Here is a fun and easy music questionnaire for you:
1) Are you tired of waking up tired?
2) Have you ever been accused of wearing your sunglasses at night?
3) Would you say that we are here for a good time as opposed to a long time?
If you answered yes to any or all of the above, you’re going to want to tune in to the CBC for four Thursdays in a row, beginning on August 27th to check out This Beat Goes On and Rise Up—two new documentaries that celebrate Canadian pop music in the ‘70s and ‘80s, respectively.
“They’re about celebrating the richness and the diversity of Canadian music in these decades,” says writer Nicholas Jennings. “I think it would have been very easy for (director Gary McGroarty) and myself to focus on a handful of the best-known Canadian stars; the ones that everyone already knows about. But I would have found that boring. It would have done a disservice to Canadian music, really, because it goes much deeper than that.”
The Ceeb is hoping to relive the grand slam success of ‘60s Canadian music documentary, Shakin’ All Over, which aired in 2006. Based on Jennings’ book Before The Goldrush (which is an absolute must-read for music fans), the doc drew in one million viewers.
These two follow-up documentaries will feature rare and often jaw-dropping footage of iconic bands from the 1970s and 1980s, including commentary from contemporary musicians like Ron Sexsmith, Sam Roberts, K-Os, Kathleen Edwards and Steven Page. This Beat Goes On and Rise Up are narrated by Jian Ghomeshi.
“Our songwriters are second to none,” affirms Jennings. “We have American and British critics saying all the time that Canada has this wealth of amazing songwriters who have a very strong perspective and sense of place.”
Oh Canada, we don’t disagree.