Cassette Dreams in Autumn
Memoirs: Canadian Content, Pocket Cash, and a Teen’s Soundtrack
This article continues my Memoirs series, offering reflections drawn from my personal experiences in both Canada and Japan. For this chapter, we return to my Canadian years—a nostalgic trip down memory lane that I hope you’ll enjoy.
The leaves are turning here in Japan, their colors fading as they drift to the ground—the summer heat has finally abated! Unfortunately, this means I have to get out there and do something about it. So, with my minuscule mp3 player in my pocket, tunes in my ears, and rake in my hand, I set about cleaning up my postage-stamp-sized lawn.
This has been my chore ever since getting this house, so it isn’t anything new. A bit of exercise doesn’t hurt either. Anyway, aside from the pesky mosquitoes swarming around my head, I was at peace in my ministrations of pulling, pushing, picking up, and bagging. Then I realized that my shuffled list of over 1,000 songs had started to play the same songs, almost in the same order, as 41 years ago!
Suddenly, I was fourteen again, raking leaves for pocket money. My German neighbor at the time, undoubtedly knowing he was indenturing a gullible youth to exorbitant slave labor, offered some money for me to rake his lawn. With my father’s approval, and driven by the thrill of earning some cash, I gladly/stupidly accepted.
What Was the Same, What Was Different
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: I am a world away. Yet the yardwork feels exactly the same—go figure. Honestly, I wanted to live in a condo, but my wife insisted otherwise. I hate yardwork with a passion.
Back in the day, my fourteen‑year‑old brain was busy dreaming up ways to spend my upcoming hard‑earned cash, imagining a blonde girl with icy blue eyes, while also lamenting the misery of raking wet leaves on that gargantuan lawn. Not only did it have a kids’ set (monkey bars and more), but also what felt like a million maple and oak trees, plus a gated pool area. It took days to clean, in truth.
Now, with my older brain, I’m just focused on finishing as quickly as possible so I can ease my tired muscles under a hot shower. Blonde girls with icy blue eyes … – A big NOPE.
The mosquitoes are the same in both countries—and yet different. I’ve written before about the Japanese ninja mosquitoes, and if you want to know which are superior, Japan wins. Nasty buggers!
The other difference lies in the music. Back then, I curated cassette tapes for my big ol’ brick of a Walkman (which always slipped down and got in the way). The songs were recorded from scratchy records or the radio, complete with DJ voices I tried—and failed—to edit out. The quality was all over the place, so I spent more time fiddling with the volume than actually raking leaves.
If you haven’t already guessed by now, I did a piss‑poor job of raking the lawn. My neighbor’s experiment with the gullible fourteen‑year‑old failed, and I felt guilty at the time for receiving money for what I couldn’t accomplish back then. I did help, but … it was a hellishly extreme endeavor.
But let’s get back to the music—the impetus that started this trip down memory lane.
Canadian Content Law
Did you know Canadians live under a special rule about music content? We aren’t American after all.
Radio stations were required to broadcast at least 35% Canadian music, while the CBC had an even higher quota of 50%. I had no idea about these rules back then — I was just curating songs in any old way. Yet without realizing it, my homemade cassettes from FM Q107 carried many Canadian voices like Bryan Adams, Rush, Corey Hart, and Lee Aaron alongside the American hits that dominated the charts.
Reflecting on it now, it amazes me how much Canadian music I absorbed without even knowing it. In truth, I had trouble finding some of those songs later because they weren’t widely popular on the world stage. But they were part of my soundtrack all the same.
Casey Kasem’s Voice
Another influence came from Casey Kasem’s American Top 40. His syndicated show was pure Billboard Hot 100 — no Canadian quota, just the straight countdown of U.S. hits. Not that I knew or cared about the “American” part back then; music was music. What made it special was Kasem’s remarkable voice.
I can still hear him introducing songs like The Jacksons’ Torture, Quiet Riot’s Cum On Feel the Noize, and Dio’s The Last in Line. Sometimes his voice bled onto my tapes, mixed with the local announcer’s chatter, and those imperfections became part of the nostalgia. Even today, I remember his voice as clearly as the songs themselves.
1984 Playlist
Between the Canadian quotas shaping my listening and Kasem’s voice echoing through the countdown, my teenage soundtrack became a unique blend of influences. Canadian and American songs sat side by side, stitched together by static, DJ chatter, and the quirks of cassette recording.
So let me take you back to that sequence of songs — the ones (RED) that brought my teenage days into sharp focus. It’s a mix of Canadian and American tracks, with just a small dash of something else. I’ll share this playlist, arranged in almost the same order as that side of the tape from memory. Perhaps you’ll hear the difference between the countries’ music by the sound. I couldn’t.
📼 Side A – C90 Cassette
Loverboy – Lovin’ Every Minute of It- Headpins – Feel It (Feel My Body)
- Helix – Rock You
Ratt – Round and Round- The Jacksons – Torture
- Dio – The Last in Line
- Twisted Sister – We’re Not Gonna Take It
- Quiet Riot – Cum On Feel the Noize
- Billy Idol – Flesh for Fantasy
Scorpions – Rock You Like a Hurricane- Platinum Blonde – Doesn’t Really Matter
📼 Side B – C90 Cassette
- Saga – Catwalk
- Rush – Subdivisions (1983, heavy 1984 airplay)
The Police – Synchronicity II (1983, still charting in 1984)- Genesis – Mama (1983, heavy 1984 airplay)
- Bryan Adams – Run to You
- Daryl Hall & John Oates – Out of Touch
- Honeymoon Suite – New Girl Now
- Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers
In the end, I hope you enjoyed this trip with me — music and all. I don’t feel the urge or need to rake leaves again anytime soon, but if I’ve inspired you to do so, feel free to listen along with my soundtrack.
And if you’ve had a similar trip down memory lane through music, I’d love to hear about it. Share your story in the comments below — because sharing is fun!
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