8 March 2022 - Felix Cartal ft. Lights - Love Me

Do we have a theme this week inside the month?

Yes.

It's clearly Canadian DJs, right?  

Let's talk about Felix Cartal.  This Vancouver-based DJ and producer is best known for his splashy collaborations, and this one is among his best known and most danceable - making a splash on the US Dance charts in addition to its Canadian Top 40 splash.  Although this single was released in 2019, the album on which it is features, Expensive Sounds for Nice People, was not released until 2021. 

Lyrically, it's about unrequited love.  It doesn't get much more straight forward than that. 

Live versions of this song exist.  This one is from a December 31, 2020 CBC broadcast, and features Cartal on bass. 

this also happens to be one of my favorite Lights songs and since she does everything acoustic here you go.

(Edit: 14 November 2025) My sister saw Lights earlier this year, and, yeah, she still plays the song, and yes, that is Felix Cartal on bass.

7 March 2022 - deadmau5 ft. Lights - Drama Free

Two deadmau5 posts?  

Well, I didn't have to do it this way, but it was more fun.  

As I alluded to earlier, without alluding to it, there's a second version of this song - with vocals provided by another Canadian artist.  This isn't their most recent collaboration (there's this, for example), but it is probably their best known.  This song was a dance hit in 2018, actually preceding the release of the Polar soundtrack.  

The great thing about this song is that there are live versions of them doing the song together.  This version is clearly a longer version - but really, the first half is "Drama Free" and the second half is "Midas Heel".  It doesn't matter.  Just enjoy it.  

I can't not post this.  We know that Lights does acoustic versions of everything. That includes this.  

7 March 2022 - deadmau5 - Midas Heel

For our second go-round of this Month o' Great White North, we weren't going to leave out deadmau5.  If you know this song, and have read this blog once or twice, you know that we aren't JUST going to talk about the pride of Niagara Falls, Ontario, but let's start there, and keep this post drama free.

Joel Zimmerman is one of the most successful electronic musicians and DJs in the world - and yeah, that's probably partially due to the mouse head.  His work is unique and critically acclaimed - and Canadian.  He's been at it for more than 20 years.

So when looking for an artist to do a soundtrack for the Netflix movie Polar, a dark and critically panned comic book adaptation, of course deadmas5 is who comes to mind.  The first single from this soundtrack was this excellent electronic piece, which is of course all we're going to talk about.  

I know this isn't really much of a video here - it's kind of dark and could use more lights - but it gives you a great idea for what the song is and what the deadmau5 sound is.  

6 March 2022 - Glass Tiger - Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)

Quick, American reader - name one Glass Tiger song. 

If you grew up in the 1980s, it's probably "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)", their only hit in the States.  Sure, these guys were Canadian hitmakers - but they only got across the southern border once.  

If you didn't grow up in the 1980s, you probably are wondering who the hell Glass Tiger is.  

If you happen to be Canadian, you're probably shaking your head in disgust right now, because they actually had two top 10 hits in the States and everything I said about them being a one hit wonder was a complete lie.  

5 March 2022 - Rheostatics - Bad Time To Be Poor

This #MapleLeafMarch has not been nearly as much fun as it was last year.  

Mostly because I had most of these songs in draft for a year and had to stare at them, their omissions teasing me like some siren, calling me back to Canada.

Take Rheostatics.  They're iconic, they're unique... and they didn't fit in last year (probably because I overdosed on Cœur de Pirate). Even this year, I'm slotting them in on a Saturday.  Do not take that as any reflection of their influence on Canadian music.  They're not a band that generated a lot of hits, but they DO persist, still.  

So, take this song, a classic from the 1996 The Blue Hysteria album, and enjoy it.  

4 March 2022 - Grimes - Player Of Games

Is Grimes Canadian?  Yes.

Is this song about Elon Musk? Also yes.

The song itself is an emotional electronic rollercoaster that is on brand for Grimes. Of course, the visual adds to it, but it's not necessary to drive home the charged message.

3 March 2022 - Gordon Lightfoot - If You Could Read My Mind

How many songs did Gordon Lightfoot write that blew me away?  

This is a song that Lightfoot wrote that was intensely personal - in the wake of his divorce from his wife, Ingrid.   A small lyrically change requested by this daughter made this from an angry to a mournful song - and an absolutely treasure that was a worldwide hit in the early 1970's.  

Fifty years after the song's initial release - yes, that's 50 with a five - Lightfoot performed the song from his front porch in celebration of Canada Day 2020.  The 81-year-old singer/songwriter brings a different, more knowledgeable feel to the song.  It is still an absolute work of art and still blows me away.