Are Canadian Indie/Alternative bands superior on a whole?

I dunno..I love a lot of English and American groups naturally..but a lot of my fav's are Canadian..what do you guys think?

Sam Roberts
Broken Social Scene
Arcade Fire
Feist
Great Lake Swimmers
Handsome Furs
Wolf Parade
Apostle of Hustle
Darn it…check them out..(depends on your taste of course)
R Tam - Interesting point…well thought out..thank you

The Canadians have sure been prolific and put out some great music…

U.S. indie/alt:

Sonic Youth
The Black Keys
Grizzly Bear
Interpol
The National
Of Montreal
The Hold Steady
Spoon
Okkervil River
LCD Soundsystem
The Ponys
Wilco
White Rabbits

It is a toss up in my book to say they are better or worse than Canada or Europe.

9 Responses to “Are Canadian Indie/Alternative bands superior on a whole?”

  1. Meat Loaf fan Says:

    Never heard of any of them except Avril Lavigne.
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  2. R Tam Says:

    A lot of great music is coming from Canada, especially lately, but I don't know if it compares to the sheer amount of bands that are equally, if not more, popular that are spawned here.
    Denver especially is burgeoning in a way Montreal only dreams of.
    But are they superior? I find it hard to say. Probably not, just something that's less traditional. It sounds fresher.
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  3. Michelle M Says:

    no they are not supirior overall , but some good stuff , try looking at some british stuff
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  4. raininginspace Says:

    My favorite is The Inbreds……worth checking out if you haven't heard 'em.

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=nmtbsZIYSJs

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=2rbynUfEGKE

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=XryHXLxpTAU

    I also enjoy Godspeed You Black Emperor. Canada's brought us it's share of good music. Of course, they also gave us Nickelback, so I guess it all cancels out.
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  5. Dave Says:

    I Tend to have a bunch of Canadian Bands in my Library including

    The Trews
    Sam Roberts
    The Tragically Hip
    I Mother Earth
    The Tea party
    Econoline Crush
    Your Favorite Enemies
    Big Wreck
    Alpha Galates
    Evans Blue
    Idle Sons
    The Golden Dogs
    Sloan
    Jakalope
    Bif Naked
    54-40
    The Odds
    Our Lady Peace

    I tend to drift to Canadian rock over the stuff coming out of the states or england. Could be because Im Canadian though
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  6. GimmeSkelter Says:

    To be honest out of the ones you mentioned I only know Arcade Fire (who are quality). The only other Canadian indie band I know is Born Ruffians, they're okay I guess.

    In my opinion Scottish indie bands are far superior, but I would say that, being a Scot and all.
    References :
    The Beta Band
    Belle & Sebastian
    Jesus & Mary Chain
    Biffy Clyro
    Idlewild
    …etc etc etc

  7. Cold Roses Says:

    I agree there are some great indie bands from Canada…great bands from Canada in general too. But, superior to America or Britain's indie scene? I doubt it. Not even saying they're worse, but certainly not superior.
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  8. hugh9269 Says:

    The Canadians have sure been prolific and put out some great music…

    U.S. indie/alt:

    Sonic Youth
    The Black Keys
    Grizzly Bear
    Interpol
    The National
    Of Montreal
    The Hold Steady
    Spoon
    Okkervil River
    LCD Soundsystem
    The Ponys
    Wilco
    White Rabbits

    It is a toss up in my book to say they are better or worse than Canada or Europe.
    References :

  9. God Says:

    The Arcade Fire are great i'll give you that.

    But British Indie/Alternative:

    Joy Division
    The Smiths
    The Libertines
    The Futureheads
    Field Music
    Inspiral Carpets
    Stone Roses
    Kasabian
    Mogwai
    Blur
    Pulp

    Etc' Etc'
    Can't say the Canadians are superior at all.
    References :

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