Monthly Archives: August 2013

Picture post: blue skies and street lamps in Montreal

Montreal Place des arts street lamp_ A storytelling home

One of the funky, futuristic street lamps at the Place des festivals in downtown Montreal. Quartier des spectacles is the place to go for entertainment in Montreal. With more than 30 concert rooms, dozens of art galleries and a great contemporary art museum it’s the city’s cultural center.

Right in the middle of the entertainment district, the Place des festivals was developed in 2009 in order to accommodate many of the city’s large-scale festivals (the Jazz fest, Francofolies, Just for Laughs). It is easy to spot because of its’ clean, modern architecture and oddly shaped lamp posts. Those humongous structures have been very useful to my friends and I as meeting spots during big concert events!

A personal top 8 of the best albums of summer 2013/ Top 8 de mes albums préférés de l’été

This summer I’ve been on an album-buying binge like no other. While this hasn’t been so good for my wallet, I’ve had a blast listening to all these sounds and I thought I’d share my ten favorite albums of the summer. I’ve identified general style and category just so you can find something more to your liking. Yes, I know that most of the albums aren’t from 2013 per se, but they have been a huge part of the soundtrack of my summer this year and I believe they are worth discovering if you don’t know them already!

Happy listening!

Cet été j’ai été prise d’une envie incessante de découvrir de la nouvelle musique. À chaque semaine j’ai rajouté au moins trois nouveaux albums à ma collection. Mon porte-feuille n’a pas apprécié cette lubie, mais mes oreilles sont ravies. Voici une liste du top 10 de mes albums préférés de l’été. Pour vous aider à trouver quelque chose qui saurait vous plaire, j’ai catégorisé les artistes par style. Oui, je suis bien au courant que certains des disques cités sont parus avant 2013 mais comme ils font partie de ma bande sonore pour cet été, j’ai trouvé pertinent de les inclure. De plus, ils valent vraiment d’être découverts si vous ne les connaissez pas.

Bonne écoute!

8. Spunky political rap en espagnol/ Audace et politique rappés en espagnol

Ana Tijoux (Chile/France), La Bala, 2011

Continue reading

Untapped Cities: discovering Montreal

It’s been a while since I’ve linked to the articles I’ve written for Untapped Cities. Since June I’ve been writing two articles/month about fun, unique things to discover in Montreal.

Here’s what I’ve been writing about:

Ruelle verte 25e avenue_Montreal_Untapped Cities_Lea Plourde-Archer

The environmentally friendly Ruelles vertes (green alleyways) being created behind the tightly packed facades of buildings in residential neighborhoods:

http://untappedcities.com/2013/08/07/montreals-ruelles-vertes-green-alleyways-help-the-environment-and-create-a-sense-of-community/

Velopousse-Maisonneuve tour guide_Montreal_Untapped Cities_Lea Plourde-Archer

A fun pedicab tour of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, an area with a rich past that earned a bad reputation in the last few decades but is currently experiencing a creative transformation:

http://untappedcities.com/2013/07/22/eco-friendly-pedicab-tours-document-montreals-urban-transformation/

En Masse_Montreal MURAL festival_Untapped Cities_Lea Plourde-Archer

Mural festival invited twenty street artists to come and give part of Saint-Laurent boulevard a colorful makeover:

http://untappedcities.com/2013/07/03/first-edition-of-the-mural-street-art-festival-in-montreal/

Public piano Mont Royal Henri-Julien Montreal_Untapped Cities_Lea Plourde-Archer

After a successful test season last year, four public pianos have been installed for the summer in the district of the Plateau-Mont-Royal:

http://untappedcities.com/2013/06/25/pop-up-pianos-montreal-piano-des-villes-piano-des-champs/

Miyuki Tanobe Mural_Montreal_Untapped Cities_ Lea Plourde-Archer

Miyuki Tanobe is a Japanese painter that fell in love with Montreal in the 1970s and became known here  as a painter of street life. On a nondescript street corner in Verdun, a mural has been painted in her honor:

http://untappedcities.com/2013/06/10/a-mural-for-miyuki-tanobe-painter-of-street-life-in-montreal/

Combats d'epee Mont royal Montreal_Untapped cities_Lea Plourde-Archer

Every Sunday (weather permitting) a group of fighters meet to hold friendly foam sword combats:

http://untappedcities.com/2013/05/27/sundays-montreal-guerriers-de-la-montagne-knights-warriors-mount-royal/