Wednesday, March 23, 2022

jason hirschhorn's @MusicREDEF: 03/23/2022 - Grammy & Oscar Ironies, Whose Opera Is This?, Future of Albums, Charli XCX, Patti Smith...

You can have all the tracks to play... But without a concept to tie them together—even if that concept has been reduced to the minimum, like a thumbnail image—they remain just tracks.
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Wednesday March 23, 2022
REDEF
The orchestra of the Odessa National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet performs at a "Free Sky" anti-war concert in Odessa, Ukraine, March 12, 2022.
(Nina Lyashonok/Future Publishing/Getty Images)
quote of the day
"You can have all the tracks to play... But without a concept to tie them together—even if that concept has been reduced to the minimum, like a thumbnail image—they remain just tracks."
- Damon Krukowski, "The Idea of the Album"
rantnrave://
Win the Lottery, Die the Next Day

The irony of the GRAMMY AWARDS expanding the field of nominees in the top categories at the last minute to accommodate KANYE WEST (and a handful of other artists), only to tell him four months later he wouldn't exactly be welcome on the Grammy stage. This is a good overview, from the NY Times' BEN SISARIO, on the yays and nays of Ye at the Grammys. For my money, telling Ye he can't perform this year is a reasonable call—the chances of him staying on script seem rather low—while nominating DONDA for Album of the Year, as I argued here, for reasons have nothing to do with the quality of the album, was not... The irony of the ACADEMY AWARDS moving the performances of this year's nominated songs back onto the main stage a year after consigning them to lesser, pre-show slots, while simultaneously booting the presentation of the Oscar for Original Score (along with several others) off the main show and into a lesser, pre-show slot. Music is to be celebrated and also not celebrated. I wouldn't have minded if the Original Song people boycotted the whole thing in solidarity with the Original Score people, but instead BEYONCÉ, BILLIE EILISH & FINNEAS, REBA MCENTIRE and SEBASTIÁN YATRA (and possibly a second singer from ENCANTO) will perform on this Sunday's show. Which, it should be noted, is a very good lineup. VAN MORRISON, nominated for "DOWN TO JOY" from the film BELFAST, declined the invitation, citing his touring schedule but not mentioning the potential of being booed off the stage for reasons having nothing to do with the quality of the song.

Dot Dot Dot

I'm sympathetic to the movement to de-list, or at least de-emphasize, violent diss songs, but shoutout PUSHA-T and ARBY'S for their brutal (and funny and catchy) takedown of MCDONALD'S' Filet-O-Fish sandwich, which is both an ad and a response to another ad from 19 years ago, and which has a back story worthy of two or three "ROXANNE ROXANNE"s, complete with competing claims of authorship, complaints about remuneration and royalties, and a critique of tartar sauce... Global recorded music revenues were really, really good in 2021, according to the IFPI, led by big gains in streaming, physical sales and performance rights (i.e. income from radio play and bars, restaurants and other places where music is played in public). Total global revenues were $25.9 billion, up 18.5% over 2020. Even where severe lockdowns remained in place, units shifted with little interruption, according to a separate report from the AUSTRALIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION... Not a bad time to ask your local major label to invest in vinyl manufacturing infrastructure. For example... New York police Tuesday charged a 26-year-old woman with manslaughter in the death of revered vocal coach BARBARA MEIER GUSTERN, who was violently pushed to the ground outside her New York apartment three weeks ago. Gustern, whose students included DEBBIE HARRY, DIAMANDA GALAS and several Broadway singers, was well known in New York music circles, and security photos and video of her alleged killer had been circulating on music Twitter and other social media for the past couple weeks. Police said one of those videos led them to LAUREN PAZIENZA, who turned herself in Tuesday.
- Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator
how i'm feeling now
The Washington Post
Whose song is this to sing? A new opera about Emmett Till faces scrutiny and protest
By Michael Andor Brodeur
Critics of the collaboration between a Black composer and a White librettist say they've heard enough.
Dada Drummer Almanach
The Idea of the Album
By Damon Krukowski
A Prediction: The album will survive into the future. And the album of the future will look just like the album today.
Okayplayer
This App That Let's You Virtually Investigate Rap's Most Infamous Murders is the Morbid Future of True Crime
By Elijah C. Watson
The CrimeDoor app presents itself as more than just fodder for our morbid obsession with true crime - and in some ways it is and isn't.
The New York Times
How Charli XCX, Caroline Polachek and Christine and the Queens Navigate Pop
By Melena Ryzik
The friends and collaborators have taken very different paths in the music industry. Joining up on a track from Charli's new album, "Crash," they talked about their crucial camaraderie.
The Washington Post
Phife Dawg put everything he had into 'Forever.' His friends and family made sure the world could hear it
By Dan Hyman
De La Soul's Posdnuos still remembers the call: March 22, 2016. 3 a.m. His friend, Dion Liverpool, better known as DJ Rasta Root, was on the other end of the line. Liverpool was calling with devastating news: Their mutual friend Phife Dawg had unexpectedly died of complications of diabetes.
Billboard
IFPI Global Report 2022: Music Revenues Rise for Seventh Straight Year to $25.9B
By Richard Smirke
Total streaming revenues rose 24.3% in 2021, bringing the segment's share of the overall music market to 65%.
Texas Monthly
SXSW 2022 Felt Like SXSW, and That's Impressive
By Dan Solomon
The festival was smaller and less overwhelming than in times past, but that's not necessarily a bad thing-or a sign of things to come.
Broken Record
Broken Record: Patti Smith
By Malcolm Gladwell and Patti Smith
Patti Smith talks to Malcolm Gladwell at Electric Lady Studios about Jimi Hendrix, writing lyrics for Janis Joplin, and a failed attempt to cover Adele.
The New Yorker
Retirement the Margaritaville Way
By Nick Paumgarten
At the active-living community for Jimmy Buffett enthusiasts, it's five o'clock everywhere.
Vulture
What's Up With Megan Thee Stallion's Messy Label Legal Battle?
By Ashley Shannon Wu
"Lord free me from this joke a** label."
crash
The Atlantic
Marilyn Manson Told Us What He Was
By Sophie Gilbert
"A wolf in wolf's clothing."
The New York Times
Kanye West's Stormy Relationship With the Grammys Erupts Again
By Ben Sisario
The musician, nominated for five awards, was told he will not be able to perform at the ceremony on April 3. The decision came after weeks of erratic and troubling public behavior.
Billboard
In Ukraine, Music Promoters Pivot to War's Front Lines: 'Culture Needs to Hold On'
By Steve Knopper
As the live scene collapses, festival founders convert venues to relief centers and take up arms across the war-stricken country.
KEXP
From Homeless to Starting Band of Horses
By Larry Mizell Jr., Emily Fox and Ben Bridwell
Band of Horses frontman Ben Bridwell talks about how the new album, "Things Are Great," was inspired by heartache and breakups.
The New York Observer
How J Dilla Turned The Sound of Error Into a Brand New Beat
By Robert Christgau
The biography 'Dilla Time' by Dan Charnas illuminates the hip-hop legend's seismic rhythmic innovations with deep and vivid reporting.
God Is In The TV
Spotify's investments prove they don't care about the future of music
By Bill Cummings
Like a dam that's been ready to break for many years, a backlash has been a long time coming.
The Ringer
'Atlanta' Was Never Interested in a Hero's Journey to Rap Stardom
By Justin Charity
Hip-hop is a passion, but on 'Atlanta' and in Atlanta, it's also a job. Donald Glover's series makes sure to never forget that.
VICE
Mulalo Is Unforgiving. You Better Hope She's Not Rapping About You
By Julie Fenwick
The artist has no problem saying what she wants, when she wants.
Los Angeles Times
We should talk about history-making, Oscar-nominated 'Encanto' composer Germaine Franco
By Suzy Exposito
Franco is the first Latina and first woman of color ever to be nominated for original score at the Academy Awards.
The Commercial Appeal
Memphis airport to reinstall photo depicting Elvis as an Asian man
By Corinne S Kennedy
The piece by artist Tommy Kha had been removed earlier this month after numerous complaints.
what we're into
Music of the day
"Oh, The Dear Land"
Kryachyvka Village Folk Band
From the compilation "Traditional Lyric Songs of the Poltava Region." Poltava is in central Ukraine, about 200 miles southeast of Kyiv. H/T Jim Macnie.
Video of the day
"Ukraine Is Not Yet Lost (Ukrainian National Anthem)"
Amelia Anisovych
7-year-old Ukrainian refugee sings the national anthem at a charity concert in Lodz, Poland. Three weeks earlier, a video of her singing "Let It Go" in a Kyiv bomb shelter had gone viral.
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