I'm not really interested in sports, and I am definitely not an athlete by any means. I do love swimming though. I'd swim anywhere; ocean, river, pool, but I especially like lakes. Having grown up in North Western Ontario I was surrounded by them. My hometown was situated around Lake Nipigon, the largest lake that lies entirely within the province of Ontario, and feeds into Lake Superior - the largest of the five Great Lakes. A fun little fact for those of you that may not know, but Lake Superior is actually the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. I'll tell you another thing that I know from experience, not from a textbook. Lake Superior, even in the dead heat of summer, is always effing FREEZING! After a good twenty minutes in the drink you'll be jumping out to warm up.
I grew up swimming in Lake Nipigon and Lake Superior, so I�ve acclimated. I'll jump into any lake now without so much as a shiver. I guess what I like most about swimming is the weightlessness. The feeling of just floating. I never feel so small as when i'm treading water and can only see water in any direction I look. I'll admit one of my favorite things to do in summer is skinny dip. Not necessarily in a sexy misbehaving way. I just like getting naked and jumping in the lake. My cousins and I take our jet-ski out mid-day in the summer and do it. No harm no foul. Our parents however, do not think it's funny when we switch our bikini's before arriving back at the beach.
Well, chalk one up for the neighbor again. This is a song recommended by him, I feel almost like he should be getting royalties.. that is, if I made any money off this blog. I suggested he write a guest blog for me (probably one of the only people I�d trust to do so). He said he would want to write about something interesting like himself.... so in short, he will not be writing on my blog anytime soon. But I certainly appreciate his recommendations as I've been a bit stumped on what to blog about lately. If you have any suggestions feel free to message me with your songs!
Great Lake Swimmers is a fairly new band, debuting their first album, "Ongaira" in 2007. Clearly good ol' Canadian boys,"Ongaira" is actually the original name for the infamous Niagara Falls. Their songs definetly have a "folk" feel to them. If describing their music in one word, I would say "haunting".Tony Dekker's vocals sound positively ghostly in some of his songs, particularly this one. After analyzing the lyrics to "Your Rocky Spine", it finally hit me. At first glance I assumed it to be a love song, written about someone. I was right in the sense that it's a love song, but it's not about someONE, it's sometTHING. In my opinion Dekker has written this song about Canada, maybe even more specifically Ontario.
Dekker does a brilliant job of personifying the environment in which Canada is famous for. "I was lost in the lakes", "The mountains said I could find you here/they whisper the snow and the leaves in my ear",�I was moving across your frozen veneer". Lakes, Snow, Trees, Cold, yup that's Canada if you ask me.
I was lost in the lakes And the shapes that your body makes That your body makes, that your body makes That your body makes
The mountains said I could find you here They whispered the snow and the leaves in my ear I traced my finger along your trails Your body was the map, I was lost in it
Floating over your rocky spine The glaciers made you, and now you�re mine Floating over your rocky spine The glaciers made you, and now you�re mine
I was moving across your frozen veneer The sky was dark but you were clear Could you feel my footsteps And would you shatter, would you shatter, would you
And with your soft fingers between my claws Like purity against resolve I could tell, then and there, that we were formed from the clay And came from the rocks for the earth to display
They told me to be careful up there Where the wind blows a venomous rage through your hair They told me to be careful up there Where the wind rages through your hair
I'm not originally from T-Bay, (That's what all the cool kids call it), but I did live and go to school there for several years, and I like to think of it as an extension of my much smaller hometown. Thunder Bay is a small city in North Western Ontario nestled on the shores of Lake Superior. There are a lot of things that T-Bay is not, but one thing it is, is downright gorgeous. Lakes, mountains, trees, - the scenes you usually only see on the Discovery Channel, that's what T-Bay is known for.
Burnell has produced an amazing hip hop anthem lyrically, musically and visually. I�m a graduate of the Broadcasting Television program at Confederation College, and there is one thing that has become apparent to me; The people that grew up in NWO (North Western Ontario, son) have a ridiculous amount of drive and talent. With limited resources and the encumbrance of being geographically isolated, T-Bay has managed to spit out some solid home-grown talent. Matt Popowich of Westfort Films has produced a stunning cinematic celebration of all that is T-Bay. "My Home Town" takes some of Thunder Bay's local stories and landmarks and puts them out there for the world to see.
As someone who grew up in the area it's a nice reminder of home. If you're from T-Bay you'll get every single reference in this song, and if you're not - you'll probably learn something new. Burnell shouts out to the fact that T-Bay marks the spot where famed Canadian, Terry Fox, ended his cross Canada run for Cancer. That T-Bay was the place where Neil Young first met Stephen Stills who later went on to form the infamous Crosby, Stills and Nash. That T-Bay boasts the most pro hockey players per capita. He also throws reference to local landmarks like The Hoito, Silver Islet and the legend of The Sleeping Giant.
The combination of Burnell's rapping mixed with samples from "Hometown" Glory" by Adele, makes this song extremely catchy. It's apparent Burnell put a lot of thought into writing this song, and in an interview with Joe Fiortio of the Toronto Star, Burnell says that it took him awhile to write the lyrics, because he was "nervous, and didn't want to misrepresent my city." He has since went on to receive success and recognition through his song, and is currently waiting on a record deal. So Good luck Jordan, and thank you for giving Thunder Bay some of the recognition it deserves.
From the Norwest is the Cascades There's all different landscapes From man made lakes, to land flat as Finnish pancakes
Somewhere off the trans-Canada highway I stay with pride as big as our crime rate
Just across the bridge, we got a reservation
Our hobbies are hockey and getting wasted off of malted hops till we can barely walk and i don't know Terry Fox, but I can show you where he stopped
On ice skates we hold it down for Canada, with the most pro hockey players per capital
Nowadays it seems that's all that we talk about that's just the way it is when we walk around this hockey town
Standing at the top of Mount Mckay feeling proud to say, that I'm from Thunder Bay
(Pre chorus)
Now, from Current River to Westfort and everywhere in between I wanna hear my whole city sing with me...like...
(Chorus)
Round my hometown, memories are fresh Round my hometown, memories are fresh Round my hometown, memories are fresh Round my hometown Round my hometown
Shhh.. can I have some peace and quiet for the sleeping giant and the people that are still diving down in silver islet
the mosquitoes they're still a bitin' at the mission island
you see these people smiling but please keep in mind, it's... where people rely on paper mills to pay their bills work their whole life and their jobs unstable still
I know it isn't fair, but start giving cheers Cause we're still living here, still sipping crystal beer standing outside till our toes feel numb just waiting till that cold chill comes
The same place Steve Stills met Neil Young You can still hear them in your ear drums Superior by Nature you might think it sounds cliche, but me I just think it sounds "T-Bay"
(Pre chorus)
Now, from Current River to Westfort and everywhere in between I wanna hear my whole city sing with me...like.. (Chorus)
I'm not really interested in sports, and I am definitely not an athlete by any means. I do love swimming though. I'd swim anywhere; ocean, river, pool, but I especially like lakes. Having grown up in North Western Ontario I was surrounded by them. My hometown was situated around Lake Nipigon, the largest lake that lies entirely within the province of Ontario, and feeds into Lake Superior - the largest of the five Great Lakes. A fun little fact for those of you that may not know, but Lake Superior is actually the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. I'll tell you another thing that I know from experience, not from a textbook. Lake Superior, even in the dead heat of summer, is always effing FREEZING! After a good twenty minutes in the drink you'll be jumping out to warm up. 
I grew up swimming in Lake Nipigon and Lake Superior, so I�ve acclimated. I'll jump into any lake now without so much as a shiver. I guess what I like most about swimming is the weightlessness. The feeling of just floating. I never feel so small as when i'm treading water and can only see water in any direction I look. I'll admit one of my favorite things to do in summer is skinny dip. Not necessarily in a sexy misbehaving way. I just like getting naked and jumping in the lake. My cousins and I take our jet-ski out mid-day in the summer and do it. No harm no foul. Our parents however, do not think it's funny when we switch our bikini's before arriving back at the beach.
Dekker does a brilliant job of personifying the environment in which Canada is famous for. "I was lost in the lakes", "The mountains said I could find you here/they whisper the snow and the leaves in my ear",�I was moving across your frozen veneer". Lakes, Snow, Trees, Cold, yup that's Canada if you ask me.
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