Modern gigs. Phones. Short little span of attention. Fine in their way. But different. | | Lefties do it, um, bassier. This left hand belongs to Ezra Collective's TJ Koleoso. (Jason Bollenbacher/Getty Images) | | | | “Modern gigs. Phones. Short little span of attention. Fine in their way. But different.” |
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| rantnrave:// I'm a lefty. Like JUSTIN BIEBER. Like COURTNEY BARNETT. Like ELIZABETH COTTEN. Like EYADOU AG LECHE of TINARIWEN. Like JIMI HENDRIX, whom I loathe a little bit because he played right-handed instruments instead of demanding that FENDER make some left-handed ones to his specifications. You betrayed us, Jimi. You had influence and you didn't use it. And now when I walk into a guitar store, chances are pretty good there'll be more electric sitars on the wall than there will be lefty guitars. Even though I am 12 percent of the population. Even though I am three of the five most recent presidents of the United States. Even though I am two of the four BEATLES. Do I have any readers who work for guitar manufacturers or in guitar retail? Can you please do something about this? Give your boss a little nudge with your left shoulder. Or a tap with a left-handed hockey stick. Do something sinister if you have to. But please, do something... Lefty pedals would be cool, too. With the input jacks on the left side. But one step at a time... The world's best guitar store... The MUSIC MODERNIZATION ACT, which would establish a new agency to track mechanical royalties and create a right to digital royalties for producers and engineers, but which does nothing about the lefty guitar situation, passed the US House of Representatives unanimously Wednesday and now heads to the Senate, where similiarly easy passage is expected... Synthesizers, like other instruments with keyboard interfaces, lean neither lefty nor righty and therefore are among the best of all instruments. There may be other reasons, too. This fantastic BBC FOUR documentary, originally broadcast in 2009, charts the rise of synth pop in 1970s and '80s England. Hard to believe this was 30-plus years ago. A lot of it still sounds au courant... SONOS has confidentially filed papers for its IPO and could go public as early as June, according to the WALL STREET JOURNAL (paywall)... The best use of KANYE's TWITTER feed, by far... What $1 million will buy you at a music festival these days... "Some couples get divorced after 40 years," says STEVIE NICKS, telling you everything you need to know about the current state of FLEETWOOD MAC, if not more... RIP GRACIELA AGUDELO and KENNETH REYNOLDS. | | - Matty Karas, curator |
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| “If you exclude the top three rappers in the game, the most popping rappers all are exaggerated versions of black stereotypes. Extremely tatted up. Colorful hair. Flamboyant. Brand names. It’s caricatures, and still the dominant representation of black people, on the most popular entertainment format for black people, period.” | |
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In the ’90s, discovering the music of Friends of Dean Martinez helped Aaron Gilbreath stop running and appreciate life in his native Arizona. | |
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Documentary following a generation of post-punk musicians who took the synthesiser from the experimental fringes to the centre of the pop stage. Contributors include Philip Oakey, Vince Clarke, Martin Gore, Bernard Sumner, Gary Numan and Neil Tennant. | |
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Spotify's Chief Product Officer, Gustav Söderström, on the contribution of the service to the global business. | |
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How Philip Glass went from driving taxis to becoming one of the most celebrated composers of our time. | |
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Avicii's story reflects the perils that many touring artists face. | |
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Viagogo threatened with court action for repeatedly failing to comply. | |
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Priscilla Ward writes how go-go went from the streets of D.C. to become the heartbeat and safe space for black churches in our nation’s capital. | |
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I love Kanye. And when you truly love an artist, you ride with them through thick and thin. But riding with Kanye ain't always easy. | |
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A microcosm of the awkward exchanges currently taking place among Kanye fans. | |
| Tank and the Bangas, Lion Babe, Sudan Archives and Kamaiyah reflect on Beyoncé and representation at Coachella and in music in general. | |
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Meg Remy is moving very, very quickly. She's just rushed offstage after soundcheck, introduces herself out of breath with a quick handshake, and then immediately collects herself to do a rapid lap around the block for a photoshoot. She has to move quickly. | |
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Late last week, a persistent subject of gossip in the emo music community hit breakout velocity. The subject was a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization called Punk Talks, which aims to provide mental health education and services to DIY musicians and industry workers, and the nonprofit's mishandling of sensitive issues. | |
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The Philadelphia rapper's case inspired national outrage and put a spotlight on the perils of parole and probation. | |
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With his E-Collective, the trumpeter makes the political personal. | |
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"Music was a way to find out if a person was someone you’d want to hang out with." | |
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For 32 years, Les Leverett captured Opry performers from Kitty Wells to Vince Gill. | |
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A new book about Morrison and his musical context doesn’t answer all my questions about my favorite record in the world. | |
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Chairman Mao welcomes hip-hop biz royalty Monica Lynch to share tunes and yarns from her storied past and present. | |
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There’s a jigsaw piece missing from the centre of Sudan Archives. Speaking from LA, the former Brittney Parks (“not even my Mom calls me that now”) can explain the how, the when and the what of her budding career, but the reasons why she’s chosen to put herself in the limelight remain tantalisingly out of reach. | |
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