Beyoncé does not bend to trend. It was clear, when she took the stage, that she would serve as a corrective. | | | | Beyoncé rules Beychella, Indio, Calif., April 21, 2018.
(Kevin Mazur/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “Beyoncé does not bend to trend. It was clear, when she took the stage, that she would serve as a corrective.”
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| | rantnrave:// The surprise release of BEYONCÉ's HOMECOMING album on all major streaming platforms is reason to celebrate, and reason to reflect on how she and the music industry have changed since 2013, when Queen Bey shock-dropped her eponymous fifth album. That release was a disruption, making a larger point about a tradition-bound music industry standing against the ropes like a punch-drunk boxer. That fight is largely over, with little left to disrupt. Beyoncé’s provocative, groundbreaking 2018 COACHELLA performance, heard today as a live album—and seen as a NETFLIX movie—remains a grand display of the majesty of the African-American experience, as we remembered it. It also sounds like an artist celebrating some of the bellwether moments of classic American music at a time when the sound of pop is rapidly changing. It's well-composed, well-delivered and fun. It's peak entertainment. An homage, strangely, to tradition... JON CARAMANICA's NEW YORK TIMES profile of pioneering country-rap producer SHANNON HOUCHINS is noteworthy for how it places LIL NAS X in the context of predecessors like Alabama emcee BUBBA SPARXX, whom Houchins produced. And it still leaves room for a light to be shone on others who paved that road, including KID ROCK’s right-hand man UNCLE KRACKER and one-hit wonder REHAB.. It's a sizable history... TIME's "100 Most Influential People" include BTS, OZUNA, ARIANA GRANDE, RAMI MALEK, KHALID, LADY GAGA and TAYLOR SWIFT. Plus MICHELLE OBAMA, as profiled by Beyoncé... MusicREDEF will be off tomorrow for Good Friday and Passover. But Friday will still be FRIDAY, with new music from LIZZO, TECH N9NE, the TALLEST MAN ON EARTH, CAGE THE ELEPHANT, JOSH GROBAN, ANJÉLIQUE KIDJO, the O'JAYS, SHY GLIZZY, JADE BIRD and KELSEY LU. | | | - Marcus K. Dowling, guest curator |
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 | The Washington Post |
| Why would you listen to a podcast when you could be listening to music? | | |
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 | The Verge |
| AI is capable of making music, but does that make AI an artist? | | |
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 | The New York Times |
| The producer and executive Shannon Houchins talks about shifting direction with Bubba Sparxxx, breaking ground with Colt Ford and the future of the genre. | | |
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 | Rolling Stone |
| Lil Nas X has earned support from pop, rap and country gatekeepers, helping him set a new high-water mark for single-week streams. | | |
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 | Pitchfork |
| The 17-year-old pop star has become uniquely beloved among fans of the blissful sensation known as ASMR--but can her music really give you the tingles? | | |
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 | BBC News |
| Billie Holiday recorded her iconic version of "Strange Fruit" on 20 April 1939. Eighty years on, Aida Amoako explores how a poem about lynching became a timeless call to action. | | |
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 | The New York Observer |
| In her new Netflix doc, ‘Homecoming,’ Beyoncé describes her strict diet and the sacrifices she made leading up to her 2018 Coachella performance. | | |
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 | Very Smart Brothas |
| Much like Cameo’s “Candy” is the unofficially official Electric Slide wedding song, Frankie Beverly and Maze's “Before I Let Go” was, until last night, standing on its own without any competition as the de facto party/cookout/black event closer. And Beyoncé came through and crushed the buildings. | | |
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 | Bloomberg |
| Two years after the Fyre Festival failed, it continues to make waves: Hulu LLC and Netflix Inc. may face subpoenas over their documentaries about the festival. | | |
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 | MusicAlly |
| Spotify and Pandora are throwing their energies into podcasts… but now so is the largest major label, Universal Music Group, via a partnership with Wondery. | | |
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 | The Face |
| Illegal parties, Acid Corbynism and a police crackdown. 30 years after the Second Summer of Love are we in the midst of a rave renaissance? | | |
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 | NYLON |
| Rappers like Lil Kim yee'd so Megan Thee Stallion could haw. | | |
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 | Billboard |
| Certain artists should adhere to a strict rule: Three new songs per concert, maximum. The power of three allows the artist to introduce just enough fresh material to educate and entertain the audience, without losing the same audience’s good will and risking them go rogue and loitering by the bar. | | |
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 | i-D Magazine |
| The rise of streaming services and Gen Z acts like Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish are heralding the end of emo, rap, and country as we know them. And bringing in something better. | | |
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 | CBC |
| The 1994 film "Reality Bites" captured the disillusionment and angst of Generation X. Music plays a huge role in the film, but the biggest song off the "Reality Bites" soundtrack is Lisa Loeb's "Stay (I Missed You)." | | |
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 | Forbes |
| Nile Rodgers of Chic speaks about his tour with Cher, the new Chic album, the Meltdown Festival and work to promote London's Abbey Road studio. Interview by Mark Beech. | | |
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 | Los Angeles Times |
| From Janelle Monáe's "black girl magic" to Lizzo's body-positive twerk fest to Christine and the Queens' contemporary theatrics, dance played an important role in elevating Coachella performances. The choreographers behind the performances share their thoughts. | | |
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| Pitchfork |
| Members of the Walkmen, Arcade Fire, Spoon, the National, and Beach House reminisce about the spontaneous weirdness-snakes! hurricanes! icy deathtraps!-of touring before GPS and smartphones. | | |
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 | Spotify for Artists |
| He honed his sound growing up in small-town Missouri--and then discovered it resonated more overseas. | | |
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 | EW |
| You have to wonder what Selena -- or Elvis -- would have thought of the vigil outside Craig’s Record Factory on the south side of Corpus Christi, Tex., the night her album Dreaming of You was released. | | |
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 | YouTube |
| | | | | | Before Beyoncé got to it. |
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