Carleton will kick-off a new year of convocations with a presentation by Rolling Stone journalist Anthony DeCurtis entitled, “The Music of Social Protest.” DeCurtis, a noted American music journalist and long-time contributing editor at Rolling Stone, will draw upon his decades of experience covering the music scene. This event takes place Friday, Jan. 4, 2013, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel and is free and open to the public. Convocations are also streamed live and can be viewed online at http://apps.carleton.edu/events/convocations/.
DeCurtis' work has appeared in Rolling Stone for over 25 years, and has has been a guest writer at many other publications, including the New York Times. He has profiled numberous popular cultural figures from Whitney Houston to Paul McCartney to Martin Scorcese to Prince. In addition to his considerable body of work for Rolling Stone, DeCurtis is the author of two books: In Other Words: Artists Talk about Life and Work (Hal Leonard, 2006), a collection of DeCurtis' interviews with celebrities; and Rocking My Life Away: Writing About Music and Other Matters (Duke University Press, 1999), a collection of interviews and essays. DeCurtis is also the editor of Present Tense: Rock & Roll and Culture (Duke University Press, 1992) and Blues & Chaos: The Music Writing of Robert Palmer (Scribner, 2009). DeCurtis co-edited the third editions of the Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll and the Rolling Stone Album Guide. DeCurtis is currently working with Clive Davis on Davis' autobiography, set to be published by Simon & Schuster in February 2013.
DeCurtis won a Grammy Award for "Best Liner Notes" for his essay accompanying the Eric Clapton box set "Crossroad" (1988), and he is the recipient of three ASCAP Deem Taylor Awards for excellence in music writing. He has appeared on MTV, VH1, the "Today Show," and numerous other news and entertainment programs. This year, for the third year in a row, DeCurtis will serve as a member of the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel.
DeCurtis has a PhD in American literature from Indiana University and is a faculty member of the department of English at the University of Pennsylvania.
For more information about this event, including disability accommodations, contact the Carleton College Office of College Relations at (507) 222-4308. The Skinner Memorial Chapel is located on First Street between College and Winona Streets in Northfield.
