| Every song turns around at some point and contradicts itself. A jaunty melody masks the bitter taste of grief; a hopeful declaration ricochets into self-doubt. The lyrics were not improvised, but as in a great jazz run, they expose the erratic essence of emotional experience and honor the heroism inherent in the simple human act of making sense of oneself. |
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Joni Mitchell at home in Laurel Canyon circa 1970.
(Martin Mills/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
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“Every song turns around at some point and contradicts itself. A jaunty melody masks the bitter taste of grief; a hopeful declaration ricochets into self-doubt. The lyrics were not improvised, but as in a great jazz run, they expose the erratic essence of emotional experience and honor the heroism inherent in the simple human act of making sense of oneself.”
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A Case of Blue
JONI MITCHELL's BLUE arrived 50 years ago today to a minimal amount of fanfare and mixed reviews from critics as well as from Joni Mitchell's peers, especially the men, you know how that goes. Just another singer/songwriter with a dulcimer singing her life with her words, set to melodies that sometimes echoed a MILES DAVIS trumpet solo and chords that could confound some of the world's best session musicians. No biggie. "Nobody's ever gonna cover these songs," they told her. Until it became a biggie, one of the most influential albums of any era, leaving its mark on generations of musicians from PRINCE and CHAKA KHAN, to BRANDI CARLILE and TAYLOR SWIFT, to LANA DEL REY and PHOEBE BRIDGERS, to some who haven't started making music yet. A watershed album that wears its heart on its open-tuned sleeve and wraps that heart in cellophane layers of mystery that are still being unpacked and unraveled today.
A 50th anniversary, this is, for the likes of JAMES TAYLOR, STEPHEN STILLS and GRAHAM NASH, who helped make it or were implicated by it; ELTON JOHN, WAYNE SHORTER and Chaka Khan, who were wowed by it; and ADRIANNE LENKER, ARLO PARKS, MUSTAFA and HAIM, who are working under the protection of its half-century-long shadow, to gather in various corners to celebrate it, interrogate it and investigate it, suggesting new narratives and refuting old ones for a 50-year-old album that still has so much to tell us.
We've collected these and more in MusicSET: "A Case of 'Blue.'" (Which will probably continue to expand through today and beyond. Feel free to clear out your calendar.) Extra special shoutouts to the New York Times crew that wove together the thoughts and memories of 25 musicians into a beautiful and compelling conversation on this masterwork—which makes room for DANIEL LEVITIN's musings on the G-sharp minor 13th in "MY OLD MAN" and Graham Nash's musings on not being able to listen to the album for "many, many years"—and to ANN POWERS' novella-length essay on the musical threads that connect the woman who made BLUE and the man who made KIND OF BLUE (and also, not incidentally, the man who made MUD SLIDE SLIM AND THE BLUE HORIZON). One of most eye-opening pieces of music criticism I've read in a long time. I may never hear the first word of the song "Blue," which is the word "blue," the same way again.
Closing Time
VINTAGE VINYL, purveyor of vinyl and discs to generations of New Jersey rockers and the maybe most iconic record store in New Jersey that isn't the PRINCETON RECORD EXCHANGE, is closing this summer, ending a 42-year-run. Owner BOB ROTH said the pandemic didn't force him out of business but did nudge him toward a personal decision: He's "old, tired and ready to retire," he told the Home News Tribune. You have until July 31 to ring up your final purchases or—this is an option—buy the store... INNER EAR STUDIOS, the Arlington, Va., institution where Washington, D.C., hardcore bands like FUGAZI and MINOR THREAT did nearly all their best work, is being forced out of its home of 32 years, but owner DON ZIENTARA says he's not the retiring type. He told WTOP he hopes to open a stripped-down version of Inner Ear in a new location. In case FOO FIGHTERS need a new place to record... The BOOTLEG THEATER, a crucial LA indie venue, is gone, too, despite weathering the pandemic financially with grants, PPP loans and a GoFundMe campaign. Owners/founders JASON and ALICIA ADAMS cited issues with a business and real estate partner. "Our ultimate demise was an inside job," they wrote on Facebook... Across the US, 677 indie venues have received Shuttered Venue Operators Grants, along with more than 400 performing arts orgs and talent agencies, Billboard reports. Random case study: LARRY STERLING, whose STERLING VENUE VENTURES owns Southern California clubs including the CANYON CLUB, where Foo Fighters played last week, tells Billboard he's been told the company's getting $7 million, but the money hasn't arrived yet. The company is $11.8 million in debt.
Dot Dot Dot
ENDEAVOR's ARI EMANUEL and MARK SHAPIRO resigned from LIVE NATION's board under pressure from the US Department of Justice, because of apparent conflicts of interest with a ticketing company partly owned by Endeavor subsidiary IMG... To the relief of BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN's Canadian fans, the ST. JAMES THEATRE has reversed a decision to prevent people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine from seeing SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY, which opens Saturday. Any vaccine approved by the World Health Organization will now do, the theater said Monday... A prominent candidate for mayor of New York, where primaries are being held today, told Vanity Fair last week his favorite concert was the 1990 Brooklyn show where a freak accident left soul great CURTIS MAYFIELD paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life. "It was an amazing concert before that happened," ERIC ADAMS, who is now the Brooklyn borough president, told VF. Mayfield didn't play or sing a note (paywall) that day.
Rest in Peace
Bay Area punk promoter SCOTT ALCOHOLOCAUST... JEANNE LAMON, longtime leader of Toronto's TAFELMUSIK BAROQUE ORCHESTRA.
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| i love you when i forget about me |
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REDEF |
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| REDEF MusicSET: A Case of 'Blue': Perspectives on a Joni Mitchell Masterwork |
| by Matty Karas |
| June 1971. Just another singer/songwriter with a dulcimer singing her life with her words, set to melodies that sometimes echoed a Miles Davis trumpet solo. No biggie. Until it became a biggie, one of the most influential albums of any era, still working its magic 50 years later. |
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Trapital |
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| Inside Universal, Sony, and Warner’s Arms Race For Your Attention |
| by Dan Runcie |
| Streaming, media, and indies have changed the game for the three biggest major record labels. Here’s a full breakdown on where each company is heading. |
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The Independent |
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| Opinion: It is time we brought the rules on music streaming up to date |
| by Kevin Brennan |
| Labour MP Kevin Brennan: "This is all about creating the right future structure for a secure career in music. I want young people to be able to aspire to make a reasonable living from original music." |
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Pitchfork |
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| In 2021, Paramore’s Influence Is All Around Us |
| by Quinn Moreland |
| How the beloved pop-punk band—and especially its leader, Hayley Williams—is currently inspiring everyone from Olivia Rodrigo to Willow Smith. |
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WNYC |
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| The Vanishing of Harry Pace: Episode 1 |
| by Jad Abumrad and Shima Oliaee |
| It was Motown before Motown, FUBU before FUBU: Black Swan Records, the record company founded by Harry Pace. |
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Dazed Digital |
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| What clubbing in England will look like post-COVID, according to clubs |
| by Brit Dawson |
| After being closed for 15 months, clubs were set to open their doors on June 21 – but a lack of government guidance and a four week delay has pushed venues into an even more precarious position. |
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The Line of Best Fit |
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| Lucy Dacus: A Raconteur Remembers |
| by Pip Williams |
| Lucy Dacus talks remembrance and storytelling as she hones her craft on third album "Home Video." |
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MTV News |
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| How A Song Becomes A Queer Anthem, According To LGBTQ+ Artists |
| by Rob LeDonne |
| Tracks celebrating queer experiences have become mainstream, but music by and for the community has always existed. |
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Stereogum |
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| [Insert Outrageous Doja Cat Headline Here] |
| by Chris DeVille |
| She can be a little much, but at 25, she’s one of the most consistently entertaining pop stars we’ve got. |
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The Culture Journalist |
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| Has music journalism lost its way? |
| by Emilie Friedlander, Andrea Domanick and Ann Powers |
| Navigating criticism's existential crisis in the era of streaming and clicks, with Ann Powers. |
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| i could drink a case of you |
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The Daily Beast |
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| Why You Shouldn’t Be So Quick to Judge Rappers for Their Bling |
| by Cheyenne Roundtree |
| People often scoff at rappers’ affinity for jewelry, shaking their heads at the perceived foolishness. But the new docuseries ‘Ice Cold’ argues it’s all about the American Dream. |
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Culture Notes of an Honest Broker |
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| The Most Musical Man in the World Turns 85 |
| by Ted Gioia |
| I want to celebrate the birthday of one of my musical heroes. But first I need to tell you what he does, and why you should care. In this case, that’s not easy. How do I even begin to describe Hermeto Pascoal? |
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Variety |
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| In Lawsuit Over Jay-Z NFT Auction, Damon Dash and Roc-A-Fella Dispute What’s at Stake, Beyond a ‘Reasonable Doubt’ |
| by A.D. Amorosi |
| When TMZ reported on June 19 that Roc-A-Fella Records was suing its co-founder Damon Dash for his attempt to auction off his one-time friend Jay-Z's 1996 album, "Reasonable Doubt," as an NFT, questions arose immediately. |
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VICE |
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| How Adult Swim Remixes Took Over the Internet |
| by Dylan Green |
| We talked to producer VANO 3000 on the TikTok phenomenon he started and how the network's aesthetic inspired him. |
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Backseat Freestyle |
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| Pandemic P: Polo G Became A Star During Quarantine |
| by Jayson Rodriguez |
| Polo G’s music was contemplative and included a touch of introspection that was hopeful despite many of his songs being entrenched with a grim fate. |
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Billboard |
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| On Racial Diversity Test, BMAC Says Industry Is Barely Passing: ‘Average Isn’t Good Enough’ |
| by Gail Mitchell |
| BMAC co-president Binta N. Brown tells Billboard there's major concern "that many of the changes appear to be surface. They appear to be just enough as opposed to manifesting a deep, internal churning and transformational change leading toward true equity." |
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Music Tectonics |
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| Music Tectonics: Curation and the Culture of Music with Dario Slavazza of Feed.FM |
| by Tristra Newyear Yeager and Dario Slavazza |
| Dario Slavazza, Head of Curation at Feed.FM, joins host Tristra Newyear Yeager to explore how music curation balances data, algorithms, and the human element to add just the right energy to workouts, spin classes, and more. |
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Bandwagon |
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| Stationhead CEO Ryan Star on BTS streaming parties, creating a social listening experience, and the power of fandom |
| by Elly Lau |
| The rise of social media has galvanised fans' purchasing power, and online fandoms have become a crucial weapon for musicians to secure their places on the global charts. |
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i-D Magazine |
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| City Girls shocked by their fame, money and nasty lyrics |
| by Clover Hope |
| Yung Miami: "I was like, 'Oh my God, why would I say that s***?'" |
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The New Yorker |
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| Stravinsky's Plague Opera |
| by Alex Ross |
| Caedit nos pestis: "The plague falls upon us." The dire opening of Stravinsky 's "Oedipus Rex" should have had a chilling effect when L.A. Opera presented the work at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, on June 6th. |
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Five unreleased songs from the "Blue" sessions, out now on Rhino.
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Full documentary available at Amazon Prime, Apple TV and elsewhere.
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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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