I don’t like no foolish songs; I like ’em to mean something. Those songs have got to be about something. | | | | Son House circa 1960.
(Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) | | | | | | “I don’t like no foolish songs; I like ’em to mean something. Those songs have got to be about something.”
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| | rantnrave:// Short and sweet today, but lots of good reads in the mix below, starting with two takes on improvisatory genius, a half-century apart and not necessarily unrelated, and then a little K-pop, a little STRAVINSKY and a little A TRIBE CALLED QUEST. And more. Always more... TOMMY BOY RECORDS has some splainin' to do and until then, JAY-Z and TIDAL have said "no, thanks" to the upcoming delivery of the DE LA SOUL catalog to streaming outlets... YOLA's "FARAWAY LOOK" is basically a note-for-note cover of a nonexistent midcentury modern country/pop/soul classic, and it's perfect and it announces the arrival of major voice. The rest of the 35-year-old British singer's debut album, WALK THROUGH FIRE, doesn't let that opening track down, and if you want to quibble with DAN AUERBACH's on-the-nose period production, you're welcome to, but you don't have to, really... I vote yes on Olympic breaking... RIP DOROTHY MASUKA. | | | - Matty Karas, curator |
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| The post-Kamasi Washington world has opened a lane for jazz’s next wave of talent. Ryan Porter, Brandon Coleman, Anenon and Sam Wilkes are at the creative forefront of Los Angeles jazz’s rapidly expanding scene. | | |
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| Fifty years ago, the band recorded the most entrancing version of its most hypnotic composition. | | |
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| The recording industry is adjusting to a new social media-dominated era where the artists have all the power. But how did we get here? | | |
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| Paris wants to include hip-hop’s original dance in the 2024 Games. | | |
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| In the decade since Michael Jackson’s death, the late singer’s estate has turned what had been a financial disaster into one of entertainment’s most lucrative properties. But now, the upcoming documentary “Leaving Neverland” threatens to upend all of that -- and the estate is in full-blown damage control mode. | | |
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| It’s too late to cancel Michael Jackson. | | |
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| Shavone.'s unconventional style has already branded her as one of the most memorable women in tech, holding positions at Google, Twitter, Facebook, and most recently as the Head of Global Music & Youth Culture communications at Instagram. | | |
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| The Girls' Generation star-turned soloist talks about the highs and lows of K-pop stardom and channeling her feelings into her most intimate work yet. | | |
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| This clean-and-sober indie-rocker's success story is even more dramatic than Ally Maine's, but in many ways, it’s a case of life imitating art. | | |
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| Local disco group Escort has the answer! | | |
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| When major streaming platforms are fighting to build a monopoly on the music business, for unsigned artists the deal is impossibly bad and will continue to be, so it might be argued that this is a clear case for alternative/independent solutions. | | |
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| New Age music has been proliferating in cool circles for almost a decade now. But much of what was happening musically in Japan in the 1980s was closed off to Westerners, or more precisely, Western hipsters. | | |
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| The Center for Hip-Hop Advocacy |
| Libraries, museums, and universities must include hip-hop culture in their programming in thoughtful, authentic ways. | | |
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| A new documentary and remix EP examine the life and art of Pendergrass, the Philadelphia soul singer who suffered a debilitating accident in 1982. | | |
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| With the rapper out on bond after he was charged with overstaying his visa, his legal team is underscoring the political dimension to his plight while fighting to keep him in the United States. | | |
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| Stravinsky’s savage masterpiece was lauded by jazz musicians, inspired countless film scores -- and made Disney dinosaurs dance. What would music be without it? | | |
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| "We are entering a time where breaking in America is no longer the primary goal or the definitive sign that an artist has made it." | | |
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| Lakin Starling recounts how a controversial sound bite from the 1983 film "Trading Places" became a quintessential vogueing hit. | | |
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| Annual gathering of country radio gatekeepers can’t seem to explain gender imbalance on the airwaves. | | |
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| “I wasn’t interested in writing the definitive book on A Tribe Called Quest. I was trying to write the definitive book on a single arc of fandom.” | | |
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