Since this is my last NMC pick of 2006, I thought I should go out with a bang and pick one of my very favourite tracks of 2006. This song is included in my
Top 15 "Best Of" show that is currently airing on Sirius 94 throughout the holidays and will be released on the Best of 2006 Podcast tomorrow, but I won't let it slip as to where this song actually ranks in the Top 15... you'll have to listen to find that out.
But this bombastic tune, "A Million Dollars", by Halifax's son of song,
Joel Plaskett, has come to mean a lot to me. It has become "that song"... years from now, I know I will always associate with the brilliant summer of 2006. Most of my summer months involved road-tripping, both with CBC Radio 3 and on personal vacation time, and this song usually accompanied me, blasting across my speakers.
Whether it was speeding down the switchback mountain road overlooking Dawson City, Yukon, or cresting the hill that reveals the serenity-inducing view of Desolation Sound BC, or revisiting childhood memories while circling Lake Echo, deep within Quebec's Laurentian Mountains, this song provided the sing-a-long soundtrack. And will all due respect to our Bucky winners, "let's get wrecked on Rolling Rock and stroll down to the sea" is my lyric of the year... it's Joel Plaskett at his best, taking us along for the ride, and the Canadian collective experience.
