Help Make the Musical Map of Montreal
by alanah
I thought this would be easy. I thought that putting together a show about The City would be almost too obvious. After all, we are in Montreal, arguably the indie-music capital of the North America. Artists, and especially musicians, are pulled from across the country, and across the border by the gravity of our cheap rents and dancin’ crowds, by our cozy dive venues and the mysteries of la langue francaise.
Surely, I thought, the musicians will have plenty to say about the place they are from, or that they have sought out as a home But, as I try to recruit acts about the city for the upcoming monthly mess, I’m getting a lot of funny looks. What do you mean, music about the city? Filthy rapper face-offs? Pumping dance clubs beats? Slick jazz piano?
I guess I’m not looking for a genre described as urban, but for urban content: Songs that acknowledge the city along with whiskey, women, long winding roads and all our other muses…
Check out the Musical Map of London put together by Guardian blogger (and once-Montrealer) Kelly Nestruck. Each point on the map quotes a song by bands like the Smiths, the Clash, the Kings, Morrissey, and Bloc Party. That references that particular landmark or place.
Well I think it’s time to draw up the Musical Map of Montreal. In fact I’m going to get it started right here on Indyish. Please help out by posting any Montreal Songs in the comments section, English and French welcome of course. Leonard Cohen and Les Colocs got it started decades ago and now more than ever our city has talent to pursue it…
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Published on: January 7th, 2008
Terms Used: city, City mess, Kelly Nestruck, london, monthly mess, montreal, Musical Map of Montreal, The Guardian
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the Tragically Hip’s “Something On” comes to mind. It’s about the ice storm, and this 10-year anniversary week of the ice storm makes me think fondly of that time, and of that song.
“outside there’s hectic action
and ice is covering the trees
and one of them’s interconnecting
with my chevrolet capri
Black out to phantom power….”
Posted on January 7th, 2008 at 10:48 pm [permalink]
I’m thinking of “Montreal” by Of Montreal (who are, of course, not actually from Montreal):
“Montreal is
Where I began to feel inside
the gray sadness of winter.
When you told me that this isn’t it,
And I drove away.
Walking to the statue in the park,
Through snow drifts up over our knees,
And every street sign written in French.
We sat by the statue.
You looked in my eyes,
Then said, “I’m so sorry.”
Later, laying on your bed,
Wondering what’s going wrong.
Every time I’d ask you’d start crying,
And whisper, “I don’t know why,
I only know what I feel,
what a voice says to me”
I may be here now
but I’ve never left Montreal”
Posted on January 8th, 2008 at 10:14 am [permalink]
I love this idea, and the song “Retour a Vega” by the Stills especially the bit about the Bancroft building which is ridiculously skinny and near my house:
“l’haleine des camions le soleil alienant
sur le toit du Bancroft building à Montréal”
Posted on January 8th, 2008 at 10:38 am [permalink]
Sarah and I saw Lake of Stew play on Sunday at Caigibi, and they performed a lovely 7-part harmony about waiting for the 105 bus in NDG.
Also, I would tend to think that les Cowboys Fringants’ song “shish taouk” is unquestionably Montrealais but there are so many shish taouk joints I wouldn’t know where to put a pin on the map…
Thanks for the input and keep ‘em coming!
Posted on January 8th, 2008 at 12:49 pm [permalink]