Bio
My research interests include popular music, with a specific emphasis on the first-wave punk and post-punk subcultures in Britain. My approach is intersectional and focuses on expressions of gender, sexuality, and class in the British punk and post-punk subcultures. To a lesser degree, my work has also engaged with early American punk (specifically, the New York scene).
I am currently developing a book project that will explore the influence of British and American punk on the early Canadian scene. This study will examine the impact of British and New York punk on bands in Ottawa, Toronto, London (Ontario), and Hamilton and on the relationship between Vancouver’s early hardcore scene and its counterparts on the American West Coast.
Education
PhD (music theory), University of Western Ontario
MA (musicology), University of Western Ontario
BA with distinction (music), University of Ottawa
BA (history), Carleton University
Recent Books
Punk and Disorderly: Acting Out Gender in Class in First-Wave British Punk, New York City: Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2026.
The Words and Music of Alanis Morissette. New York City: Bloomsbury Publishing (Praeger Imprint), 2015.
Publications (since 2016)
“‘Item: Daily Press, Views To Suppress’: Gang of Four’s Ironic Re-performance of Misogyny,” in The Philosophy and Politics of Gang of Four. Eds. Samir Gandesha and Charles Reeve. London: Bloomsbury Academic Press. Forthcoming in 2027.
“John Lydon’s Unruly Body: Punk Posture and ‘Anarchy in the UK’,” in The Routledge Handbook of the Sex Pistols: 357-370. Eds. Mike Dines, Gabriela Gelain, Paul Graves-Brown, and John Schofield. London: Routledge, 2026.
“Asserting the Missing Indigenous Voice in ‘Run to the Hills’ (Iron Maiden 1982; Tanya Tagaq and Damian Abraham 2018)” in The Routledge Handbook to the Popular Music Cover Song: Vivid Versions and Musical Subjectivities: 267-278. Eds. Lori Burns and Mike Alleyne. London: Routledge, 2026.
“Gold Diggers of MTV: Creating New Gender Narratives from the Busby Berkeley ‘Showgirl’ Trope,” in Aesthetic Amalgams and Political Pursuits: Intertextuality in Music Videos: 149-169. Eds. Tomasz Dobrogoszcz, Tomasz Fisiak, and Agata Handley. New York City: Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2024.“Jayne County, Laura Jane Grace, and the HerStory of Transgender Punks in America,” in Women’s Rock Memoirs: Music, History, and Life-Writing: 89-105. Eds. Cristina Garrigós and Marika Ahonen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023.
“Jayne County, Laura Jane Grace, and the HerStory of Transgender Punks in America,” in Women in Rock Memoirs: Music, History, and Life-Writing: 89-105. Eds. Cristina Garrigós and Marika Ahonen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023.
“Gender, Rage, and Age in Alanis Morissette’s ‘Reasons I Drink’,” Gender and Ageing in Popular Culture: Representations in Film, Music, Literature, and Social Media: 97-114. Eds. Nicole Haring, Roberta Maierhofer, and Barbara Ratzenböck. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2023.
“Wartime Propaganda as Cultural Critique in Julien Temple’s Punk Can Take It’ (1979),” in Punk and Philosophy: Research and Destroy: 71-79. Eds. Josh Heter and Richard Greene. Chicago: Carus Books, 2022.
“Punk Fanzines, Subcultural Consecration, and Hidden Female Histories in Early British Punk,” in Media Narratives in Popular Music: 201-218. Eds. Chris Anderton and Martin James. New York City: Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2021.
“The Politics of Representation in Early British Punk Videos: Détournement and the Moving Image,” in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music Video Analysis: 129-142. Eds. Lori Burns and Stan Hawkins. New York City: Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2019. (Book finalist for the 2020 Association of American Publishers Prose Award.)
“Christ from Chaos: Redemption through Rebellion in Christian Hardcore,” in Finding God in the Devil’s Music: Critical Essays on Rock and Religion: 62-73. Eds. Alex DiBlasi and Robert McParland. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2018.
“Nazi Signifiers and the Narrative of Class Warfare in British Punk,” in Beyond “No Future”: Cultures of German Punk: 91-108. Eds. Mirko Hall, Seth Howes, and Cyrus Shahan. New York City: Bloomsbury Academic Press, 2016.