What are the best Canadian songs of the ’90s? We asked musicians who were there to weigh in

What are the best Canadian songs of the 1990s? Who better to ask about the tracks that defined an era than the artists who were part of the scene? Here are 11 songs chosen by 11 Canadian musicians. 
Feel free to share your take in the comments below.
“The First Day of Spring” by the Gandharvas (1994)
Selected by Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace)
A gorgeous indie track by a band from London, Ont. It’s a perfectly crafted gem with evocative lyrics and an amazing, vulnerable vocal delivery that felt Canadian but also didn’t. If someone would have told me they were from London, England, I wouldn’t have blinked. Great songs have that unique ability to feel unfixed. Singer Paul Jago’s chorus lyric, “No way to know / Know how long it will last,” proved prophetic. The Gandharvas unfortunately didn’t last — they split up in 2000 — but “First Day of Spring” remains the greatest one-night stand of 1994.
Selected by Brendan Canning (Broken Social Scene, hHead)
k.d.‘s voice is undeniable — anyone with ears would have to agree. But within the adult-contemporary world, this song soars above the pack with its zydeco nod off the top, the Peter Buck-style guitar break midway through, and the delicate and understated vibraphone touches near the end.
“Constant Craving” is meticulously arranged, with lush but never overbearing background vocals or superfluous instrumentation. The production team showed tremendous restraint on this one in an era when to overblow things was often commonplace. Never short on emotion or conviction, the song conveys truth and honesty, which will always speak volumes to the listener and makes for a classic song.
Selected by Maestro Fresh Wes
I kinda like my own song, “Stick to Your Vision.” One of the main things I liked about it was that it was inspired by one of the greatest 1970s Canadian songs: “These Eyes” by the legendary Guess Who. I’m a huge fan of Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman, so to get permission to redo their classic, I knew it had to be special. (Big up, 2Rude, on the production.) “Stick to Your Vision” symbolizes longevity, perseverance as well as Canadian heritage.
Selected by Brian West (the Philosopher Kings)
It was the post-rockalyptic era of the early ’90s, when the last surviving flannel-clad musicians roamed freely, moaning incessantly about various personal issues and addictions in a frothy fountain of seemingly endless angst. While I too was guilty of moping along with the grungy delights served up by Seattle, I was paying attention enough to notice a small ray of light piercing through the Teen-Spirit-scented fog machines.
“Unconditional” quietly arrived into the MTV landscape: a breathtaking slow jam boasting a bombastic upright bass, B-3 organ stabs, unapologetically jazzy guitars and, most important, the silky and pristine falsetto of Haydain Neale singing the praises of monogamy and commitment. Hailing from Hamilton, Haydain seemed to be channelling a long-vanished type of crooner in the tradition of Al Green, Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. He didn’t seem fazed that sincerity and gentle words couldn’t be more out of fashion. He seemingly wanted to “stay together,” to “dry up all those tears, those bitter tears.”
I can’t underscore enough how this sort of music was not done in Canada and certainly not out of Hamilton. This was one of the first signs that a secret society of R&B, jazz and soul fans was beginning to conjugate beneath the surface of Toronto and its boroughs.
You have to wonder if this Canadian babymaking anthem somehow ended up in the DNA of fellow Canuck crooners Daniel Caesar and the Weeknd, who would later walk the same trail that Neale had blazed two decades earlier. Just as there would be no Drake without Maestro Fresh Wes, Haydain was the first to plant the maple leaf in R&B soil.
Selected by Bif Naked
It certainly didn’t hurt that k.d. lang was hot stuff in the ’90s — and not just on the country music charts. The Edmonton-born singer was this iconic weirdo, who had a voice that was sweet butter cream and ribbons, and yet she felt otherworldly, like a cowboy punk alien who was winning Grammys and singing with the likes of Roy Orbison and Tony Bennett.
But the best part for young impressionable me was that she came out as a lesbian. It kind of made room for the rest of us little chickens—t bisexual kids to do the same. (Thank you ma’am.)
So naturally, when her album “Ingénue” was released in 1992, I was drawn to “Miss Chatelaine” and its beautiful, dreamy video: lang looking like she smelled of White Shoulders perfume, wearing daisy flower earrings! I loved to forget myself, swooning and drowning, listening to her gorgeous voice.
“Miss Chatelaine” represents not only what I aspired to be (in love and wanting so desperately to feel exactly what I imagined it would be like to be kissed as she described), but perhaps maybe even falling madly in love with the iconic k.d. herself.
Selected by Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies)
Everybody has a favourite Hip song. “Ahead by a Century” is mine. There was always something deeply interesting about the Hip that separated them from other rock bands. Often it was Gord’s poetry or incredible charisma as a frontman. Sometimes it was the strange musical touches, like the guitar intro to “Little Bones” — I still don’t know how to count that in!
I remember the first time I heard “Ahead by a Century.” BNL were loading in to play at the Kee to Bala. It was after our crazy success in Canada and before the crazy success in America. We were working very hard to get to the next level in the U.S.A., but we weren’t quite there … yet.
“Ahead by a Century” was playing on the local radio station in the van, and we turned it up and stood around in the parking lot and listened. I was mesmerized. It was a sonic departure from anything I’d heard them do. It was so painterly in its approach, highlighting Gord’s incredible poetry. I was oddly proud of them.
I always felt camaraderie with Canadian bands instead of competition. I thought this could be the song that propelled them to the sort of prominence in the U.S.A. that everybody knew they deserved. It should have.
Selected by Ryan Dahle (Limblifter)
When “Coax Me” was released in 1994, it sounded unlike anything else being spun at the time. It didn’t have the big guitars and drums that were dominating rock and alternative rock. Chris Murphy’s vocal was a lot more honest than all the affectatious, earnest singing and yelling that was happening. A brilliant blend of enigmatic lyrics, infectious melodies and minimal, honest production.
The influence of the band’s album “Twice Removed” on my work with Limblifter was profound. We sought out mixer Jim Rondinelli to work on our debut album, believing that his expertise would help us capture the same clarity and depth that made Sloan’s work so compelling. His involvement was a contributing factor in shaping the sound of Limblifter’s first record. It didn’t make us sound anything like Sloan, which we are still working on doing someday.
Selected by k-os 
Hands down the best rock-star song of the ‘90s is “Trippin’” by Edwin of the band I Mother Earth. That tune makes me feel like a star when I walk downtown Toronto sunglasses on, trippin’ off of a moment in time that is living eternally.
“Let Your Backbone Slide” by Maestro Fresh Wes (1989/charted in 1990)
Selected by Michie Mee (rapper and actor) 
It’s a Saturday morning in the early ’90s and, like clockwork after breakfast and my morning activities, I’m sitting by my lil’ boom box listening to “Fantastic Voyage,” a popular college radio show. We sat patiently through mixes waiting to hear the latest songs from Canadian hip-hop artists.
The scene was hot, as American artists were coming to Toronto to perform more frequently and share their new releases, too. But there was this record that stood out especially on the dance floor: “Let Your Backbone Slide” by Maestro Fresh Wes. It used one of the most familiar break beats at the time, “Funky Drummer.” The impact this song had on a young hip-hop music scene was undeniable. Everyone everywhere began dancing and singing along any time the song was played. The video was featured on MuchMusic and we all made up dance routines.
The confidence and creativity it took for a young, talented MC to also dance in the black tuxedo became monumental, and a unique style Canada would and could never forget.
Selected by Dave Bidini (Rheostatics)
Let me state the obvious: this was an impossible task, picking one song to define a decade. But I threw a dart and here’s what it hit. k.d.’s album, “Ingenue,” was and remains a unifying work: loved by straights and queers; by all genders and ages; by Canadians, cowboys, Europeans, American pop populists. “Constant Craving” is the album’s shining gift and it remains perfectly radiant and emotionally true. When Rheostatics wrote “Queer” for that year’s “Whale Music,” we made k.d. a character in the song, partly as a tribute to the singer. At a Juno party the following year, I approached a table where she was sitting, the CD in my hand, but she was called over by someone else before I could give it to her. Crestfallen on the way to the elevator, the doors opened and Gordon Lightfoot walked out, all denim, all boots. I kept my head down.
Selected by Sammy Kohn (the Watchmen, who now works in Toronto real estate)
The melancholy of Skydiggers — an underrated Toronto band that is still making music today — is woven into their music through a blend of introspective lyrics, haunting melodies and an overarching sense of longing and loss. Their songs often reflect themes of love, heartache and the passage of time, painting vivid pictures of personal and shared experiences.
The prime example is the band’s 1990 single “I Will Give You Everything,” a song that resonated with me deeply when it came out. At the time, I was just 20 years old and had my own ambitions to “make it” with my band, the Watchmen. (We had the good fortune of sharing the stage with Skydiggers around this time on many occasions.)
Singer Andy Maize’s soulful, raspy vocals convey deep emotion and evoke a feeling of yearning. The band’s instrumentation on this particular track, marked by gentle acoustic strumming, melodic bass and understated drumming, adds layers of texture. Best of all, though, are the backing vocals and countermelodies, which inspired me to want to sing in my band while sitting behind the drums.