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Pop Conference

A melting pot for fans, musicians, scholars, and journalists.

  1. Author, singer, songwriter, and musician Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger) moderated the 2013 Pop Conference at EMP Museum in Seattle, which included 17 rapid-fire Ignite talks, three debates ("Which Beatles Album is Actually the Best," "Who's Got the Best Music Scene? Seattle vs. Austin vs. Portland," "In Lieu of Therapy: Power, Performance, and the Media"), and a panel discussion, ("The Joys and Burdens of Record Collecting).

    Photo courtesy of EMP staff.

  2. Kevin Cole (Senior Director of Programming at KEXP) and Mike Batt (President and owner of Silver Platters) share their thoughts on amassing a collection and living with all that vinyl during the 2013 Pop Conference panel discussion, "The Joys and Burdens of Record Collecting." 

    Photo courtesy of EMP staff.

  3. Singer-songwriter, label owner, and mother Rachel Flotard presenting "Banging Your Head Without Losing Your Marbles," one of 17 five-minute Ignite talks presented in JBL Theater during the 2013 Pop Conference at EMP Museum.

    Photo courtesy of EMP staff.

  4. Chris Estey from Big Freak Media presents "Old Sounds Make New Visions," a reflection on the importance of reissuing records. Estey's lecture was one of 17 five-minute Ignite talks presented in JBL Theater during the 2013 Pop Conference at EMP Museum.

    Photo courtesy of EMP staff.

Launched in 2002, EMP's Pop Conference joins academics, critics, performers, and dedicated fans in a rare collective discussion. In 2013, for the first time ever, Pop Conference was held at five prestigious institutions nationwide: EMP Museum in Seattle, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, USC in Los Angeles, Tulane University in New Orleans, and NYU in New York.

Stay tuned for more photos and videos of the music-charged event.

Seattle, WA

EMP Museum, April 20, 2013
Begging to Differ: New Visions, New Sounds

Cleveland, OH

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, April 19–21, 2013
Curating the Pop Soundscape

Los Angeles, CA

USC, April 17 and 19–20, 2013
Locals Only: Pop & Politics in This Town

New Orleans, LA

Tulane University, April 18–21, 2013
Due South: Roots, Songlines, Musical Geographies

New York, NY

NYU, April 18–19, 2013
After the Deluge

View Rockstarter: A Conversation with Amanda Palmer, moderated by Xeni Jardin at the link below.

Watch Video


About Pop Conference

For the first nine years of its existence, Pop Conference was held annually at EMP Museum. For the last two years, however, Pop Conference has been hosted by prestigious institutions on the east and west coasts of the United States: UCLA in 2011 and NYU in 2012.

The conference has broadened the understanding of the integral role that music plays in the human experience and resulted in multiple publications including three collections of essays: This Is Pop: In Search of the Elusive at Experience Music Project (Harvard University Press, 2004), Listen Again: A Momentary History of Pop Music (Duke University Press, 2007), and Pop When the World Falls Apart: Music in the Shadow of Doubt (Duke University Press, 2012). These successes have secured the conference as one of the foremost venues for discussion of music in the world.

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