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Satan is the… Whistler?

The Rheostatics, one of the strangest, most alternative, and yet so Canadian of all Canadian bands, has paid a homage of sorts to Whistler, a town that has hosted a number of their concerts over the years – as long as you go by the credo that th

The Rheostatics, one of the strangest, most alternative, and yet so Canadian of all Canadian bands, has paid a homage of sorts to Whistler, a town that has hosted a number of their concerts over the years – as long as you go by the credo that there’s no such thing as bad advertising, that is.

Songwriter, vocalist and lead guitar player Martin Tielli wrote a song called "Satan is the Whistler" on the bands latest album, Night Of The Shooting Stars, which was released nationwide last week.

Tielli could not be reached by press-time for an explanation of the song, but there’s little doubt that Whistler was the inspiration for at least some of it. Here’s a sample from the third verse:

We are the people from Earth

Ascending through the clouds

Through the stratosphere in lineups and in piles

We are the people from Earth

We present ourselves as slaves

We come as volunteers with numbers on our faces

With numbers on our faces

With numbers on our graves

The fifth and sixth verses paint the picture a little clearer:

Town moved in yesterday

Somewhere up in these hills

On orders from far away

Somewhere up in these hills

Helicopters scared the moose away

Somewhere up in these hills

Satan is the Whistler

Up around the old ski lift

Something moving up in the bushes by the toolshed

We heard a song so long and high. High.

Bouncers came and snuffed the fire out.

Nike, Evian, Blue.

There’s no smoking in the parking lot.

Somewhere up in these hills.

Star bucks in the windy peaks

Somewhere up in these hills

Satan is the Whistler.

By becoming the subject of a Rheostatics song, Whistler joins a long and distinguished list of Canadian towns the band has written about, including Edmonton, Winnipeg, Three Valley Gap, Vancouver, Kelvington (hockey player Wendel Clark’s hometown), Red Deer, Fredericton, Chippewa, and Salmon Arm.