| Americana/American Roots music is more than a genre to me... I feel great responsibility in representing marginalized queer people in rural America who are raised on country and roots music but are repeatedly and systematically rejected by the correlating culture. Every rung I can sling my gay sequined boot up on top of gets queer people a little higher on the ladder to being seen as just a bit more human in the great American roots landscape. |
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Willow Smith in Atlanta, Oct. 19, 2021.
(Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
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“Americana/American Roots music is more than a genre to me... I feel great responsibility in representing marginalized queer people in rural America who are raised on country and roots music but are repeatedly and systematically rejected by the correlating culture. Every rung I can sling my gay sequined boot up on top of gets queer people a little higher on the ladder to being seen as just a bit more human in the great American roots landscape.”
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Americana Woman
Are the GRAMMYS making more odd choices about how to categorize songs and albums than they usually do or are people just paying more attention these days? Whichever it is, add the current single by the AMERICANA AWARDS' reigning Artist of the Year, which the Grammys have decided isn't an Americana song, to the list. BRANDI CARLILE's "RIGHT ON TIME," a dramatic piano ballad that's getting triple-A and radio play and comes from an album that debuted at #1 on Billboard's Americana/Folk chart, is, say the Grammys, a pop single. This follows decisions to officially label KACEY MUSGRAVES' STAR-CROSSED a pop album, not a country album, and BO BURNHAM's INSIDE (THE SONGS) a soundtrack album, not a comedy album (why couldn't it be both, future generations will ask).
It may seem weird to complain about overzealous genre policing at the Grammys, which divide music into more than 40 genres and sub-genres and give out nearly 90 trophies. Over-policing genre is what they do. But the "Right on Time" shift seems especially insensitive to how actual people are consuming and programming Brandi Carlile's music and what it means to both them and the artist. Americana is "more than a genre to me," Carlile wrote in a long and gracious Instagram note that took time to thank the Grammys for thinking of her at all. "It represents my community, my family, my friends and my beautiful island of misfits." Music is social. It connects us and our misfit islands. It helps define what those misfit islands are. And those islands, in turn, help define the music. There are no particular notes or sounds or rhythms that definitively make "Right on Time" an Americana song. The islanders just kind of know.
The Grammys, of course, don't have the power to literally divorce "Right on Time" from Americana. The islanders and their radio programmers, DJs, booking agents and curators still get to decide that. But the Grammys control the hardware that comes with the awards, and the most obvious effect of recategorizing Carlile's song is that instead of competing in a category (American Roots Song) where it would have been almost impossible to lose, it will have to fight just for a nomination in a category where, even if it gets one, it will have almost no chance of winning. Five other Americana artists, meanwhile, who would have had no chance of winning that particular Grammy, now do. And they'll have that a secret Grammy committee to thank, should they think about it on awards day.
Meanwhile in the Grammys' "big four" general categories, an unnamed music executive wonders in the Los Angeles Times if the elimination of the controversial nomination review committees—which are different from the screening committees that determine who's eligible for which category—will lead to an unwelcome surprise winner or two at the end of next year's show. The RECORDING ACADEMY's voting membership isn't as young or diverse as the Academy would like, and "it's possible," the exec says, "the committees saved the Academy from embarrassment more than they created it."
Pondering a Posie
There's a lively, combative discussion happening on Facebook about the merit of KUOW's explosive report on allegations of violent sexual misconduct against the POSIES' KEN STRINGFELLOW, which I wrote about at some length on Tuesday. The discussion was started by BARBARA J. MITCHELL, an ex-manager and ex-girlfriend of Stringfellow who says she's had "a front row seat for terrible behavior on ken's part - but none of that involved control issues or physical violence." She believes the story is unfair "shoddy journalism." Among the people who replied to her public Facebook post are at least two women who were on-the-record sources for the story and one of its two reporters. I'm uncomfortable linking to an individual Facebook user's post, even a public one, but I wanted to note the discussion's existence. It was still going strong late Tuesday night.
Etc Etc Etc
A bill introduced in Congress by REP. TED DEUTCH (D-Fla.) would let independent artists collectively negotiate with streaming services for royalty rates, which they can't do now because of antitrust laws. The Protect Working Musicians Act was introduced Monday... Which music sites are tracking you the most?...What are the best restaurant bathroom soundtracks?... FOR KING & COUNTRY, CECE WINANS and WE THE KINGDOM were among the top winners at gospel's DOVE AWARDS... ED SHEERAN at NPR's virtual TINY DESK.... PRIMARY WAVE MUSIC has paid what's believed to be about $40 million for a stake in the late LUTHER VANDROSS' publishing, master and name and likeness rights.
Rest in Peace
GINNY MANCINI, music philanthropist, big-band singer and widow of Henry Mancini... Jazz trombonist BOB RUDOLPH... Original Journey manager HERBIE HERBERT, whose other clients included Roxette and the Steve Miller Band... RUBEN RODRIGUEZ, a promo exec for Motown, Island, Columbia and Elektra who went on to found hip-hop imprint Pendulum Records).
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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Literary Hub |
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| How Opera Invented the Modern Fan |
| by Alison Kinney |
| Alison Kinney investigates the barriers to appreciating art the “right” way. |
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Vox |
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| What happens when your favorite thing goes viral? |
| by Rebecca Jennings |
| A 2002 song by the Mountain Goats about a doomed divorce is suddenly big on TikTok. Why? |
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Vulture |
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| The Healing Power of Pop |
| by Megan Lubin, Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan |
| We know that music gets us through hard times, but let’s look a little into the science and craft of why. |
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The New York Times |
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| After 40 Years, Abba Takes a Chance With Its Legacy |
| by Elisabeth Vincentelli |
| How one of the biggest pop groups in the world secretly reunited to make a new album and a high-tech stage show featuring digital avatars of themselves - from 1979. |
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Los Angeles Times |
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| As Grammy voting begins, Gen Z acts are favorites. But could a 95-year-old take the top prize? |
| by Mikael Wood |
| Amid reforms in the Grammy nomination process, Olivia Rodrigo and Lil Nas X are considered early favorites. But a (very) old-school album could steal the show. |
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Music Business Worldwide |
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| Here’s exactly what Spotify, Apple and other streaming services want to pay songwriters from 2023 onwards. |
| by Murray Stassen |
| MBW rifles through the filings of Big Tech to see what the likes of Google and Spotify are proposing. |
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Dada Drummer Almanach |
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| Sale Is Unlawful |
| by Damon Krukowski |
| On piracy, CD-Rs and the Japanese band Les Rallizes Dénudés. |
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Billboard |
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| Bike With Beyonce, Box With Drake: Fitness Companies Use Music to Battle For Customers |
| by Tatiana Cirisano |
| A year and a half after Peloton’s publishing settlement warmed up the business, fitness-tech music licensing is shifting into high gear. |
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Audacy |
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| Breaking Waves: Seattle, Ep. 3: Overblown |
| by Ryan Castle |
| On Episode Three Of Breaking Waves: Seattle, we continue the story with Seattle as a dominant force in Pop Culture. The “Big Four”-Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains-were the preeminent rock acts in the world, and Seattle’s influence could be felt everywhere, in movies, tv, radio and even fashion. |
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DJ Mag |
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| How Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds Of Love’ influenced the evolution of electronic music |
| by Ben Cardew |
| Kate Bush's iconic fifth album saw her perfecting her experiments in sampling technology, drum machines and synthesizers, and opening up a whole new world of creative possibilities. |
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Vulture |
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| Dave Grohl Has Seen Too Much |
| by Craig Jenkins |
| He’s the most prolific rock star of the last 30 years. Somehow, we’re still getting to know him. |
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The New York Times |
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| Don’t Call It a Comeback: Cassettes Have Sounded Lousy for Years (And Still Do!) |
| by Brent Butterworth |
| Cassette tapes are audio’s hippest trend. Here’s why music lovers are going back to them, the reasons you might not want to, and how to find the right gear. |
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Loudwire |
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| What Can We Learn About the Double Standard Toward Women in Rock? |
| by Yasmine Summan |
| From nip slips to guitar smashing, we look at some of the blatant double standards women face in rock and metal. |
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Billboard |
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| As ‘Insecure’ Nears The End, Issa Rae’s Raedio Label is Providing a ‘Starting Point’ For Artists |
| by Heran Mamo |
| Issa Rae and Benoni Tagoe tell Billboard how their Raedio label is continuing its musical legacy on television long after Rae's HBO series 'Insecure' wraps. |
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The Guardian |
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| Syd: ‘I’ve always made it a point to just be gay. There’s a girl in the video with me, what else do I need to say?’ |
| by Lauren O'Neill |
| She had an album of love songs all set to go - until a breakup made her think again. The star of Odd Future and the Internet tells how she drew inspiration from heartache and hope. |
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Dazed Digital |
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| Måneskin won Eurovision, then they took over the world |
| by Aliya Chaudhry. |
| Ahead of their European tour, the Italian group talk their Måneskin brand of rock, ignoring the haters, and TikToking all over the world. |
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Los Angeles Times |
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| When a woman sings tenor, it's a superpower |
| by Joy Horowitz |
| In the Angel City Chorale, altos who have switched to singing tenor are called “taltos.” It's a choir that's big on inclusion. |
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GQ |
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| Finneas Has Made Hits for Justin Bieber, Kid Cudi, and (of Course) Billie Eilish. Now He's Going His Own Way |
| by Kevin Lincoln |
| With his first solo album, "Optimist," just out, Finneas O'Connell explains what he learned about producing himself from working with his sister Billie. |
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Pollstar |
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| Regal, Fierce & Divine: Tina Turner Roars Into The Rock Hall On Her Own Terms |
| by Holly Gleason |
| She’d created Tina Turner out of little Anna Mae Bullock from Nutbush, Tenn. (pop. 259) – and she was determined at 40 years old to become the goddess warrior of rock. |
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The Tennessean |
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| Garth Brooks remembers Charley Pride and the song they shared: 'You thank your lucky stars' |
| by Dave Paulson |
| Monday night at the National Museum of African American Music, Garth Brooks sat with an acoustic guitar and revisited songs made famous by the late Charley Pride. |
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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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