| We seem to love broken voices in general: vocal cords eroded by whiskey and screaming, the junked-out weakness of certain horn players, distortion which signifies surpassing the capabilities of a tube or a speaker—voices that distort, damage, but (at least in performance) don’t actually die. |
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Two girls learning a song at the Miraculous Love Kids music school, Kabul, Afghanistan, April 22, 2017.
(Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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“We seem to love broken voices in general: vocal cords eroded by whiskey and screaming, the junked-out weakness of certain horn players, distortion which signifies surpassing the capabilities of a tube or a speaker—voices that distort, damage, but (at least in performance) don’t actually die.”
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Choose or Lose
Three facts about New Zealand: 1) It's home to the most successful live act of 2021, the five-piece pop band SIX60, which was selling out stadiums as early as February, long before most of the world was even thinking about resuming live music on any kind of normal schedule. 2) It went into a nationwide lockdown Tuesday, closing all schools and nonessential businesses for three days—seven days in the country's biggest city, Auckland—because a Covid-19 case was discovered. One case. In the entire country. 3) Kiwis are complaining about vaccines—not that they don't want them, but that many can't get them yet.
All those things are related.
If you *can* get a vaccine but you haven't yet, get it, please, Wear a mask, please. Support live music, please. All these things are related, too. And those are my choices. We all have choices. Freedom! '21. But not all choices are good choices.
In the US, where the virus continues to spread like a TikTok challenge, the mainstream live music industry—artists, venues and promoters, with help from public officials—is in the process of making what, in my humble opinion, is a good choice. No vaccine (or negative Covid test), no ticket. Simple. Easy to understand, even if you don't agree with it. Easy to follow (ditto). It's by no means a universal choice. Not all artists and venues are onboard, and there are a few governors determined to prevent it from happening, in the name of what they say is freedom from government mandates (even as they impose their own equal and opposite government mandates). But the country's two biggest concert promoters, LIVE NATION and AEG, have imposed vaccine mandates on all their venues and festivals. New York City this week began requiring proof of vaccination (and a photo ID) for entry to all indoor performances. Los Angeles has resisted a vaccination requirement, but is requiring masks at all big *outdoor* gatherings. Indie venues in cities from Philadelphia to Milwaukee to Nashville to Austin are working out their own protocols, and artists are increasingly demanding vaccinated (or, at a minimum, negative-Covid-tested) audiences. Plenty of other artists have simply canceled shows and tours, saying the risk isn't worth the reward.
All of this is good public *and* private policy, serving a crucial business interest: making sure artists and their fans are comfortable walking into clubs, arenas and stadiums.
There will be pockets of resistance, which can't be dismissed out of hand (vaccine mandater BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN on the anti-vaxxers protesting outside his Broadway show: "I'm responsible for the safety of my audience. But it's hard, confusing times, so I actually have some feelings for the folks who were outside"). But they *should* be dismissed gently. Vaccines are available, at least here in the US, and they work. Using live music as an incentive to make resisters reconsider their resistance is fair and potentially game-changing for segments of the population that need that incentive. At recent performances, KANYE WEST and GARTH BROOKS offered on-the-spot vaccinations to fans, and in both cases the results were embarrassing. Almost no one took up either artist's offer. But it was unclear why anyone would: They had their tickets and were already at the show, and the Covid vaccine, which takes weeks to kick in, wasn't going to provide any protection while they were there. Next time around—if there is a next time around—offer the vaccines well in advance of the performances and don't make them optional. Let's see what the uptake is then.
Vaccine requirements put an extra burden on venues, who have to enforce them. But they're already checking tickets and/or IDs and/or bags, and at the events where my vaccine card has been checked in the past month or so, including a large Broadway theater and a small Brooklyn club, the process has been quick and smooth. Talking about it, in my experience, has been a lot more fraught than actually doing it. And doing it now may be our best chance for not having to do it later. MusicSET: "Keep Feeling Vaccination: Live Music's New Rules of Engagement."
I Will 'Dare'
A confession: Yes, that set title was the second time this summer I've punned the same way on the same HUMAN LEAGUE song title. I am not sorry.
Do Not Leave the Door Open
ANDERSON.PAAK's "When I'm gone, please don't release any posthumous albums or songs" tattoo is timely, funny and genius, but I'm wondering if he's contemplated that when he's in fact gone, there won't be any way for anyone to see those instructions inked on his arm... Why do so many tours skip Detroit?... Don't stop thinking about who exactly owns CHRISTINE MCVIE's songwriting catalog... How to preserve jazz homes... Opening statements are scheduled for today in R. KELLY's trial in federal court in Brooklyn on a variety of charges involving sexual abuse and exploitation.
Rest in Peace
British promoter/publicist/manager STUART LYON.
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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Literary Hub |
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| Marc Ribot Makes the Case for Loud Music |
| by Marc Ribot |
| On the necessary pain and pleasure of deafening amplification. |
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The Daily Beast |
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| ‘He Was the Godfather’: R. Kelly Faces a Reckoning in Court |
| by Pilar Melendez |
| After decades of allegations and a notorious 2008 acquittal, the disgraced singer is on the ropes. |
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REDEF |
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| REDEF MusicSET: Keep Feeling Vaccination: Live Music's New Rules of Engagement |
| by Matty Karas |
| You're probably going to need more than a ticket to get into concerts, as artists, venues, promoters and public officials institute new rules for attending live events in the face of a pandemic with staying power. You might also need a guidebook. |
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Pollstar |
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| Impact: Next Gen 2021 |
| Pollstar looks at future leaders in core sectors of the live business, including talent agents, concert promoters, talent buyers and festival producers as well as road dogs, techies, data wonks and more. |
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How We Made It In Africa |
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| 'Made in Africa' music streaming services look to take on Spotify |
| by Seth Onyango |
| The controversy surrounding Spotify’s royalty payout model is providing fertile ground for Africa-based startups looking to challenge the streaming behemoth’s dominance. |
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The New York Times |
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| Pink Siifu, a Shape-Shifting Musician With One Demand: Don’t Box Me In |
| by Marcus J. Moore |
| The prolific 29-year-old rapper, singer and producer returned this month with “Gumbo’!,” a hat tip to the soulful Southern rap that inspired him. |
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Variety |
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| ‘Under the Volcano’ Review: Rockers Recall the Remote Island Where Luxurious ’80s Record-Making Had Its Last Stand |
| by Chris Willman |
| Members of the Police, Duran Duran and Dire Straits are among those recounting the glory days of George Martin's very isolated, finally doomed studio. |
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DJ Mag |
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| The real story of how Daft Punk became the robots |
| by Ben Cardew |
| In this excerpt from his new book, "Daft Punk's Discovery: The Future Unfurled," Ben Cardew tells the real story of how the enigmatic French duo transformed into robots, according to those closest to them at the time. |
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Vulture |
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| The Smith Family Legacy Was Built for Willow |
| by Craig Jenkins |
| Willow Smith is an oddity in music, and not just because of the pedigree. |
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Passion of the Weiss |
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| The Memphis Bleek Dialectic |
| by Pete Hunt |
| Often miscast as a Jay-Z sidekick, Memphis Bleek falls somewhere between overqualified hype man and proto-Griselda rapper… but his career contains multitudes. |
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Pollstar |
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| The Dre London Invasion: How An Upstart Manager & Emerging Power Agent Helped Create A Next Gen Superstar In Post Malone |
| by Andy Gensler |
| Ask Dre London how his climb began, and you’ll hear a British Horatio Alger rag-to-riches story fueled by his entrepreneurial spirt and by-hook-or-by-crook determination, deeply informed by growing up in the rough South London neighborhood of Brixton. |
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Toxic: The Britney Spears Story |
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| Toxic Chapter 8: Me Against the Music |
| by Tess Barker and Babs Gray |
| By all outward appearances, Britney's career has a huge comeback after she is conserved. But, behind the scenes, Britney wages her own private war for freedom. |
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T Magazine |
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| The Asian Pop Stars Taking Center Stage |
| by Ligaya Mishan |
| In the West, Asian musicians have long been marginalized. Now, though, a new generation of women are transforming their respective genres. |
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Trapital |
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| Def Jam’s Future is with New CEO Tunji Balogun |
| by Dan Runcie |
| Last week, Universal Music Group announced that Def Jam Recordings' new CEO and Chairman will be Tunji Balogun, who currently serves as EVP A&R at RCA. The move is effective January 1, 2022. |
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MTV News |
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| From ‘WAP’ to ‘Montero’: Music’s New Sexual Revolution Is Here |
| by Myles Johnson |
| Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Lil Nas X are building on a legacy of artists catapulting marginalized expressions into the mainstream. |
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Black Music and Black Muses |
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| An unfinished record of what cannot be recorded |
| by Harmony Holiday |
| Notes on live recordings and liveness and living archives. |
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The New Yorker |
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| The Last Underground Rapper |
| by Sheldon Pearce |
| The New York City rapper Ka has built an astonishing independent hip-hop career. |
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Bandcamp Daily |
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| The Legacy of Changüí, the Signature Sound of Guantánamo, Cuba |
| by Raphael Helfand |
| Gianluca Tramontana’s 51-track collection explores a vibrant local style of Cuban music associated with festivals and parties. |
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Rest of World |
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| This musician will sing about your enemies over WhatsApp |
| by Nyasha Bhobo and Kudakwashe Magezi |
| For a reasonable fee, Mozambique’s Sam Chitsama belts out revenge songs about everything from cheating spouses to family disputes. |
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Vulture |
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| The Beauty and the Horror of Insane Clown Posse’s Summer Festival |
| by Alex Kapelman, Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding |
| Converted fan Nathan Rabin explains the appeal of a group once derided as a “magnet for ignorance.” |
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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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