| In my career, it benefits me to be a perfectionist. In my personal life, it definitely doesn't. |
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Miles of aisles: Amoeba Music, Los Angeles, Dec. 13, 2016.
(Ser Baffo/Getty Images)
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“In my career, it benefits me to be a perfectionist. In my personal life, it definitely doesn't.”
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Single Cell Organisms
I'm skeptical, I confess, of major retail reopenings when a pandemic is still raging in pockets of the country and the world, when health officials are warning that new waves of Covid-19 could emerge at any time in other pockets, and when they're acing to vaccinate as many people as they can before new variants spread any further than they already have. On the other hand, the numbers are good, for now, in Los Angeles, and music retail could really, really use a vaccine of its own. The reopening of the iconic Hollywood outlet of AMOEBA MUSIC, in a slightly smaller space a few blocks from where it stood until a year ago, may well be a kind of Moderna for Music. The store announced Monday it'll be open for business on Hollywood Boulevard, around the block from the CAPITOL RECORDS TOWER, on, no foolin', April 1. "We are so ready," owner JIM HENDERSON said. The live music business is still tiptoeing, understandably, through a medley of confirmations, postponements and replacement events, but the LA Times' RANDALL ROBERTS reports that Amoeba, the world's largest independent record store, is one of at least three iconic LA record shops heading toward some degree of normalcy. For Amoeba that means not only a place to dig through countless bins of new and old CDs and vinyl but jobs for 200 people, which may be the most welcome news of all. May a second dose be just around the corner.
I have a funny feeling this isn't going to be that second dose, though. Slate's THRILLING TALES OF MODERN CAPITALISM podcast goes long on the halting, confusing revival of the TOWER RECORDS brand, which was supposed to be announced at SXSW in 2020 and then, when SXSW and everything else went away, quietly relaunched as an amateurish-looking website specializing in vinyl. If I hadn't read a story or two about the relaunch, I might've assumed someone had illegally, and not very convincingly, knocked off the Tower name and color scheme. CEO DANNY ZEIJDEL, whose background is in tech, has ambitious plans around community, subscriptions (for what, exactly, is somewhat vague) and possibly actual stores. But Amoeba exists, and the once-mighty Tower brand (I spent countless hours and dollars there; if you're of a certain age, so did you) was flagging long before for its last US store closed 15 years ago. The cries for this comeback, such as they are, seem a little fainter with each passing day.
Plus Also Too
DEMI LOVATO "doesn't gloss over the realities" of a troubled pop-star life in DANCING WITH THE DEVIL, a four-part documentary series that drops today on YOUTUBE... There's a severe shortage of bouncers in England... IRVING AZOFF's ICONIC ARTISTS GROUP has acquired the recorded music assets of LINDA RONSTADT, including a combination of masters and royalty shares... Bay Area jazz singer JENNA MAMMINA has been going live on Facebook twice a day, without fail, since early in the pandemic, sometimes to interview other artists, sometimes to bake cookies, sometimes to host karaoke sessions. Today's the anniversary of the first "11:11 With Jenna" and she'll be live for at least 12 hours starting at 11:11 am ET here... Actor THOMAS MIDDLEDITCH is getting the lion's share of the attention for an LA Times investigation into sexual misconduct allegations that led to the closing of celeb-friendly LA goth club CLOAK & DAGGER, but much of the anger of former employees and regulars is aimed at musician owners ADAM BRAVIN (of SHE WANTS REVENGE) and MICHAEL PATTERSON for the atmosphere they created and how they treated complaints. A safe space for goths to be themselves turned out to not be so safe, several women told the Times... No, FAT JOE, it was no more acceptable to use the phrase "Wuhan Virus" a year ago, when you recorded your verse for your just-released BENNY THE BUTCHER collaboration, than it is today. And it isn't acceptable today... Ashes to ashes, bullet to bullet.
Rest in Peace
GARY LEIB, a cartoonist, illustrator and musician whose bands included SUSS and RUBBER RODEO.
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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Paper |
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| Demi Lovato Phones Home |
| by Jocelyn Silver |
| Toward the tail end of 2020, Demi Lovato got a haircut. Pop stars get a lot of haircuts (at the time of this writing, Billie Eilish has just thrilled fans by going blonde). This haircut was different. |
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Complex |
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| The Rise and Rebellion of Roddy Ricch |
| by Eric Skelton |
| Two No. 1 singles. A multi-platinum album. Billions of streams. Roddy Ricch exploded to rap superstardom on his own terms, then retreated. Will his return be even bigger? |
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The Ringer |
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| The Long History of the Oscars’ Struggle With Best Original Song |
| by Noah Gittell |
| The category has rarely recognized the best in cinematic songwriting. Why can’t the Academy face the music? |
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The New York Times |
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| SXSW Came Back With Genuine Joy. Here Are 15 of the Best Acts. |
| by Jon Pareles |
| The festival in Austin, which was canceled last year, returned online with more international performers and music forged during the pandemic. |
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| rantnrave:// Ouch those prices though |
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CBS This Morning |
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| Jonathan Weiss’ quest to build the finest sound amplification system ever |
| by Jeff Glor |
| Jonathan Weiss produces some of the world's finest sound gear with materials that are far from high-tech. Jeff Glor sat down with Weiss to talk about his passion for sound and his quest to build the most refined sound amplification system ever. |
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The New Yorker |
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| Pharoah Sanders Takes on Electronic Music |
| by Hua Hsu |
| “Promises,” recorded with the d.j. Sam Shepherd, showcases both artists’ strengths-a rare feat for such an intergenerational collaboration. |
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Tape Op |
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| Sadie Dupuis: In the Details |
| by Larry Crane |
| Who is Sadie Dupuis? A writer, singer, and guitar player in the band Speedy Ortiz. Producer, writer, and collaborator behind Sad13. Label owner of Wax Nine Records. A writer, with a book of poetry out (Mouthguard) and many published poems. |
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The Guardian |
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| 'I got a job on a fishing trawler' -- Covid: one year on, stars of music and theatre look back |
| by Dave Simpson |
| In the second of our two-parter, rock stars, roadies, actors, dancers, composers and comics describe how their lives have been transformed without live shows - and imagine what now lies ahead. |
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The Independent |
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| Meet the 83-year-old reggae matriarch who brought Jamaican music to the world |
| by Kevin EG Perry |
| A documentary and memoir chart the unlikely story of how a former ice cream shop in Kingston came to define Jamaican music. Kevin E G Perry talks to the woman at the centre of it all: Miss Pat. |
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The Nelson George Mixtape |
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| Tekashi 6ix9ine and the Continuing Saga of Street Cred as Music Marketing |
| by Nelson George |
| Thoughts on the Brooklyn MC's social media obsession after watching the Showtime documentary series. |
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Slate |
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| How the Artist Behind One of the Year’s Best Records Wrote Her Songs |
| by Isaac Butler |
| Julien Baker shares the creative process for her new album "Little Oblivions." |
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The Independent |
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| Lana Del Rey’s defensive woundings come from a decade of harsh criticism |
| by Fiona Sturges |
| The singer songwriter, whose new album is released this week, has walked into several damaging controversies - but she’s had to live with repeated attacks in a culture that prefers women to be uncomplicated. |
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Al Jazeera English |
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| South Korea uses AI to produce new music by dead pop stars |
| by Rob McBride |
| South Korean pop stars are releasing new music after death with the help of artificial intelligence. It is part of a push to harness the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, using technology to transform the way we live and work. |
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Billboard |
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| Cassettes Are Having a Moment: What It Means for the Format to Have Big Artists Joining the Revival |
| by Lyndsey Havens |
| Why high-profile artists are reissuing their hit albums on cassette for the first time - and what it means for the format. |
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Apple Podcasts |
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| BIPOC in Country Music w/ Musicologist and Researcher Jada Watson |
| by Sarah DeFors, Victoria Banks and Jada Watson |
| Sarah and Victoria have an emotional, in-depth discussion with Musicologist and Researcher Jada Watson on BIPOC representation in Country Music. |
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Okayplayer |
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| ‘Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché’ Tells The Legacy Of A Black Woman In Punk |
| by Selome Hailu |
| We spoke with Celeste Bell, the daughter of Poly Styrene, about her documentary that focuses on her mother's legacy as an artist, and more. |
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Los Angeles Times |
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| L.A. Goth nightclub known for rituals and secrecy has closed amid sexual misconduct claims |
| by August Brown |
| Multiple women accuse owners Adam Bravin and Michael Patterson of the Cloak & Dagger nightclub of sexual misconduct and of overlooking misconduct by famous members. Bravin, of the electro-rock duo She Wants Revenge, and Patterson, a Grammy-nominated producer, are veterans of L.A.’s music scene. |
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The Guardian |
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| Tori Amos: the pop star who taught me how to be a woman on my terms |
| by Annie Zaleski |
| The outspoken piano powerhouse behind hits such as "Cornflake Girl" spoke frankly about religion, desire and gender. |
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VICE |
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| Meet the Local Heroes Holding British Music Together |
| by Brian Coney, Katie Thomas, Nick Ruskell... |
| From Portsmouth to Belfast, these individuals represent the commitment, passion and financial stress that really keeps the industry going. |
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| Music of the day |
| "Same Size Shoe" |
| serpentwithfeet |
| From "Deacon," out this Friday on Secretly Canadian. |
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YouTube |
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From "Deacon," out this Friday on Secretly Canadian.
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| Music | Media | Sports | Fashion | Tech |
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“REDEF is dedicated to my mother, who nurtured and encouraged my interest in
everything and slightly regrets the day she taught me to always ask ‘why?’” |
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| Jason Hirschhorn |
| CEO & Chief Curator |
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