It Came from Canada was a series of compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

s, released on Og Music

Og Music

Og Music was a small but influential independent record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.The label was established in 1983 by the band members of Deja Voodoo, Gerard van Herk and Tony Dewald. It ceased operations in 1990.-History:...

 in the 1980s, which featured music by independent

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

, alternative

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 and punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 bands from Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

The compilations were influential in the evolution of Canada's alternative music scene in the 1980s, regularly charting on campus radio

Campus radio

Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...

 and providing many significant bands, including Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best-known for the track "Having an Average Weekend," which was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall...

, Cowboy Junkies

Cowboy Junkies

Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins , Michael Timmins , Peter Timmins and Alan Anton ....

, The Gruesomes

The Gruesomes

The Gruesomes are a Canadian Garage Punk band formed in 1985 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-History:Bobby Beaton , Gerry Alvarez , John Davis and his brother Eric Davis were all between the ages of 16 and 19 and had absolutely no previous musical experience...

 and Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra

Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra

Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra is a Canadian alternative rock band whose musical style blends elements of surf music, gospel music, rockabilly, garage, and punk. The band also experimented with jazz on their third album Don't Mind If I Do....

, with their first major national exposure. Although no longer widely available, they remain widely remembered as an important historical milestone in Canadian music.

The compilations also attracted some attention from international campus radio as well.

The Og label was disbanded in 1990, ending the compilation series.

The It Came From Canada Archive

It Came From Canada Archive

The It Came From Canada Archive is an online archive of rare, long-lost, and relatively unknown Canadian music, created by Beau Levitt and Kevin McGowan in 2007....

 is a web archive of rare and relatively unknown Canadian music. www.itcamefromcanada.com covers multiple genres, and has no relation to the Og Music compilations.

Albums

• It Came from Canada, Vol. 1
  It Came from Canada, Vol. 1
  It Came from Canada, Vol. 1 was the first album in the It Came from Canada series of compilation albums, released in 1985 on Og Music.-Track listing:# Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra, "Radical Look/Bad Idea"...
  
  (1985)
• It Came from Canada, Vol. 2
  It Came from Canada, Vol. 2
  It Came from Canada, Vol. 2 was the second album in the It Came from Canada series of compilation albums, released in 1986 on Og Music.-Track listing:# Ray Condo & His Hard Rock Goners, "High Voltage"# Condition, "Ghost Train"...
  
  (1986)
• It Came from Canada, Vol. 3
  It Came from Canada, Vol. 3
  It Came from Canada, Vol. 3 was the third album in the It Came from Canada series of compilation albums, released in 1987 on Og Music.-Track listing:# The Dik Van Dykes, "Curling"# Ray Condo & His Hard Rock Goners, "Jumps, Giggles and Shouts"...
  
  (1987)
• It Came from Canada, Vol. 4
  It Came from Canada, Vol. 4
  It Came from Canada, Vol. 4 was the fourth album in the It Came from Canada series of compilation albums, released in 1988 on Og Music.-Track listing:# The Dik Van Dykes, "Beachcombers"# Color Me Psycho, "What's Your Phobia?"...
  
  (1988)
• It Came from Canada, Vol. 5
  It Came from Canada, Vol. 5
  It Came from Canada, Vol. 5 was the fifth and final album in the It Came from Canada series of compilation albums, released in 1989 on Og Music.-Track listing:# The Dik Van Dykes, "Chain Letter Massacre"# Gordie Gordo & the G-Men, "Catch a Cow"...
  
  (1989)

External links

• "Og Records", Exclaim!
  Exclaim!
  Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
  
  , June 1, 2000