I have been looking forward to the Pop Conference since they starting leaking panelists and session titles — who wouldn't be intrigued by a talk titled "Reconsidering the Groupie" (although I like to call them/us "Superfans") with John Roderick? I know that imaginary victoria and I are hoping to be front row and center at that one.

And with Mike McGonigal, Franklin Bruno, Sean Nelson and Tim Quirk all in one building? I can hardly imagine being around that much brain power.

Here's what I've narrowed down my dance card to be. I am going to aim to get into these (yay pre-registration). What are you all going to see? Pipe up and report back!

Head over to the EMP site to put together your Pop Conference schedule.

FRIDAY

9:00 – 10:45
>> Midcentury Moderns
Moderated by: Elijah Wald
Featuring:
Franklin Bruno, "'Stone Cold Dead in de Market': Exploiting the Voice in Post-War Calypso"
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, "Jamaica Farewell: Belafonte's Caribbean and the (Political) Erotics of US Pop"
Rod Hernandez, "Love Songs in Other Tongues: Nat King Cole’s Latin Music—from Hollywood to Hong Kong"
Holly George-Warren, "Frisky and Fringed: How Wanda Jackson’s Oomph Kept Her Off the Opry Stage"

11:00 – 12:45
>> Pop Babylon
Moderated by: Douglas Wolk
Featuring:
Josh Langhoff, "Hearing Babylon Two Ways (and Hearing Babylon Threeways)"
Leonard Pierce, "Women of Dark Desires: The Female Presence in Black Metal"
Mike McGonigal, "Stained Panties & Hoarse Metaphors: Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers' Performance of "Nearer My God to Thee" at the Great Shrine Auditorium Concert in Los Angeles, CA in 1955"

SATURDAY
10:45 – 12:30
>> Sexual Healing?
Moderated by: Charles Cross
Featuring:
Sarah Dougher, "Filling Up and Spilling Over: Where's the Sex in Women's Music?"
Eric Weisbard, "Is This Women's Music? The Strange Case of the Format Adult Contemporary (née Middle of the Road)"
Tim Quirk, "Endlessly Horny for Wonder and Magic: How Jim Steinman’s Bat Out of Hell Perfectly Captured the Pre-Pubescent American Id (and Nearly Ruined Me for Life)"
Tim Grierson, "How George Michael’s “Father Figure” Made Me a Man"

1:30 – 3:00
>> Relocating Desire
Moderated by: Tim Quirk
Featuring:
Sean Nelson, "Let’s (Not) Get it On– Or, “Fucking to Songs About Fucking and Other Uncomfortable Developments in the Awkward Relationship Between What We’re Going to Have to Just Agree to Call Indie Rock and Sexuality in the 1990s.”"
Ann Powers, "On Gushing: Relocating Desire in Pop Criticism"
Seth L. Sanders, "Fanatical Doubt"

3:15 – 4:45
>> Reconsidering the Groupie
This roundtable will talk about the gender issues that surround groupies, the groupie transaction, groupie-ism as discourse, and how groupies function in new technology-driven social networks.
Moderated by: Mikki Halpin
Featuring:
John Roderick
Margaret Moser
Jodi O'Brien

Pop Conference Concert 10:00 pm – Midnight
Featuring performances by some of this year's Pop Conference presenters. Performers include: Franklin Bruno, Sarah Dougher, David Grubbs, Matmos, Sean Nelson and David Thomas. KEXP DJ Quilty 3000 will end the night spinning dance sets on the Conference Theme "Dance Music Sex Romance."
Attendance is open to the public – $7 admission (free for Pop Conference presenters).

(BTW, photo by the fabulous Chona Kasinger)