The answer to the burning issue of the day: What music should I play for my cat?
[Another contribution from Elisa F.G. – AC]
The Pet Boomers? Generation Fur? Gen. F? What would you call all the people that became pet owners during (and due to) the pandemic?
For the past few years, fur babies seem to have taken centre stage, much like the Dalmatian surge of 1981 and 1991 (when Disney re-released versions of 101 Dalmatians) or when the world first met Bud, Weis, and Er, the spokes-frogs for Budweiser’s 1995 campaign that turned half of North America into reptile au pairs’, the demand and desire for animal companionship has shot up drastically, for reasons far beyond ‘good marketing.’
For most the effects of lockdown felt much like those of cabin fever, not to the extent of Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever but at the same time… not too far off. The listlessness blur of confinement, video calls, and streaming of B movies were enough to break the strongest of wills, even my own, I resisted but soon found myself watching every single season of Lost and adopting a second cat. The uptick in new pet parents was understandable, tough times call for furry friends especially if you can’t chill with your human ones!
It’s no longer just Martha Stewart and all the Martha Stewarts of the world who have pet product lines, giving the 400 million-ish Canadians who became proud pet parents in the past few years much to “add to cart.” Trendy water bowls, macraméd dog turtle necks, and personalized cat collars aside, what are you going to do about their music taste? Don’t worry, keep reading.
As a wise man once said “I know when that hotline bling, that can only mean one thing,” and it still holds true. When Canadian grammy-winning producer Nineteen85 – A.K.A Paul Jeffries got the call from the reps at Fancy Feast Canada, with hopes of collaborating with him, his obvious answer was yes. Having already worked with some cool cats – Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey and nabbing the grammy alongside Drake for Hotline Bling, Scarborough’s very own Nineteen85 has now teamed up with Canadian cats to create The Power of the Purr Playlist
“As a producer, my ultimate goal is always to make music that makes people feel something and transport them, I’m very excited for Canadian cats and their families to move, groove and experience this unique collection of music, made with the goal of creating calming moments of connection.”
A cats purr can reduce stress and lower blood pressure, with that scientific fact in mind Nineteen85 threw actual recordings of Canadian cats purring into the mix, taking pet bonding (and therapy) to a whole new level and putting 1993’s Jingle Cats – A Meowy Christmas to shame.
“We are aware of the therapeutic benefits of cat purrs, but we wanted the world to know too.” says Senior Marketing Manager for Purina Canada Mark Prusha, “We hope that humans across Canada will enjoy a moment of peace while listening on their own, chilling with friends, or, of course, bonding with their pets.”
Be it new puppy love, “I can has Cheeseburger?” Memes, the John Wick movies, and furballs played a big role in getting us through the pandemic, the least we can do is let them have their own playlists!
Oh, and let’s not leave dog owners out of this conversation.
Feeling like a freak on a leash, and feeling like you have no relief are excellent reasons (as well as perfect timing) for Korn’s Jonathan Davis has come out with his own pet brand. Nodding to the band’s 1998 nu-metal track Freak on a Leash and in his words “paying homage to the horror and rock music we love” Davis found and founded the chemical-like compound of killer ideas and charity with www.freakonaleash.com back in October 2022.
