People in my situation—musicians who have had any modicum of success and who are in a position to wait out this crisis—have a moral obligation to pitch in in some capacity. And the reality is that in today’s day and age, it’s unbelievably easy to do so. | | | | Wallace Roney, 1960 – 2020, performs at Jazz á Vienne, Vienne, France, July 3, 1976.
(David Redferns/Redferns/Getty Images) | | | | | |  | “People in my situation—musicians who have had any modicum of success and who are in a position to wait out this crisis—have a moral obligation to pitch in in some capacity. And the reality is that in today’s day and age, it’s unbelievably easy to do so.”
| | | | | | rantnrave:// The bad news is coming fast, from seemingly every direction, with only occasional room to breathe just a little easier. JOHN PRINE has been intubated, but his condition has stabilized, his wife says. ADAM SCHLESINGER of FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE is on a ventilator but not in a coma as initially, erroneously reported. The GETO BOYS' SCARFACE and EXODUS' GARY HOLT appear to be over the worst. Some are sick and self-diagnosing. Others, tragically, have slipped away. Tuesday brought news of WALLACE RONEY, the acclaimed jazz trumpeter who studied with MILES DAVIS and performed with ART BLAKEY and TONY WILLIAMS before embarking on a long career as a frontman. He was 59. A one-time Young Lion of Jazz who was still way too young for this. RIP. MusicSET: "The Toll: Artists Lost to the Coronavirus"... LIVE NATION has committed $10 million to launch a relief fund for touring crews who've lost work because of the pandemic. Half of the money is an upfront donation; the other $5 million will be used to match outside donations. The fund, CREW NATION, will be administered by the MUSIC FORWARD FOUNDATION... IHEARTRADIO's "Living Room Concert for America" featuring ELTON JOHN, BILLIE EILISH, DEMI LOVATO and others raised $8 million to assist coronavirus victims. Shoutout to our friend JOHN SYKES... GARTH BROOKS and TRISHA YEARWOOD, who are performing an hour-long concert on CBS at 9pm ET tonight, will partner with the network in donating $1 million to coronavirus charities... On a lighter note—who couldn't use a diversion?—this is what happens when it's 1984 and you're 20 years old and you win an MTV contest whose grand prize is to spend a weekend partying with VAN HALEN. And when you, with more than a little help from the band, rise to the occasion. LOST WEEKEND is a slightly lubricated short documentary courtesy the TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL... And on this APRIL FOOLS' DAY, let it be known that CHUCK D did not in fact kick FLAVOR FLAV out of PUBLIC ENEMY and Flav did not in fact try to cease-and-desist Chuck out of performing at a BERNIE SANDERS rally a month ago, and that entire episode was basically a way early April Fools' hoax. "I'm not saying it's a hoax," Chuck D explains to interviewer TALIB KWELI while describing the hoax-like chain of events. And, hey, there's a new ENEMY RADIO single featuring both of them. Enemy Radio apparently is an actual group. Who knew? | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator | | | |  | Consequence of Sound | | Featuring interviews with John Cusack, Nick Hornby, Jack Black, Stephen Frears, D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, Iben Hjejle, and many, many more. | | | |  | Rolling Stone | | If early data from Italy’s music market is anything to go by, music companies won’t be as insulated from coronavirus’ effect on the markets as they may hope. | | | |  | Synchblog | | Kriss Thakrar takes a deep dive into how the music industry has reacted to major economic crises in the past and what we can learn from this today. | | | |  | REDEF | | A running list of artists and others in the music industry who have died from Covid-19. | | | |  | Quartz | | "I don't want Chinese kids to have to wait until they're 16 to hear rock music like I did." | | | |  | Complex | | We spoke to eight artists, journalists, and industry insiders about their definitions of an industry plant and the ways in which the terms is misunderstood. | | | |  | Level | | The marathon continues for the Crenshaw icon’s fight for financial empowerment. | | | |  | The New Yorker | | The d.j. and producer’s music has always been about communion and friendship. And that’s precisely what makes it such a tease right now. | | | |  | UPROXX | | The truth proves stranger than fiction, with Chuck explaining that he and Flav are “better than ever.” | | | |  | Tribeca Film Festical | | What happened when two regular guys partied with Van Halen for a weekend? | | | |  | Billboard | | Arranged somewhat chronologically -- from the laptop pop era to the age of SoundCloud rap -- these stories of long-distance musical partnerships illustrate the inventive methods artists dream up to get around physical obstacles. | | | | | Rolling Stone | | “We have a moral obligation to pitch in,” the Death Cab for Cutie songwriter says of his charity broadcasts. “There’s no excuse not to.” | | | |  | Chicago Reader | | Burmese refugee Elena HT Par, a high school student in Chicago, won the Chin Cable Network’s 2019 award for song of the year. | | | |  | The Washington Post | | The sweeping changes of the coronavirus bring a surge of classical content online. | | | |  | Techdirt | | It's been a year since the RIAA sued Charter Communications, using the same strategy it had used against smaller ISPs Cox and Grande Communications -- that the DMCA actually requires internet access providers to completely kick users off upon the receipt of multiple (unproven) claims of copyright infringement. | | | |  | i-D Magazine | | Nights like Club Quarantine and Queer Dance Party are providing a sense of community -- and hedonism -- during the lockdown. | | | |  | The Independent | | The great singer uses the time he was supposed to be playing in London for a chat with Martin Chilton about a new book of his lyrics, growing up in Belfast, his musical memories and what he sings while washing his hands. | | | | | Billboard | | Going to the United States for the first time was like finding the holy grail for Colombian Afro-house trio Ghetto Kumbé. Like most international artists who are invited to play a set at SXSW, the trio's expectations were enormous. | | | |  | Paper | | Club Quarantine has crafted a blissfully authentic online party experience. | | | |  | Pitchfork | | On the small miracle of experiencing sound with strangers. | | | | |  | | YouTube | | | | | | | | | | | Sending sunshine vibes to Adam Schlesinger. | | | | | | | | © Copyright 2020, The REDEF Group | | |
