| If my songs can in any way, shape or form normalize queerness then that’s amazing. |
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Norwegian singer/songwriter girl in red.
(Jonathan Kise/Grandstand Media)
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“If my songs can in any way, shape or form normalize queerness then that’s amazing.”
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Got Their Chips Cashed In
Add bus and truck drivers to the list of things that appear to have gone missing during live music's long absence from the music map. Billboard's STEVE KNOPPER talks to drivers and trucking execs who cite a number of reasons for what could be a "massive shortage" of people willing to haul bands and their equipment from town to town. Among them: They no longer want to spend so much time away from their families, and they've found they can make more money doing shorter-haul jobs carrying less needy cargo (unlike rock stars, live chickens, for example, aren't constantly asking you to pull over so they can go to the bathroom). They might not want to get the vaccine that touring productions will require ("F*** no," says JOHN ROGAN, whose clients have included the ALLMAN BROTHERS and the TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND). They want to have control of the radio. "There's going to be a massive shortage of drivers," predicts JAMIE STREETMAN, whose Nashville company has 20 buses. If GREEN DAY's concerts seem a little smaller than they used to, it might be because they’ve scaled back from a 20-truck touring caravan to a 14-truck caravan for their July to September shows with FALL OUT BOY and WEEZER. "I feel sorry for some of the ones later in the year," production manager ZITO tells Knopper.
Also M.I.A.: Door staff (and other staff) in the UK. Money to pay staff in the US. The entirety of long-running San Francisco club SLIM'S, which has been replaced by this. FOO FIGHTERS seem to be on a mission to make sure that rock and roll itself doesn't go missing. But sorry, John Rogan, you'll need to swear you've been vaccinated if you want to bear witness to that.
Rest in Peace
I didn't know JIM BESSMAN, a longtime writer for Billboard, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and a variety of other places, who died Tuesday at age 68. It's possible I'm the only person in the business who didn’t. He was beloved by the writing community, by the industry, by artists—many of whom were lifelong friends—by, to take a random extra example, the staff of Tass, the Russian news agency. He once, reports Variety, served as an "impromptu security guard" for Kris Kristofferson. He loved polka, gospel, opera and Cajun music and wrote a book about the Ramones. He was a hell of a writer. This is his final published piece, a long blog post from January in which he describes in exacting medical detail, and more than a little humor, a harrowing bout with Covid 19. He reveals one strange, rarely talked about, symptom: "crying uncontrollably" at the music of Jane Siberry, who he saw perform in a holiday concert livestream the day he was diagnosed in December. "As soon as she appeared on camera," he wrote, "I began weeping, overcome with emotion." He emailed Siberry immediately afterward, and she immediately emailed back. "Your heart is broke open," she told him. "And you remembered when you were watching us—your long-time friends—that you love life. And this has been a good one, difficult as it has been." Condolences to his family and friends... Also: DAVID R EDWARDS, frontman of the Welsh experimental rock group Datblygu.
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| i wanna be your girlfriend |
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Billboard |
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| As Truckers Pump the Brakes on Returning to Touring, Is the Industry Facing a Driver Shortage? |
| by Steve Knopper |
| Artists and their teams are struggling to find qualified tour drivers and that’s proving problematic as concerts resume. |
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The New York Times |
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| Britney Spears Quietly Pushed for Years to End Her Conservatorship |
| by Liz Day, Samantha Stark and Joe Coscarelli |
| Confidential court records obtained by The Times reveal that the singer has urged changes to the arrangement that controls her life, and her father’s role in leading it. |
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Variety |
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| Mandolin, a Livestream Success Story, Wants to Be a Mandatory App for In-Person Fans Now, Too |
| by Chris Willman |
| The streaming platform is aiming at a future where fans are back in person at clubs, auditoriums and festivals... but still, Mandolin hopes, on their smartphones. |
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Money 4 Nothing |
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| Ticketmaster Blues: The past (and future) of the Live Music Industry |
| by Saxon Baird and Sam Backer |
| Sam and Saxon celebrate the return of the road with a deep dive into the touring industry—from the secondary-market-formerly-known-as-scalping to the unexpected heroism of Garth Brooks. |
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Pitchfork |
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| Untangling MF DOOM’s Lifelong Struggle With the U.S. Immigration System |
| by Noah Yoo |
| Previously unreported immigration documents show the rapper’s attempts to gain legal residency in the U.S. before his death in October 2020. |
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Passion of the Weiss |
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| Down the Rabbit Hole: Entering the Universe of Aphex Twin |
| by David Brake |
| Each person’s journey with Aphex Twin is inherently personal given the broad range of music he’s made. David Brake suggests where to begin. |
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Texas Monthly |
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| A Pioneering Black Singer’s Compositions, Long Forgotten, May Finally Have an Audience |
| by Brian Reinhart |
| Jules Bledsoe starred on Broadway and toured Europe, but his original opera and other works languish in obscurity. A Baylor professor hopes to change that. |
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Los Angeles Times |
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| How Joni Mitchell shattered gender barriers when women couldn't even have their own credit cards |
| by Jessica Hopper |
| Joni Mitchell might not have wanted to be the glamorous bard of women’s rising consciousness, but with “Blue,” she became just that. |
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Global News |
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| The resurrection of better-quality audio: The good and the concerning |
| by Alan Cross |
| Streaming music services are rolling out better-quality audio. Will enough people care? And are the right people paying attention to how this is happening? |
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The Guardian |
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| Unknown treasures: the forgotten women of Manchester’s Factory Records |
| by Leonie Cooper |
| A new exhibition shines a light on the female creatives and managers who helped turn the home of Joy Division and New Order into a three decade-long powerhouse. |
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| we fell in love in october |
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Variety |
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| New Recording Academy Co-Presidents Talk Future Plans and Reaching Young People |
| by Jem Aswad |
| The organization’s new structure and what it means. |
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Billboard |
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| How Vin Diesel Gave Reggaetón Its Hollywood Moment in the ‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise |
| by Leila Cobo |
| Vin Diesel turned the 'Fast & Furious' franchise into a showcase for Latin music stars like Nicky Jam and Anitta -- and is now plotting his own music career. |
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The New York Times |
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| Moshing in the Rain: The Tenuous Return of the British Music Festival |
| by Alex Marshall |
| Spending three days camping at a muddy music festival is a British tradition. But event operators fear that few will go ahead this summer, despite a trial last weekend. |
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NME |
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| Government is 'pushing live music off a cliff-edge' without pilot gig results or insurance |
| by Andrew Trendell |
| The government has been accused of endangering the future of the industry by failing to publish the results of recent COVID event pilots or providing festivals with insurance. |
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them. |
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| Lucy Dacus Breaks Down Her Brutal New Album, 'Home Video' |
| by Emma Carey |
| The Virginia indie rocker discusses writing songs about her childhood, embracing darkness, and becoming a “post-Christian kid.” |
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NPR Music |
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| Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert |
| by Lyndsey McKenna, Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert... |
| With chemistry and camaraderie in abundance, Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, and Jon Randall extend an honorary invitation into their world. |
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Hollywood Reporter |
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| NFT Auction of Jay-Z's 'Reasonable Doubt' Album Halted by Judge |
| by Eriq Gardner and Ashley Cullins |
| Roc-A-Fella records is suing its co-founder Damon Dash, who it claims was planning to auction the rights. |
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DJ Mag |
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| How Ibiza nightlife plans to return safely this summer |
| by Mick Wilson |
| As the weeks roll on and restrictions ease, Ibiza has a chance to return to its former glory. How the summer clubbing season will take shape is up to the relationships between government and venues, and the ability and willingness of owners, bookers, artists and staff to comply with restrictions. |
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InsideHook |
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| For Legendary 'Rolling Stone' Editor Ben Fong-Torres, Rock and Roll Was the Great Equalizer |
| by Elyssa Goodman |
| Director Suzanne Joe Kai’s new documentary chronicles the life and work of one of music writing’s most iconic voices. |
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Billboard |
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| Longtime Billboard Contributor Jim Bessman Dies at 68 |
| by Melinda Newman |
| Once Bessman fell in love with an artist’s music, he was a fan -- and supporter -- for life, regardless of the act’s commercial success or the ebb and flow of his or her career. He especially championed less mainstream music genres, including Zydeco, polka, opera and the blues. “Bessman was the Affirminator,” said publicist Bob Merlis, a longtime friend. |
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| Video of the day |
| "We Were There to Be There" |
| Field of Vision |
| A short documentary, by Mike Plante and Jason Willis, on a legendary 1978 show at a California psychiatric hospital by the Cramps and the Mutants. |
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YouTube |
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A short documentary, by Mike Plante and Jason Willis, on a legendary 1978 show at a California psychiatric hospital by the Cramps and the Mutants.
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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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