Over the course of about two hours today, no fewer than 6 different people from the business and political community emailed me a YouTube link at work that I just had to watch. I get about 300 emails a day so I figured I had to have a look at this one.
I opened up a YouTube video called "My Hometown" and watched. And listened. Than I made everyone in the building watch and listen. Its a great music video composed, sang and produced by some real Thunder Bay talent and more importantly, youth who love this community and want to share their pride with others. I posted it to my Facebook page and emailed it to everyone in my family.
Its a little edgy and if you've lived here all your life, your emotions will kick in at some point watching it and you'll smile. They rap about the Hoito, Terry Fox, Sleeping Giant, our Hockey heritage, Mount McKay, a paper town in transition and yes, even Crystal Beer (rumour is Labatts only brews it for us!) They even work "Superior By Nature" into the song calling it pure T-Bay.
The melody is mesmerizing, the word rhyme all T-Bay and the videography is as polished as anything Hollywood produces. This showcases the calibre of our youth's talents and its great that YouTube gives them a world stage. The men behind this, song writer Jordan Burnell and cinematographer Matt Popowich, deserve big kudos for their talent and the pride they have in their city, channelled through a music medium that connects with other youth locally....and even those of us not so young. It instills pride in who we are and what has shaped us.
In 2 minutes and 52 seconds they tell an authentic story about the city through their own experiences and loves of youth. Its also a story of my youth here. Its a city's many stories that give it depth, character and make it interesting for visitors and residents alike. This is certainly one fun story to watch. The images, set against our typical winter January backdrop flashes through our stunning natural scenery, downtown buildings, streets, a transit bus, a neighborhood hockey rink and even a paper mill. It talks with pride about the things we cherish as residents lucky enough to live here, our quirks and what forms the foundation of our unique culture.
As of this evening, only 18 hours after posting, it has been watched over 900 times, and elicited over 178 comments - all overwhelmingly encouraging. It was comments from local people and ex pats lamenting that the song made them miss T-Bay. We have some real talent in our young ambassadors and we need to applaud them and others who in their own way, are proud of the city and want to share it through art forms of many types.
Well, enough of my yakking. Why don't you watch it for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrqg1oqfg_Y
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