Wolf Parade - You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son
Wolf Parade is an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, based in Montreal, QC, and currently on indefinite hiatus. Wolf Parade was formed when Spencer Krug (also Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes, Moonface and Swan Lake) was offered a gig supporting Arcade Fire. He called Dan Boeckner (formerly of notable B.C. band Atlas Strategic, now also part of Handsome Furs) and they wrote songs with a drum machine before calling Arlen Thompson to play drums. Hadji Bakara joined in 2004. Dante DeCaro (formerly of Hot Hot Heat and currently of Johnny and the Moon) joined in Summer 2005 as second guitarist and percussionist. Though expected to perform again, the band announced their indefinite hiatus on November 27, 2010.
Tim Hecker - Chimeras (from Harmony in Ultraviolet)
Tim Hecker is a Montreal-based musician and sound artist, born in Vancouver. His works have been described as “structured ambient”, “tectonic color plates” and “cathedral electronic music”, however for the most part, have focused on exploring the intersections of noise, dissonance and melody, fostering an approach to songcraft which is both physical and emotive. The New York Times has described his work as “foreboding, abstract pieces in which static and sub-bass rumbles open up around slow moving notes and chords, like fissures in the earth waiting to swallow them whole”. His Radio Amor was considered to be a key recording in 2003 by Wire magazine. His work has also included commissions for contemporary dance, sound-art installations, and various writings. Tim has presented his work extensively including performances at Sonar (Barcelona), MUTEK (Montreal), Impakt Festival (Utrecht), Victoriaville in (Quebec), IDEAL (Nantes), Vancouver New Music Festival (Vancouver), and Transmediale (Berlin). His live performances have included collaborations with artists such as Oren Ambarchi and Fly Pan Am, and has supported bands including Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Isis, Jesu, Nadja, Troum and Fennesz.
Coeur De Pirate - Comme Des Enfants ((Le Matos Andy Carmichael Remix)
Cœur de Pirate (French for “pirate heart”) is the stage name for Béatrice Martin (born September 22, 1989), a Canadian pop singer-songwriter from Montréal, Québec, Canada. She writes and sings mainly French songs and is sometimes attributed to nouvelle chanson. Béatrice has played the piano since the age of three, which was initiated by her mother, a professional pianist. She later played as a keyboardist in the post-hardcore band December Strikes First when she was 15 years old. In March 2007, after five years of music education, she started composing her own songs. After a brief stint as keyboardist for Bonjour Brumaire, a French-Canadian indie rock/indie pop band, she released her solo debut album Cœur De Pirate in 2008 on the Québécois independent record label Grosse Boîte. The album found much critical acclaim and was subsequently nominated for Francophone Album of the Year at the 2009 Juno Awards.
It’s a story of two love affairs. A father’s love for his five sons. And one son’s love for his father, a love so strong it compels him to live a lie. That son is Zac Beaulieu, born on the 25th of December 1960, different from all his brothers, but desperate to fit in. During the next 20 years, life takes Zac on a surprising and unexpected journey that ultimately leads him to accept his true nature and, even more importantly, leads his father to love him for who he really is. A mystical fable about a modern-day Christ-like figure, “C.R.A.Z.Y” exudes the beauty, the poetry and the madness of the human spirit in all its contradictions.
C.R.A.Z.Y. is an award-winning and popular 2005 French-language Canadian film from Quebec. It tells the story of Zac, a young man dealing with his emerging homosexual feelings while growing up with four brothers and a conservative father in 1960s and 1970s Quebec. The film was directed and co-written (with François Boulay) by Jean-Marc Vallée. The title derives from the first letter in the names of the five brothers: Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary and Yvan, and also refers to their father’s abiding love of Patsy Cline’s classic song “Crazy”.
Since its release, it has often been called one of the greatest Quebec films of all time - and, by extension, one of the greatest films to ever come out of Canada.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Storm (1st Movement)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (formerly punctuated Godspeed You Black Emperor! and commonly abbreviated to GYBE or GY!BE) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994. They were the first outside act to release their recordings through Constellation, an influential independent record label also located in Montreal. Godspeed You! Black Emperor took their name from a little known 1976 Japanese black-and-white documentary by director Mitsuo Yanagimachi, which follows the exploits of a Japanese biker gang, the Black Emperors. They are most commonly classified as post-rock, but are just as well recognized outside any established scene and take influences from a range of styles including progressive rock, post-punk, classical music, soundtrack, composition and the avant-garde. Each release usually consists of an entire piece divided into movements, mostly between 15 and 25 minutes, sometimes eponymously specified in the liner notes. After the release of their debut album in 1997, the group toured regularly from 1998 to 2002. In 2003, the band announced an indefinite hiatus in order for band members to pursue other musical interests. In the intervening period the group was occasionally rumored to have broken up, but the band finally reconvened for a tour in late 2010 and early 2011.
Wolf Parade - Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts
Wolf Parade is an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, based in Montreal, QC, and currently on indefinite hiatus. Wolf Parade was formed when Spencer Krug (also Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes, Moonface and Swan Lake) was offered a gig supporting Arcade Fire. He called Dan Boeckner (formerly of notable B.C. band Atlas Strategic, now also part of Handsome Furs) and they wrote songs with a drum machine before calling Arlen Thompson to play drums. Hadji Bakara joined in 2004. Dante DeCaro (formerly of Hot Hot Heat and currently of Johnny and the Moon) joined in Summer 2005 as second guitarist and percussionist. Though expected to perform again, the band announced their indefinite hiatus on November 27, 2010.
I had a cat for an hour this morning. I found her lost and crying in the apartment building and kept her until the owners came pick her up.
This is what happens when I walk in a Russian bakery. The place is called Vova, it’s on Avenue du Parc in Montreal. “Kosonak” is a kind of brioche filled with vanilla and walnut cream. The flat thing is an almond cookie and on top of it is a piece of a pecan-caramel pie. They also make some traditional Russian food to take out for dinner. I’ll probably try some next time.
A Silver Mt. Zion - Could’ve Moved Mountains (from Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upward)
A Silver Mt. Zion is a band formed in 1999, in Montreal, Quebec. Originally an off shoot of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, comprising several members of that collective, subsequently more members have been added. To some extent, A Silver Mt. Zion was born out of a desire on the part of the godspeed players to work in a smaller musical ensemble; in effect, to escape some of the constraints that often accompany writing and arranging music democratically with nine musicians. As well, Efrim simply wanted a vehicle to realize some of his own musical ideas that would not necessarily work well within the context of godspeed. A Silver Mt. Zion’s sound is somewhat similar in style and sound to Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, Mono and the mighty GY!BE themselves. Their music, between post-rock and ambient, is creative, spiritual, unique and moving.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Moya
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (formerly punctuated Godspeed You Black Emperor! and commonly abbreviated to GYBE or GY!BE) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994. They were the first outside act to release their recordings through Constellation, an influential independent record label also located in Montreal. Godspeed You! Black Emperor took their name from a little known 1976 Japanese black-and-white documentary by director Mitsuo Yanagimachi, which follows the exploits of a Japanese biker gang, the Black Emperors. They are most commonly classified as post-rock, but are just as well recognized outside any established scene and take influences from a range of styles including progressive rock, post-punk, classical music, soundtrack, composition and the avant-garde. Each release usually consists of an entire piece divided into movements, mostly between 15 and 25 minutes, sometimes eponymously specified in the liner notes. After the release of their debut album in 1997, the group toured regularly from 1998 to 2002. In 2003, the band announced an indefinite hiatus in order for band members to pursue other musical interests. In the intervening period the group was occasionally rumored to have broken up, but the band finally reconvened for a tour in late 2010 and early 2011.
(via sunrec)
Student General Strike in Quebec: 150,000 could be on strike as early as this afternoon
Concordia University’s 40,000 students could join the province of Quebec’s general student strike already in progress, with a general assembly and vote of the undergraduate Concordia Student Union scheduled for this afternoon (March 6). The vote, which is expected to pass, will speak for the entire student body. Many specific student departments, such as Political Science, Fine Arts, Philosophy and the Simone de Beauvoir Women’s Studies Institute have already voted to start striking individually.
The provincial government plans to increase tuition by $1,625 in total, over the next five years, raising current fees from $2,200 to $3,800 for in-province students, and much more for out-of-province and international students. While Quebec has the lowest tuition rate of any province in Canada, the province also has the highest taxes by far, as well as a somewhat low minimum wage in comparison with that of other expensive provinces like British Columbia and Ontario. Students argue that education is not a commodity, and shifting the financial burden for education to individual user fees would force students out of classes and dramatically increase inequality in an already fractured society.
If Concordia joins the student strike this week, that will bring nearly 150,000 students in Quebec on general strike against the government’s proposed fee hikes.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - The Dead Flag Blues (from F♯ A♯ ∞)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (formerly punctuated Godspeed You Black Emperor! and commonly abbreviated to GYBE or GY!BE) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994. They were the first outside act to release their recordings through Constellation, an influential independent record label also located in Montreal. Godspeed You! Black Emperor took their name from a little known 1976 Japanese black-and-white documentary by director Mitsuo Yanagimachi, which follows the exploits of a Japanese biker gang, the Black Emperors. They are most commonly classified as post-rock, but are just as well recognized outside any established scene and take influences from a range of styles including progressive rock, post-punk, classical music, soundtrack, composition and the avant-garde. Each release usually consists of an entire piece divided into movements, mostly between 15 and 25 minutes, sometimes eponymously specified in the liner notes. After the release of their debut album in 1997, the group toured regularly from 1998 to 2002. In 2003, the band announced an indefinite hiatus in order for band members to pursue other musical interests. In the intervening period the group was occasionally rumored to have broken up, but the band finally reconvened for a tour in late 2010 and early 2011.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Storm (1st Movement)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (formerly punctuated Godspeed You Black Emperor! and commonly abbreviated to GYBE or GY!BE) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994. They were the first outside act to release their recordings through Constellation, an influential independent record label also located in Montreal. Godspeed You! Black Emperor took their name from a little known 1976 Japanese black-and-white documentary by director Mitsuo Yanagimachi, which follows the exploits of a Japanese biker gang, the Black Emperors. They are most commonly classified as post-rock, but are just as well recognized outside any established scene and take influences from a range of styles including progressive rock, post-punk, classical music, soundtrack, composition and the avant-garde. Each release usually consists of an entire piece divided into movements, mostly between 15 and 25 minutes, sometimes eponymously specified in the liner notes. After the release of their debut album in 1997, the group toured regularly from 1998 to 2002. In 2003, the band announced an indefinite hiatus in order for band members to pursue other musical interests. In the intervening period the group was occasionally rumored to have broken up, but the band finally reconvened for a tour in late 2010 and early 2011.
Hello. I'm Kevin. I'm French and I currently live in Montreal where I study Business and Environmental Science at Concordia University. You'll find here some of the things that I read and find interesting. 
