I am a dad but also a retired elementary school teacher. We don't have many mass shootings here in Canada so the one that recently happened in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. hits pretty close to home in multiple ways. At times like this it is often difficult to know what to say. This post is my attempt to understand how both parents and school staff must feel at this time. What a tragedy! My heart aches for all involved.

The Great Canadian Road Trip…Song #86/250: Sun In An Empty Room by The Weakerthans https://tommacinneswriter.com/2026/02/13/the-great-canadian-road-tripsong-86-250-sun-in-an-empty-room-by-the-weakerthans/ ##EdwardHopper, ##Music, ##SunInAnEmptyRoom, ##TheGreatCanadianRoadTrip, ##TheWeakerthans, ##TumblerRidge

The Great Canadian Road Trip….Song #84/250: Confetti by Charlotte Cardin

In 1971, a young woman named Lori Lieberman attended a concert given by famous American singer Don McLean (of “American Pie” fame). During this concert, McLean sang another song of his entitled “Empty Chairs”. Unbeknownst to him, Lori Lieberman was listening to this song and the manner in which McLean was singing it and was having her whole world turn upside down. Lieberman was an aspiring songwriter at the time. As she listened to “Empty Chairs”, she felt McLean’s words connecting to her on a very deep and personal level. Writing on napkins, Lieberman wrote down her thoughts and feelings. A day or so later, she showed them to members of her record management team. Those words ended up forming the basis of the famous song “Killing Me Softly (With His Song)”. You can read more about Lori Lieberman and the story behind “Killing Me Softly (With His Song)” here. The essence of this story is that feeling seen by others is an important part of validating our own life story. It doesn’t always happen but when it does, it is reassuring and it can also be unnerving. If you have ever had the same experience that Lori Lieberman had, where someone’s song makes you feel seen and not so alone then this post is for you.   

For the majority of my life I would have described myself as someone who was shy. I am never the life of any party that I attend, preferring to anchor myself to a secure spot and indulge in quiet conversations with those who come to me in the mood for a chat. From the moment that I arrive at a gathering I am plotting my exit. This is true regardless of how friendly everyone is, how tasty the food being served may be or how refreshing the drinks were along the way. Leaving said gathering always comes as a relief. That is not a slight on whoever was acting as host. It is just the way I am. It wasn’t until I was well into adulthood that I first heard the term introvert used to describe forms of shyness like I seemed to possess. Like many who receive a diagnosis and finally understand who they truly are, finding the term introvert helped me to answer a lot of questions about myself and brought me closer to understanding why I act the way I do, especially in social situations. I am an introvert. I am. It is true. There is a reason I use my keyboard to express my thoughts, feelings and ideas, as opposed to doing a podcast or standing on a soapbox in the town square and inviting real time debate. Like many introverts, I can function successfully in this world but I prefer the space between my ears to that of being at a party or almost anywhere that extroverts gather. Generally speaking, I am happy with my life and how it has turned out. But if I ever manage to get my hands on a genie lamp and could indulge myself with three selfish wishes, one of those wishes would be to know what it is like to walk into a crowded room and take it over simply because of my charm and wit and my social presence. A second wish would be to sit behind a piano or to climb on to a stage with an acoustic guitar and sing for an awestruck audience. Both of these scenarios form the basis of today’s song called “Confetti” by Canadian singer Charlotte Cardin. Turns out, she is an introvert, too. 

Charlotte Cardin was born in Montreal in 1994. Cardin is a six-time Juno Award winner. While she has many hit songs, “Confetti” is her most well known song to date. I hear it played often on our local Top 40 radio stations, for what that is worth. Charlotte Cardin first came to public prominence when she was a teenager. She began to gain attention by being a model. Not long after that, Cardin was a finalist on a French language music-based reality show in Quebec. Fuelled by her success on the show La Voix, Cardin released an EP called Big Boy that earned her a nomination for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize. She was barely in her twenties at the time. Big things were predicted for Charlotte Cardin. In truth, she is a beautiful young woman. She is a singer who possesses a distinctive, smoky voice that is a pleasure to listen to. She writes with a sense of maturity that she uses to tell stories that go beyond most of what passes for popular music on today’s charts. While Charlotte Cardin’s career certainly has been successful, as proven by her enormous success at the 2022 Juno Awards where she won four awards including Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Pop Album of the Year and Album of the Year, she has accomplished it all without playing the usual celebrity game. Charlotte Cardin is a very private person. She does not appear in scantily clad photo shoots. She has steered clear of celebrity gossip and scandals that have plagued so many other young artists. She hasn’t sold the rights to her name to be used for cheesy endorsements simply to cash in on her fame. Instead, Charlotte Cardin has remained focussed on her art. She writes and sings songs in both English and in French. She records and performs mainly in Montreal but also quite frequently in Paris, France. She is our country’s quiet superstar. 

I have never met Charlotte Cardin in person but I suspect that she is an introvert like me. I base this claim on her hit song “Confetti” which has become known as the introvert’s anthem. Much in the same way that Lori Liebermen felt seen while listening to Don McLean sing that night back in 1971, I feel seen every time I listen to the words of “Confetti” by Charlotte Cardin. This is a song that speaks of being a quiet presence in a loud world. It paints a picture of someone who wishes to be anywhere other than in the middle of the party they find themselves in, wishing and praying for someone to whisk them away from it all. The song’s chorus centres on the vivid imagery of Cardin collapsing at the party and having it all go unnoticed by others due to Cardin’s feeling of complete social invisibility, as her body lay on the floor, slowly being buried in confetti.

“Always been loud in a quiet way. I always feel alone in a crowded place.

I always wanna stay, wanna go, wanna stay, wanna go

I don’t know. I don’t know.

I get sad on my birthday. I wanna talk back in the worst way.

I always wanna stay, wanna go, wanna stay, wanna go

I don’t know what to say. 

I want to throw it all away.

Chorus:

I feel like a zombie. I’ll die at the party.

Yeah, you’ll find my body fully covered in confetti.

I tried calling someone to tell them come get me

But you’ll find my body fully covered in confetti 

Singing la da da da da.”  

That’s not the whole song but it feels like a fairly accurate description of who I am and how I feel in social situations. I am tempted to say that I can’t believe that someone so beautiful and successful as Charlotte Cardin could be shy at her core but doing so would be selling Cardin and all of my fellow introverts short. To those who know me, I am living a good life, too. I found love. I am helping to raise two beautiful, creative, intelligent daughters. My house is paid for. I enjoyed a respected thirty year career as an educator. And now I write posts like this one that people tell me they enjoy. All is good. I have no complaints. To the untrained eye, it is easy to look at someone like me or like Charlotte Cardin and only see the positives regarding who we are as people. Being an introvert isn’t a death sentence. But it does get in the way sometimes, I have to be honest. I wish that I was freer and easier in social situations but I am just not that sort of guy. I am an introvert. Thanks to “Confetti” by Charlotte Cardin, I know that I am not alone. But then again, I like being alone. I don’t know what to say, I wanna throw it all away. I feel like a zombie. 

***Note for my local peeps: Charlotte Cardin will be appearing at the Base 31 Concert Hall in Picton, Ontario on September 20, 2025. Tickets are still available for this intimate concert and can be purchased here. 

The link to the video for the song “Confetti” by Charlotte Cardin can be found here. ***The lyrics version is here.

The link to the official website for Charlotte Cardin can be found here.

The link to the full Base 31 Summer Concert Series (in Picton, Ontario) website can be found here.

***As always, all original content contained in this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2025 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

#CharlotteCardin #Confetti #Introvert #Music #TheGreatCanadianRoadTrip

Since Christmas I have felt as though writing about music is so very inconsequential. But watching folks on both sides of the border begin to stand up for themselves has inspired me. Let this great song by Canadian singer Hawksley Workman...and the story behind it...inspire all of you.

The Great Canadian Road Trip…Song #81/250: We’re Not Broken Yet by Hawksley Workman https://tommacinneswriter.com/2025/03/26/the-great-canadian-road-tripsong-81-250-were-not-broken-yet-by-hawksley-workman/ #GeorgeStroumboulopoulos, #HawksleyWorkman, #Hope, #TheGreatCanadianRoadTrip, #WeAreNotBrokenYet

Today's post is about the story of one of Canada's first great songs about sex!!!! The Log Driver's Waltz by Wade Hemsworth is also one of this country's great folk songs. It was made famous by it being turned into an animated film by the NFB. All in all, a fun way to start your day.

The Great Canadian Road Trip…Song #80/250: The Log Driver’s Waltz by Wade Hemsworth https://tommacinneswriter.com/2024/10/30/the-great-canadian-road-tripsong-78-250-the-log-drivers-waltz-by-wade-hemsworth/ #Canada, #FolkMusic, #LogDriversWaltz, #TheGreatCanadianRoadTrip, #TheMountainCityFour, #WadeHemsworth

Today I am featuring one of the all time great "songs of the summer" along with being one of the great one-hit wonders of all-time, too! The story behind "Steal My Sunshine" by Toronto group Len is almost too funny and bizarre to be true but all of it is 100% for real. Enjoy.

The Great Canadian Road Trip….Song #77/250: Steal My Sunshine by Len. https://tommacinneswriter.com/2024/10/22/the-great-canadian-road-trip-song-77-250-steal-my-sunshine-by-len/ #AndreaTrueConnection, #Len, #MoreMoreMore, #StealMySunshine, #TheGreatCanadianRoadTrip, #Toronto

Come with me to Napanee, Ontario, Canada where it all began for singer extraordinaire Avril Lavigne.

The Great Canadian Road Trip…Song #76/250: Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne https://tommacinneswriter.com/2024/10/16/the-great-canadian-road-tripsong-76-250-sk8er-boi-by-avril-lavigne/ #AvrilLavigne, #Belleville, #Napanee, #Sk8erBoi, #Skateboarding, #TheGreatCanadianRoadTrip

The links for Parts I and II of this series can be found here and here.

Day 3:

We start this day in a hotel parking lot in Edmundston, New Brunswick. The morning air is crisp and cool. Surrounding us are dozens of cars all bearing Ontario license plates. For us, today will be an odd sort of day. Our daughter’s university sits approximately one hour past the city of Halifax. From Edmunston, we could make it to Halifax in about six hours. To do so would pretty much end the driving on this part of our journey. However, before we ever left our home in Ontario, we knew that this trip was going to be about more than simply being on time for university move-in day. It was also going to be the culmination of a farewell tour that our daughter had been enjoying this whole entire summer. Prior to leaving home, Leah got to say goodbye to one group of friends at a day-long pool party in the country. Then she worked her final shift at the Library where she had been employed all throughout high school. As a family we had a final restaurant meal out together. Then Leah finished her last shift at the bookstore where she also worked. The family of her BFF took her out for a final dinner as well. At last it came time for a teary farewell to Gramma and Poppa and down the highway to the east coast we all went. But before arriving at her university town, it had been decided that we would include stops to see my mother, my cousin, as well as my sister and her husband along the way. This entailed driving past the Halifax turnoff, adding another four hours of driving…each way… to get to Cape Breton and back again. For this reason, as we stood in that hotel parking lot in Edmunston about to begin our day, instead of a six hour culmination to our trip, we were faced with the daunting prospect of a ten hour run to the ocean. Crammed as we were into our small spaces that we had carved out for ourselves in our car, with nine hours of driving already under our belts, the decision was made to limit our road exposure on this day and stop for the day in Moncton. Thus, we began today’s stage of this journey with the mindset that we were putting in time. By day’s end, we would still not be where we needed to be to see the people or the places we were really interested in seeing. But, at least, we would be a little closer.  That was our reward today…to be a little closer to where we needed to be. So, into our car we climbed. We bid adieu to our Ontario compatriots in the parking lot and set off to travel through New Brunswick. 

Driving through New Brunswick is a very different experience compared to driving on the 401 highway in Ontario or driving past Montreal and Quebec City. New Brunswick is all trees and forests, whereas Ontario and western Quebec are all people, cars and shopping malls. The driving can be slow and frustrating while on the 401 but in New Brunswick, the roads are wide open. For hours on end, there are barely any other vehicles on the highway with us. It is just us, the highway and a seemingly endless panorama of trees in all directions. As we drove along, my wife and I actually joked about whether the Trans Canada highway was, in fact, closed and we shouldn’t really be there. But truth be told, New Brunswick is simply this vast province that has, for the most part, retained its naturalized state and has escaped the land baron’s plows for now. It is pristine. The highways are newly constructed, making driving there rather easy. The biggest obstacle to traversing New Brunswick is actually boredom. There are trees everywhere! There is no end to them. Eventually one tires of seeing wooded mountain sides and the scenery starts blending together. It is easy to lapse into a video game mentality and lose sight of the fact that you are driving a real car filled with precious cargo over one hill and down the next, around this curve and then the one after that, eventually straightening out for a while as you are surrounded by nothing but trees, trees and more trees. 

A decade or so ago, the CBC held a music contest called The Great Canadian Song Quest. The challenge was for songwriters to create original songs specifically relating to the province in which they resided. The winner of the New Brunswick portion of this contest was a man named David Myles with a song aptly titled “Don’t Drive Through”. Prior to 2010 or so, driving through New Brunswick meant driving on an old two-lane highway. If you happened to wind up stuck behind a truck carrying logs, for instance, it was easy to lose lots of time trying to get across the province. After many complaints, the Government of New Brunswick embarked on an ambitious project to build a new series of modern highways that stretched from one end of the province to the other. It is on these new highways that we find ourselves as we drive on this day. The thing about these new highways is, as David Myles duly noted in his song, that you actually bypass all of the towns and cities in the province where people live and work and go about their daily lives. With the old highway, it may have been a slower trek but at least you ended up driving through every little village and town along the way and could stop at a Mom and Pop diner or roadside vegetable stand if so inclined. Nowadays, if you don’t deliberately take an off ramp somewhere along the highway, you can drive completely across New Brunswick and see nothing at all but trees. So, in order to break up the monotony of driving endlessly through wooded hillsides, we opted to make two stops before arriving in Moncton. The first stop was the world’s longest covered bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick.

The Hartland Covered Bridge spans the St. John River. It is a one-lane bridge that you can drive or walk across. It isn’t really all that long of a span, less than a minute’s drive and maybe three-four minutes to walk across it one way. But it is a sturdily constructed bridge. We enjoyed our little stroll across the bridge, examining all the lover’s hearts and initials that have been carved into the beams over the years. Then, like so many other tourists, when our visit to the bridge was over, we availed ourselves of their public washrooms and piled back into our car and continued on our way. Thanks for the pit stop Hartland!   

Our day was divided into three ninety-minute segments. The first ninety minutes took us from Edmundston to Hartland and that epic covered bridge. From Hartland, it was another hour and a half to Fredericton, which is the provincial capital of New Brunswick. We decided to stop there for an early lunch at a diner-style restaurant called Claudine’s. After having seen next to no cars at all on the Trans Canada highway, it seemed extremely busy once we entered Fredericton proper. One thing we noticed was the preponderance of young twenty-somethings wandering around the city. Then we realized that it must have been move-in time at the University of New Brunswick, too. Dodging all of the cars and young adults and roundabouts that seemed to be everywhere, we managed to safely arrive at Claudine’s. This restaurant is located in a nondescript strip mall and doesn’t look like much from the outside. But once inside, we could tell it had been recently renovated and was the new chic hangout for those artsy university types we had been noticing. The food and service there were terrific. We would recommend Claudine’s to anyone else who happened to find themselves in search of a good meal while in “Freddy Beach”, as the locals call it.  Bellies full and bladders emptied, it was time to end our drive for the day and head to Moncton.

Until we actually arrived in downtown Moncton, I had no idea the extent to which music would play a part in this day. Prior to arriving at our hotel, the radio stations we were able to tune into came either from nearby Maine, in the U.S. or else, from Fredericton and then, Moncton as we drew nearer to there. Naturally, we heard “Espresso” and “Miles On It” and the other four songs that made up our summer playlist multiple times along the way. But this isn’t the music that I am talking about. As we entered Moncton and neared our hotel, we passed Casino New Brunswick. In front was a huge neon sign promoting an upcoming two-concert visit by punk rock legends NOFX!!!!  Wait, what?!  Sometime earlier in the summer I had read that these legends were embarking on their final tour ever. *(You can read about NOFX from a previously written post here). Contrary to what you may think, I don’t own that many band t-shirts but I do own one by NOFX. I have respected them ever since I first learned of their existence and now, here they were in Moncton of all places as one of their final live concerts ever!!! Unfortunately for me, the concert dates didn’t jibe with our travel schedule but knowing that I was thiiiiis close to a surprise NOFX concert was enough to start the Moncton phase of this journey off on the right note for me. 

When I booked our hotels for this trip, I did so with Leah’s ultimate arrival at university in mind. I did not book anywhere thinking that it might coincide with anything special that might be happening along the way. So, imagine our collective surprise when we finally arrived at our hotel and went inside. We stayed at the Hotel Beausejour, which is a reasonably swishy place for a city like Moncton. As we walked toward the door, I was semi-worried that we wouldn’t be dressed well enough (in shorts and t-shirts as we were). However, once the doors were opened, we were met with a sonic blast that knocked us all off kilter. Hotel chains are known for playing elevator-style music in their lobby areas but at this hotel, we entered to the sound of Country music playing at high, headphone-esque levels. As we approached the front desk to check in, we noticed that the staff were all wearing plaid shirts, blue jeans and straw hats! What the heck was going on here? After a bit of digging we came to learn that Moncton was set to host a three-day Country music festival called YQM Country Fest. Rising star Bailey Zimmerman was headlining on the Friday evening that we had arrived. Jason Aldean was set to headline on Saturday and Luke Combs, of “Fast Car” fame, was closing the festival as headliner on Sunday. There was a palpable sense of excitement in the air among the guests of the hotel, almost all of whom we were guessing were in town for the festival. Even in the swanky surroundings, we blended right in with everyone else when it came to our wardrobe. I needn’t have ever worried.

Moncton may seem like a strange place to suddenly be a hotbed of musical activity but the city has a homegrown source of pride that helps it stand on its own merits as a city worthy of musical respect. In the early 1990s, a band called Eric’s Trip was formed in Moncton by singer Rick White, guitarist Chris Thompson, singer/guitarist Julie Dorion and drummer Ed Vaughn (who was later replaced by Mark Gaudet). Eric’s Trip became one of the most influential Canadian bands of their time. You may ask yourself how influential could they have been if this is the first time you are hearing about them? Well, let me tell you their story. The members of Eric’s Trip played a form of indie-alternative music that no other major band was playing in Canada at the time. Because they were living in Moncton, they were allowed the opportunity to develop their sound in a rather insulated musical environment. Eventually, in time, a cassette tape that the band had recorded themselves wound up in the hands of a record executive in Halifax. At that time in music history, the musical phenomenon known as Grunge music was exploding out of Seattle, Washington. Bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees, Alice in Chains and many more were all signing major label recording deals, many with a record label called Sub Pop. The folks in charge of Sub Pop had studied the world of music promotion and had modeled Sub Pop after Berry Gordy’s Motown Records in Detroit. In their mind, they understood that Gordy had marketed a “sound” or a type of music that became synonymous with the Motown label. Sub Pop wanted to do the same with Grunge music. They wanted Sub Pop to become synonymous with the Seattle musical sound of bands such as Nirvana. Being business-oriented, the founders of Sub Pop harvested all of the available talent in the Seattle area. Then they turned their eyes to the rest of the world, in search of that next great Grunge-ready Seattle clone. Eventually, this brought Sub Pop executives to Halifax in the early 1990s. At the time, the Halifax music scene was exploding with talent such as Sloan, a very young Sarah McLachlan, Joel Plaskett and his band Thrush Hermit and many more. When local music types started organizing showcases for the visiting Sub Pop executives, one of the bands that caught their ears was Eric’s Trip. Because Eric’s Trip had developed outside of the Halifax bubble, they were perceived by Sub Pop as being fresher, with greater future potential and, as such, they were the very first Canadian band ever signed to the increasingly famous Sub Pop label. Eric Trip’s brand of indie-alternative lo-fi pop rock came just as the Grunge wave was cresting in the U.S. In Canada, that placed them at the leading edge of this movement here. While Eric’s Trip didn’t end up selling that many albums nor lasting a very long time as a band, their influence on other bands is what really makes them important. No less a band than The Tragically Hip name dropped them in their song “Put It Off” from Trouble at the Henhouse with the line that reads “I played Love Tara by Eric’s Trip on the day that you were born”  Love Tara was the title of Eric’s Trip’s first album. Because of the role that this band and album played in influencing the development of alternative music in Canada, Love Tara is viewed as one of the most respected and important Canadian albums of all time. The song “Viewmaster”, which I am showcasing in this post, will seem like something you have probably heard before which, in turn, may cause you to wonder what all the fuss was about. The fuss comes in knowing that what you are watching is musical history unfolding before your eyes. Someone always has to go first when starting something new. For me and many others as well, Eric’s Trip went first in Canada when it came to indie/alternative music. 

Always an anti-Halifax/proudly Monctonian band, Eric’s Trip and the song “Viewmaster” is what was rolling through my head as we took a family stroll along the Petitcodiac River after supper. This river holds a special place in our hearts because, on an earlier visit when the girls were much younger, we dubbed this river as being “The Chocolate River”. You see, the waters of the Petitcodiac River are crystal clear but the sediment of its banks and riverbed are decidedly a red-brown colour. This, in turn, causes the flowing water to resemble chocolate. Even though Moncton was never our intended final destination, we are all happy to be here. The city has done a good job of developing walking trails along the river. There are also plenty of restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores near the hotel district. On this visit, the excitement of music royalty coming to their city can be felt everywhere we went. It is nice to be in a place where the vibe is so upbeat and party-like. But while we are happy to stroll along the banks of the Chocolate River while eating ice cream, we have other places to be and people to see. Our real journey begins tomorrow. Cape Breton Island awaits and with it, so do important members of my family. Tonight I will wrap myself and my family in the joyous musical atmosphere that Moncton exudes. Tomorrow, it is time to go home.

The link to the video for the song “Viewmaster” by Eric’s Trip can be found here. ***The lyrics version is here.

The link to the official website for Eric’s Trip can be found here.

The link to the video for the song “Don’t Drive Through” by David Myles can be found here.  ***The lyrics version is here.

The link to the official website for David Myles can be found here.

The link to the official website for the province of New Brunswick can be found here.

The link to the official website for the city of Hartland, New Brunswick can be found here.

The link to the official website for the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick can be found here.

The link to the official website for the city of Moncton, New Brunswick can be found here.

***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2024 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

https://tommacinneswriter.com/2024/09/20/the-great-canadian-road-trip-song-74-250-viewmaster-by-erics-triproad-trip-edition-part-iii/

#EricsTrip #GreatBigSea #HartlandCoveredBridge #LoveTara #NewBrunswick #NOFX #TheGreatCanadianRoadTrip #Viewmaster #Moncton

Song #6 of my top 20 favourite songs by The Tragically Hip is "Goodnight Attawapiskat". This song helped the Attawapiskat First Nation raise the funds necessary to build their own school. This story helps explain much of why Gord Downie devoted his final days to Indigenous causes.

The Great Canadian Road Trip: Song #6/250: Goodnight, Attawapiskat by The Tragically Hip https://tommacinneswriter.com/2022/06/14/the-great-canadian-road-trip-the-stories-behind-canadian-songs-and-canadian-placessong-6-250-goodnight-attawapiskat-by-the-tragically-hip/ #AttawapiskatFirstNation, #GoodnightAttawapiskat, #TheGreatCanadianRoadTrip, #TheTragicallyHip