Spoiler Alert - Better Call Saul…..

The opening of this weeks episode (March 28th, 2016) of Better Call Saul and its use of The Stampeders “Sweet City Woman” put a big smile on my face. The Stampeders where either the first or second band I saw live (at the London Western Fair, the other group being Thundermug at the Woodstock Arena - don’t remember which was first - third was Lighthouse at Massey Hall).

Sweet City Woman was a hit in 1971, didn’t realize it made all the way down to Albuquerque, New Mexico - or the small southern town where the opening is set (it did make to#8 in the USA charts). The Canadian Radio and Television Commission requirements for Canadian radio to play a percentage of Canadian content (thanks Pierre Juno) paid off in spades, developing Canadian music artists and giving them exposure, exposure that led to international touring and record releases. At one point BTO the biggest touring act in the US south. That being said I’m often surprised at what Canadian records where released in the US. I was flipping through 45s last week and came across The Kings “Switchin To Glide” - a hit in Southern Ontario but didn’t reach much beyond that, or so I thought; and a couple of weeks ago I came across a US released 45 of FM’s “Phasers On Stun”, FM where very much a Toronto-based band. (If you are standing near me and I’m flipping through records and start to chuckle, that’s why - found another Canadian record).

It’s disappointing something like the CRTC Canadian content regulations didn’t get applied to film (it was applied to TV as well). At times it seemed that Cancon in the cinema would happen - at one point Telefilm & a few production companies seemed to focus on developing Canadian filmmakers (Atom Egoyan, Bruce MacDonald, among others); and Cineplex did make a few screens available to Canadian films - but thanks to lobbying from Jack Valenti and Motion Picture Association of America it never happened (there was a proposal to add a tax to cinema tickets to fund Canadian production that the MPAA fought). I’ll get off my soapbox (but this is one of the reasons Canadian hasn’t development a strong indigenous filmmaking community like in the UK or Australia - all that being said there are still some wonderful films being made in Canada by Canadians. One of the films I’m looking forward to seeing is “The Sleeping Giant”, a coming of age film set on Maniitoulin Island. (And given all the Canadian talent in animation it’s disappointing that there have not been many Canadian developed/written/produced/directed feature films - though many are trying - I am looking forward to Anne Marie Flemings “Window Horses”).

To bring it back to Better Call Saul, a number of Canadian’s have directed episodes of BCS (and Breaking Bad) including Queen’s grad Michelle MacLaren (who also produced Breaking Bad). Though the writer and director this weeks episode are American and British.

Bon, ci bon, bon, bon, ci bon, bon
Bon, ci bon, bon, bon, bon, bon
Bon, ci bon, bon, bon, ci bon, bon
Bon, ci bon, bon, bon, bon, bon