Mark Kemp
Encyclopedia
Mark Kemp is an American music journalist and author
. A graduate of East Carolina University
, he has served as music editor of Rolling Stone
and vice president of music editorial for MTV
Networks. In 1997 he received a Grammy nomination for his liner notes to the CD Farewells & Fantasies
, a retrospective of music by '60s protest singer Phil Ochs
. His book Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race and New Beginnings in a New South
was published by Free Press/Simon & Schuster in 2004 and issued in soft cover by the University of Georgia Press
in 2006.
Kemp began his journalism career as a newspaper reporter at the Times-News of Burlington, NC, and later as an editor at the science magazine Discover. In the late 1980s, he began writing for the alternative music and culture magazine Option
. The Los Angeles-based publication was one of the chief chroniclers of the post-punk
independent alternative rock
, hip-hop, experimental jazz
, electronica
, and avant-garde music
scenes, as well as a rich source of information on so-called world music
. Kemp became the editor of Option in 1991, the year Nirvana
's breakthrough album Nevermind
stormed the pop charts. Options visibility in the early '90s led to Kemp's hirings at Rolling Stone and MTV.
During Kemp's tenure at Rolling Stone, several acts made first-time appearances on the magazine's cover including Beck
, Marilyn Manson
, The Prodigy
and Sean Combs
. Kemp also was responsible for assigning a controversial investigative cover story on Pearl Jam
singer Eddie Vedder
, reported by a team of three journalists without Vedder's cooperation. At MTV Kemp was part of a team responsible for launching the popular daytime music-video series Total Request Live
; he also helped develop shows for MTV's sister station VH1
.
Kemp left MTV in 2000 and focused on his social/cultural memoir Dixie Lullaby, in which he revisited the southern rock
of his youth and examined its social and psychological impact on young Southerners in the years following the civil rights movement. In 2002 he returned to his home state of North Carolina
, where he continued to write about music, business and culture for a variety of media outlets including The Charlotte Observer
, Business North Carolina, eMusic.com, Rolling Stone and Paste
. He is currently editor in chief of the Charlotte, North Carolina, edition of the alternative weekly Creative Loafing
.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. A graduate of East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
, he has served as music editor of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and vice president of music editorial for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Networks. In 1997 he received a Grammy nomination for his liner notes to the CD Farewells & Fantasies
Farewells & Fantasies
Farewells & Fantasies is the 1997 posthumous box set of the work of singer/songwriter Phil Ochs, chronicling his life and career in music from 1964 through 1970. With its non-chronological running order, it plays like three separate albums, each showcasing a different side of Ochs...
, a retrospective of music by '60s protest singer Phil Ochs
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
. His book Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race and New Beginnings in a New South
Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race and New Beginnings in a New South
Dixie Lullaby: A Story of Music, Race and New Beginnings in a New South is a book by U.S. music journalist Mark Kemp that traces the evolution of southern rock between the years 1968 and 1992, and examines the music's social and psychological impact on young Southerners in the years following the...
was published by Free Press/Simon & Schuster in 2004 and issued in soft cover by the University of Georgia Press
University of Georgia Press
The University of Georgia Press or UGA Press is a publishing house and is a member of the Association of American University Presses.Founded in 1938, the UGA Press is a division of the University of Georgia and is located on the campus in Athens, Georgia, USA...
in 2006.
Kemp began his journalism career as a newspaper reporter at the Times-News of Burlington, NC, and later as an editor at the science magazine Discover. In the late 1980s, he began writing for the alternative music and culture magazine Option
Option (music magazine)
Option was a music magazine based in Los Angeles, California.-History:Originally called OPtion, it, along with Sound Choice, were the dual successors to the earlier music magazine OP, published by John Foster and the Lost Music Network and known for its diverse scope and the role it played in...
. The Los Angeles-based publication was one of the chief chroniclers of the post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
independent alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, hip-hop, experimental jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, and avant-garde music
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
scenes, as well as a rich source of information on so-called world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
. Kemp became the editor of Option in 1991, the year Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's breakthrough album Nevermind
Nevermind
Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...
stormed the pop charts. Options visibility in the early '90s led to Kemp's hirings at Rolling Stone and MTV.
During Kemp's tenure at Rolling Stone, several acts made first-time appearances on the magazine's cover including Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
, The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
and Sean Combs
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
. Kemp also was responsible for assigning a controversial investigative cover story on Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
singer Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder is an American musician and singer-songwriter who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. He is widely considered a cultural icon of alternative rock.He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums...
, reported by a team of three journalists without Vedder's cooperation. At MTV Kemp was part of a team responsible for launching the popular daytime music-video series Total Request Live
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
; he also helped develop shows for MTV's sister station VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
.
Kemp left MTV in 2000 and focused on his social/cultural memoir Dixie Lullaby, in which he revisited the southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
of his youth and examined its social and psychological impact on young Southerners in the years following the civil rights movement. In 2002 he returned to his home state of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, where he continued to write about music, business and culture for a variety of media outlets including The Charlotte Observer
The Charlotte Observer
The Charlotte Observer, serving Charlotte, North Carolina and its metro area, is the largest newspaper, in terms of circulation, in North Carolina and South Carolina...
, Business North Carolina, eMusic.com, Rolling Stone and Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
. He is currently editor in chief of the Charlotte, North Carolina, edition of the alternative weekly Creative Loafing
Creative Loafing
CL Inc. is the Tampa, Florida-based publisher of three city newsweeklies and their associated websites. Each of the papers focuses on local news, politics, arts and entertainment, and restaurants...
.
External links
- Southern Roots and Healing: E-mail Interview with Mark Kemp, Rockcritics.com.
- Video interview with Mark Kemp about "Dixie Lullaby," Part 1 Part 2, Part3, Nashville Public TV's "A Word on Words" with John Seigenthaler.
- Radio interview with Mark Kemp about "Dixie Lullaby", North Carolina Public Radio station WUNC's "The State of Things," with host Melinda Penkava.
- Radio interviews with Mark Kemp and others on the state of the New South, Baltimore Public Radio station WTMD's "Clear Reception," with host Sheri Parks (Kemp is the second interview on this show.)
- Country music writer Chet Flippo on "Dixie Lullaby", CMT.com.
- Mark Kemp's Simon & Schuster Biography
- Dixie Lullaby page at University of Georgia Press