I just don’t think this is the moment for U2 to be doing a sort of Kumbaya thing. It just doesn’t feel right for me—it feels like a time for action rather than words, | | | | Remembrance of Coachellas Past: Beyoncé headlining on April 21, 2018.
(Kevin Mazur/Getty Images) | | | | | |  | “I just don’t think this is the moment for U2 to be doing a sort of Kumbaya thing. It just doesn’t feel right for me—it feels like a time for action rather than words,”
| | | | | | rantnrave:// We all could use a distraction right now, so here I am, having never watched more than two random minutes of THE BACHELOR or any other dating show, half-watching the premiere of THE BACHELOR PRESENTS: LISTEN TO YOUR HEART while I curate. This is the one, in case you haven't been paying attention, where all the contestants, 12 men and eight women, are musicians, where a recording session at CAPITOL STUDIOS is a plausible first date, and where "I like your lips" and "I wrote, like, verse chorus, but ideally I wanna finish the song with you" are equally viable pickup lines. "'The Bachelor' Crossed With 'A Star Is Born'" is how more than one reviewer sees it. Seems more like THE BACHELORETTE crossed with the PLAIN WHITE T'S to me. Tomato tomahto. The eight women each give a rose to one man at the end, leaving the other four men to go home while apparently establishing our couples for the rest of the season. Which is my only true disappointment. I wanted RIHANNA or CARLY RAE JEPSEN to walk through the door and kick a bunch of people out because their songs sucked and there's work to do. But maybe a real-life songwriting camp challenge is still to come? Here's hoping. Good news in the meantime: "I like your lips" guy has been sent home. "Verse chorus" guy is moving forward. Let that be a lesson... If you're looking for more filling distractions, NETFLIX's LA ORIGINALS tells the story of photographer ESTEVAN ORIOL and tattoo artist MISTER CARTOON and their massive influence on hip-hop culture... RECORD SAFARI, originally intended to premier at COACHELLA and now available at APPLE TV, ROKU and elsewhere, documents the obsessions of record collector ALEX RODRIGUEZ. The OTHER MUSIC doc that premiered last year at the TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL can be rented starting Friday at indie record store and indie theater websites. And here are 10 docs that rock according to the NEW YORK TIMES' ELISABETH VINCENTELLI... LIVE NATION is slashing costs by as much $500 million through measures including furloughs and executive salary cuts (CEO MICHAEL RAPINO is giving up his salary for the year), while VALENCE MEDIA is reportedly cutting up to $10 million via layoffs at BILLBOARD and the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER... Good citizens: U2 has donated 10 million euros to buy personal protective equipment for Irish healthcare workers. "I just don’t think this is the moment for U2 to be doing a sort of Kumbaya thing," Bono told the IRISH TIMES. "It feels like a time for action rather than words"... A good list of resources for artists affected by the pandemic, courtesy KICKSTARTER's DANIEL SHARP... RIP JYMIE MERRITT, SAM CLAYTON JR. and RON LOUIE. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator | | | |  | Stereogum | | 'Metallica v. Napster, Inc.' made idea of artists being ripped off by the internet seem like a farce, but was a bit more complicated than that in retrospect. | | | |  | Pollstar | | The repercussions seem likely to linger well beyond the anticipated reopening of physical venues once the health crisis subsides. | | | |  | Atwood Magazine | | CMJ’s new owner Paul Campbell (founder & CEO of Amazing Radio) explains the method behind the madness, new music discovery, and CMJ's revival. | | | |  | Rolling Stone | | His wife, Fiona, son Jody, and others remember a big-hearted genius who championed new artists and made the most of the small things in life. | | | |  | MTV News | | The Los Angeles artist talks wanting his visionary new project 'Negro' to be 'on some gallery s***.' | | | |  | VICE | | Amid coronavirus, dance music mainstays like New York club Nowadays and the label Mad Decent are diving headlong into streaming. | | | |  | NPR Music | | Plagues and epidemics are ages-old phenomena. They've triggered both fear and inspiration. NPR's Tom Huizenga surveys musical responses from composers over the centuries. | | | |  | On My Om | | A recent random email turned me on to the work by Berlin-based pianist and ambient music impresario Nils Frahm. Through him, I stumbled upon Anne Muller, a cellist with highly minimal compositions. I ended up listening to both of their work on YouTube Music (which comes free with my ad-less premium YouTube subscription.) | | | |  | Kickstarter | | Emergency grants, freelance resources, legal aid, and more. | | | |  | The New York Times | | On the 50th anniversary of his famous “tongue and lips” emblem for the Rolling Stones, John Pasche says he had no expectations it would become so famous, or lucrative. | | | | | | | to see your face at my door | |  | Quartz | | Kids' music and the Beatles are doing just fine. Cardi B and Daddy Yankee, not so much. | | | |  | Interview Magazine | | The longtime friends discuss everything from the price of superstardom to the right time to wear a scrunchie. | | | |  | The Courtroom | | Hip hop and samples go hand in hand, for better or worse. We have seen samples become the core element in some of the greatest records ever. We have also seen samples hinder the release of a record because the copyright owners refuse to offer clearance. | | | |  | Variety | | The Vans Warped Tour founder spoke to Variety about issues related to insurance, rescheduling and how he expects the industry to adapt. | | | |  | Billboard | | “Disco” Donnie Estopinal has bought back dance promotion company Disco Donnie Presents from LiveStyle, the company that rose out of the ashes of the SFX's bankruptcy. | | | | | Rolling Stone | | Could a record-label-run streaming service, or new release and pricing models, emerge in the wake of Disney’s success? | | | |  | Medium | | A deep dive on the issues which should be causing Apple a PR headache -- and why this story should not be allowed to die. | | | |  | British GQ | | Pink Floyd, Nick Drake and the recording studio responsible for creating the "English Arcadia". | | | |  | The New Inquiry | | Ruminations on the themes of McCoy Tyner’s life on the occasion of his passing. | | | |  | Elvis Costello | | My own introduction was via an Atlantic Record single plucked out of a discount bin of 45rpm records on the counter of Rushworth and Dreaper in Liverpool. It was a copy of “Sam Stone” backed by “Illegal Smile”, which in two short songs showed me everything that I would come to appreciate in John’s writing. | | | | |  | | YouTube | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | © Copyright 2020, The REDEF Group | | |
