Past Events

“Explore Squeeze’s Spot the Difference album (2010)” at the IF Oxford Science + Ideas Festival

Friday 19 October 2018, 19:00–20:30

Wig and Pen, 9-13 George St, Oxford, OX1 2AU

The PMRU team will be appearing at the IF Festival in October, looking at changing ownership and the sounds behind Squeeze’s 2010 album, Spot the Difference.

Booking required; pay what you decide.

Why would a band attempt a perfect re-recording of their greatest hits? And what can we find out when they do? Come and join Oxford Brookes’ Popular Music Research Unit to Spot the Difference between Squeeze tracks as they shift across audio formats, record companies and publishers over time.

Squeeze’s Spot the Difference album is an unusual attempt to recreate, note for note, and sound for sound, the original recordings of the band’s greatest hits. The motivation behind the record was for the band to reclaim lost copyright. Recorded music copyright mainly consists of three types. Squeeze had already lost half of the copyright residing in the notes of the songs (type one) and the lyrics (type two) in an early contract, but a loophole in the contract meant that after a period of time had passed, they could attempt to reclaim all of the recording rights (type three) by recreating the original recordings.

PMRU have been exploring the background and ramifications of this album, both for Squeeze themselves, and for what it can tell us about the details of the band’s original signature sound, and more generally, what happens to the sound of recordings as they are reissued time after time and on new formats, and how the complexities of copyright impact the music and sounds that we hear.

At this interactive event, PMRU will share some of their findings about the album and invite you to have a go at researching the album yourselves through hands on activities in a relaxed atmosphere (with bar!).

Activities will include: Dr Jennifer Skellington leading an exploration of copyright, David Carugo leading an activity on listening to the stereo field, Joe Turner leading an activity on spotting the difference between the different tracks’ production, and Dr Jan Butler leading an activity on exploring how different versions of tracks appear on the album.

There’ll be plenty of time for discussion with PMRU and lots of listening to Squeeze.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Oxford Brookes Popular Music Research Unit (PMRU) presents:

Nightshift: Exploring Oxford’s Music Magazine

Richard Hamilton Building, Headington Hill site
Oxford Brookes University
Tuesday 27 March 2018, 9.45am – 4.30pm

Oxford’s local music magazine, Nightshift, will be the subject of a full day of discussion at Brookes University on Tuesday 27 March, hosted by the Popular Music Research Unit.

The day will feature the history of Nightshift and the Oxford music scene going back to its origins as Curfew in the early 90s, as well as discussing local scenes, regional music media and demo reviews, finishing with a Q&A session with founder and editor Ronan Munro.

Programme:

• 9:30: Arrival; refreshments
• 9:45: Registration
• 10am: Introduction, followed by Dr Dai Griffiths (Brookes) on Nightshift as a music magazine
• 10:30: Long-time Nightshift writer Sam Shepherd on the magazine’s history
• 11am: Snapshots of Nightshift from different perspectives 1:
  • Former Sandman editor Jan Webster
  • Graham Hobbs and Jonathan Roscoe from Shire Folk
  • Local promoter and PR Vez Hoper
  • Professor Martin Cloonan (Glasgow/Turku)
• 12pm: Lunch (on main Gipsy Lane site)
• 1:30: Snapshots of Nightshift from different perspectives 2:
  • BBC Introducing Oxford producer Liz Green
  • Local promoter Richard Catherall
• 2pm: Demo of the Month workshop, featuring:
  • Nathan Ball, Hannah Watts and Joe Turner (Worry)
  • Mike Smith (Lucy Leave)
  • Mike Monaghan (Gaz Coombes, St Etienne, Willie J Healey)
• 2:45: Refreshments
• 3:15: Q & A with founding editor, Ronan Munro
• 4pm: Brief plenary and depart

The Oxford Brookes Popular Music Research Unit (PMRU) and OxPAN (the Oxford Pop Academics Network) present:

A Postgraduate Popular Music Study Day

Richard Hamilton Building, Oxford Brookes University
Thursday 25 May 2017, 9.30am – 4.30pm
Free to attend; all welcome

Oxford Brookes’ PMRU and OxPAN are holding a postgraduate study day at Oxford Brookes on Thursday 25th May 2017 particularly aimed at universities regional to the Oxford area but open to all. The day will feature paper sessions presented by local students, and a discussion panel.

The panel will bring together experts from academia and the music industry to discuss syncing – the process of connecting a musical composition with a moving picture. The topic continues the ‘Shifting Ground’ theme of Oxford Brookes’ PMRU group (see https://pmrubrookes.wordpress.com/activities/). Dr Dai Griffiths (Brookes) will introduce the Study Day and also present Shifting Ground’s current research in the area of music and copyright.

This Study Day is a fantastic opportunity for students from across the region to present their current research, meet and network with fellow students and academics, and watch academics and music industry professionals discuss issues current to popular music studies and the music industry.

All are welcome; if you would like to attend, please contact Kirsten Etheridge (16035461 (at) brookes.ac.uk) to book your place. Coffee and tea will be provided, and there are catering outlets on campus for lunch.

Programme

• 9:30: Registration, tea and coffee
• 10am: Welcome from Dr Dai Griffiths of the Popular Music Research Unit
• 10.15: Papers (Chair: Dr Dai Griffiths):
  • Jacob Bird (University of Oxford): Becoming (S)He: Drag Lip-Sync Performance
  • Joe Turner (Oxford Brookes University): One Man Metal: Authenticity and the Romantic Genius in Black Metal
• 11.15: Tea and coffee
• 11.30: Papers (Chair: Dr Jan Butler (Oxford Brookes)):
  • Karlyn King (University of Birmingham): Vinyl Records Vs Digital Ephemera: Does the Medium of Music Matter?
  • Olivia Gable (Open University): ‘Emerging’ Popular Musicians and the Value of Public Funding
• 12:30: Lunch (we will walk over to the main campus John Henry Brookes Building)
• 2pm: Panel:
  • Syncing: Why is it Such a Big Part of the Music Industry Now?
  • Angela Penhaligon (freelance music supervisor and producer)
    Dr Freya Jarman (University of Liverpool)
    Dr Catherine Haworth (University of Huddersfield)
• 3:30: Tea and coffee
• 3.45: Current work of the Popular Music Research Unit with Dr Dai Griffiths
• 4.30: Adjournment to the pub for informal discussion