What do I do this for, have got to get out some more...

Yes, it is Hayden week here... and yes, I should be figuring out what I'm going to say when I emcee my sister's wedding tomorrow...

I'm not sure whether or not Hayden is Canadian icon, for the CBC Radio 3 set, sure, for the public at large, I doubt it. And its a shame, really, since you'd be hard pressed to find a songwriter who has been more productive/consistent over the past 15(!) years. Honestly, I can't think of another Canadian artist/band that has put out 3, 4, 5, albums that are worth listening to let alone 8 (nevermind the fact that he's batting 1.000, not having a stinker in his entire discography).

Maybe the fact that he hasn't become a widely recognized figure has relieved any sort of pressure for Hayden to create a certain type of music, or kept him from feeling as though he had a fan base to please. Given the type of music he creates, his on stage persona, and everything else that I know about the man, its hard to imagine that he'd want things any other way. He's always seemed - through the few times I've seen him live - that's he's uncomfortable with the lime light, and that, given the choice, he'd be pretty comfortable living out the rest of his days within a block radius of his house.

Regardless of how many records he ends up selling, and how many people he ends up reaching with his music, its pretty safe to say he's one of the great Canadian treasures whether most people know it or not...

from Trees Lounge (the 1996 Steve Buscemi movie)



and "Bad As They Seem" from Everything I Long For [1995]