Young girls loving music, whatever kind of music, are truth.
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Selena Gomez at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, Aug. 9, 2016.
(Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty Images)
Wednesday - May 24, 2017 Wed - 05/24/17
rantnrave:// What does it mean for a young girl or woman to see a singer like ARIANA GRANDE in concert? "I never fully understood," the GUARDIAN's ALEXIS PETRIDIS writes in one of many tear-inducing essays and editorials written in the past 36 hours, "until I saw one through my daughter's eyes." For Petridis and his 7-year-old daughter, it was a JESSIE J concert. And what dad saw that night was "a first glimpse of a world that was previously outside her experience, a more adult, or at least more mature world than the one she knew, a world that would one day be her own." Welcome to the oft-misunderstood world of young women, a world shattered by a terrorist's bomb in MANCHESTER Monday night. "The right show on the right night of a young life can facilitate wild awakenings," wrote AMANDA PETRUSICH in the NEW YORKER. It's a world, as ANN POWERS described in a FACEBOOK post, of "flirting with the kid who sells you a soda, dancing experimentally, looking at the woman onstage and thinking maybe one day you'll be sexy and confident like her, realizing that right this moment you are sexy and confident like her, matching your voice to the sound, loving the sound, falling into the sound. This is truth." Grownups who should know better have been making fun of music aimed at young people, especially young females, for as long as such music has been made. ELVIS, the JACKSON 5, the SPICE GIRLS, 'NSYNC, Ariana Grande, take your pick, they've all heard it. Their fans have heard it, too. "The impulse to hate and fear women who are celebrating their freedom ... is older than ISIS, older than pop concerts, older than music itself," SOPHIE GILBERT notes in the ATLANTIC. But those women, no matter their age, know their own truth, and they recognize your lies. Grande, NY TIMES critics JON PARELES and JOE COSCARELLI explain, "is what her fans long to be: Self-assured, sexy, talented, optimistic, in control and proudly feminine." And watching a young girl watch her, writes MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, is "a powerful, glorious thing to witness." MusicSET: "The Meaning of Ariana Grande"... By the way, this goes for boys, too. THOMAS GORTON's first concert, age 13, was LIMP BIZKIT, a band that has heard its share of criticism from alleged grownups. First concerts, says Gorton, "are places full of dreams, where teenagers decide they want to be something"... Related record-review headline of the week: "Who cares what male rock critics think of HARRY STYLES?"
- Matty Karas, curator
shirelles
B/R Mag
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Glam rock tended to get at sociopolitical issues in a circuitous way, rather than through overt, topical songwriting. Sound like anyone you know?
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The Grateful Dead: A Guide to Their Essential Live Songs
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Where to start with live Dead? Our team of experts breaks it down, combing through thousands of shows to find their greatest songs and most transcendent moments.
REDEF
The Meaning of Ariana Grande
by MusicREDEF
She has one of the most loyal, dedicated fanbases in pop. She represents confidence, empowerment, sexiness, independence. Grownups may never understand, but young women do. Is that what terrorists are afraid of?
The Telegraph
'It should have been the best day of her life, and it turned into the worst.' How a night of joy turned to mass murder in Manchester
by Gordon Rayner and Charlotte Krol
Ariana Grande had just finished the final song of her sell-out concert, and excited children clutching giant pink balloons and wearing kitten ears were filing out through the foyer of the Manchester Arena with parents eager to get them home to bed.
WSJ
Streaming Services Are Music to Vivendi's Ears
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A resurgent music industry, fueled by the rise of streaming services, is tempting the parent company of Universal Music Group to cash in on the music company with an initial public offering.
NPR
At The Dawn Of Recorded Sound, No One Cared
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In the late 19th century, French inventor Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville patented the earliest known sound recording device. But his accomplishments were only recognized recently.
SPIN
'Meet Me in the Bathroom' Is the First Great History of New York's 21st Century Rock Scene
by Jeremy Gordon
In the future, some emotionless musicologist may look back at the Strokes and wonder why they were such a big deal. Why all the fuss about one canonical album, a very good sophomore record, and a handful of loosies culled from the disappointing follow-ups?
The New York Times
Pedro Winter on Daft Punk and the Paris Party Scene He Defined
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Mr. Winter, who founded Ed Banger Records, is commemorating the label’s 100th release with new tracks.
The Guardian
The city’s beating heart: Manchester’s inclusive music scene
by Tim Jonze
Elbow’s Guy Garvey and DJs Dave Haslam and Mary-Anne Hobbs explain how, from the Hacienda to its grime community, Manchester champions the values its attackers hate.
shangri-las
The New York Review of Books
RETRO MUST READ: Billie Holiday
by Elizabeth Hardwick
She was fat the first time we saw her, large, brilliantly beautiful, fat. She seemed for this moment that never again returned to be almost a matron, someone real and sensible who carried money to the bank, signed papers, had curtains made to match, dresses hung and shoes in pairs, gold and silver, black and white, ready.
Pitchfork
A Guide to Voicemails in Hip-Hop
by Sheldon Pearce
As Kendrick and Drake have shown us recently, voicemails carry many possibilities in song, from narrative framing to familial backstory.
NPR
Backing Musicians Do The Heavy Lifting On NBC's 'The Voice'
by Elizabeth Blair
For our series, "Backstage Pass," NPR goes behind the scenes of the hit TV show, "The Voice," where we meet the house band and veteran musicians who learn and perform new songs daily.
The Guardian
How I fell in love with the defiant songs of Nick Drake's mother Molly
by Rachel Unthank
She fled Burma and made it to Delhi on foot -- where she discovered her voice. The singer of the Unthanks explains why the band fell for her spellbinding songs about heartbreak, loss, fragility and fear.
DJBooth
Blanguage Games: What Young Thug's Speech Tells Us About How We Communicate
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It might feel commonplace in rap today, but we’re still in the infancy stages of this “vocal manipulation” language game.
Song Exploder
Song Exploder: Michael Kiwanuka -- 'Black Man in a White World'
by Hrishikesh Hirway and Michael Kiwanuka
Michael Kiwanuka is a singer/songwriter from London. His second album, "Love and Hate," came out in 2016, and was named one of the Best Albums of the Year from the BBC, "NME," "The Guardian," "GQ," and more. 
MEL Magazine
Backstreet's Always Back
by Zak Stone
We went to Vegas to find out how the world’s most successful boy band became a group of men.
Between the Liner Notes
Between the Liner Notes: Joe Stone
by Matthew Billy and Joe Stone
Joe Stone is the youngest son of the founder of TK Records, Henry Stone, and wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. Henry, however, refused to allow any of his children to work in the music industry. Listen as Joe chronicles how he convinced his father to take a chance on him.
The New Yorker
What Lil Yachty's Optimism Means
by Carrie Battan
Is the young rapper’s relentless positivity an affront to hip-hop’s legacy or a testament to the genre’s vitality?
The Huffington Post UK
I Owe It To George To Keep His Warmth And Generosity Burning Bright
by Kenny Goss
My beautiful former partner George Michael's generous spirit and boundless compassion are what first drew me to him over 30 years ago.
MUSIC OF THE DAY
YouTube
"Into You"
Ariana Grande
“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?’”
@JasonHirschhorn


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