Inside the University of Rochester's Institute for Popular Music
By: Matt Molloy
Updated: February 11, 2013
Tonight you saw some of music's biggest stars honored at the Grammys. Their music now part of history. Our Matt Molloy takes us inside the University of Rochester's new Institute for Popular Music where that music is being studied.
It was a hit song for country singer Trace Adkins: "Ladies Love Country Boys." It's also the title of the inaugural lecture at the University of Rochester's Institute for Popular Music.
"I think it's about critical thinking, it's also about still enjoying it," said Jocelyn Neal, professor with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Neal is the guest lecturer. Her lecture: "Gender Narratives and the Meaning of Country Music."
"There is never one answer as to how or why one feels a certain way about a song and the multiplicity and complexity of that is part of what we love working on," said Neal.
"We just look at any opportunity we can have to promote the cause of thinking seriously about popular music that's juxtaposed against thinking of music only in a kind of recreational way for fun," said John Covach, director of the Institute for Popular Music.
The university already offers more than a dozen popular music courses. The institute will create a home for all of that research and knowledge. Everything from Beyonce's Super Bowl performance to say the Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
"It's affected by and it affects things what happens in a culture so it's a very symbiotic relationship," said Covach. "We can start putting these puzzle pieces together to show how this music was formed, what happened in the studio while it was going on."
Neal says a simple song can say a lot about our culture and the study of popular music, once met with skepticism, is now hitting a serious note.
"Let's bring it together so there's a critical mass and maybe the next generation of students will have better access and better support for exploring these really important topics and questions," said Neal.
For more information on upcoming lectures click here.
It was a hit song for country singer Trace Adkins: "Ladies Love Country Boys." It's also the title of the inaugural lecture at the University of Rochester's Institute for Popular Music.
"I think it's about critical thinking, it's also about still enjoying it," said Jocelyn Neal, professor with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Neal is the guest lecturer. Her lecture: "Gender Narratives and the Meaning of Country Music."
"There is never one answer as to how or why one feels a certain way about a song and the multiplicity and complexity of that is part of what we love working on," said Neal.
"We just look at any opportunity we can have to promote the cause of thinking seriously about popular music that's juxtaposed against thinking of music only in a kind of recreational way for fun," said John Covach, director of the Institute for Popular Music.
The university already offers more than a dozen popular music courses. The institute will create a home for all of that research and knowledge. Everything from Beyonce's Super Bowl performance to say the Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
"It's affected by and it affects things what happens in a culture so it's a very symbiotic relationship," said Covach. "We can start putting these puzzle pieces together to show how this music was formed, what happened in the studio while it was going on."
Neal says a simple song can say a lot about our culture and the study of popular music, once met with skepticism, is now hitting a serious note.
"Let's bring it together so there's a critical mass and maybe the next generation of students will have better access and better support for exploring these really important topics and questions," said Neal.
For more information on upcoming lectures click here.
