Week 1
I registered for this course for both personal and academic reasons. Music is my main hobby; I spend countless hours every week discovering new music, reading about the music that I listen to and playing guitar at home. I think it is great that McGill offers a course about popular music because I think learning about the history of music is a great way to trace the history of a society and I am very interested in that. I would love to pursue a career in musicology or music journalism and I jump at any opportunity to expand my ever-growing knowledge of popular music.
Furthermore, my minor is Canadian Studies and this course obviously relates very well to that topic. By learning about the history of popular music in Quebec, you can learn about Quebec’s different movements, ideologies and people. I think Canadian, and particularly Quebecois music are not given due credit and informing students about our rich musical history is essential to keeping that tradition alive.
In conclusion, this is the ideal course for me to take because it combines both my favourite hobby and my academic interests perfectly. This course sounds both interesting and fun and I cannot wait to see what it has to offer.
Week 2
Today’s class because with a brief history of recording techniques, including the phonograph, the phonautographe, the paleophone, the jukebox and the gramophone. I had no idea that Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, so this was very interesting. There was a discussion about Edison’s intended uses for his invention, and it had not occurred to me that the phonograph could be used for so many things! We then learned about some of the pioneers of the recording industry in Canada – Herbert Berliner (the Compo Company) and Romeo Beaudry (label manager, author, composer, translator, publisher and pianist). A discussion of Tin Pan Alley followed, and then we listened to a song called “Goodbye Broadway, Hello Montreal” which was originally recorded in English and then translated by Beaudry. We then learned about some other record labels and the professor handed out some record sleeves, which I found very interesting. During the break Prof. Bouliane demonstrated a gramophone that she had brought in for us to hear. After the break was a lengthy discussion about Fernand Perron, Willie Eckstein and Mary Travers Bolduc. We listened to several songs and watched video of the early recording process.
Week 3
Today’s class was on how music and museum exhibitions can serve as artifacts. The class began with a lengthy discussion of the exhibition “From Charlebois to Arcade Fire.” Those who had been to the museum shared their thoughts, which seemed to be overwhelmingly negative. Those who shared their opinions did not think the exhibition was particularly well done. There was too much to look at, it seemed disorganized, and there was much doubt as to whether the Beatles arriving in Montreal was truly such a significant event. After this discussion, the class organized itself into small groups and each group discussed a question. One such question was “What can be the different aims or objectives put forth by an exhibition on popular music? Or from a different angle, what can be the different purposes of an exhibition of this kind?” After a few minutes, we discussed our answers as a class. We all agreed that profit and nostalgia were some of the objectives of music exhibitions in museums. Following this discussion, guest speaker Dr. Helene Laurin began her lecture. Personally, I found her lecture to be somewhat disorganized and I am not sure exactly what her central argument was. She talked about air guitar festivals, her year spent attending music exhibitions at museums, and the challenge of putting together such an exhibition. She also talked about the possibility of virtual exhibitions in the near future.
Week 4
Today’s class began with an overview of significant events in Quebec in the 1950s and 1960s, including a discussion on the invention of the TransCanada Microwave and Expo 67. We watched video of a news anchor discussing the TransCanada Microwave and how it worked and how revolutionary it was. We also watched video of Elvis Presley answering questions in an interview. After a short discussion of the chansonnier and Yeye trends in the 1950s and 1960s, we learned about Felix Leclerc. Lecler was a radio host-turned-musician who had initial success in France and went on to inspire a generation of Canadian singer-songwriters. We listened to a few of his songs and then went on to discuss the earliest singing competitions on television and radio within Quebec. These include Les chansonniers canadiens and Concours de la chanson canadienne, among others. Dominique Michel was a host of one of these variety shows and a successful cabaret singer herself. We then went on to talk about Les Bozos, a group of Quebecois singer-songwriters who came together in 1959 and opened a famous “boite a chansons” called Chez Bozo. We talked about three members of Les Bozos, Raymond Levesque, Gilles Vigneault and Jean-Pierre Ferland and we listened to one of each artist’s songs.
Week 5
Today’s class was on singer-songwriters and chansonniers. The class began with the definition of a singer-songwriter. Essentially this is a single artist who writes his or her own lyrics and sings them with the accompaniment of a guitar or piano. The lyrics are typically politically nuanced or support a social cause. One can think of a singer-songwriter as a poet who uses music as a medium for their message. Some of the most famous Anglophone artists of this genre are Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Neil Young. Felix Leclerc is possibly the most famous francophone singer-songwriter.
Following the introduction of today’s topic and a short discussion about what constitutes Canadian content (singer’s birthplace, where the music was recorded, etc.), the first guest lecturer, Dr. Luc Bellemare, talked about the musical influences of Felix Leclerc. He did this primarily using video and song clips comparing Leclerc’s influences with his own songs. For example, Dr. Bellemare noted the influence of classical guitar playing, swing rhythms and bluegrass strumming in Leclerc’s work. Though he was not a particularly engaging speaker, Dr. Bellemare’s field of study is very interesting to me. I enjoyed the parallels he drew between the image of a singer-songwriter in the 1950s and 1960s, comparing Leclerc with Woodie Guthrie.
The second guest speaker was musician Paul Cargnello, who’s unique blend of English and French in his music has gained him some degree of success. He spoke about many topics, including the use of politics in his writing, the English-French debate in Quebec and Montreal, the challenges he faces in the music industry and his writing process. Cargnello was an intelligent, down-to-earth and funny speaker who gave very honest insights about the state of the recording industry and the obstacles an artist must overcome. I also enjoyed his comments about playing shows across Quebec and how the Quebecois people are encouraging and supportive of his use of two languages.
Week 6
Did not attend
Week 7
Today in class, we discussed the “Music-Quebec: From Charlebois to Arcade Fire” exhibit at the McCord Museum. The majority of the class thought that the exhibit was lacking in a few areas. Among these criticisms, some said it was missing information on several big-name Quebecois artists while some people thought there was too much to look at and the layout was overwhelming. One student criticized the technology employed to guide visitors through the exhibit. Personally, I agree that the exhibit was disappointing. It seemed more like a “Quebec Music for Dummies” exhibit than an in-depth survey of Quebec’s rich musical history. As for the layout, I agree that there was just too much to look at – the organization of material was lacking and I found that there were too many videos. I didn’t have any problems using the guided tour technology. I liked that even if I stood in a particular place, I still had to punch in a number for the recording to be activated. Sometimes you don’t want to listen to a recording and I liked that this wasn’t forced upon me. I did, however, find the decorations and layout to be slightly amateurish; decorating walls with records is not particularly original and I found the exhibit in general lacked a unique personality. In summary, I found that this exhibit was not particularly well done and I would have expected more from the McCord Museum. After our discussion of the museum exhibit, our guest lecturer Louis Rastelli spoke to us about fanzines – small-scale music publications made by fans. This was a very interesting discussion because Rastelli brought in many examples of fanzines and I was very impressed that there was such a wide variety. Rastelli spoke about the circumstances under which fanzines emerged, their popularity throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and the economics of fanzines. Personally, I really enjoyed looking at and reading through some of the material he brought in. Archives Montreal, a non-profit organization, seems like such an interesting group. I would love to see what kinds of obscure materials they have! While Rastelli was not the most engaging lecturer, the topic was very interesting.
Week 8
Today everyone presented their music festival to the class. They were all very well done and informative, and a few festivals stood out as ones I would like to attend. First of all, I would love to go to more shows during next year’s POP Montreal. I have been to only a few events in the last few years, but they were all really great. I love the festival’s laid back, do-it-yourself aesthetic and the fact that the festival takes place all around the city. Furthermore, it is not for profit and so the events generally only cost a few dollars – totally worth it for a great night out! The presentation itself was very well done – the presenters were relaxed, within the time limit and provided the right amount of information. I like their focus on how the festival is presented; homemade banners and billboards give POP Montreal a very organic feel.
The other festival that really appeals to me is Expo ’67. Of course, I cannot actually attend this event because it happened so long ago, but it is certainly a huge part of Montreal’s history. So many high-profile artists performed as part of the Expo and I would have loved to have been a young person in Montreal during this time. While the presenters did poke fun at the theme songs of Expo ’67, it was still very interesting to listen to them and be transported back to the 1960s; the sound of the theme songs is definitely rooted in that time period. It is still fun to listen to my father recall his own memories of Expo ’67 and to hear about all the celebrities that visited Montreal for the event. It is too bad the presenters were pressed for time because they were the last presentation. They still managed to do a very good job and I would have liked to see what they could do with more time.
Week 9
This class consisted of a discussion of the music industry in Quebec, followed by guest speaker and musician Shauit. The first part of the class began with a lecture on copyrights, including an explanation of the Canadian Copyrights Act and a definition of exactly what entails a copyright. A copyright is multifaceted, designed to protect the intellectual property of an author and the economic ownership of such property. We also discussed SOCAN, which deals with performance rights - the right to perform a work live or record it in a live setting. There is also SODRAC and CMRRA, which deal with mechanical rights. This refers to the reproduction of copyrighted material and its use in television, radio, and digital media in general. The last type of rights discussed were neighboring rights, which entails extending the copyrights of recorded music to the performers and record labels so that they receive royalties. This was followed by a discussion of ADISQ and GAMIQ. ADISQ is an organization that presents issues to the government regarding policies on recording, video and entertainment, as well as funding and copyright issues. They also hold a gala each year to award Quebec's music producers and performers who are often ignored by Canada's Juno awards. The GAMIQ awards are similar but slightly different. It is a music awards ceremony where fans actually get to vote on who wins awards.
Following this lecture, we got into small groups to discuss what questions we would ask Shauit. Our group had many questions, but we needed to refine them and choose which ones were best to ask. We decided on questions like "other than reggae, what influenced you that we may not be able to hear in your music?" and "how did you discover reggae?" When Shauit arrived, he began by performing two songs. His style is fascinating - it is like reggae sung in an Inuit language and accompanied by an acoustic guitar. It was very refreshing to have him actually perform, and it was a great change of pace following the lecture on the recording industry. Shauit is an incredibly shy and soft-spoken man. The contrast between his performance and the interview was interesting - he seems less shy performing than he does speaking. I also like that he stays away from political discussions, which is exactly the opposite of Paul Cargnello. While I found it difficult to understand Shauit's accent, I understood the basics of what he was saying and found him very insightful.
Week 10
We began the class with a discussion of Shauit’s visit, and talked about the contrast between him and Paul Cargnello. We then talked about Will Straw’s article. We then moved on to a general introduction of disco in the 1970s. Discotheques were originally places where one could find records and dance to a Dj’s music and they began popping up in the 1960s. Disco must had funk and Latino music as influences. There was a very strong network that could provide labels with a lot of money. Disco did not need to be played on the radio because it was always playing in clubs and everyone was going to clubs. Montreal was a 24-hour city, and so there were many places people could go to dance at night; this made the disco invasion very natural in Montreal. Limelight was Montreal’s main discotheque, though it was very exclusive. We talked about some of the prominent Montreal disco artists, like Boule Noire, Andre Gagnon and Gino Soccio. There was a discussion of Montreal disco labels like Magiques Records, Mantra Records, Unidisc and T.K. Disco, and we talked about the downfall of disco caused by record campanies’ misuse of money and overexposure, among other things. Companies would put way too much money into few artists in order to assure that they achieved as much exposure as possible.
The first guest speaker talked about the history of country western music and particularly that genre’s origins in Quebec. Marketing was important in the beginning because it was important to promote old-time values in order to gain exposure. Bill Harris had a weekly radio show and was a founding member of one of the most important folk groups in Quebec- Les montagnards laurentiens. Cowboy songs were very popular in the US and French artists would create adaptations for the francophone audience. Artists like Roland Lebrun, Georges Caouette and Willie Lamothe were discussed and the speaker played samples of their songs.
The second guest lecturer, Francois Mouillot, talked to the class about “Connecting Free Jazz and Experimental Rock.” Basically this was a lecture about more underground genres of music in Montreal and how experimental music brings different institutions together. Mouillot discussed the two record labels, Constellation and Ambiances Magnetiques.
Week 11
Today in class we began with a continuation of last week’s discussion on disco and particularly, the disco scene in Montreal. After this brief discussion, filmmaker Erik Cimon spoke to us about a movie he had made about the punk scene in Montreal. Following this introduction, we actually got to watch the movie. Personally, I thought it was outstanding – the movie was both extremely well done and informative. Punk is a genre that I listen to often and know a lot about, but I had never looked into Montreal’s punk culture. As it turns out, the city was actually a hotbed for punk and there were several groups who were well known within Montreal at the time. My mother had been an avid punk fan in the late 1970s and so I had heard a little bit about the punk clubs and her own experiences, but I had never learned about bands like The Chromosomes, The 222s or The Electric Vomit. I loved the interviews featured in the movie – they were so insightful and often very funny. It is also interesting (and sometimes tragic) to hear about the musicians’ and fans’ lives since the punk movement ended.
After we watched the movie, there was a Q & A period with Cimon. A number of interesting questions were asked, like what happened to the artists who were interviewed. Also, someone asked about the artists sharing a common background and if they came from rich, middle class or poor families. Cimon was a great addition to the class and I really enjoyed his insights. It’s not often that you hear about Montreal’s punk scene, but it was so rich that it should not be ignored.
I registered for this course for both personal and academic reasons. Music is my main hobby; I spend countless hours every week discovering new music, reading about the music that I listen to and playing guitar at home. I think it is great that McGill offers a course about popular music because I think learning about the history of music is a great way to trace the history of a society and I am very interested in that. I would love to pursue a career in musicology or music journalism and I jump at any opportunity to expand my ever-growing knowledge of popular music.
Furthermore, my minor is Canadian Studies and this course obviously relates very well to that topic. By learning about the history of popular music in Quebec, you can learn about Quebec’s different movements, ideologies and people. I think Canadian, and particularly Quebecois music are not given due credit and informing students about our rich musical history is essential to keeping that tradition alive.
In conclusion, this is the ideal course for me to take because it combines both my favourite hobby and my academic interests perfectly. This course sounds both interesting and fun and I cannot wait to see what it has to offer.
Week 2
Today’s class because with a brief history of recording techniques, including the phonograph, the phonautographe, the paleophone, the jukebox and the gramophone. I had no idea that Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, so this was very interesting. There was a discussion about Edison’s intended uses for his invention, and it had not occurred to me that the phonograph could be used for so many things! We then learned about some of the pioneers of the recording industry in Canada – Herbert Berliner (the Compo Company) and Romeo Beaudry (label manager, author, composer, translator, publisher and pianist). A discussion of Tin Pan Alley followed, and then we listened to a song called “Goodbye Broadway, Hello Montreal” which was originally recorded in English and then translated by Beaudry. We then learned about some other record labels and the professor handed out some record sleeves, which I found very interesting. During the break Prof. Bouliane demonstrated a gramophone that she had brought in for us to hear. After the break was a lengthy discussion about Fernand Perron, Willie Eckstein and Mary Travers Bolduc. We listened to several songs and watched video of the early recording process.
Week 3
Today’s class was on how music and museum exhibitions can serve as artifacts. The class began with a lengthy discussion of the exhibition “From Charlebois to Arcade Fire.” Those who had been to the museum shared their thoughts, which seemed to be overwhelmingly negative. Those who shared their opinions did not think the exhibition was particularly well done. There was too much to look at, it seemed disorganized, and there was much doubt as to whether the Beatles arriving in Montreal was truly such a significant event. After this discussion, the class organized itself into small groups and each group discussed a question. One such question was “What can be the different aims or objectives put forth by an exhibition on popular music? Or from a different angle, what can be the different purposes of an exhibition of this kind?” After a few minutes, we discussed our answers as a class. We all agreed that profit and nostalgia were some of the objectives of music exhibitions in museums. Following this discussion, guest speaker Dr. Helene Laurin began her lecture. Personally, I found her lecture to be somewhat disorganized and I am not sure exactly what her central argument was. She talked about air guitar festivals, her year spent attending music exhibitions at museums, and the challenge of putting together such an exhibition. She also talked about the possibility of virtual exhibitions in the near future.
Week 4
Today’s class began with an overview of significant events in Quebec in the 1950s and 1960s, including a discussion on the invention of the TransCanada Microwave and Expo 67. We watched video of a news anchor discussing the TransCanada Microwave and how it worked and how revolutionary it was. We also watched video of Elvis Presley answering questions in an interview. After a short discussion of the chansonnier and Yeye trends in the 1950s and 1960s, we learned about Felix Leclerc. Lecler was a radio host-turned-musician who had initial success in France and went on to inspire a generation of Canadian singer-songwriters. We listened to a few of his songs and then went on to discuss the earliest singing competitions on television and radio within Quebec. These include Les chansonniers canadiens and Concours de la chanson canadienne, among others. Dominique Michel was a host of one of these variety shows and a successful cabaret singer herself. We then went on to talk about Les Bozos, a group of Quebecois singer-songwriters who came together in 1959 and opened a famous “boite a chansons” called Chez Bozo. We talked about three members of Les Bozos, Raymond Levesque, Gilles Vigneault and Jean-Pierre Ferland and we listened to one of each artist’s songs.
Week 5
Today’s class was on singer-songwriters and chansonniers. The class began with the definition of a singer-songwriter. Essentially this is a single artist who writes his or her own lyrics and sings them with the accompaniment of a guitar or piano. The lyrics are typically politically nuanced or support a social cause. One can think of a singer-songwriter as a poet who uses music as a medium for their message. Some of the most famous Anglophone artists of this genre are Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Neil Young. Felix Leclerc is possibly the most famous francophone singer-songwriter.
Following the introduction of today’s topic and a short discussion about what constitutes Canadian content (singer’s birthplace, where the music was recorded, etc.), the first guest lecturer, Dr. Luc Bellemare, talked about the musical influences of Felix Leclerc. He did this primarily using video and song clips comparing Leclerc’s influences with his own songs. For example, Dr. Bellemare noted the influence of classical guitar playing, swing rhythms and bluegrass strumming in Leclerc’s work. Though he was not a particularly engaging speaker, Dr. Bellemare’s field of study is very interesting to me. I enjoyed the parallels he drew between the image of a singer-songwriter in the 1950s and 1960s, comparing Leclerc with Woodie Guthrie.
The second guest speaker was musician Paul Cargnello, who’s unique blend of English and French in his music has gained him some degree of success. He spoke about many topics, including the use of politics in his writing, the English-French debate in Quebec and Montreal, the challenges he faces in the music industry and his writing process. Cargnello was an intelligent, down-to-earth and funny speaker who gave very honest insights about the state of the recording industry and the obstacles an artist must overcome. I also enjoyed his comments about playing shows across Quebec and how the Quebecois people are encouraging and supportive of his use of two languages.
Week 6
Did not attend
Week 7
Today in class, we discussed the “Music-Quebec: From Charlebois to Arcade Fire” exhibit at the McCord Museum. The majority of the class thought that the exhibit was lacking in a few areas. Among these criticisms, some said it was missing information on several big-name Quebecois artists while some people thought there was too much to look at and the layout was overwhelming. One student criticized the technology employed to guide visitors through the exhibit. Personally, I agree that the exhibit was disappointing. It seemed more like a “Quebec Music for Dummies” exhibit than an in-depth survey of Quebec’s rich musical history. As for the layout, I agree that there was just too much to look at – the organization of material was lacking and I found that there were too many videos. I didn’t have any problems using the guided tour technology. I liked that even if I stood in a particular place, I still had to punch in a number for the recording to be activated. Sometimes you don’t want to listen to a recording and I liked that this wasn’t forced upon me. I did, however, find the decorations and layout to be slightly amateurish; decorating walls with records is not particularly original and I found the exhibit in general lacked a unique personality. In summary, I found that this exhibit was not particularly well done and I would have expected more from the McCord Museum. After our discussion of the museum exhibit, our guest lecturer Louis Rastelli spoke to us about fanzines – small-scale music publications made by fans. This was a very interesting discussion because Rastelli brought in many examples of fanzines and I was very impressed that there was such a wide variety. Rastelli spoke about the circumstances under which fanzines emerged, their popularity throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and the economics of fanzines. Personally, I really enjoyed looking at and reading through some of the material he brought in. Archives Montreal, a non-profit organization, seems like such an interesting group. I would love to see what kinds of obscure materials they have! While Rastelli was not the most engaging lecturer, the topic was very interesting.
Week 8
Today everyone presented their music festival to the class. They were all very well done and informative, and a few festivals stood out as ones I would like to attend. First of all, I would love to go to more shows during next year’s POP Montreal. I have been to only a few events in the last few years, but they were all really great. I love the festival’s laid back, do-it-yourself aesthetic and the fact that the festival takes place all around the city. Furthermore, it is not for profit and so the events generally only cost a few dollars – totally worth it for a great night out! The presentation itself was very well done – the presenters were relaxed, within the time limit and provided the right amount of information. I like their focus on how the festival is presented; homemade banners and billboards give POP Montreal a very organic feel.
The other festival that really appeals to me is Expo ’67. Of course, I cannot actually attend this event because it happened so long ago, but it is certainly a huge part of Montreal’s history. So many high-profile artists performed as part of the Expo and I would have loved to have been a young person in Montreal during this time. While the presenters did poke fun at the theme songs of Expo ’67, it was still very interesting to listen to them and be transported back to the 1960s; the sound of the theme songs is definitely rooted in that time period. It is still fun to listen to my father recall his own memories of Expo ’67 and to hear about all the celebrities that visited Montreal for the event. It is too bad the presenters were pressed for time because they were the last presentation. They still managed to do a very good job and I would have liked to see what they could do with more time.
Week 9
This class consisted of a discussion of the music industry in Quebec, followed by guest speaker and musician Shauit. The first part of the class began with a lecture on copyrights, including an explanation of the Canadian Copyrights Act and a definition of exactly what entails a copyright. A copyright is multifaceted, designed to protect the intellectual property of an author and the economic ownership of such property. We also discussed SOCAN, which deals with performance rights - the right to perform a work live or record it in a live setting. There is also SODRAC and CMRRA, which deal with mechanical rights. This refers to the reproduction of copyrighted material and its use in television, radio, and digital media in general. The last type of rights discussed were neighboring rights, which entails extending the copyrights of recorded music to the performers and record labels so that they receive royalties. This was followed by a discussion of ADISQ and GAMIQ. ADISQ is an organization that presents issues to the government regarding policies on recording, video and entertainment, as well as funding and copyright issues. They also hold a gala each year to award Quebec's music producers and performers who are often ignored by Canada's Juno awards. The GAMIQ awards are similar but slightly different. It is a music awards ceremony where fans actually get to vote on who wins awards.
Following this lecture, we got into small groups to discuss what questions we would ask Shauit. Our group had many questions, but we needed to refine them and choose which ones were best to ask. We decided on questions like "other than reggae, what influenced you that we may not be able to hear in your music?" and "how did you discover reggae?" When Shauit arrived, he began by performing two songs. His style is fascinating - it is like reggae sung in an Inuit language and accompanied by an acoustic guitar. It was very refreshing to have him actually perform, and it was a great change of pace following the lecture on the recording industry. Shauit is an incredibly shy and soft-spoken man. The contrast between his performance and the interview was interesting - he seems less shy performing than he does speaking. I also like that he stays away from political discussions, which is exactly the opposite of Paul Cargnello. While I found it difficult to understand Shauit's accent, I understood the basics of what he was saying and found him very insightful.
Week 10
We began the class with a discussion of Shauit’s visit, and talked about the contrast between him and Paul Cargnello. We then talked about Will Straw’s article. We then moved on to a general introduction of disco in the 1970s. Discotheques were originally places where one could find records and dance to a Dj’s music and they began popping up in the 1960s. Disco must had funk and Latino music as influences. There was a very strong network that could provide labels with a lot of money. Disco did not need to be played on the radio because it was always playing in clubs and everyone was going to clubs. Montreal was a 24-hour city, and so there were many places people could go to dance at night; this made the disco invasion very natural in Montreal. Limelight was Montreal’s main discotheque, though it was very exclusive. We talked about some of the prominent Montreal disco artists, like Boule Noire, Andre Gagnon and Gino Soccio. There was a discussion of Montreal disco labels like Magiques Records, Mantra Records, Unidisc and T.K. Disco, and we talked about the downfall of disco caused by record campanies’ misuse of money and overexposure, among other things. Companies would put way too much money into few artists in order to assure that they achieved as much exposure as possible.
The first guest speaker talked about the history of country western music and particularly that genre’s origins in Quebec. Marketing was important in the beginning because it was important to promote old-time values in order to gain exposure. Bill Harris had a weekly radio show and was a founding member of one of the most important folk groups in Quebec- Les montagnards laurentiens. Cowboy songs were very popular in the US and French artists would create adaptations for the francophone audience. Artists like Roland Lebrun, Georges Caouette and Willie Lamothe were discussed and the speaker played samples of their songs.
The second guest lecturer, Francois Mouillot, talked to the class about “Connecting Free Jazz and Experimental Rock.” Basically this was a lecture about more underground genres of music in Montreal and how experimental music brings different institutions together. Mouillot discussed the two record labels, Constellation and Ambiances Magnetiques.
Week 11
Today in class we began with a continuation of last week’s discussion on disco and particularly, the disco scene in Montreal. After this brief discussion, filmmaker Erik Cimon spoke to us about a movie he had made about the punk scene in Montreal. Following this introduction, we actually got to watch the movie. Personally, I thought it was outstanding – the movie was both extremely well done and informative. Punk is a genre that I listen to often and know a lot about, but I had never looked into Montreal’s punk culture. As it turns out, the city was actually a hotbed for punk and there were several groups who were well known within Montreal at the time. My mother had been an avid punk fan in the late 1970s and so I had heard a little bit about the punk clubs and her own experiences, but I had never learned about bands like The Chromosomes, The 222s or The Electric Vomit. I loved the interviews featured in the movie – they were so insightful and often very funny. It is also interesting (and sometimes tragic) to hear about the musicians’ and fans’ lives since the punk movement ended.
After we watched the movie, there was a Q & A period with Cimon. A number of interesting questions were asked, like what happened to the artists who were interviewed. Also, someone asked about the artists sharing a common background and if they came from rich, middle class or poor families. Cimon was a great addition to the class and I really enjoyed his insights. It’s not often that you hear about Montreal’s punk scene, but it was so rich that it should not be ignored.