Made in Québec

First off -- I compiled the playlist in iTunes, and "Submitted CD Track Names" after the burn, so am hoping your devices are able to locate the track titles and details. If not, what follows is a run-down of what's on "Produit du Québec".

I decided to put together a compilation of current songs by Québecois musicians. In fact, they are largely Montreal-based. And why? There's been a lot of chit-chat lately about the Montreal music scene, particularly since Arcade Fire hit it big worldwide. Now all eyes are on Montreal, expecting that new fruit will be harvested from this hotbed of musical talent. National radio and local weeklies tell us that artists and bands flock to Montreal to take advantage of the unusually-affordable boho vibe. Anglophones, in particular, are said to thrive in Montreal, despite the insularity and relative neglect of the English-language artistic community. In a Québec that overwhelmingly supports and consumes the products of Franco-cultural institutions, Anglos apparently benefit from the artistic freedom this obscurity provides.

Apart from this nagging reminder about how cool Montreal and its music scene were, was there any proof? More importantly, did I agree? To be honest, I'd stopped noticing the posters, stopped picking up the fliers -- it had been ages since my last gig. The weeklies, when I read them, seemed to mention the same bands over and over again. My eyes glazed over what had become familiar names, but had I ever heard any of their songs? In fact, I knew more Francophone hits of late (yes, that's me, humming along to Franco Top 40 at the supermarché checkout. Was there any truth to the journalistic hoopla? Was Montreal just beating its chest in a dull and conventional display of civic pride, or was it suffering from low self-esteem? Was it telling itself how cool it was because it's always felt just a wee bit (or downright "way") dirty next to New York, Toronto, Paris, London? I endeavoured to find out.

A second inspiration behind Made in Montreal was the idea of "living locally" -- not just from an environmental or consumer perspective, but culturally as well. What cultural nuggets were being hatched and delivered within walking distance of my front door? Why did I not know about them? ...Not to mention "living in the now". Though some of these artists and offerings have been vetted beyond municipal boundaries, there's a certain thrill in grooving to something that might be seen as having a limited lifespan.

Lastly, I want to use this opportunity to stand up for YouTube -- as resource, creative outlet and diversion.

1) Pierre Lapointe: Deux Par Deux Rassemblés
A fun, poppy number to start with. I heard this song over lunch not long ago, and wondered why it was so familiar -- must have been one of the French songs I'd learned passively from it playing everywhere. There was new excitement about it since Pierre had recently put out a live album together with the symphony -- l'Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal.
YouTube diversions: 1) Clip for this song; 2) Clip of this clip, but with music from Power Rangers.

2) Pascale Picard: Thinking Of It
I overheard a girl at the university raving about Pascale. She's Francophone, though her lyrics are in English. She sold out some Montreal dates in December, and is the city's new singing sweetheart. Her voice reminds me a bit of Sport Spice (not a bad thing, to my mind).

3) Karkwa: Vertige
This was an exciting find for me. I like what they do, and had never heard of them before. I wanted to cheat on the "one song per band" rule, but decided not to. Instead, here's a video for "Vrai", which was my other first choice:



4) The National Parcs: Down By The River
Hey, I heard about these guys when DJ Rocket and her hubby were on the "GO!" show on CBC Radio. I'd never heard of them before, and they're also from Montreal. Go figure. I can't wait to see them live in February. Here's more goodness.



5) The Besnard Lakes: For Agent 13
I've seen The Besnard Lakes, and they are great. I love the slow build to this song. There is a lovely video that goes with it, to boot. (Trivia: Besnard Lake is a place, and it's in Saskatchewan.)





6) Patrick Watson: The Great Escape
Another beautiful song by another musician I've seen live (opening for Montreal's Lhasa) - dark old theatre, single spotlight on Patrick at the piano, and nothing else. Lovely. Another moody Montreal male (from the sounds of this disk, Montreal fellers have 2 moods: happy-jolly or melancholy...). Sorry to anyone who knows this song already -- apparently it's been used on "Grey's Anatomy". It's a great one despite the cross-media merchandising. This animation is more fitting, I think.



7) Islands: Rough Gem
I was happy to find Islands, after deciding I didn't love The Unicorns, which (part of) Islands used to be. Apparently, Islands opened for Beck in Montreal, then accompanied him on the west-coast leg of a US tour. They were nominated for a 2007 Juno award for "Alternative Album of the Year" by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. The things you learn from the Internet. I'm still undecided. See what you think. (Another taste.)
Love the video -- anything to do with the cosmos gets a thumbs up.



8) Ariane Moffat: Montreal
Finally our locality has shown up as the focus of a song. This is another number I learned subconsciously from hearing it in the public sphere. I was surprised by the video, expecting to see Ariane wandering the streets of Montreal, instead of hanging around at Charles de Gaulle airport -- well, considering that the song's about returning to Montreal from France with a certain wisdom and maturity and a heritage gained, but nevertheless "en format original" (as an original). Hm. Interesting, too, considering Quebec's love/hate relationship with France and les français. Just too bad that the only part of Montreal that's shown is of the gloomy drive to downtown by way of the city's crumbling concrete freeways and tunnels. Yikes.



9) Malajube: Montréal -40°C
Another Montreal song. This one with a focus on Montreal's frigidity. Initially, I didn't want to put this one on the disk -- honestly, I have grown to dislike it due to overplaying around town. I did like it for some time, though. And Malajube continues to be hugely popular in these parts. Here's someone who claims it's her favourite song -- and performing a rather nice cover version:



10) Les Breastfeeders: Funny Funiculaire
I saw Les Breastfeeders last year, and loved the show. Even if garage-rock's not your musical bread and butter, you can't possibly be bored when these stylish funsters take the stage. They even have a dedicated dancer --ok, he plays the tambourine, too-- a shirtless wonder, always in furry vest and tight red pants, who's there to entertain and keep the crowd on beat.



11) Bran Van 3000: Mon Réal
I was surprised to learn that Bran Van hails from Montreal as well. So for this mix, I chose the number (from 2007 album "Rosé") whose title puns on 'Montreal' and which speaks franglais. It's a fun one, but has yet to completely grow on me like some of the other tracks. (BTW: check out Bran Van's site if you have a chance -- the images are gorgeous.)
Diversion: here's how some other people feel about Bran Van's previous hits:



12) Gatineau: Pow Pow Té Mort [Bang-Bang, You're Dead].
Found this song by chance on a compilation of new Québec music. I like it. Nice dose of Québec French, in case you've never heard it. Cute kiddie heist video.

13) Wolf Parade: Fancy Claps
14) The Dears: Whites-Only Party
15) Stars: My Favourite Book

Three more much-mentioned Anglo groups I knew nothing about. When the topic is Montreal musical prowess, Arcade Fire is always mentioned first, and often with Wolf Parade in the following breath -- I'd just assumed they were a big huge band. Still, however many times I'd heard the name, I knew I couldn't pick them out of a police line-up or identify any of their songs. So I checked them out. They must be part of the new Anglo-artiste class, having relocated from B.C. to Montreal. I like "Fancy Claps". And I'm not alone. As an aside, check out these fan edits, here and here, contributions from people who've been inspired to run Fancy Claps over particular sections of Asian films. My apologies if Wolf Parade is old hat for the rest of you -- it's representative of the scene here in any case.

With regard to the latter two, they are well-liked and much-mentioned as well. Again, I was sure I knew nothing of their music. What's more, I tend to forget or mix up groups that have one-word names, like "The Somethings" or "Somethings", so I decided to finally sit down and figure out who was who. My investigation of bands with one-word names from Montreal also included The Stills... but they ended up being cut from this roster. Sorry, The Stills. They are Anglos, but here they are singing in French -- the clip starts out with some nice footage of Expo '67 in Montreal.

The Dears make me laugh because they sound so much like The Smiths... except at the weird denouement of this song. I'm not sure who the several singers are that The Dears's singer is sounding like there.

As for Stars, that's some solid, standard pop, right there, though I'm not sure I'd go back to it again and again and again. I like the mellowness of this particular number.

And to make things more confusing, there seems to be another "Wolf" on the scene -- We Are Wolves has also been touted as the 'nother next big thing from Montreal.

16) Tricot Machine: Pas Fait En Chocolat
And back to the sweet French songs. This is another current fave in the supermarché and beyond. Tricot Machine (sewing machine) is one of Québec's favourites right now. What's not to like.



17) Jean Leloup: I Lost My Baby
Another massive classique du Québec . If you want to sweep a Franco-Québecer off his/her feet by impressing him/her with your knowledge of Quebec culture, it can't hurt to learn the chords and start humming this one... as they're doing, and she's doing, and he's doing, not to mention these two, and this guy, too.

18) Rufus Wainwright: Going To A Town
Not for everyone? I loved the melody when I first heard the song and still do. I'd be curious to hear what kind of play this song is getting south of the border.

19) Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Moya
Amazing. I hope to see them live sometime. I chose "Moya" largely due to time constraints -- most of GY!BE's tracks are somewhere between 20 to 30 minutes long.

20) Gilles Vigneault: Mon Pays
Poet, songwriter, chansonnier, Québec icon. Most famous for the song "Gens du pays" (1975), now considered Québec's national anthem, sung at festive occasions, birthdays, etc. Was active in the nationalist movement in 1960s Québec - of which the following song -- "Les Gens de mon pays" -- played a significant role.



As an homage to DJ Pepper's covers (and with our apologies to Gilles), here's a raunchy TV-cam of Patsy Gallant's "From New York to LA", 1976 disco version of the above.



Congratulations if you stuck with me through all that!
Just wanted to share my discoveries.