29 March 2026 - The OBGM's - Buffalo

I know we talk about the Polaris Music Prize an awful lot here. 

However, the shortlist for that prize has a long history of excellent music. 

The OBGM's (Oooh Baby Gimme More) 3rd album, Sorry It's Over, was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize last year, and is nominated for a JUNO award this weekend.  The album is an angry and noisy sonic masterpiece, and you should check it out.

The band got a big break from an audition for a Budweiser ad, when the black Canadian-fronted band went from being booked for "urban" gigs to punk festivals.  

I mentioned that they were black Canadian-fronted.  In the video above, you saw Densil McFarlane.

In this live video, you can see that they're a Canadian punk band and no other adjective matters.

28 March 2026 - cootie catcher - ontario

cootie catcher are a band from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

I'm kidding.  They're from Toronto.

For those unfamiliar with Canada, three guesses as to what province Toronto is in.  For those familiar with Canada, THEY LITERALLY WROTE A SONG ABOUT THEIR HOME PROVINCE.

I mean, they didn't write a POSITIVE song about their home province, but they DID write it. 

From their 2023 EP 5678, this is a great representation of the lo-fi pop music cootie catcher has been making for years. 

Even small bands perform live. 

In people's living rooms.

Specifically, the drummer's living room.  

Which is, presumably, in Ontario. 

27 March 2026 - Nelly Furtado - Maneater

Did you realize that we've never posted Nelly Furtado during March?

We didn't.  

Which is a shame, because on Sunday, Nelly Furtado - who announced her retirement from live performances that she better be breaking tonight - is inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.  And, really, we should have given her more due before today. 

So, we chose this song, co-written by Furtado, Jim Beanz, and producers Timbaland (who appears on a different Nelly Furtado song that was an even bigger hit than this one, and who also provides background vocals to this) and Danja (who ALSO contributes background vocals), that is Nelly's 2nd biggest hit in Canada (to date, I presume), making it to #2 in 2006.  

Of COURSE she went on Letterman and performed the hell out of the song. 

26 March 2026 - Triples - Happy April

 This is the last regular post I'm writing for this year's Maple Leaf March. I think.  I may write more stuff.  We'll see. 

Triples is the Toronto-based musical project of Eva Link - singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor.  It wasn't always that way - it started off as a joint venture between Eva and her sister, Madeline.  This song, from their 2019 album Big Time, is from the days it was a duo - and you can see they both appear and sing here.

26 March 2026 - PACKS - Honey

I lied. THIS is the last regular post I'm writing for this year's Maple Leaf March. I think.  I may write more stuff.  We'll see. 

PACKS is the Toronto-based musical project of Madeline Link - singer, songwriter, guitarist and onetime actor.  It wasn't always that way - she started off with a joint venture with her sister, Eva, called Triples - but Madeline left when PACKS became too much of a demand.

There's no acrimony between the sisters, by the way.  They're still very close. 

PACKS's 2024 album Melt The Honey gives the same Liz Phair/Juliana Hatfield vibes, and it is really good.  This is the title song from that set.

Unlike Triples, we have some live material we can share from PACKS.... like this show from 2023, prior to the album release.  You can see that Madeline is an excellent, if not a little shy, frontwoman... and that the rich sounds from Packs is not just one person, but a whole band. 

26 March 2026 - Triples - Be Around

This is the last regular post I'm writing for this year's Maple Leaf March. I think.  I may write more stuff.  We'll see. 

Triples is the Toronto-based musical project of Eva Link - singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor.  It wasn't always that way - it started off as a joint venture between Eva and her sister, Madeline - but Madeline left when the success of her project, PACKS, became too much of a demand.... so it became Eva's project.

It's pretty good, too - her 2026 EP Every Good Story gives solid Liz Phair/Juliana Hatfield vibes. "Be Around" closes the set, and it is a love song that was inspired by Eva's relationship with her boyfriend and the honeymoon period she experienced at the beginning of it. 

25 March 2026 - Laurence Nerbonne - On danse encore

Youtube has made it a lot harder to share videos from there to Blogger.   It makes me worry about the future of this platform.  

So, while I contemplate that, I hope you enjoy this Gatineau-based artist who is making some truly excellent dance music.  

I love it when artists really enjoy the music and the art, and you can tell that she's enjoying playing her song live for this mixed-age crowd.

She is also clearly enjoying herself performing duing the Enfant Soleil telethon on Quebec television.