My review of Alessandro Portelli's 2022 book Hard Rain: Bob Dylan, Oral Cultures, and the Meaning of History has now been published on the website of Oral History journal. This brilliant book takes the form of a set of responses to the 1962 song ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’, mixing these with narratives about the… Continue reading My review of “Hard Rain: Bob Dylan, Oral Cultures, and the Meaning of History”
Tag: folk music
Songs and Objects: May 2024
I published four posts on my Songs and Objects Substack in May. I summarise each below. Geordie: A Song Itinerary. I follow the routes of an old English ballad that, at various points from the mid-20th century onward, has been recorded as early music, art song, folk-rock, metal, Italian canzone, Italian EDM and more. Evidence.… Continue reading Songs and Objects: May 2024
Recent posts on Songs and Objects
I've been continuing to publish weekly posts to the Songs and Objects Substack. Posts since the start of this year cover topics such as seasonal songs (with a focus on January and the turning of the year), a three-parter on the songs of Mary Chapin Carpenter, a piece of life writing that maps songs on… Continue reading Recent posts on Songs and Objects
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
New book: The Late Voice
This week sees the publication of my third book, The Late Voice: Time, Age and Experience in Popular Music. The book is being published by Bloomsbury Academic initially in a hardback edition. A cheaper paperback edition will be published at a later date. From the book's blurb: "Popular music artists, as performers in the public… Continue reading New book: The Late Voice
Pete Seeger, un hombre sincero
A piece by I wrote for PopMatters a few years back on Pete Seeger, who died yesterday. Pete Seeger is something of an enigma. On the one hand, he is a renowned veteran of the transnational folk music scene, a legendary figure who seems to have always been around. On the other, he remains somehow… Continue reading Pete Seeger, un hombre sincero
Late Voice 