Parkdale
Liner Notes:
I’ve been living here since the move from Montreal, 4 years ago. It’s a harsh neighbourhood – but then again, so is life. In this city that values aesthetic functionality and uniformity over allowing its history to be told through age and decay, Parkdale has largely managed to resist the gentrification that has hit much of Toronto. Some maintain that the tide is inevitable. I believe that as long as there is a place for the stalwart halfway houses and homes for those deemed mentally or emotionally “unstable”, Parkdale won’t see the marginalization of certain members of society, the way so many other neighbourhoods have. And in the end, I hope this is exactly what will allow for its preservation, in all its complexities and myriad stories. Like it or not, beyond the homogenized, picture-perfect bullshit that creeps up everywhere to call itself reality, lies the actual, true core – often harsh and ugly and full of contradictions, yet incredibly beautiful in its realness and resilience. So to me, Parkdale is a window into the soul of a city – complex, fragmented and above all, honest.
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Angelique Kidjo
Laura Izibor
My Blueberry Nights
Chantal Chamberland
Keith Jarrett & Charlie Haden
