Aug 08 2008
Holy Fuck! Destroying Canadian Culture?
Holy Fuck! What a rude, offensive name. Clearly, with a name like that, this group of Toronto-based ruffians doesn’t present the kind of image of Canadian culture we would want to show the world. If they were called Oh Jeez!, however, that would be just fine.
This was pretty much the thinking behind the Conservatives’ decision to scrap a $4.7 million program called PromArt which helps fund the promotion of Canadian culture abroad, such as sending music groups, Inuit art collections, and ballet troupes on overseas trips. According to an anonymous government official, the Conservatives found that PromArt was handing out grants to “groups that would raise the eyebrows of any typical Canadian” and that it was “not exactly the foot that most Canadians would want to see put forward.” Their response was to axe all funding and cancel the program completely.
Among the criticisms was the $3000 awarded to Holy Fuck! for a UK tour, and the $16,500 to Tal Bachman (son of Randy, and the guy behind CanCon radio staple “She’s So High“) for festival shows in Africa. Some of the awards that sat okay with the Conservatives were the $50,000 to help the Canadian Museum of Civilization exhibit Inuit art in Brazil, and $40,000 to assist a Royal Winnipeg Ballet tour through the States. So, apparently the Conservatives now feel it’s up to them to decide what is “appropriate art”, what genuinely represents Canadian culture. Personally, I question whether these overfed, out-of-touch officials know anything at all about the Canadian music scene, let alone Holy Fuck!, one of our most exciting bands. Did they even listen to Holy Fuck! before they made their decision, or did they just look at the name and scowl and shake their multiple chins in disdain?
It sounds to me like a weak and outrageous excuse for slashing funding to Canadian arts and culture. The Conservatives can question all they want the choices made by PromArt about which artists should be awarded grants, but maybe they should also question who is really more qualified to make these decisions. Them, or the people at PromArt who actually seem to be truly in touch with what is going on? To me, sending Holy Fuck! to blow away some British kids and Tal Bachman to entertain some Africans is a great decision. I wonder if they’re just looking to free up money to buy some more unmanned drones and military helicopters, and that our own culture and arts seemed like an easy target. Watch out sick people, single moms, senior citizens, and freedom of expression, you might be next.
As far as Holy Fuck!, they’ll be back from destroying our reputation in the UK near the end of the month and - just announced! - they will be ruining the Halifax Pop Explosion festival in late October.
Holy Fuck Lovely Allen @ The Metropolis
You’re right, wildwildwes. I saw these guys at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in June, and apart from giving me several eargasms, they completely destroyed Canada’s reputation (as boring, prim and proper folk, that is).
I wonder how they treat bands with naughty names elsewhere?
It’s quite possible that the Queen of England spins the Fuck Buttons record while sipping her afternoon tea….
Maybe she does! After all, Ozzy played at her Golden Jubilee.
Anne Howland, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson, said this:
“Certainly we felt some of the groups were not necessarily ones we thought Canadians would agree were the best choices to be representing them internationally.”
And this:
“I don’t even want to say it (their name) on the phone. Holy F , that was one that was flagged.”
I’m disgusted in this decision and its justification.
sweet merciful crap. just as canadian music is at the cutting edge the canadian government is 20 years out of date. Someone needs to tell Harper that the culture wars and the debate over the National Endowment of the Arts funding Mapplethorpe and Serrano’s ‘Piss Christ’ happened in the states 20-fucking-years ago (and the Republicans didn’t come out looking to good on that score). Its the exact same goddam argument. This is so retrograde its laughable. Holy Fuck were nominated for a Juno and the Polaris and you can hear them on the soundtracks of loveable tv shows…argh. this makes feel ill. Elected officials defer all the time to experts (heaven knows that most ministers aren’t exactly authorities in their field - particularly when the cabinet gets shuffled more frequently than I get the oil changed in my car… and don’t even get me started on lobbyists) why should they feel qualified to be the arbitrar of taste here? (you make this point in your post but i felt it was worth repeating).
This is the first I heard of this story. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
the last thing i think when i listen to a band is how good/bad they represent their country.
the first thing i think when listening to politicians is how bad THEY represent their country.
[…] You may think I rigging the TW poll (look to the right) but I’m not, I’m totally unbiased. If it were up to me I’d give the Polaris Prize to Fucked Up, since it would be simply poetic to have a band with such an “explicit” name win the most respected prize in Canadian music ( *ahem* besides a Juno ) after what happened to Holy Fuck last year. […]