Canada Rocks?
Our resident Kiss92 DJ/journo finds it hard to celebrate his countrymen's success at the MTV Europe Music Awards
Who would have thought that a bunch of Canadians would clean up at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Canada isn't even a part of Europe.
Maybe it was filling in for Britain?
Justin Bieber won three awards: Best Song for Sorry, Best Fans and Best Canadian Act.
Other Canadian winners include Shawn Mendes, who was named Best Male.
The Weeknd won Best Video for Starboy. Drake won Best Hip-Hop.
As a Canadian, I find this all pretty shocking.
Like Singaporeans, we Canucks are not accustomed to this sort of ostentatious acclaim on the world stage.
It's nice, but at the same time I find it hard to be too excited.
I'm not really a fan of Bieber or Mendes, The Weeknd or Drake.
It's almost kind of sad to me that the music we're being recognised for has so little to do with the Canada I remember.
It all just sounds like super-generic R&B and hip-hop from the USA.
There's nothing particularly Canadian about any of it.
For me, the distinguishing characteristic of Canada has always been its vast, open spaces.
The preponderance of nature.
My favourite current Canadian act is probably Half Moon Run, who sound as if they've emerged from a haunted forest with stories to tell.
Their organic sound captures some of the texture of the Canadian wild for me.
Unfortunately, you've never heard of them, so never mind.
The Canadian New Wave bands I listened to growing up - Rush, Spoons, Strange Advance, Men Without Hats, Rough Trade - were imaginative and eccentric and free-spirited.
It was the music of roamers and dreamers.
EPIC SOUNDS
The sounds and ideas were epic enough to fill the vast, cold, empty spaces of the world's second biggest nation.
When I hear Bieber, Mendes, Drake and The Weeknd, the only thing that strikes me is how pusillanimous they are.
They're panderers, conformists and sell-outs.
They may be on top of the world, but they have absolutely nothing to do with my Canada.
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