That was one of the unique things about Motown. There were no set hours to do anything. If you came up with something creative at three in the morning, you called everyone up and everybody would get in their cars and ride down to the studio on the spot and do it. | | | | Motown choreographer Cholly Atkins (left) with the Four Tops in the basement of the Apollo Theater, 1964.
(Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) | | | | | |  | "That was one of the unique things about Motown. There were no set hours to do anything. If you came up with something creative at three in the morning, you called everyone up and everybody would get in their cars and ride down to the studio on the spot and do it."
| | | | | | rantnrave:// On the eve of Super Bowl weekend, the RECORDING ACADEMY took a page from the NFL's playbook and announced a new initiative asking that anyone in a position to hire producers and engineers do so "only after considering a slate of candidates that includes at least two women." An impressive list of players including all the major labels and artists such as LADY GAGA, CARDI B, CHANCE THE RAPPER, QUINCY JONES and KEITH URBAN immediately said yes. Good. It's the first tangible result from the Academy's Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion, formed after the music industry's gender diversity shortcomings became appallingly obvious at last year's GRAMMY AWARDS. And it mirrors the football league's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for every head coaching and general manager vacancy. The NFL, which instituted its rule in 2003, has some clear advantages over the Recording Academy in making this work. For starters, it has actual enforcement power over its teams; the Academy can't tell Cardi B who can, and can't, produce her next single. And hiring a head coach or general manager is a lengthy process, with formal interviews, background checks, public scrutiny and millions of dollars at stake. I'm reasonably sure that's not how it works with, say, remix engineers. Still, how well the Rooney Rule has worked is a matter of debate. There's been little to prevent teams, for example, from interviewing random minority candidates they have no intention of seriously considering. A 2018 update to the rule requires teams to interview from a league-approved list of qualified candidates. The Academy, for its part, has created a website with links to help identify female producers and engineers, and is asking established producers to consider diversity when picking younger ones to mentor. Both good proactive steps. And hopefully first steps, not final steps... America, do you feel safer now that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has nabbed 21 SAVAGE, who it says is actually British and not American, and removed him from your streets? Will you sleep easier knowing that a rapper who featured footage of COLIN KAEPERNICK calling PRESIDENT TRUMP racist in his "NOTHIN NEW" video was deliberately targeted by federal authorities and arrested in his hometown, Atlanta, on the very day of an Atlanta Super Bowl that was being boycotted by major pop stars in solidarity with Kaepernick?... Atlantans GLADYS KNIGHT and CHLOE X HALLE did nice jobs with the national anthem and "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL," respectively, during the Super Bowl pre-game show. At halftime, non-Atlantans ADAM LEVINE and MAROON 5 offered shoutouts to their late manager, JORDAN FELDSTEIN, and SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, but not to the charged political and cultural moment they had inserted themselves into. It was almost as if, to paraphrase both the WASHINGTON POST and NEW YORK TIMES, they weren't there... ABC has ordered a dramatic pilot based on JOHN MAYER's song "THE HEART OF LIFE"... SIRIUSXM has completed its PANDORA acquisition... PLEDGEMUSIC is seeking a buyer... RIP ALEX BROWN, SANFORD SYLVAN, PAUL WHALEY, HAROLD BRADLEY, JORGE CASAS and TIM LANDERS. | | | - Matty Karas, curator | | | | | | | it won't all go the way it should | |  | GQ | | The trendy DIY teen hip-hop genre went from a goofy punch line to the preposterously lucrative engine driving a whole new golden age in the music biz. But, wow, is it messy. | | | |  | Rolling Stone | | This short-lived punk-meets-metal band spawned Pearl Jam, Mudhoney and Temple of the Dog. With their catalog newly reissued, the members look back on a pivotal underground moment. | | | |  | Noisey | | A group of rappers and producers are reimagining not just the sound of Los Angeles, but its slang, its fashion sense, and the cultural divide between blacks and latinos. | | | |  | Los Angeles Times | | Katy Perry, Cardi B, Ariana Grande and others have signed on to a sweeping inclusion initiative to address gender imbalance in the making of music. | | | |  | The Washington Post | | Just days remain before one Internet era ends and new one begins. For years, a Swedish YouTube star, Felix Kjellberg - better known as PewDiePie - has dominated the platform, running its most-subscribed channel and drawing tens of millions of devoted fans. | | | |  | Pitchfork | | On the heels of a No. 1 album, New York's most influential young rapper demands his respect. | | | |  | The Daily Beast | | "I want to be a villain. Villains never die. I'm a villain. F*** superheroes." | | | |  | Chicago Reader | | The cofounder of Chicago's Participatory Music Coalition talks about the improvisation and inspiration that shaped her new album, "The Oracle." | | | | | The Washington Post | | Adam Levine knows that there are only two ways to survive a Super Bowl halftime show in this day and age: Be unforgettable, or be entirely forgettable. | | | |  | NPR Music | | The gifted songwriter and singer wasn't a born superstar -- but became something of a sleeper hit on the strength of his singing, songwriting and history-making collaborations. | | | | | | | but i know the heart of life is good | |  | Music Business Worldwide | | The artist has teamed up with Bollywood composer Pritam for new single, BIBA. The track is being released worldwide on Artist Originals (AO) – the in-house record label of Spotify rival JioSaavn, which is one of India's biggest streaming services. | | | | | Los Angeles Times | | The rising rock combo, inspired by '70s arena acts, is an anomaly at the Grammys - a very young breakout band poised to sweep all the rock categories and perhaps even new artist. Is it a sign of a revival for the genre or evidence of Grammy's nostalgia hunger? | | | |  | Water & Music | | In countless conversations, I've heard people mention "Chance the Rapper" as shorthand for the potential of a world where technology empowers rather than cripples DIY artists in their fight to make a living and build a meaningful fanbase. | | | |  | The New York Times | | Harry Nilsson's "Gotta Get Up" appears at least 10 different times in Natasha Lyonne's darkly comic series. Here's why. | | | | | Rolling Stone | | Crichton, a veteran writer and producer, is credited on five different songs from 'DNA,' which debuted at Number One with 234,000 copies sold. | | | |  | 5 Magazine | | Would you DJ from SoundCloud? | | | |  | JAZZIZ Magazine | | Here are 21 artists we think will take jazz to new heights in 2019. Young and visionary, they're all linked by a desire to move the music forward, tugging the tradition along with them. | | | |  | CBS Sunday Morning | | The retired singer who struggles with Parkinson's has released her first-ever live album, from newly-uncovered tapes of a 1980 concert, recorded at the height of her vocal powers | | | |  | Clicky Steve | | There has been a recent trend of seemingly well-intentioned musicians taking to Twitter to engage with critics of the seriously flawed Copyright Directive, and in particular Article 13. Whatever the content of their arguments, it almost inevitably boils down to some kind of accusation that whoever disagrees with them is 'just an academic', a 'big tech apologist', or someone that doesn't understand or appreciate what it's like to be an independent musician. | | | |  | The Guardian | | On the eve of their first album in four decades, 2 Tone's finest talk to Miranda Sawyer and, further down, answer questions from readers and famous fans. | | | | |  | | YouTube | | | | | | | | | | | A minimalist masterpiece from late in their Motown run. | | | | | | | | © Copyright 2019, The REDEF Group | | |
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