Merely existing every day as a black woman in this country is a form of activism. Cardi B is an activist; she’s my feminist icon. | | | | Happy Halloween from Alice Cooper.
(Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) | | | | | | “Merely existing every day as a black woman in this country is a form of activism. Cardi B is an activist; she’s my feminist icon.”
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| | rantnrave:// If you can draw the wrath of FRANK SINATRA, the dance-music community and DUKE ELLINGTON's family with a single law, you might want to rethink that law. Take your time, though. NEW YORK CITY reportedly will have a long-overdue rethink today, when the CITY COUNCIL votes on scrapping the 91-year-old Cabaret Law, which has made it illegal to allow dancing, or even swaying in most bars and restaurants since the COOLIDGE administration. Since before the invention of the first electric instrument (this thing). Since before anyone knew what the jitterbug was. Despite its "absurd, antiquated, racist and extremely embarrassing" history, the law resisted decades of repeal efforts. It was originally enacted to regulate speakeasies during PROHIBITION and was used by various city administrations to police nightclubs and musicians from BILLIE HOLIDAY to RAY CHARLES to ravers in WILLIAMSBURG to indie-rock fans in BUSHWICK. Years of organizing—it pays to resist, kids—appear to have finally paid off, maybe because NEW YORK now has a nightlife-friendly mayor, maybe because of fears of driving dancers to dangerous, unregulated spaces in the wake of the GHOST SHIP tragedy in OAKLAND a year ago, or maybe just because the time is right. Not that it isn't ever a good time to dance. Raise a glass and do a jitterbug in New York's honor today... Exactly three of this year's top 25 HALLOWEEN songs—as measured by BILLBOARD from a week's worth of airplay, streams and digital sales of songs about demons, devils and monsters—were released in the 2010s. Can you name them without looking it up? (Hint: two are rock songs and one is a hip-hop/R&B superstar collaboration)... Thirteen most Satanic metal bands... Several boldface names reportedly bidding for ROLLING STONE. But no longer in the running: HARVEY WEINSTEIN... Can you fit all the gear you used to record and mix your latest album into an INSTAGRAM photo?... Have I mentioned lately that QUESTLOVE is the best pop critic currently going?... Surprise album: 21 SAVAGE, OFFSET & METRO BOOMIN... DAVE GROHL guest-hosts JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE tonight... RIP KEITH WILDER, one of the two brothers who fronted '70s R&B/disco faves HEATWAVE. | | | - Matty Karas, curator |
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| Inside advertising’s best-kept musical secret: producers willing to create soundalike tracks. | | |
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| A brief history of the term’s evolution. | | |
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| In our new episode of Blueprint, Lyor Cohen shares how failing as a party promoter led him to working for Russell Simmons, how he invented the 360 deal, surviving the turmoil of the business, and the feeling in his gut that propels him to this day. | | |
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| She went from stripping to becoming the breakout star of 2017. So what's she worried about? | | |
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| In the first of this illuminating five-part history of the great Twin Cities punks Husker Du, we meet the band before they became a band, following Grant Hart and Greg Norton as they grow up in St. Paul, and then encounter Bob Mould, a new kid at Macalester College with a Flying V guitar and a love for punk rock equal to theirs. | | |
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| Michael Jackson’s estate is leaning on the late King of Pop’s appreciation for all things frightful and fantastical for a wave of projects, including a Halloween-themed compilation album, a 3-D version of “Thriller” and an animated special for CBS. | | |
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| Film composer Mark Korven, known for his soundtrack to The Witch, commissioned an instrument called the Apprehension Engine to create scary soundscapes. | | |
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| A nearly century-old law that turned New York bars into no-dancing zones, prevented singers like Billie Holiday and Ray Charles from performing and drew protest from Frank Sinatra, is finally set to be struck down. | | |
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| Our guest is not a songwriter, but works tirelessly on behalf of ALL songwriters. He’s been CEO and president of the National Music Publishers’ Association for 13 years, and implemented landmark legal successes for publisher and songwriter royalty-rate agreements and continues to work on increasing the value of intellectual property. | | |
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| The Spotify charts may be led by pop and hip-hop acts, but Mike Sniper isn't worried. | | |
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| The closing of the legendary dance club Medusa’s 25 years ago marked the end of an era. In this raw and raucous oral history, the club’s founders, employees, and patrons bring the exuberant madness of this after-hours mecca back to life. | | |
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| And no, Post Malone’s “Rockstar” didn’t go to No. 1 just because of that YouTube trick. | | |
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| When MC Lyte broke into the hip-hop world as a pioneering solo female rapper, she wasn't thinking about making history. Like most aspiring artists, she wanted to be on the radio. | | |
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| The musician talks Tegan and Sara, his new album, and overcoming tribulations. | | |
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| The average smartphone user downloads less than 1 app per month, according to comScore. The era of apps is ending, and we're moving in an era of artificial intelligence interacting with us through messaging apps, chatbots, voice-controlled interfaces, and smart devices.What happens to music in t | | |
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| You already know that Southern music changes the world. It appears that Southern music technology is about to do the same. | | |
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| Heavy, percussive club beats with irresistible hooks and street-wise raps in Yoruba, Igbo or pidgin English—Nigerian pop music, increasingly known by the much-debated term Afrobeats, is the sound that moves Lagos and the sound of Lagos that moves the world. But it wasn’t always this way! | | |
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| Artificial intelligence is automating tasks in many domains. Do musicians have reason to worry? | | |
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| Last week I watched Demi Lovato's YouTube documentary, "Simply Complicated," chronicling her well-publicized drug problem and eventual bipolar diagnosis. I remember when Demi first went public after a tabloid-filled meltdown. | | |
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| Antoine Dominique “Fats” Domino Jr., a founding father of rock and roll, has died at the age of 89 at his home near New Orleans. | | |
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