| When we were evacuated the next day, I had my horn with me. People were looking at me strangely, because with all the police and ambulances and trucks and the army, it was like a World War II movie—and here's me, this guy in a beret with a saxophone. | | | | |  | William Basinski in Paris, Jan. 19, 2020.
(Jacopo M. Raule/Getty Images) | | | | | "When we were evacuated the next day, I had my horn with me. People were looking at me strangely, because with all the police and ambulances and trucks and the army, it was like a World War II movie—and here's me, this guy in a beret with a saxophone." | | | | Disintegration Loops
In past years, I've written in this newsletter about music I've always associated with the terrible chain of events that began 20 years ago tomorrow in New York City. The defiantly optimistic JONATHAN RICHMAN concert that was my first live music afterward. The resolutely spiritual BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN song that captured the day, for me, in a way no other song has. The other music that was floating in the New York air just before and just after, inextricably connected to the moment—the soundtrack of a city's collective conscience. But as I think about the day itself, I don't hear music at all. It was a day without. It was a day of loud silence and quiet confusion. A day of radio and TV news spinning on endless loops with slight variations on every pass. A day of puzzled conversations with friends and neighbors and strangers. A day of darkness and sadness beneath a placid blue September sky.
I can retrace almost every step I took that day, from Brooklyn to Manhattan and back. I remember who I encountered at various points along the way. But not what I, or anyone else, said or heard. I can see and smell the buildings and smoke and sidewalks. I can't remember what it sounded like. If I have a personal 9/11 soundtrack, it's abstract and distorted and still disintegrating 20 years later. I'm going to mark the anniversary by attending a performance, in Manhattan's Riverside Church, of WILLIAM BASINSKI's DISINTEGRATION LOOPS. Basinski famously finished recording his epic ambient piece, which is composed of decaying tape loops, that morning in Brooklyn. Each of its movements spends its entire playing time heading inevitably toward abstraction and, as all songs do, silence.
I've been reminded in recent days of how quickly New York musicians got back to work. This is a moving, almost matter-of-fact, account of how that happened, and serves as a reminder of how fundamental and strong the need to create music is. But sometimes you need to step away and put everything on mute, if only for a few minutes or hours. This might be one of those weekends.
Etc Etc Etc
VIAGOGO's acquisition of STUBHUB is a done deal following the former's sale of the latter's operations outside North America, as required by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, which was concerned the combined company would otherwise have too big a share of the ticket resale business. Massachusetts-based DIGITAL FUEL CAPITAL is the new owner of StubHub International... The Competition and Markets Authority, meanwhile, is investigating SONY MUSIC's acquisition of AWAL and NEIGHBOURING RIGHTS from KOBALT, which the regulatory authority says could upset the competitive balance in Britain's recorded-music industry... ARLO PARKS' debut album, COLLAPSED IN SUNBEAMS, wins the MERCURY PRIZE... MORGAN WALLEN, who was banned from this year's ACM and CMT awards, is up for Album of the Year at the CMA AWARDS, which agreed to make him eligible in categories that recognized teams of collaborators but not for individual awards. ERIC CHURCH and CHRIS STAPLETON lead the field of nominees for the CMAs, which will be presented Nov. 10... Another week, another loss of a platform for serious local music coverage. This one's personal—my borough, my friend. In his final BKLYN SOUNDS column for BKLYNER, which ceases publishing today "with no immediate date or plans for resuming," PIOTR ORLOV writes about the state of local music coverage in New York and offers one final set of recommendations for the coming week, including, but not limited to, KIM ANN FOXMAN, LES SAVY FAV and the indescribably great STANDING ON THE CORNER... DOJA CAT hosts MTV's VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS, which air you-know-where Sunday night.
It's Friday
And that means new music from KACEY MUSGRAVES, who follows up her glittering, career-making 2018 GOLDEN HOUR with her divorce album. "I wasn't going to be a real country artist without at least one divorce under my belt," she told the New York Times about the new STAR-CROSSED. She's also, it should be noted, a real pop and real disco-ish artist... J BALVIN continues to explore the rainbow of possibilities around reggaeton and mainstream pop, with help from Bad Bunny and Dua Lipa, on JOSE... Next-big-thing rapper BABY KEEM is joined by Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott on THE MELODIC BLUE... Arkansas pop singer YEBBA's church background simmers just below the surface of her Mark Ronson-produced debut, which arrives five years after the astonishing Sofar Sounds performance that first caught the world's attention... Balvin, KAMASI WASHINGTON, MICKEY GUYTON and MILEY CYRUS are among the 53 artists who cover songs from Metallica's Black Album on THE METALLICA BLACKLIST, while WAXAHATCHEE, MARK LANEGAN, LEE ANN WOMACK, COLTER WALL and others do the same for a classic folk album on the RANDALL POSTER-curated HOME IN THIS WORLD: WOODY GUTHRIE'S DUST BOWL BALLADS.
Plus new music from BOMBA ESTÉREO, ELVIS COSTELLO (Spanish-language version of THIS YEAR'S MODEL feat. Cami, Draco Rosa, Juanes and others), LISA (Blackpink singer's solo debut), TOMMY GENESIS, COMMON, GIFT OF GAB (the Blackalicous rapper completed the album VICE GRIP shortly before he died in June), JAZZMEIA HORN & HER NOBLE FORCE, PAT METHENY, ELIANE ELIAS (with Chick Corea and Chucho Valdés), BÉLA FLECK, LOW, SARAH DAVACHI, PARK HYE JIN, COLLEEN GREEN, MATTHEW E. WHITE, MARÍA ISABEL, NESSA BARRETT, KEVIN GEORGE, JAZZ CARTIER, AZ, RALO, ERIC BELLINGER, ANAIIS, LOADBANG, SLEIGH BELLS, SLOTHRUST, TWIZTID, FACE TO FACE, ANDREW W.K., HOMESHAKE, SPENCER., SAINT ETIENNE, MARTINA TOPLEY BIRD, ANNIE, MANIC STREET PREACHERS, the STRANGLERS, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, SNEAKER PIMPS, the BAND CAMINO, STEPS, AMYL & THE SNIFFERS, the VACCINES, SINCERE ENGINEER, ERIC BIBB, SAMANTHA FISH, POKEY LAFARGE, WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS, HEARTLESS BASTARDS, MASKED WOLF, ALICE HUBBLE, FOY VANCE, JON RANDALL, CARRIE NEWCOMER, DORI FREEMAN and BLANKET.
Rest in Peace
SUSAN ANWAY, original singer of the Magnetic Fields and the best vocal avatar the band's celebrated songwriter, Stephin Merritt, ever had... SUNIL PERERA, lead singer of Sri Lankan baila band the Gypsies.
| | | | Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| | |  | | Variety |
| | The Days After: Musicians and Club Owners Remember 9/11's Impact on the City's Scene, and the Revival That Followed | | by Jem Aswad | | The evening of Sept. 11, 2001, was shaping up to be a busy but not unusually auspicious one for New York City's vibrant music scene. Boy band O-Town was scheduled to play at the Hammerstein Ballroom, the Charles Lloyd Quartet would be at the Blue Note, and the mask-clad British alternative quartet Clinic had a date at Maxwell's in Hoboken. | |  | | The Ringer |
| | Music Copyright in the Age of Forgetting | | by Nate Rogers | | In the post-"Blurred Lines" legal landscape, artists like Lorde are treading extra carefully when their music ends up sounding similar to someone else's. But our brains can't be trusted to notice when we steal an idea-and the problem is likely getting worse. | |  | | The New York Times |
| | Anarchy, and $$$, in the Vintage Punk Clothing Market | | by Mark C. O'Flaherty | | Sid Vicious would never believe how much his old clothes are worth, and the lengths to which counterfeiters will go to fake them. | |  | | Billboard |
| | Filter's Richard Patrick, Don McClean, Drowning Pool, Saliva & More Talk Post-9/11 Clear Channel Radio Scrub | | by Gil Kaufman | | Billboard spoke to a number of artists whose songs were on a list of suggested temporary scrubs by Clear Channel in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. | |  | | The Evening Standard |
| | Megan Thee Stallion: 'I'm not a normal woman and it offends men' | | by Julie Adenuga | | As she prepares to jet into London for Wireless, Megan Thee Stallion gets personal with Julie Adenuga about her international Hotties, teaching the world how to manage money and why men struggle with her success. | |  | | TechCrunch |
| | Apple Music is using Shazam to solve the streaming industry's problem with DJ mixes | | by Amanda Silberling | | Apple Music says it's created a process to identify and compensate all of the individual creators involved in making a DJ mix, using technology from Shazam. | | | | TechCrunch |
| | Spotify playlist curators complain about ongoing abuse that favors bad actors over innocent parties | | by Sarah Perez | | A number of Spotify playlist curators are complaining that the streaming music company is not addressing the ongoing issue of playlist abuse, which sees bad actors reporting playlists that have gained a following in order to give their own playlists better visibility. | |  | | Pollstar |
| | City Winery's Michael Dorf: All Concerts Should Mandate Every Fan Shows Proof Of COVID Vaccine (Guest Post) | | by Michael Dorf | | The music industry is uniquely positioned to be a leader for COVID vaccinations. Concert venues and show promoters must insist that all shows indoors require that customers be vaccinated and, while there is Delta and new variant spikes, to wear a mask indoors except for eating and drinking. | |  | | The Tennessean |
| | CMA Awards 2021 surprises and snubs: Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and more | | by Matthew Leimkuehler and Dave Paulson | | Questions abound. Why no love for a stellar Miranda Lambert album? Of all the categories for Carrie Underwood to be absent from, how can it be that one? How is Keith Urban sitting this year out for the first time in almost two decades? | |  | | Bandcamp Daily |
| | The Essential Punk Legacy of Inner Ear Studio | | by Joseph Gentile | | The 40-year-old institution, which is set to close later this year, is responsible for key albums by Minor Threat, Fugazi, Bikini Kill, and many, many more. | | |  | | NPR Music |
| | How Salt-N-Pepa's 'Blacks' Magic' Gave Me A Blueprint For Feminism | | by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | | As a kid, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd adored Salt-N-Pepa's music and moves. In revisiting the trio's third album, she realized it also taught her what confidence and collectivity look like in action. | |  | | Spotify |
| | Black Girl Songbook: Angela Bofill: Living & Giving | | by Danyel Smith, Angela Bofill and Dyana Williams | | This week, Danyel taps into our emotions and celebrates the deeply romantic music of Angela Bofill. Danyel reminisces on her teenage years and what it felt like to begin to understand the world through Angela Bofill's soulful love songs. She's joined by Angela Bofill herself, and radio royalty Dyana Williams. | | | | Billboard |
| | NMPA Chief: Merck Mercuriadis Is 'Dead Wrong' About Big Publishers | | by David Israelite | | NMPA president and CEO David Israelite responds to recent comments by Hipgnosis chief Merck Mercuriadis regarding big publishers' level of advocacy for songwriters. | |  | | DJ Mag |
| | No phones, Covid testing, anxiety and euphoria: what's it like to go clubbing in the UK after lockdown? | | by Kelly Doherty | | With clubs and festivals back in full swing in the UK, DJ Mag speaks to a range of club-goers, from DJs and bar staff to die-hard ravers and a first-timer, about their experiences of being back on the dancefloor. | |  | | Black Music and Black Muses |
| | Cancel Yourself. | | by Harmony Holiday | | On controversy as liberation and the musicians who exploit it. | |  | | Music Business Worldwide |
| | Virtual artists are an opportunity for the music business -- not an enemy | | by Ian Simon | | Spirit Bomb's Ian Simon on why he believes avatars can change the music biz -- all for the better. | | | | Variety |
| | Quality Control's Coach K Talks Migos, Guerilla Marketing and How a Drake Cosign Helped Him Launch Hip-Hop's Biggest Indie | | by Jem Aswad | | Kevin Lee, better known as Coach K, is cofounder of Quality Control, the multifaceted Atlanta-based label and music-and-sports management company that has brought the world Migos, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, City Girls and more, and also manages many athletes. | |  | | Dazed Digital |
| | Sex, zombies, and guitars: why Japan is king at making mad music films | | by James Balmont | | Including Takashi Miike's Monty Python-esque The Happiness of the Katakuris, Sion Sono's samurai-western Prisoners of the Ghostland, and a B-horror musical about noodles courtesy of Yoshihiro Nishimura. | |  | | Guitar World |
| | Knobs: 'The function of pedals has changed -- they're collaborative devices that don't have a fixed function. They're instruments in their own right' | | by Alex Lynham | | In 2014, this YouTuber changed the pedal demo game. We get the lowdown on their creative process, the joys of collecting guitar pedals, and why music making is all about intent. | | | | | | From the documentary "Other Music." | | | Music | Media | Sports | Fashion | Tech | | "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?'" | | |  | | | Jason Hirschhorn | | CEO & Chief Curator | | |  |
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