Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the developed world, after Paris.
In 2017, Montreal was ranked the 12th most liveable city in the world by the Economist - and the best city in the world to be a university student (Melbourne usually comes top, FYI).
It is the only Canadian city to have held the Summer Olympics.
It was the official residence of the Luxembourg royal family in exile during World War II. Good choice, Luxembourgeois elite!
Every Sunday in Parc Mont-Royal near downtown Montreal, there is a huge impromptu drumming festival in which hundreds of drummers are invited to jam.
Most popular local bands sing in French.
American critic Edmund Wilson famously called the nineteenth-century poet Émile Nelligan "the only first-rate Canadian poet, French or English."
Montreal cuisine highlights include the famous Jewish smoked meat sandwiches and Montreal-style bagels, while the Lebanese have contributed their distinctive falafels and shish taouk sandwiches.
During Prohibition in the United States, Montreal became well known as one of North America's "sin cities" with unparalleled nightlife, a reputation it still holds today.
I’ve personally never been to Montreal but enjoyed getting to virtually know a little more about Canada’s second city, and concocted a musical episode I think listeners to the pod should find highly enjoyable.
Setlist:
Texas drums Pt 1, Pottery
Some are lakes, Land of Talk
The police and the private, Metric
Stay for real, Young Galaxy
Suburban war, Arcade Fire
Truth nugget, Helena Deland
The truth about cats and dogs (is that they die), Pony Up!
Your ex-lover is dead, Stars
You are a runner and I am my father’s son, Wolf Parade
Say, can you hear, Men I Trust
Maybe later, Miracle Fortress
Tuff ghost, The Unicorns
Bosses hang Pt 1, Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Mistral gagnant, Coeur de Pirate