Here is an audio taster of my new book The Sound of Nonsense, published on 28 December.
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Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
I have contributed to a programme on the song 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes', part of Radio 4's series Soul Music. The programme airs at 9:00am on Wednesday 14 June, then again at 9:30pm the same evening; it will also be available to download on the Radio 4 website. The song was written by… Continue reading Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
New article on Georges Perec published
My article 'Species of Sonic Spaces' has been published in the new issue of Literary Geographies. This is a themed issue on the work of Georges Perec, inspired particularly by his classic 1974 text Species of Spaces. ABSTRACT Georges Perec’s Species of Spaces (1974) offers the author’s most explicit and extensive meditation on space understood… Continue reading New article on Georges Perec published
The Late Voice now available in paperback
The paperback edition of my book The Late Voice: Time, Age and Experience in Popular Music has been published. In the eighteen months since the publication of the hardback edition, two of my major case studies have died (Ralph Stanley and Leonard Cohen), as well as two artists whose work had a profound influence on… Continue reading The Late Voice now available in paperback
Stupidity
I have recently sent off two pieces of writing; one is the manuscript of a short book and the other is an essay for a forthcoming Research Companion. As they go through the review process I find myself in the normal stage of not being able to look at them. Whenever I submit a text… Continue reading Stupidity
Old Ideas: Leonard Cohen’s Late Voice
Leonard Cohen's death has been announced. Cohen is the second of the musicians I wrote about in The Late Voice to have died this year. When Ralph Stanley passed away in June, we were reeling from the results of the EU Referendum. Cohen's passing was announced in the wake of the catastrophic election of Donald… Continue reading Old Ideas: Leonard Cohen’s Late Voice
And the larks they sang melodious: a Shirley Collins appreciation
In July of this year I had the honour and pleasure of participating in the University of Sussex graduation ceremony at which the great English folk singer Shirley Collins was awarded an honorary doctorate. In the days leading up to the ceremony, as I prepared the speech I had been asked to give ahead of… Continue reading And the larks they sang melodious: a Shirley Collins appreciation
Of Constant Sorrow: Ralph Stanley 1927-2016
Old-time musician Ralph Stanley has died. This morning, I'm too upset by the monumentally stupid decision my fellow Brits have collectively made to say more about Stanley, so I'll just note a deep appreciation of his music and post a link to the chapter I wrote about him for my book The Late Voice. As soon… Continue reading Of Constant Sorrow: Ralph Stanley 1927-2016
Life soundtracker: Guy Clark (6/11/1941 – 17/05/2016)
Another great musician has gone. Unlike many of the other deaths of musicians this year, Guy Clark's passing does not come as a great surprise. Anyone who had been following his progress in recent years knew he'd had a tough time health-wise and that he hadn't been in great shape for a while. Clark was… Continue reading Life soundtracker: Guy Clark (6/11/1941 – 17/05/2016)
Prince
Following the news of Prince's death yesterday, here's a link to a piece I wrote for The Conversation on his combination of writing, vocal and instrumental voice: Prince: an icon of a new form of classical music
Late Voice 