On the first of two special year-end wrap up episodes, we count down our favourite albums from 10-5. Next week, we go 4-1. The suspense is getting you killed. CanCon laws ARE in effect.

Also discussed: Three Strong Words, the Toronto (Still) Loves Jacksoul Map, Christmas music contradictions and mistakes, Tate "Cars" McRae, the band "Christmas" and more.