Lucky you, Rob and I are back as co-Editors-in-Chief! Again the two of us fill up the magazine’s masthead, as EIC, Under Review editor, and Real Live Action editor.
This May we are featuring some exceptional emerging bands. From new age metal to ambient orchestral tunes, Neck of the Woods and Holy Hum grace Discorder’s pages and both ends of the musical spectrum. Our content also includes recent Hockey Dad addition, Genderdog, semi-paradoxical goth-EBM duo Weird Candle, Victoria psych sweethearts the Backhomes, as well as the tiny, aptly named venue, Skinny Fat Jack’s.
As a magazine based out of and apart of CiTR, Discorder’s coverage has historically been on local music. Whether that has meant highlighting bands, festivals, or labels, music as an art form has always been centre stage here at Discorder.
As half of the current Editor-in-Chief team, I can say with confidence that our affinity for music is as unshaken as ever. In the same breath, I would also like to communicate an expansion of this focus. Recently, we on the masthead have been reaching out into the wider world of art. Last month’s features did this by way of philosophizing on the significance and integrity of music journalism; this month we venture towards an entirely separate subject matter: film.
Of course we often include film reviews — of films which exclusively pertain to music — in our Filmstripped column. This month includes that column, but this time the criteria for its inclusion is not its musical focus. Instead a short, ten minute documentary was featured because its creator, Milena Salazar, is a local filmmaker. As a local filmmaker, we want to shine the spotlight on her work, and in doing so give some much deserved credit to the existence of Vancouver’s filmmaking community.
Vancouver’s annual documentary film festival, DOXA, is another of Discorder’s features this month. With Salazar’s film premiering at DOXA, this festival is another excellent example of Vancouver’s resonant filmmaking and film-going scene.
The point of all this film fawning is that, it is my desire that Discorder host more content on local filmmakers and film-happenings!
Sure, and why shouldn’t we give the big screen a chance? Because we’re not a film magazine? Well, Back in the era of silent films, right before the ‘talkies’ made it big, it was customary to have a man seated at a piano and play along to it. There’s still as much music in film as there is film in music these days; it’s just integrated more seamlessly, so I don’t see that as a problem.
No, whether it’s go-go dancers or album art, music always has its accoutrements and film is no different. In fact, most live music I see nowadays has some kind of visual element added to it behind the stage or projecting on to the performers. As pop culture begins to embrace new media forms, it solidifies the multimedia nature of this era, and we’d like Discorder to reflect that too.
Speaking of new media forms, we’ve got a couple projects in the works for the coming months. Did we mention our office is moving along with CiTR into the fancy new Student Union Building at UBC? Yup, we’re moving along with the station so drop us a line if you have a sturdy back and are keen to help move some office supplies! Big changes are in the works, but this is just the beginning so stay tuned and keep your ears and eyes peeled as we bring the magazine into a brand new era.
As always,
Alex & Rob