Five Barenaked Ladies tunes on a Hall of Fame induction soundtrack
Who says good things don’t come from Scarborough? In 1988, Barenaked Ladies formed in the Ontario borough, and in three years’ time they had become Canada’s darlings. The band’s 1991 indie cassette went platinum in Canada with over 100,000 sales.
It was the first indie tape to ever do so. You can ask your grandparents what a cassette is.
Over the years, the band would hit Diamond status — that’s 1 million in sales — with its Sire Records debut Gordon and top the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1998 with the album Stunt and its ridiculously hooky single, One Week.
Ridiculously hooky singles have been the band’s specialty since the very beginning with tunes such as If I Had $1,000,000 entering the public consciousness via insane exposure on CBC, initially, and everywhere afterwards. More recently, the Big Bang theme song brought the group into every household on the globe with a TV.
Without doubt, this is one of the most successful acts in Canadian recorded-music history, one that still enjoys a dedicated fan following and continued success with each album release.
So it comes as no surprise to see Barenaked Ladies inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2018 Juno Awards. Reuniting with original vocalist Steven Page, who departed the band in 2009, provides an opportunity to hear one of the best singers to ever come out of the national music scene sing some of their big hits.
Here are the five we’d like to hear in the Juno medley:
1.
If I Had $1,000,000 (Gordon, 1992)
There are far better songs on the band’s first album (Brian Wilson, Enid, What a Good Boy), but this one is synonymous with the band. Unfortunately, the tune is really in need of some lyrical upgrades. Like you could buy someone a house for a million dollars in this Canadian city ... HILARIOUS.
2. One Week (Stunt, 1998)
Ed Robertson’s raps are as much a part of Barenaked Ladies’ live experience as Gord Downie’s stream of consciousness monologues were key to filling up a Tragically Hip live show. This hit was the first to capture one of them in a single. It’s as goofy as they usually are, but the tune still kicks up a racket.
3.
Pinch Me (Maroon, 2000)
The video is still sort of delightfully retro weird, particularly if you ever ate a burger at Big Boy. But what really made the song so killer was the acoustic guitar hook that influenced a generation of buskers to try to play the tune, only to crash and burn since the vocal harmonies aren’t easy at all. And then there’s that whole genius underwear lyric. It takes skills to get a joke that was tired by Grade 1 to sound somehow funny.
4.
Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Kicks at the Darkness, 1991)
So how can you include a cover of a Bruce Cockburn tune from a tribute album as one of the band’s best? Well, simple. Not only does the band own this song in the same way Jimi Hendrix owned Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower, but when Page takes his soaring chorus run, it’s riveting.
5.
The Big Bang Theory (2007) The one non-Steven Page tune that must be included in any Barenaked Ladies medley would have to be the theme song to this runaway hit TV sitcom. While most would probably be happy to see the show wrap up after a dozen seasons, was that enough time for you to memorize all the lyrics?