Naïve with special guest Mute

If you’re not from the Quebec region, you’ve probably never heard of a band called Naive. Ok, I’m from the Quebec region and I had never heard of the band!

Naive is a melodious pop/rock band from Montreal. Most of their music is in French, so most of their fan base is Francophone. They have toured extensively in the province of Québec, but I have no doubt that they could potentially take on new territories. They have a great sound and put on a great show – judging from their performance last Thursday, they are no amateur indie group!

Those who attended the Naive concert last week were in for a real treat – Naïve recently collaborated with Carl Lafontaine of Mute on a song called Antidanse (you can listen to this song on the Naive website) which they performed together onstage at the show. Now, if you’ve never heard of Mute…then where have you been????!!! When I listened to their album (self-titled), I loved every song. Their songs are well crafted electronic pop/rock with melodies that reflect their eclectic musical influences ranging from Depeche Mode, to Bowie, to Mylene Farmer. You can sample some of their music through their myspace page: Mute where you can watch their very stylish video for Code Unknown below, or send them a message (or buy their album) on Facebook.


Right now, Mute are looking to work with different singers and songwriters to conjure up some new sleek tunes. So, if you’re in the Montreal area (or are willing to travel), have a unique or distinctive voice, and you think you’d be interested in writing with a talented pair of musicians – send them a message via Myspace or Facebook.

It was a great show, and everyone just went completely mad when they played the song Antidanse!

Anyone else go to the show? Share your thoughts!

Soft Drink War

I love soft drinks.

I bought this from a Turkish grocery store in Paris on my last trip. It's tasty and refreshing, very much like the American orange "Crush" (made by the Dr.Pepper Snapple group), or orange "Fanta" (made by the Coca-Cola company).

Truth be told, I bought it because I loved the "Drink with Commitment!"/"Buvez engagé!"slogan on the bottle that I thought was original.

I did a little googling about the Mecca Cola Company and found out that it's mission isn't just to sell a product, but there was a political message behind it.

The Mecca Cola Company was started in 2002 by French entrepreneur Tawfik Mathlouthi to offer an anti-American option in the soft drink world. At the time (still today), there were a growing number of people worldwide that were boycotting American products as a form of protest against imperialist America. The original slogan was "No More Drinking Stupid, Drink with Commitment" (we can all guess who 'stupid' is). It was originally launched in France, but the company has since sold to the UK, Europe, the Middle East and beyond.

You can read more about it in this BBC article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2640259.stm

The company donates 10% of it's profits to Palestinian aid, and another 10% goes to various European NGOs - which is enough reason for me to buy it.

In the article, Mathlouthi denies any religious, political, or racial ties, but nonetheless I think anyone choosing to buy Mecca Cola over an American brand is definitely making a statement. Or, maybe they just think the slogan is clever...