#107: A Logic Of Circulation
A Logic Of Circulation
I’m Todd L. Burns, and welcome to Music Journalism Insider, a newsletter about music journalism. I highlight some of the best stuff I hear, read, and watch every week; publish news about the industry; and interview writers, scholars, and editors about their work. My goal is to share knowledge, celebrate great work, and expand the idea of what music journalism is—and where it happens. Questions, comments, concerns? You can reach me anytime at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com. And if you're not already subscribed to the newsletter, you can do so at musicjournalisminsider.com.
Today in the newsletter: Interviews with veteran music writer Joshua Clover; freelance writer Ashawnta Jackson; and Ben Murphy & Carl Loben, the co-authors of a new book about drum & bass. Plus! Midwest Emo TikToks, reading recommendations, and more. But first…
How Dare You, Sir
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Reading List
- Hugh Morris explains why classical music humor is so unfunny
- Isabelia Herrera offers a window into Dominican car audio culture
- Damon Krukowski on why streaming services may be afraid of user-centric accounting
- Cherie Hu explores the state of music livestreaming
- Elizabeth Aubrey says we're living in a golden age of music documentaries
- Rissi Palmer believes country music needs a revolution
- Dhruva Balram provides a look at the Indian dance music scene during COVID-19
- Anya Wassenberg reviews the research on why people cough at classical music concerts
- Tim Herrera interviews a freelancer who made $27,000 in one month
- Courtney E. Smith talks about song parodies and satire in music
Q&A: Joshua Clover
Joshua Clover is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Davis. He's written a number of books over the years, but his latest is the first in a new series from Duke University Press called Singles, each of which focuses on a single song. In this excerpt from our interview, Joshua explains why he chose Jonathan Richman’s “Roadrunner” for his book.
The social or political content—the transformations of the world around 1973, which our greatest historians date as the peak (and thus the beginning of decline) for the US empire—has been my central topic in various ways for more than a decade, since the 2008 crisis got me interested in capitalist crisis more broadly. I am particularly interested in the way that industrial production (which is an abstract way of talking about these really concrete things, how people work, how people live, who is and who is not excluded from social existence, how people fight to get free) gives way to a logic of circulation, things like the rise of transport and logistics, consumption-oriented economies, the rise of finance, and so on. If the question was (and it was), Which single song allows you to think through these things anew, add something to them, think in return about what this meant for music, then “Roadrunner,” a song from 1972 that is all about going around and around…well, it’s a natural.
Read the full interview with Joshua here.
Last Call For Mentors!
Over the past few months, I've put a note in the newsletter about creating an informal program of matching mentors and mentees in the music journalism world. I've connected a lot of people now, which I'm really excited about! I'm doing one last call this week for mentors. Generally speaking, I’ve gotten FAR more folks wanting a mentor than the other way around. Are you open to offering up your experience in a mentorship role to a young music journalist? Please email me with the subject line “Mentor” and a little bit about how you think you might be able to help! I’d love to pair you up with someone looking for guidance.
How Dare You, Madam
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Podcasts!
- Ivy Queen is hosting a new podcast about the history of reggaeton
- Yasi Salek of Bandsplainer talks about her media diet
- Annie Zaleski was the latest guest on Stuck in the '80s, discussing Rolling Stone's greatest songs of all time
- Let It Roll offers a brief history of country in the '80s and '90s
- Maria Sherman joins And Introducing to chat about boy bands
Q&A: Ashawnta Jackson
Ashawnta Jackson is a freelance writer with bylines in JSTOR Daily, Atlas Obscura, Vinyl Me Please, and many more. She loves "musical subcultures and odd slices of music history," and in this excerpt from our interview, Ashawnta talks about what she'd like to see more of in music journalism.
This is going to sound completely self-serving because it’s the kind of writing I’d like to be doing more of, but I would like to see more work that makes connections between the past and where we are now. There’s always going to be a need to react to something fast, I suppose, but nothing is without context. I’d like to see more work that explores how music tells a story about its time, and of course, more places that let writers follow those trails. I want to read more long, winding stories interweaving history and politics and music. Things that have longevity, things that shift the idea of what music journalism could be. This also means that we’ll need to see a different range of voices, and I think that’s the most important thing.
Seeing and reading Black women teach, think, and write deeply about music really changed me. Applying both racial and gender lenses to the music helped me understand music in a deeper way. So I guess the short answer here is more diversity, but I mean that in every way—race, gender, discipline, writing styles, publications.
Read the full interview with Ashawnta here.
A Cause Worth Supporting
From Ashawnta Jackson:
My parents, and really my whole family, is from Louisiana. If I had to pinpoint the thing that really made me love music, it’s probably because the spirit of that place lived in my home. It was in the food, the music, my parents’ voices. As everyone knows, the state was hit hard by hurricane Ida, and among many of the groups helping right now is Another Gulf is Possible. They have an Ida-specific fund, but also resources for their on-going work.
Check out all of the causes highlighted by folks I’ve interviewed.
How Do You Do, Fellow #midwestemo TikTokers?
- @justin_jen_ duets with a break-up in progress
- @acousticsadboi shows why “Never Meant” is so indelible
- @joecs_music has programmed "Never Meant" on a four-track FM synthesizer
- @solidmicah supports a man who wants you to know something about men
- @skyman820 reveals the true origin of emo
- @seapunkhistorian duets with a man who just doesn’t care anymore
I'd Pay Higher Taxes For This
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Bits, Bobs
- Reeperbahn Festival has announced its 2021 International Music Journalism Award winners
- Niall Doherty had a hell of a time interviewing Eels back in the day
- The city of Wausau named September 24 Why Bushwick Bill Matters Day
- The Rosetta Fund awarded three grants this past week
- Tiny Mix Tapes may be returning as a web3 digital cooperative
- The Black Rock Coalition has published the latest edition of Ravers [h/t Michael Gonzales]
- Third Bridge Creative has created freelancer bingo
- Laura Snapes explains why she quit Twitter
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Trivia Time
How many albums have received a 10.0 from Pitchfork when first released?
Q&A: Ben Murphy & Carl Loben
Ben Murphy and Carl Loben are the co-authors of Renegade Snares: The Resistance and Resilience of Drum & Bass. Both have worked at DJ Mag, with Carl currently serving as editor-in-chief. Their book is one of the few volumes that aims to take a comprehensive look at the genre. In this excerpt from the interview, Ben goes into further depth on what the book is all about.
It’s a history and deep exploration of jungle / drum & bass, a form of music close to my heart, going back into the roots of the scene, what led up to it, all the way to now and its most modern iterations. Along the way, we did around 80 interviews to attempt to get a complete picture of the music’s chronology, in addition to using a lot of archive interview material. We felt it was important to give more space to the period post-1997—when UK garage became more popular, and where some other d&b histories lose interest. So much good music was made since then, and the scene evolved in many different directions.
We also wanted to emphasise the black innovators who invented the music, and get across how the sound was effectively an amalgamation of genres originated by black artists, from hip-hop and reggae to techno, house, funk and soul—especially at a time when the scene has been whitewashed to such an extent.
Also, we detail the way the music changed British society for the better, creating social cohesion with people of different ethnicities, gender and class mixing at raves for the first time, and the independent spirit which drove the creation of pirate radio and record labels.
Read the full interview with Ben and Carl here.
Academic Stuff
- Call for Proposals: Edited essay collection “Crossover, Exchange, Appropriation: Navigating Stylistic Boundaries in the Music History Classroom” (Abstracts due October 15)
- New issues: American Music, Journal of Popular Music Education, and Representations [h/t David Suisman]
- Call for Proposals: North American Conference on Video Game Music (Deadline December 15)
- Call for Papers: Music and the University - History, Models, Prospects (Submissions due November 30)
The Closing Credits
Thanks for reading! In case you’ve missed them, I’ve published a number of special features in the newsletter, including articles about music journalism history, what music journalism will be like in 2221, and much more. You can check out all of that here.
I also do a recurring column in the newsletter called Notes On Process. The premise is simple: I share a Google Doc with a music journalist where we go into depth on one of their pieces. It hopefully provides an insight into how music writers do their work. You can check out all editions of Notes On Process here.
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Trivia Time Answer
According to a 2021 article on Pitchfork, the site has given a 10.0 score to only 11 albums upon their initial release.
A Final Note
Thanks for reading! Full disclosure: My day job is at uDiscover Music, a branded content online magazine owned by Universal Music. This newsletter is not affiliated or sponsored in any way by Universal, and any links that relate to the work of my department will be clearly marked. Feel free to reach out to me via email at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com. On Twitter, it’s @JournalismMusic. Until next time…