Seeking musical memories
A three year project aiming to understand how English popular music shapes identity is looking for people to reveal the songs that inspire them, the objects they treasure and the events they'll never forget. The Popular Music Heritage, Cultural Memory and Cultural Identity (POPID) study is seeking your musical memories, as it attempts to build a picture of popular music heritage that delves into individual associations and personal attachments. An international project, POPID is led in the UK by Professor Sara Cohen and colleagues, Les Roberts and Gurdeep Khabra , of the University's Institute of Popular Music; in partnership with researchers in the Netherlands, Austria and Slovenia. Professor Cohen said: "We want people to tell us stories about music, their musical memories and the objects they collect that are meaningful to them. It doesn't have to be objects, it could be places they've been, like music festivals or events, or musicians they remember. We want stories about musical memories and how music is connected to personal history and identity." Roberts added: "We're particularly interested in things that tell stories, that are meaningful and that are narrative pieces of personal history." The first phase of the project has seen Sara, Les and Gurdeep representatives from the music, media industries, tourism and heritage sector, as well as examining films, books, exhibitions and plaques in order to build up an idea of the "official" version of English popular musical heritage.
