speak in new tongues.

First of all, welcome to Glossolalia.

This blog was formed in the early fall of 2010. Its objectives are simple. We (although, at this time, it only me) will attempt to document interesting and perhaps unconsidered elements of the Montreal music scene. This does not necessarily mean another bearded and bespectacled band with a clever use of “wolf” or “Japan” in its name (not that there is really anything wrong with such bands).

Rather, this blog considers independent, local, or just straight-up great music that has either fallen under the radar of current music criticism or been rejected by those who dictate its tastes. We firmly believe that excellent art is created every day and deplore the fact that it is simultaneously ignored.

Now more than ever, independent criticism in North America is in need of a wake-up call. It is often smug, cliquey, and predictable. Worst of all, many of its most widely-read publications seem predicated on the notion that it is cool to remain detached and uncaring about the music they review. This is not always true, but the trend is alarming to those who care deeply.

A great writer once said: “Irony is the song of a bird that has come to love its cage”. While a simple blog like this can’t hope to drown out such a song, Glossolalia hopes to offer a positive, if small, alternative.

It is cool to care.

Music is interesting, meaningful, really, really fun to listen to, and, in my opinion, sacred. Whether we agree on that last point doesn’t really matter if you’ve followed me this far. I hope everyone who reads this will start their own blog about the music they love.

If we are sincerely interested in changing the way people talk about music, we will all have to learn to speak in new tongues.