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    Musicologist Nate Sloan smiling and wearing glasses.

    Nate Sloan

    July 11, 2018

    Nate Sloan is a musicologist and performer who researches jazz, Tin Pan Alley, and popular music. Sloan hosts Switched on Pop with songwriter Charlie Harding, a podcast produced by Vox Media which has been cited by Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly as a top music podcast, and he provides music analysis for The Economist, NPR, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, and CBC Radio’s “Day… Continue reading Nate Sloan


    Dana Gioia

    Dana Gioia wins Poets’ Prize

    April 9, 2018

    Dana Gioia, USC Thornton Arts Leadership and Musicology faculty member and Poet Laureate of California, recently won the Poets’ Prize for his retrospective, 99 Poems, which was published in 2016. The Poets’ Prize recognizes a book published by a living American poet each year. Gioia, who served as the chairman of the National Endowment for… Continue reading Dana Gioia wins Poets’ Prize


    Scott Spencer marks St. Patrick’s Day with a chat about historical Irish music

    March 22, 2018

    Scott Spencer, USC Libraries Music Library Supervisor and a member of the USC Thornton Musicology faculty, was recently featured on the Virginia Humanities’ BackStory podcast. Spencer spoke with host Brian Balogh about early 20th century recordings made by Irish Americans for the podcast’s St. Patrick’s Day episode, exploring historical perspectives of Irish-American life. Spencer is… Continue reading Scott Spencer marks St. Patrick’s Day with a chat about historical Irish music


    College Magazine surveys “10 Music Courses at USC to Jump Start Your Music Career”

    November 27, 2017

    College Magazine recently put USC Thornton at the center of an article exploring college courses to “Jump Start Your Music Career.” From classes in jazz performance and music theory to Music and Science Fiction and Thornton’s legendary Beatles class, the piece surveys the many innovative learning opportunities available to Thornton music students. The article puts… Continue reading College Magazine surveys “10 Music Courses at USC to Jump Start Your Music Career”


    Tim Page quoted by NPR and the Daily Beast

    November 13, 2017

    Tim Page, professor at both USC Thornton and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, was recently quoted in a Daily Beast article, “Bob Guccione Jr.: Where ‘Rolling Stone’ Went Wrong, and How I Would Save It.” Page described Rolling Stone as a “lifeline for music-crazy kids all over the country,” and as a… Continue reading Tim Page quoted by NPR and the Daily Beast


    Musicology student Eric Davis contributes to award-winning Cole Porter journal

    October 31, 2017

    USC Thornton Musicology doctoral candidate Eric Davis published an essay, “‘I Hate Parading My Serenading’: The Historical Record of Porter as a Performer” in A Cole Porter Companion, released by the University of Illinois Press in 2016. The volume, which the University of Illinois Press describes as “an invaluable guide for the fans and scholars… Continue reading Musicology student Eric Davis contributes to award-winning Cole Porter journal


    Joanna Demers publishes new book of musicological fiction

    September 28, 2017

    Joanna Demers, chair of the USC Thornton Musicology department, recently published her fourth book, entitled Anatomy of Thought-Fiction: CHS Report, April 2214. Much like her previous novel, Anatomy of Thought-Fiction explores popular music through the fictional framework of an unpublished musicological manuscript that “interrogates the music of artists ranging from David Bowie and Scott Walker… Continue reading Joanna Demers publishes new book of musicological fiction


    Alumnus Richard Brown joins Warner/Chappell Music as forensic musicologist

    February 6, 2017

    USC Thornton alumnus Richard Brown (MA ’07, music history & literature, PhD ’12, musicology) has recently accepted a position with Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. as manager and in-house forensic musicologist of the Infringement Compliance Unit. Warner/Chappell Music will utilize Brown’s expertise to assist the label’s legal team in fielding copyright infringement claims, playing an essential role… Continue reading Alumnus Richard Brown joins Warner/Chappell Music as forensic musicologist


    Joanna Demers quoted on the copyright lawsuit against Bruno Mars

    November 29, 2016

    Joanna Demers, chair of the USC Thornton Musicology program, was quoted in a Pitchfork article about a recently filed lawsuit against Bruno Mars for his song “Uptown Funk.” Demers argues that “intention really does matter” when it comes to whether or not Mars plagiarized Collage’s song, “Young Girls”. Demers, whose research and teaching interests include… Continue reading Joanna Demers quoted on the copyright lawsuit against Bruno Mars


    Musicologist and critic Tim Page writes about the letters of John Cage

    October 17, 2016

    Tim Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic and a member of the USC Thornton Musicology faculty, recently penned an article for The New York Review of Books about The Selected Letters of John Cage, which was published by Wesleyan University Press. Editor Laura Kuhn, a professor at Bard College and now director of the John Cage… Continue reading Musicologist and critic Tim Page writes about the letters of John Cage