4TheRcrd Mag.

A few weeks back, I was given the gift of Feist. More accurately, I was provided with a ticket to see Feist with Ron Sexsmith at the Orpheum on February 12.

It all seemed too good to be true, this joining of beloved Canadian musicians with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Skepticism aside, I scurried into the theatre all the same. It was here that my worst fears manifested… and were then promptly amplified. See, the show I was attending was part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad. Before arriving, I didn’t really know what that meant. When Ben Mulroney walked out on stage to host the event, it began to sink in.

Watching Sexsmith and Feist as a part of an Olympic-sized event meant that in order to get the show, you had to first survive speeches from VANOC and Bell representatives. I was holding in alright. A sense of euphoria started to fill my chest. Yes, I was going to make it. Then… well, then came Suzie McNeil. It was too much for me to bear. Ms. McNeil, in all of her corporately packaged glory subjected the crowd to her song “Believe”.

It seems this musical drivel is to be the theme song for the 2010 games. I still can’t decide what was more offensive. There were her smug lyrics about moving mountains with dreams which were difficult to handle. But the whole performance concluded with her striking a head-down/fist-raised pose that evoked images of the 1968 Olympics. In a city with skyrocketing poverty that is only intensified by 2010 preparation, McNeil’s statement about the power of belief was stomach turning. That final moment, however, really summed up what is wrong with the Cultural Olympiad. Here is a performer whose oblivious bubblegum stage presence tramples on history. Of course, misappropriation seems to be par for the course with VANOC. Understanding this, it becomes clear why they sought out the musical… stylings… of McNeil to add to the spectacle.

Naturally the question is why am I bringing this up now? Well, the unsettling musical representation of Vancouver’s culture by a Toronto-based pop tart such as McNeil stuck with me. Eventually, I did some research wherein I discovered that Suzie isn’t just packaged by VANOC. She’s also performing for the Calgary Maxim party. Now that is culture.

My primary intention for raising this issue, however, is not to focus on the aspartame sweetness of McNeil. Rather, it is to announce that Geoff Berner has come to the rescue. It seems (believe it or not) that there really are musicians in Vancouver. Surely, if VANOC knew this they wouldn’t have outsourced to Ontario. Fortunately, Berner seems aware of the gaffe, and offers a speedy remedy. This week, he released the Official Theme song for the 2010 Vancouver Whistler Olympic Games. Assuming that VANOC will recognize their mistake, Berner has made it possible for them to take McNeil’s song off their site and replace it with this new track. Not only is Berner demonstrating good old-fashioned Canadian diplomacy, but he’s also proving that Vancouver doesn’t need to tap into the creative well of Toronto. We’ve got all the culture we need right here.

Image source: Jessica Eaton/geoffberner.com