CIVL Station Manager Aaron Levy knows there’s only one #1 item from Canada making the rounds right now in the international news cycle, so see if you can pick out which one he’s talking about before you get to song four!
Modest Mouse — “Truckers Atlas”
This song is all about the drumbeat; a disjointed, almost funky low-fi affair, this song is a convoy of rhythmic inflections marking the centre to climax section of this band’s standout 1997 record, The Lonesome Crowded West. See songs “Out of Gas” and “Shit Luck” for similar themes.
Corb Lund — “The Truck Got Stuck”
This hurtin’ Albertan has always toed the line between facetiously Western conservatism and cheeky progressive virtue signalling, but he definitely took a stance last year on some environmental issues regarding mountain preservation in the face of mining development contracts threatening the range’s ecological functionality.
Radiohead — “Airbag”
It’s not about a truck, or trucking, but the key piece of information to take away from this song is that “in a fast German car / I’m amazed that I survived / An airbag saved my life.” And that “in an interstellar burst / I am back to save the universe.” Know’m’say’n here?
Grateful Dead — “Casey Jones”
Is it me, or are these lyrics presciently relevant to the trucker convoy of the season? “Drivin that train / High on cocaine / Casey Jones you better / Watch your speed / Trouble ahead / Trouble behind / And you know that notion / Just crossed my mind?” Jerry Garcia will finally be immortalized in film.
