| I don’t think that pop culture really has borders or language barriers anymore. I don’t know that a fan necessarily draws a distinction between BTS, Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny. |
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| Honey Dijon in Madrid, Sept. 24, 2022. Her second album, "Black Girl Magic," is out Friday on Classic Music Company. |
| (Pablo Gallardo/Redferns/Getty Images) |
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| quote of the day |
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“I don’t think that pop culture really has borders or language barriers anymore. I don’t know that a fan necessarily draws a distinction between BTS, Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny.”
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- Jbeau Lewis, Bad Bunny's agent at United Talent Agency
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| rantnrave:// |
Harry’s House Guests
There is still Covid and there is still a volatile economy and there are still artists, venues and crew being left behind by a live music boom that isn’t booming for everyone and there are still music fans who aren’t quite ready to turn out again, but there are also those who are, and this one goes out to them—the fans who were showing up at the KIA FORUM in Inglewood, Calif., at 3 in the morning in the hope of getting a numbered wristband at 10 in the morning allowing them to line up at 3 in the afternoon so they could be among the first to enter the arena’s general-admission door at 6:30 and get as close as they could to the stage where HARRY STYLES would emerge at 9, some 18 hours after their odyssey began. Styles, who just wrapped the first part of his 15-show run at the Forum (three shows were moved to January after he came down with the flu two weeks ago), was their reward, but they were also his. He couldn’t do this BORN IN THE USA-sized arena stand if they didn’t exist. His 15 nights in LA don’t happen without these super fans passing the entirety of chilly Southern California nights and days with card games, TikToks and limited, pre-planned bathroom breaks, looking out for and making friends with strangers doing the same thing. “I fully slept on the street by myself, two feet away from a random car,” 19-year-old JULIANNA MALEK told Billboard. “Harry is the only artist that I would feel safe camping by myself for. I knew this morning that I could come and make friends and be OK.” If there’s a purer idea of what it means to support your favorite artists and bands, I can’t think of what that would be. It’s more, if you ask me, than any record company, manager or agent could possibly provide. It’s how and why this whole thing works. Deep respect.
If you’re of a certain age, you might once or twice have camped out all night outside a record store, or wherever your local TICKETMASTER or TICKETRON outlet was, to be first in line to buy tickets for a tour of this magnitude. The internet killed that particular experience and replaced it with what TAYLOR SWIFT’s fan base went through Tuesday, when her ERAS tour went on sale and Ticketmaster went down with a touch of the flu itself. Tennessee attorney general JONATHAN SKRMETTI is investigating Tuesday’s debacle, which included crashing websites and resellers finding their way around the tour’s Verified Fan system and sending prices to the moon, on behalf of Swift fans in his home state—but not just Swift fans. “We're in Music City here in Nashville. This is an important part of the local economy,” Skrmetti said. “It's not just a matter of fans who are being harmed by this potentially. There are a lot of people involved in concert production in this area.” Skremetti expressed concern at Ticketmaster’s “very dominant” position in the market, echoing complaints heard in Washington, D.C. (It should be noted that a competitor, SEATGEEK, had the primary ticketing contract in some cities Tuesday, and experienced its own issues.) Calls to break up Ticketmaster have gained some traction in recent weeks, and even PRESIDENT BIDEN has spoken up about one common complaint, fees. As a New Jersey mom who was trying to buy Swift tickets for her 11-year-old daughter told the BBC: "You're kind of at their mercy."
Rest in Peace
DJ/producer JANETTE SLACK, a mainstay of the breakbeat scene in London and in her native Hong Kong... British rare groove selector/curator DEZ PARKES.
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| - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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Pitchfork |
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| Weyes Blood on What It Means to Be Out of Time |
| By Sam Sodomsky |
| The singer-songwriter talks about her complex relationship with nostalgia, the indignities of online life, and her sweeping new album, "And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow." |
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Twenty Thousand Hertz |
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| Twenty Thousand Hertz: Synth War II -- Digital Doom |
| By Dallas Taylor, Michelle Moog-Koussa, Ami Radunskaya... |
| In the 1960s, Bob Moog and Don Buchla built synthesizers that changed the world. But by the early 80s, they faced a new challenger who threatened to bring it all crumbling down: the digital synthesizer. To defeat this opponent, they’d have to recruit a new ally… and maybe even join forces. |
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Music x |
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| Mercy, Mercy Me: the climate cost of live music |
| By Beatriz Negreiros |
| Music might not have the heftiest of traces if we compare it to fast fashion or agriculture, but, given the amount of travel (often by air), energy consumption, and all-around resource expenditure touring entails, it is certainly doing damage enough to grant discussion. |
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| what we're into |
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| Music | Media |
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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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