5 April 2023 - Bad Bunny - El Apagón

This is probably the longest single music video we've ever posted here. But it's worth it.  

Bad Bunny is arguably the biggest star to come out of Puerto Rico in a generation, and he's very proud and very defensive of his roots and his home.  HIs reggaeton-infused music has made him an international superstar. He uses his huge platform for good - highlighting issues that are plaguing Puerto Rico.

One of the biggest issues that has plagued Puerto Rico over the last decade has been the weakness of their power grid.  LUMA Energy, the company that primarily controls the grid that took over the grid in 2021 from the government for $115 million, has been under fire for mismanaging exactly that.  A joint venture between Texas company Quanta Services and Alberta company ATCO for the express purpose of managing and improving the grid, it serves the further benefit for those two companies of being a tax shelter, as it was established as a result of Act 22 of 2012, which exempts external investors from taxation on passive income.  LUMA is by far not the only beneficiary of Act 22, as a lot of real estate investors are also injecting their money into the territory and displacing residents.

So, you're thinking, "Well, that paragraph was quite the left turn.  What the hell does that have to do with reggaeton?"

"El Apagón" literally translates to "The Blackout". 53 seconds into this video for his song, you are introduced to a 20-minute documentary on LUMA Energy and Act 22 - and it's really, really well done.  The reporter, Bianca Graulau, is eloquent and well-researched, and passionate about the subject.- she does a LOT more videos on her YouTube channel, on both the power grid and Act 22, as well as other issues that impact Puerto Rico (and, also, interestingly, Hawaii, which has a similar history of United States colonization).

I encourage you to watch this video. If you don't know Spanish, turn captions on - it has English subtitiles.  Also, please go check out Bianca Graulau's other videos, many of them in English, as they give a lot more detail than this video can.

I am going to talk about the music, but talking about that video first was important.  

Lyrically, the song is typically boastful - he talks about how he is a particular fan of the Puerto Rican variety of a particular body part only found on a woman, but in a somewhat vulgar manner ("Me gusta la chocha de Puerto Rico") - but it's also a fun song, incorporating pop and trap sounds in with the reggaeton.  It's a song that expresses pride about Puerto Rico - about being proud of his homeland.  It's NOT the political song you think it is - but he DID use the title and song to suck people into a bigger message. 

Gabriela Berlingeri, his former girlfriend, provides the outro song, which is a pure pop contrast.  She's not a famous musician in her own right (although she has worked on several of Bad Bunny's song, including recording reference vocals for Jennifer Lopez on another song) - and the selection of her as a singer here is by design and not just because Bad Bunny and her had adopted a puppy together - but she, just a citizen, sings passionately about HER homeland.  

And yes.  That's Snoop.

4 April 2023 - Prince ft. Sheena Easton - U Got The Look

If you think Prince sounds a little squeakier than usual, you're right - he's using a sped-up voice on the recording of this song.  You see, Prince recorded an album in 1986 as an artist named Camille - with sped-up vocals feminizing his voice.  It was never released (although it looks like it is getting a release, possibly as part of a Sign O' The Times rerelease), but he still had the technology and used it on this song, which he DID release.

The song went to #2 on the US pop charts and ended up being a worldwide hit, immortalizing the World Series of Love.  By the way, the year this was released, 1987, the World Series came to Minneapolis, Prince's hometown.

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3 April 2023 - City Girls ft. Cardi B - Twerk

OK, Canadian music is done.  

It's time for some real ass shaking.  

Like, best in the world ass shaking. 

City Girls went looking for the best twerker in the world, and at the end of this video, I think you see they found the best twerker in the world. There's a lot of ass shaking that happens before you see the best ass shaker.  

It's also a fun and naughty - not safe for work - song that ended up being a top 30 hit for the duo.

31 March 2023 - Maisy Stella - i’m only seventeen

For at least a year, this blog has practiced Stella Parity.  That means we post as much of each Stella sister as the other.  If we post Lennon, we post Maisy.  When possible.

Thankfully, this is one of those times where it is possible.  

According to the artist, who wrote this, "This is an unreleased song". 1) it's incredible 2) Without Maisy there would be no Billie Eilish, so.....

31 March 2023 - Lennon Stella - Fancy

Since we opened the month with Stellas, it makes sense to end it the same way.   And the pride of Whitby, Ontario is the best way to finish a month of Canadian music.

Lennon Stella didn't end up in the country music landscape like her parents did.  Instead, she went with thought-provoking pop music, with a light, airy feeling.  This particular brand of light and airy comes with horns, but still.  

Lyrically, it's a dreamy, imaginative song, with an apparent lyrical reference to Marcy Playground, although with the French interpretation of the lyrics at spots, it's hard to tell.  

(Editor's note: I love that we can make callouts to things we wrote a decade ago)

I hope you've enjoyed this March as much as we have.  Every year, it's a bigger challenge, but every year, we're discovering new music along with you - music that stays with us.  

30 March 2023 - Rush - YYZ

The largest airport in Canada, and 21st busiest airport in the world, is Toronto Pearson International Airport, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.  

Its IATA code?  YYZ.  (I'll let you debate whether it's Why-Why-Zee or Why-Why-Zed)

I've been to every Tim Hortons at that airport.  It's a great airport.  

In the early days, Canadian airports were identified by two letter codes - and Toronto's main airport was YZ.  This was used for ease of communication between airports.  If an airport was open and not closed due to weather, it was easy to send a Y - for yes - and the two letter code via Morse code, and quickly communicate their status.  

In the 1940s, as more airports were being opened worldwide, all airports were forced to adopt a 3-letter code.  So, every Canadian airport - since they already had the protocol in place - just added the Yes signal to the beginning of all their airport codes.   It's why they are the only country to consistently name all their (commercial passenger) airports with IATA codes all beginning with the same letter.  

You've learned something today.  Maybe.  

Alex Lifeson didn't learn anything today, because he already knew Morse Code - because in addition to being the guitarist for Rush, he's also a commercial pilot.  So, he heard - . - - - . - - - - . . - Y Y Z - quite a bit.  One day, when he was flying the band into Pearson, he introduced the rhythm of that airport code to the band.  

An instrumental classic, written by Neil Peart and Geddy Lee and NOT Alex Lifeson, was born.  You can hear that morse code, that rhythm that stuck with them, from the very beginning of the song - that's the odd-sounding rhythm you hear at the start.  

We couldn't not include a live version of this, eh?  Yes, there is an extended Neil Peart drum solo, and you're welcome.

29 March 2023 - Once A Tree - Breakdown

When you dig into Canadian music, you find stuff.  I found this group while researching another post - for reasons that will become clear in a minute.  

Take this musical duo, Once A Tree.  A husband-and-wife duo, and named by Rolling Stone as one of the new artists you need to know, they met while both separately leaving their religion, Jehovah's Witnesses, and used their excommunication from their separate communities  to fuel their musical creativity.

Once A Tree's music has been described as a blend of electronic, pop, and R&B. Their lyrics often touch on themes of love, loss, and self-discovery, as well as issues related to Indigenous identity and cultural preservation.

This song, from their 2017 album Phoenix, was produced by Hayden John Wolf, who also co-wrote the song.  He also happens to be half of the duo, alongside his wife, Jayli, who is the other vocalist for the duo and who also co-wrote the song.   It is a hauntingly beautiful and heart wrenching song, about turmoil and what looks like a near-breakup surrounding great loss.

I cannot recommend it enough.

Yeah, she's that Jayli Wolf.