Celeste Lee – The Concordian

Carmen Rachiteanu, host of the radio show, looks to introduce listeners to bands passing through Montreal

What does being a music plebeian mean? Ask Carmen Rachiteanu, host of Plebeian Pleasures on CJLO, who mindfully describes the distinction between plebeians and patricians in Ancient Rome.

“The patricians are like the upper class, the most knowledgeable ones—the plebes were like the mainstream noobs who like mainstream stuff,” Rachiteanu explained.

That’s the audience that Rachiteanu wants to play music for: the people who like a bit of everything but not to the point of diving into an abyss of obscurity. The show’s genres run the gamut from pop, electronic, hip-hop to metal—she plays a bit of everything, wanting everyone to enjoy a part of her show. The most often played genre is indie rock.

“Everyone kind of likes indie rock somewhere deep inside,” Rachiteanu said.

She is an English major who finds the time between classes to run to CJLO at the Loyola campus and host her show. Immersed in spreading the good sounds, she even found herself DJ-ing at the Loyola Luncheon a few weeks ago. She laughed when she recalled that she received as many compliments about the cat stickers decorating her laptop as her music choices.

“I am a cat person,” she declared, never apologetic for what she likes.

Inspired by her music patrician friends poking fun at her “common” tastes, Rachiteanu embraced her plebeian identity and plays paradoxically hard-to-find music that would be mainstream if only more people knew about it.

The playlists are based on bands and musicians who are passing through Montreal that week, allowing listeners to get interested in and excited about upcoming live shows.

“When I moved to Montreal, there were always like six bands that I wanted to see every week and I just freaked out,” said Rachiteanu. “No one knows about this! No one told me about this! So I’m telling people as much as I can.”

Coming from a “noob” music background, she knows what it’s like to not have a lot of information. To help listeners along, Rachiteanu arms herself with notes on every band she plays in order to give details on concerts, venues and trivia.

“I feel like if you don’t know a lot about music, [my show] kind of directs you to something. You could go see the bands live to complete your knowledge of music.”

Rachiteanu’s ultimate goal is to get listeners out to support their new favourite artists.

“Live music is the purest sound you will ever get, so if you like music, the best thing is to go encourage the band’s tour,” she said.

Until then, Rachiteanu wants you to listen to her show and discover a new pleasure that you might never have discovered otherwise.

Get introduced to Plebeian Pleasures by streaming past episodes on CJLO.com, or listening in on Mondays between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.

First of three conversations on our shared hybrid identities

A group of participants sat crowded together in a café to discuss the hybrid identities within Quebec, yet this scene took place not in the 1970s, but on Wednesday Sept. 10 at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery on Concordia’s campus.

In collaboration with Just Watch Me, the University of the Streets Café held its first public conversation of the season under the casually flickering lights of a disco ball. Participants gathered around intimately, nestled with a mug of tea or coffee, and became a part of the collective conversation. There were those in the crowd who spoke their mind freely and articulately, and others who began with half-formed ideas, only to finish with more thought-provoking questions. There were also many who simply listened as the dialogue flowed smoothly from English to French.

“We’re looking at questions of identity construction,” said Susan Edey, Coordinator of University of the Streets Café about that night’s talk. This was the first in a series of three talks, the second of which will take place Wednesday Sept. 17. The collaboration with Romeo Gongora, creator of the Just Watch Me space, came about in part because the exhibit also examines identity construction in the context of Quebec. The rest of the conversations in the series will examine identity on a personal level, then identity on a local level. While the conversation itself may look intimidatingly intellectual, many in the crowd spoke of their own personal experiences, mixing their viewpoints in with those who approached the topic from a more academic mindset.

From political discussions and linguistic topics to formative high school experiences, everyone’s input to the discussion was valuable. Many often returned to languages as a signifier of identity, and small wonder that, with several participants noting they perceived a tension between English and French, particularly here in Montreal.

“I find it interesting that some people — the immigrants or some other people from all around the world — were sharing their experiences,” said Julian Angulo, a volunteer with University of the Streets Café.

Although he did not engage, he found himself relating to the speakers. “That helps me a lot because I’ve just been here for two years and I’m trying to find myself.”

For Angulo, the conversations are a way for him to step out of his intense graduate studies and into a more community-engaged world. It also ends up being a way for him to practice both his French and English at the same time.

At the end of the night, a flurry of contacts were exchanged. The conversation, limited to just two hours, could not fully explore every single line of thought.

“I think that the conversation moved. It went to really interesting places,” Edey said, after the crowd had dispersed into the night. “I was glad to see a mixture of Anglophone Quebecers, Canadians, Francophone Quebecers, Allophone Quebecers, and new arrivals. I thought that added to the richness.”

Amongst all the different identities, the conversation that night managed to bridge the language divide and overcome the initial awkwardness of not knowing how to begin.

For more information on future conversations by University of the Streets Café, there is a schedule available online at Concordia’s website for the entire semester in which 12 more conversations are planned.