One of Dean College’s newest student organizations is the Music Culture Club started by sophomore Arts & Entertainment Management major Joe Giacalone with the help of Marcus Courtemanche and Emma Martin. Giacalone first came up with the idea during the spring 2020 semester but due to the pandemic was unable to capitalize on it until this part spring 2021 semester. By putting out feelers at the semester’s involvement fair, they realized there was enough interest in the Dean community to make the idea a reality.
As a passionate music lover, Giacalone wanted to create a space for himself and others to listen to music, explore genres, and talk about the nuances of what they’re listening to. Of the club’s premise, Giacalone says, “I wanted to format the club like a book club, but instead of reading a book, we listen to an album. I wanted to gather students who are just as passionate about music, if not more so, than myself.”
In the theme of a book club but for music, members are encouraged to come to meetings with an album to pitch as the next week’s listening selection. This process is conducted in a very democratic way where each member shares a song off the desired album to pitch for the whole club to listen to. This way the members have an idea of what they might be voting for, and it gets added to the list of choices.
This club is for anyone with an open mind to music. The albums pitched range from metal to K-pop to alternative to classic rock to sea shanties and beyond. This inclusivity of genres is one of the club’s main selling points and the backbone of why Giacalone started the club in the first place, to explore new music and step out of one’s comfort zone.
The club’s meetings are very free form in structure that allows to natural discussion and banter between members as they dissect the previous week’s listening selection. Everyone’s opinions are heard and considered, and members are encouraged at any time to share more music. The meetings seem to bounce between listening to music and discussing it in an organic and fun way.
The Music Culture Club meets Monday evenings at 7pm in CC 206. Look for their album of the week at the bottom of the Dean Daily’s homepage at the beginning of every week!
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