all things reconsidered

Call for Papers: All Things Reconsidered – September 2022

We are seeking essays for our September 2022 All Things Reconsidered series. These essays analyze classic albums in music history.

We are seeking essays for our September 2022 All Things Reconsidered series. These features analyze classic albums in music history. They are indexed in the academic ProQuest database. We are seeking pitches for articles on the albums listed below.

All Things Reconsidered articles should be at least 1,200 words, although that’s fairly short for a substantial essay, and writers are encouraged to go longer. Indeed, many of these features are in-depth, written for posterity and education and some go over 3,000 words.

In these essays, we want to address:

  1. Why this album matters. How has it stood the test of time?
  2. How has the perception of the music changed over time (if relevant)?
  3. Where the album came from in the history of the artist’s music and the genres/scenes from which it emerged.

Tips for essays:

  1. Please don’t use excessive lyric quotations unless you are doing a true literary analysis. Quotations are fine, but ideas are better.
  2. Please have a unique take on the album. Develop a central thesis to build your essay.
  3. These need to be essays with original critical thinking. We don’t want just a bunch of tracks listed with pure descriptions. There must be analysis.

Please address pitches to Sarah Zupko and enter your pitch on our Submittable page with the subject of “All Things Reconsidered”.

submit

PITCH DEADLINE: 20 August 2022

FINAL ESSAY DEADLINE: 10 September 2022

Note: PopMatters is a wholly independent magazine of cultural criticism, est. 1999. Our mission is to educate readers and document our period on the cultural timeline. We publish for posterity. PopMatters is a highly respected magazine because of its ideals and its fine writers and editorial staff. However, such high ideals are not monetarily rewarded in today’s publishing climate. For this reason, we can offer you an excellent publishing platform for your quality work and our social media efforts – but for now, we are unable to pay you for your articles. Even the editors are currently volunteering their time. We are presently a 100% volunteer organization with all advertising revenue supporting our basic expenses. Writers retain ownership of their copyright on articles, so they can use them for books and other projects. Their essays are indexed in ProQuest, as PopMatters is educational in our mission.


Albums – September 2022


AMERICANA

Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska 1982

Steve Earle – Jerusalem 2002

The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter 2012

BLUES

Bonnie Raitt – Give It Up 1972

Etta James – Etta James Sings for Lovers 1962

COUNTRY

Garth Brooks – The Chase 1992

Hank Williams – Moanin’ the Blues 1952

Joe Ely – Love and Danger 1992

Merle Haggard – A Working Man Can’t Get Nowhere 1977

Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton – Together Always 1972

Waylon Jennings – Ladies Love Outlaws 1972

ELECTRONIC

Art of Noise – In No Sense? Nonsense! 1987

Fluke – Risotto 1997

Photek – Modus Operandi 1997

The Prodigy – Experience 1992

Underworld – A Hundred Days Off 2002

ELECTROPOP

Björk – Homogenic 1997

Depeche Mode – A Broken Frame 1982

Depeche Mode – Music for the Masses 1987

ODESZA – Summer’s Gone 2012

Pet Shop Boys – Actually 1987

Portishead – Portishead 1997

The xx – Coexist 2012

FOLK

Arlo Guthrie – Alice’s Restaurant 1967

Bob Dylan – Tempest 2012

Bob Dylan – Time Out of Mind 1997

John Denver – Rocky Mountain High 1972

Sandy Denny – Sandy 1972

GLOBAL

Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club 1997

Junior Murvin – Police & Thieves 1977

HIP-HOP

Busta Rhymes – When Disaster Strikes… 1997

Common – One Day It’ll All Make Sense 1997

G.O.O.D. Music – Kanye West Presents: Good Music 2012

Mr Lif – I Phantom 2002

JAZZ

John Coltrane – Expression 1967

John Coltrane – Infinity 1972

METAL

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath Vol. 4 1972

POP

Angel Olsen – Half Way Home 2012

Billy Joel – The Nylon Curtain 1982

Billy Joel – The Stranger 1977

Carly Rae Jepsen – Kiss 2012

Chumbawamba – Tubthumper 1997

Gary Numan – I, Assassin 1982

Jennifer Lopez – Jenny from the Block 2002

Lana Del Rey – Ride 2012

Lilys – In the Presence of Nothing 1992

Love and Rockets – Earth, Sun, Moon 1987

Mariah Carey – Butterfly 1997

Michael Jackson – Bad 1987

OK Go – OK Go 2002

Pink – The Truth About Love 2012

Prince – 1999 1982

Randy Newman – Little Criminals 1977

Robbie Williams – Life Thru a Lens 1997

Scott Walker – Scott 1967

Squeeze – Babylon and On 1987

Stereolab – Dots and Loops 1997

The Apples In Stereo – Tone Soul Evolution 1997

The Beach Boys – Smiley Smile 1967

The Housemartins – The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death 1987

PUNK

Green Day – ¡Uno! 2012

Richard Hell & The Voidoids – Blank Generation 1977

R&B

Cody ChesnuTT – The Headphone Masterpiece 2002

Grace Jones – Portfolio 1977

Janet Jackson – Janet Jackson 1982

Luther Vandross – Forever, For Always, For Love 1982

Stevie Wonder – The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie 1962

ROCK

Alice in Chains – Dirt 1992

Animal Collective – Centipede Hz 2012

Beck – Sea Change 2002

Boz Scaggs – My Time 1972

Cheap Trick – In Color 1977

Chuck Berry – Chuck Berry in Memphis 1967

Cornershop – When I Was Born for the 7th Time 1997

David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant 2012

Grizzly Bear – Shields 2012

John Cale – Animal Justice 1977

Kate Bush – The Dreaming 1982

Linda Ronstadt – Simple Dreams 1977

Low – Trust 2002

Medicine – Shot Forth Self Living 1992

Mott The Hoople – All the Young Dude 1972

Nine Inch Nails – Broken 1992

Patti Smith – Peace and Noise 1997

Paul Weller – Illumination 2002

Paul Weller – Paul Weller 1992

Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 1982

Peter Gabriel – Us 1992

Pixies – Come on Pilgrim 1987

Procol Harum – Procol Harum 1967

R.E.M. – Document 1987

Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Uplift Mofo Party Plan 1987

Rush – A Farewell to Kings 1977

Rush – Signals 1982

Steely Dan – Aja 1977

Suede – A New Morning 2002

Sugar – Copper Blue 1992

Supergrass – Life on Other Planets 2002

Talking Heads – Talking Heads: 77 1977

The Boomtown Rats – The Boomtown Rats 1977

The Get Up Kids – Four Minute Mile 1997

The Killers – Battle Born 2012

The Kinks – Something Else by The Kinks 1967

The Psychedelic Furs – Forever Now 1982

The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon 1997

The Smiths – Strangeways, Here We Come 1987

The Strokes – Someday 2002

The Vaccines – Come of Age 2012

The Verve – Urban Hymns 1997

The Who – It’s Hard 1982

Tom Waits – Bone Machine 1992

Tom Waits – Foreign Affairs 1977

Travis – Good Feeling 1997

Yes – Close to the Edge 1972

Yo La Tengo – The Sounds of the Sounds of Science 2002