Wrap-Up, and on to the Next

Well, that was a good start!

We're not exactly sure how to organize this whole "themes" idea for this blog, but it seems like a good moment to move along to something else. We've had contributions from Kariann about the idea of "bad music" and guilty pleasures, Phil on on the link between theory and our own lives, Rebecca on her love for Church music, MMR on her experience as a rock star and the role of the canon, Phil again on Britney Spears, Kariann again on sound system bikes, and even a take on the situation by Sammee over at her own blog. I'm not sure how to quite sum up the points. One thing I think I can safely say is that there is a fair amount of anxiety out there about revealing too much of yourself in academia. Given the tight job market, the difficulty of getting into grad school, and of course the small size and presumed collegiality of our field, it's entirely reasonable to worry that one's personal taste or beliefs might harm one's career--the whole thing is such a crap shot, who knows what might sink you. Blogging, as we all know, strikes at the heart of the relationship between an academic's private and public image.

So let's leave our anxious selves behind, and move onto something less personal, and a bit more work-oriented: transcription!

We'll lead off with a guest post that raises some juicy questions, and I believe Kariann has a post on the subject brewing as well. Do you have a story about transcription? Want to pontificate? Get in touch, or blog about it yourself. Make sure to link back here so that we know you have, and we'll link you up.

We're also open to suggestions on how to make this somewhat experimental format more interesting and useful, so feel free to leave a comment to this post if you have an idea. One thing I'd like to see is more short posts that don't feel obligated to make a big point. Lord knows that can be stressful to write. I'd rather see quantity over quality, myself.