Revisiting Music in 1991, A Cultural Turning Point (8/1/2011)

full name / name of organization: 
PopMatters
contact email: 

Revisiting Music in 1991, A Cultural Turning Point
Pitch Deadline: August 1, 2011
Writing Deadline: August 21, 2011
Contact: A.J. Ramirez (ramirez@popmatters.com) and Arnold Pan (arnoldpan@popmatters.com)

PopMatters (http://www.popmatters.com) seeks thoughtful, critically engaged essays that explore the music and music culture of 1991, a year that has gone into the history books as a turning point for popular music as we know it today. This September marks twenty years since the release of Nirvana's Nevermind, one of the few albums you can truly say changed the world: Not only did Nevermind usher in the rise of alternative rock as mainstream music -- and bring about the demise of the popular genres that had ruled the charts at the time -- but it also made a real impact on culture as a whole, from fashion to the marketplace to culture at-large. And as any music fan knows, the legacy of 1991 was a lot greater than Nirvana and grunge; it was a year that saw an unusually high volume of albums that became landmark recordings as well as the emergence of genres and subgenres that would have a great cultural impact in later years.

PopMatters is planning a series of features commemorating 1991, looking at the big picture as well as some of the details that have been relegated to the dustbin of history. Our goal is to provide coverage that reflects the expertise of writers across a wide array of musical genres and cultural perspectives:

* Essays on the musical trends of 1991 (1500+ word essays)
We are seeking feature-length essays that cover the landscape of music from 1991, including pieces that examine the legacy of music from that year twenty years later. In particular, we're looking for folks who can write something on the end of the boy band era and the inaugural Lollapalooza.

* Essays on the cultural trends of 1991 (1500+ word essays)
We are looking for contributions on the cultural trends spawned by popular music at the beginning of the 1990s. Some possibilities might include retrospectives on music and the end of the Cold War, grunge fashion, the cultural significance of music videos to the rising popularity of alternative rock, and the emergence of Rock the Vote before the 1992 elections.

We also encourage you to pitch your own features reflecting on music and culture in 1991 that cover topics that we're overlooking. We look forward to seeing what ideas you come up with and working with you on this project. Thanks!

About PopMatters: PopMatters is an international magazine of cultural criticism. Our scope is broadly cast on all things pop culture, and our content is updated daily, Monday through Friday. We provide intelligent reviews, engaging interviews, and in-depth essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, sports, theatre, the visual arts, travel, and the Internet. Since 1999, PopMatters has been providing smart readers with sharp, entertaining writing on a wide range of topics in pop culture, offering a refuge from the usual hype and gossip. 

PopMatters cultivates smart writers from the world-at-large.

Our staff ranges from the multiple-degreed and/or well traveled, to young writers of high caliber, to 'seasoned' folks who punch the 9-5 clock, regardless of what type of degree, if any, they may hold. PopMatters recognizes that creative, compassionate intellectuals reside in all levels of society, in all types of societies, and we value their ability to provide intelligent, entertaining cultural criticism in the form of thoughtful, magazine-style essays.