Wang, Oliver. “Live at the China Royal: A Funky Ode to Fall River’s Chow Mein Sandwich.” In American Chinese Restaurants, pp. 105-120. Routledge, 2019. Peer-reviewed book chapter.
Live at the China Royal: A Funky Ode to Fall River’s Chow Mein Sandwich
August 19th, 2020 § Comments Off on Live at the China Royal: A Funky Ode to Fall River’s Chow Mein Sandwich § permalink
Microwave DJs: A Revisit of Farrugia and Swiss’s “Tracking the DJs”
March 1st, 2019 § Comments Off on Microwave DJs: A Revisit of Farrugia and Swiss’s “Tracking the DJs” § permalink
Wang, Oliver. “Microwave DJs: A Revisit of Farrugia and Swiss’s “Tracking the DJs” (JPMS, 17.1)” Journal of Popular Music Studies, Vol. 31 No. 1, March 2019; (pp. 53-60). Journal response essay.
The “Tuba Fats” Riff (Article)
September 1st, 2018 § Comments Off on The “Tuba Fats” Riff (Article) § permalink
Sakakeeny, Matt, and Oliver Wang. “The ‘Tuba Fats’ Riff.” 64 Parishes, Fall 2018, 30-31. Research-driven magazine article.
Everyone Loves an Underdog: Learning From Linsanity
April 27th, 2016 § 0 comments § permalink
“Everyone Loves an Underdog: Learning From Linsanity.” In Asian American Sporting Cultures. Edited by S. Thangaraj, C. Armaldo Jr., and C. Chin. New York: NYU Press. 2016. Book chapter, refereed.
Getting Schooled: Lessons From Researching Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews
February 7th, 2014 § 0 comments § permalink
(2014). “Getting Schooled: Lessons From Researching Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews.” In M. Villegas, K. Kandi, & R. Labrador (Eds.), Empire of Funk: Hip-Hop and Representation in Filipina/o America. Cognella Press: 37-42.
Anthology essay (solicited).
Learning From Los Kogi Angeles: A Taco Truck and Its City
October 25th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink
(2013). “Learning From Los Kogi Angeles: A Taco Truck and Its City.” In R. Ku, M. Manalansan, and A. Mannur (Eds.), Eating Asian America: A Food Studies Reader (pp. 78-97). New York: NYU Press.
Anthology essay (solicited, refereed).
The Comfort Zone: Shaping the Retro-Soul Audience
November 25th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink
(2012). “The Comfort Zone: Shaping the Retro-Soul Audience.” In E. Weisbard (Ed.), Pop When the World Falls Apart (pp. 201-229). Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Anthology essay (solicited, refereed).
Trapped In Between The Lines…
February 8th, 2007 § 0 comments § permalink
“Trapped In Between The Lines: The Aesthetics of Hip-Hop Journalism.” Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop. Edited by Jeff Chang. New York: Basic Civitas. 2007.
Anthology essay (non-academic).
Traces the history and evolution of hip-hop journalism/criticsm from the early 1980s through present day. Looks at the relevance of publications such as The Village Voice, Source, XXL, ego trip and modern blogging.
Background: This isn’t a formal academic essay but I took a scholarly approach to researching and writing on how I suggest hip-hop journalism has changed over the course of over 20 years. I sifted through a good deal of magazine back issues (all this in the days before Google Books!), as well as drawing upon my own background in the field from the mid-1990s forward. Ironically, while this essay was being written at a time where many of my colleagues knew that the internet was changing the infrastructure of the journalism industry, it didn’t come out until such a time where that industry was collapsing at a perilous rate. It says much that for an essay published in 2007, what I describe feels downright anachronistic just two years later when the landscape has been so brutally transformed.
Between the Notes…
November 8th, 2001 § 0 comments § permalink
“Between the Notes: Finding Asian America in Popular Music.” American Music, 19(4), Winter 2001.
Journal article (solicited, refereed).
Examines how trends in Asian American popular music-making reflects changes, tensions and aspirations within the Asian American community from the 1970s until present.
Background: This essay, my first published piece of academic work, represented a culmination of nearly 10 years spent researching the politics of identity amongst Asian American musicians. As an undergraduate and graduate student – as well as arts journalist – I had interviewed many Asian Americans involved in jazz, folk and hip-hop and used this essay as an opportunity to lay out ideas about how those musicians perceived the role of race and identity within their work. Asian American music is still largely understudied and theorized in my opinion (the excellent work of my mentor Deborah Wong excepted) and especially with the seeming explosion of musical interest in a younger generation of Asian Americans during the ’00s, there’s many new ideas to bring into that conversation.