Guest blog post: authorised archives --- overview of the article "Historical records, national constructions: the contemporary popular music archive"

In this post, guest blogger Lauren Istvandity provides an overview of a journal article written by Sarah Baker, Peter Doyle and Shane Homan that emerged from the ARC funded project “Popular Music and Cultural Memory” and which was recently published in the journal Popular Music and Society.

"Preserving Popular Music Heritage: Do-it-yourself, Do-it-together" reviewed for Sonograma Magazine

A short write-up about the edited collection "Preserving Popular Music Heritage: Do-it-yourself, Do-it-together", published in May 2015 by Routledge, has been reviewed in Sonograma Magazine.

Abstract accepted for the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia conference, December 2015

The 2015 conference of the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia will be held this December at the University of Melbourne. The conference theme is 'Minor Culture', so one of particular relevance to a project that is looking at archival practices occurring outside mainstream heritage institutions. The conference will be a great opportunity to share some key findings that have emerged from this research and to get feedback from the cultural studies scholarly community.

Routledge set to publish book on DIY Archives, Museums and Halls of Fame

I'm happy to be writing with confirmation that another book contract with Routledge is signed, sealed and delivered. The book, which I hope will hit the shelves by late 2016, will be called Popular Music Preservation in Community Archives, Museums and Halls of Fame: A DIY Approach to Heritage and will be in the Routledge Research in Music book series. The manuscript is set to be delivered to the publisher in May 2016.

Publication of the edited collection "Preserving Popular Music Heritage: Do-it-yourself, Do-it-together"

The edited collection "Preserving Popular Music Heritage: Do-it-yourself, Do-it-together" is now in print, having been released by the publisher, Routledge, on 18th May 2015. 

Guest blog post: sustainable archiving --- overview of the article "Sustaining popular music's material culture in community archives and museums"

In this post, guest blogger Lauren Istvandity provides an overview of a journal article written by Sarah Baker (Griffith University) and Jez Collins (Birmingham City University) that emerged from the ARC funded project “Do-it-yourself popular music archives” and which was recently published in the journal International Journal of Heritage Studies.

Guest blog post: when the trash of popular music culture becomes archival treasures --- overview of the book chapter "Saving Rubbish"

In this post, guest blogger Lauren Istvandity provides an overview of a book chapter written by Sarah Baker and Alison Huber that emerged from the ARC funded project “Popular Music and Cultural Memory” and which was recently published in the edited collection “Sites of Popular Music Heritage: Memories, Histories, Places”.

Visit to the National Film and Sound Archive

Last month I travelled to Canberra to accompany South Korean colleagues, Hyunjoon Shin and Keewoong Lee from Sungkonghoe University, on their fact finding visit to the National Film and Sound Archive. 

"Locating the canon in Tamworth" winner of the 2014 Rebecca Coyle Prize

The International Association for the Study of Popular Music Australia-New Zealand (IASPM-ANZ) Branch Conference was recently held in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was announced during the conference that the 2014 Rebecca Coyle Prize for the best paper on popular music in the Australia-New Zealand region published in 2013 was awarded to my article, co-authored with Alison Huber, called 'Locating the canon in Tamworth: Historical narratives, cultural memory and Australia's "Country Music Capital"'.

Rockmuseum Munich - the highest DIY museum in the world?

Although last month my data collection for the project officially concluded, a brief trip to Munich, Germany, has enabled me to expand my fieldwork sites by one with a visit to Rockmuseum Munich. No interviews were conducted here but it was a delight to discover this little gem tucked away in a famous Munich tourist attraction.