In conversation with Vicki Bennett (People Like Us) for TUSK North 2023

TUSK North returns to Newcastle Lit & Phil in March 2023 following the previous year's well-received inaugural edition. I'll be talking with Vicki Bennett (People Like Us) on Friday 3 March at 4pm, ahead of PLU's performance of The Mirror on Saturday 4 March. the full line-up, along with timings, can be found at the… Continue reading In conversation with Vicki Bennett (People Like Us) for TUSK North 2023

Upcoming Presentation: ‘Navigating Bruce Springsteen’s sonic persona in the Born to Run audiobook’

I'll be presenting new work on Bruce Springsteen's audiobook Born to Run at the inaugural International Persona Studies Conference, which takes place at Newcastle University on the 25th and 26th of June. This work relates to an article I've written on Born to Run (the book and audiobook) and Springsteen on Broadway, due to be… Continue reading Upcoming Presentation: ‘Navigating Bruce Springsteen’s sonic persona in the Born to Run audiobook’

The Sound of Nonsense

My new book is called The Sound of Nonsense and it's published by Bloomsbury Academic today. To mark the publication, I'm posting an illustrated version of the book's introduction below. Introduction ‘Watch the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves’; so says the Duchess in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.[i] But can we be… Continue reading The Sound of Nonsense

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

New essay on Robert Wyatt published

My essay ‘“Words Take the Place of Meaning”: Sound, Sense and Politics in the Music of Robert Wyatt’ has been published in The Singer-Songwriter in Europe: Paradigms, Politics and Place, edited by Isabelle Marc and Stuart Green (Routledge). ABSTRACT: When we speak of singer-songwriters we tend to consider voice as both literary tool and musical… Continue reading New essay on Robert Wyatt published

New article on Van Morrison published

My article 'My Tongue Gets t-t-t-: Words, Sense, and Vocal Presence in Van Morrison’s It’s Too Late to Stop Now' has been published in a special issue of the journal Twentieth-Century Music on 'Voice'. ABSTRACT: Van Morrison’s live version of his song ‘Cyprus Avenue’ on the 1974 album It’s Too Late to Stop Now provides… Continue reading New article on Van Morrison published

Upcoming presentation: Be-bop-sh-boom-a-langa-langa-doo-wop: Pop’s Love of Nonsense

I will be presenting my current research at the University of York on Wednesday 27 January as part of the Music Department's research seminar series. My talk is entitled 'Be-bop-sh-boom-a-langa-langa-doo-wop: Pop’s Love of Nonsense' and it relates to my current research project 'The Sound of Nonsense'. Abstract below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gc4QTqslN4 In this paper I explore popular… Continue reading Upcoming presentation: Be-bop-sh-boom-a-langa-langa-doo-wop: Pop’s Love of Nonsense