At once one of the most powerful, cathartic Hip songs and the most baffling. Who can really say what this thing is about? Well, here's my shot.
I've read a couple of people say this is song of praise for the soldier. I think that's there, but I also think Gord's using war and soldiers as a metaphor for artistic struggle.
Anyone who isn't independantly wealthy and has tried to devote themselves to creating art will recognize the tribulations in the second verse, to which Downey offers the comfort of comradery.
The first verse brings up a point of view I've always agreed with -- to call something "pretentious", particularly a work of art, is perhaps the most pretentious thing one can do, as doing so automatically hoiks oneself up as the ultimate arbiter of the ersatz and the genuine. That type of hypocrital criticism is the enemy of creative endeavor.
Apple, Zippo and Metronome are all defunct record labels. Nice tries but not cigars.
The Dark Canuck is an archetypal character similar to "Superfarmer" from the Phantom Power album, and though by name in only one song, his pressence resonates thoughout the album. The Dark Canuck is a brooder, a dreamer, the underdog, the star of a movie nobody's ever heard of, the great Canadian blockbuster that's even scarier than Jaws. He's also Downey himself. Who's for the Dark Canuck?
At once one of the most powerful, cathartic Hip songs and the most baffling. Who can really say what this thing is about? Well, here's my shot.
I've read a couple of people say this is song of praise for the soldier. I think that's there, but I also think Gord's using war and soldiers as a metaphor for artistic struggle.
Anyone who isn't independantly wealthy and has tried to devote themselves to creating art will recognize the tribulations in the second verse, to which Downey offers the comfort of comradery.
The first verse brings up a point of view I've always agreed with -- to call something "pretentious", particularly a work of art, is perhaps the most pretentious thing one can do, as doing so automatically hoiks oneself up as the ultimate arbiter of the ersatz and the genuine. That type of hypocrital criticism is the enemy of creative endeavor.
Apple, Zippo and Metronome are all defunct record labels. Nice tries but not cigars.
The Dark Canuck is an archetypal character similar to "Superfarmer" from the Phantom Power album, and though by name in only one song, his pressence resonates thoughout the album. The Dark Canuck is a brooder, a dreamer, the underdog, the star of a movie nobody's ever heard of, the great Canadian blockbuster that's even scarier than Jaws. He's also Downey himself. Who's for the Dark Canuck?