Due to that curious phenomenon linguists call Canadian raising, Canadians have an accent, imperceptible to ourselves, that makes our "about" sound like "aboot." I have no idea what friends from other countries mean when they talk about this, but apparently it's for real.
This makes me wonder if Canadians have a similar condition when it comes to our guitar rock. As a nation, we're pretty deeply immersed in guitar rock, and bands that might fill a bar somewhere else fill stadiums here. Is this because we can't hear something in our guitar rock that sounds overblown and possibly comic to persons from other nations? Is there a musical version of Canadian raising? Is this why the Hip are worshiped North of the 49th parallel, between the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic waters that insulate us from a possibly transcendental experience of minimalist playing styles?
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I don't know what it is about the Tragically Hip in particular that inspires Canadians and not others. I decided this summer though, while lounging and listening to music on a little island in Georgian Bay that in general guitars and other string instruments sound their best in big, open spaces and if there is one thing that Canada has in abundance it's big, open spaces - places with rocks, and trees, and water and not much else.
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