Playlist -- Classic Canadian Love Songs

Music is the art form that has the most profound effect on memory. A song can evoke a place, a person, a feeling; it can plunge you into yourself; it can take you home. And even though you might gain a different perspective on the music you enjoyed as a teenager as you get older, more often than not it retains a special place in your heart.

Lately, I've been doing a deep dive--or maybe deep regression is a better term--into Canadian rock songs from the late '80s/early '90s, i.e. my teen years. I'm a die hard rock and roll fan--if it has a guitar, I'm probably into it--and Canada, especially at that time, was a rock nation. But we also love our power ballads, our folk influences, and a few '80s synths made it in there too. 

It fascinates me that the biggest Canadian music exports nowadays are hip-hop and R&B acts like Drake, The Weeknd, and Alessia Cara. Which is not to say Canada doesn't have a long history in those genres as well. But when I was young, the local stations played Blue Rodeo, The Tragically Hip, Alannah Myles, the Cowboy Junkies, and fueled the decades-long rivalry between Bryan Adams and Corey Hart.

So I thought I'd share a playlist of Classic Canadian Love Songs. These are mellow and melancholy tunes that bring me back to a very specific time and place, that remind me of teenage adventures and heartaches. I hope they speak to you too.