Hey Strombo, give Maybe Smith a chance

Posted by Colin on Wednesday May 6, 2009 Comment

To quote Buck 65, “I don’t even know if it’s really worth mentioning”, but the Maybe Smith song Hearts Like Bears from Animals and Architects is the theme song—and has been for over a year now—for Live on CBC Radio 3 with Grant Lawrence. I know eventually the kids at Radio 3 will move on to another tune to introduce the Canadian institution that is Grant’s daily afternoon show, and that’s why I wanted to comment on this while it’s still relevant.

As goofy as it sounds, having a Maybe Smith song chosen to be the theme for a show devoted to the best in Canadian indie music is a pretty big deal for me. I would even say it’s one of the highlights of my music “career” (term used loosely) thus far. That might seem dramatic, but keep in mind I don’t sell many albums, my “record label” is hardly legit, and it’s quite common for me to play empty venues anywhere outside of Saskatoon.

So I revel in the little victories.

Having said that, Paul Anka made a fortune from penning the theme song to The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I understand Radio 3’s artist waiver system means artists don’t get royalties from R3 airplay, and I’m fine with that. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to reach financial security by writing a song and then just watching TV every night Anka-style. Seems like a sweet deal.

So I’m looking your way, George Stroumboulopoulos. Certainly you’re tired of that Sloan song that graces the opening sequence of The Hour every night. And certainly you’d rather have an obscure artist from Saskatoon rather than one of Canada’s most cherished bands of all time provide the soundtrack to your award-winning escapades. Who wouldn’t?

Strombo, I know you used to use a New Pornographers song, then graduated to Sloan. The obvious next progression is Maybe Smith. It’s straight up Darwinian:

New Pornographers → Sloan → Maybe Smith

Clear as a prairie sky.

I suggest using either the song Bloopers or Dangerous Games Involving Bodies of Water (Spring and Summer). They’re both pretty good.