I made a PowerPoint presentation for her. And in that presentation were androgynous rock stars and artists that live their truth; are probably made fun of every day of their life and carry on and wave their flag; and inspire the rest of us... Artists like Michael Jackson and David Bowie and Freddie Mercury and Annie Lennox and Prince and Janis Joplin and George Michael, Elton John, so many artists. | | | | Kendrick Lamar opening Sunday night's Video Music Awards.
(Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images) | | | | | | “I made a PowerPoint presentation for her. And in that presentation were androgynous rock stars and artists that live their truth; are probably made fun of every day of their life and carry on and wave their flag; and inspire the rest of us... Artists like Michael Jackson and David Bowie and Freddie Mercury and Annie Lennox and Prince and Janis Joplin and George Michael, Elton John, so many artists.”
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| | rantnrave:// As nice a way to spend a Saturday as I can imagine: See, in succession, SINKANE, THUNDERCAT, MACY GRAY (nice update to LOUIS ARMSTRONG's "WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD"), SERPENTWITHFEET, SAMPHA (wow that low end), SOUL II SOUL and SOLANGE (more artists should tour with brass sections, please). Eat an avocado and white cheese sandwich from CAFÉ HABANA. Bear witness to what AMERICA might look like if it wasn't afraid (multicultural, diverse, open, willing to weather a super-crowded corridor between stages to catch a few minutes of SZA). Be fully present in the cultural and political wars of 2017 (random t-shirts in crowd: "Black Lawyers Matter," "They Love Our Culture. They Don't Love Us," "METALLICA"), while simultaneously feeling like you've briefly escaped them. Be a minority in a crowd of 30,000 without being made to feel like one (not sure if that's a reflection of the crowd's openness and inclusiveness, my own white male privilege, or both. Actually, I am sure. Both). Revel in bold, bright, next-level fashion as worn by roughly 29,500 influencers. Walk to the nearest G train stop, only to find the train is both "delayed" and operating "in two sections." Realize I don't care. Why isn't every music festival like this? If you are anywhere near AFROPUNK next time it happens, go. Please... Afropunk addendum: RAPHAEL SAADIQ closed the fest on Sunday with a ridiculously tight R&B/soul live band featuring a killer brass section. Current mood: sated... TAYLOR SWIFT conspiracy theories, from least to most plausible: She scheduled her album release to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the death of KANYE WEST's mother (extremely doubtful)... She scheduled the album's promo campaign to coincide with the conclusion of her civil court case against a radio DJ who groped her (brutal but not implausible)... Her "Verified Fan" partnership with TICKETMASTER is less about weeding out bots and scalpers and more about selling you snake rings, sweatshirts and more copies of her album than you need (duh)... The single sounds decidedly minor in the context of Swift's career. But good for you, RIGHT SAID FRED. The self(ie)-referential video is appealingly insane—there are probably ACADEMY AWARD winners with smaller budgets—and will be remembered long after the song is forgotten... The "LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO" video premiered during Sunday night's VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS, which undercut the progressive politics and inspirational speeches that make me continually thankful for MTV's existence with a dose of nastiness/pettiness that is.not.needed.in.2017. Big winners: KENDRICK LAMAR, ED SHEERAN, LOGIC... Not seen at the VMAs: Swift, who had a video to premiere but didn't show up to collect her moonperson, and FRANK OCEAN, who was hanging around BEATS 1 radio at the same time and quietly dropping a new song... RIP JENNY MAE. I've always loved this song. | | | - Matty Karas, curator |
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| Guest contributor Steven Maude has put together ideas for how every streaming service could improve for listeners, music producers, and DJs. | | |
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| "The Village Voice" announced it would be ending its era of print -- here, 11 former music editors and writers remember their time within its prickly, hallowed halls. | | |
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| Oculus' former music strategist on the "long-awaited" long-awaited revolution that never was. | | |
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| The New York Review of Books |
| Stills may be hobbled by arthritis-backstage he bumps fists rather than shakes hands with fans; he has carpal tunnel and residual pain from a long-ago broken hand, which affects his playing-and he is nearly deaf, but his performance life has continued. | | |
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| You might remember Devo for their 1980 hit "Whip It" … and for wearing flower-pot-looking hats and yellow hazmat suits on stage. Reporter Sean Cole tells the story of an equally colorful golfer who ended up being a kind of mascot for the band. | | |
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| The Nashville superstar has managed to cultivate bro-country success and “Real Country” respect. The question is: Can he have both at the same time? | | |
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| A coming trial between Avenged Sevenfold and Warner Bros. Records may dissuade or embolden hot artists looking to escape their contracts. | | |
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| How artificial intelligence simplifies music production for solo artists. | | |
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| In a bank vault under a shop in London is Sterns Music's astonishing archive of African music, which is now being reworked for new label Sterns Edits. | | |
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| If the music-streaming service disappeared, a culture might vanish too. A conversation about where the tech and culture worlds collide, on Popcast. | | |
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| On the hit podcast Song Exploder, we learn the digital secrets behind some of today's best songs. But we hardly ever hear the voice of the show's creator, Hrishikesh Hirway. In a special bonus episode to Ways of Hearing, Damon Krukowski interviews Hrishikesh — and explodes Song Exploder. | | |
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| In 2005, a group called B.E.R. was commissioned to write a 1980s-style pop song. "The Night Begins To Shine" was unearthed by TV show Teen Titans Go! as a joke; now, years later, it's a Billboard hit. | | |
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| How Parton influenced, empowered and made possible the successes of Lady Gaga, Kesha, Miley Cyrus and many more. | | |
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| Blade and Beard are raving in one of the most dangerous places on earth | | |
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| In some ways, the case has become a case about a case - with top PR firms drawn into depositions, and the judge commenting about the pop star's promotional support of a new album. | | |
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| The “XO TOUR Llif3” video is coming soon, also directed by the OFF-WHITE designer. | | |
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| The fourth quarter is about to be history. It’s about streams, not sales! Never forget that. | | |
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| "My Own Prison" took ideas from grunge, which had mostly come and gone by that point, and filtered them through more mainstream hard rock and arena metal. Creed weren’t interested in the punk-rock energy of Mudhoney or Nirvana, but they borrowed heavily from Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, whose lugubrious style was a natural fit for Scott Stapp’s baritone roar. | | |
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