[Modern] hip-hop has been about escapism, to a certain extent. But the world doesn’t lend itself to that right now. This might not be the time to escape reality—you need to be aware of what’s going on. | | | | 12-year-old Keedron Bryant opens a politically charged BET Awards by singing "I Just Wanna Live," June 28, 2020.
(BET/Getty Images) | | | | | |  | “[Modern] hip-hop has been about escapism, to a certain extent. But the world doesn’t lend itself to that right now. This might not be the time to escape reality—you need to be aware of what’s going on.”
| | | | | | rantnrave:// "People go to bars to get close and to drink and to socialize," Texas GOV. GREG ABBOTT said, out loud, to a reporter, Friday night, as if he had just discovered this fact. This was a month after the governor of the second most populous state in the US had authorized the reopening of drinking establishments, an action he was now reversing in the wake of a pandemic that responded to that and similar orders around the country by—duh—getting significantly worse. "In hindsight," Abbott said, "it may have been better to slow the opening of the bar setting." Hindsight is, um, 2020. Lest you think only red-state governors swung and missed at this one, here's the governor of the most populous state, who had been the country's most aggressive advocate of a shutdown early on, doing his own reversal of a bar reopening order two days later (and here's the LA rock band BEST COAST LOL'ing at him). At least they and others were willing to put their hindsight glasses on, so thanks, I guess, for that. Meanwhile in Tennessee, country singer CHASE RICE, who three months ago posted a short ditty called "DEAR CORONA" in which he gave the virus both a middle finger and a "f*** you"—less the virus miss his point—decided this weekend was a perfect time to follow through on that song's promise that "we gonna show up, hold our drinks high, sing them songs about trucks and beer." Only about 1,000 fans actually showed up for Rice's Saturday night concert at the BRUSHY MOUNTAIN STATE PENITENTIARY (a shuttered prison now used as an event space), but a video he posted on his INSTAGRAM STORIES made clear that many or most of them weren't wearing masks and were crowded against the stage and each other. If you can think of a dumber way to bring live music back in this pandemic summer, my DMs are open. Country TWITTER wasn't having it. Indie-rock Twitter wasn't pleased either. (The show's promoter, which has more shows scheduled, is now in hindsight mode, too, telling BILLBOARD "we are re-evaluating the series from top to bottom.") Another country singer, CHRIS JANSON, was onstage the same night in Filer, Idaho, in front of about three times as many fans, also, reportedly, mostly maskless and not socially distanced. At heart, beyond the obvious denial, hubris and selfishness, what's going on here is a phenomenal failure of imagination. A failure to imagine that a deadly virus that you can't see, and whose carriers often don't display symptoms, is still a deadly virus. But also a failure to think creatively about how you *can* play live music in the face of that virus. How you can imagine new experiences that use social distancing not as an irritant to be ignored but as a challenge to work with. Why should a concert in 2020 play out exactly like a concert in 2019? Why would any performer or fan want it to? We've been freed, in a way, from that past and challenged to imagine a new future, or at least a new present. One where personal space is to be cherished and masks are cool... Sunday night's BET AWARDS, which featured pre-taped performances and acceptance speeches and a host, AMANDA SEALES, working at home in front of a green screen, was a surprisingly effective reimagining of an awards show for the pandemic era. A lot of that had to do with the way the show dealt with this season's other major challenge. The awards themselves were all but an afterthought in a show that was almost entirely a BLACK LIVES MATTER tribute, from DA BABY opening his performance of "ROCKSTAR" lying on the ground with a policeman's knee on his neck, to ALICIA KEYS playing "PERFECT WAY TO DIE" on a street painted with the names of victims of police brutality, to BEYONCÉ accepting her humanitarian award (from MICHELLE OBAMA) by urging viewers to "dismantle a racist and unequal system." What was lost in the thrill of live performance and surprised winners was more than made up by the urgency of embracing a moment... RIP HUEY, MARC ORLEANS, FREDDY COLE, SANDRA FEVA, TOM FINN, GRAEME WILLIAMSON and MILTON GLASER. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator | | | | | | | 1989 the number, another summer | |  | Billboard | | As superstars and rising artists alike release songs about racial injustice, the music industry adapts to a more socially conscious moment. | | | |  | NPR Music | | These songs take on some of the ugliest stories in our history and reflect the commitment of Black musicians to telling the truth of how Black people have been wronged, and survived, and fought back. | | | |  | Dazed Digital | | Kamasi Washington might have made the headlines, but the jazz collective he’s a part of deserves just as much of your attention. This oral history explores how the group is only just getting started | | | |  | Variety | | Country singer Chase Rice is taking heat after sharing video footage of a concerts he played in east Tennessee Saturday night, with footage showing large, packed outdoor crowds rocking out shoulder-to-shoulder with no sign of social distancing or masks. | | | |  | The Ringer | | Somehow, the band known for crafting a signature live experience has found a way to remotely create a recurring, unifying experience for its phans. | | | |  | Music Business Worldwide | | The likes of Unilever and Verizon are pulling ads in protest at misinformation and polarizing content being shared on FB and Instagram. | | | |  | Vulture | | Those who care about the future of American politics should take note of the K-pop phenomenon in its own backyard. | | | |  | Rolling Stone | | Waters is remaining happily independent as “Stunnin'” climbs the Spotify charts. | | | |  | Los Angeles Times | | The 20th anniversary of the BET Awards featured a host performing in front of a green screen and a protests-fueled update of Public Enemy's "Fight the Power." | | | |  | The New York Times | | The mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges reckons with the challenges of the pandemic along with other freelance musicians, like the pianist Conor Hanick. | | | | | | | sound of the funky drummer | |  | Synchblog | | Can livestreaming become an economically viable part of the music business in a post-pandemic world? Eamonn Forde investigates. | | | |  | The Associated Press | | When country singer Rissi Palmer was working on her debut album, she wanted a song like Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman," a song that would introduce her and tell her story to fans. On her 2007 debut single, "Country Girl," she celebrated her country roots while explaining that she didn't have to look or talk a certain way to call herself a country girl. | | | |  | Africa is a Country | | Government money, artistic freedom, and integrity in the time of COVID-19 in Kenya. | | | | | Los Angeles Times | | Record label Die Jim Crow releases music by formerly or currently incarcerated musicians. It's raising money for COVID-19 protection in prisons. | | | | | Rolling Stone | | A documentary on Shannon Hoon -- made up of camcorder footage shot by the Blind Melon frontman himself -- beautifully humanizes a rock-casualty story. | | | | | Billboard | | The 43-year-old organization that once counted Pete Seeger as a member, has seen its membership grow 52% in the wake of the pandemic and Black Lives Matter activism, yet it still struggles to attract younger members and people of color. | | | | | The New York Times | | With most orchestral concerts canceled, conductors have been largely invisible. | | | |  | Afropop Worldwide | | In this program we salute a towering career in global music, with insights from Michael Veal, co-author of "Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat." | | | |  | WBUR | | Oak Hill Properties, the owners of the building where the rock club is located, has moved forward with a lease application from another prospective tenant. | | | |  | Please Kill Me | | Joni Mitchell was a “folk singer” for two years, but she has been an artistic badass for more than half a century since then. Her pioneering work and enduring influence over the decades are, however, often reduced to that early image of the twee folkie. | | | | |  | | YouTube | | | | | | | | Keedron Bryant, Public Enemy, Nas, Black Thought, Rapsody, Jahi, YG | | | | | | | | | | | © Copyright 2020, The REDEF Group | | |
