One great city
Despite the Guess Who and the Jets
DAYNA STEINFELD
With the Winnipeg band the Weakerthans growing in mainstream popularity, young Winnipeggers proudly declare them as our own. It has been three years since the release of the Weakerthans’ third CD and biggest commercial success, Reconstruction Site. These days, it would be hard to find a Winnipegger under the age of 30 who can’t hum a few lines from the CD’s 11th track, “One Great City!” In fact this particular song, born out of lead singer John K. Samson’s musings on his love/hate relationship with his hometown, has found a cult-like following in the very city that Samson chooses as his subject. There is a gleeful, sadistic joy felt by the people of Winnipeg when it comes to the Winnipegbashing endorsed by the song. We are proud of “One Great City!”, a song that proclaims: “and in the turning lane/ someone’s stalled again/ he’s talking to himself/ and hears the price of gas repeat his phrase: I hate Winnipeg.”
The Weakerthans’ lyrics are clever, whimsical and insightful. I like the Weakerthans. I even have some of their songs on my MP3 player. But here’s the catch: I don’t hate Winnipeg. Rather, I am a true, through and through Winnipeg girl, and in no way am I ashamed to say that I was born and raised here. Yet, I have found that this is not the case for most born and bred Winnipeggers, who are ashamed of their city. It is my personal belief that no one hates Winnipeg more than Winnipeggers. But why? Why are we so down on ourselves? Is it just the stalls in the turning lane, or is it more of an underlying resentment? Whatever the case, I have decided that it is high time someone made the case for Winnipeg. And since no one else is stepping forward, it might as well be me.
Winnipeg is a rich cultural city. In this city, we have an amazing mix of interwoven diversity, where all the different cultures combine to form the backbone of the city while each culture maintains its own uniqueness. This cultural diversity is reflected in everyday life around Winnipeg. A good example of this is our fabulous culinary scene. It is entirely possible to take a culinary tour around the world without leaving the city. At the same time, there are many restaurants in the city that celebrate all the best that prairie produce has to offer. Besides food, Winnipeg also has unparalleled boutique shopping. Head to Fargo and see if you can find anything close to the distinctive shops that can be found in shopping districts like Osborne, the Exchange and Corydon. And let’s not forget our worldrenowned ballet company, our thriving theatre district, our symphony orchestra, our three professional sports teams, the fantastic local music scene . . . and I could go on and on here. So maybe we don’t have all the cosmopolitan excitement of some of the more appreciated North American cities, but after spending time in traffic in places like Toronto and Los Angeles, returning to Winnipeg is always a relief (stalls in the turning lane and all).
It seems like Winnipeggers have just never gotten over the historical disappointment of our failure to turn into the “Chicago of the North.” But if you sit down and think about everything our city has to offer, maybe we didn’t turn out so badly after all. I’m not exactly the eternal optimist. I do recognize Winnipeg’s faults (can anyone say potholes?). As the Weakerthans say, “the Guess Who sucked/ the Jets were lousy anyway.” While that could probably be debated, we should forgive Winnipeg for its shortcomings and start celebrating what we do have going for us. Let’s put our self-deprecating, pessimistic ways aside. Or at the very least, let’s question those negative ways by singing along with the Weakerthans on “this is a fire door never leave open”: “and I love this place/ the enormous sky/ and the faces, hands/ that I’m haunted by/ so why/ can’t I forgive these buildings/ these frameworks labeled ‘home’?”
