Is Beyoncé’s Renaissance concert film a sign of things to come for movie theaters and the concert experience?
Northeastern Global News (2023). Part concert film and part behind-the-scenes tour documentary, “Renaissance” promises to give fans a glimpse into the famously private superstar’s life during her recent Renaissance tour. It also promises to be a bright spot for movie theaters in the post-Thanksgiving box office doldrums. But could “Renaissance” be something more: a sign of things to come for the movie theater business and the theatrical experience?
Rock That Doesn’t roll, “Bookstore Guys”
Rock That Doesn’t Roll podcast (2023). Who could a 1990s Christian rock aficionado turn to in order to find the latest and greatest releases? For mainstream music fans, tastemakers included record store clerks of 1990s indie music stores, or retail juggernauts like Tower Records and Wherehouse - the kind of superfans depicted by Jack Black in High Fidelity. But for many evangelical teens of the 1990s, record stores were not the place to find kid-tested, parent-approved music. For that, Christian teens usually had to go to Christian bookstores.
Author Meets Critics: Andrew Mall’s God rock, Inc.
AAR (2023) “author meets critics” panel on God Rock, Inc. Panelists will consider how Christian music as a niche business shapes religious communities in the United States (and beyond), as well as how its many genres and subgenres - pop, rock, metal, rap, hip hop, praise and worship, etc. - reflect and shape evangelical Christian politics, practice, and theology.
Religion Journal Reviews God Rock, Inc.
Rosalind I. J. Hackett reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the journal Religion.
Mosh Pit Methods: Team-based Collaborative Fieldwork at a Hardcore Punk Festival
SEM conference presentation (2023). In this paper, we address the complexities of collaborating at these multiple levels: with each other, research assistants, festival organizers and staff, community leaders and members, and festival attendees. In attending to these challenges and opportunities, we open a conversation about the power and potential of team-based, collaborative fieldwork.
Taylor-made: A Swiftie’s guide to the best ‘Eras’ movie experience
The Washington Post (2023). Deciding which movie theater to watch the upcoming “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” in might be as difficult as choosing which Swift era you want to represent. The concert film, which will start showing Thursday night, will bring Swifties, concert fans and the general public right into the middle of a Swift concert. And 3,850 theaters across North America are planning to show the film in myriad formats, giving Swifties an array of choices for how they want to experience the concert film.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie is a lesson for other artists and the music industry
Northeastern Global News (2023). Taylor Swift will soon extend her pop culture dominating reach to the big screen, with the release of a concert film of her record-shattering Eras tour set to hit theaters on Oct. 13. It is Taylor Swift’s world –– we’re all just living in it.
Popular Music since 1945
This course introduces students to the study of popular music in the United States from the end of World War II to the present day. Instead of presenting a survey of popular music during this period, we consider a handful of selected topics, themes, and genres during these years. Sacrificing historical breadth for analytical depth enables us to dive deeply into specific examples, considering in detail a range of factors that influence popular music’s development and transformation: ethnic and gender identities, music industry practices, race relations, social and political movements, and technological innovations. Students gain a broad overview of the field of popular music studies—with particular attention given to recently-published research—and the field’s methodologies and materials.
The Voice at 60: On Whitney Houston’s immortal instrument
Entertainment Weekly (2023). Houston would have been 60 years old today, Aug. 9. Of course, she's no longer with us and while I, and many others, feel her absence everyday, her voice — that magnificent voice — still elicits joy.
Musical Communities of Chicago
This course introduces students to the diverse musical communities of Chicago through texts and media, workshops with local musicians and arts workers, experiential activities, and your own research projects. Our five-week program in Chicago provides a unique opportunity for us to explore a range of musical practices and intersecting issues: arts policy, gentrification, tourism, and urban development, among others. Experiential learning activities are a core of our time together in Chicago as we engage in this city’s musical life. These include attending concerts and festivals together, excursions to historical musical sites within Chicago, interviewing local experts, and soundwalks, among others.
Is K-Pop Finally Mainstream?
Nylon (2023). Look at the biggest songs in the U.S. right now and you'll find a bit of everything: Miley Cyrus’s anthemic pop comeback; SZA’s revenge ruminations; Selena Gomez’s cross-cultural collab with Nigerian singer Rema; and controversial country star Morgan Wallen’s unvanquishable return. At the forefront of the list sits Park Jimin’s “Like Crazy,” the glittery solo debut from BTS’s graceful tenor.
Our Worship Is Turning Praise into Secular Profit
Christianity Today (2023). Author Kelsey Kramer McGinnis quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her article on the the corporate consolidation of worship music.
Why the Most Riveting Scene in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Is a Medley from 1994
TIME (2022). Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the new biopic from filmmaker Kasi Lemmons, is filled with recreations of the singer’s iconic performances—like her 1991 rendition of the national anthem at the Super Bowl. But the film closes with a scene that pays tribute to one of Houston’s lesser-known appearances: a 1994 performance at the American Music Awards that showcased not only her phenomenal talent, but her range, versatility, and stamina as a live artist.
MEIEA Journal Reviews God Rock, Inc.
Jason Lee Guthrie reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the Journal of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA).
Collaborative Ethnography at Furnace Fest: Initial Findings on Affect, Community, and Commerce in Hardcore
Colloquium presentation (2022). At Furnace Fest (Birmingham, Alabama), attendees travel from across the U.S. and Canada for three days of emo, hardcore, metal, and punk performances. Based on ongoing fieldwork, in this talk I consider what my research collaborators and I have learned so far about working together—both in terms of our research methodologies and in terms of festival organizers and their communities.
How Do You Get to the Dove Awards?
Christianity Today (2022). Author Kelsey Kramer McGinnis quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her article on the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards (the Christian music industry’s answer to the Grammy Awards).
Is the Future of Christian Music on TikTok?
Christianity Today (2022). Author Rachel Seo quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her article on TikTok and Christian recording artist Montell Fish.
Furnace Fest Community: A Public Conversation
Public research presentation (2022). Prior to Furnace Fest 2022, I helped organize a public conversation as part of an official pre-fest event. The plan was to present some of our initial research findings and moderate a public conversation with the participation of two of Furnace Fest’s organizers and one of the Furnace Fest Community moderators.
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