Sign in

Rob Drew

@slobster48602.bsky.social
1.3K followers 345 following 108 posts

Prof @svsu, author Karaoke Nights: An Ethnographic Rhapsody (AltaMira, 2001) and Unspooled: How the Cassette Made Music Shareable (Duke, 2024).

PostsRepliesMedia
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Best Thursday
000
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
The invitation for the Jeopardy Invitational Tournament should read, "You are invited to get your ass kicked by Matt Amodio."
000
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Sophie's choice: Rankin/Bass or Syd & Marty Krofft?
010
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
I had it in my head this was called Turn Me On Dead Man (i.e. even cooler/more obscure Beatles reference than Glass Onion) but no such luck m.imdb.com/title/tt1436...
m.imdb.com
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) ⭐ 7.9 | Comedy, Crime, Drama
2h 24m | PG-13
1101
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Been watching late night monologues on and off for half a century ... Never seen anything like that.
000
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
What an honor and a joy it was to share a few fond memories of my alma mater bit.ly/4lBMKPS
bit.ly
“There Was Never Any Doubt Where I Was Going”
Rob Drew ’83 is a professor of communication at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, where he teaches classes in media studies and popular culture. He is the author of Karaoke Nights: An Ethno...
020
Reposted by Rob Drew
Andrew Simon @simongandrew.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Over a century ago, today, a blind performer turned political dissident was born in Egypt. To commemorate the start of Shaykh Imam's story, the subject of my new book project, it seems only fitting to share this podcast episode: kerningcultures.com/sheikh-imam-...
kerningcultures.com
Sheikh Imam: Voice of Dissent - KERNING CULTURES كيرنينج كلتشرز
A blind oud player from humble beginnings, Sheikh Imam's destiny changed drastically when he met a dissident poet called Ahmed Fouad Negm, and they formed a
133
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
The Scantron is starting to feel very steampunk.
000
Reposted by Rob Drew
Will Hermes @willhermes.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
The great David Johansen of the NY DOLLS has been battling stage 4 cancer for the past few years, unable to work. This being America, he is having a hard times paying for medical care. A fundraiser has been set up through Sweet Relief; more info below. www.sweetrelief.org/davidjohanse...
sweetrelief.org
Sweet Relief
Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians and music industry workers who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability, or age-rela...
23624
Reposted by Rob Drew
Alyx Vesey @alyxvesey.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Austin folks: show up for Liz!
072
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Evidently @katejewell.bsky.social was lucky enough to have a friend in high school with a tape deck in their car that could only play "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." Also her review of Unspooled is super detailed and thoughtful. Thanks to Kate and @ranjitdighe.bsky.social !
051
Reposted by Rob Drew
Benjamin Duester @benjaminduester.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
@limnpress.bsky.social The Obsolescence Issue featuring a piece by @slobster48602.bsky.social and myself. I had a blast writing this article and I am stoked to see the connection between the historic (mixtapes) and present (tape labels) use of cassettes that we’ve traced in it.
063
Reposted by Rob Drew
Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Great to see "Unspooled" by @slobster48602.bsky.social on @variety.bsky.social's Best Music Books of 2024 list!
buff.ly
The Best Music Books of 2024: Joni Mitchell, Lisa Marie Presley, Kathleen Hanna, Rolling Stones and More
This year's bumper crop of great music books includes titles on Joni MItchell, Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna, the Rolling Stones, the Bee Gees and more.
0113
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Thanks to @adamorosi.bsky.social and Variety magazine for naming Unspooled one of their best music books of 2024 variety.com/2024/music/n...
variety.com
The Best Music Books of 2024: Joni Mitchell, Lisa Marie Presley, Kathleen Hanna, Rolling Stones and More
This year's bumper crop of great music books includes titles on Joni MItchell, Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna, the Rolling Stones, the Bee Gees and more.
141
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Thank you @subwaysurface.bsky.social for taking the time and thought to engage so fully with my work (and two other terrific books)
030
Reposted by Rob Drew
Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Thanks to Boulder Weekly for recommending two of our titles on their holiday music book guide, "Unspooled" by @slobster48602.bsky.social and "At the Vanguard of Vinyl" by Darren Mueller.
buff.ly
Books about music: 2024 holiday roundup - Boulder Weekly
Your annual roundup of books about music for your holiday shopping list — featuring Bruce Springsteen, Prince and more.
184
Reposted by Rob Drew
🤖h̷a̷y̷w̷i̷r̷e̷z̶🐥 @haywirez.com · 06/11/2023
Shane Denson's Discorrelated Images (2020) is one of the best books I've read this year. Hard to tl;dr, but we went from syncing to the human body to syncing to machines. Demonstrated through cinema. shanedenson.com/discorrelate...
shanedenson.com
Shane Denson | Discorrelated Images
Books
022
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Nothing against chimps but the NYT seems to be working through trauma with a lot of Buzzfeed type stuff above the fold
010
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Ben Düster and I co-authored a piece on the int'l cassette revival for this beautifully produced journal. Feeling quite obsolescent these days so it's entirely apropos.
031
Reposted by Rob Drew
jess rauchberg @jessrauchberg.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
my latest with @jessmaddox.bsky.social is out this morning in @femmediastudies.bsky.social! We propose influencer snark as a feminist media practice to address concerns of credibility, authenticity, and representation in the influencer industry. please share!!! www.tandfonline.com/eprint/XZSZD...
The abstract for Jess and Jess's article on influencer snark
612347
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
In which Ben Duester and I discuss pre- and postmillennial cassette scenes
041
Reposted by Rob Drew
Tanya Goldman @tanyagoldman.bsky.social · 03/07/2024
My third summer academic read: Rob Drew’s @slobster48602.bsky.social’s UNSPOOLED: HOW THE CASSETTE MADE MUSIC SHAREABLE (Duke UP, 2024). Brimming with insights on various meanings of cassettes. Sends me back to my childhood bedroom where I recorded songs off the radio!
052
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 21/03/2024
The recording of our Popular Music Books in Process session the other day ... youtu.be/5ujN97jY8t8?...
youtu.be
Cassette Books Mixtape: Marc Masters, Jerry Kranitz, & Rob Drew, w/ Tom McCourt, PMBiP, 24/04/18
Popular Music Books in Process, March 18, 2024: The compact cassette is getting overdue attention as a pivotal popular music format. This session was a conve...
001
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 05/03/2024
My book comes out today, feels bittersweet like the summer solstice. So often I planned how I'd reward myself when it was done, only realizing afterward it was its own reward. Grateful to have been able to write it.
020
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 02/03/2024
dukeupress.edu/unspooled will be out Tuesday! Happy to share my haul of pre-ordered copies with interested grad students, adjuncts, jr faculty. Email me your mailing address (rdrew@svsu.edu) ... hoping to get the word out and not go gently into academic book oblivion.
041
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 20/02/2024
Unspooled traces a few of the musicians who crossed paths with the cassette in its transition from fugitive format to cultural touchstone. Here's my annotated playlist courtesy of Duke!
03610
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 07/02/2024
@portwoodstacer.bsky.social has assured me it's okay if I brag that I was interviewed by a Jeopardy! champion ... she also happens to be the best academic book proposal consultant in the business. Really enjoyed our talk!
040
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 05/02/2024
!!!
030
Reposted by Rob Drew
Laura Portwood-Stacer @lportwoodstacer.bsky.social · 04/02/2024
Delighted to have received my analogue copy of @slobster48602.bsky.social’s UNSPOOLED: HOW THE CASSETTE MADE MUSIC SHAREABLE (and extra delighted by the design work from Duke UP’s Aimee Harrison) 👏👏👏
My hand holding the paperback of Unspooled by Rob Drew. In the background are framed drawings of cassette tapes hung above a pianoThe spine and back cover orientation of Unspooled resemble the case of a cassette tape
3163
Reposted by Rob Drew
Laura Portwood-Stacer @lportwoodstacer.bsky.social · 29/01/2024
PSA: you do not have to apologize or feel ashamed of promoting your own book. 1) people are mostly not seeing your posts. 2) you are *helping* people find out about something they might be interested in. Others will simply ignore if it’s not new info to them. Most ppl appreciate reminders
24311
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 25/01/2024
Big change on my campus: the Kar's Sweet 'n' Salty mixes in the vending machines have suddenly become Sweet 'n' Spicy mixes.
000
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 15/01/2024
The inverted legalese that appeared on the j-cards of several early tapes released by Martin Newell (a.k.a. Cleaners from Venus) could serve as a credo for all of cassette culture ...
0278
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 06/01/2024
An easy Saturday but I'll take it on 3rd night of covid
010
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 19/12/2023
I still recall being floored by Paul Gilroy's talk on Turner's Slave Ship, one of many highlights of the seminal 1990 cultural studies conference at Urbana-Champaign.
020
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 07/12/2023
Lear and MTM, the quality TV dialectic of a 70s childhood.
010
Reposted by Rob Drew
Rebecca Frazer @beccafraz.bsky.social · 06/12/2023
We're looking to hire 3 new science or health communication faculty at the University of Florida. Please share. explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/52...
011
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 05/12/2023
Pardon the proverbial cross-posting but three days remain on Duke's 50% off cyber Monday presale for Unspooled: How the Cassette Made Music Shareable with discount code CYBER23 (after which it will return to 30% off with code E24RDREW) www.dukeupress.edu/unspooled
dukeupress.edu
Duke University Press - Unspooled
061
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 02/12/2023
I'm on this ... my Dad's favorite show
010
Reposted by Rob Drew
Taylor R. Genovese @taylorgenovese.com · 30/11/2023
i had to restrain myself for @dukepress.bsky.social's 50% off sale, but i snagged some gems. ➤@lmesseri.bsky.social's upcoming ethnography on VR ➤erin mcelroy's upcoming multisited study on techno-imperialism ➤the latest translation of the maestro (rip dussel) ➤a reader on the cuban revolution
cover of in the land of the unreal by lisa messericover of silicon valley imperialism by erin McElroycover of the theological metaphors of marx by enrique dusselphoto of the cover the revolution from within
1136
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 30/11/2023
Duke threw a playlist up on Spotify for my book Unspooled: all songs originally released on cassette, all artists discussed in the book. Some may surprise. nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Unspooled
Unspooled · Playlist · 20 songs
1102
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 29/11/2023
Love this tattoo owning fandom for one of Billy's best
010
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 27/11/2023
What better purchase to mark cyber Monday than a paper book about analog media? Duke is offering 50% off pre-orders of Unspooled: How the Cassette Made Music Shareable until December 8. Use discount code CYBER23 at www.dukeupress.edu/unspooled (in Canada utpdistribution.com/978147802559... ).
dukeupress.edu
Duke University Press - Unspooled
010
Reposted by Rob Drew
Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 26/11/2023
Next Monday, 12/4, at 5:15pm I'm 🗣️ in Penn's Material Texts series. I haven't had any ⏰ for research this year, so I changed my title + topic — to REPAIR MANUALS — a few wks ago, but the website still reflects the old plan. Please join us in-person or on zoom! pennmaterialtexts.org/about/events/
“First, Remove Screws: A Cultural History of the Repair Manual“: How to mend a damaged planet, a fractured democracy, a ruptured institution, a shattered iPhone? Perhaps we could devise cross-scalar strategies of repair by examining the history, politics, and aesthetics of the repair manual as a didactic genre, a bibliographic species, and a creative form. In this talk we'll explore how the manual functions as a means of “infrastructural inversion,” calling attention to the systems that enable infrastructures to function; and, through the work of various artists and designers, we’ll consider how the genre might allow us to translate between the individualized refurbishment of objects and the collective maintenance of systems and societies. In closing, we’ll investigate how myriad institutions, including our own, have deployed manuals, toolkits, dialogue series, and other instructional media in an attempt to mitigate social and political unrest.
13011
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 26/11/2023
With her uncommon, three-voweled first name, Anya Taylor-Joy counts as one of the youngest celebrities ever to enter the pantheon of nyt crossword clues. Move over, Enya.
000
Rob Drew @slobster48602.bsky.social · 26/11/2023
What we wanted from the Beatles was to stay with us forever, but in a manner more akin to Field of Dreams than Reanimator or Weekend at Bernie's. www.nytimes.com/2023/11/21/m...
nytimes.com
The Beatles Are Still Charting the Future of Pop. It Looks Bleak.
Their latest song points toward a future where no golden goose need ever stop laying.
001
Reposted by Rob Drew
Laura Portwood-Stacer @lportwoodstacer.bsky.social · 22/11/2023
In today’s newsletter: why we all struggle to love our dissertations, and how you can use your book as a dissertation do-over Plus a sign-up link for my free webinar, How to Publish a Book from Your Dissertation newsletter.manuscriptworks.com/p/your-disse...
newsletter.manuscriptworks.com
Your Dissertation Do-Over in 2024
Hello, Manuscript Workers! The too-long-didn’t-read takeaway of today’s newsletter is that I’m going to be hosting a free webinar called How to Publish a Book from Your Dissertation. You can sig...
094
Reposted by Rob Drew
Amy Skjerseth @askjerseth.bsky.social · 21/11/2023
Announcing a free special issue in Journal of Popular Music Studies on podcasting and gender edited by @kategalloway.bsky.social, Morgan Bimm, and me. Big thanks to our authors and to @kgoldschmitt.bsky.social , @ehphd.bsky.social, & @ericdharvey.bsky.social! Link: online.ucpress.edu/jpms/issue/3...
12913
Reposted by Rob Drew
Carl Wilson @carlzoilus.bsky.social · 19/11/2023
Tuesday Nov 19! John Szwed joins the Popular Music Books series 5 pm ET to talk COSMIC SCHOLAR, the first ever bio of Harry Smith, the "hipster magus" who created The Anthology of American Folk Music and much more. With American Roots' Nick Spitzer. To come: iaspm-us.wildapricot.org/Popular-Musi...
0133