Matt Brennan (academic)
Matt Brennan (born 1979) is an author, musician, and academic whose work focuses on popular music and society. He is Professor of Popular Music at the University of Glasgow.[1]
Career and publications
Brennan's research has garnered significant press coverage, particularly his work on the cost of recorded music[2][3] and the value of the live music sector.[4][5]
His first monograph, When Genres Collide, was named as one of music website Pitchfork's "Favourite Music Books of 2017" and earned an Honorable Mention in the Association of American Publishers’ PROSE Awards for best "Music and Performing Arts" book.[6][7] His second monograph, Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit, was named as one of the 'Best Music Books of 2020' by the Financial Times.[8]
Brennan has authored, co-authored, and co-edited several books listed below:
- 2021: (co-edited with Joseph Michael Pignato and Daniel Akira Stadnicki) The Cambridge Companion to the Drum Kit, Cambridge University Press.
- 2021: (co-authored with Simon Frith, Martin Cloonan, and Emma Webster) The History of Live Music in Britain 1985-2015: From Live Aid to Live Nation, Routledge.
- 2020: Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit, Oxford University Press.[9]
- 2019: (co-authored with Simon Frith, Martin Cloonan, and Emma Webster) The History of Live Music in Britain 1968-1984: From Hyde Park to the Haçienda, Routledge.[10]
- 2017: When Genres Collide: Down Beat, Rolling Stone, and the Struggle Between Jazz and Rock, Bloomsbury.[11]
- 2017: (co-edited with Gareth Dylan Smith, Zack Moir, Shara Rambarran, and Philip Kirkman) The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music Education, Routledge.[12]
- 2013: (co-authored with Simon Frith, Martin Cloonan, and Emma Webster) The History of Live Music in Britain 1950-1967: From Dance Hall to the 100 Club, Routledge.[13]
Music
Brennan currently records and performs music under the name Citizen Bravo.[14] His first album as Citizen Bravo,[14] Build A Thing Of Beauty, was released by Chemikal Underground in 2019.[15] His sophomore album, a large scale collaborative work Return To Y'Hup: The World Of Ivor Cutler,[16] was released in 2020 and received 4-star reviews in MOJO, Uncut, and The Observer.[17]
Prior to his work as Citizen Bravo, Brennan was a founding member of the indie pop group Zoey Van Goey (2006-2012), which released two well received albums - The Cage Was Unlocked All Along[18][19] in 2009 and Propeller Versus Wings[20][21] in 2011 - on the Scottish record label Chemikal Underground.[22] He also performed onscreen and on the soundtrack for the film God Help The Girl, which won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.[23][24][25]
References
- "Dr Matt Brennan". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- "BBC Radio 3 - Music Matters, Music without compromise, Why CDs may be more eco-friendly than streaming". BBC. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- Blistein, Jon (23 May 2019). "Is Streaming Music Dangerous to the Environment? One Researcher Is Sounding the Alarm". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- "How big is live music really?". BBC News. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- Willson, Flora (7 March 2017). "When did you last hear live music? Stand up and be counted". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- "Pitchfork's 16 Favorite Music Books of 2017 | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- "2018 Award Winners - PROSE Awards". PROSE Awards. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (21 November 2020). "Best books of 2020: Pop music". Financial Times. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. 11 February 2020. ISBN 978-0-19-068387-0.
- "The History of Live Music in Britain, Volume II, 1968-1984: From Hyde Park to the Hacienda, 1st Edition (Hardback) - Routledge". Routledge.com. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- "When Genres Collide: Down Beat, Rolling Stone, and the Struggle between Jazz and Rock". Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- "The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music Education". Routledge Publishing. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- "The History of Live Music in Britain, Volume 1: 1950-1967, From Dance Hall to the 100 Club". Routledge Publishing. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- "HOME". www.citizenbravo.com.
- "Citizen Bravo – Build A Thing Of Beauty". Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- "Chemikal Underground Records - Shop - Citizen Bravo // Ivor Cutler". shop.chemikal.co.uk.
- Spencer, Neil (18 January 2020). "Citizen Bravo, Raymond MacDonald and Friends: Return to Y'Hup: The World of Ivor Cutler review – charming tribute to a national treasure". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- "Zoey Van Goey - The Cage Was Unlocked All Along". The List. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- "Zoey Van Goey - The Cage Was Unlocked All Along | The Skinny". Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- "Zoey Van Goey | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- "Zoey Van Goey – Propeller Versus Wings | The Skinny". Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- "Sunny side on the top - Zoey Van Goey interview". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- "God Help The Girl Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album credits". All Music. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- Dunn, Jamie (4 August 2014). "Stuart Murdoch on God Help the Girl". The Skinny. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- Smith, Nigel (25 January 2014). "'Whiplash' Owns the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Awards Netting Two Top Prizes". Indiewire. Retrieved 29 August 2017.