The shutdown has redoubled my appreciation for the mysterious alchemy that happens at so many concerts. It's really, when you step back, a very peculiar human activity. Strangers gather at an appointed time to watch and hear musicians doing their job. But it's more than a job; it's a ritual, a confluence of visible and invisible forces, acoustic and social and psychological. | | | | Phoning it in: A fan watches Spanish rock singer Sienna during the Yo Me Quedo En Casa streaming festival, Madrid, March 13, 2020.
(Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images) | | | | | |  | "The shutdown has redoubled my appreciation for the mysterious alchemy that happens at so many concerts. It's really, when you step back, a very peculiar human activity. Strangers gather at an appointed time to watch and hear musicians doing their job. But it's more than a job; it's a ritual, a confluence of visible and invisible forces, acoustic and social and psychological."
| | | | | | rantnrave:// KEVIN & BEAN, ZAC BROWN and ME: I was supposed to be laid off by MTV NEWS in September 2001 along with much of my team, a few more random victims of the dot-com bubble's unceremonious demise. But other world events got in the way. Higher-ups at MTV, being normal, warm-blooded, empathetic humans, decided that a couple weeks after 9/11 wasn't the best time to lay off a bunch of people in New York. So they waited another month and a half or so and then let us go. It might sound like a little but it meant a lot. Time matters. They also gave us decent severance packages and, after giving us the final word, let us take our time cleaning out our desks, saying our goodbyes and leaving 770 Broadway for good (or for three or four months as the case may be, but that's another story for another day). This is how management treats employees, even in a layoff, at companies where people like and respect each other. Or maybe it was just a different time, I don't know. I do know that smack in the middle of a worldwide crisis that has people in several continents curled up in balls of anxiety and fear remains a spectacularly bad time to fire a long-time employee just because you feel like making a change. This apparently puts me at odds with the management of fabled LA rock radio station KROQ, which on Tuesday fired KEVIN RYDER—and most of his crew—after a 30-year run, almost all of which he spent as one half of the morning team Kevin & Bean. This is Tuesday of a week in which the entire city and state, and much of the country, is quarantining itself against a fast-moving, deadly virus, in which the live entertainment business has all but shut down and the world economy is in freefall. This was not, mind you, a coronavirus-related layoff. This was KROQ deciding Tuesday of this week was a good day to play musical chairs with its on-air staff and fire the losers. The station did allow Ryder five minutes of farewell airtime Wednesday, some of which he used, as anyone with a sense of dignity would, to rip station management for a toxic work environment and for its timing: "Our boss said, 'You know, there's never a good time for this.' No, but there *is* a bad time for this, and it's during a global pandemic." He signed off and then, apparently, was visited by "3 guys here to throw me out of the building." Which is how management treats employees where mutual respect isn't part of the programming. May a better job, and a better employer, await. Later Tuesday, country road warrior Zac Brown fought tears as he shared the news, via INSTAGRAM, that he had laid off most of his road crew of 15 years because "I can't generate out there and I can't tour." Brown described them as "family," and went on to do a public service announcement for social distancing and to throw in a few DIXIE CHICKSy thoughts about the government, which he's "ashamed" of. Brown's timing sucks, too, but the timing is why he had to do what he did. (He is, obviously, not alone.) I have no idea what his severance package looks like—I hope one exists—but I'm here for the humanity behind his announcement and his wider message: We're all in this together, like a family... Canceled culture: GLASTONBURY (canceled less than a week after defiantly announcing its lineup). EUROVISION. JAZZ FEST and BONNAROO both moved to the fall... RECORDING ACADEMY asks Congress for emergency aid for music makers... Critics at the NEW YORK TIMES and the LOS ANGELES TIMES reflect on the strange and infectious allure of live music, which used to exist... RIP JONTY SKRUFFF and MICKEY ATKINS. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator | | | | | | | i wanna live all alone in the desert | |  | Input | | Pay-for-play livestreams like No Jumper and CUFBOYS might be a valuable service for up-and-coming rappers - or just another music biz hustle. | | | |  | Trapital | | Square's mobile payment service teamed up with rappers to grow fast, use their influence, and acquire the right customers. | | | |  | Billboard | | "It's heartbreaking all around. You want to be mad, but who do you blame?" | | | |  | Austin 360 | | One year ago this month, during the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals, the blocks on Red River Street between 10th and Sixth streets, and on Sixth between Interstate 35 and Congress Avenue, were almost impossible to walk down quickly.Between about noon and midnight, it was jammed, such were the crowds of people, most of whom looked like they were having the time of their lives. | | | |  | Los Angeles Times | | A thief smashed a car window and took Anthony Parnther's bassoon, a gift from his late mother. "Sometimes people just don't realize what they've taken." | | | |  | Consequence of Sound | | The Vermont Democratic candidate has attracted endorsements from artists of all walks of life who support his grassroots movement. | | | |  | Stereogum | | Cardi B, currently in that awkward career phase between initial overexposure and whatever the next thing is, planned to be on to the next thing by now. Cardi's been talking about a new album sometime this year, and a new single sometime sooner than that. But right now, everything is up in the air - for Cardi, and for the rest of the world. | | | |  | Slate | | In more serene times, opera can be a little too much. Right now, it's a relief. | | | |  | Pitchfork | | "Jessie's Girl," "Here Comes Your Man," and more are flipped on their heads in a highly queer context. | | | | | Billboard | | To help music professionals and their loved ones navigate the crisis, Billboard has compiled a list of resources at both the national and state levels, including more than four dozen relief funds. | | | | | | | i wanna be like georgia o'keeffe | |  | 8Sided Blog | | It's reasonable to imagine a few different songwriters coming up with similar melodies. But should we consider that plagiarism? | | | |  | Message from the Underworld | | 13 ways of listening to indie rock with Michael Azerrad. | | | | | Pitchfork | | Without income or bailouts, clubs and DJs in the city are facing an existential threat: "I don't even know what jobs there will be at the end of this." | | | |  | Music Business Worldwide | | How are music streaming services faring in a COVID-19-hit world? | | | |  | The Guardian | | After an encounter with a KKK member in the 1980s, the accomplished pianist turned his focus to curing racism through education. | | | |  | Afropop Worldwide | | In September 2020, an important new American museum will open in Nashville, TN, an institution of particular interest to fans of Afropop Worldwide. The National Museum of African-American Music will be the nation's only museum specifically dedicated to the sounds, stories, and deep history of black music in the United States, and its impact around the world. | | | |  | Rolling Stone | | She might seem like a blank slate, but nobody makes this many brilliant records by accident. | | | | | Los Angeles Times | | Critic Mikael Wood has always hated classic-rock gods the Doors. With coronavirus time on his hands, a thought experiment: Can he learn to like them? | | | |  | Pollstar | | Artist Group International agent Nick Storch represents a substantial roster of artists including As I Lay Dying, Blue October, The Fever 333, Frank Turner, "Kidz Bop Live," Sevendust, Skinny Puppy, Underoath, Tiger Army, and just announced a rescheduled tour for Monster Magnet. An AGI veteran, he's seen his share of challenges, but nothing like the coronavirus pandemic gripping the globe. | | | |  | Penny Fractions | | One would be forgiven to assume that the music business and everyone in it is thriving if only reading glossy business press coverage over the last 24 months. But now a sudden breakdown of the live music industry is proving the fragility of this new model. | | | | |  | | YouTube | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | © Copyright 2020, The REDEF Group | | |
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