Declaration of Support in Relation to the Current Demonstrations in Turkey

Posted on by

Declaration of support from popular music scholars in relation to the current demonstrations in Turkey.

Resistance of music against the authoritarian discourse and implementation of the government in Turkey.

The music performed by the people of Turkey with pots, pans and whistles is an important part of the current demonstrations against various aspects of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

There is a variety of grievances such as the authoritarian approach of the government, its perceived Islamic bias in making laws and making changes to society, and its heavy-handed approach to the demonstrations including the physical attacks and arrests of peaceful demonstrators.

The people of Turkey performing with pots, pans and whistles, as well as musicians including our colleagues and students, are in the streets all day and night, and many of them are being arrested and injured by police forces acting on behalf of AKP. Continue reading →

On Sound

Posted on by

Call for articles
The Velvet Light Trap
Issue #74: On Sound (New Directions in Sound Studies)
Submission Deadline: 1 August 2013

The medium of sound, long placed in a secondary position to the visual within media studies, has experienced a considerable increase in scholarly attention over the past three decades, to the point that “sound studies” is now a distinct field of scholarship. Within media studies, sound-related research today expands well beyond the film and television score or soundtrack to include a broad range of scholarship on radio and popular music. And while sound studies still tends to cohere around media studies departments, an increasing amount of sound media research is interdisciplinary in nature. A “sonic turn” is under way across the humanities and social sciences with sound studies work coming out of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, history, science and technology studies, cultural geography, American studies, art history, and cultural studies. Recent issues of differences (2011) and American Quarterly (2011) and anthologies like The Sound Studies Reader (Jonathan Sterne, 2012) are just a few examples of this expanding range of interest. Continue reading →

Pop-Life: The Value of Popular Music in the Twenty First Century

Posted on by

Call for papers
Pop-Life: The Value of Popular Music in the Twenty First Century
University of Northampton
6-7 June 2014

It has increasingly become a truism to suggest that contemporary popular music practice is in a state of flux. Established patterns of consumption, distribution and production have at the very least been revolutionised by the opportunities afforded by digitalisation and the internet. While subcultural identities may have become increasingly adopted by mainstream media, the proliferation of media outlets has contributed to an increasingly varied and cosmopolitan listening experience both in terms of stylistic breadth but also in terms of historical depth. While some commentators have sounded the death-knell of the music industry, others see an opening-up of opportunity for musicians and audiences around the world that may be far more liberating than at any time since the dawn of recorded music. Continue reading →

Sound, Environment and Action

Posted on by

Call for articles
Special Issue of Music and Politics
“Sound, Environment and Action”
Deadline: 1 November 2013

The Spring 2014 issue of Music & Politics (7/2) will be dedicated to exploring the intersections of music, culture and the environment as it pertains to politically charged topics. This issue aims to build knowledge around the “politics” of musical works, communities, and practices that share a correlation (consciously or unconsciously) to broader environmental themes. Bringing the topic of “politics” into conversation with “music” and “environment” not only opens up myriad discursive routes, but also raises a multitude of questions regarding the communication of ideas concerning the natural world through sound. For example, what role(s) does music play in environmental activism? In what ways do artists respond to environmental crises? How is the creation of music (from instrument building to performance) tethered to environmental policy? Continue reading →

State of the Music Industry

Posted on by

Call for articles
The State of the Music Industry
Civilisations

The next issue of the journal Civilisations, published by the Department of Languages and Civilisations, University of Toulouse 1 Capitole, will be dedicated to the music industry. It is a familiar story that the music industry is in a state of turmoil. This issue will look at past, current and future trends in the industry. In line with the journal’s interdisciplinary emphasis, the Editorial Committee is seeking contributions from the disciplines of history, economics, law, sociology, and from the larger field of human social sciences. Continue reading →

Text and Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Beats and Rock Culture

Posted on by

New book
Text and Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Beats and Rock Culture
Simon Warner
Bloomsbury Publishing

9780826416643

Text and Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Beats and Rock Culture considers the relationship between Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs and others and those waves of singers, songwriters and bands – from Dylan to the Beatles, Tom Waits to Patti Smith, the Clash to Kurt Cobain, and many more – who have taken inspiration from that earlier literary community.

Further details here

“Straight from the Heart”: A Conference on Love and Rock Music

Posted on by

Call for papers
“Straight from the Heart”: A Conference on Love and Rock Music
Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier 3 (France)
16-17 April 2014
A joint production between University of Chester (United Kingdom) and Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier 3 (France)

Music historians have often associated archetypal rock music with rebellion and social unrest – political protest, generational conflict, individualism, narcissism and sexual liberation. Likewise, the press, public authorities, medical and religious institutions have routinely considered rock music as a more or less overt, dangerous form of opposition to established order, crystallizing teenage revolt. Rock has been construed as a language of resistance and grammar of protest, embodying the spirit as well as the letter of subversion. Rock songs, however, have often taken love as a central theme – love between men and women, brothers and sisters, parents and children, or friends; sometimes for a dog, a car, a bike, or even a pair of shoes; sometimes universal, spiritual love. Continue reading →