Jennifer Otter Bickerdike | |
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 Jennifer Otter Bickerdike with Don Letts | |
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Jennifer Otter Bickerdike is an American media and music academic and author, specializing in fandom, vinyl records, the cult of dead celebrity, pop culture and music. She has written and presented extensively on fandom and media across various platforms, including the BBC, Discovery Channel, Channel 4, TruTV, The Guardian and Playboy.
Otter Bickerdike was raised in Santa Cruz, California, where she established an interest for the ocean, conservation, swimming, surfing and music. While working to complete her BA in American Studies at the University of California, Davis, Otter Bickerdike landed her first position in the music industry, with a College Music Representative job at Sony Music Entertainment. Before graduating, she interned at a variety of record companies, including PolyGram, MCA Records and Universal Music Distribution before becoming the West Coast Marketing Director for Interscope Geffen A&M Records at 25. [1] She toured with and devised marketing and branding campaigns for acts including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Dr. Dre, No Doubt, Gwen Stefani, U2 and Eminem, before leaving to start her own consulting company, working with a wide array of creative and technology industry, such as Facebook, Key Production, Moving the Needle, Music for America, Fuzz, Adeline Records and Tom Dumont. She concurrently taught at and gained her MA in Humanities from San Francisco State University.
After friend Hunter McPherson was murdered in San Francisco, Otter Bickerdike decided to leave her job, sell everything she owned and move to England. [1]
After moving to London, Otter Bickerdike enrolled in Goldsmiths, University of London, where she completed her PhD in Cultural Studies.[ citation needed ] Otter Bickerdike's doctorate focused on the evolving fandom and mythology of post-punk band Joy Division and Seattle icons Nirvana.
Otter Bickerdike has appeared as a expert commentator in over 50 pop culture documentaries, including 2024's international hit Taylor Swift Versus Scooter Braun: Bad Blood. She has also worked building archives, curating museum exhibitions and writing liner notes, most recently with legendary WHAM! on their 40th anniversary box set and the Coventry Herbert Gallery for their 2 Tone: Lives & Legacies Exhibition. She is also a co-founder of the non-profit Moving The Needle, a collective of leaders in the music industry striving to inspire, encourage and motivate the next generation of women to pursue active, fulfilling and lifelong careers.
In 2024, Jen began collaborating with Mike Joyce of the iconic post-punk legends The Smiths and editing Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's forthcoming memoir.
Otter Bickerdike has spoken at institutions including Google, Liverpool Sound City, Manchester Off The Record, Bestival, Goldsmiths University of London, Cambridge University, [2] Experience Music Project Seattle, San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival, [3] XOYO, The Battery and others, on areas including the rise of celebrity culture, music, the tragic gothic heroine, and dark tourism. She has appeared as an expert on pop music and media across media such as BBC 1, BBC Radio 6, Channel 4, BBC 3 and TruTV, and has written for discogs, The Guardian (newspaper) , Louder Than War, Long Live Vinyl, Bass Guitar and Playboy . [4]
In 2019, Otter Bickerdike was featured on the cover of the Good Times. [5] In September of the same year, Santa Cruz mayor Martine Watkins proclaimed September 28 officially 'Jennifer Otter Bickerdike Day' in honor of Otter Bickerdike's contributions to music culture and community in her hometown.[ citation needed ]
In 2013, she won the Student Led Teaching award for Most Innovative Lecturer [6] and was short listed for the same accolade on a national level by the Times Higher Education . [7]
In 2022, Otter Bickerdike signed with Hachette Book Group to write the band-approved biography of the Bangles.
Otter Bickerdike is the editor of Will Sergeant of Echo and the Bunnymen's book Bunnyman (Hachette / Third Man, 2021) and a book about Iggy Pop, Iggy & the Stooges: One Night at the Whisky 1970, featuring the photography of Ed Caraeff.
Jennifer Lynn Affleck, also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential Latin entertainers of her time, credited with breaking barriers for Latino Americans in Hollywood and helping propel the Latin pop movement in music. She is also noted for her impact on popular culture through fashion, branding, and shifting mainstream beauty standards.
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".
Christa Päffgen, known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Reviewer Richard Goldstein described her as "half goddess, half icicle" and wrote that her distinctive voice "sounds something like a cello getting up in the morning."
A fan or fanatic, sometimes also termed an aficionado or enthusiast, is a person who exhibits strong interest or admiration for something or somebody, such as a celebrity, a sport, a sports team, a genre, a politician, a book, a movie, a video game or an entertainer. Collectively, the fans of a particular object or person constitute its fanbase or fandom. They may show their enthusiasm in a variety of ways, such as by promoting the object of their interest, being members of a related fan club, holding or participating in fan conventions or writing fan mail. They may also engage in creative activities such as creating fanzines, writing fan fiction, making memes or drawing fan art.
James Newell Osterberg Jr., known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1967 and have disbanded and reunited many times since. Often called the "Godfather of Punk", he was named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR. In 2010, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Stooges. Pop also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 for his solo work.
Susan Janet Ballion, known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She came to prominence as the leader and main lyricist of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, who were active from 1976 to 1996. They released 11 studio albums, and had several UK Top 20 singles including "Hong Kong Garden", "Happy House" and "Peek-a-Boo", plus a US Top 25 single in the Billboard Hot 100, with "Kiss Them for Me".
Jon Savage is an English writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his definitive history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, England's Dreaming (1991).
"Candy"/"Molly's Lips" is a vinyl-only split-single from the American rock bands the Fluid and Nirvana. It was released in January 1991 on Sub Pop records and includes two live tracks: "Candy" by the Fluid; and "Molly's Lips", a cover of a song by the Vaselines, performed by Nirvana.
Joy Elizabeth Williams is an American singer-songwriter. The winner of four Grammy Awards, Williams has released five solo albums and four EPs since her self-titled debut in 2001. She was half of The Civil Wars duo from 2009 until 2014.
Amethyst Amelia Kelly, known professionally as Iggy Azalea, is an Australian rapper, songwriter, and model. Born in Sydney, Australia, Azalea moved to the United States at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in music. Azalea earned public recognition after releasing the music videos for her songs "Pussy" and "Two Times" on YouTube. Shortly after releasing those two songs, she released her debut mixtape, Ignorant Art (2011), and subsequently signed a recording contract with American rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle label.
The album era was a period in popular music during the latter half of the 20th century in which the album—a collection of songs issued on physical media—was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption. Usually defined as lasting from the mid-1960s until the mid-2000s, it was driven primarily by three successive music recording formats: the 33⅓ rpm long-playing record (LP), the cassette tape, and the compact disc (CD). Rock musicians from the US and UK were often at the forefront of the era. The term "album era" is also used to refer to the marketing and aesthetic period surrounding a recording artist's release of an album.
"Booty" is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez for her eighth studio album, A.K.A. (2014). It was written and produced by Cory Rooney, Lopez, and Benny Medina, with additional writing from Chris Brown, Pitbull, Diplo, and others. "Booty" samples "Dat a Freak", a song by Diplo and Swick, and it features Lopez's frequent collaborator Pitbull. Initially entitled "Big Booty", the song was first rejected by Lopez who did not like the idea of having a song with a title like that. However, after playing the demo for her kids and seeing that they enjoyed the track, Lopez was convinced to record it.
Madonna is an American singer whose socio-cultural impact has been noted by popular press and scholars from different fields, throughout the late-twentieth and early twenty-one centuries, and attested outside of the music sphere to an international scale.
Kurt Cobain Memorial Park is a park in Aberdeen, Washington and the first official, full-scale memorial to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in his hometown.
Madonnaland: And Other Detours in Fame and Fandom is a non-fiction book written by American essayist and musician Alina Simone. It is a biography of American singer Madonna, as well the author's own analysis of music and pop culture. Upon its release on March 3, 2016 by University of Texas Press, Madonnaland received positive reviews from critics, who praised her writing and bold subject choice. Rolling Stone magazine listed it as one of the 10 Best Music Books released in 2016.
Jeff Gold is an American music business executive, author, music historian, Grammy Award winning art director, and music memorabilia collector and dealer.
The Catalyst is a nightclub located at 1011 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz, California. The club has hosted big-name artists such as The Beach Boys, Neil Young, Janis Joplin, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Phish, Iggy Pop, and Nirvana. The Catalyst was also where local bands could achieve popularity. Some of the local band in the 1970s were Snail, Oganookie, and Jango.
Madonna fandom refers to the fan community of American singer-songwriter Madonna. She attained cult status amongst different audiences according to professor Sheila Jeffreys. Unlike other fandoms, her fan base does not have an official moniker, although "Madonna wannabe" became a popular media label to talk about her fans over years. The fanaticism surrounding the singer, and also called Madonnamania initiated no later than 1985. She produced consecutive successful singles in various major music markets, established numerous international records and impacted the fashion industry. Thousands of her female fans were dressing like Madonna around the world and the term "Madonna wannabe" was born. Author and scholar Lisa Lewis believes she is "one of the first women to attract the kind of devotion of young female fans normally associated with male rock stars".
The Vigil is a 1998 comedy film about a group of young people who travel from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada to Seattle in the United States to attend the memorial vigil for Nirvana band leader Kurt Cobain in 1994. It stars Donny Lucas and Trevor White.
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