Author Archives: Paul Carr

What is Authenticity in Popular Music?

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Paul Carr

I have had an interesting debate this week about the nature of authenticity in popular music – prompted by the recent revelations that Seasick Steve, the bastion of authenticity for many, turned out to be a session musician who lied … Continue reading →

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Who says in academic writing: ‘I’, ‘the researcher’, ‘this study’, ‘this thesis’…?

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Paul Carr

Originally posted on DoctoralWriting:
By Susan Carter Choosing terms for the agent in academic writing can be tricky for novices, and in my experience, not all supervisors give wise advice on the terms to use for the speaking author. This…

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Starting Questions for Thinking About Music and Production.

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Paul Carr

Here are a series of questions aimed at my students, but anyone is free to comment. The exercise is chose a couple of songs and ask yourself the following. 1.Can the recorded songs communicate anything beyond the notes, sounds and textures … Continue reading →

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Popular Music in Merthyr Tydfil Update

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Paul Carr

Just a quick update on my Merthyr Music project. Well, over the last couple of months, with the help of community members, I have put together the beginnings of a community archive of popular music memorabilia, in addition to a … Continue reading →

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Benjamin Halligan: Mind Usurps Program: Virtuality and the ‘New Machine Aesthetic’ of Electronic Dance Music

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Paul Carr

Here is an audio recording of a talk given by Dr Ben Halligan at the recent IASPM Uk & Ireland conference in Brighton on September 8th. The talk was related to the chapter that Ben documented f… Source: Benjamin Halligan: … Continue reading →

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An Analysis of Virtuality in the Creation and Reception of the Music of Frank Zappa

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Paul Carr

Here is a transcript of the paper Paul Carr gave at the IASPM conference in Brighton, in September 2016 Introduction My chapter in the book discusses the creation and reception of the music of Fran… Source: An Analysis of Virtuality … Continue reading →

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Frank Zappa and Virtuality

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Paul Carr

Well, I am really looking forward to talking about Frank Zappa for the first time in a couple of years this week. I am presenting at a panel as part of the book launch for The Oxford Handbook of Music … Continue reading →

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Music, Memory and Nostalgia: Film Makers Required

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Paul Carr

As some of you may know, I am currently working on a ‘history of popular music’ project in the town of Merthyr Tydfil – eventually moving to other regions of South Wales. The 2nd dimension to the project is related … Continue reading →

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Pink Floyd in Merthyr Part 2

Posted on August 14, 2016 by Paul Carr

Off the back of my last post on Pink Floyd playing at The Castle Cinema in Merthyr Tydfil on December 9th 1967, it appears that this would have been one of the last gigs that Syd Barrett played with the … Continue reading →

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Pink Floyd in Merthyr: It Actually Happened!

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Paul Carr

My Oral History of Popular Music in Merthyr Tydfil project is now well underway, so it now seems about the right time to do some detective work regarding the mythical performance Pink Floyd performed in the town in the 1960s … Continue reading →

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