| If you took away his flow and instrumental, he could just be talking to you. |
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Little Simz at the All Points East Festival, London, Aug. 28, 2021.
(Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
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“If you took away his flow and instrumental, he could just be talking to you.”
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It's Friday
And that means there's a new DRAKE album, as you may have heard. CERTIFIED LOVER BOY features more A-list guests than originally invested in Tidal, artwork by DAMIEN HIRST that may or may not impress you, will probably have been streamed 74 billion times by the time you open this email and, lest you underestimate its ambition and budget, opens with an a cappella BEATLES interpolation. It could have launched as a New York Stock Exchange IPO, but instead it's launching the old-fashioned way. Thank him later, music industry... Smart, soulful British rapper LITTLE SIMZ—"your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper," to quote the New York Times—follows her acclaimed 2019 album, "Grey Area." with the adventurous and introspective SOMETIMES I MIGHT BE INTROVERT, which a lot of people, including her, think will be her commercial breakout. She's the kind of artist who'll tell you that's what she wants while simultaneously using the album to ask why anyone would want that. She recorded "Introvert" with longtime producer INFLO, maybe best known these days for his association with Sault; Little Simz appears on Sault's most recent album... Reggaeton singer/songwriter/producer JHAY CORTEZ, who you may have seen or heard collaborating with Bad Bunny, opens up his sound on his second album, TIMELEZZ, because, says he, "follow the rules and you’ll just sound like everyone else"... The soundtrack to SHANG-CHI & THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS was curated by 88RISING and features RICH BRIAN, DJ SNAKE, RICK ROSS, 21 SAVAGE, SWAE LEE and JHENE AIKO... The CINDERELLA soundtrack features the movie's star, CAMILA CABELLO, along with IDINA MENZEL and BILLY PORTER.
It's the first Friday of the month, which means it's BANDCAMP Friday, which continues to be a simple, straightforward, effective way to funnel music fans' budgets directly to the artists they listen to.
Also out today: New music from IRON MAIDEN, IMAGINE DRAGONS, LADY GAGA ("Chromatica" remix album), BIG30, SOULJA BOY, LAUREN ALAINA, BRETT YOUNG (acoustic), JULIEN BAKER (remixes), RUDIMENTAL, the late GERRY RAFFERTY, RENEE ROSNES, DAVE LIEBMAN, STEVEN BERNSTEIN, KATE MCGARRY + KEITH GANZ ENSEMBLE, CRAIG ARMSTRONG, DAVID GRUBBS & RYLEY WALKER, F.S. BLUMM & NILS FRAHM, USAIN BOLT (yes, that Usain Bolt), MEATBODIES, CARNIFEX, PORTRAIT, the PICTUREBOOKS, DAVID FERGUSON, BABY QUEEN, ESINAM, JMSN, DJ SEINFELD, L'ORANGE, the GLITCH MOB, SUUNS, SPIRITS HAVING FUN, JINNWOO and VANA LIYA.
Everyone's Gone to the Movies
Friday is for filmmakers, too. Opening today: BITCHIN': THE SOUND AND FURY OF RICK JAMES, director SACHA JENKINS' attempt to reclaim the musical legacy of "the FORREST GUMP of funk," who connected and collided with the likes of JONI MITCHELL, NEIL YOUNG, MOTOWN, PRINCE, TEENA MARIE and EDDIE MURPHY during a long, slow rise to fame and a quick, ugly fall. Shoutout producer STEVE RIVO. On Showtime... The BILLIE EILISH concert film HAPPIER THAN EVER: A LOVE LETTER TO LOS ANGELES, on Disney+... And a rediscovered and restored BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS performance, THE CAPITOL SESSION '73, on Amazon's Coda Collection.
Dot Dot Dot
Oh, and wait, did someone say there's new ABBA music? Yes, there is new Abba music... JASON ISBELL Zoom-chats with DR. ANTHONY FAUCI about how to safely stage live events—and gets official governmental permission to ask fans to stop shouting out requests... China's TENCENT MUSIC has canceled all its exclusive label deals following an antitrust investigation... MusicREDEF will be taking a long Labor Day weekend. The next newsletter will be published Wednesday morning, Sept. 8.
Rest in Peace
Orchestra Baobab guitarist BARTHELEMY ATTISSO.
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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Rest of World |
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| Why an Abu Dhabi-based streaming app is the future of the global music industry |
| by Yinka Adegoke |
| Anghami is a case study in how the music business is being gradually transformed from outside its core centers of New York, Los Angeles and London. |
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The New York Times |
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| Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi’: How 88rising Crafted an Evocative Soundtrack |
| by Jeremy Gordon |
| The Asian arts collective worked closely with the director Destin Daniel Cretton to put its imprint on the anticipated movie. |
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The Undefeated |
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| ‘Super Freak’ Rick James finally gets a doc that takes his music seriously |
| by Keith Murphy |
| ‘Bitchin’ on Showtime details his famous line-stepping -- and how he expanded the audience for R&B. |
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Rashida Tlaib |
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| Justice at Spotify: A Roundtable with Rep. Tlaib |
| by Rashida Tlaib, Joey La Neve Defrancesco, Shigeto... |
| Congresswoman Tlaib hosts a roundtable with Downtown Boys guitarist/singer and Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) co-founder Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, electronic musician Zachary "Shigeto" Saginaw, mastering engineer Heba Kadry, and singer/songwriter Julia Holter discussing the UMAW "Justice at Spotify" campaign, their struggles as artists in the pandemic, and the future of music. |
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GQ |
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| Logic Reflects on the Impact and Backlash of His Song '1-800-273-8255' |
| by Bobby Hall |
| Read a chapter from the rapper's new memoir 'This Bright Future,' where he details the emotional toll his first hit song took on him. |
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The Guardian |
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| Drugs, divorce and incessant drum takes: Metallica on making metal’s biggest ever album |
| by Matt Mills |
| Now 30 years old, the Black Album has sold more than 30m copies. The band discuss its legacy, fighting in the studio - and making an all-star cover version. |
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Music Business Worldwide |
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| ‘I don’t expect artists to have their s*** organized. That’s what I’m here for’ |
| by Tim Ingham |
| Wassim 'Sal' Slaiby on his upbringing in Lebanon, arriving in Canada - and an amazing career in music. |
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Jewish Telegraphic Agency |
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| Larry Harlow was Jewish, not Latino. But 'El Judio Maravilloso' changed the world of Latin music. |
| by Julian Voloj |
| Harlow, born Lawrence Kahn in Brooklyn, recorded on hundreds of albums and pushed the Grammys to recognize Latin music. |
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Billboard |
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| ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ Turns 50: Artists Share How It Educated Them About Music & the World |
| by Ron Hart |
| A wide cross-section of musicians share how 'Schoolhouse Rock' informed their growth as songwriters and students. |
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Highsnobiety |
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| When Did Album Covers Get So Lazy? |
| by Tora Northman |
| Ask Drake and Kanye West. |
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NPR Music |
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| I Played Jazz With Charlie Watts For 20 Years. Here's What I Learned |
| by Tim Ries |
| A longtime touring member of The Rolling Stones, Tim Ries says his favorite nights were the ones without a show -- when he and Watts would sneak into town to play the music they loved most. |
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Longreads |
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| But Who Tells Them What To Sing? |
| by Adrian Daub |
| “And thus another Hollywood tradition was born: film choruses belting out perfectly nonsensical prose with utter conviction.” |
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The New Yorker |
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| The Focus Finally Turns to Aaliyah, in R. Kelly’s Trial |
| by Jim DeRogatis |
| The first time that the late singer’s name was spoken in a courtroom as a victim of sexual abuse was two weeks ago, twenty years after her death. |
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The Ringer |
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| The Oral History of System of a Down’s ‘Toxicity’ |
| by Matthew Sigur |
| In 2001, an Armenian heavy-metal band conquered the charts despite infighting, a riot, and a ban that kept them off major radio stations following 9/11. Twenty years later, System of a Down and others look back on a career-defining album. |
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The Culture Journalist |
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| Tonight we're gonna party like it's Woodstock '99, with Craig Jenkins |
| by Emilie Friedlander, Andrea Domanick and Craig Jenkins |
| What we didn't learn about 1999--and American culture--from Bill Simmons' documentary on a festival train wreck. |
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The Guardian |
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| ‘A summer of love!’ Musicians on the awesome, tearful return of gigs |
| by Michael Hann |
| From Sleaford Mods in London to Mogwai in France, bands and performers talk about the strange and wonderful experience of returning to the stage after 16 months of deprivation. |
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Billboard |
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| Inside Track: Will Spotify Stay Independent -- and Should It? |
| by Micah Singleton |
| Spotify's Discovery Mode is causing issues among industry insiders, while its independent status is an open question. DistroKid is now worth over $1 billion. |
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VentureBeat |
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| Facebook Gaming expands streamers’ access to licensed music |
| by Dean Takahashi |
| Facebook Gaming is expanding streamers' access to a library of licensed music that will enable them to play tunes while streaming gameplay. And they won't have to worry about facing as many takedown messages from music companies. |
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PopMatters |
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| Hell Yeah Rock Regresses to Childhood |
| by Joannie Penderwick |
| Rock is id and pent-up aggression and instant gratification put in a blender on high. What pours out is arrested development made glorious. |
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The Common Reader |
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| Fanfare for the Uncommon Man |
| by Jeff Smith |
| A new biography of a trailblazing film composer reveals a life story as compelling as any depicted onscreen. |
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| Music of the day |
| "Introvert" |
| Little Simz |
| From "Sometimes I Might Be Introvert," out today on Age 101. |
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YouTube |
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From "Sometimes I Might Be Introvert," out today on Age 101.
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Premieres today on Showtime.
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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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