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Tuesday, October 12, 2021

"Digging Cambodian Rock: Global Media Archaeologies of Popular Music," October 27 at Pitt.

via KUNR, story by NPR.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present David Novak and his talk "Digging Cambodian Rock: Global Media Archaeologies of Popular Music" on October 27, part of its Asia Now Fall Lecture Series.
Thinking toward a media archaeology of global popular music, this presentation will trace the contemporary circulation of “golden era” 1960s and 1970s "Cambodian Rock." The lecture seeks to contextualize and historicize revivals of pre-Khmer Rouge pop recordings through the mediated movements, dubs, and remixes of cassette tapes among North American independent labels and the activities of online archivists and heritage centers in present-day Cambodia, which helped to generate the documentary film Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten, the play Cambodian Rock Band, and the Los Angeles based group Dengue Fever. Drawing from ethnographic interviews with contemporary preservationists and reissue labels in Cambodia, California, Oregon, and Massachusetts, the lecture considers the role of music in memories of genocide and war, the importance of physical materials in the global recognition of Southeast Asian history, and the ethical politics of media access in the transition to a digital archive.
It runs from 4:30 to 5:45 pm in 211 Lawrence Hall, and is free and open to members of the Pitt community who abide by the university's health guidelines.