Dr Stephen Graham Interview
Dr Stephen Graham is the head of Arts & Humanities at Goldsmiths. Initially, he aimed for rock stardom, but he eventually “saw research as an applied version of what I was doing already: gathering information and forming opinions about music that might help me experience life a little differently.” Becoming Noise Music: Style, Aesthetics, and History is his new book.
How did you get to where you are today, professionally?
I started out, like many others, with dreams of conquering the world through rock music. I decide to study music at university as I figured that would be as good a use of my time as any other, while stardom awaited.
Whilst there, I started to expand my musical horizons and got very interested in contemporary composition. After a brief period composing music, and studying for a Master’s in King’s College London, I began to realise that a) I really enjoyed thinking about and writing on music, and b) I wasn’t going to make it as a rock star!