USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles hosted the in-person Pop Conference on March 7 through 9. It featured more than 40 panels, roundtables and special events split into three or four concurrent slots on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
In its 22nd year, Pop Conference brought together the world's leading scholars, journalists, writers and musicians to present papers and participate in roundtables, discussions and performances about popular music. Participants include George Clinton, Wendy & Lisa, David Ritz, Danyel Smith, Robert Christgau, Nina Diaz and many more.
This year’s conference theme was “Legacy! Legacy! Music, Collections, and Archives,” drew its name from the acclaimed 2019 album by singer songwriter Jamila Woods (a Pop Conference participant herself in 2022).
Music archives and collections are transforming their meaning as well as the role of legacy in popular music, which this year’s topic explored. Among the questions the conference participants considered: What do musicians, bands, critics, and fans leave behind once they’ve exited the building? How do we remember, or forget, music scenes? What is left to remember of the different ways they’ve shaped and moved worlds? What do we do with a multitude of legacies living in the present…and how do we shape the legacies we hope to leave behind?
Thursday Events
Mujeres de Maiz were one of the many guest speakers for Thursday’s roundtable.The non-profit organization said on their Facebook account, “I am honored to be in conversation with Xóchitl Chávez, Alexandro D. Hernández Gutiérrez, Lucero Saldaña, Bryan Cantero and moderated by Eddy F. Alvarez,” they said.
Friday Events
Jorge Nicolás Leal participated in Friday's roundtable. On his Facebook account he said, “ I feel really excited to be part of this roundtable with Flavio Morales, one of the most prolific Chicano TV producers of this generation. In addition, my amazing UC colleagues Dr. Kika GH, and Dr. Ricky Rodriguez will be part of this roundtable to talk all about Latino/a/x Television and how music shows like 1990s ILLEGAL interns and mun2’s “I Love Jenni” (2000s) have played a key role in bringing bold representation on Television. Most importantly, how Television made by US Latinas/os for US Latinas/os has redefined Latina/o music icons from bands like Café Tacvba to Jenni Rivera,” he said.
A second keynote, featuring Grammy, Oscar and Emmy winning musical duo Wendy & Lisa in conversation with Smithsonian Museum Curatorial Specialist Timothy Anne Burnside, took place on Friday March 8.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.