Paul Robeson and the Peekskill riots: with essay by Dick Flacks
August 27 marks a chilling anniversary in the Hudson Valley’s musical geography: 65 years ago, Paul Robeson was to perform a concert in Peekskill that culminated in violence and effectively ended his career. I asked sociologist Dick Flacks, author of Playing for Change: Music and Musicians in the Service of Social Movements, to elaborate. Paul...
appearances at the 2014 American Sociological Association meetings
I’ll be in San Francisco this weekend at the annual ASA meetings, participating in two events. The first is a presentation of my research from the Poughkeepsie Plenty community food assessment, in a paper I’ve co-written with SUNY New Paltz colleagues Kathleen Tobin and Eve Waltermaurer: Regular Session. Consumers and Consumption 1 Sat, August 16,...
the greatest reinventions in pop-music careers, #10-1
The top ten! These are the greatest second chapters, left turns and career reinventions in pop music history. Don’t forget to review how we came to this point… PREVIOUS: 50-41 40-31 30-21 20-11 10 T. Rex Glitter rock, the visual appearance of a gay aesthetic in pop music, and the first real ‘sound of the...
the greatest reinventions in pop-music careers, #20-11
PREVIOUS: 50-41 40-31 30-21 20. Black Eyed Peas Hate to say it, but “I gotta feeling” (oof, sorry) that the Black Eyed Peas have shaped the sound and BPM of American pop music more than anyone else in the last five years. Such influence would have been unfathomable back in 1998, when their debut album...
update on the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory project
Answering an invitation sent to me by postcard, I attended the first public “brief-ing” [get it?] on the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory project by its developer, the nonprofit Hudson River Housing. This historic building is located on N. Cherry Street just north of Main Street in the City of Poughkeepsie. Ed Murphy, executive director of Hudson...
the greatest reinventions in pop-music careers, #30-21
Part three of my response to the question, which performers made the most unexpected left turns with their careers? For the ground rules of eligibility, see the first post; for the big picture of why this is relevant to musical urbanism, click here. PREVIOUS: 50-41 40-31 30. U2 Regardless how you feel about the band’s...
the greatest reinventions in pop-music careers, #40-31
Part two of my response to the question, which performers made the most unexpected left turns with their careers? For the ground rules of eligibility, click here; for the big picture of what this all means, click here. PREVIOUS: 50-41 40. Grace Jones A Jamaican-born model, Jones seemed born with a knack for commanding people’s...
the greatest reinventions in pop-music careers, #50-41
Today I take up a question of pop-culture history: which performers made the most unexpected left turns with their careers? I farmed this question out awhile back to readers of this blog, and today I start filing the results based on my own subjective assessment. Debate and criticisms are welcome in the comment section (or,...
EDM as tourism: the rebranding of UK rave
Last month, I answered some questions for a UK media/marketing firm researching how UK rave circa 1989 evolved into the US youth phenomenon of electronic dance music (EDM) — a question I’ve asked before on this blog. The piece is lengthy and lies behind a paywall, but author Emmajo Read did a great job. By...
Martha and the Muffins: a book project in musical urbanism
This summer I begin in earnest a new research project on the Canadian new wave group Martha and the Muffins. I’ve blogged about them extensively already, focusing on the mixed-gender approach and geographical sensibilities that inform their work. The book I intend to write will incorporate these into a new focus: the career of a...
let the children use it: the School of Rock presents David Bowie
Last weekend I saw my nephew play drums in a David Bowie tribute concert at the School of Rock in Fort Washington (a suburb of Philadelphia). Unsurprisingly, I had a blast. I mean, how could any Bowie fan resist the prospect of watching a rotating ensemble of middle- and high school-aged kids performing a 2+...
in memoriam: Maggie Estep (1963-2014)
Maggie Estep moved to New York in the 1980s to live the downtown life. Her calling appeared in a writing class she took for drug rehab. By the decade’s end, she was performing slam poetry regularly at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. A tiny girl with greasy hair and attitude for miles, Estep was instrumental in...