Bran Van 3000, from Montreal, Quebec, did have some success stateside. Probably best known for "Drinking In L.A.", they actually have a rich, deep catalog.
Take this song, which is less hip-hop and more straight-ahead pop-rock. A follow up to their aforementioned hit, it was a pretty big, sweet Canadian hit in its own right. Bear in mind, those two very different songs were from the SAME album - Glee, which is a truly underrated piece of art.
I couldn't let this little synergy go unnoticed. So I'm doing a 2nd post.
"Peace Sign" was Track 8 on the Lights album Siberia, which was released in 2011. It was not a single, but is still an excellent song.
Here is Lights performing the song live. Excellent, energetic, and something of a dark song. But clearly, an exciting highlight when performed live.
Following along so far?
Literally the day after this song was written, the G20 riots in Lights's hometown of Toronto, and that had quite an impact on her. So, as the story goes, she started corresponding and collaborating on a bilingual version of this song with an artist she was a fan of, for Siberia Acoustic, which was released in 2013.
That artist, of courses, was Montréal artist Cœur de Pirate.
And here is that finished product. It's a lot less energetic, but the lyrics shine so much stronger.
Lights tells the rest of the story live in 2013 - as of this recording, she had never MET Cœur de Pirate in person - and didn't know the French part of her own song. Thankfully, the audience did and helped. Say what you want about the politeness of those from Québec, but it's my opinion and experience that French Canadians are just as polite, helpful and wonderful as just about every other Canadian.
And that's the Canadian singer-songwriter's real first name (not by birth, but still). Which is super convenient when it comes to having a stage name.
This song was released in 2011 to mostly positive reviews, and, really, it's kind of got an infectious beat and some intelligent lyrics. Which makes me wonder why I was so late to the party.
The video was filmed in Lights's hometown of Toronto.
Lights has been known to do an acoustic version of this song live - and in fact did an acoustic version of the entire Siberia album. Here she is, performing it live in 2019. The audience knows the words. It's a slightly different feel, but still just as heartfelt.
Anne Murray hit #1 on the US pop charts for the her first and only time in 1978 with this song - ironically missing the top spot on the Country and Adult Contemporary charts on which she had much more success. She also won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal for this song, the first time a Canadian had done that.
In 2007, Murray would rerecord the song as a duet with fellow Canadian Shania Twain. It's essentially the same song - but just with two people singing it.
By the way, I know you came here to hear Stewie Griffin sing this.
This is from her 2015 album Roses, which features songs in French and English.
In 2018, Béatrice Martin announced she planned to no longer make music under the name Cœur de Pirate, which I guess would mean I'd be able to stop trying to type œ on my English-language keyboard..... but 1) she would continue to make music, which is amazing.....
....2) Cette chanson, de fin 2020, est clairement sortie sous le nom Cœur de Pirate.
C'est clairement étiqueté
Je ne me soucie pas particulièrement du nom que Béatrice Martin a choisi d'utiliser pour faire de la musique à l'avenir. Tant qu'elle continuera à faire de la musique révolutionnaire qui est intéressante, je vais rester heureuse.
Je ne suis pas canadien, donc je n'ai pas eu à apprendre le français à l'école. En fait, dans mon apprentissage des langues, c'est mon talon d'Achille. Permettez-moi de vous assurer que tout cela est une gracieuseté de Google Translate.
It is refreshing to hear an artist so fresh and not-so-well-known outside their home country like Cœur de Pirate. However, what is really unusual is that Béatrice Martin has actually had more hits in France than in her native Canada.
You see, she is a francophone from Montreal, and primarily sings in French. Not exclusively, mind you - but mostly. And yet, despite having the heart of a pirate (that's what her name translates to, people), the songs are just enchanting. Without knowing French, you can hear the love and longing in her voice, in the music.
This song, her debut single, won the 2010 Victoires de la Musique (French-language music) award for Original Song of the Year.
It almost sounds more soulful live. Check out this performance from Massey Hall in Toronto from 2014. The acoustics threaten to drown her out, but Cœur de Pirate's full voice wins in the end.
