| Almost all Black music is deeply rooted in metaphor. The only way that we could speak to the pain and the anguish of our experiences was often through how we codified our stories in the songs that we sang. |
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| Harry Belafonte circa 1970. |
| (Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) |
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| quote of the day |
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“Almost all Black music is deeply rooted in metaphor. The only way that we could speak to the pain and the anguish of our experiences was often through how we codified our stories in the songs that we sang.”
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- Harry Belafonte, 1927 – 2023
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| rantnrave:// |
Calypso Farewell
HARRY BELAFONTE sang protest songs. He made protest movies and protest TV variety shows. He had a protest apartment on West End Avenue in Manhattan, which was a home away from home for his friend the REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. and others in the civil rights movement, which he helped fund with his protest money. He dreamed up “WE ARE THE WORLD” and recruited the likes of MICHAEL JACKSON and LIONEL RICHIE to create it. They were protest singers, too. He went to Sudan and Ethiopia to help deliver the money and supplies their protest charity song raised. He fought Apartheid. He fought guns. He wrote angry editorials. He inducted “radical, revolutionary and fearless artists” PUBLIC ENEMY into the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME. He was immensely popular, especially in the 1950s and ‘60s when he was introducing calypso to North America. He was almost impossibly charismatic and good looking, and he used those gifts well. He sang that Caribbean folk song about counting bananas on boats (“daaaaaay-oh!”) and, whether or not you paid attention to the words, you better believe that, too, was a protest song. (“A work song,” in his words. “A song of rebellion.") The first album BOB DYLAN ever appeared on was one of his, playing protest harmonica. He had a mission and a very particular idea about how to live his life and in his 96 years he never strayed from the path. If Hollywood wasn’t offering the kind of parts he believed Black men should play, he’d walk away, for years if he had to. If people were marching for TRAYVON MARTIN, he’d walk that way. “Shining example of how to use your platform to make change in the world,” QUESTLOVE wrote Tuesday. “An agent of change, the musical voice of civil rights,” said HENRY LOUIS GATES JR. He didn’t have the world’s greatest singing voice, people would say and he would agree, but he had feel and soul and understanding, which is everything you need, whether you’re singing about drinking and dancing or slaves and cotton fields or women you have to leave behind. He brought people along with him everywhere he went. He moved the world as much as a lone protest folk singer ever could, or ever has. And he made this. Rest in peace and keep on protesting.
I Think, Therefore I Think Some More
“I think we are ready to raise prices,” DANIEL EK said on SPOTIFY’s Q1 earnings call Tuesday, adding that “I think we have the ability to do that,” and then further adding that “it really comes down to those negotiations” with the streaming giant’s music biz partners. If only those partners could find a way to send a signal. (Also, if only my condo board could display that much hesitancy and can-kicking about raising my maintenance.) For what it’s worth, Spotify has raised prices in several markets around the world in recent years, as well as on a variety of subscription packages, but the price of the basic monthly plan in its biggest market, the US, hasn’t changed since [hang on a sec, checking my notes] ever. As for those quarterly earnings, worldwide subscriber numbers (210 million) beat expectations, while revenues (3.04 billion euros) came up short, which the company blamed on advertising, not subs.
Etc Etc Etc
A video of ED SHEERAN doing a medley of his “THINKING OUT LOUD” and MARVIN GAYE’s “LET’S GET IT ON” “is a confession,” a lawyer for the family of Gaye’s co-writer told a New York jury Tuesday, the first day of testimony in a closely watched (but aren’t they all?) plagiarism suit. “Most pop songs can fit over most pop songs,” Sheeran countered a short while later from the witness stand. “I’m just mashing up a song with another song.” KATHRYN GRIFFIN TOWNSEND, whose late father, Ed Townsend, collaborated with Gaye on his 1973 hit, told the jury she isn’t a “copyright troll” but “I have to protect my father’s legacy.” The trial is expected to last at least a week and Sheeran’s lawyers say he’ll testify again when they present their defense... Will TAYLOR SWIFT’s LONG PONG STUDIO SESSIONS be the first RECORD STORE DAY exclusive to crack the top 10 of the BILLBOARD 200?... Billboard’s International Power Players... There's a 74-year-old “Gig Slut” who goes to multiple live gigs in London almost every night.
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| - Matty Karas, curator |
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The New York Times |
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| Harry Belafonte, Folk Hero |
| By Wesley Morris |
| Cool and charismatic, Belafonte channeled his stardom into activism. He was a true people person, who knew how to reach, teach and challenge us. |
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Catalog |
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| Anti-Scale: Music Discovery for the 10% |
| By Alex Siber |
| An essay exploring design pitfalls failing "music discovery," potential DSP improvements, defining "discovery" itself, and alliances for the future. |
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| man smart (woman smarter) |
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NPR |
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| Lucinda Williams and her suitcase full of songs |
| By Noah Caldwell, Courtney Dorning and Juana Summers |
| NPR's Juana Summers talks with singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams about her new memoir "Don't Tell Anyone the Secrets I Told You." |
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| what we're into |
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| Music of the day |
| “Darlin' Cora” |
| Harry Belafonte |
| From "Belafonte at Carnegie Hall" (1959). |
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| Video of the day |
| “Sing Your Song” |
| Susanne Rostock |
| 2011 Harry Belafonte documentary |
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| Music | Media |
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Suggest a link  |
| “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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