Fagstein » Music

The year in music, as mashed by DJ Earworm

Fagstein — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 06:59:24 +0000

I'm not a music critic. I couldn't dissect a song to tell you what parts of it are good and what parts are bad. That's why you won't see me writing about music a lot.

But this is an exception.

The above is United State of Pop 2011 (World Go Boom) by DJ Earworm. It's a mashup of the 25 most popular songs of 2011, including songs by Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, LMFAO, Rihanna and Adele. It was uploaded to YouTube on Christmas Day.

And it's awesome. But I expected it to be.

To describe it as a "mashup" seems unfair. In reality, this is a song created from little bits of other songs, a masterpiece of musical editing that is as awe-inspiring by its complexity as it is catchy in its melody.

If you haven't heard of this before, you need to listen to the previous years' versions:

Each is just as impressive. And for added awesomeness, each can be downloaded free as an MP3. Just follow the link in the YouTube description to DJ Earworm's website.

CRTC limits musical montages on French radio stations

Fagstein — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:58:26 +0000

It's no secret that Canadian radio stations don't like the content requirements imposed on them by the CRTC. For stations that broadcast popular music, 35% of the songs they play must be Canadian (that term being defined by meeting certain criteria). That's why we hear a lot of Nickelback or Kim Mitchell.

For French-language radio stations playing popular music, there's an additional and more serious limit the CRTC imposes: 65% of their songs must be in French (55% during the day, to prevent them from getting around this by playing all their French songs at 3am).

A few years ago, some genius found a way to get around this requirement: montages.

Because the CRTC counts "musical selections" by number, and not by length, a two-minute song and a 20-minute song have the same weight. And because the CRTC specifically counts music montages as one selection, you can have large (but not complete) parts of 20 songs in there and have it counted as one selection for the purpose of French-language minimums.

ADISQ, Quebec's musical industry group, objected to the abuse of this by radio stations, and complained to the CRTC, which held hearings into the issue, specifically focusing on CKOI-FM Montreal, owned by Cogeco, CKTF-FM (NRJ) Gatineau, owned by Astral, and CFTX-FM (Capitale Rock) Gatineau, owned by RNC Media.

The statistics are pretty telling. The CKOI and NRJ stations were found to be using montages to a significant part of their broadcast week. CKOI was the worst, using 101 montages in the studied week, representing 17.9% of its total broadcasting time (this works out to an average of about 20 minutes per montage, though one case was found that was 55 minutes long). The NRJ Gatineau case was only slightly less, with 75 montages representing 14.5% of their 126 hours of broadcasting.

The study found these montages were almost all English-language American songs.

Astral and Cogeco argued they were not breaking the rules as they were written, which is true. They also presented public opinion polls showing that francophone audiences want to hear more English music, and in many cases francophones are tuning in to English stations.

There's some irony in all this: 13 years ago, the CRTC set definitions of montages as they are to prevent the reverse from happening: radio stations using short clips from French-language songs in a montage and counting each one individually.

On Thursday, the CRTC addressed this, and imposed limits on the use of music montages. CKOI and CKTF can use montages for only 10% of their broadcast week. (CFTX was already well below this limit, so the CRTC did not impose one.) It also said it would study this matter further, and possibly impose new regulation generally.

The most obvious solution, to me, is to count musical selections based on length, not number. Under such a system, a four-minute song would count for twice as much as a two-minute song, and musical montages would be split up for the purposes of counting French-language or Canadian content requirements.

This is obviously more complicated for the station, but it would eliminate the problem.

The CRTC says it will begin looking into this issue in 2012.

Other coverage:

The Globe and Mail (includes reaction from Astral and Cogeco)
Canadian Press
Presse Canadienne
Agence QMI

UPDATE: Cogeco Diffusion has issued a statement saying it will comply with the ruling, and suggesting the whole montage thing was Corus's idea, that it's using less of them, and its other radio stations don't do it. Astral and RNC Media issued a joint statement also saying they would comply with the decision. Both said they would participate in hearings about French-language requirements, undoubtedly in an effort to get the CRTC to lower them.

ADISQ also issued a statement, praising the decision as a victory for francophone artists.

The Ruth Ellen Brosseau love song

Fagstein — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 19:23:06 +0000

Well, you knew it had to happen eventually. Big Orange Crush (on Ruth Ellen Brosseau) is the creation of Snowman in Heat, a Vancouver-based band (about as far from Berthier-Maskinongé as you can get). You can listen to their other songs here.

Francofolies: Missing the point a bit?

Fagstein — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 19:49:38 +0000

Maybe I'm being a bit too sensitive. Maybe I'm nit-picking and missing the big picture here. But it's a bit odd to listen to anglo music during a sound check for Les Francofolies. Surely there's an Isabelle Boulay or Marie-Mai CD they could stick in instead?

UPDATE (July 20): From an actual performance at the FrancoFolies, Seven Nation Army (or "Seven Army Nation," as it's introduced):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrQV01BJoSQ

White guys rap about Bixi

Fagstein — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:49:39 +0000

This song has been making the rounds on local CBC radio in the past day. The song itself has been out for a little over a month, but the video for it is new.

I don't know about their "it's a free ride" line, though, considering the number of dollar signs I see on this page. In an interview Wednesday with CBC radio's Jeanette Kelly, two members of the band - called Da Gryptions - say that's actually a "metaphor" for something. Like, free as in freedom, or like ... uhh ... something like that.

Still, considering the success of the system, it certainly seems worthy of a song or two.

The band tells CBC they're planning other Montreal-themed songs, including one about the Expos.

The Bixi Anthem is available on iTunes, in case you want to listen to it more than once.

Stand By Your Habs

Fagstein — Sat, 22 May 2010 16:08:19 +0000

Christopher Pennington, author of this pretty good (and bilingual!) Habs anthem from 2008 (available on iTunes), has teamed up withFelicity Hamer of United Steelworkers of Montreal to produce this parody of Stand By Your Man.

The timing couldn't be better. Today is a critical game.

via Amy Luft.

Je déteste les Flyers

Fagstein — Tue, 18 May 2010 07:53:32 +0000

Welcome to the party, Les Justiciers. (They brought us this last year.)

You know, I was rooting for a Bruins win in the last round. Partly because coming back from 3-0 would mean stealing the Canadiens' Cinderella status. Partly because the Canadiens and Bruins have such a rich history. Partly because it was time to take revenge for last year. Partly because I thought our chances were better against them.

But I'm learning to appreciate the value of a Canadiens-Flyers series. We can take revenge for 2008. The matchup has already been billed as Cinderella vs. Cinderella, and made history as the first 7th vs. 8th matchup since the conference system was setup.

And, because the Flyers fans can be just as much assholes as Canadiens fans, it feels good to hate them.

By the end of this series, the streets of Philadelphia will be orange ... with blood ...

Blood mixed with urine, I guess.

Olympic theme songs to build your national pride

Fagstein — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:50:30 +0000

If you were watching the U.S. broadcast of the Super Bowl on Sunday, you missed a few dozen CTV commercials reminding you that the Olympics are coming. Among them, this video featuring Montrealer Nikki Yanofsky singing the English version of CTV's Olympic theme song, I Believe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v0o27BPIIk

Of course, this being Canada, there's also a French version, sung by Annie Villeneuve, called J'imagine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G8RYAQXVCM

How does this compare to previous Olympic songs?

For the 76 games in Montreal, we have René Simard's Bienvenue à Montréal. Classic retro québécois music:

For the 88 games in Calgary, there's the much more epic instrumental Winter Games by David Foster (you can watch it performed by Norway's Håvard Gimse and Kringkastingsorkesteret here). With lyrics, it becomes Can You Feel It:

(Of course, Foster also composed the entirely forgettable Light the Fire Within for the 2002 games in Salt Lake City)

Other memorable Olympic songs include Céline Dion's The Power of the Dream for the 96 games in Atlanta. And, of course, Beijing Welcomes You, the Chinese star-studded promotional song for the 2008 games:

Some people have commented on the Internet that they don't like Vancouver song (in either language). While I wouldn't say it's the best Olympic song ever written (and it's sung a bit over-the-top in both languages), I still like it, I think it fits the Olympic spirit, and I'd listen to it again.

Can't ask for more than that.

Remix in review

Fagstein — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:23:30 +0000

The end of the year - and particularly the week between Christmas and New Year's - is a time for lazy journalism, usually in the form of lists of "the best of" the year that's passed. The lists are almost always subjective, incomplete, and - when it comes down to it - pointless. They don't add anything new to the conversation. Maybe such a list might expose you to something you haven't seen before, but usually "top" means "most popular", so the likelihood of you not having seen it is low.

This video comes from DJ Earworm, a remix artist (via Dominic Arpin). I'll link to the YouTube page since the website seems to be suffering under some unexpected viral load. The MP3 is free to download. It's a remix of the top 25 songs of 2009, as judged by Billboard. That means you're stuck with two Lady Gaga songs, two Black Eyed Peas songs, two Beyoncé songs and two Taylor Swift songs, along with Katy Perry, The Fray, Kelly Clarkson and Miley Cyrus.

But it's impressive, while giving a bit of exposure to each song in a way that doesn't make me cringe. Kind of like I'll eat mushrooms on a pizza but not by themselves, I'll take Swift or Cyrus when remixed well with non-crap.

This isn't a first, either. DJ Earworm did the same for 2008 and 2007.

Just imagine if all the other years in review were this ... creative.

Running around like a clown on purpose

Fagstein — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:06:09 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hme-vVgojAc

It's not just the big cities that have fun in the street. This one was apparently done in Granby last week. The tune is Mika's We Are Golden.

(via @Granby_Bromont)

CBC Radio’s new news chime

Fagstein — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:32:15 +0000

CBC Radio news chime: before (MP3)

CBC Radio news chime: after (MP3)

Better? Or worse?

Brasse-les, brasse-brasse-bra-brasse-les

Fagstein — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:12:10 +0000

The Justiciers masqués took a bunch of hit songs and translated them word for word into French. "Quand on comprend les paroles, c'est moins bon," they say.

Is there something inherently appealing about songs in languages you don't understand, is music magic lost in translation, or are these songs just written badly to begin with?

Discuss.

How to win Eurovision

Fagstein — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:27:45 +0000

Get a pretty person to sing a happy love song in English. Bonus points for constant smiling and similarity to Sanjaya
Have dancers in the background, wearing black, do lots of crouching and jumping
Use tall, pretty, female backup singers
Involve string instruments, especially violins and/or cellos
Include lots of sound that clearly does not come from any instrument on stage
Exploit screens, fireworks and coloured lights in the background

Am I the only one to have expected a bit more from a pan-European talent competition?

Right now now now

Fagstein — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:47:57 +0000

It's amazing how many people will write songs about their local sports team. I listed some of them during the playoffs last season, though I'm sure half of those links have since gone dead. Many of the songs are professionally produced, and feature catchy music, inspiring lyrics and on-key singing. Or they're just funny.

The following is none of those things:

Sorry.

Hockey Night is dead. Long live RDS

Fagstein — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:43:26 +0000

So there you go. CBC's Hockey Anthem Challenge winner, out of almost 15,000 entries submitted, is Colin Oberst's Canadian Gold. The one with the bagpipes. Hockey Night in Canada made a big thing about it, with loud congratulations from Don Cherry. And Oberst takes home a $100,000 cheque.

UPDATE: CBC has posted the announcement, new theme and a season intro montage in Quicktime format.

With the new theme comes new intro graphics as well. This season, rather than go the classic route of showing hits, goals and saves, CBC has gotten its computer graphics department on overdrive, recreating classic moves so they could look at them from impossible angles (even simulating Bobby Orr's Stanley Cup-winning goal, which created the best sports photo of all time). Unfortunately, this kind of computer animation still has a long way to go, and it just ends up looking like they're showing scenes from EA's NHL 09 video game.

Meanwhile, on RDS, the original Hockey Theme reigns. They paid a lot more for it, and their re-recording doesn't sound as good as the most recent CBC version, but it still sounds better. It's still the one with that special place in our hearts.

Real Canadiens fans have been watching RDS for years now. Even Leafs fans have moved to TSN or Rogers SportsNet. Many people I know turn to CBC to watch the opening theme and switch to RDS for the play-by-play.

Now, with the hockey theme on RDS, does Hockey Night in Canada have any purpose anymore?

Proulx unplugged

Fagstein — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:13:50 +0000

Steve Proulx's slow descent into madness continues, as he locks himself in a small room with only a recorder and a webcam to keep him company.

He's taking requests (Freebird?). He's already done the Passe-Partout theme.

Now I'm gonna spend all night doing air recorder.

Hockey themes are not games

Fagstein — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:15:45 +0000

Dear CTV,

Canada's second national anthem should not be performed by Simple Plan. Period. (UPDATE: It's worse than I thought)

And as for you CBC, don't think you're so awesome what with your conflicts of interest and potentially putting your anthemical future in the hands of a 13-year-old. (He's one of the two finalists)

Time to vote for something important

Fagstein — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:18:39 +0000

There are now just a few hours left to vote for one of the five semifinalists in the CBC Hockey Anthem Challenge. Sadly, Hockey Scores is not one of them.

In order to help you visualize them, CBC has set the songs to video of the HNIC opening (even including the "Hello Canada and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland" voice intro). In all of them, the absence of the old theme is jarring, especially next to familiar video.

Here are some thoughts of mine off the top of my head for the five semifinalists. I'm not a music expert (but I know a few who will no doubt chip in), so don't take these as gospel because I have no clue what I'm talking about.

(Warning: CBC forces you to watch the same stupid Bell ad before each video. Sorry.)

1. Ice Warriors (by Gerry Mosby): A complicated melody, but without any climax. It sounds like a good part of a song, but it's missing the rest. Even as a fan of rock music, the guitar really threw me off. It belongs in a 70s album, not on the Hockey Night theme.

2. Sticks to the Ice (by Robert Fraser Burke): This one builds energy, and the professional arrangement is a huge improvement over a 13-year-old on a piano. But it's still lacking. Just when you think it's going to hit you hard, it sulks back into a melody that doesn't seem to go anywhere.

3. Eleventh Hour (by Graham McRae): McRae is a skilled composer, and this one doesn't lack for energy. He seems to really get the point. CBC's orchestral recording of it seems a bit muted though, especially compared to McRae's original. The melody in this one is my favourite, but that doesn't necessarily seal the deal.

4. Let the Game Begin (by Christian St. Roch & Jimmy Tanaka): This contribution from two Montrealers echoes the original in a non-copyright-infringing way. Similar use of instruments. It is very successful at building energy and anticipation, and best of all it doesn't waste any time getting there (this is, after all, a minute-long intro, not a three-minute song). It has punch, but the theme gets a bit repetitive. Still, if your goal is to find as close to the original as possible, this is probably the one for you.

5. Canadian Gold (by Colin Oberst): I like this one, not so much because I think it's better than the rest but mainly because it's so different. It's the only one I think that comes out swinging after it gets going, and has that feeling of raising an army to defeat the enemy. It doesn't sound like it's holding anything back, and it's not as repetitive as the others. It's also more upbeat, almost to the point of cliché, which I think will appeal to less hard-edged hockey fans. But I could do without the bagpipes.

All five are works worthy of praise, and the CBC chose well. I don't think any of them nail it 100%, but they surprise me with their quality (I had earlier suggested the contest might not be worth it). The fact that there were close to 15,000 entries is kind of astonishing.

Voting closes at 11:59pm Tuesday. Two finalists will be announced Thursday, and then the winner will be on the Hockey Night in Canada premiere on Saturday.

CTV’s new Hockey Theme

Fagstein — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:04:22 +0000

CTV has released its re-recording (with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra) of the Hockey Theme (i.e. the ex-Hockey Night in Canada theme), which will be used on RDS and TSN hockey telecasts starting Oct. 10 and Oct. 14, respectively.

Here it is (MP3). TSN also has a story with video about the new theme.

Perhaps I should wait until it actually goes on air, or maybe it's just my computer, but it sounds like elevator music compared to the rough-and-tumble CBC version.

The press release, which says it "revisits the original 1968 version" also gives plenty of praise for how awesome they think it is:

We’ve taken great pride in blending the heritage of the song with the best digital technology available, creating a stunning rendition sure to resonate with hockey fans across the country.

Colour me unimpressed.

Têtes à claques en anglais

Fagstein — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:50:39 +0000

The Quebec-based online video sensation Têtes à claques has soft-launched a new website and and anglo version with passable anglo accents.

The videos are the same as the franco versions, but they seem to lose some of the humour in translation. I'm not quite sure what it is, exactly. Maybe I'm just more easily amused by francophone humour. Maybe the québécois accent does something to make stuff sound more funny.

(via Domster, among others)

Meanwhile, Le Devoir today has a letter about francophone singers releasing anglo albums. Of course, it's filled with the usual anti-English xenophobia you'd expect out of Le Devoir, but the gist of the letter is that artists shouldn't be selling themselves short recording in another language just for the money, even if the English market is insanely lucrative:

La chanson est un art qui mérite le respect.

The writer is talking about Garou and Gregory Charles.

Yeah.

Fagstein » Music

The year in music, as mashed by DJ Earworm

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