| I think everyone is looking at what's been done before and then replicating that, but no one's actually being like, 'F*** it. I'm just going to innovate and I'm going to do something new.' | | |
| | | Not going viral: Six60 performs for 20,000 people at Tomoana Showgrounds, Hastings, New Zealand, Jan. 23, 2021.
(Kerry Marshall/Getty Images) |
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| | | “I think everyone is looking at what's been done before and then replicating that, but no one's actually being like, 'F*** it. I'm just going to innovate and I'm going to do something new.'” | |
| | Oh, and It's Summer There Right Now
The strange country where big pop concerts still happen is a collection of islands in the Pacific Ocean which, its government informs us, was "the last large and livable place in the world to be discovered." Humans, as far as anyone knows, first arrived less than 1,000 years ago. Among the humans who live there now are LORDE and one-sixth of FLEETWOOD MAC. A total of 1,927 humans on the islands have been known to have contracted Covid-19 over the past year, which is about one-quarter of the new cases of Covid that were reported in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The country, which is also known for its rugby prowess, isn't taking any chances. The 20,000 people who showed up at TOMOANA SHOWGROUNDS in the city of Hastings on Saturday night, for the second in a series of summer Saturday concerts by the chart-topping pop band SIX60, were the target of a campaign by health officials urging every one of them to make sure their phones had the country's Covid Tracer app, and to further make sure the app's Bluetooth feature was turned on. The app, a local health officer told HAWKES BAY TODAY, "creates a diary record of where you have been" while the Bluetooth feature "is like your phone giving a digital high-five to other nearby phones using the app." If someone at the show is later found to have the virus, the officer said, "The app will help those who may be a close contact by sending a message early on and telling them what to do."
I live in Los Angeles, which is one of the world's epicenters of Covid and which for some reason is about to reopen its restaurants, and that last paragraph might as well be a dispatch from Mars. Which may be why both Mars and New Zealand have kept Covid pretty much at bay while Los Angeles and the rest of the US has not. But I'm not a doctor and this isn't HealthREDEF, so I'm just guessing.
And some of the 20,000 people at Saturday's Six60 show felt unsafe anyway. Drunken behavior and multiple fights were reported. So there's that. It's a rugby country, as you may recall.
But Also There's This
Elsewhere in New Zealand, STUFF reported over the weekend that a senior executive at Warner Music Australasia, who split his time between New Zealand and Australia, has been fired because of multiple allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation. The exec is SCOTT MACLACHLAN, who was best known, before Warner hired him, as the manager who discovered Lorde. Warner had demoted him and banned him from its Australia office in 2018 after a single allegation surfaced, but didn't fire him and reportedly told few of its own employees about it. Multiple additional allegations followed, including from his assistant at the management company he was still running, and Warner fired him this year. MacLachlan has acknowledged and apologized for at least some of the incidents.
All of this is reported in a story by Stuff's ALISON MAU that explores rampant sexual harassment and assault throughout the Australasian music industry, by executives and artists ("local and international") alike. Members of the music media are implicated, too. A woman who works in music marketing told Mau that when she confided in a musician about specific incidents, he told her, "You're a label girl, it's your job."
An industry-wide body in New Zealand called SOUNDCHECK AOTEAROA is working on a code of conduct and a formal complaint process for the music business.
It. Happens. Everywhere.
The lead story in today's mix, from the Los Angeles Times' JESSICA GELT, expands on the horrifying allegations of "rape, sexual assault, abuse, harassment and grooming" that brought down the Southern California rock label BURGER RECORDS last summer. The story has been well reported, first on an INSTAGRAM account started by one of the victims, CASEY REDD, and later by a number of music sites including KEXP, but Gelt adds details from several victims, all of whom have gone on the record. Please read this story and take it in.
Gelt makes clear that while there's a specific and awful tale about Burger Records and an astonishing number of its former artists, sexual abuse is prevalent throughout the Southern California indie music scene. A psychologist she interviews zooms further out to pretty much the entire history of rock: "Many of these revered rock gods absolutely committed statutory rape. We all know it." Read that sentence as many times as it takes. Then read it again.
Dot Dot Dot
Three New York tickets brokers are paying $3.7 million to settle a scalping case brought by the US Department of Justice—the first case brought under the 2016 Better Online Ticket Sales Act... Organizers of the canceled GLASTONBURY fest are considering smaller events, including livestreams, to keep the brand alive in 2021... The primary leaseholder of the GHOST SHIP warehouse has pleaded guilty to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the tragic 2016 fire at the illegal Oakland venue... K-pop fans hijack another political hashtag... Sea shanty record deal. Duh... The late LARRY KING interviewing music legends.
Rest in Peace
South African jazz trombonist JONAS GWANGWA, house DJ/producer PHIL ASHER, South Carolina rapper 18VENO (the third hip-hop artist murdered so far in 2021; it's January), '50s pop star JIMMIE RODGERS, TV and film composer PERRY BOTKIN JR. and Austin, Texas, live-music institution JAMES WHITE, longtime owner of the Broken Spoke.
| | | Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| | | | The women who brought down Burger Records | | by Jessica Gelt | | In July, So Cal indie label Burger Records shut down, after female fans and musicians accused some of its bands of sexual misconduct. These are their stories. | |
| | Music industry professionals in New Zealand and Australia demand change after speaking out about its dark side | | by Alison Mau | | Lorde's ex-manager says there's "not a day goes by that I don’t regret the harm I have caused people". | |
| | The 4’11” Grandma Who Rules Reggae | | by Patricia Meschino | | Patricia Chin and VP Records has been behind a thousand Jamaican hits-from the Wailers to Sean Paul and beyond. | |
| | How Kimani Moore Launches Music Stars Online | | by Kate Lindsay | | When Kimani Moore says the team at Kimani Moore Entertainment are “in the air,” it’s not a metaphor. The Nigerian-born entertainment and A&R executive says that not once in the past four years have she and her employees been together in one room. | |
| | Someone you loved: how British pop could fade out in Europe | | by Laura Snapes | | Brexit rule changes that make it tricky to tour the EU will hold back UK artists from a fast-growing market. | |
| | Making Sense of Common | | by William E. Ketchum III | | At 48, he’s considered rap’s ambassador outside its borders. That doesn’t mean he wants to be seen as “safe.” | |
| | For Big Hit Entertainment Stock, BTS Is (Still) the Ticket | | by Patrick Frater | | Since launching its IPO three months ago, the South Korean company's market performance has been a roller-coaster ride. | |
| | How a tiny music store in the backstreets of Dhaka influenced Bangladeshi Rock | | by Tim Fletcher | | If you wanted the latest and best western rock and pop music, you went to Abdul's store. | |
| | We Don’t Just Need A Review Of Music Streaming: We Need A Review Of The Entire Music Ecosystem | | by Shain Shapiro | | What remains constant is the role that music plays in our daily lives and how we take it for granted. | |
| | Phil Spector’s Catalog: How Much Are Those Iconic Songs Worth? | | by Ed Christman | | "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" alone generated publishing royalties in the high five figures last year. | |
| | | Inside the Messy Disney Love Triangle Dominating the Pop Charts | | by Paige Skinner | | The No. 1 song in the world is Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license,” and it’s inspired response tracks from her ex and his new squeeze, plus many theories behind what transpired. | |
| | Salt-N-Pepa, Hip-Hop Duo That Spoke Up for Women, Tells Its Own Story | | by Steve Knopper | | In a new biopic for Lifetime that they helped executive produce, the rap group that got its start in 1980s New York traces its roots and its conflicts. | |
| | Now That She’s Stuck In Your Head, Flo Milli Is Just Getting Started | | by Stephanie Long | | It started with a trailblazing remix in 2019. Now, the powerhouse rapper is plotting her next move. | |
| | 'Not written off yet': music festivals determined to go ahead amid Covid-19 | | by Ben Beaumont-Thomas | | The cancellation of Glastonbury festival for a second year running has cast doubt on the summer’s live music season. But organisers say they are still optimistic - especially if the government helps out. | |
| | 21 for ’21: Composers and performers who sound like tomorrow | | by Michael Andor Brodeur | | Some of these composers and performers are just launching their careers; others are well along in their work. But each has found some sort of special resonance in the right-now (i.e. my headphones), and I’ll be following their lead in the year to come. | |
| | Ray Wylie Hubbard's Journey Down Purgatory Road | | by Peter G. AuBuchon and Victor J. Malatesta | | Long considered a “songwriter’s songwriter,” Ray Wylie Hubbard taps into the Southern music tradition of balancing the sacred and profane. In the three decades since he hit rock bottom, his music, career, and perspective have been reborn. | |
| | Even In Isolation, Rhye Makes Music For Us To Come Together | | by Ailsa Chang and Jonaki Mehta | | Mike Milosh, the voice of the R&B collective, says creativity permeates every hour of his life - so he tried to make a sacred space for it while recording his new album, "Home." | |
| | Small But Mighty: When the Flute Flew High in Rock | | by Jim Allen | | When rock grew outwards from the late 60s through the 70s, one of the least imposing instruments -- the flute -- found a niche in rock history. | |
| | Prompted by the Pandemic, Opera Philadelphia Innovates Online | | by Seth Colter Walls | | With its own streaming service and a string of premieres, this company is setting the pace for virtual performances. | |
| | CJ's 'Whoopty' Was One of 2020's Biggest Surprise Hits. Now He's Ready for the Follow-Up. | | by Jessica McKinney | | "Whoopty" rapper CJ speaks with Complex about his new record deal, carrying on the momentum of the New York drill scene, and his forthcoming EP. | |
| | | | Music of the day | | "Panama Sun Session #02" | | Aquiles Navarro | | This amazing half-hour drum machine improv happened Saturday on Twitch. There are others. | |
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This amazing half-hour drum machine improv happened Saturday on Twitch. There are others. |
| | Music | Media | Sports | Fashion | Tech | | “REDEF is dedicated to my mother, who nurtured and encouraged my interest in
everything and slightly regrets the day she taught me to always ask ‘why?’” | | | | Jason Hirschhorn | | CEO & Chief Curator |
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