Beyonce, Eminem, Stevie Wonder, U2, and others have found a place on the former American president Barack Obama's playlist. The playlist features "some memorable songs from my administration", like Jay-Z's 'My First Song', Bob Dylan's 'The Times They Are a-Changin'', Sade's 'Cherish a Day'...
Stereogum explores the power of Spotify, similar to TikTok's, describing the lives of two relatively obscure indie-rock songs from the 1980s and 1990s. Pavement's 'Harness Your Hopes' was three-decade-old b-side before it became number one on Pavement’s Spotify page, ending up with over 28 million plays to date. Another one in Galaxie 500's 'Strange' which was a song from a long-overlooked album track, and ended up as the most popular Galaxie 500 song on Spotify. How did this happen? Mostly, thanks to Spotify's Autoplay feature which cues up music that “resembles” what the listener has been listening to previously.
The European music sector supports two million jobs and contributes €81.9 billion gross value added annually to the GDPs of the 27 European Union member countries and the U.K., a new Oxford Economics study has found. It also found that the music sector exported €9.7 billion worth of goods and services to countries outside the EU and the U.K., Variety reports. Music sector generated €31 billion in tax receipts in the EU and U.K. in 2018, which is 19.4% of the entire EU budget in the same year.
Lil Nas X performed four virtual shows in two days in the video game Roblox, attracting 33 million views, The Verge reports. The identical shows starred a motion-captured incarnation of Lil Nas X, styled to fit in with a world that shifted to match each of the four songs he performed. It's big numbers for Lil Nas X, but a huge one for Roblox, getting into the same league with Fortnite - it hosted a performance from Travis Scott early this year that drew 45.8 million viewers across five shows.
Bandcamp Live will allow artists to set up ticketed live-stream performances, with the online shows integrated within the Bandcamp ecosystem, with a virtual “merch table”, and real-time chat. 80-85% of ticket sales will go directly to the artist, and the company has announced it will waive its fees on tickets until March 31, 2021, meaning 100% of ticket sales will go to artists until then, Bandcamp announced. Bandcamp live-streams have already begun with a gig by David Allred, and artists like Cloud Nothings, Liv.e, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Madison McFerrin, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Hatchie, and Pedro the Lion have already confirmed future shows on Bandcamp Live.
Dolly Parton donated $1 million to biotechnology company Moderna based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts to help them fund research for Covid-19 vaccine, which they recently announced as finished, Guardian reports. Parton heard about the project last spring through her friend Dr. Naji Abumrad from Vanderbilt University who treated her after a car accident. Vanderbilt’s research subsequently played a key role in developing Moderna’s vaccine.
Blood From The Soul is an industrial-metal/hardcore-punk supergroup featuring Napalm Death, Converge, Megadeth, Nasum members, and 'DSM-50' is their first album in 27 years. "The whole story behind this album seems almost too good to be true on paper", Brooklyn Vegan argues, adding "but once you click play you'll see that it's very true, and indeed very good". Listen to the full album on Bandcamp.
San Francisco toy company Super7 is producing an Ol' Dirty Bastard action figure, packaged on cardback featuring his welfare card art from 'Return to the 36 Chambers', and it's available for preorder now ($18). The Notorious B.I.G., Run-DMC, and Czarface ReAction figures are available to preorder (and scheduled to ship in January and December).
A lovely story in Brooklyn Vegan about New York bassist Philippe Arman from metal and rock bands SOMNURI and The Advertisers, who became a subject of a viral video. He was waiting for the subway in Brooklyn, and while he was sitting on a bench, 24-year-old Bronx artist Devon Rodriguez made a portrait of him. Rodriguez then posted a video of his sketches in progress on his Instagram which ended up getting over five million views after being featured on Instagram REELS. Philippe reached out to Devon and asked to purchase the original drawing. The pair met on Bleecker St. in Manhattan where Devon gifted him the artwork (watch that video here).
Morrissey has been dropped by his label BMG, because, as Morrissey Central reports, the new executive "has announced new plans for 'diversity' within BMG's artist roster, and all projected BMG Morrissey releases/reissues have been scrapped". Morrissey commented that "this news is perfectly in keeping with the relentless galvanic horror of 2020. We would be critically insane to expect anything positive". Morrissey has been involved in several controversies lately involving his far-right remarks.
The luxurious nature of rap music could be a factor in the increase in support for Donald Trump among Black male voters - Barack Obama suggested in The Atlantic interview. "People are writing about the fact that Trump increased his support among Black men, and the occasional rapper who supported Trump” he said, adding - "I have to remind myself that if you listen to rap music, it’s all about the bling, the women, the money. A lot of rap videos are using the same measures of what it means to be successful as Donald Trump is. Everything is gold-plated. That insinuates itself and seeps into the culture”. Election polls saw an estimated 20% of Black men voted for Trump this year, two percentage points higher than the 18% who voted for him in 2016.
Investment fund Shamrock Holdings has purchased the rights to Taylor Swift's first six albums from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, marking the second time in 17 months that ownership over her early recordings has changed hands, Variety reports. The deal of record label Big Machine's resale is thought to be worth somewhere in the region of $300-$400 million. Shamrock Capital, which now owns Swift's first six albums, is a private equity firm originally set up by the Disney family. Swift isn't happy with this deal either, since Scooter Braun will maintain some control of her recordings. Swift signed a deal with Big Machine in 2004 granting them ownership of the master recordings to her first six albums in exchange for a cash advance to kick-start her career. Ownership of masters means the owner controls what can be done with the original recording of a song or album, from re-releases and box sets to making it available for use in an advert or on a streaming platform. Swift, as the writer or co-writer of her music, still owns the publishing rights, which means she has the power to veto some of the owner's attempts to exploit her recordings.
Almost all record labels producing classical music CDs today require artists to pay them, as companies are unlikely to earn enough profit on sales to cover their costs - Van magazine reports on the shift of responsibility. Big artists also don't get their CDs for free anymore. Costs range from about $6,000 to release with a small label, to up to $70,000 for a recording with a major label. Artists still want their music on a CD, for applications, networking, press, and to record their careers...
Some of the bands picked up by Stereogum for their best of new bands of the year list:
Dogleg - cathartic high-octane emo-punk
Anjimile - like Tracy Chapman attempting Sufjan Stevens songs and ending up with something startlingly unique
Porridge Radio - wistful melodies, raw self-reflections
Backxwash - a refreshingly new texture in the rap landscape
Sault - a tapestry of Black art and Black experience across time and borders
Bartees Strange - nobody sounds like him, and nobody could...
A funny story in the Guardian about UK's Relentless Records, a home to children's song, as well as some UK drill. In, 2018 Relentless' founder Shabs Jobanputr signed a deal to distribute 'Baby Shark', a children’s song that recently became the most viewed video ever on YouTube with 7.04bn views. The Baby Shark deal has proved a money-spinner for Relentless, and it has "given us a platform to do other things. It gives us more flexibility to take a few more risks with things like Headie One”, Jobanputra said.
Nick Cave has announced a special online listen-along event of the breakthrough Bad Seeds album 'Murder Ballads' on November 26 via the Bad Seeds online TV station YouTube channel. The chat will also feature former Bad Seeds Mick Harvey and Blixa Bargeld.
The White Stripes are dropping their first-ever greatest hits album December 4, and they have announced it with a brand new music video for the fan favourite track 'Apple Blossom'. The stop-motion animated video was made by Wartella of Cartoon Network's 'Mad'.
The sound and experimental music BBC unit, Radiophonic Workshop is preparing to make history with a musical project that will make the internet a musical instrument. A performance of their composition 'Latency' is inspired by lockdown Zoom calls and the delay that appears, which they will extend into several seconds. Instead of trying to play at the same time, which they can't due to latency, the Radiophonic Workshop will play one after another, in sequence, rather than in parallel, as RW's Bob Earland says to Guardian - “The sound gets sent to someone, and they add to it, and it keeps going round". The performance is on 22 November on YouTube, the day before the anniversary of the first transmission of 'Doctor Who' theme song in 1963 which is also Delia Derbyshire Day, in honour of the Radiophonic Workshop’s leading light, who created the sound of the show’s famous theme tune.
The iconic music store chain Tower Records that closed its doors nearly 14 years ago, has returned as an online service last Friday. The new Tower Records has plenty of music on sale already, including vinyl, cassettes, and CDs. They also have a merchandise section, online events, and a digitized version of their original Tower Pulse! magazine. Tower Records was founded in Sacramento, California in 1960, and it quickly grew in popularity for its enormous catalog, in-the-know staff, and famous clientele. In 2006 they were forced to file for bankruptcy and liquidation due to dwindling sales.
Buffalo rapper and Griselda member Benny the Butcher was shot in the leg at a Walmart in Houston, Texas on Saturday during an attempted robbery, TMZ reports. The New York rapper was visiting a local Walmart with a couple of friends, and while they were in their car in the lot, a car with 5 guys inside pulled up next to them and whipped out guns demanding their chains. One of the five fired a round into Benny's leg, which caused the crooks to flee. The Houston shooting happened the same day that Baton Rouge rapper Boosie Badazz was shot in the leg in Dallas, where Boosie was visiting to pay his respects to his Dallas-based collaborator Mo3, who was shot and killed in his hometown on Wednesday, TMZ reports.
UK music magazine Uncut has released its list of best albums of 2020, with a variety of albums on the expansive list, including Laura Marling, Tamikrest, Fiona Apple, Moses Boyd, Phoebe Bridgers, Jason Isbell, JARV IS..., Haim, etc. The top 20 spots: 20. Bruce Springsteen - 'Letter To You'
19. Brigid Mae Power - 'Head Above The Water'
18. Frazey Ford - 'U kin B the Sun'
17. SAULT - 'UNTITLED (Black Is)'
16. Stephen Malkmus - 'Traditional Techniques'
15. Fontaines D.C. - 'A Hero's Death'
14. Courtney Marie Andrews - 'Old Flowers'
13. Tame Impala - 'The Slow Rush'
12. Moses Boyd - 'Dark Matter'
11. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - 'Reunions'
10. Laura Marling - 'Song For Our Daughter'
9. Shirley Collins - 'Heart's Ease''
8. JARV... IS - 'Beyond the Pale'
7. Bill Callahan - 'Gold Record'
6. Waxahatchee - 'Saint Cloud'
5. Thundercat - 'It Is What It Is'
4. Drive-By Truckers - 'The New OK'
3. Phoebe Bridgers - 'Punisher'
2. Fleet Foxes - 'Shore'
1. Bob Dylan - 'Rough and Rowdy Ways'
Late rapper King Von’s latest album 'Welcome to O’Block' surges to the No. 5 spot in its second chart week at Billboard 200, following the rapper’s death on Nov. 6 in a shoot-out at his album release party in Atlanta. 26-year-old's debut album earned 44,000 equivalent album units in the week. Ariana Grande holds on to the No. 1 spot with her 'Positions' earning 82,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 12 (down 53%).
Young Welsh folk guitar virtuoso Gwenifer Raymond "tries to invent a new style: Welsh primitive infused with folk horror", Guardian writes about their latest choice for Folk Album of the Month. With a PhD in astrophysics and a day job programming video games on one side, Raymond says her folk music is influenced by the countryside, but had to record her new album 'Strange Lights over Garth Mountain' locked down in her basement during the pandemic.
Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' returned to Spotify's Top 40 last Sunday - a full two weeks earlier than three years ago, and it also reappeared on the iTunes chart on 2 November, BBC reports. Behind her in the Spotify chart are six more Christmas songs, including The Pogues' 'Fairytale of New York' and Michael Bublé's 'It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas'. However, listeners in countries like Estonia and Iceland started shuffling their Christmas playlists in October, and in the Philippines as early as - September.
Loyle Carner shared his new Madlib-produced jazzy 'Yesterday'; 'Feel the Thunder' is a funny song - Haim trying to sound like Guns N' Roses, 'Welcome to the Jungle' to be specific; Makaya McCraven made a dubby jazz remix of Nuby Garcia's 'Source'; Your Old Droog features El-P, Black Thought, Mach-Hommy, and Tha God Fahim on 'Pravda'.
Israeli company Noveto Systems has invented a new product named SoundBeamer 1.0 that can beam music directly into the listener's head, without the use of earbuds or brain implants. It reportedly works by creating a personal sound bubble for the user with 3D audio of their choosing, be it from an album, movie, or video game, while filtering in the natural sounds already occurring around them, AP reports. The company promises surround-sound experiencing of proper audio.
Suspect208 boasts 20-year-old Noah Weiland on lead vocals (son of late Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland), 16-year-old Tye Trujillo on bass (son of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo), and 18-year-old London Hudson on drums (son of Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash). The quartet is rounded out by guitarist Niko Tsangaris, Blabbermouth reports. The boys play hard rock.
Kylie Minogue has become the first female artist to have a number one album in the UK in five separate decades, next to boys such as Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Paul Weller and David Gilmour. Her new album, 'Disco', topped the charts with 55,000 sales, making for the best opening week of any new release in 2020 so far, the UK Official Charts reports. It is her eighth number one, meaning she has overtaken Elton John, Cliff Richard and George Michael in the all-time chart leaderboard. Minogue's chart-topper was made in the middle of the lockdown, with the star forced to buy recording equipment and learn computer software so she could record her vocals at home.
Brooklyn Vegan is recommending 45 music documentaries, including films on the history of hip hop, the '90s ska scene, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, legendary punk/alternative superfans Dennis & Lois, Anti-Flag, the UK's Rock Against Racism movement of the late-'70s, and more.
The British government has announced the latest round of its £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, with this new tranche of aid totaling £18 million to be shared by eight arts and cultural organizations, among them Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, the London Venue Group, and the Academy Music Group. Music Business Worldwide compares this concrete help to the one US venues are being offered.
Inspired by the tragedy at the Astroworld, where nine fans died, Slate remembers huge 1960s festivals Woodstock and Altamont where fans also died due to poor organizing and places being overcrowded. The black highpoint of the 1970s arena rock came in 1969 at the The Who concert at Riverfront Coliseum where 11 fans died. When punk came, it brought its own DIY-ethos, much smaller venues, and the podium where "orchestrated chaos" of pogo-dancing seemed dangerous, whereas actually "watch-your-peers" rule made everyone much safer. A great point, Slate!
Party and drugs connoisseur Michelle Lhooq talked to Jon Hopkins - who produced his last album 'Music For Psychedelic Therapy' while on drugs in a cave in Ecuador - about how do you make music on ketamine, how do you translate music from plants, why DMT elves love synths, why we might be on the precipice of a new genre of music. He talks to Lhooq about his creative process - "In order to write this record, I would go into the psychedelic space every few weeks to experience it, usually through ketamine... There's a lot of weird stuff that happens when you enter into the zone—you switch from thinking you're the creator to realizing you’re a channel".
A number of post-Brexit factors and regulations have led to a great deal of money being lost from independent artists and labels who have struggled in getting records and other products to their fans on the continent - NME writes in a great long read about politics messing up music.
Inspired by Brass Against's singer urinating on a fan's face, Consequence has assembled a list of the eight most shockingly gross concert moments. They go from Ozzy Osbourne biting off a bat's head, to Donita Sparks chucking her tampon into the audience, to Woodstock fans rolling in human feces. All for the sake of fun!
The 70-minute documentary 'Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson', directed by Jodi Gomes, paints a portrait both of Jackson’s remarkable career prior to that moment, as well as the cultural forces which made one “wardrobe malfunction” into a lighting bolt of controversy. "I think one of the running themes of the whole entire film is body image and the use of body image and the actual control of one’s agency and control of one’s image" - director Jodi Gomes says to Consequence. She sees a big irony in it too: "Showing how she’s been subjected to body imaging from a very young age, and then all of a sudden, flash forward 34 years later to when she’s on the Super Bowl stage, and that very thing is used against her".
A short and funny post by Boing Boing with a selection of the finest and the worst of "please hold" music. So, the best - Tim Carleton's pleasant 'Opus 1', and the title of the worst goes to Vic Berger and his senseless/irritating recording.
Alewya shares a hard-hitting reggae song ‘Dragon’ of her new EP; Mitski goes cold & clubby on 'The Only Heartbreaker'; Nils Frame shares a beautiful lullaby ‘Late’; Robert Plant & Alison Krauss have a new album out, with the Calexico cover ‘Quattro (World Drifts In)’ serving as a lovely and warm opening to it.
Spotify has announced it will make a new Lyrics feature available to all global users, both Free and Premium, across platforms, The Verge reports. The feature is powered by lyrics provider Musixmatch. Lyrics will be available across platforms from the “Now Playing” view or bar, depending on the platform. On mobile, users can swipe up from the “Now Playing” screen to see the track’s lyrics scroll by in real time as the song is playing. On the desktop app, you can click the microphone icon from the “Now Playing” bar instead. And on the Spotify TV app, you’ll navigate to the top-right corner of the “Now Playing” view to enable Lyrics from the lyrics button.
An interesting thought by Adele in Zane Lowe's Apple Music interview about her new album '30' coming out today: “If everyone's making music for the TikTok, who’s making the music for my generation? Who’s making the music for my peers? I will do that job, gladly. I'd rather cater to people that are on my level in terms of the amount of time we've spent on Earth and all the things we've been through... The 30- and 40-year-olds that are all committing to themselves and doing therapy, that's my vibe”.
Camilo took home three awards for three separate songs at last night's Latin Grammys, as well as an award for Best Pop Vocal Album, Grammy.com reports. Juan Luis Guerra also took home four awards, including one for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Rubén Blades came away with some of the most important awards of the night, including Album of the Year for 'Salswing!' and Person of the Year. Song of the Year went to 'Patria y Vida' by Cuban conglomerate Yotuel, Gente De Zona, Descemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo & El Funky; an unusual choice, given the Latin Recording Academy's hesitance to promote explicitly political content. CNN brings photos from the ceremony.
