The pandemic did for us and there was nothing more to it than that. | | | | Philadelphia freedom: Juice WRLD at the Made in America festival, Philadelphia, Aug. 31, 2019.
(Kevin Mazur/Getty Images) | | | | | |  | "The pandemic did for us and there was nothing more to it than that."
| | | | | | rantnrave:// Toxic shock: Southern California indie-rock label, record store and festival promoter BURGER RECORDS, citing its own "culture of toxic masculinity," announced Monday that one of its two founders has left the label and divested his interest and the other has been demoted to a "transitional role." The label is also starting a women-only imprint, promising to create safe spaces for women at its events and, for some reason, shortening its name to BRGR RECS. This is why. Whether the personnel shakeup and promises will be enough to even begin to address what the label, the store and nine Burger bands have been accused of by multiple women including the frontwomen of the bands the REGRETTES and SLOPPY JANE—"toxic masculinity" is an astonishing understatement for what they've been accused of—remains to be seen though it's hard, at this point, to see how it can be. For now, perhaps there's a lesson for other labels and bands in indie-rock, a scene where similar accusations have become far too common in recent years. Root it out and address it before nine bands, a store and a label can all stand accused. Before a toxic incident grows into a toxic culture. Before everyone on INSTAGRAM knows. Root it out now. Please... Add Q magazine to the growing list of music publications and websites that won't survive the pandemic. Editor TED KESSLER announced Monday, via tweet, that the retrospective issue of the British mag that hits newsstands next week will be its last, ending a 34-year-run. Q, which made its name on classic rockers and their '80s and '90s heirs, had pivoted in recent years to more current coverage, but the pandemic doesn't care about that. The news comes on the heels of announcements of significant cuts across the editorial departments at the GUARDIAN and VOX MEDIA, which aren't directed specifically at cultural coverage but will absolutely affect it. Among those losing their jobs at Vox: the VERGE's DANI DEAHL, whose reporting on the business and technology of music is as good as it gets, and which a thousand SUBSTACK newsletters can't easily replace; budgets and time and editorial organization matters. A number of other music titles have disappeared, gone on hiatus or deeply downsized in the past few months, part of an accelerating trend across media in general. This newsletter, obviously, is greatly indebted to their work. The music business is, too, not just for the obvious synergies but for the light that work shines on the walls, ceilings and doors all around them... Another rock music mag, which published its last issue in 2008 (remember *that* recession?), is returning not as a magazine or website but as a film and TV production brand. There's a live-event component, too, to the revived HIT PARADER brand, which is being run by ASH AVILDSEN, JOSH BERNSTEIN and our friend MATT PINFIELD, who'll handle artist relations and co-host a music competition show called NO COVER. Is 2020 an insane time to start a business like this? Or is there a weird genius in reviving a brand that died 12 years ago just to pivot away from the only thing it ever did? Wishing you luck, guys... The BLACK MADONNA is now the BLESSED MADONNA... SPOTIFY will not provide a safe space for your racist song about ZAYN MALIK. The song appears to have been wiped from APPLE MUSIC, too... This is a probably terrible future-of-music idea from ELON MUSK. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator | | | |  | Consequence of Sound | | Members of bands including The Growlers, The Frights, The Buttertones, SWMRS, and Cosmonauts have been accused of abuse and predatory behavior. | | | |  | Rolling Stone | | He's sued Ed Sheeran, Juice WRLD, and Travis Scott, and incited controversy by winning the infamous "Blurred Lines" case -- but the attorney insists he's the one in the right. | | | |  | The New Yorker | | In the nineteen-seventies, you would see crime, drugs, and dead bodies on the infamous strip; you might also spot Debbie Harry, Mick Jagger, or the founding members of Talking Heads. (Excerpted from "Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina," by Chris Frantz.) | | | |  | NPR Music | | Nashville has rigid hierarchy of success - particularly when it comes to artists promoting themselves and ascending the city's ladder. And then came a virus. | | | |  | Under the Radar | | Throughout the history of American art, there are certain people everyone knows by a single name: Madonna, Beyoncé. Others, like Slash or Prince, are known for their catchy given nicknames. But the artist that takes the proverbial cake with a nickname above all nicknames is the one and only breaker, Crazy Legs. | | | |  | The Guardian | | Q went where other titles were too cool to tread, championing old icons of pop and rock. But it was a victim of its own success -- and a changing world. | | | |  | 3:AM Magazine | | When I started writing my latest novel, "Dead Rock Stars," I had no idea how influential the cheaply printed music weeklies from the nineties were on my writing style. | | | |  | Music Business Worldwide | | Keep your eye on this one. | | | |  | Stereogum | | When Jack Harlow was 12 years old, he decided that he wanted to become the best rapper in the world. He didn't know how he'd do it, so he went the natural route: He asked his mom what to do. | | | |  | The Players' Tribune | | I've learned that a fundamental part of my anatomy is this: I have a relentless drive. | | | | | Rolling Stone | | Four years ago, Atlanta's Dominique Jones got out of prison and learned to rap. Now, he's a superstar who's streaming in the billions and helping to shape a new vision for America. | | | |  | Variety | | The Seattle grunge scene of the 1980s and early '90s suffered no shortage of press coverage in its heyday, and has seen no shortage of books attempting to grapple with its legacy. | | | |  | Paste Magazine | | Artists who stayed silent during the recent Black Lives Matter protests left Black fans wondering if they were welcome. | | | |  | The New York Times | | More than four months after his last public performance, the Grammy-winning artist Bill Charlap played at a storied Pennsylvania club, a glimpse into what may be the new normal for musicians. | | | |  | Vulture | | "I'm striving to address anti-Black racism within media," says host Ty Harper. | | | |  | The Forty-Five | | Digital pop stars are shaking up the music industry, but what does that mean for authenticity, accessibility and pop music post-pandemic? | | | |  | Texas Monthly | | A viral smash on TikTok, the song is part of a club music lineage that exists for the sole purpose of getting people moving. | | | |  | JazzTimes | | Listening to a jazz classic on the viral frontlines. | | | | | The Guardian | | As K-pop grows, international fans and those writing and producing songs want the industry to to develop a more sensitive understanding of race. | | | |  | And The Writer Is... | | Our guests this week are two Grammy Award-winning artists, songwriters and musicians who were members of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Despite great success, the band members never lost track of their core values-remaining outspoken in their views about political, social, and environmental issues, and never wavering when it came to artistic integrity. | | | | |  | | YouTube | | | | | | | | Esperanza Spalding (with the Pacific Crest Jazz Orchestra) | | | | | | | | | | | © Copyright 2020, The REDEF Group | | |
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