By David Topping

i (heart) music has once again announced their list of the hottest bands in the country, chosen by some two dozen bloggers, photographers, journalists, and radio hosts with varying levels of fame and credibility—all of whom, as in years past, got to define what, exactly, constituted “hot.” (We didn’t get invited to participate this year as in years past, but that’s probably for the best, as we would’ve just listed Feist, Final Fantasy, Holy Fuck, Crystal Castles, Tokyo Police Club, and Woodhands over and over again.)
While the #1 spot went to Calgary’s Chad VanGaalen (pictured above at right, hanging out at the Drake during last year’s Nuit Blanche), and #2 went to Montreal’s Plants and Animals, depending on how wide of a net you cast in defining “Toronto” (i.e. if you mean it to be “most of Ontario”), our city can lay claim to a shocking nineteen of thirty-three spots: Caribou (#3), Holy Fuck (#4), Bruce Peninsula (#5), Tokyo Police Club (#6), Woodhands (#7), Fucked Up (#8), Shad (#9), Born Ruffians (#10), Crystal Castles (#11), Basia Bulat (#13), Feist (#15), The D’Urbervilles (#17), Rural Alberta Advantage (#19), Broken Social Scene (#20), Final Fantasy (#23), Laura Barrett (#25), Black Hat Brigade (#30), The Golden Hands Before God… (#30) and Entire Cities (#32) all made it. Nobody tell Montreal! They’re gonna be furious.
Photo of Chad VanGaalen by David Topping. Hat tip to Chromewaves.