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Today is Canada Day, which celebrates the establishment of our fine neighbors to the north. We’ve been celebrating all day today at MTV News: We had donuts at this morning’s meeting (Canada consumes the most donuts of any country) and Hollywood Crush is tipping its hat to some of Canda’s finest male exports.
They’ve given the world a number of other fine products besides swoon-worthy men: Poutine, universal health care, a fierce devotion to hockey and boundary-pushing one-hit wonders. Here are the five finest flashes-in-the-pan from the Great White North.
Men Without Hats, “The Safety Dance”
Montreal’s Men Without Hats had their moment in the sun in 1982 with a single that had three things going for it: It was from Canada, it was an international hit and it was about a series of dance moves. Like many of the groups on this list, Men Without Hats managed to have other hits in Canada after their U.S. exposure had faded — including a great song called “Pop Goes the World.”
Len, “Steal My Sunshine”
Len are from Toronto and had a song of the summer contender in 1999 with “Steal My Sunshine,” which combines surf rock, hip-hop and helium-infused puppet voices for a remarkably ’90s vibe.
Bif Naked, “Moment of Weakness”
Bif Naked was the name of both the singer and the band behind “Moment of Weakness,” which had its MTV moment in 1999. It wasn’t the last time Naked would cross paths with the network — she performed a version of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” for the long-forgotten TRL Christmas compilation in 2001.
Crash Test Dummies, “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm”
Winnipeg’s Crash Test Dummies scored the leftest of left-field radio hits in 1994 with “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.” The song and video are extremely strange, telling three narratives about odd people all in singer Brad Roberts’ basso profundo.
Snow, “Informer”
Two words: Canadian reggae. When Snow scored this hit in 1993, it spawned one of those great MTV videos where they used to run the lyrics on the bottom of the image (Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” got the same treatment). Fun fact: “Snow” apparently stands for “Super Notorious Outrageous Whiteboy.”