Fill 2019: On Writers And Spinning Vinyl
(This is a past event and is no longer running)
Alternative and mainstream. Punk and queer pop. The great muses of timeless music. From the dawn of pop culture, through the transformations of society and music technologies, music has deeply affected the morals, dreams, politics, and life of generations of young hearts. Coincidentally, dozens of writers have been moving through music’s generational shifts like prophets predicting the next pop icon, radicals recasting the canon, or meticulous researchers. In this panel discussion, a legendary British music critic with a flair for great writing, and an Italian novelist with a flair for music and pop culture, discuss their love for the music heroes, anti-heroes, poets and muses that have radically changed their lives and their work.
Ian Penman: described by Iain Sinclair as “a laureate of marginal places”, Ian Penman began his career in 1977 at the NME and went on to write for a string of publications including Uncut, Sight & Sound, The Wire, The Face, and The Guardian. He collected some of his writing in the book Vital signs: music, movies, and other manias (1998). It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track (published in 2019 by Fitzcarraldo) is his first book in 20 years, featuring a cast of the greatest characters in pop music history including the Mods, James Brown, Charlie Parker, Elvis Presley, Steely Dan and Prince.
Matteo B Bianchi is a novelist, editor, and radio and tv writer. After editing a collection of Andy Warhol’s quotes, he went on publishing his debut novel Generations of love in 1999, followed by a string of novels and other projects, often infused with music references and a deep knowledge of pop culture. His books have been translated in France, US, and other countries. His latest book is Yoko Ono – Dichiarazioni d’amore per una donna circondata d’odio (2018, Add Editore), an original portrait of artist and singer Yoko Ono.
Chair: Marco Mancassola is a London-based writer and lecturer in creative writing. He is the author of Last Love Parade, a history of dance culture mixed with personal memoir.
This event is in English and partly in Italian with English translation provided.