Thomas Conner
  • thomasconner
    • Bio
    • Professional: Resumé
    • Academic: CV
    • Teaching
    • Blog

Phenomonoscopy

favorite albums of 2013

12/19/2013

0 Comments

 
I’m no longer a full-time critic, but a lifelong reflex still kicks in each December: gotta make my year’s top 10 list! So, for whate’er ‘tis worth, for whomever may still care: personal and critical faves from 2013 …

Janelle Monae, “Electric Lady” (Atlantic)
You might not think an Afrofuturist sci-fi concept album would be an easy project to follow up, but Janelle Monae — literally and figuratively — didn’t lose the plot on this year’s “The Electric Lady,” the continuation of the “electro-sophista-funky-cated” world of oppressed but soulful androids introduced on 2011’s flawless “The ArchAndroid” (my list-topper in 2011) She doesn’t just keep the narrative and groove going, she brings an elegance to it. This sophomore effort comes front-loaded with entertaining guest stars, from Prince to Solange, though they’re needless next to Monae’s natural and formidable songwriting and vocal talents. Yet another album for brain and booty. (Read more)

Read More
0 Comments

focus & flow

12/12/2013

0 Comments

 
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the patron saint of finals weeks. The psyche prof developed the concept of the “flow” state. (Watch his TED about it.) You know it as being “in the zone” — that state of concentration where you become so deeply involved in an activity that you lose time. Csikszentmihalyi described it as being “completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies.” Flow is essentially an intense but positive and creative feeling of presence (Heeter, 2003). If, like me, you’re writing papers right now, flow-ing is where you want to be.

For this writer, background music has become essential to reining in my limbic system and achieving something like Csikszentmihalyi’s flow state. To that end, I’ve found a few resources pretty indispensable this year.

Read More
0 Comments

reader meet author: morrissey's 'autobiography'

12/9/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
“The difficulty is not getting bored with the central character.” This was Morrissey’s response last year to my question about the progress of his memoir. He was speaking as the author, though one might wonder if the same experience now can be said for the reader.

To be sure, the book is rarely boring.

Read More
1 Comment
    Picture

    this blahg

    I'm THOMAS CONNER, Ph.D. in Communication & STS, and a longtime culture journalist.

    I study the cultural histories and media effects of holograms, AR tech, and virtual performance. I was a pop music critic for 20 years.
    I'm a Taoist and a teaist. All of this and more is fair game here.


    &c. &c. &c.


    Categories

    All
    Academia
    Books
    California
    Communication
    Conferences
    Cultural Studies
    Hatsune Miku
    Haunted Media
    Movies
    Music: Background
    Music: Foreground
    Obits
    Oklahoma
    Science Studies
    Technology
    Television
    Theory: Comm
    Virtual Performance
    Woody Guthrie

    Archives

    November 2024
    October 2024
    June 2024
    April 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    June 2023
    April 2023
    October 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    November 2020
    July 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    May 2018
    February 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    RSS Feed

Home

Bio

Professional

Academic

Blog

mine, all mine © 2000-now
  • thomasconner
    • Bio
    • Professional: Resumé
    • Academic: CV
    • Teaching
    • Blog