Operation Manatee #16: My Canadian Bits Are Tingling

Well, it was Canada Day yesterday. Not a big deal for some, a really big deal for others. Here at OpMan, we mostly just look at it as a good excuse to play a bunch of great Canadian music.

And why not? There’s no shortage of great Canadian music. CRTC requires that at least 33% of what we hear on Canadian radios is Canadian Content. Because of this, we often get lost in a sea of of perpetual aural sludge as stations quickly find out what sells and just play it on repeat because it’s easier than digging to find better music or more variety that isn’t as popular.

Thank everyone’s various gods for Community Radio! We’re lucky in Regina (like most major centers) to have an option that is far less guided by the pop charts and based much more on programmer’s eagerness to show off cool music that you may not have heard before.

Tune in tonight from 11:00 to midnight for a selection of Canadian music that you could not possibly hear anywhere else in Regina. We promise.

Operation Manatee #10: So… That Means It’s Now Summer, Right?

Is it summer yet?

Like everyone else in the Regina area, I lept towards the barbecue at the first sign of warmth (-15 counts as warm, you know) this season. Now that it’s more or less perpetually warm enough to be standing out by the grill, and one decent explosion and new barbecue purchase later, I’ve been spending a lot of time by the grill – homemade margarita or whatever in-hand. I don’t know about you, but barbecuing just begs for music. Personally, I (Chris) will barbecue to anything from reggae or afrobeat to dubstep or hip hop, but I think most people in our neck of the woods would generally agree that barbecuing is best done with a little bit of heavy rock nearby. Something about meat and distorted guitars. I don’t know. It’s just great.

Even though we’re not on the air until 11:00 PM, don’t let that disuade you from firing up that grill and turning on some tunes. Time of day has little bearing on delicious grilled food or when you choose to listen to your favourite program on CJTR. Warm up that grill at 10:45 and start cooking with Operation Manatee from 11:00 to midnight.