“Be on my side, I’ll be on your side, baby
There is no reason for you to hide
It’s so hard for me staying here all alone
When you could be taking me for a ride.”
A little Canadian content for the masses. CanCon, as it’s come to be known, refers to uniquely Canadian regulations holding that all public media aired in Canada must meet a percentage requirement of Canadian material. Since 1998, all radio programs have been 35% percent Canadian by law. To many, this might seem like some weird socialist policy that only Canucks would ever support. And you know what? You’re probably right. Big Brother, Big Brother. Freedom, freedom.
Truth is: CanCon not only supports the outstanding musical talent that comes out of Canada, it also prevents less talented substitutes from ever reaching the ears of a musically-informed population. Here’s what I mean: why listen to Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger or Tom Petty when you’ve got Neil? If you turn on any Canadian radio station (I recommend Q107 of Toronto), you’ll hear Neil one-hundred times before anyone so much as mentions Bruce. And believe me: if Bruce Springsteen were worth the airtime, he’d have it. I give to you “Down By The River.” After a day of tailgating and celebrating, there’s simply nothing better than leaning back and grooving to this track. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve covered this one with Hunter and Sandy. Pure, distilled Neil Young at 1:54 for the curious.
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2 Comments
nice post. thanks.
Pitchfork:
“Discussion of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere usually gravitates toward the two extended guitar workouts, “Down By the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand”. Both are masterpieces of rock minimalism, demonstrating the power of repetition as the Crazy Horse rhythm section of Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot cycle through the chords and Young solos endlessly in his grimy, deeply-felt tone, playing off the subtle, prodding rhythm work of guitarist Danny Whitten.”
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