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.
Tag: song
Video of my recent conversation with Richard Dawson
The video of my recent conversation with Richard Dawson at TUSK North has now been streamed on Tusk TV and archived on YouTube. Thanks to Mariam Rezaei, Lee Etherington and Will Edmondes for setting this up, and to Fred Hollingsworth, Rob Blazey and Tom Waterworth for tech suppport during and following the event. Check out… Continue reading Video of my recent conversation with Richard Dawson
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
In conversation with Richard Dawson for TUSK North
I'll be talking to Richard Dawson as part of the TUSK North festival taking place on 4 and 5 March. TUSK North is a collaboration between Tusk Music Projects, the International Centre For Music Studies at Newcastle upon Tyne (ICMuS - i.e. where I work), DIY project TOPH and the Newcastle's historic Literary & Philosophical Society. Tusk has formed… Continue reading In conversation with Richard Dawson for TUSK North
New pubication on Aneka’s ‘Japanese Boy’
I've contributed a chapter to the book One-Hit Wonders: An Oblique History of Popular Music, edited by Sarah Hill and newly published by Bloomsbury Academic. My chapter is on Aneka's 1981 chart-topper 'Japanese Boy'. I discuss the song's chart history, give a little bit of biographical detail about the Scottish singer Mary Sandeman and her… Continue reading New pubication on Aneka’s ‘Japanese Boy’
Songs and Objects podcast
I am working on a podcast that explores the materiality of song. I’ve created it to accompany a research project I have been working on for some years now and which I hope to turn into a book in the future. The podcast is called Songs and Objects and the first five episodes are available… Continue reading Songs and Objects podcast
ppp: the personal, the political and the piano
The news that today is being celebrated as National Album Day has inspired me to post the following text on Nina Simone’s 1969 masterpiece Nina Simone and Piano! It’s a text that’s being lying dormant for a few years and now seems a good time to do something with it. The concept shouldn’t have been… Continue reading ppp: the personal, the political and the piano
New publication: Sounding Out Popular Music History
I've contributed a chapter to the newly published Routledge Companion to Popular Music History and Heritage, edited by Sarah Baker, Catherine Strong, Lauren Istvandity and Zelmarie Cantillon. My chapter is entitled 'Sounding Out Popular Music HIstory: A Musicological Approach'. SUMMARY: While the relationship between musicology and history has shifted considerably over time, the importance of… Continue reading New publication: Sounding Out Popular Music History
Upcoming Presentation: ‘From Sound Objects to Song Objects: Rethinking Sonic Materiality and Metaphor’
I'll be presenting my current research at the Rethinking Sound conference in Seoul later this week. My current project explores the materiality of song and the relationship between songs and objects. As this is a sound studies conference, I'm using this paper to think about how my project intersects wtih the theories of Pierre Schaeffer… Continue reading Upcoming Presentation: ‘From Sound Objects to Song Objects: Rethinking Sonic Materiality and Metaphor’
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?
Late Voice 