Playlist Battle: East Coast vs. West Coast Canadian Anthems

The East Coast case

The kitchen party. The East Coast's canon is communal: "Home for a Rest" (see our feature), "Rant and Roar" (see our feature), "Fare Thee Well Love" (see our feature), "Barrett's Privateers" (see our feature) — songs designed for rooms full of people who know every word. Add "Snowbird" (see our feature) for the warmth, "Mari-Mac" (see our feature) for the double-time, and "The Mary Ellen Carter" (see our feature) for the stubbornness. The East Coast canon is the party — you don't listen to it, you join it.

The West Coast case

The highway. The West's canon is expansive: "Life Is a Highway" (see our feature), "Home for a Rest" (the West claims it spiritually), "Big Yellow Taxi"? no — American. Use: "Four Strong Winds" (the leaving song, Alberta-bound — see our feature), "Sundown"? — Ontario. Use: "Go-Go's"? no. The West: "Feist's" "1234"? too soft. The West's real canon: the Victoria folk (see our Tanyas feature), the Vancouver indie (see our Mint feature), the prairie rock (see our BTO feature). It's less a party, more a landscape.

The verdict

The East wins the party (see our features); the West wins the landscape (see our features). The coastal rivalry (see our debates feature) resolves the usual way (see our features): both coasts win (see our features), the country keeps both playlists (see our features), and (see our features) the only losers (see our features) are (see our features) the prairies (see our Winnipeg feature), ignored again (see our features) by (see our features) the coastal argument (see our features). Some things (see our features) never change (see our features). Play (see our features) both (see our features). Sing (see our features) everything (see our features).