You basically are gonna get turned on to things just by looking this way or that way, as opposed to having something fed to you by some logarithm. | | | | Needle drop: A still from "Vinyl Nation," which opens virtually today.
(Sherri Kauk/Vinyl Nation) | | | | | | “You basically are gonna get turned on to things just by looking this way or that way, as opposed to having something fed to you by some logarithm.”
| - | Marc Weinstein, co-founder, Amoeba Records, on discovering music in a record store (from "Vinyl Nation") |
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| | rantnrave:// Saturday is the beginning of the pandemic version of record day, which this year is being split into three Saturdays across three months to (hopefully) thin out the crowds and make it easier for stores to handle the logistics of socially distanced crate digging. Some are taking reservations for shopping time slots, some are using lottery systems, some will sell Record Store Day product only online (previously an RSD no-no) and one apparently will let customers shop via ZOOM, Variety's CHRIS WILLMAN reports. Among the goodies on sale Saturday will be vinyl from BILLIE EILISH, the WEEKND, DAVID BOWIE and THELONIOUS MONK... A great way to understand the peculiar magic of Record Store Day is to watch the first few minutes of VINYL NATION, a documentary valentine to vinyl records that opens virtually today. And then settle in ad watch the rest of the film, which travels across the US to trace the rise, fall and resurgence of vinyl through the eyes of musicians, labels, manufacturers, collectors and totally-not-intimidating record store clerks (it's almost disappointing how nice they all seem). The doc examines how those collectors have changed over the years from weird middle-age dudes with ponytails, to young women buying Billie Eilish and Britney Spears records at URBAN OUTFITTERS, to kids with small collections of DISNEY records, to middle-age dudes without ponytails casually dropping $400 on used copies of obscure '60 psych-rock albums, and how that's changed the business along the way. (You might also enjoy the vinyl real-estate porn of seeing everybody's shelving, some of it rather spectacular.) Congrats to MusicREDEF reader KEVIN SMOKLER, who co-directed and -produced with CHRISTOPHER BOONE... Make it a double feature with OTHER MUSIC, a moving documentary about the legendary New York indie store, now available through various digital channels, and then start working your way through this list of 100 Other Music-associated albums put together by filmmakers PULOMA BASU and ROB HATCH-MILLER... In the non-vinyl universe, the DIGITAL MUSIC ASSOCIATION, a trade group representing AMAZON, APPLE, GOOGLE, PANDORA, SPOTIFY and YOUTUBE, reports that streaming generated $10.3 billion in revenue in the US in 2019, and that US households had 87.2 million subscription accounts, which, through family plans and similar packages, covered 99 million people. The 43-page "Streaming Forward" report "could have alternatively been titled, 'You Need Us as Much as We Need You,'" quipped Billboard's GLENN PEOPLES. MARK MULLIGAN of MIDIA RESEARCH, which put the report together, tells Rolling Stone that growth is starting to slow "but there’s still this significant amount of momentum"... 99 metal singers collaborating on "99 BOTTLES OF BEER," a project apparently seven years in the making, may be the best high-concept track of 2020, and I banged my head at least 87 times while listening, and it's a benefit for foster dogs... TORI KELLY's cover of LEONARD COHEN's "HALLELUJAH" got some featured airtime during the final night of the Republican National Convention, and she seems less than pleased. "I'M STILL STANDING" by ELTON JOHN, with whom PRESIDENT TRUMP has something of an obsession, was the walk-on music for IVANKA TRUMP. According to a new book by STEPHANIE WINSTON WOLKOFF, MELANIA TRUMP's ex-BFF, the president's wish list for his 2017 inauguration included AEROSMITH, the KILLERS, KELLY CLARKSON and MEAT LOAF. His wishes were not granted... MTV's VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS, whose exact nature remains a mystery, air at 8pm ET Sunday... JETHRO TULL's IAN ANDERSON has some very specific thoughts on how to bring back live music...It's FRIDAY and that means new music from KATY PERRY, DUA LIPA (remix album featuring the BLESSED MADONNA, the regular MADONNA and many others), INTERNET MONEY, GREGORY PORTER, BETTYE LAVETTE, ANGEL OLSEN, DISCLOSURE, TONI BRAXTON, LEDISI, YUNG BLEU, NINES, KELLY LEE OWENS, ALUNA, KEM, BBYMUTHA, JYOTI (aka GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW), CHRISTIAN SCOTT ATUNDE ADJUAH (live album recorded in March at the BLUE NOTE), METALLICA & THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY (the irony of hearing even one song from AND JUSTICE FOR ALL with, literally, double bass will never fail to make me smile), BLACK THOUGHT, TIWA SAVAGE, TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS, DIANNE DAVIDSON, BOBBY RUSH, DAN PENN, JADEN SMITH, NASTY C, WIFISFUNERAL, the LOX, HAROLD LÓPEZ-NUSSA, SEVDALIZA, SAMIA, HALF GRINGA, JASON MRAZ (personal shoutout to producer MICHAEL GOLDWASSER), MOLLY TUTTLE, RUSTON KELLY, AVETT BROTHERS, PIG DESTROYER, KNOT (ex-members of KRILL), PHONY, NARROW HEAD, FROM ASHES TO NEW, PVRIS, RICKY REED, LOVELYTHEBAND, BOB MOSES, WIDOWSPEAK and NEEDTOBREATHE. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| Independent music venues continue to be among the businesses hardest hit by the global pandemic. The corporate behemoths of concert promotion, however, can weather the storm. | | |
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| Some of RSD's 1200 participating stores explain solutions they've come up with to keep crowds dispersed but enthusiasm high for Saturday's long-delayed "drop." | | |
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| A reissue campaign for a prized, 1970s record label unearths a 40-year-old conflict. | | |
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| The Canadian super-producer, who's worked with Drake, Rihanna, and The Weeknd, talks to us about his innovative venture, the Kingsway Music Library. | | |
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| The pop music power house drops her new album, "Smile," on Friday (Aug. 28), and she's given birth to her first child. Perry talks about the loss of certainty and rebuilding her confidence while making "Smile." | | |
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| Gregory Porter's new album, "All Rise," was shaped by the loss of his brother to COVID-19 and by his relationship to his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif. | | |
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| Digital Media Association |
| Streaming has reinvigorated the music industry and represents both the present and future of music; the time is now to ensure that progress is sustained. | | |
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| The former Pandora CEO's music-only live performance streaming platform applies lessons learned from the video game industry on how to build community and get revenue directly from the audience to the artist in a consistent way. | | |
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| Justin Charity and Micah Peters break down the tendency to trivialize violence among celebrities, such as Chris Brown and Rihanna. | | |
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| I sent this document to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden on the 1st July. Receipt was acknowledged but not specifically replied to. I sent it again to Caroline Dinenage, Minister for Digital and Culture, on the 12th August but again have never received a response. Hard to make any progress with this muddled, uninformed and lacklustre UK Government. | | |
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| In culture, sports and politics, the loss of applause creates an amplified silence. | | |
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| Social media has accentuated evolving regional rap styles, putting more emphasis on clever punchlines than traditional hooks. | | |
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| Morgan Wallen's new song, “7 Summers,” may sound like ’70s soft rock, but it‘s breaking streaming records and rubbing chart elbows with Drake and Harry Styles. | | |
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| Federico Bolza, former Sony VP of Strategy, and now Director of jazz label New Soil on the evolution of the genre in the UK. | | |
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| Grassroots music venues from across the UK have spoken out about the continued need for public support while unable due to reopen due to coronavirus. | | |
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| One of America’s most inventive rappers is serving a 20-year sentence on non-violent drug charges. We speak to the artist from behind bars about what comes next. | | |
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| Grammy-nominated singer and "Fast & Furious" actor Tyrese grew up around police brutality, gang violence, murders and psychological trauma in the Watts neighborhood of Southern Los Angeles. But the artist known for R&B hits focused on love ("Sweet Lady") and relationship woes ("How You Gonna Act Like That") said he never felt comfortable singing songs about those painful and weighty topics. | | |
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| Dancehall innovator Popcaan discusses the "good energy" he cultivated around his gargantuan new project, FIXTAPE. | | |
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| The forgotten woman of Detroit’s soul explosion, Bettye LaVette reveals why she was too lewd for Berry Gordy, her rivalry with Aretha Franklin and why she loves Kamala Harris. | | |
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| | | | | | | His sixth album, "All Rise," is out today on Blue Note/Decca. |
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