Vancouver Rocks

Our very own West Coast cultural biosphere — the great city of Vancouver — boasts a self-sustaining ecosystem of rock, so enter here, seal up the hatches, and forget the outside world for a while . . . in the company of Bryan Adams ("Summer of '69"), who used to wash dishes at the Tomahawk restaurant in North Vancouver; Trooper ("Raise a Little Hell"), perhaps the definitive Canadian rock band of the '70s; and seminal hardcore punk outfit D.O.A. (covering Edwin Starr's protest classic "War"). May your mountains be black and pink, in Next Steps.

Check Vancouver's pulse in the opening decade of the 21st century, and you'll discover an adrenalized body of musicians, including Ladyhawk ("The Dugout," leadoff single from the band's mightily impressive 2006 self-titled debut), and Pink Mountaintops, whose "Single Life" is one great swaggering beast of a track and whose frontman, Stephen McBean, also heads up Black Mountain — responsible for the raucous, rabble-rousing, lo-fi Stones homage "No Satisfaction." Dairy produce is celebrated in punk, in Deep Cuts.

Sweeney Todd ("Shut Up") put the glam into Van in the mid-'70s and, following the departure of vocalist Nick Gilder, a replacement was drafted in — namely fresh-faced teenager Zane Puff, a.k.a. Bryan Adams. The spirit of sub-two-minute punk — captured to perfection here by the Modernettes with the toxic meteor that is "Barbra" — is evidently alive and vital, judging by "Addicted to Cheese" from the Evaporators' 2004 release, Ripple: "Slabs of brie will set me free." Alright!

Vancouver is, apparently, the tenth cleanest city in the world, so let's muss it up some with this splendid overview of the metropolis' self-generated, down-and-dirty rock 'n' roll. You want to go skiing in the mountains, or kayaking on the water, well that's all just fine and dandy — we'd rather exercise our right to tear B.C. a new one in the company of Gob ("Give Up the Grudge"), or celebrate the New Pornographers as they take indie power-pop to the next level ("Letter from an Occupant"), or test the limits of extreme metal with Strapping Young Lad ("U Suck"). Oh yeah, we heart Vancouver.