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Bird.

 

Gentlemen prefer ‘Blonde’

Cape Diamond isn’t a girl’s best friend on Coeur de Pirate’s latest

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

don’t exactly speak French, and
[= I try, it becomes.a noticeably

less pretty language. So how
Quebec singer Coeur de Pirate (“Pirate
Heart”), otherwise known as Béatrice

Martin, fell into my radar I’m not sure.

My best guess would be her guest
credit on Bedouin Soundclash’s last
album... and I don’t even know how
that’s in my radar. But I digress; how
does Coeur de Pirate’s sophomore

remember: Google Translate is a
wonderful thing.

Here we get into “Danse et danse”
(“Dance and dance”); following along
the lines of the previous track, the
speaker is basically stating that if he’s
going to dance without her, she’s going
to dance without him too. “Golden
Baby” features some pleasantly upbeat
piano and drum work, although it too is
about a rocky. relationship. Then there’s
my absolute favourite track, “Ava,” a
cautionary jukebox tale about Ava, the
song’s subject, as she’s warned not to
fall too hard in love.

By this point, you’ve probably

“Martin’s created something beautiful here; a song for every type
of relationship coupled with a song for any type of setting—all
communicated to the listener in French.”

album Blonde hold up?

If you’ve ever heard the 1964
France Gall song “Laisse tomber
les filles,” which is better known in
English as April March’s 1995 cover
“Chick Habit,” then you’re already
on the right track. Blonde, which is
also a French term for ‘girlfriend,’ is
a nonstop ‘60s-style romance/revenge
romp, largely inspired by “Laisse
tomber les filles” (according to a
National Post interview with Martin),
which you can hear almost the whole
way through.

The album starts with “Léve
les voiles” (“Set sail”), a brief hymn
that innocently casts us off into a sea
of what soon becomes a retro-pop
paradise. From there we approach
“Adieu,” which is appropriately about
the supposed speaker tossing out her
unfaithful beau. In case you were
wondering how I know this, always

gotten the point of the album; like
everyone, Martin’s had her fair share of
ups and downs in the realm of love, lust,
and whatever else is out there. Blonde
was Martin’s opportunity to release all
her emotions about the subject, and the
22-year-old musician does so with an
incredible amount of class.

No whiney ballads about her boy
problems and no trashy club songs
about how hot she perceives herself to
be. It’s a rather closed-minded if not
shallow way of finding another level of
connection to the album, but when the
aforementioned is all you hear on the
radio nowadays, it’s a point that needs
to be made. Martin’s created something
beautiful here; a song for every type
of relationship coupled with a song for
any type of setting—all communicated
to the listener in French.

Blonde is free to listen to on Martin’s
website and can be purchased via iTunes.

 

 

It’s beginning to look a lot like craftin’ times
We take a visit to the Circle Craft Christmas Market!

 

By Allie Davison, Staff Writer

[T= days are getting shorter,
colourful lights are appearing
everywhere, and jingle bells
are jingling. This can only mean one
thing: Christmas is coming! And

with Christmas comes the frantic and
excessive task that everybody loves to
hate. That’s right: it’s time to hit the
stores and go Christmas shopping.

Personally, I get awfully sick
of spending hours browsing through
the malls in hopes that something
shiny will catch my eye. So this year
I decided to branch out a little and
check out a more unique venue for my
shopping.

The Circle Craft Christmas Market
has been the go-to place for amazing
Christmas crafts in Vancouver for
38 years. It is held at the Vancouver
Convention Centre, and this year
played host to 282 excellent vendors
and their goods. This is not your
average craft fair though; the goods
available here ranged from handmade,
and sometimes home spun, clothes
(both for adults and children), fashion
accessories, jewelry, candles, soaps,
pottery, toys, food and, of course,
Christmas decorations.

Although I would love to describe
in vast detail all of the treasures that I
saw at the Market, unfortunately (due
to time, word, and room constraints)
that can’t happen. Instead, here are
my top four favorite vendors from this
year’s Circle Craft Christmas Market:

West Coast Gnomes (www.
westcoastgnomes.com)

These guys are adorable. If
possible, I would have bought them
all and decorated my house with them;
they’re just so cute! Taking inspiration
from the beautiful island he lives
on, artist Darrell J. Perfumo carves
little gnomes, houses, leaves, and
other forest elements out of stone and

porcelain. His creations are probably
the cutest things I saw that day at the
Market.

Alphabet Photography (www.
alphabetphotography.com)
Alphabet Photography is super
cool. The artists here find letters in
almost anything imaginable. For
example, the letter “A” ranged from
the Eiffel Tower, to a ladder, to the
arch of a building; super cool stuff. For
only $5 per letter, you can spell out
your name, or any word, and have a
super snazzy home décor item.

Handspun Textiles by Noelle (www.
noellehamlyn.com)

Noelle’s featured product was a
Pocket Book purse. These awesome
and unique bags are made from vintage
books or magazines that have since
passed their time. Noelle uses the
cover of each book for the sides of the
purses, and uses other materials to bind
them together into a fabulous accessory
that’s both useful and adorable.

Unfortunately, my budget didn’t
stretch that far (the smallest of the

purses was $90), so I bought one of the

moleskin notes she had for sale instead
(mine has a clipping from Rupert the
Bear on the cover).

Bad Girl Chocolates (www.
badgirlchocolates.com)

Bad Girl Chocolates was giving
out samples of their delicious
chocolate sauces when I stopped by
their booth. It was probably some of
the best chocolate I’ve ever had! These
homemade chocolate sauces and bars
are made right in Vancouver, and are
vegan-friendly. Unfortunately, by the
time I got to the booth, their stock
was running a little low, but given a
second chance I definitely would have
picked up a box of their Classic Cream
Caramels or Orange Spice Bars.