Hannah hates maple syrup?
Propagandhi frontman looks to win The Beaver’s worst Canadian contest
Anthony Augustine


Who Would You Pick as the Worst Canadian? — tinyurl.com/2byncb — While most people might get utterly depressed if picked as the worst Canadian, Propagandhi frontman Chris Hannah is actually encouraging fans to nominate him in The Beaver’s online poll. The boys in Propagandhi managed to use the web to get bassist/singer Todd Kowalski in the running for the world’s sexiest vegetarian and also to win Socan’s first annual Echo Songwriting Prize for their song A Speculative Fiction, so they’re no strangers to mobilizing their loyal fans. Hannah claims he is the worst Canadian because, “I don’t stand during Oh Canada, I don’t support Canadian troops, I cheer for Sweden in international hockey tournaments, I hate Wayne Gretzky, I side with First Nations against the Canadian state, I fantasize out loud of the decimation of the Canadian animal-exploitation industry, and I wish Great Big Sea would die horrible, languishing deaths in a capsized-ferry incident.” Help Hannah realize his dream of beating Stephen Harper and Celine Dion. Voting ends June 1.

Sounds Like Silver — LCD Remixed — www.lcdremixed.com — It didn’t take the folks behind the un-official Prodigy and Chemical Brothers bootlegs to crank out grey-market remixes of James Murphy’s sophomore album, Sounds of Silver. Best known for his production work and his record label, DFA, Murphy also comes from a DIY punk rock background and isn’t afraid to jump in front of the mic and abandon the mixing board. Offering up their interpretations of Murphy’s latest album are heavy hitters such as Mcsleazy, Go Home Productions and Team 9. While LCD Soundsystem will obviously commission 12-inch remixes, these bootlegs not only breathe new life into many of the tracks on the album but also demonstrate that our current copyright laws are antiquated and outdated. Instead of artists looking at projects like this as being harmful, it’s time to recognize that the foundations of the music industry are crumbling faster than Winnipeg’s roads.

The Stonecutter’s Song — tinyurl.com/382nm2 — Musical satire has always been one of the cornerstones of comedy on The Simpsons, and The Stonecutter's Song, from the episode Homer the Great, is perhaps the best of a bunch that includes See My Vest and Monorail!. Playing off conspiracies surrounding the Freemasons and the Order of Skull and Bones, the Stonecutters celebratory song claims that the ancient brotherhood keeps the electric car out of the marketplace, controls the British pound and even made Steve Guttenberg a star. While some of the musical moments in the show haven’t been home runs, it’s hard to find a better distillation of the subversive nature of Simpsons’ humour presented in 45 seconds or less.

Anthony Augustine is a freelance music, technology and pop culture writer. He can be heard every Tuesday morning at 9:00am on Hot 103 discussing the web. Got a site you think he should see? E-mail him at anthony.alloneword@gmail.com.