Converge would be donating 100% of the earnings from their 2013 guest-filled Entombed covers EP to Entombed vocalist LG Petrov, who was diagnosed with incurable cancer, Metal Injection reports. The EP includes five covers of Entombed's 'Wolverine Blues' with a different vocalist on each one - Aaron Turner (Isis, Sumac, Old Man Gloom), Kevin Baker (All Pigs Must […]
Phil Collins' song 'In the Air Tonight' saw a 1,110% increase in sales after a viral video of two brothers reacting to the song while listening to it for the first time, CoS reports. Tim and Fred Williams, a pair of 22-year-old twins from Gary, Indiana, create reaction videos on YouTube under the account TwinsthenewTrend, and their most popular video is their reaction to Collins' 1980s pop hit, with over 4 million views. The song is climbing the Billboard charts, and it has already reached No. 3 on the iTunes Charts.
Mexican-American singer Trini Lopez, who had a hit in 1963 with his version of 'If I Had A Hammer', and was a successful guitar-maker, has died at 83 of coronavirus, The New York Times reports. Lopez, an accomplished guitarist, was mentored by Buddy Holly and Frank Sinatra and designed two instruments for the Gibson Guitar Corporation. Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters said Lopez left "a beautiful music legacy", he called his own Trini Lopez guitar his "most prized possession" and said it had been "the sound of the Foo Fighters from day one". Lopez recorded more than 60 albums and was a popular headliner in Las Vegas.
34-years-old Nikki Paterson from Scotland has 47 tattoos, 23 of which are of Eminem, The Sun reports. She hopes this will get her into the Guinness World Book of Records. Paterson said she has been listening to Eminem since she was 14, and that she fell in love with him after hearing 'Stan', a song about a crazy fan.
"The fan believes the artist and their work helped them come into their own. The artist’s work becomes a comfort—almost like a friend on their journey—as they figure out who they want to be" author Hannah Ewens says in Bitch Media interview about her new book 'Fangirls: Scenes from Modern Music Culture'. The book traces the history of fandom from the Beatles onward to contextualize what fandom means, how it functions, and how it both reflects and drives cultural conversations about everything from teenage girls to mental health. Ewens also differentiates between fans and stans, the latter of whom go to extreme lengths to prove their devotion.
Critic Briana Younger and NPR Music have launched The South Got Something To Say, a project about Southern hip-hop. It goes into the idea of it, the history, the dirty side (twerking), etc.
British producer and PC Music label boss A.G. Cook released his first proper album '7G', comprised of seven discs, totaling in over 2 and a half hours of music. Every disc includes seven tracks, each dedicated to a different instrument: drums, guitar, supersaw, piano, Nord, spoken word, and extreme vocals. On the guitar one, he’s reimagined as a sad-sack Bandcamp god; in another, he’s a maniacally demented pop musician. There’s a lot to admire in here, a lot that helps illuminate why Cook has become a creative sounding board for his fellow weirdo pop musicians. His ear for melody is masterful, and his take on pop music can range from hyper-glossy to hyper-abrasive - Stereogum argues. The full album is here.
English music producer and engineer Martin Birch, who worked on iconic albums by Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, and Black Sabbath has died aged 71, Ultimate Classic Rock reports. Birch began his industry career as an engineer, earning early credits on albums by Jeff Beck and Fleetwood Mac. He worked also with Wishbone Ash, and Rainbow, while he finished his career with the epic 'Fear of the Dark' by Iron Maiden.
NME's columnist put it clear and simple: "Give us escapism; take us out of our misery just like your music does. Transform your front room into a scale facsimile of the bridge of the Nostromo, mash every loose food item into a ceiling high sculpture of Apollo, put psychedelic stardust filters on your next colonoscopy. Just take us anywhere that isn’t here".
Tim and Fred Williams are twenty-one-year-old twins from Gary, Indiana, who make videos of themselves listening to famous songs for the first time, and release those on their YouTube channel TwinsthenewTrend. They've uploaded dozens of songs, mostly rock - Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Johnny Cash - and their most popular one is Phil Collins’s 'In the Air Tonight', with over 4 million views. The New Yorker likes the naivety of the two...
American funk band Vulfpeck has offered track 10 from the band's upcoming album 'The Joy of Music, The Job of Real Estate' to the highest bidder, The Line of Best Fit reports. Track 10 from Vulfpeck's new LP is currently listed on eBay, and the highest bidder will get naming rights to the track and two-and-a-half-minutes on the LP. The buyer won't get the right to earn any of money back, since the winner has to assign all royalties to the band and "will receive no financial remuneration, like ever".
Silicon Valley firm xMEMs is working on robust headphones, that would revolutionise the headphone market, BBC reports. The basis of their tech is "piezoelectric effect" - if you bend some materials, they produce an electric current, and if you pass an electric current through them they bend. They're using that bendiness to make small speakers that can match the very best sound produced the traditional way, while also being robust and waterproof. The first headphones with this technology are expected on the market next April.
Acclaimed rapper CeeLo Green has spoken out against music created by Nicki Minaj and Cardi B who he suggested are crying out for attention at any cost. “We are adults. There should be a time and a place for adult content. As adults and artists, we should at least attempt to be each other’s accountability partners in some regard. The stereotypes that are celebrated and perpetuated, ultimately make the perception a reality. It is disenfranchising and it has caused a great deal of problems” - he told Far Out Magazine. “Attention is also a drug and competition is around” he adds - “Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, they are all more or less doing similar salacious gesturing to kinda get into position. I get it, the independent woman and being in control, the divine femininity and sexual expression. I get it all but it comes at what cost?”.
"Bandcamp’s artist-first mentality trickles down to the zealousness of their userbase. Their comments and music collections are just as important as the money coming in, establishing a connection, and encouraging digital diggers to explore and expand their palettes "- DJ Booth argues in favor of the lovely music service / social network (rap has been a more of a Soundcloud kind of genre). There's good music there, and - "in a world kept separate by the still-raging coronavirus... Engaging with musicians breeds a different kind of intimacy".
Good old Alanis Morissette got it real good on 'Reasons I Drink', accompanied by a great video; Conway the Machine goes haunting on psychedelic on 'Lemon', with Method Man as his right hand; Jamila Woods continues her hommage series - 'Sula' honors the late novelist Toni Morrison; Max Richter's 'Mercy' is minimalist and beautiful, performed on violin and piano.
Alt TikTok is a TikTok sub-scene that is exerting growing influence on the music that becomes popular on the app. Generally, it's weird, excessively creative stuff, more artsy and punk than the Straight TikTok. The music preferred by members of Alt TikTok can be bizarre, abrasive, unruly, headlong, and it's also more open and accessible to different groups of people. And what everyone’s seeing now is that bigger things can come from Alt TikTok than Straight TikTok
"If we are looking at the charts as a barometer for nationwide popularity, non-English-language music rarely features... Yes, Despacito reached No 1 here, but it was only after Justin Bieber appeared on it" - the Guardian analyzes UK music taste. First of all, the British are the third least likely nation in Europe to speak a foreign language. That's not all, people of color like Samm Henshaw, and women that don't fit the norm (white complexion) like Rina Sawayama, won't have the same success as their white counterparts. Guardian argues it's due to "so much systemic hostility, xenophobia and outright racism in this sector".
The world's most valuable 7in single, 'Do I Love You', by Frank Wilson, has been bought by 38-year-old Lee Jeffries for an undisclosed sum, but it went for more than it did when it was last sold, 11 years ago. In 2009 the disc with "the most famous northern soul record" fetched a record-breaking £25,742. It was, and remains, the most expensive seven inch 45rpm labeled record ever sold.
Microphones released their first new album in 17 years, 'Microphones in 2020', today, comprised of one, 44-minute song, that comes with a beautiful one-shot still video. It is a slide-show of 800 printed photos of band's leader Phil Elverum's childhood and touring years, accompanied by the lyrics to the songs (watch/listen to it here). Critics like the album a lot: Stereogum branded it their Album of the Week because "he weaves together vast metaphysical explorations and minute personal memories"; Pitchfork branded it Best new music (grade 8.5) for exploration of "artmaking, self-mythologizing, and what it means to bear witness to one’s own existence and transformations"; Exclaim goes philosophical and poetical on us: "This is Elverum's indelible stamp of style, distilled into a single track that flows like waves in the ocean or hills on the mountainside".
Addis Ababa-based electronic musician Endeguena Mulu records music as Ethiopian Records, mixing Ethiopia's jazz scene of the 1960s and ’70s and modern sampling techniques. He is the latest guest of Fact's Against the Clock - in 10 minutes he delved into his own self-recorded sample library nad built a track using Ableton Live and MIDI controllers.
It is widely believed that Kanye West's American presidential candidacy serves one purpose - to take potential Joe Biden's votes, black and young ones, and make it easier for Donald Trump to win. Billboard argues it just might not happen like that. African Americans tend not to vote for candidates solely because they are Black, while West’s status with Americans age 18 to 29 is actually more unfavorable than favorable - said David Jackson, a political science professor at Bowling Green State University whose research focuses on the links between young people’s entertainment and political preferences. It’s also possible West could actually draw support away from Trump, since he’s been an outspoken supporter of the president in the past.
Grammy award-winning music producer Detail was arrested on 15 counts of sexual assault and five counts of felony assault, Entertainment Weekly reports. Detail is being investigating for alleged assaults that occurred between 2010 and 2018. This is not a first legal move against him. Last year, a model and aspiring singer was awarded $15m in a Los Angeles lawsuit that accused the producer of abusing and raping her. Singer Jesse Reyez accused the producer in 2018 of inappropriate advances. Pop singers Tinashe and Bebe Rexha alluded to having their own uncomfortable recording sessions with Fisher. Detail is being held on nearly $6.3m bail. The 41-year-old producer, real name Noel Christopher Fisher, is known for producing hits for R&B and hip-hop acts such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, the Pussycat Dolls, Lady Gaga, T-Pain, Jennifer Lopez and Wiz Khalifa.
Virtual music events have to offer things that other types of entertainment can’t - Music x Tech x Future says, suggesting 8 ways to make live-streams different and better (The Streets went in that directions, NME says it was great):
Lying around a (virtual) venue or invisibly teleporting on to the stage to see what the artists are doing
Make events interactive among fans
Make 'em in a virtual environment
Real direct interaction between the artist and the fan
Create social meaning by bringing scenes and communities together online
Watching a show online with faraway friends will make them feel closer while being unable to travel
Artists should find a role to play for the viewer
Fear Of Missing Out is powerful - artists should think of something different each time
Instagram has launched Reels in over 50 countries, and it allows users to record, edit, share and discover videos of up to 15 seconds, backed with audio and music including millions of songs licensed from music companies, TechCrunch reports. Instagram Reels will complement the app’s other video features, which comprise Stories (copied from Snapchat), Live and IGTV for longer-form content. Today, TikTok threatened legal action against an executive order issued by American President Donald Trump that would ban the Chinese social media app from doing business with U.S. firms, TechCrunch reports.
The long-running Eurovision Song Contest is now getting its own U.S. version called American Song Contest, starting in 2021, with musical acts coming from all 50 states trying to win. It is being spearheaded by the Eurovision rights owners who say the American version "will be different than anything seen before on U.S. television, marrying the fanfare and excitement of March Madness and the NFL playoffs with the artistry and beauty of world-class performances", Exclaim reports. In Eurovision nothing is too much, it is safe to say that in "Ameri-vision" there will probably be even more of "too much".
Variety reports on interesting statistics published by Live Nation about fans and rescheduled concerts. Live Nation says that 86% of fans have chosen to hold onto their tickets for rescheduled shows instead of asking for refunds, “indicating a strong desire to attend concerts in the future”. The number of fans throwing their tickets for festivals into the following year is also big, at about two-thirds. There's more - tickets for next summer festivals in Europe have already gone on sale, and 19 million tickets have been sold.
Vern Rumsey, who played bass in the very influential '90s/early 2000s post-hardcore noise-rock band Unwound, has died aged 47, Consequence of Sound reports. Unwound made eight albums over 10 years, including their classic 2001 swan song 'Leaves Turn Inside You'. Rumsey also played in Fitz of Depression, Witchypoo, Long Hind Legs, and other groups over the years, and he played bass on Blonde Redhead's album 'Fake Can Be Just as Good'. Rumsey also ran his label, Punk In My Vitamins? Records. Thursday, Speedy Ortiz, Cave In, and other artists pay tribute to Rumsey.
Nick Cave has launched a Cave Things webshop where he is selling - porn wallpaper. It's naked ladies, quite simple drawings, with strategic parts - fully exposed. Next to that one, he is selling plenty of other "Cave things" - “an over-priced plectrum” i.e. a guitar pick with Warren Ellis’ face on it, a red right hand necklace charm, pencils, “motivational T-shirt No. 1″ which has a quote from Nick Cave’s mom, apparently, stating “Head High And Fuck ‘Em All”.
Blondie Hit songwriting duo Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, as well as pop singer and author Barry Manilow have sold their future royalties to a fast-growing investment fund Hipgnosis, Rolling Stone reports. That means their income from 197 Blondie songs, including 'Heart of Glass' and 'Rapture', as well from 917 Manilow's songs, including 'Mandy', 'I Write the Songs' and 'Copacabana (At the Copa)', now goes to the Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Founded by music industry veteran Merck Mercuriadis, the fund allows investors to see an income from music royalties. Hipgnosis has spent over $1 billion in song acquisitions since 2018, picking up catalogs from artists, songwriters and producers and amassing a collection of hits from the likes of Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, star producer Mark Ronson and Blink-182 co-founder Tom Delonge.
"The seven tracks that comprise 'Alphaville' are at once harrowing and transcendent, terrifying and cathartic, filled with jazzlike grooves" - PopMatters says about Imperial Triumphant's new album. What makes the New York trio stand out is their avant-garde approach to metal, with jazz and psychedelic elements added to their black metal. Separate songs differ a lot among themselves and each song incorporates plenty of elements because, as vocalist and guitarist Zachary Ilya Ezrin tells PM- "we have a strong idea of what the song's about, why it needs to exist, what it stands for".
A very interesting podcast on The Verge about music copyright and how it has supposedly gone too far with lawsuits based on similarities between songs, rather than plagiarism. "We have seen a shift where the music industry has gone from being a physical goods business to an intellectual property business. When a song starts to succeed, we see all kinds of public lawsuits and private settlements to make sure that in order to recoup on your intellectual property, which is currently earning probably negligible revenue in streaming and other places, but when there’s an opportunity for a big thing that has hit at radio or might have a big sync license in a film, yeah, you’re going to go and see if you can get a piece of it. If you look at the public record of songs which are currently under litigation, they’re only songs which are succeeding overwhelmingly".
"It’s no secret that for nearly a century, the country music market has been almost exclusively the domain of white performers – even as the genre owes tremendously to Black musical traditions. But today, in spite of the hurdles, the path for Black voices in country music appears more open than ever" - Tennessean writes in a long-read about the issue of race in country music. There are a few names presenting the Black community in the country ecosystem - platinum-selling star Kane Brown, two-time chart-topper Jimmie Allen, recent Grammy nominee Mickey Guyton, Allison Russell, Amythyst Kiah, and Yola among others.
Warner Music Group boss Steve Cooper revealed a stunning stat about this second, less talked-about area of the business – a stat that, according to MBW’s calculations, suggests this is a sector already worth a billion dollars in annual revenue for the global music rights industry. Cooper confirmed that Warner Music Group’s recorded music operation has a present run-rate of $235 million per year in revenue from Facebook, TikTok, Peloton and Roblox.
The pattern of music downloads after their release appears to closely resemble epidemic curves for infectious disease - mathematicians from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada have found. The team followed the pattern of 1,000 songs downloaded in the UK between 2007 and 2014, measuring how well a standard model of epidemic disease, called the SIR model, fitted trends in song downloads over time. The research found the model performed just as well when describing song download trends as it did when describing the spread of a disease through the population. In their research, electronic music turned out to be the most infectious genre of all. Guardian reports about the interesting study.
Steve Strange, widely respected live agent and co-founder of X-ray Touring, has died aged 53 after a short illness, Music Business Worldwide reports. A statement from X-ray reads: “His overwhelming love of music lead to a 30 year plus career guiding the touring of an eclectic mix of artists from all genres of music that he adored". Strange’s artist roster down the years has included Eminem, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Queens of the Stone Age, The Charlatans, Jimmy Eat World and many more. Emma Banks of CAA wrote on social media: “Steve Strange – a truly good and loving person without a bad bone in his body. The life and soul of every occasion, a music man to the core and dedicated to his clients, friends and family".
Charles Blow and Terence Blanchard's 'Fire Shut Up in My Bones' opera opens the Metropolitan Opera season on Sept. 27. It will be the first operatic performance in the house since the pandemic shutdown 18 months ago, and the first opera by a Black musician presented at the Met in its 138 years. "I'm not the only one that was qualified throughout that history" - Blanchard told Bloomberg.
Black Marble share an amusing song ‘Preocupation’ with a funny video; LA rapper Blu samples Beatles for a trippy song ‘Because the Sky Is Blu(e)’; The Ophelias share ‘Crocus’, a baroque-folk track with great strings; Generationals deliver some good indie-pop with ‘Mercy’; some great guitar work by folk-blues singer Buffalo Nichols on ‘How To Love’.
Critics have a lot to say about the latest album by the Arizona rap gang. "Injury Reserve have woven together a darkly contorted tangle of sounds, a collage that hits like a barrage... a record that demands your attention and challenges your perspective released into an age defined by zone-out streaming bait" - Stereogum argue in favor of their choice for Album of the week, calling their music post rap. The New Yorker argues "this is the first of the group’s projects to sound greater than the sum of its parts, to feel singular", and "by far the best" album by the band. Pitchfork appreciates its creativity: "The songs are immediate and intuitive, brimming with personality and ideas".
Music theory YouTuber Adam Neely and recorder player Sarah Jeffery go back centuries to explore medieval music in her latest video. They try and prove that the early classical music wasn't really that simple, dealing with "rhythmic math FUN with polyrhythms, polypulses, and medieval music!".
A beautiful article in the New Yorker by Michael Azerrad, a journalist and one of Kurt Cobain's closest friends: "That’s the kind of thing that haunts people who know people who have committed suicide: Is there something I could have done? Twenty-seven years later, I still ask myself that question. I tried, but perhaps I could have—and should have—tried harder. The thing is, although I was in my early thirties, I was still immature and naïve. Maybe I wasn’t so well suited to the task". The long read also gives quite a convincing albeit prosaic explanation for the suicide: "Kurt had several clinically established risk factors for suicide, including inhuman levels of professional pressure, chronic and severe physical pain, and a heroin addiction that he just couldn’t seem to shake (or didn’t want to). He also had a long family history of suicide".
