Last year I nearly killed myself trying to write about what I thought were the 60 best CanRock songs between 1993 and 1999. It was stupid of me. So stupid, in fact, that it kinda crashed the site because 60 embedded YouTube videos one page is, well, stupid. So the editors divided it up into a Part One and a Part Two, because they're obviously smarter than me. (I imagine they'll do the same for this thing too.) Well, I am clearly a glutton for punishment, because almost immediately afterwards I pitched a similar feature that picked up right where that one left off. "What about a completely biased list of the best Canadian indie rock songs from the last decade?" I stupidly wrote to my editors.
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As I wrote in that CanRock piece, Canadian music is probably at its best ever right now. I probably still think that, but I also wonder what the state of Canmusic would be if it weren't for all those great indie bands that put Canada on the map back in the early 2000s? Well, I'm sure Drake would still be objectively better than Eminem, Carly Rae Jepsen would still be inexplicably neglected by her label for making A+ pop music, and Shawn Mendes would still be every nine-year-old's idea of a talented musician. But without a band like, oh, let's say Arcade Fire, who would America have complained about in 2011? Without Death From Above 1979, who would Kelly Osbourne have taken as her date to the 2004 AMAs? And would Feist have scored that lifetime supply of iPod Nanos?What I'm getting at is Canada ruled at producing indie rock in the 2000s. Our country became famous for it. Like, TIME magazine cover famous for it. Okay, that was actually just the Canadian edition of TIME, but it was still TIME. Here's a definitive yet biased list of what are the 60 best Canadian indie rock songs from 2000 to 2009, along with the artist's history of Polaris Music Prize nominations. Because nothing validates Canadian indie rock better than a Polaris Music Prize nomination.This is Part two of the 60 best Canadian indie rock songs from 2000 to 2009.First of all, big thanks to former Germans Leon Taheny and Aidan Koper of Germans for uploading this track to YouTube for me. For some reason, no one had illegally posted it before I asked them to do it. Of course, now Taheny is a big shot Toronto record producer who has worked with Owen Pallett, Fucked Up, Austra, Dilly Dally and DFA79, and also co-runs the Candle Recording Studio. Koper, on the other hand, records synth-pop as No Terrain, but is best known for appearing on Ellen to chop lettuce with lawnmower balancing on his chin AND on David Letterman's "Stupid Human Tricks" for juggling while fitting himself through a tennis racket IN FRONT OF NATALIE PORTMAN. (Seriously, click on this hyperlinks people.) Anywho, Germans were an awesome band that made feel-good, throwback '90s U.S. indie rock (think a Pavement-Sebadoh-Halo Benders hybrid) before everyone started to do that a decade later. Their debut album, Cape Fear, was great from start to finish, but "Nature's Mouth" was the slackeriest slacker anthem Canada ever saw in the post-slacker rock era.
Polaris nomination? Nope. What was up with that??
30. Germans "Nature's Mouth"
Polaris nomination? Nope. What was up with that??
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29. Southpacific "Alamo"
Polaris nomination? Nope, they were way too early.
28. Malajube "Étienne d'Août"
Polaris nomination? Two shortlists - 2006 and 2009. I honestly thought they legit chance to win in 2006 (they lost to Owen Pallett, aka Final Fantasy), but it's pretty easy to admit that Malajube blazed a trail for the first Francophone winner of the prize, Karkwa in 2010.
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27. Born Ruffians "Little Garçon"
I should preface this by saying that I think Born Ruffians have become a much better band in the current decade, but when the first showed their handsome faces in 2006, they just seemed so odd. Here was a band that could write hooky pop songs, but then they threw in all of these quirks like celebratory call and response yelling, bizarre time signatures and bare-bum arrangements. Turns out all that weird shit is what made them so cool. I'm going with "Little Garçon" from their debut LP, Red, Yellow & Blue. It's just so unexpected, from the opening collection of "oohs and aahs" to the country-fied harmonica and acoustic combo to it completely changing direction, bringing in an accordion, a rickety rimshot and a multi-layered chorus and handclaps that are so twee it all makes me blush.
Polaris nomination? Yup, the longlist for Red, Yellow & Blue in 2008. But like I said, this band keeps getting better and everything after that - especially 2013's most excellent Birthmarks - sure deserved to.
26. The Dears "Lost in the Plot"
Polaris nomination? Yup, the shortlist in 2007 and the longlist in 2011.
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25. Tegan & Sara "Walking With A Ghost"
Polaris nomination? Oh yeah. They made the shortlist in 2010 and 2013. They also made the longlist in 2008.
24. Godspeed You! Black Emperor "Storm"
Polaris nomination? Lol! They won in 2013 for Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! but they said no thanks.
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23. The Flashing Lights "Highschool"
Polaris nomination? Nope, they didn't last long enough.
22. Peaches "Fuck The Pain Away"
Polaris nomination? Nope, but she did win a Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize in 2015 for The Teaches of Peaches.
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21. The Unicorns "Sea Ghost"
Polaris nomination? Nope.
20. Destroyer "The Sublimation Hour"
Polaris nomination? Yup, he was shortlisted in 2011 (and should have won for Kaputt). He was also longlisted in 2008 and 2016.
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19. The Sadies "Flash"
Polaris nomination? Yup, a shortlist in 2010 and two longlists in 2008 and 2014.
18. The Deadly Snakes "Oh My Bride"
Polaris nomination? Yup, they made the shortlist in 2006 for Porcella.
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17. Feist "I Feel It All"
Polaris nomination? Yup. She's been shortlisted twice, and won in 2012.
16. Royal City "Bad Luck"
Polaris nomination? Nope. Before their time.
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15. Fucked Up "Police"
Polaris nomination? Yup. In fact, Fucked Up shocked the shit out of people when they won in 2009. Just watching the mainstream media squirm to announce it was the best part. They were also shortlisted in 2012.
14. Stars "Elevator Love Letter"
Polaris nomination? Yup, shortlisted in 2008 and longlisted in 2011.
13. The Russian Futurists "The Matador's Theme"
Polaris nomination? Nope, and I'm a little pissed off about that. But he did win something called the Shadow Polaris Music Prize in 2010.
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12. Miracle Fortress "Hold Your Secrets to Your Heart"
Polaris nomination? Yeah, in 2007 Five Roses made the shortlist. I may have been a juror that year too. And I also may hate myself because this didn't win.
11. Tokyo Police Club "Your English Is Good"
Polaris nomination? Nope. Well, they made the 2016 longer list.
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10. Think About Life "Sweet Sixteen"
Polaris nomination? Nope. Ridiculousness.
9. Final Fantasy "The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead"
Polaris nomination? Yup. Pallett is the OG winner! He won in 2006 for He Poos Clouds. How awesome is that? He was also shortlisted in 2010 and 2014.
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8. Sloan "Witch's Wand"
7. Wolf Parade "I'll Believe in Anything"
Polaris nomination? Yup. A shortlist in 2006, and a longlist in 2009 for At Mount Zoomer.
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6. Broken Social Scene "Almost Crimes"
Polaris nomination? They've only released two albums in the Polaris era, and they were both shortlisted.
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5. Japandroids "Young Hearts Spark Fire"
Polaris nomination? Yup. A shortlist in 2012 and a longlist in 2009.
4. The Hidden Cameras "Smells Like Happiness"
Polaris nomination? Nope. Whaaaat?
3. Arcade Fire "Wake Up"
2. Constantines "Young Lions"
Polaris nomination? Yup. They were longlisted in 2008.
1. The New Pornographers "Letter From An Occupant"
Polaris nomination? Yup. They were shortlisted in 2006 and 2015, and longlisted in 2008 and 2010.Read Part One here.Cam Lindsay is a writer based in Toronto where he wrote this list surprisingly without being harmed. Follow him on Twitter.