Riffs
@popmusicjournal.bsky.social
OA journal for experimental writing, art, photography, composition + performance on Popular Music. Current issue: Vol 9, Issue 1 - Feb 2026
https://linktr.ee/riffsjournal
https://linktr.ee/riffsjournal
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Riffs
@popmusicjournal.bsky.social
· Jun 18
Call for full contributions! Vol 9 Issue 2: Puget Sound Stories
Editors Amalia Kozloff + Sharon Kong-Perring (Museum of Pop Culture) invite papers, photo essays, narrative pieces (poetry/prose), archival projects, creative explorations
Deadline: 1st August 2026
CfP: riffsjournal.org/news-latest-...
Editors Amalia Kozloff + Sharon Kong-Perring (Museum of Pop Culture) invite papers, photo essays, narrative pieces (poetry/prose), archival projects, creative explorations
Deadline: 1st August 2026
CfP: riffsjournal.org/news-latest-...
📚 NEW REVIEW 📚
Lambros Fatsis (University of London) reviews "Like Lockdown Never Happened: Music + Culture During Covid" by Joy White.
Lambros Fatsis (University of London) reviews "Like Lockdown Never Happened: Music + Culture During Covid" by Joy White.
October 6, 2026 at 3:39 PM
📚 NEW REVIEW 📚
Lambros Fatsis (University of London) reviews "Like Lockdown Never Happened: Music + Culture During Covid" by Joy White.
Lambros Fatsis (University of London) reviews "Like Lockdown Never Happened: Music + Culture During Covid" by Joy White.
📚 NEW REVIEW 📚
Tom Astley (Northumbria University) reviews “I Know How To Live: The Life of Kristen Pfaff” by Guy Mankowski, with a forward by Jason Pfaff.
Tom Astley (Northumbria University) reviews “I Know How To Live: The Life of Kristen Pfaff” by Guy Mankowski, with a forward by Jason Pfaff.
September 30, 2026 at 2:41 PM
📚 NEW REVIEW 📚
Tom Astley (Northumbria University) reviews “I Know How To Live: The Life of Kristen Pfaff” by Guy Mankowski, with a forward by Jason Pfaff.
Tom Astley (Northumbria University) reviews “I Know How To Live: The Life of Kristen Pfaff” by Guy Mankowski, with a forward by Jason Pfaff.
📖 FRESH 📖
Riffs Special Issue – Zine Your Thesis – June 2026
Featuring an editorial by Iain A. Taylor and contributions from José Rama Domínguez, Alice Gibson, Rebecca Williamson, Yuyuan Xue, Polly Bodenger, and Gary Lloyd.
riffsjournal.org/special-issu...
Riffs Special Issue – Zine Your Thesis – June 2026
Featuring an editorial by Iain A. Taylor and contributions from José Rama Domínguez, Alice Gibson, Rebecca Williamson, Yuyuan Xue, Polly Bodenger, and Gary Lloyd.
riffsjournal.org/special-issu...
July 31, 2026 at 1:24 PM
📖 FRESH 📖
Riffs Special Issue – Zine Your Thesis – June 2026
Featuring an editorial by Iain A. Taylor and contributions from José Rama Domínguez, Alice Gibson, Rebecca Williamson, Yuyuan Xue, Polly Bodenger, and Gary Lloyd.
riffsjournal.org/special-issu...
Riffs Special Issue – Zine Your Thesis – June 2026
Featuring an editorial by Iain A. Taylor and contributions from José Rama Domínguez, Alice Gibson, Rebecca Williamson, Yuyuan Xue, Polly Bodenger, and Gary Lloyd.
riffsjournal.org/special-issu...
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Tom O'Boyle recounts " Life lessons from the diaries of a madman"
Available now via the link in bio!
Tom O'Boyle recounts " Life lessons from the diaries of a madman"
Available now via the link in bio!
July 21, 2026 at 11:21 AM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Tom O'Boyle recounts " Life lessons from the diaries of a madman"
Available now via the link in bio!
Tom O'Boyle recounts " Life lessons from the diaries of a madman"
Available now via the link in bio!
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Jasmine Shadrack kicks of part two of the special issue with “'What is This that Stands Before Me?': Ozzy Osbourne and the legacy of heaviness"
Available now via the link in bio!
Jasmine Shadrack kicks of part two of the special issue with “'What is This that Stands Before Me?': Ozzy Osbourne and the legacy of heaviness"
Available now via the link in bio!
July 17, 2026 at 2:06 PM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Jasmine Shadrack kicks of part two of the special issue with “'What is This that Stands Before Me?': Ozzy Osbourne and the legacy of heaviness"
Available now via the link in bio!
Jasmine Shadrack kicks of part two of the special issue with “'What is This that Stands Before Me?': Ozzy Osbourne and the legacy of heaviness"
Available now via the link in bio!
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Part 2 of the Ozzy Osbourne special issue — "Diaries of Mad Fans and Academics" — features reflections from Jasmine Hazel Shadrack, Tom O’Boyle, and Peter J Newton with Louis Clark Jn.
Available now via the link in bio!
Part 2 of the Ozzy Osbourne special issue — "Diaries of Mad Fans and Academics" — features reflections from Jasmine Hazel Shadrack, Tom O’Boyle, and Peter J Newton with Louis Clark Jn.
Available now via the link in bio!
July 16, 2026 at 10:09 AM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Part 2 of the Ozzy Osbourne special issue — "Diaries of Mad Fans and Academics" — features reflections from Jasmine Hazel Shadrack, Tom O’Boyle, and Peter J Newton with Louis Clark Jn.
Available now via the link in bio!
Part 2 of the Ozzy Osbourne special issue — "Diaries of Mad Fans and Academics" — features reflections from Jasmine Hazel Shadrack, Tom O’Boyle, and Peter J Newton with Louis Clark Jn.
Available now via the link in bio!
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
"When Black Sabbath wasn’t the founding band of heavy metal" by
Gérôme Guibert
Available now via the link in bio!
"When Black Sabbath wasn’t the founding band of heavy metal" by
Gérôme Guibert
Available now via the link in bio!
July 13, 2026 at 11:12 AM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
"When Black Sabbath wasn’t the founding band of heavy metal" by
Gérôme Guibert
Available now via the link in bio!
"When Black Sabbath wasn’t the founding band of heavy metal" by
Gérôme Guibert
Available now via the link in bio!
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Jeremy Wallach discusses "Metal’s trickster hero"
Available now via the link in bio!
Jeremy Wallach discusses "Metal’s trickster hero"
Available now via the link in bio!
July 10, 2026 at 1:51 PM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Jeremy Wallach discusses "Metal’s trickster hero"
Available now via the link in bio!
Jeremy Wallach discusses "Metal’s trickster hero"
Available now via the link in bio!
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Black Sabbath's first manager, Jim Simpson, goes down memory lane with "Ozzy Osbourne"
Available now via the link in bio!
Black Sabbath's first manager, Jim Simpson, goes down memory lane with "Ozzy Osbourne"
Available now via the link in bio!
July 9, 2026 at 9:52 AM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Black Sabbath's first manager, Jim Simpson, goes down memory lane with "Ozzy Osbourne"
Available now via the link in bio!
Black Sabbath's first manager, Jim Simpson, goes down memory lane with "Ozzy Osbourne"
Available now via the link in bio!
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
"Jez Collins: On Ozzy, Sabbath and the history
of Birmingham as a music city"
Available now via the link in bio!
"Jez Collins: On Ozzy, Sabbath and the history
of Birmingham as a music city"
Available now via the link in bio!
July 8, 2026 at 8:35 AM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
"Jez Collins: On Ozzy, Sabbath and the history
of Birmingham as a music city"
Available now via the link in bio!
"Jez Collins: On Ozzy, Sabbath and the history
of Birmingham as a music city"
Available now via the link in bio!
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Part 1 of the Ozzy Ozbourne Special Issue, "Back to the beginnings of Black Sabbath and heavy metal: Birmingham and beyond," features contributions from Jez Collins, Jim Simpson, Jeremy Wallach, and Gérôme Guibert.
Available now via the link in bio!
Part 1 of the Ozzy Ozbourne Special Issue, "Back to the beginnings of Black Sabbath and heavy metal: Birmingham and beyond," features contributions from Jez Collins, Jim Simpson, Jeremy Wallach, and Gérôme Guibert.
Available now via the link in bio!
July 7, 2026 at 9:25 AM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Part 1 of the Ozzy Ozbourne Special Issue, "Back to the beginnings of Black Sabbath and heavy metal: Birmingham and beyond," features contributions from Jez Collins, Jim Simpson, Jeremy Wallach, and Gérôme Guibert.
Available now via the link in bio!
Part 1 of the Ozzy Ozbourne Special Issue, "Back to the beginnings of Black Sabbath and heavy metal: Birmingham and beyond," features contributions from Jez Collins, Jim Simpson, Jeremy Wallach, and Gérôme Guibert.
Available now via the link in bio!
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Editors Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens share their Sabbath and Ozzy stories in "Back to the beginning, a night at 'the bench', and Sabbath memories: A scattered diary of the genesis of this publication."
Available now via the link in bio!
Editors Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens share their Sabbath and Ozzy stories in "Back to the beginning, a night at 'the bench', and Sabbath memories: A scattered diary of the genesis of this publication."
Available now via the link in bio!
July 6, 2026 at 9:36 AM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Editors Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens share their Sabbath and Ozzy stories in "Back to the beginning, a night at 'the bench', and Sabbath memories: A scattered diary of the genesis of this publication."
Available now via the link in bio!
Editors Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens share their Sabbath and Ozzy stories in "Back to the beginning, a night at 'the bench', and Sabbath memories: A scattered diary of the genesis of this publication."
Available now via the link in bio!
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens open the Ozzy Osbourne Special Issue of Riffs with "Into the Journal: An Editorial Note." Available now via the link in bio!
Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens open the Ozzy Osbourne Special Issue of Riffs with "Into the Journal: An Editorial Note." Available now via the link in bio!
July 3, 2026 at 10:16 AM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens open the Ozzy Osbourne Special Issue of Riffs with "Into the Journal: An Editorial Note." Available now via the link in bio!
Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens open the Ozzy Osbourne Special Issue of Riffs with "Into the Journal: An Editorial Note." Available now via the link in bio!
TONIGHT!
Join the contributors and editorial team for the launch of 'Ozzy Osbourne: Special Issue of Riffs Journal' this Friday, 3 July, in Birmingham, from 16:30–18:30. Reserve your free ticket now: www.tickettailor.com/events/birmi...
July 3, 2026 at 10:13 AM
TONIGHT!
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Edited by Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens, this special issue of Riffs explores the legacies of Ozzy Osbourne through a range of short written pieces, interviews, and visual contributions. Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing snippets of each contribution.
Edited by Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens, this special issue of Riffs explores the legacies of Ozzy Osbourne through a range of short written pieces, interviews, and visual contributions. Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing snippets of each contribution.
July 2, 2026 at 11:02 AM
⚡ MEET THE ISSUE! ⚡
Edited by Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens, this special issue of Riffs explores the legacies of Ozzy Osbourne through a range of short written pieces, interviews, and visual contributions. Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing snippets of each contribution.
Edited by Asya Draganova and Benjamin Torrens, this special issue of Riffs explores the legacies of Ozzy Osbourne through a range of short written pieces, interviews, and visual contributions. Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing snippets of each contribution.
Join the contributors and editorial team for the launch of 'Ozzy Osbourne: Special Issue of Riffs Journal' this Friday, 3 July, in Birmingham, from 16:30–18:30. Reserve your free ticket now: www.tickettailor.com/events/birmi...
July 1, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Join the contributors and editorial team for the launch of 'Ozzy Osbourne: Special Issue of Riffs Journal' this Friday, 3 July, in Birmingham, from 16:30–18:30. Reserve your free ticket now: www.tickettailor.com/events/birmi...
Special Issue Publication Announcement 💥📢
An Ozzy Osbourne special issue
Edited by Asya Draganova + Benjamin Torrens
This special edited issue of Riffs aims to explore the legacies – both positive and problematic – of the music and the man
Read on our website –
riffsjournal.org/special-issu...
An Ozzy Osbourne special issue
Edited by Asya Draganova + Benjamin Torrens
This special edited issue of Riffs aims to explore the legacies – both positive and problematic – of the music and the man
Read on our website –
riffsjournal.org/special-issu...
June 22, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Special Issue Publication Announcement 💥📢
An Ozzy Osbourne special issue
Edited by Asya Draganova + Benjamin Torrens
This special edited issue of Riffs aims to explore the legacies – both positive and problematic – of the music and the man
Read on our website –
riffsjournal.org/special-issu...
An Ozzy Osbourne special issue
Edited by Asya Draganova + Benjamin Torrens
This special edited issue of Riffs aims to explore the legacies – both positive and problematic – of the music and the man
Read on our website –
riffsjournal.org/special-issu...
In perfect timing, York St John (UK) are hosting the Grunge Included 2026 conference and have a live call for presentation abstracts – www.yorksj.ac.uk/events/upcom...
Upcoming : Grunge Included 2026 | York St John University
View our Events at YSJ
www.yorksj.ac.uk
June 18, 2026 at 10:21 AM
In perfect timing, York St John (UK) are hosting the Grunge Included 2026 conference and have a live call for presentation abstracts – www.yorksj.ac.uk/events/upcom...
Call for full contributions! Vol 9 Issue 2: Puget Sound Stories
Editors Amalia Kozloff + Sharon Kong-Perring (Museum of Pop Culture) invite papers, photo essays, narrative pieces (poetry/prose), archival projects, creative explorations
Deadline: 1st August 2026
CfP: riffsjournal.org/news-latest-...
Editors Amalia Kozloff + Sharon Kong-Perring (Museum of Pop Culture) invite papers, photo essays, narrative pieces (poetry/prose), archival projects, creative explorations
Deadline: 1st August 2026
CfP: riffsjournal.org/news-latest-...
June 18, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Call for full contributions! Vol 9 Issue 2: Puget Sound Stories
Editors Amalia Kozloff + Sharon Kong-Perring (Museum of Pop Culture) invite papers, photo essays, narrative pieces (poetry/prose), archival projects, creative explorations
Deadline: 1st August 2026
CfP: riffsjournal.org/news-latest-...
Editors Amalia Kozloff + Sharon Kong-Perring (Museum of Pop Culture) invite papers, photo essays, narrative pieces (poetry/prose), archival projects, creative explorations
Deadline: 1st August 2026
CfP: riffsjournal.org/news-latest-...
Dominic Deane reviews Sounds Northern: Popular Music, Culture and Place in England’s North (2018), identifying the contribution that this book makes to the study of the North (moving scholarly focus away from London) and the limitations of the book's inclusions: riffsjournal.org/book-review-...
Book Review – “Sounds Northern: Popular Music, Culture and Place in England’s North,” Dominic Deane – Riffs
riffsjournal.org
June 16, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Dominic Deane reviews Sounds Northern: Popular Music, Culture and Place in England’s North (2018), identifying the contribution that this book makes to the study of the North (moving scholarly focus away from London) and the limitations of the book's inclusions: riffsjournal.org/book-review-...
Ed McKeon introduces 'Pop! Art School Reunions' in his Editorial for our newest issue of Riffs.
riffsjournal.org/2026/02/13/e...
Image credit: Ian Davies Photo
riffsjournal.org/2026/02/13/e...
Image credit: Ian Davies Photo
February 16, 2026 at 10:46 AM
Ed McKeon introduces 'Pop! Art School Reunions' in his Editorial for our newest issue of Riffs.
riffsjournal.org/2026/02/13/e...
Image credit: Ian Davies Photo
riffsjournal.org/2026/02/13/e...
Image credit: Ian Davies Photo
NEW ISSUE: Riffs 9.1: Pop! Art School Reunions
Edited by Ed McKeon
The pieces in this issues of Riffs reflect on the relationships between pop music, pop art, art school, and experimental music and performance.
Available to read Open Access: riffsjournal.org/volume-9-iss...
Edited by Ed McKeon
The pieces in this issues of Riffs reflect on the relationships between pop music, pop art, art school, and experimental music and performance.
Available to read Open Access: riffsjournal.org/volume-9-iss...
Volume 9, Issue 1 – February 2026 – Riffs
riffsjournal.org
February 13, 2026 at 3:55 PM
NEW ISSUE: Riffs 9.1: Pop! Art School Reunions
Edited by Ed McKeon
The pieces in this issues of Riffs reflect on the relationships between pop music, pop art, art school, and experimental music and performance.
Available to read Open Access: riffsjournal.org/volume-9-iss...
Edited by Ed McKeon
The pieces in this issues of Riffs reflect on the relationships between pop music, pop art, art school, and experimental music and performance.
Available to read Open Access: riffsjournal.org/volume-9-iss...
NEW PUBLICATION – In a newly published piece for Riffs|OPEN, Tom Astley examines the importance of memory (and forgetting), the paradox of immutability + malleability, + the confluence of past and future in both experimental improvisation + cassette tape aesthetics.
riffsjournal.org/tom-astley-a...
riffsjournal.org/tom-astley-a...
February 6, 2026 at 4:34 PM
NEW PUBLICATION – In a newly published piece for Riffs|OPEN, Tom Astley examines the importance of memory (and forgetting), the paradox of immutability + malleability, + the confluence of past and future in both experimental improvisation + cassette tape aesthetics.
riffsjournal.org/tom-astley-a...
riffsjournal.org/tom-astley-a...
Thank you to everyone who made our latest issue of Riffs 8.2 possible! Special thanks to editors Nicholas Gebhardt and Asya Draganova. Front cover design by Adam Williams with photo by Ian Davies. And thank you to Iain A. Taylor for design throughout the issue!
riffsjournal.org/volume-8-iss...
riffsjournal.org/volume-8-iss...
Volume 8, Issue 2 – August 2025
riffsjournal.org
September 8, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Thank you to everyone who made our latest issue of Riffs 8.2 possible! Special thanks to editors Nicholas Gebhardt and Asya Draganova. Front cover design by Adam Williams with photo by Ian Davies. And thank you to Iain A. Taylor for design throughout the issue!
riffsjournal.org/volume-8-iss...
riffsjournal.org/volume-8-iss...
Check out Naomi Taylor’s “I Swear I Heard This… An otherworldly presence” in the newest issue of Riffs.
“I swear I heard this creaking sound on the roof — at first I thought it was just the wind… there was such a gale blowing outside… but when the music…”
riffsjournal.org/2025/08/15/n...
“I swear I heard this creaking sound on the roof — at first I thought it was just the wind… there was such a gale blowing outside… but when the music…”
riffsjournal.org/2025/08/15/n...
Naomi Taylor
Citation: Naomi Taylor (2025) “I Swear I Heard This… An otherworldly presence“, Riffs: Experimental Writing on Popular Music 8(2): 33-34.
riffsjournal.org
September 7, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Check out Naomi Taylor’s “I Swear I Heard This… An otherworldly presence” in the newest issue of Riffs.
“I swear I heard this creaking sound on the roof — at first I thought it was just the wind… there was such a gale blowing outside… but when the music…”
riffsjournal.org/2025/08/15/n...
“I swear I heard this creaking sound on the roof — at first I thought it was just the wind… there was such a gale blowing outside… but when the music…”
riffsjournal.org/2025/08/15/n...