General

Paul McCartney: The PQ’s Yoko Ono

www.youtube.com/http://youtube.com/watch?v=1xjZBezqmoM

Officials in Quebec City are expecting as many as 250,000 people to check out Paul McCartney’s free show for the city’s 400th. It’s probably safe to say Pierre Curzi won’t be among them.

The PQ’s cultural affairs critic is a little miffed about Sir Paul coming over from England to bang out some tunes on the Plains of Abraham. Curzi says McCartney’s show exemplifies the “Canadianization of the 400th” and calls it a “political gesture that tarnishes his presence.” (A good chunk of purzédurs sovereignists evidently feel the same way.)

PQ leader Pauline Marois, however, isn’t on board with Curzi. Like most middle-aged women, Marois still has a soft spot for the “cute Beatle”, so much so she says she would’ve gone to the show had she been in town. And in case Curzi and co. didn’t get the message, Marois also said that, upon the successful creation of an independant Quebec state, “Love Me Do” would be adopted as its national anthem. (Okay, I made that last part up.)

The one thing I can’t quite wrap my head around, though, is how come Van Halen got a free pass from all this stuff about the Elvis-Gratton-ization of Quebec? Is it because of the undeniable awesomeness of “Panama”? Or the the hilarity that followed the leak of Diamond Dave’s vocal track from Runnin’ with the Devil”?

Seriously, I’d love to figure this out.

UPDATE: Paul McCartney has advised “Quebeckians” to “smoke the pipes of peace.” Unfortunately, Macca didn’t offer to share from his personal stash, which appears to pack quite the punch.

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