jason hirschhorn's @MusicREDEF: 08/27/2018 - Spacing Out at Afropunk, Boston Meet New Edition, Rappers Giving Away Money, Wayne Shorter, Sia, MJ...

Actually, do you mind if we don't? I have a lot of queer and Mexican fans, and I don't want them to think that I support your views. Is this interest remix not displaying correctly? | View it in your browser. Youthman at Afropunk Brooklyn, Aug. 25, 2018. (Jason Mendez/Getty Images) Monday - August 27, 2018 Mon - 08/27/18 "Actually, do you mind if we don't? I have a lot of queer and Mexican fans, and I don't want them to think that I support your views." -  Sia, politely rejecting Donald Trump's request for a photo backstage at "Saturday Night Live" in 2015 rantnrave:// I am happily reminded every August that AFROPUNK, in addition to being a safe space for a well curated rainbow of black musical expression, is also a safe space for a self-curated community of 30,000 people to sprout into existence. This is music not just as beats and melodies, but as positive sociopolitical force. "We're gonna celebrate the things that make us unique even if it makes other mother***ers uncomfortable," JANELLE MONÁE said by way of introducing "I LIKE THAT" during her Sunday night set. If people being comfortable with each other makes other people uncomfortable, then so be it. The crowd at BROOKLYN's COMMODORE BARRY PARK this year, as always, was heavily African-American and probably as close to 50/50 male/female as a major festival gets. (The same mix was reflected onstage as well.) The vibe was people making space for each other. Space to dance, space to strut, space at the TRADING RACES card table, space to jump rope, space in the dumplings line, space to listen. Space to listen to hard rap from DENZEL CURRY, pillowy R&B from MAHALIA, metallic rock from the FEVER 333, three hours of house from THEO PARRISH, and 40 other flavors of rock, rap and soul while a peaceful army of men dressed as T'CHALLA (OK, I saw four over the course of the weekend) sauntered by. Space to make space for everybody else. This is the America I want to live in. This is the America that music could help harmonize into existence. This is the America that still can be... In the strange legal saga of SONY MUSIC vs. MICHAEL JACKSON FAN who's pretty sure some of the lead vocals on that posthumous MJ album aren't actually MJ, the most interesting/telling thing is what Sony hasn't said. The four-year-old civil case blew up on the internet Friday. Given a choice of saying "Yo, shut up, that's Michael Jackson's voice" or "Sorry, no comment, this is an ongoing court case," the label instead went with, "No one has conceded that Michael Jackson did not sing on the songs." In other words: "Did you steal that candy bar?" "Well, I haven't said that I did." OK then. Shamone... A newspaper reviewer in Tampa, Fla., mentions that [Name of Band Recently Inducted Into Rock Hall of Fame] paid tribute to ARETHA FRANKLIN by scrolling photos of her on a video screen during a guitar solo. The guitarist's publicist writes an email to the reviewer a few hours later with a curious complaint: "You said that the band scrolled photos of the late Aretha Franklin. The tribute was done solo by [Name of Guitarist] himself. Can you please change the word band to he?" The guitarist writes to the reviewer, too: "The correct way to say (it is) [Name of Band]'s [Name of Guitarist] did the tribute to Aretha Franklin. That would be honest journalism of what it was and is." Honestly. What was and what is, for real. If you haven't figured out who the band is yet, here you go... Are streaming services too family-friendly?... EVENTBRITE is IPO'ing... NICKI MINAJ has added IRVING AZOFF to her impressive enemies list... RIP KYLE PAVONE, MR. BONGO, LINDSAY KEMP, DJ READY RED, CARLOS DENOGEAN and SPIRIT. - Matty Karas, curator if the world should end tonight Boston Magazine Why Doesn't Boston Give New Edition Their Due? by G. Valentino Ball Forget New Kids on the Block-New Edition is the greatest pop group Boston has ever produced. So 40 years after they rocketed out of Roxbury, why don't they get their due in their own hometown? Complex Why Are Rappers Giving Away Money on Cash App? We Asked Lil B by Shawn Setaro The Based God has been sharing dough with his fans recently. Here's why. Rolling Stone How 'Grand Theft Auto' Is Changing the Way the World Experiences Music by Brian Crecente In the five years since launch, GTA V and GTA Online gamers have listened to more than 75 billion minutes of music, according to Rockstar Games. The Atlantic A Pop Star, a Protest, and a Likely Case of Torture in Uganda The singer-turned-legislator Bobi Wine disappeared into government custody more than a week ago. When he re-emerged, he could barely stand up. The Daily Beast Do I Remember the '68 DNC Riots? Dude, I Played Them by Wayne Kramer The writer was the lead guitarist of MC5, which played for the protesters in Lincoln Park. He once thought that five decades later, we'd be farther along. Chicago Reader How the 1968 DNC protests in Chicago 'killed' protest folk singer Phil Ochs by Ryan Smith Fifty years ago, Phil Ochs performed at the bloody and chaotic protests in Lincoln Park and left a changed and broken man. Billboard Meet the Company Preparing to Be the Last CD Distributor Standing by Ed Christman With streaming's momentum accelerating, Alliance Entertainment -- the largest U.S. wholesaler of physical music -- has no choice but to take a contrarian approach. The New Yorker The World's Greatest Living Jazz Composer Celebrates His Eighty-fifth Birthday by Ethan Iverson On a milestone birthday, a look back at 1964, a pivotal year in the career of Wayne Shorter. Rolling Stone How Sia Saved Herself by Hillel Aron Before she could have a career unlike any other pop star, she had to learn how to live. The New York Observer Did Sony Make and Sell Fake Michael Jackson Songs? The Answer Isn't Black or White by Helen Holmes The saga keeps getting weirder. i had a crazy, classic life Billboard Jane's Addiction's 'Nothing's Shocking': The Oral History of the Album That Made Them Stars (But Almost Broke Them Up First) by Joel Keller Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins, Eric Avery and producer Dave Jerden look back on the origins of Jane's Addiction and the group's influential debut album, "Nothing's Shocking," which was released 30 years ago. BuzzFeed News Mitski Is Much More Than Another Sad Asian American Girl by Zoe Hu When I first heard Mitski's songs, I recoiled from what seemed like pining frailty. Now I see how radical her angst is. The Tennessean She dreamed of becoming a country music star. Then came the cyberbullying by Anita Wadhwani Katy Summers dreamed of moving to Nashville to be a country music star. But at 16 she committed suicide after relentless cyberbullying. Motherboard You Could Be Kicked Offline For Piracy If This Music Industry Lawsuit Succeeds by Karl Bode And the evidence "proving" your guilt could be little more than fluff and nonsense. Okayplayer Ms. Lauryn Hill's Last Reprieve: In Defense of Legacy by Ivie Ani It's time we examine how Lauryn Hill's superstar underdog story transitioned into an unfair tale of music's hero-turned-villain. Los Angeles Times Is Nicki Minaj OK? Like, really ... by Libby Hill Nicki Minaj has been making headlines all week as controversy swirls around her new album, her upcoming tour and her beef with a baby, leading some to wonder: Darling Nicki, are you OK? PopMatters Touring with the Replacements: A Roadie's POV by John L. Murphy The writing in "Lemon Jail" is at times as anarchic as a tour, occasionally bordering on incoherent. Village Voice Death Cab for Cutie's Prodigal Songwriter Comes Home by Ilana Kaplan 'We're in the right area of the country for where I should be living,' says Ben Gibbard. 'I think that comes out in the music.' Marketing Week How Spotify built its in-house creative team by Sarah Vizard When Spotify's brand chief joined five years ago the plan wasn't to build an in-house creative function; she now manages a team of 90 but still believes external perspectives are crucial. Los Angeles Times At the Rainbow, L.A. metal fans remember singer Jill Janus of Huntress by August Brown After the acclaimed vocalist took her own life this month, fans gathered to share stories and their favorite hard-hitting songs. MUSIC OF THE DAY YouTube "Alright" Devin Dare "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?'" — @JasonHirschhorn REDEF, Inc. 25 Broadway, 5th Floor New York, NY 10014 redef.com YOU DON'T GET IT? Subscribe Unsubscribe/Manage My Subscription FOLLOW REDEF ON © Copyright 2018, The REDEF Group