That sword isn’t going to keep me company, Old Man! How about I take your granddaughter with me instead?
If you are one of those Americans who gives zero fucks about celebrating a politically incorrect holiday, then I wish you a Happy Columbus Day! If you happen to live north of here in the great state country of Canada, then allow me to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving instead! Yes, we know how thankful you all are that the US took Justin Bieber off your hands… and in addition to that gross violation of international relations, let me also give you a reason to be thankful that it is Monday! That’s the day The Nest summons the Mounties to fetch another frozen solid classic out of that Northwest Territories wasteland we like to call the Dusty Vinyl Archive! DJ Scratchy’s got the perfect music to go with your turkey, moose, Kraft dinners or whatever y’all are eating today… while the Sponkies pretend to play hockey in 80 degree weather. Here’s one of the Great White North’s best, eh….
While the British and Australian contributions to American pop music history are often first to come to mind when we think of great music that got its start on foreign soil, let’s not forget how many awesome rock and roll acts our northern neighbors have spawned over the years. While The Guess Who, Loverboy, Rush, and even the Barenaked Ladies make up Canada’s A list of talent… it stands to reason there are also a fair number of once relevant Canadian artists who somehow slipped through the cracks of an ice fissure.
Don’t look at me. I’m not digging them up…
One such band that had a brief glimmer of the US spotlight in 1982 was an Ontario quintet called Saga. Their lone taste of American Top 40 glory came from an album they released a year earlier titled Worlds Apart… and that would be the #26 hit “On The Loose.”
This video worked its way into MTV’s rotation in ’82, and is likely the only reason “On The Loose” became a hit at all in the States. That completely undersells just how fucking amazing this song actually is! The nifty keyboard riff that drives it, the foot tapping drum beat that backs it, and the guitar that gives the song its life all come together for what I truly believe is one of the most epic intermezzos of any song ever! If you thought that instrumental break after the second chorus in your favorite song was a good time to go grab a smoke or hit the can, then you’d be missing out on the absolute best part of Saga’s magnum opus!
Now there’s human ingenuity at its finest…
Come back next Monday for another forgotten classic that’ll bring home the Canadian bacon…
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
I saw them on stage in 1985 at rock in nuremberg, my first concert ….. with my my father in tow … uh man….
I attended my first (and only) concert with my Mom a year earlier. Of course, I was only 8 at the time, so that would be expected. She won the tickets off the radio, my Dad had to work, and I was the only one willing to go with her…
what kind of concert was it? :O)))))
Dan Fogelberg! No rowdy fans at this concert…
oh did he play part of the plan? I like it somehow…
Uh huh. No idea who this group is or was. Not concerned that I don’t know of them. Not into celebrating Christopher, so I’m going to pretend that I’m Canadian and focus on Thanksgiving today. That’s something I know about and like.
Do what makes you happy!
That keyboard riffing always makes me want to take a large swallow of a cocktail and hit the dance floorrunning. Which is pretty awkward first thing in the morning. 😁
Especially if you still have your jammies and bunny slippers on….
Or less…as the case may be. 🤣 Bwahahaha!
“Hey, guess where I’m taking a shit and calling you from? Canada!”
I thought that might be a movie reference that I missed, but I can’t find it.
No, just me being disgusting.
Not surprisingly, I’d never heard of this. So, Canada is responsible for Justin Bieber and Rush. Ugh. Well, I suppose we deserve that and more from all the horrible music and obnoxious celebrities we’ve subjected them to.
Fair trade works even in the celebrity department. I would gladly take Rush if they took REM from us (I always got those two bands mixed up even though they’re apples and oranges)…
I used to get Rush and Queen mixed up. I think my brain just filed them together under “weird-sounding bands I don’t like.”
Excuse me, but did you forget the musical genius that is Andy Kim and Sugar, Sugar?
I know that the post titles are never literal, but for the slightest of seconds I was hoping this was going to be The Saga Begins. Although I’m not sure if WAY ever made a video, but I’m sure he did because that was his thing, right?
My, my, this here Anakin guy…….. (going to be going through my head for the rest of the day)
I had heard about that song for years and finally dug it up on YouTube maybe a year ago (Probably when I featured WAY on the DVA last October). There is a video. No, I don’t care for it… not just because I’m not all that geeked out on the Star Wars universe, but because American Pie gets parodied by just about everyone, and should be well below Weird Al’s league…
Garry would LOVE that radio/TP gadget. I had to buy him a new radio a while back because they old one fizzled. he likes to listen to the game when he’s in the bathroom. It’s always hard to find a place to put a radio because they make the cords so short. That would solve the whole problem.
I’m surprised they aren’t up at the checkout registers along with all of the other As Seen On TV gadgets that are just too bizarre to be real. It seems like an innovation whose time has come…
Not familiar with this group or that song but I do like the lead singer’s pajamas………….. 🙂
Pam
There was quite obviously not a dress code at this concert venue. But there was a Goodwill store nearby…
Yep – it appears long underwear was on special……
I remember the song and the video – mainly because of the singer’s awful outfit. The song was okay.
Given all the awful outfits people were wearing in 80’s music videos, that’s quite an accomplishment for this guy to be remembered mainly for his questionable wardrobe!
LOL!
I think I remember sitting in the back of a Datsun listening to the Car’s somewhere up in the Northwest Territories! What a long boring drive!! A vast wilderness of Muskeg and Tamarac, oh and crow sized Mosquitoes! Can’t say I saw any Musk Ox, though we drove through Wood Buffalo National Park we didn’t see any, I guess they don’t hang out beside the hwy.
This song came out the year I graduated.. I like it! 🙂
Mosquitoes of any size (Let alone crow) would not be the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the NWT! They must be some hardy little buggers up there…
That instrumental was pretty impressive. I was quite disappointed when they started singing again.
LOL! Maybe they should have dropped the lead singer for more than just his lack of fashion sense…
Yeah, I did mean to mention that weird ensemble. Did no-one ever tell him that socks go on your feet, not down the front of your man-tights?