| In ['Round Midnight'], the myth of midnight is set to an atmosphere of reverence, slow gallop, soft lean into a new way of deciding what time it is. It is what time it feels like it is, Monk inflects, sonic grin in the chord changes, chagrin in each long hesitation between phrases. |
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Machine Gun Kelly in Las Vegas, Oct. 16, 2021.
(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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“In ['Round Midnight'], the myth of midnight is set to an atmosphere of reverence, slow gallop, soft lean into a new way of deciding what time it is. It is what time it feels like it is, Monk inflects, sonic grin in the chord changes, chagrin in each long hesitation between phrases.”
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Ampersand
There's a scene in TODD HAYNES' mesmerizing documentary THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (about which I'll have more to say in the coming days) where JOHN CALE explains the band's split with NICO, after one album, as an inevitable result of the way she liked to work versus the way he wanted the band to work: "She would always be sitting down writing lyrics, writing poetry. There was always something drawing her away from collective work." There were other reasons, no doubt, and Cale himself didn't last much longer. But that observation has stuck with me. There's a common desire to romanticize musical creation as the product of the lone genius—the individual songwriter or lyricist or producer locked away in a studio or a bedroom or deep in the desert, wrestling with his or her soul, possibly going mad in the process, in search of some inscrutable creative spark. It does sound a little romantic, but it isn't the only way. Cale's interest, in the context of a film about the groundbreaking band he played in in the 1960s, is in group improvisation and experimentation. In challenging conventions and making a collective noise. But it isn't that big a stretch to imagine that in another time and place this classically trained violist, or some other classically trained artist, might have been talking about the creative benefits of three country songwriters meeting at 10 a.m. in someone's living room, or a small army of R&B producers and topliners working out a chorus in a well-lit control room. Those are examples of collective musical work, too, capable of producing songs that deeply touch the music lovers who hear them, while getting under the skin of a certain kind of cultural critic who's more interested in counting the names in songwriting credits than in listening to the music. That critic never seems to care, or notice, which Velvet Underground songs have one name in the credits and which ones have four. Or to dwell too long on whether the VU's modest commercial success had something to do with the stunning actress/model who the producer asked the band to add (and who, it should be noted, was a perfect fit). Which is good. These aren't the things critics need care about, at least not when trying to understand how the music moves them. And it remains true today. Sometimes it's good to be drawn away from the collective. But sometimes it's good to be drawn in, and to see where the other voices in the room, and on the split sheet, might lead.
Better Build Back
A whopping 69,000 music jobs in Britain—more than a third of the industry—were wiped out by the pandemic, according to a new report by UK MUSIC. The organization, which represents the creative side of the country's music business, is calling on the British government for tax incentives and other measures to help the industry rebuild. Here are takes, meanwhile, on the worrisome state of efforts to rebuild the live music sectors in Melbourne, South Africa and London.
Rest in Peace
German black metal, goth and folk musician ANDREA MEYER, who was among five victims of last week's horrific stabbing spree in Kongsberg, Norway. She performed under the names Nebelhexë, Hagalaz’ Runedance and Andrea Nebel, and appeared on albums by Cradle of Filth and Satyricon... YOGGIE MUSGROVE, a longtime Austin, Texas, fixture who played bass in countless bands and at Mount Zion Baptist Church.
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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The New Yorker |
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| Writing "Eleanor Rigby" |
| by Paul McCartney |
| My mum’s favorite cold cream was Nivea, and I love it to this day. That’s the cold cream I was thinking of in the description of the face Eleanor keeps “in a jar by the door.” I was always a little scared by how often women used cold cream. |
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The Washington Post |
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| ‘More immediate, more visceral’ and a lot tougher on Eric Clapton: A plan for reviving 'Rolling Stone' |
| by Margaret Sullivan |
| Rolling Stone, that bible of baby boom rock, is attempting to reinvent itself. The next challenge, says president and CEO Gus Wenner, is “journalism with teeth” and “a real place in the zeitgeist.” |
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UK Music |
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| UK Music Calls For Government Action To Boost Recovery As New Report Reveals Covid Wiped Out One In Three Music Jobs |
| 19.10.2021: UK Music unveiled its This Is Music 2021 annual report. It reveals the devastating impact of Covid-19, which wiped out 69,000 jobs - one in three of the total workforce. |
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Music Business Worldwide |
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| Can music mimic Marvel? SM Entertainment CEO Sung Su Lee on building K-Pop’s answer to a cinematic superhero universe |
| by Murray Stassen |
| SME’s chief executive, Sung Su Lee, explains his company’s strategy for building a roster of artists who can come together in the metaverse. |
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Refinery29 |
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| Black Women's Place in Reggaetón |
| by Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo |
| Black women helped pioneer and popularize reggaetón, but their contributions are often erased. As the genre goes mainstream, their voices should reign. |
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Asbury Park Press |
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| How Black music history of forgotten West Side of Asbury Park is being rediscovered |
| by Chris Jordan |
| The greats of American music came through Springwood Avenue in Asbury Park, but the history off the scene had been largely forgotten -- until now. |
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Billboard |
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| Livestream Concerts’ Next Step: Consolidation |
| by Tatiana Cirisano |
| More than a dozen new companies launched during the pandemic, but as acquisitions pick up the competition is thinning. |
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The New York Times |
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| The War on Drugs Can’t Stop Searching for Answers in the Music |
| by Olivia Horn |
| Fatherhood reshaped the frontman Adam Granduciel’s world, and a collaborative spirit animated the band on its fifth album, “I Don’t Live Here Anymore.” |
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| rave:// There may not be a better music critic working today |
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Black Music and Black Muses |
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| Monk's Midnight |
| by Harmony Holiday |
| On "Round Midnight" and other Spheres. |
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Sounds Like a Plan |
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| Sounds Like A Plan: 'Opportunity' with Brian Eno, artist, producer and co-founder of EarthPercent |
| by Fay Milton, Greg Cochrane and Brian Eno |
| A legendary artist, and one of the music world's great thinkers -- Brian Eno is our first guest on series 2 of Sounds Like A Plan. In spring 2021 Eno co-founded EarthPercent an organisation designed to help direct funds from the music industry towards some of the the most effective climate causes. |
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Tidal |
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| Terence Blanchard and Fabian Almazan on the Genius of Wayne Shorter |
| by Larry Blumenfeld |
| Blanchard, the trumpeter-composer who recently made history with his Met Opera debut, and Almazan, a pianist-composer and one of jazz’s leading young lights, go inside the sage’s untold influence. |
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NPR |
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| Joy Crookes' first album embraces power, heartbreak and racial justice |
| by Lulu Garcia-Navarro |
| The singer-songwriter from South London, born to Bangladeshi and Irish immigrants, knows all-too-well the struggle of trying to figure out your identity in a society where being yourself can look like a thousand different things. |
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Billboard |
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| How Afghan Band Member Metal Sam Fled the Country After Taliban Takeover |
| by Steve Knopper |
| Afghan band member Metal Sam tells Billboard how he fled Afghanistan after Taliban takeover. |
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The Guardian |
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| Gandhi in heels? Maria Callas statue hits the wrong note |
| by Helena Smith |
| Critics compare figure of famous soprano erected in Greek capital to an Oscar statuette. |
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Music Ally |
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| How the metaverse promises to transform how we interact with music online |
| by Tim Exile |
| As the metaverse flourishes in the coming years, trillions of dollars of cultural economic activity will be brought into this new world. |
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Music Business Worldwide |
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| Reactional Music wants gamers to make in-game music purchases, using its patented music integration engine |
| by Murray Stassen |
| New tech promises to let users personalize their gaming experience to their favourite songs or artists. |
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NPR |
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| Coronavirus FAQ: I'm vaccinated. Is it OK to sing into a karaoke mic again? |
| by Vicky Hallett |
| During the pandemic, karaoke has been kayoed due to fears of viral spread. If you've got a song in your heart and a vaccine in your arm, is it safe to pick up a karaoke mic in public? |
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Vulture |
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| The Best and Unforgettable of the Fugees, According to Pras |
| by Craig Jenkins |
| “We’re Caribbean, Haitian, Brooklyn. That rice and beans, plantains, machetes. We’re coming with that vibe.” |
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Centuries of Sound |
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| Centuries of Sound: 1939 |
| by James Errington |
| While Europe and East Asia spent the year either at war or in anticipation of war other things were on the agenda for the rest of the world. Solomon Linda & The Evening Birds improvised “Mbube” in the only recording studio in Sub-Saharan Africa one day in 1939. Then there was Billie Holiday’s recording of “Strange Fruit." |
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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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