Music

These Calgary bands made music out of actual garbage for Earth Day

by Mark Teo

Every Earth Day, we, as residents of Earth, are asked to remember the irreversible imprint we’ve left on the planet. And that imprint is staggering: We unload nearly 20 billion pounds of plastic in the ocean annually, leading to über grotesque floating garbage continents. Celebrated journalists like Gwynne Dyer, who wrote Climate Wars, suggests that global warming will drastically reduce water and food supplies, eventually resulting in—you guessed it—war. Arctic sea ice cover, meanwhile, is reaching record lows. So, knowing what we do, unless you’re fucking Ted Nugent, will it kill you to dim the lights for an hour on Earth Day? (P.S. Fuck you, Ted Nugent.)

Of course, dimming your lights isn’t the only way to celebrate—or, more aptly, observe—Earth Day. Over at CBC Music, they’ve launched Green Tracks, a project that, in their words, is meant to take the “reduce, reuse, remix” mantra to song. What that means? They’re getting musicians to make music from recycled objects. Yes, they’re playing music made from actual garbage.

CBC recruited a series of Calgary bands for the project—namely, beard-rock outfit the Dudes, indie-folk mainstays Woodpigeon, and local faves (and Arts and Crafts signees) Reuben and the Dark. Check the videos below, and if you like what you see, vote on your favourite at CBC—each band will donate money to environmentally charities such as the ProHab Bike Helmet Society, the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank, or the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Calgary.

Or just enjoy the Dudes playing a song made out of empty growlers, crushed Pilsner cans, and clinking beer bottles. Hey, the Dudes gon’ Dude.

The Dudes

Woodpigeon

Reuben and the Dark