Introducing Stardotblog, my new collaboration
I thought readers of this blog might be interested in my work over on Stardotblog, the studio blog of new media artist christian.ryan. You can see on that blog that I’ll be collaborating with christian on writing about and theorizing…
What is “negative” about political negativity?: On Halberstam, Joy Division, and Grace Jones (London’s Burning #3)
This post follows up on the previous one, which discussed Halberstam’s concept of political negativity. This bluring—or “ambiguity,” if you will—of subject/object position is even more evident in Grace Jone’s cover of “She’s Lost Control.” In my view, it is…
What is “negative” about political negativity?: On Halberstam, Joy Division, and Grace Jones (London’s Burning #3)
So, I’m working on several projects related to the use of music in contemporary queer theory. You all know I’ve been thinking about the role of punk in the futurity/relationality debates, and I’ve written before on the Halberstam/Edelman exhange on…
Follow me on Twitter
I’ve had a twitter account for ages, but I’ve finally decided to actually use it. I’m limiting my feed to blog-related topics: it’s more or less the aphorism division of its-her-factory. There’s a link on the left hand side of…
Rest In Peace, Polly Styrene
X-Ray Spex singer Polly Styrene died today. So sad. And so soon after Ari Up!
My New Article on Ranciere and Hip Hop
Check out my new article in Transformations special issue on Jacques Ranciere, “These.Are.The Breaks:Rethinking Disagreement through Hip Hop“. Here’s the intro: The idea of the “break” is central to both Jacques Rancière’s theory of disagreement and to hip hop aesthetics….
Oh Bondage, Up Yours!: Rihanna’s “S&M”
When I first heard Rihanna’s “S&M” track on the radio, I was unsure how I felt about hearing a black woman say “Sticks and stones can break my bones/But chains and whips excite me.” Sure, this is about BDSM, but,…
Born This Way: The Birth of Little Monsters From The Spirit Of Music
In my previous post about Gaga’s BTW, I argued that the song’s ultimate position on identity—whether sexuality is genetic/biologically determined, or socially constructed—was hard to determine. There was a tension between the general spirit of the “born this way” rhetoric…
Good Girl Gone Melisma: the racial politics of Avril Lavigne’s “What the Hell”
Avril Lavigne’s newish single “What the Hell” offers us a quick, clearly defined lesson about racial signifiers in American pop music. It all has to do with the one little arpeggiated melisma in the chorus of an otherwise vocally minimalist…
Deconstructing “Born This Way”
Some prefatory remarks: (1) I really, really wanted to like Gaga’s new single. (2) Musically, it’s a pretty fun dance pop track; I’m sure it will make its way in to my workout playlists. In fact, I prefer the music…
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