Yes, Canada, that just happened.  After 17 days in which musicians from around our country descended upon Vancouver to showcase themselves and their tremendous talent to the world, the whole thing ended with bands nobody should ever admit to listening to.  If it wasn’t for K-os and Alanis Morissette who brought a semblance of integrity to the musical offerings- it might have been Canada’s worst moment, ever.

Put aside criticism of the ceremonies themselves, which lampooned our national follies so relentlessly – the real tragedy was the bands themselves.  The only possible explanation for choices so out of touch was that they were made 10 years ago, when planning for the event began. How could something like this happen?

Where was City and Colour, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Hey Rosetta, Chromeo, K’naan, Martha Wainwright, Feist and Joel Plaskett? Each had played during the cultural olympics and yet our singular moment to let the world know what we sound like was led by Avril Lavine and Nickleback – two artists who are barely relevant enough to even make fun of anymore.

Imagine for a moment that instead of Simple Plan (apparently out of retirement), instead of Hedly (sorry, who?) and Nickleback (too easy) and Avril Lavine (gossip blog fodder) – the lights went down and K’naan stepped out on the stage.  An artist who will without a doubt become one of the biggest stars in the world after the World Cup, an artist that deeply represents what it means to be Canadian and you know…. an artist that can be called an artist.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and the pickle would have been a better choice. What bands would you have picked to represent Canada at the closing ceremonies? Let us know in the comments.