PopCAANZ is pleased to announce a student one-day rate of $330.00 for this year’s conference. Please see the Conference Registration page for more details.

We are pleased to announce that the deadline for abstract submissions for this year’s conference has been extended to 30 April. Please see the Conference Information page for further details.

Conference registration is now open – please see the Conference Registration page. Information on accommodation options can be found on the Conference Accommodation page.

Vinyl: A History of the Analogue Record is the first in-depth scholarly study of the vinyl record. Richard Osborne traces the evolution of the recording format from its roots in the first sound recording experiments, to its survival in the world of digital technologies. The book addresses the record’s relationship with music: the analogue record was shaped by, and helped to shape, the music of the twentieth century. It also looks at the cult of vinyl records. Why are users so passionate about this format? Why has it become the subject of artworks and advertisements? Why are vinyl records still being produced?

Of all recording formats, it is the vinyl record that has had the most profound effect on the production and consumption of popular music; vinyl has also had the longest-lasting and deepest appeal. This book explores its subject using a distinctive approach: the author takes the vinyl record apart and historicizes its construction. Each chapter explores a different element: the groove, the disc shape, the label, vinyl itself, the album, the single, the B-side, the 12″ single, and the sleeve. By anatomising the object in this manner, the author brings a fresh perspective to each of his themes.

Download the call for contributions for Nights 2013: Health, Pleasure and Communities, the first international conference derived from the Nightlife Empowerment and Well-Being Implementation Project.

See the conference website for more details.

Music relates to different types of environmental transformations: social, economic, political, cultural or technological, while environmental changes can be heard in music and soundscapes. There has been an increase in academic discourse relating to the ecology of sound, or ‘green music’, often in relation to the preservation of an environment’s sonority. Environmental sounds figure in sound sculptures, installations and compositions. In popular music, the notion of place has been of particular interest. Labels such as the “Seattle”, “Liverpool”, “Perth” or “Dunedin” sound have come to function as almost genre-like distinctions relating to place-based music. Popular music also embraces hybridity through techniques such as sampling, quotation or imitation, influenced by factors such as travel, immigration and the recent virtual proximity of the Internet. Musical, social, and technological forms are also affected by the economic environment, as evidenced by changes in cultural industries, such as the record industry meltdown, and the current global financial crisis. The political environment can also have an impact on the content and form of musical endeavours.

We invite suggestions for individual presentations on a range of topics related to music and environment in the broadest sense, including, but not limited to, the following:

* Music and environmental activism;
* Music and its technological environment;
* Music, acoustic ecology and soundscape studies;
* Ethnographic and “field” recordings;
* The constitution and development of different musical environments;
* Music, landscape, architecture and design;
* Music, memory and place;
* Natural catastrophes in songs and music;
* Music and the political environment

Keynote Speaker: Jon Rose

Papers will be limited to a standard 20-minute length followed by 10 minutes of questions.

Deadline for Proposals: 28 February 2013

Email proposals to Tony.Mitchell@uts.edu.au or Hollis.Taylor@uts.edu.au

Symposium Committee: Andrew Hurley, Tony Mitchell, Hollis Taylor

We are putting together a collection of papers that explore various representations of business in popular culture. The topics could range from fashion, design and branding to popular media, social media and entertainment. We seek abstracts from academics, scholars and practitioners who have an innovative approach to business and popular culture.

The selected papers may be considered for publication in an edited book or a special issue journal. Please send abstracts (no more than 200 words) and a short bio to the editors:

Dr Toni Johnson-Woods: t.johnsonwoods@uq.edu.au
Dr Gjoko Muratovski: gmuratovski@swin.edu.au

Deadline: 1 February 2013

The appointee will contribute to teaching, research and administration in the Entertainment Industries program and must have a strong understanding of the process of getting entertainment products made – either from industry experience, or from study of industry processes. Applicants may be trained in Business or Creative Industries. The program focuses on cross-sector generic producing skills, and we encourage applicants with an interdisciplinary interest and expertise in any commercial entertainment sector, including but not limited to publishing, music, television, radio, computer games, theatre, dance, theme parks, sport or transmedia.

Full details here.

Women and the Silent Screen VII, the seventh international conference on women and early film, will be co-hosted by the University of Melbourne, Australia, 30 September – 2 October 2013. Previously held in Utrecht, Santa Cruz, Montréal, Guadalajara, Stockholm and Bologna, this is the first time the conference has been brought to the Australia-Pacific region. We are inviting participants to submit abstracts (200-300 words, headed by a paper title) as well as a short biographical statement by 1 March 2013. Those who would like to propose panels or workshops should submit a panel title, as well as the individual paper proposal. We hope that the nature of the industry itself can become a starting point for questions about women’s collaborative endeavour. Topics may include but are not limited to:

- Performance and the emotions
- Women making films
- Film and the archive
- Transnational collaborations
- Indigeneity and Indigenous Peoples
- Set design and fashion
- Monstrosity and the silent screen
- Queer theory
- Historiography
- Studies in National cinemas (especially Australian, East & South East Asian film)
- The New Woman
- The Sound of the Silents

Those whose work does not fall within these categories are still encouraged to submit a proposal. We will make every effort to represent the breadth of scholarship being undertaken in film history.

The conference welcomes participation from scholars, archivists, students and cinephiles. It is supported by a program of screenings at ACMI (Australia Centre for the Moving Image), which will run from 26 September to 30 September 2013. This program will be developed in collaboration with the National Film and Sound Archive.

The conference is convened by Victoria Duckett and Jeanette Hoorn. Keynote speakers include Richard Abel, Weihong Bao, Pam Cook, Barbara Creed, Mary Ann Doane and Shelley Stamp.

Further information

Please send your abstracts, or any questions you might have, to the organizers at wssconference2013@gmail.com

Our Shanghai Street Style book has been launched in the UK for Xmas and so far we are getting a wee bit of press.

Intellect created a fabulous looking book, so if you want to buy a copy, don’t be shy.

It’s also ready for pre-order on most Australian book sites. Just Google the title.

Have a great Xmas everyone.

Toni