Year in Music, 'Poo Roadie,' Jay-Z at 50, Grimes, Lana Del Rey, Shabaka Hutchings, Roscoe Mitchell...

There are consistent aspects and techniques that are part of African and African American music... Rakim will tell you about taking John Coltrane's phrasing. Donald Harrison talks about how Biggie Smalls would come to his house, who in turn got a lot of his phrasing from Max Roach... The music may not sound or look like what came one or two generations before it, but when you strip off the layers of the moment, the core is the same.
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Go away, can't you see I'm listening to music right now?
(Cyndi Monaghan/Getty Images)
Wednesday - December 04, 2019 Wed - 12/04/19
rantnrave:// JAY-Z turns 50 today. That's the tweet, as they say. I have nothing more. But others might... December is the new January, which means it's now safe to talk about 2019 in the past tense. It was a year of blockbusters unexpected (shoutout LIL NAS X and LIZZO) and not so unexpected (hi BILLIE EILISH) and critical breakthroughs (BIG THIEF, CLAIRO) and bolts of pop lightning (DABABY, 100 GECS) and all the normal things that happen in a normal pop year. Time to start summing it up, ballot by ballot by ballot till we can't no more. MusicSET: "Best Music of 2019: The Year in Lists"... In a year in which music and arts publications and websites continued to disappear like golf balls in a lake, it's worth celebrating the fearless editors and publishers undertaking the quixotic quest of starting new ones. Like MAGGOT BRAIN, a quarterly print-only zine whose premiere issue is out this week with ALICE COLTRANE on the cover and J DILLA, MIA ZAPATA and DANIEL JOHNSTON in the index. Cheers to publisher THIRD MAN RECORDS and editor MIKE MCGONIGAL for producing a zine that seems to understand what the word "zine" actually means. Cheers also to JERMAINE HALL, who tops the masthead on the new MEDIUM vertical LEVEL, which is aimed at black and brown men of a certain age and isn't strictly a music publication but has plenty of music in both its masthead and its initial slate of articles, including one of those Jay-Z pieces linked above and BUN B writing about "How I Aged Gracefully in Hip-Hop"... A federal judge has ordered UNIVERSAL MUSIC to hand over evidence of losses, or potential losses, in the 2008 warehouse fire on the UNIVERSAL STUDIOS lot to lawyers representing SOUNDGARDEN, STEVE EARLE and the estates of TUPAC SHAKUR and TOM PETTY. The lawyers aren't just looking for what their own clients lost. They want to "identify all artists with master recordings that UMG claimed, asserted, or implied in any prior litigation, in any insurance dispute, or in connection with settlements of litigation or insurance disputes, were, or may have been, damaged or lost in, by, or as a result of the June 1, 2008 fire." Which sounds like a lot. Then again, the company has had 11 years to work on this... CAPITOL RECORDS has a new president, JEFF VAUGHN, and SPOTIFY has a new Head of Global Hits (that's actually the job title), NED MONAHAN... OPRAH WINFREY is producing a documentary for APPLE TV+ about a "former music executive who grapples with whether to go public with her story of assault by a notable figure in the music industry." Advance materials for the film don't name either figure... The WHO will perform in Cincinnati next April for the first time since 11 fans were killed in a stampede before a show at the RIVERFRONT COLISEUM 40 years ago this week.
- Matty Karas, curator
hard knock life
Rolling Stone
A Medical Mystery Almost Ended His Band. Then He Found a 'Poo Roadie'
by Jon Blistein
Boy & Bear's Dave Hosking was doubled-over, disoriented and depressed until fecal transplants gave him his health and his music back.
Level
Jay-Z at 50: The GOAT Got His Billi. Now What?
by Bonsu Thompson
Shawn Carter has rewritten the playbook and outgrown men twice his age. Does a billionaire have anything left to prove?
REDEF
REDEF MusicSET: Best Music of 2019: The Year in Lists
by Matty Karas
When we all fell asleep in 2016, where did we go? To the old town road, that's where. Our annual running list of top 10s, top 40s, top 50s and top whatevers from around the music universe.
Music Business Worldwide
Are TikTok and Bytedance about to become a real problem for Spotify?
by Tim Ingham
Three reasons why Bytedance's new service may pose a real threat to the world's No.1 audio streaming platform.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Is classical music ahead of the streaming curve?
A top music executive says music streaming services should diversify by genre. Two classical music companies are kicking off that trend.
Interview Magazine
Grimes, In Conversation with Lana Del Rey and Brit Marling
by Lana Del Rey and Brit Marling
Ahead of her new album, the enigmatic pop star has so much on her mind that it took two of her friends to help her unpack it all.
Clash Magazine
Shabaka Hutchings In Conversation With Art Ensemble Of Chicago's Roscoe Mitchell
Talking composition, travel, and the vacuity of musical labels.
The Commercial Appeal
This Rhodes College professor became the expert voice in Lil Nas X, 'Old Town Road' debate
by Bob Mehr
Four years ago, when Rhodes College professor Charles Hughes published his book "Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South," he had no idea that his academic history would become part of 2019's hottest pop culture debate. 
The Washington Post
Linda Ronstadt never stopped singing
by Ellen McCarthy
The rock legend thrived on control before an illness took away her voice. That was the end for us, but not for her.
Music Business Association
An Update on the Direct Shot Distribution Crisis Ahead of the Holiday Season
by Carl Mello, Justin Johnson and Steve Harkins
In 2019, product distribution from the major labels was consolidated to one company, Direct Shot Distribution. Thjis has severely crippled the supply chain to indie stores, who across the board have reported new releases missing street dates, incomplete shipments, deliveries where the amount of product exceeds what was ordered, altogether missing shipments, and more.
can't knock the hustle
Rolling Stone
The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s
by Jon Dolan, Brittany Spanos, Simon Vozick-Levinson...
Pop felt more ambitious than ever, voices from the margins broke through in every genre and great records kept coming at us from every direction.
The Music Business Journal
In Hindsight: The Music Modernization Act
by Emilia Walasik
On October 11, 2018, the Music Modernization Act (MMA) was officially signed into law. Musicians, songwriters, and industry leaders fought hard alongside lawmakers for this legislation, which promises to make several necessary adjustments to copyright law.
Level
How I Aged Gracefully in Hip-Hop
by Bun B
Going from being fixated on good green and syrup to obsessed with rooting for my granddaughter at her cheerleading competitions.
MTV News
These Rising Artists And Creatives Are Envisioning A Women-Led Future In Music
by Stephanie Smith-Strickland
Kiya Lacey, DJ Ohso, Tygapaw, Diamond and Princess, and Yung Baby Tate share how the industry can support women in 2020 and beyond.
Hollywood Reporter
Universal Music Group Can't Pause Discovery in Backlot Fire Lawsuit
by Ashley Cullins
The record label says the masters of Tupac Shakur, Tom Petty and Steve Earle weren't destroyed in the 2008 blaze - but that's not enough for a California federal judge.
Music Business Worldwide
Spinal Tap's UMG case might be over, but Vivendi is not off the hook yet
by Murray Stassen
Case against StudioCanal 'seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages.'
Los Angeles Times
Among top original song Oscar contenders, there's a trio of unusual writers and an old pro
by Michael OrdoΓ±a
Three of the Oscar-contending original songs -- from the films 'Wild Rose,' 'Harriet,' 'Always Be My Maybe' -- were co-written by actors
Complex
More Than Rap: Atlanta's Burgeoning Alternative Scene
by Seamus Fay
Adjacent to the new age of Atlanta hip-hop is a buzzing alternative scene, with artists blending rock, soul, R&B, pop, and electronic in unique ways.
Highsnobiety
Russian Rap: How Artists Are Navigating Its Complex Politics
by Natasha Frid
The summer I lived in Russia, I was convinced that contemporary Russian music consisted solely of repetitive house beats alongside lyrics recalling some dramatic event on the dance floor.
Soundfly
Samples and Interpolations… On Resistance, Rockism, and Reanimation
by Daniel Martin
An OpEd on the historical progression of sampling and interpolating music to modern popular creative ends and how context plays an important role.
MUSIC OF THE DAY
YouTube
"Please Don't Kill Me"
Kassa Overall ft. Joel Ross & Theo Croker
"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


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