Big in Canada

The Parachute Club seem to capture a certain era of 1980s Toronto with their eclectic rhythms, Toronto-centric videos and (sometimes) progressive messages. But what are the limits of a predominately-white group using the musical styles of different cultures and banking on politics for subject matter? We raise up the parachute and find out.
Also discussed: Daniel Lanois, McCain Rising Crust pizza, Jack Layton, white reggae, Three Strong Words, silent Hs, Rankin Family songs we didn't get to mention, telephones, feminism, tourism and much more.
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Drake, Tate, Nelly, Joni: some of the stars were out in Hamilton on Sunday night for the 2026 JUNO Awards.
We ride the ups, downs and the Big in Canada of it all of "Canadian Music's Biggest Night".

May 10th! Live Show! Tickets here!⁠
John Batt, the man behind the Instagram account @canada.gov.ca, has lived in Quebec for years, but the Atlantic Ocean is never far from his Maritimer heart. This week, John gets alllllllllll fired up with Mac and Laura to talk about The Rankin Family, what they mean to the Maritimes, family bands, regional differences and much more.

As the 00s drew to a close and all meaning was lost to an endless sea of vibe and aesthetics, one final Avril-lite managed to break through to tween Bluenotes shoppers around the country.
We look at Shiloh's ska-infused "Operator", which made her one of the final almost-stars of the MuchMusic-era, only for the rug to be pulled out from under her ascendant Canadian fame.
Also discussed: phones, post-iPhone anxiety, Maestro lately, stickers, campus-core, Toronto suburb hierarchy update, our own personal JUNOs controversy, Bryan Adams' Canadian tour, Angine de Poitrine and more.

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For this month's bonus episode we are diving into the Canadian songs on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart for the week of February 28th, 2026. Find out what's changed since 2004 (not much), what's good (not much), what's bad (most!) and what it all means.
Also discussed: our impending live show in Toronto, the difference between Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock and (very briefly) politics (yuck!).
Listen to this episode's playlist via Spotify here and via Apple Music here.
Tickets to our out live show at Departure Festival.