Matt Brennan (born 1979) is an author, musician, and academic whose work focuses on

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

and society. He is Professor of Popular Music at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

Career and publications

Brennan's research has garnered significant press coverage, particularly his work on the cost of recorded music and the value of the live music sector. His first monograph, ''When Genres Collide,'' was named as one of music website Pitchfork's "Favourite Music Books of 2017" and earned an Honorable Mention in the Association of American Publishers’ PROSE Awards for best "Music and Performing Arts" book. His second monograph, ''Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit'', was named as one of the 'Best Music Books of 2020' by the Financial Times. Brennan has authored, co-authored, and co-edited several books listed below: * 2021: (co-edited with Joseph Michael Pignato and Daniel Akira Stadnicki
''The Cambridge Companion to the Drum Kit''
Cambridge University Press. *2021: (co-authored with Simon Frith, Martin Cloonan, and Emma Webster)
The History of Live Music in Britain 1985-2015: From Live Aid to Live Nation
'' Routledge. *2020
''Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit''
Oxford University Press. *2019: (co-authored with Simon Frith, Martin Cloonan, and Emma Webster)
The History of Live Music in Britain 1968-1984: From Hyde Park to the Haçienda
'' Routledge. *2017:
When Genres Collide: Down Beat, Rolling Stone, and the Struggle Between Jazz and Rock
'' Bloomsbury. * 2017: (co-edited with Gareth Dylan Smith, Zack Moir, Shara Rambarran, and Philip Kirkman)
The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music Education
', Routledge. * 2013: (co-authored with Simon Frith, Martin Cloonan, and Emma Webster)
The History of Live Music in Britain 1950-1967: From Dance Hall to the 100 Club
', Routledge.

Music

Brennan currently records and performs music under the name Citizen Bravo. His first album as Citizen Bravo, ''Build A Thing Of Beauty'', was released by

Chemikal Underground Chemikal Underground is an independent record label set up in 1994 at Glasgow, Scotland, by rock band The Delgados. It was set up to release their first single, "Monica Webster" / "Brand New Car" and went on to break many new Scottish bands in ...

in 2019. His sophomore album, a large scale collaborative work ''Return To Y'Hup: The World Of Ivor Cutler'', was released in 2020 and received 4-star reviews in MOJO, Uncut, and The Observer. Prior to his work as Citizen Bravo, Brennan was a founding member of the indie pop group

Zoey Van Goey Zoey Van Goey were an indie pop musical ensemble, band from Glasgow, Scotland, made up of Matt Brennan, Michael John McCarthy, Kim Moore and Adam Scott. Brennan, McCarthy and Moore, hailing from Canada, Ireland and England respectively, form ...

(2006-2012), which released two well received albums - ''The Cage Was Unlocked All Along'' in 2009 and ''Propeller Versus Wings'' in 2011 - on the Scottish record label

. He also performed onscreen and on the soundtrack for the film

God Help The Girl ''God Help the Girl'' is a 2009 album by Stuart Murdoch of the band Belle and Sebastian with female vocalists such as Catherine Ireton. God Help the Girl is also the name of the band and the accompanying film released in 2014. The songs are ...

, which won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Matt Canadian musicologists 1979 births Living people Academics of the University of Edinburgh