Unpop over-plugged

God help me if I’m the only one to respond to last week’s barely newsworthy cover story [“Uncooler than thou,” Aug. 25]. I won’t waste time complaining about the mere fact that this “story” beat out innumerable—presumably more interesting—ones for the headlining spot, but I must, at least, point out that the great irony of this article is that, in a city overwhelmed by its festivals, Mr. Munn’s Unpop fest wouldn’t stir any journalistic interest were it not for the demonstrable validity and importance of its rival festival, POP Montreal.

Editorial misjudgement aside, some of Munn’s “facts” desperately need correcting. First of all, despite Munn’s holier-than-thou assertion, POP Montreal is, in fact, a legal non-profit organization. Its continued success is contingent on the dedication and passion of its music-loving organizers, who volunteer their time and energy, thereby ensuring that any and all profits will be directly passed on to the bands who participate in the event.

Secondly, Munn’s complaints about POP Montreal’s selection process and acceptance criteria deserve serious reconsideration. In Munn’s own words, POP Montreal is “an amazing festival [that] bring[s] wicked, wicked shows.” The primary reason for the impressive calibre of POP Montreal’s lineup is that, unlike NXNE (with its own, more expensive application fee), the former festival is carefully curated. When musician-demand to participate in POP Montreal far, far exceeds the festival’s capacity (we’re talking 1,000+ submissions for a fest that can generously accommodate approximately 250 bands), what is so wrong with requesting a letter of intent from applicants? Sometimes, when the music doesn’t speak for itself, an artist’s conviction, expressed in his/her own words, is persuasive enough to welcome some truly eclectic and marginal artists to the festival.

Seemingly, the principle motivation behind Munn’s Unpop initiative is his angry frustration at not having been accepted to POP Montreal. Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately, for Munn) this is the disappointing reality for many other artists and POP Montreal-hopefuls—talent and merit, notwithstanding.

I applaud Munn’s effort to give a voice—literally—to lesser-known artists who might not otherwise have the opportunity to showcase their talents. But in reality, we should probably be grateful to POP Montreal for doing us the favour of weeding out the incredible amount of musical crap that we won’t have to be subjected to.

(Oh, and as a side-note, having worked and volunteered for POP Montreal for two years, the folks there are really nice people too.)

» Anna Phelan

I don’t understand why you put something on the cover that sucked. The whole point of Unpopular Montreal was that the bands suck and can’t get into POP Montreal. So Nate Munn throws together some half-assed festival and gets hyped—him and his band—by the biggest indie publication in the city. The whole thing’s a bit funny, and good for him for putting together a festival. But he’s on the cover?!

Why is it that with so much talent out there, you guys jump behind something that’s only good for its kitsch value? It doesn’t show that you’re very in touch with the music scene. If you want to put the spotlight on promoters, why not focus on the Blue Skies Turn Black guys or the Mandatory Moustache guys, whose locals series at the Divan Orange packs the place every edition? With music that doesn’t suck! A little irony’s okay but this is just lame.

» Spencer Thomas

Vids and violence

Thanks for taking a stand against the reactionaries who decry video games as a major cause of youth violence [Insect, Aug. 25]. A six-year-old probably shouldn’t learn the ways of the world through Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but most teenagers know how to draw the line between fantasy and reality, and there’s little to prove that running around and blowing people up in a video game translates into real-life behaviour.

An oft-referred-to study in the media—the non-sensationalist minority, that is—is that between 1993–2001, when video game playing surged, the rate of juvenile arrests in the U.S. fell 44 per cent. And games haven’t grown any more violent since.

Video games are more than mere entertainment—something to monitor as a social force for certain, but before we cry censorship, let’s look at all the angles. I have a strong feeling that the American Psychological Association isn’t doing that at all.

» Ian S. MacDonald

Rest in peace, Piggy

Please post our sorrow for Voivod guitarist Piggy (Denis Damour), and thanks for his contribution to the Montreal music scene [see Punkusraucous Rex, p. 35]. May his uncompromising creativity last for an eternity.

» Mauro Liberatore,
Liberatoreguitars.com

Spin cycle

[Re: Kristian Perspective, “More dog-eared notes,” Aug. 25, in which Kristian Gravenor refers to a French TV show’s unflattering report about three used appliance stores on Papineau]:

Dear Kristian Gravenor,

Achète des lunettes, mon grand, et fais toi des amis frogs au plus criss. The show called JE (Djee-Euh) not GE! Salut!

» Réjean

Correction

The Rooftop Films festival, which screens Thursday, Sept. 1, will not be held at Santropol’s terrasse, but at the Santropol Roulant’s terrasse garden at 4750 Henri-Julien.

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