Some philosophical implications of the “loudness war” and its criticisms

Recent shifts in the aesthetic value of audio loudness is a symptom of broader shifts in attitudes about social harmony and techniques for managing social “noise.” Put simply, this shift is from maximalism to responsive variability. (“Responsive variability” is the…

Listening to Data: on Phantom Terrains

Frank Swain has a hearing aid that sonifies ambient WiFi signals. A Bluetooth-enabled digital hearing aid paired with a specially programmed iPhone (and its WiFi detector), the device, named Phantom Terrains, “translate[s] the characteristics of wireless networks into sound….Network identifiers,…

Club Goin Up On A Tuesday, or, no 48 Hours for 48 thrills

“And when I’m working on the weekend I’ll look back and think how we had the club goin up on a Tuesday” ILOVEMAKONNEN’s song “Tuesday” is about going out dancing and drinking on a Tuesday night because “Working graveyard, shifts…

UVA Music Colloquium Talk November 2014

This Friday November 21 at 3:30pm in Cabell Hall at the University of Virginia, I’ll be giving a talk in their music colloquium series. It’s an expanded (and to be honest much more clear) version of my AMS talk from…

Music & the Ambivalent Politics of Feminist New Materialism–AMS MPSG 2014

Here’s the text of my extremely short talk at the 2014 AMS Music & Philosophy Study Group Session. Here is the longer chapter on which this talk draws. Music & The Ambivalent Politics of Feminist New Materialism   Perhaps unwittingly,…

Audio Recording of “Post Feminist Pop Music” App State U Women’s Studies Distinguished Speaker Series

On 10/8/14 I gave a talk “Post Feminist Pop Music” at App State University. Here’s the audio recording of the talk. I made it with my earbud mic and my phone.  

Post-Feminist Pop: My talk at App State 10/8.

Here’s the outline from which I will be speaking at App State on 10/8/14. Please feel free to follow along.   Post-Feminist Pop Abstract: Pop stars Lily Allen, Beyonce, Meghan Trainor, & Taylor Swift have all released work that depicts…