Introductions

[justindburton]

Hi All,

I'm Justin Burton, and I'll be the web editor for IASPM-US for the next several months. My primary task as web editor is to generate an ongoing discussion on this forum. To that end, we've moved the forum from the website to Google Groups (the link on the left sidebar of the website - iaspm-us.net - will take you directly here now), which provides an easy interface with several customizable options that should allow you to participate in exactly the way you'd like. This is your official invitation to join the IASPM-US google group.

Registration is quick and easy. If you already have a google account, you can simply join the group. If not, you can sign up for an account with google and then join. You will be immediately registered in the group and able to post. To start a new discussion thread, choose "New Topic" at the top of the page and begin typing. Otherwise, find a thread that looks interesting to you and join in there. The very first time you post to the site, your post will be moderated - this is simply to keep trolls away. I'll approve these as quickly as possible, then you won't be moderated anymore after that. 

After you join, you will want to customize your settings. At the top of the group, you will see a button that says "My Membership." You can do two basic things from here. The first is to link your google profile (usually a picture, a short description of yourself, and a picture) to this group, if you like. You aren't required to link any or all of that information, but I think less anonymity on the forum is better so that new and established members of the organization or group can get to know each other better. The second thing you can do under "My Membership" is choose how to read this forum. You can choose to read only at this website, or you can have the forum emailed to you. There are a number of email options that range in frequency. Even if you choose not to have the entire forum (or summary of it) emailed to you, you can choose to have updates to topics in which you are participating emailed to you. That way you can stay up-to-date on your conversations.

Now, if you choose an email option, you will have greater access to the forum. Not only can you read the forum in your email, but you can also reply to topics and start new ones from your email, as well. The group's email address is iasp...@googlegroups.com. If you send a fresh email to that address, you will generate a new topic that appears at this forum (your subject line should be the title of the topic). If you reply to a message you receive from an existing topic, your comment will appear in that particular discussion thread. So, even if you aren't logged in to this site, you can still participate in discussions via email.

I'm planning to start two or three regular topics each week (an aggregate of interesting online reads, a discussion of new music released on Tuesdays, links to performances) for the next few months, as well as more irregular posts on topics I find interesting. The idea is to jumpstart some conversations and encourage all of you to join in those as well as to start your own.

The group is open to non-IASPM members, so invite your pop-music-loving friends to join. The idea of the forum is to combine esoteric academic insight with our inner fandom. If you need to engage in some long, Deleuzian analysis of Glee, then this is your place. If you need to post a video of Jimmy Fallon impersonating Neil Young and joined by Bruce Springsteen as they sing Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" just because you love it and you think the rest of us might, too, then this is your place. And if you read something interesting about popular music this week, you better post it here; there's just no need to keep that sort of thing to yourself. 

Beyond the forum, there is an IASPM-US page on Facebook that Jason Oakes has started. You can find it by searching "IASPM-US", and you can "like" it to see updates posted on your wall. We also have a Twitter account: @iaspmus. Follow that account, and I'll post some forum and website updates and maybe start some hashtag conversations or games. I, along with Jason, will be using the website to crosslink to the forum when there are particularly lively discussions happening, and we'll use Twitter and Facebook to disseminate that information, as well. If you have questions, suggestions, or feedback, you can reach us at ias...@gmail.com. The whole IASPM board will have access to this address, but Jason and I will be the ones who are primarily reading and responding to messages received there.

Finally, I'd like to introduce myself. I graduated with a PhD in musicology from Rutgers in 2009 and currently work as an adjunct instructor at several schools in New Jersey, including Rutgers, Rider, Montclair State, and sometimes Drew. I have taught a wide range of music history courses, but my primary area of interest is the use of technology in popular music and its relation to identity construction, especially in black popular music. I listen mostly to hip hop and jazz but grew up on country, classic rock, pop, grunge, and jam bands (usually not at the same time). Like most of you, I'm guessing, I enjoy all manner of popular culture beyond music, especially television, movies, and food.

Since most of us (at least at the outset) participating on this site have some relation to IASPM-US, it would be great if those of you who join the group would post a brief description of yourselves so that users can learn about each other's backgrounds in this post even while conversing with one another on other threads. 

Thanks in advance for your participation here!

[justindburton]

Update: to find the Facebook page, you'll need to search the full name. International Association for the Study of Popular Music - US Branch.