Here's a summary of the Substack posts I've published since the start of the year, with links to each. 1. The Whole Blessed Thing. An essay about the lessons we learn from songs, inspired by a lyric from a Robbie Fulks song: 'If you've ever heard Hank Williams sing / Then you know the whole… Continue reading Songs and Objects 01.2025-03.2025
Tag: research
2024 in review
My year-end review of music is available on my Songs and Objects Substack site. At the end of the post is a link to a 100-track playlist of 2024 tracks; I've also embedded this below. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4wWeMzPM0yELFavKzK0t8u Other recent posts on Songs and Objects include: 1. My Life at Thirty. A reflection on the anniversary of… Continue reading 2024 in review
Songs and Objects: A Taster Menu
A Year of Songs and Objects Songs and Objects, the newsletter I publish via Substack, is one year old. I sent my first tentative post out on 10 November 2023 with two goals in mind. The first was to share a lifetime’s reflection on songs and the role they play in people’s lives through a… Continue reading Songs and Objects: A Taster Menu
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
Songs and Objects: A March Summary
A summary of essays on my Songs and Objects Substack that appeared in March 2024, plus one planned for March but posted in early April because having time off is nice. 1. Epiphany and What Came After: Remembering Townes Van Zandt. This was the first of two posts to remember Townes Van Zandt in the… Continue reading Songs and Objects: A March Summary
Recent posts on Songs and Objects
There are new posts available on my Songs and Objects Substack, including reflections on Grandaddy's classic Sophtware Slump album, a set of observations prompted by the recent release of Richard Dawson's The Ruby Cord Live film and a three-part analysis of the musicality of lists which previously appeared as a podcast episode, now been revised… Continue reading Recent posts on Songs and Objects
Songs and Objects now on Substack
I've recently launched a Substack newslwetter and website to share work in progress on my 'Songs and Objects' project. Posts so far have covered the song 'These Foolish Things', Cat Power's recreation of a classic Bob Dylan concert and thoughts about the afterlives of Dolly Parton's classic 'Jolene'. Some of the material (for example, the… Continue reading Songs and Objects now on Substack
New publications on Nina Simone and clipping.
I've had two articles published recently. One is a text I've wanted to work up for some time, connecting Nina Simone to narratives of Afrofuturism. It's a topic I first considered over a decade ago when writing my book about Simone. The material didn't really fit the shape the book ended up taking (and would… Continue reading New publications on Nina Simone and clipping.
Upcoming Presentation – From Quinta do Mocho to the World: Lisbon DJs and Border-Crossing Beats
I'll be giving a presentation based on my new book DJs do Guetto as part of the Music Research Forum series hosted by the International Centre for Music Studies (ICMuS) at Newcastle University. The talk is at 4pm (UK time) on 23 March and is a hybrid event, in-person at Newcastle University's Culture Lab and… Continue reading Upcoming Presentation – From Quinta do Mocho to the World: Lisbon DJs and Border-Crossing Beats
Music for Girls Online Symposium
I'll be participating in the 'Music for Girls' online symposium on Wednesday 18 May 2022. I'm planning to present material from my ongoing Songs and Objects project, specifically looking at how song lyrics foreground evocative objects and how these reflect the importance of such objects in everyday life, memory and life-writing, as well as considering… Continue reading Music for Girls Online Symposium
Late Voice 