EMP Pop Conference 2012 -- NYC

You around today? What are you doing for lunch?

From 1 to 2 there's a lunchtime Prince panel.

Thing tonight needs extra prep time, I can't make it today and I'm *sad*, yesterday was a blast, but also *here for aero*. May drop by Von afterward b/c that's my "Cheers".

Yeah you better. For one thing I haven't said hi yet!

J Shep is interviewing Josh Kun on east village radio about his EMP presentation on Mexico/Cali border music right now (plus playing songs from Nortec collective and others) 4:10 Saturday East coast time

http://www.eastvillageradio.com/

nick sylvester calling out whiteness of mixtape panel, but admits to hiring all his friends at pitchfork #popcon

discussion of minstrelsy w/ all-white panel

enough twitter excerpts for now from me

so much good stuff on sunday. getting option anxiety!

i went to the mixtape panel and said hi to Breihan and enjoyed what he had to say because that's my dude but oh god so much else of what was said was just a smh greatest hits circa 2005

hahaha

do they do transcripts?

how many songs off 'we got it 4 cheap' were played?

several were mentioned by name

My paper (on 80s Miles Davis) will be on BurningAmbulance.com (with video of his Honda scooter commercial, even!) on Monday morning.

mixtape panel was iffy. i didn't stay for the whole thing. still haven't met some dude despite going to your panel and being at the mixtape one also. haha. perhaps tomorrow.

ah damn man, sorry i missed you! i still have no idea whether i will get back to popcon before getting on my bus tomorrow. 3 day weekend flying by frustratingly quickly!

rob sheffield/ann powers/jody rosen/greil marcus panel was the hightlight for me. everyone so good. kinda the ideal for ANY conference. whitney houston panel was my second fave. could listen to nelson george and danyel smith talk forever. and danyel's story of the time she was dissed by whitney was daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn!!!!

really wish i could be their for gza talking about liquid swords tomorrow but we have to get back.

really glad spike lee got into the emp spirit today. it was nice to see.

did not see owen at von. i drank a LOT of beer at von.

dinner at prune after von kinda one of the highlights of my year. ohmygodsofuckingamazing.

and i can't believe john aerosmith was in town and he didn't stop by emp. he missed some great stuff.

also really nice to see the usual emp suspects: daphne carr, matos, my pal amy phillps, carl wilson.

also, ilxors sang freud and alex in montreal and my hero jbr/get bent.

and last but not least to meet ned's completely adorable galpal!

lotsa folks were tweeting about Greil Marcus recounting Robert Johnson's life if he hadn't died in '38. He produced Straight Outta Compton

Plus pro and con thoughts on Rob Sheffield's presentation on the city of Los Angeles and the Doors

jazz panel with phil and nate chinen was totally for real awesome

missed jody rosen and greil marcus because i don't even want to be remotely near rob sheffield talking about the doors

nate chinen at one point imitated the 'old-timey' voice from ken burns docs

so great

rob's thing on the doors was one of the funniest things i've heard in a LONG time. it was great.

someone's tweet:

this mixtapes panel is like the ultimate inside joke: ex-P4K writers drone on about dipset, drink whiskey, berate people who leave.

i kinda think that rob can write rings around most of the people presenting. and he really WROTE his thing.

German GI/Dance thing was so great during Al and Matos's panel. wish xchukx could have been there for that.

this is the amazing video that kicked off the german gi dance thing, which i've spent the rest of the weekend showing everybody i can:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5xY53JqTnU

Was at Von but the 1-4 shift. Can't wait for Daphne tomorrow

Full weekend, this. A very good weekend indeed! More later but Scott, my sweetie thanks you kindly!

good seeing you too, skot! yours was even funnier than sheffield's. it's easier to riff on the doors than warlock records which is far from well-trod ground. but everything was great. i'm up early 'cause i need more.

nice meeting you too, maria!

seconded! it was great meeting you scott & maria. sorry i missed yesterday but i'll be back today

definitely kicking myself that i didn't see more panels and that i can't stay in town longer today but great weekend, meeting all y'all was a blast

The Tom Smucker/Jack Hamilton/Andy Zax/Douglas Wolk panel killed.

yeah, i would have loved to see that.

we just got home. oof, like, 4 hours sleep. beers at von + cocktails and wine at prune = wooooooooooooooo. that food at that restsaurant is godly. i ate so much.

i kinda think that rob can write rings around most of the people presenting. and he really WROTE his thing.

haha then i'm sorry for being dismissive

i just

no more things about the doors in my life, please

current favorite thing about the conference was michael b. gillespie's paper about post-9/11 music and theo parrish

it is a hard paper to explain but it was like one incredible idea per sentence

OMG i can't believe i had to leave before this. Douglas singing his paper on carole king with daphne backing him up!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/549964_10150810888377317_524112316_11832933_151041330_n.jpg

lotsa tweets about a panel with Whiney on it talking about maximizing internet hits and dealing with publicists. Breakbeats panel and New Orleans panel also getting plenty of tweets

my EMP paper for those of you who are into that sort of thing. *snark alert* do not read if you are david denby.

http://skotrok.blogspot.com/2012/03/2012-emp-pop-conference-paper.html

urban ears panel was fascinating, especially david suisman on audio documentarian tony schwartz and franklin bruno on old-school record men hugo & luigi

xpost

scott i meant to tell you, denby used to live in my building and boy you got his number

Do they even have any competition as far as being the most annoying music lover? You might say country fans, but at least you know where you stand with hardcore country fans. They stand over here and I stand over there not asking them what they think of the president.

Damn, scott, thanks for that Nemesis track. It's a shame I couldn't make it up to EMP to say hello.

Argh so sorry I didn't make it out.

That Douglas Wolk thing was the conceptual coup of the weekend. Not only did he sing his presentation, he took the conference's theme -- "Sounds of the City" -- quite literally, focusing on Carole King's 1968 band "The City" and even playing some of their music.

Tom Smucker upon noticing Robert Christgau and Greil Marcus in the audience: "Seeing as we have the Beatles and Stones of music criticism out there, you can think of me as the Herman's Hermits."