A Few of my Favourite Things (2021 Edition)

Nomadland: Director Chloe Zhao weaves together a beautiful and intimate portrayal of a “a woman in her sixties who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad”. Set to a captivating soundtrack filled with Ludovico Einaudi’s piano, the film took home the best picture Oscar in 2021.

Dune: Director Denis Villeneuve Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction book on intergalactic conflict into a visually stunning piece of cinematography. Worthy of the largest screen you can find to watch it on. That said, I found it could have gone even deeper on its philosophical core.

Roadrunner: If like me you’ve grown up on Bourdain’s shows (from No Reservations to Parts Unknown), this documentary by Morgan Neville shares an emotionally raw and empathetic look at the life and career of the man in front of the camera, with all its highs and lows, and at its center his relentless quest for adventure. Nostalgia levels ran high. The world misses your point of view, Tony. [HBO]

14 peaks: Nothing is impossible: The film explores moutaineering pioneer Nimsdai Purja’s drive to climb the 14 highest peaks in the world, each 8000+ meters high and including K2 and Mount Everest, in less than 7 months whereas the previous achievement of this feat was completed in 7 years. An incredible “no fear” story of courage and perseverance fuelled by Nim’s indomptable positive mindset. [Netflix]

Succession: “Power, politics, money…it’s all in the family in this provocative, funny series about a highly dysfunctional dynasty”, announces HBO. This black comedy series follows the squabbles of the various family members, each with their own agenda, upon the patriarch’s retirement. Season 3 released this year garnered strong reviews. [HBO]

Scenes from a marriage: A remake of the 1973 classic by legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, this searing portrait of a marriage falling apart boasts two extraordinary performances by Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac. Ardent throughout and painful at times, it also highlights the complexity and emotional intensity of relationships. [HBO]

[Francophone] La une: The series takes us behind the scenes with a team of ten investigative reporters at newspaper La Presse taking on challenging journalistic topics such as the rise of conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccine activists, sexual harassment litigation, the cracks in our health system and, of course, the pandemic. In this era of fake news, this was an eye-opening look inside the news factory where journalists actually stake their reputation on the accuracy of their facts. [Télé-Québec]

[Francophone] Tribal: This series features Guillaume Dulude, an adventurer and doctor in neuropsychology who “goes in search of the last nomadic tribes in the world to understand how they manage to survive while maintaining their traditional way of life”, from Tanzania to Namibia. Some very powerful moments of human connection, heightened by the brilliant image capture of Guillaume Beaudoin. [Unis TV]

[Francophone] La belle vie: Vanlifer Julien Roussin Côté travels across Canada “in search of people who live fully while having less”. From a modern hermit living on the edge of the boreal forest, a couple of artists living on a floating island or some environmentally conscious inhabitants of a small ecovillage on the border of St-Lawrence River, the delighting and original series showcases “inspirational stories of individuals, families and communities who have chosen to live differently”. [Unis TV]

Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphonic Orchestra: This opus from three unexpected collaborators (an electronic music producer, an 80-year old saxophone legend and a classical orchestra) breaks musical barriers and “stirs feelings that can be hard to name”, as Pitchfork suggests. Paste Magazine tries to define it further: “Unfurling in one continuous, wordless composition split into nine movements, Promises sounds like a leap of creative faith, a cosmic communion that reaches across generations, genres and musical barriers to build something beautiful”. While earlier Movements are drenched in dreamlike calm, the “symphonic elements gather force” from Movement 6 onwards.

Hey what by Low: Following its 2018 masterpiece Double Negative, the married duo (which has been making music for 25 years together) “pits beauty against noise on its jaw-dropping 13th album”, as Rolling Stone comments, capturing well pandemic era anxiety as well as the band’s ethos of “everything is falling apart, but hey, we’re in this together.” As RollingStone goes on, “few bands have stared into the abyss quite like Low — parsing the frailty of the human condition, testing listeners with glacially slow tempos, encrusting beautiful melodies in sparse textures or dissonance — and no band has done so with the same beatific grace as Low”. My highlights include tracks Days like these, Disappearing and White horses.

Afrique victime by Mdou Moctar: “The Tuareg guitarist and his bandmates deliver the fullest picture of his gifts yet (…) capturing the group’s easy chemistry and explosive energy”, boasts Pitchfork, calling his music “an adrenalizing take on assouf, or desert blues”. Evoking comparisons to Hendrix or Van Halen, the Nigerian musician proves his place as one of the most exciting guitarists alive. Beyond the jams, the lyrics speak to unrest and tragedy on the African continent.

[Francophone] La nuit les échos by Emilie Proulx: The beautiful EP from this multi-instrumentalist got my attention via the melodic Polaroids, which I heard one late afternoon on local college radio station CISM (see below). Proulx’s music has been continuing the evolve mostly under the radar, with soft but haunting tracks. Her “four quietly released records since 2007 are beautifully-arranged alt-folk marvels”, Le Devoir mentions.

[Francophone] Hemenetset by Jorane: The ambitious eight record from singer/cellist Jorane, which took six years to create, presents itself as a “modern symphony and veritable odyssey”. And that’s exactly how it felt, full of sprawling 10–15 minute songs, powered by Jorane’s visceral emotions, guturral/spellbinding voice and music often reaching into experimental and alternative territory. My highlights were title track Les tectoniques and Nouvelle Novembre.

[Francophone] Ma délire — Songs of love, lost & found by Myriam Gendron

[Electronic] To You (EP) by CRi

[Indie] Alstroemeria (EP) by Metò

Introvert by Lil Simz: This triumphant track by UK rapper Lim Simz kicks off what many critics consider one of the best albums of the year. A pounding drumline supports her “dexterous, breakneck flow”. Her music “burrows deep into her most critical, self-analyzing thoughts”, Pitchfork remarks, as Simz “comes to grips with a wave of revelations about her identity [as a Black woman] and the world during a time of crisis and political awakening”. The music video is equally epic (see below).

[Francophone] La photo by Louis-Jean Cormier: This smooth track was on repeat recently. Gentle piano and open cymbals, interspersed with some faint saxophone, put forward its nostalgic and powerful lyrics about an old vintage photo “illuminating” a dark house, spurring questions on love and the afterlife.

Murmures by Jean-Michel Blais: This track from his upcoming record Aubades, set for 2022 release, marked the first time that the post-classical pianist collaborated with an ensemble. “Written during the pandemic and following a breakup, Blais has used his distinctive musical voice to create a defiantly uplifting record with glistening instrumental textures and warm major tonalities” Killbeatmusic explains. A very nice evolution from previous material and a natural extension of his score for Xavier Dolan’s film Matthias et Maxime (see my 2020 list), as well as a very soothing balm for challenging times.

Vivre: Le spectacle spectral by Klô Pelgag: Self-billed as “a virtual concert halfway between an egg salad sandwich and the Y3K bug”, this concert is a hard to define fantasy. Further described as “an epic surprise party, an unparalleled birthday bash, as well as the mise en abîme of a bucket list”, it is full of imagination, surprises and vivid musical performances. Pelgag won a whopping 13 Felix Awards in 2021, including best concert of the year for this performance.

Live at the Niger River by Mdou Moctar: This is an intimate performance from Mdou Moctar and his bandmates filmed at dawn along the Niger River. Same upbeat groovy rhythms and trademark guitar solos as usual, but the open-air desert setting brings additional simplicity, serenity and emotional resonance to the music that is distinctive from the albums. The quality of the recording mix in these conditions also makes it a good listen.

Introvert by Lil Simz: As mentioned above, the music video is as noteworthy as the track. “It’s no mean feat to match the scale and ambition of Introvert”, notes Promonews, “but director Salomon Ligthelm has done it with this extraordinarily powerful video — imaginative, inspirational and, above all, just as epic as the song. Introvert is visceral essay about black people’s lives, fuelled by fear, exhaustion, frustration and political awakening. Ligthelm’s brilliant work captures the essence of the powerful emotion driving Simz’s track with a stunning collage of choreography, performance, archival news footage, classical painting, home movies, and a brilliant sense of Simz’s home city”. Enough said.

Wintergatan: The other coolest music video I discovered this year. Nothing to see here, just rocking out with a “marble machine”!

CISM: The college radio station from University of Montreal, 89.3 FM, celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. And it’s still as edgy and relevant as ever. Over the years, it’s supported emerging local artists, such as Les Cowboys Fringants or Coeur de Pirate, helping them find their audiences and springboard to more mainstream listeners. It boasts one of the most eclectic and diverse programming on the Montreal airwaves, spanning the latest in hip hop, metal, post-rock, indie, electronic — and everything in between. Hard to count how many artists I’ve discovered here. La marge forever!

How to avoid a climate disaster by Bill Gates: Gates presents an insightful and informative view on “what he learned in over a decade of studying climate change and investing in innovations to address global warming and recommends strategies to tackle it”, relying on the guidance of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science and finance. A strong reminder for the need for urgent action, balanced by the presentation of a concrete plan to get to zero emissions.

A Few Good Reads (2021 edition): I publish every year a separate list of articles, blog posts and longer reads from around the internet that I’ve enjoyed. View my list here.

Apple AirPods Max: If you are looking for the best high-end headphones on the market, look no further. After demoing multiple pairs this year, I finally converged on this one. On the pros side: market leading spatial audio, solid build, easy switching between Apple devices, and active noise cancelling including the very useful transparency mode. The main drawbacks, beyond the price: a bit heavier than other models (mild neck strains at first), poorly designed smart case, average mic quality and no way to turn them off. Still the best of what’s out there for music lovers.

Figma: Figma is an awesome cloud-based tool for designers to build software for web or mobile apps collaboratively, but it’s also helpful and easy enough for most folks to use it for brainstorming, prototyping ideas, creating animations or building demos. You can work in the browser directly, but the MacOS app is great. Also check out their recently released tool Figjam, an online whiteboard for teams.

Family Album: Think Facebook may not be the best place to post more personal family photos? Family Album bills itself as the best photo-sharing app for families. It delivers a solid set of functionality that optimizes sharing photos with a more limited family group, while providing nice add-ons such as auto-generated recap videos and printing physical albums. It’s nice to now be able to post directly from Photos also on iOS.

Strangers by Airbnb: This one really stood out. I paused what I was watching and asked myself what was going on here. As Airbnb notes, its new ad campaign features “three unusual-looking, shaggy guests in their Airbnb listing, showing us that we are all quite similar in the end”. It’s an imaginative way to attract more hosts on the platform, while sending a kind message about diversity/inclusivity.

Rio and the open frontier by Airbnb: This one is not a conventional TV or video ad per se, but rather a part of Airbnb’s May 2021 presentation of 100+ product upgrades. I was particularly struck with the magical story, narrated by CEO Brian Chesky, of young Rio visiting a cowboy ranch for the first time with his parents. You can watch it here starting around the 20:50 mark.

Kit Kat concept ad: Kudos to UK-based creative strategist Sam Hennig for creating this unofficial but brilliant concept ad for Kit Kat. Adweek comments that “this relatable Kit Kat is a master class in the power of simplicity”. I think we can all agree that 2020 and 2021 were chock full of videoconference calls and that we could all use a bit of a break!

Parcelles: Nestled on a hilltop overlooking the lake in the Eastern Townships, this charming outdoor restaurant shrinks down the distance from farm to fork nearly to zero. Guests are literally eating a few meters from the garden. Centered around an old wood-burning pizza oven, the open air kitchen serves simple and unfussy delicious dishes made from the garden’s organic produce and eaten picnic style on tables strewn across the property, with a nice selection of local natural wines and craft beers.

Pichai: This newcomer, which opened in May 2021 in the Rosemont neighbourhood in Montreal, features spicy and funky Thai food in family-style dining formats. It comes from the same team who brought us beloved local haunt Epicerie Pumpui. Total explosion of flavours in every dish on my first visit, with amazing attentive service on the small outdoor terrace. Rightfully hailed by many food experts as one of the most exciting new tables in Montreal.

Nita tout garni: This small sandwich shop in the Mile-End recently opened during the pandemic serves nicely satisfying sandwiches for takeout or to eat at the counter bar. Comfort food from quality products (everything is made on premise), enhanced typically by a pretty killer musical soundtrack in the background. Breakfast sandwich is also on point. The type of place you can visit several times a week!

Camellia Sinensis: While the mythic Emery-street teahouse in Montreal’s Latin Quarter closed this year, the shop remains open, as does their Jean-Talon Market outpost, offering a very diverse selection of hundreds of high quality teas, infusions and accessories. Founded in 1997, the project is a labour of love from four friends and frequent travellers to Asia for tea sourcing. The founders actually ended up opening in 2018 an experimental factory, the Tea Studio, in the Nilgiri Mountains in southern India, which redistributes part of its income to the village where it is located. Probably the most passionate tea connaisseurs in the city!

Montreal Botanical Garden: I rediscovered the gardens this year after more than a decade since my last visit and was really surprised by how enjoyable the experience was. The impressive site spans almost 200 acres — definitely enough to respect social distancing! — of thematic gardens and greenhouses, making it one of the most important botanical gardens in the world. Their team also announced last year that 10K square meters would be repurposed for the production of fruit and vegetables for Montreal food banks, enhancing the city’s self-sustainability. It also offers a nice set of seasonal activities for the whole family.

Welcome Collective: This Montreal-based non-profit has had a major impact on some of the most vulnerable folks in our society: refugee claimants and recent immigrants to the city, which often include single parents, pregnant women, mothers with newborns, large families with young children, etc. They support newcomers with physical goods (mattress, furniture, kitchenware, etc) and online resources on various topics (healthcare, housing, education, childcare). In 2020–21 alone, they supported 536 families (2K+ individuals) through 500+ food deliveries and collected 95 tonnes of items for re-use. By their actions, they’re building a more fair, inclusive and caring Montreal. Keep up the great work!

Les murs de la joie: Talented young artist Marc-Olivier Lamothe created an itinerary of five joyful murals with his trademark large abstract colourful shapes depicting the world of tomorrow he’d like to see following the Coronavirus crisis, one where buying locally is the norm and where we live more slowly and more in harmony with nature. You can spot them around the Plateau and Villeray neighbourhoods in Montreal. Refreshing to see some light and hope painted on our walls!