Don't call him a punk--or a punk music lover. Frank Swain only refers to himself as the Sciencepunk on his blog because he wants people to get his science--to put it on a level where everyone understands it.
So what does he know about music? Quite a bit, in fact. As a young guy, he was part of the whole scene and would even drive 30 miles from his home to a hole-in-wall club to see shows. In Liverpool, he was in charge of a music mmagazine for a friend's nightlcub.
And while his current writing is mostly in science and other related topics, he does see the beauty of a music in a topic where most people would never think of it. He's written about music to science related topics quite a bit, thinks music is great way to get educated about sciene, and he knows that music has helped him in his own science writing.
He's done everything from appear on the radio to stage manage a burlesque show. So we decided to pick his brain about it. Here's what the freelance writer and speaker has to say about all things science and music.
What kind of music do you like?
While I’m working I tend to listen to instrumental stuff – Mogwai, Sigur Ros and that crowd, or film scores. Anything with lyrics is too distracting when I’m trying to write myself.
How were you involved in the music scene when you were younger? What performances did you go to?
I started out listening to a lot of indie and post-punk - anything with guitars really. Growing up in the backwoods, there were no venues in my home town, so I had to convince a friend to drive me 30 miles to Exeter to a basement club called the Cavern. It was so small that sweat would drip off the ceiling on busy nights; but the shows were second to none – Muse, Coldplay, and hundreds of other gems.
In the past you were working in a nightlife venue, producing their in-house magazine. Tell me about that experience and how it influenced your writing. Did it influence your science writing in any way?
While I was in Liverpool a friend of mine opened a nightclub called Korova. He knew that I’d made fanzines in the past and wanted something similar, inspired by the White Trash club in Berlin. So I got the job, met a lot of really fantastic people, and got a great magazine out of it too. It helped me start thinking a lot more about my audience when I wrote – fanzines by definition tend to be quite self-absorbed affairs.
Does the punk in Sciencepunk have anything to do with punk music?
No – it’s a reference to the archaic sense of the word, punk as in something trivial or worthless. I wanted to convey the idea that I wasn’t writing high science, as I’m not a scientist myself. SciencePunk is intentionally glib in the way it presents science.
You wrote a really excellent article for the Guardian Science blog on how scientists are using guerilla tactics at music festivals. Tell us about your research for that article and what we can learn from it.
Guerilla Science is an organisation that aims to put on exciting lectures and demonstrations at music festivals, run by a small group of very talented science graduates. A lot of people think the public doesn’t find science interesting – that’s not true, and the people behind Guerilla Science know that’s not true, so they are free to focus on providing really engaging talks. I’ve presented for them for two years running now, and it’s one of the most obviously successful science outreach projects going.
Do you think music can help teach science or help students learn science?
Without a doubt. I’ve already been lucky enough to hear fantastic lectures on the neurology of music from scientists such as Giana Cassidy and Jessica Grahn. Music is a phenomenally integral part our society and also our actual human-ness – no other animal experiences music in the way we do. It’s mysteries like that which can keep scientists engrossed for a lifetime.
What is your opinion on using music as a form of education?
There’s a common belief that learning music raises your overall IQ, although I’m not sure if the research supports it. We tend to think of musical education as learning to read music and play an instrument, which is sad as that’s quite a narrow view. Singing, composition, dancing, choreography, jamming, even listening is just as much a part of the experience of music.
Does music help your writing (even just listening to it)?
A good article should be like a good song – take no longer than three and half minutes to read and have transported you emotionally from one place to another by the end.
What are your future goals in your writing career?
My only goal with writing has been dreaming up things I want to do and convincing others to pay me to do it. To be honest I’m just winging it.
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