When I first saw this pop up on my Spotify last year, I had to do a double take. You see, I recognized the artist's name.... but not from music.
One of my favorite TV series of all time is a show from the 2010s called Orphan Black. Seek it out - I highly recommend it. Evelyne Brochu was the name of an actress on the show (for those who know the show, she played Delphine). And yes, it's the same Evelyne Brochu, I found out in my research. The even wilder thing I found out? She's Canadian - growing up outside of Montreal and a native speaker of French in Quebec (although also learning English at a very young age). I always thought she was French.
She did reprise her role of Delphine in Orphan Black: Echoes, which was also good but not quite matching the original.
But let's talk about "Paris". A sincere love letter to the city, Brochu sings the song with a sincerity and a brightness. It also seems like she recorded the video on her cell phone - because she did. She was the cinematographer.
Her performance is just as geniune and sweet live as it is recorded.
This has been the toughtest Maple Leaf March so far for me.
You see, I live in the United States, but I have been a long time fan of Canada. In 2011, one of my first attempts at blogging, I wrote an article about several of the things I love about Canada. It really needs an update - I have, for example, had poutine on several occasions and been to many poutineries at this point, and I did spend about 6 months in Calgary more than the States, so I have kind of lived in Canada, too.
But hell, I had pictures of Canadians in my locker at school as a teenager.
OK, Canadian. Singular.
And it was Carling Bassett.
I was 16. Don't judge me.
But this month, the United States President, Donald Trump, has escalated a trade and culture war with Canada by
Imposing significant tarriffs on Canadian goods when there once was none
Requiring Canadians - including snowbirds who winter in Florida - in the United States to register with the US government
Continually joking, but not actually joking, about annexing Canada as the 51st state, ignoring the fact that Canada has TEN unique provinces and 3 territories (also unique)
Blamed Canada for the fentanyl crisis, when in fact, very little fentanyl enters the United States from Canada.
In short, this administration has damaged one of the most enviable partnerships - the one between Canada and the United States - and I hope this isn't irreparable, but it's probably going to be a few years.
This has made me sad on so many levels. On an economic level, Canada is our biggest trade partner and the United States has now demolished that. On a foreign policy level, Canada has had our back in many conflicts. On an entertainment level, Toronto has been a stand in for New York City because it WAS cheaper to film there - I doubt that's going to continue.
On a personal level, I have many excellent friendships with Canadians that have been damaged because my President is being an asshole. There's no other word for what he's doing. He's being an unprovoked, egotistical, misguided asshole to Canada.
So, to my Canadian friends, I don't blame you for keeping your elbows up, and don't for a second believe that the current administation at all reflects the love and respect the American people have for our Canadian neighbors.
Today's post is one of the last I wrote for this month, because it's been so hard, and because I needed a great song that sounded vaguely Irish and that completely misunderstands the geography of Saskatchewan (the nearest shore to Regina is about 140 km away), and it is a great and funny song. And yeah, because of the current world situation, this song is getting the shaft - I mean, I pretty much guaranteed the thumbnail most people are going to see is going to be Carling Bassett - but listen to it anyway.
A video by The Stellas with their daughters in the back seat of the car. Really, about their daughters in the back seat of that car.
This video would have been pre-Nashville. This means that The Stellas were driving with their then-anonymous daughters who happen to be named Lennon and Maisy - which, of course, we know because Nashville (and the fact that Lennon was a Juno Award nominee a couple of years ago herself and Maisy just did a movie with Aubrey Plaza - My Old Ass - that was pretty well recieved and earned her an Independent Spirit Award just last month).
But even though the Stellas are talking about their daughters, can we just take a minute to appreciate the beautiful country harmonies they bring?
But, in all seriousness, Girl Prometheus was one of my 2 or 3 favorite albums of 2024. It is something of a meloncholic masterpiece, with a LOT of great songs.
Honestly, I was always going to post something by Flower Face this month - but I was going to go older. Last week, I was listening to this album again and this song jumped out at me, and I knew what I had to do.
Also, listen closely. She name-checks herself. See if you can catch it.
The cool thing is, a couple of months after Girl Prometheus was released, Flower Face released an all-instumental version of the album. She's a unique multi-instrumental talent, so this makes so much sense - but also, it is incredibly cool to hear the music stand on its own.
Yep. Literally more than any other artist. More than any of our Hall of Fame entries.
But, she's got a LOT of output that is excellent. She has released five full length albums, plus a bunch of EPs, a few reimagined versions of those albums which in their own rights are full length albums, a large number of collaborations, and, for good measure, a charity nighttime instrumental synthwave album to benefit Black Lives Matter Vancouver. Every one of them is a banger.
Lights's sixth full length album, A6, will be released in early May. She's already begun to release singles from the album - this is the second, and it's arguably the best she's sounded.
I consider this to be her breakthrough song - it was of course a hit in Canada, and also did hit the US Billboard Hot 100 - the first time she had done that.
Written by McLachlan, the song is inspired by creepy fan letters she received - and many of them are quoted in the song. One of the "fans" sued McLachlan for using his words and inspiration without his consent - but the case never made it to trial.
The song worked. She stopped getting fan letters like that.
Anyway, it is natural that this would be her breakthrough song. It was full of emotion and was still pretty dark while sounding sunny.
McLachlan actually made two music videos for this song. The one above is the one Americans saw on MTV. The one below is the one Canadians saw on MuchMusic. I kind of think Americans wouldn't really get the one below - it's biblical and a lot of videos that use biblical references get backlash in the States - so I understand.
If you are one of the lucky people who bought her album Fumbling Towards Ecstacy, you know that this song actually appears TWICE on that album. A piano version appears as a hidden track. Go ahead - put the CD in. We'll wait.
Anyway, this live version is more reminiscent of the 2nd version of the song.
Wanna feel old? This song is 32 years old - released in 1993. And yet, here she is in 2024 - when the song was 31 years old. And, rather than piano, she's playing rhythm guitar. And it still sounds amazing.
There's just not enough time in the month to post everything I want to, but c'mon - I get to make the rules.
And for this gem, from their 2021 EP Losers Weepers, is just brilliant enough to make me want to bend them, hard. It's a chipper breakup song - and it really shows their depth.
But, at the last minute, I moved them to the best spot of the whole year - my birthday, this year.
Here they are, performing the song in an quieter set, more as a ballad. I absolutely love these guys, and can't help but think they're going to be huge soon.
