| We never really had this expectation of what exactly a band is, because none of us had ever officially done it before. | | | | |  | Mdou Moctar (third from left) with his band. "Afrique Victime" is out today on Matador.
(WH Moustapha/Matador Records) | | | | | "We never really had this expectation of what exactly a band is, because none of us had ever officially done it before." | | | | Don't Wanna See the Truth
At the end of the day, at the end of his long, quiet, contemplative (said he) winter, I figure MORGAN WALLEN had two basic choices.
One would be a slow, careful, contemplative return to a divided world that simultaneously shunned him and turned his album DANGEROUS into one of the most successful country albums of the century. Maybe starting with a small, sober event that could try to bridge that divide. A theater concert, say, in which he shares a stage with artists who were hurt by what he said on that unfortunate Nashville night. Maybe they play some songs of healing together. Maybe they just talk. Maybe he tells a story or two about what he's been reading and thinking and contemplating for the last three months, and then plays a song he wrote, alone in his house, that reflects on all that. A song of remorse and redemption. This is all celebrity forgiveness cliché, I know. With a little time and a little more thought, I have no doubt you, or Morgan Wallen, or Morgan Wallen's manager, could come up with something more original. They've had all those months to work on this. Anyway, maybe Wallen then reaches into his bag of hits and plays, oh, a slow, somber version of "WHISKEY GLASSES," a song about loss, a song about wanting to forget, and gives it a different read, a different meaning. "I can already see a big difference between 22-year-old me + 27-year-old me," he wrote in hand-written (I think?) cursive on social media not that long ago. This would be the "show" version of that "tell." Win back some of the fans he lost, if he's lucky. And show the fans who stuck by his side that he was worth sticking by. Win-win. America loves second chances, always has. Even, as the case may be here, third or fourth chances.
Or, Morgan Wallen could do this.
"An auspiciously inauspicious return to country music in the most mind-blowing manner possible," my friend MARCUS K. DOWLING writes. A return in which, before anyone could say "7 Summers," an "unprecedented era of good feeling" in country music "screeched to a halt." Read on.
And as a reminder: MusicSET: "This Is Not a Set About Morgan Wallen."
Pay Pals
"We're pleased to have a deal with Triller that embraces the importance of compensating our artists," UMG EVP JONATHAN DWORKIN says in a statement announcing the label's new deal with TRILLER, which ends a strange, icy standoff between giant music provider and upstart music user, and it's either a pro forma thing to say in a press release or a no-so-subtle dig at UMG's new partner. You know, your basic "thank you for recognizing that our artists get paid for what they do." The two companies' previous deal expired at the end of 2020, with Triller taking the odd position that it didn't actually need a deal to use UMG's music and UMG eventually taking the position that it should pull its catalog from the social video service. The standoff became particularly glaring in March, when Triller bought SWIZZ BEATZ and TIMBALAND's VERZUZ platform, an artist-run venture that couldn't exist without UMG music. "I'm sure Triller is aware and handling it," Swizz Beatz said at the time. "UMG, one would imagine, has just gained a smidgen more leverage" with Triller, I figured. All good now. Triller chairman BOBBY SARNEVESHT's spin: "These agreements ensure that artists and songwriters across Universal Music Group have full access to the global Triller ecosystem." As, presumably, does everyone else whom Triller is willing to pay.
Dot Dot Dot
The UNIVERSAL HIP HOP MUSEUM broke ground Thursday on what will be its permanent home in the music's birthplace, the Bronx. GRANDMASTER FLASH, LL COOL J, NAS and FAT JOE were on hand to do a little ceremonial shoveling. "There was a time," an emotional Grandmaster Flash said, "where nobody gave a f*** about the Bronx"... The EUROVISION grand final is Saturday. In the US, it airs on Peacock at 3pm ET... LAURIE ANDERSON plays songs from BIG SCIENCE at the (virtual) TINY DESK... Echoing a complaint from COCAINE & RHINESTONES podcaster TYLER MAHAN COE, I wrote in this space Thursday that "MR. FOOL" is among the GEORGE JONES tracks missing from SPOTIFY and APPLE MUSIC. But after a reader in Paris informed me it was available on Spotify there, I went back and double-checked and discovered that, while it is indeed missing from Spotify US, it can be found on TIDAL. So, good going Tidal; thank you Paris; apologies to everybody else for an incomplete story, and finally, to Spotify, Apple Music and LEGACY RECORDS: Please bring THE COMPLETE GEORGE JONES VOL. 2 to the good people of America. Thank you.
It's Friday
And that means new music from Tuareg guitar hero and activist MDOU MOCTAR, who, when he isn't touring the world and he's back home in Niger, "You can hire him to serenade your wedding or rent his car for a small fee, if you like." He'll likely have a little less time for that by the time the accolades stop pouring in for the Saharan classic rock of AFRIQUE VICTIME, his first album for U.S. indie label Matador... And the debut album from Disney star OLIVIA RODRIGO, who famously got her "DRIVERS LICENSE" and immediately drove across a giant bridge into the hearts of pop fans everywhere, and I do sincerely apologize for this entire sentence, but not for that magnificent single or for the pop superstardom waiting just around the corner... Japanese four-piece CHAI—whose band name should be HAIM's next album name—tosses rock, hip-hop, R&B, donuts and chocolate chips into a blender and turns it all into what you might call pop-friendly subversive smoothies... Detroit rapper 42 DUGG's first proper album after a much-hyped series of mixtapes (don't ask me what the difference is; just accept that anyone who needs to know, knows) features RODDY RICCH, LIL DURK and FUTURE... ERIKA DE CASIER evokes "the lush, big-budget era of R&B and pop music in the '90s and '00s on a whole lot smaller of a budget" on her second album, SENSATIONAL... Jazz trumpeter JAIMIE BRANCH and pop veteran PINK—whose artist name was in fact Chai's first album name—both have new concert films and accompanying soundtracks.
Plus: New music from YG & MOZZY, BENNY THE BUTCHER & 38 SPESH, ICEWEAR VEZZO, MACH-HOMMY, TWENTY ONE PILOTS, GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW, the TRAGICALLY HIP (surprise album featuring six previously unreleased tracks), ALLISON RUSSELL, BLAKE SHELTON, GARY LEVOX (of Rascal Flatts), PATRICK PAIGE II (of the Internet), ROBERT FINLEY, LULA WILES, GARY NUMAN, FACS, FIDDLEHEAD, YAUTJA, CHRISSIE HYNDE (Bob Dylan covers album), the DEVIL WEARS PRADA, GRIDFAILURE W/MAC GOLLEHON, MONSTER MAGNET, WADADA LEO SMITH/MILFORD GRAVES/BILL LASWELL, NNEENA FREELON, JAMES FRANCIS, the late RALPH PETERSON JR., ALEX CUBA, JUAN INGARAMO, JUANES, YOUNG M.A., SPOTEMGOTEM, FCG HEEM, MICKY DOLENZ (sings the songs of Michael Nesmith), WATERPARKS, COLLEEN, SUNROOF (Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones), LAMBCHOP, ROSS COPPERMAN, JOHN HIATT W/THE JERRY DOUGLAS BAND, PAULA COLE, REIGNING SOUND, MAT KEARNEY, MANNEQUIN PUSSY, LORD HURON, FLY PAN AM, the HELSINKI-COTONOU ENSEMBLE, STOREFRONT CHURCH, LYDIA AINSWORTH, NICHOLAS KRGOVICH and RICHARD FORD.
Rest in Peace
ROGER HAWKINS, drummer for the MUSCLE SHOALS RHYTHM SECTION, aka the SWAMPERS, which is to say, that's him on countless records by ARETHA FRANKLIN, WILSON PICKETT, the STAPLE SINGERS and so many others... Pioneering lesbian singer/songwriter ALIX DOBKIN... Japanese composer YOSHI WADA.
| | | | Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| | |  | | Medium |
| | On Colostomies, Country Music, And Morgan Wallen's Return | | by Marcus K. Dowling | | The s*** has hit the fan. | |  | | Real Life |
| | As You Were | | by Alexander Billet | | Algorithmically reanimating dead musicians to sing against their will. | |  | | Los Angeles Times |
| | Mexican corridos with a trap beat: The future of L.A. music might be Rancho Humilde Records | | by Suzy Exposito | | Rancho Humilde Records, headquartered in Downey, has become a trailblazer in Latin music by giving traditional Mexican corridos a hip-hop makeover. | |  | | Slate |
| | When Disney Secretly Repackaged Riot Grrrl | | by Alexandra Fiorentino-Swinton | | Radio Disney rock soundtracked a generation of teen angst. | |  | | Variety |
| | Will 5G and Web 3.0 Usher in a New Copyright Crisis for the Music Industry? | | by Mark Gillespie | | The prospect of another Napster moment looms. And it'll arrive sooner than most music execs think. | |  | | Dazed Digital |
| | Mdou Moctar: the shred star of the Sahara | | by Gabriel Szatan | | On the precipice of international success and new album "Afrique Victime," we meet the world's most uniquely thrilling guitarist at home in Niger, building wells and advocating anti-imperialism. | |  | | ELLE |
| | Kacey Musgraves Is In Her Feelings | | by Véronique Hyland | | The singer's latest high-wire act transforms heartbreak into high art. | |  | | Music Business Worldwide |
| | 'The basic dynamic between streaming services, artists and labels is still not what it needs to be' | | by Dave Roberts | | Jimmy Iovine tells us what he would do if he was running a major record company today. | |  | | NY Daily News |
| | 'Long overdue': Rap royalty gathers in the Bronx at groundbreaking ceremony for Hip Hop Museum | | by Cheyenne R. Ubiera and Larry McShane | | Hip hop, hooray. Rap royalty gathered in the Bronx for a Thursday groundbreaking of the Universal Hip Hop Museum in the genre's birthplace and home borough of rap icons like Grandmaster Flash, Slick Rick and Fat Joe. | |  | | Hollywood Reporter |
| | Quincy Jones Reflects on Career, Michael Jackson and Why He Wouldn't Work With Elvis | | by Seth Abramovitch | | The musical maestro inaugurates the THR Icon series with his famously candid takes on Hollywood racism and drug use, his formidable exes and his powerful Silicon Valley pals: "Richard Branson and Paul Allen and Elon are trying to get me to go with them to space." | | |  | | Condé Nast Traveler |
| | The Female Rappers Taking Up New Space in the Dominican Republic | | by Marjua Estevez | | The homegrown female MCs are mixing elements of freestyling, drill, trap, and dembow for a sound all their own. | |  | | The New York Times |
| | 'Before I Let Go' is a Black Anthem and the Song of Every Summer | | by Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris | | Today, we're talking about "Before I Let Go," by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, and the song's unique ability to gather and galvanize. It wasn't a huge hit when it came out in 1981, but it has become a unifying Black anthem and an unfailing source of joy. | |  | | Tape Op |
| | Tom Wilson: An Unsung Hero of the Studio | | by Ian Brennan | | That an African American man played a massive and pivotal role in three seminal musical forms seemingly dominated by Caucasian artists – folk rock, prog rock, and proto-punk – is one of the most tragically untold stories in popular music's history. | |  | | protocol |
| | How Spotify's Car Thing Became a Thing | | by Janko Roettgers | | Making hardware is hard, especially for companies with no prior expertise in consumer electronics. So when Spotify set out to develop Car Thing, its new automotive display device, it got help from outside experts. | |  | | Billboard |
| | Eurovision's Massive Audience Is Finally Getting Labels' Attention | | by Richard Smirke | | The Eurovision song contest - famous for introducing ABBA to the world - has become more attractive to major record labels because of its massive audience. | | | | Variety |
| | Columbia Records' 'A&R-Centric' Approach Takes Root in Newly Promoted Execs Luis Mota and Maria Arangio | | by Jordan Rose | | A&R executives Luis Mota and Maria Arangio spoke with Variety about their new positions, developing Lil Tjay and where they hope to take Columbia's A&R department in the future. | |  | | Guitar World |
| | Lily Cornell Silver: 'Mental health is such a ubiquitous issue in the music industry' | | by Alison Richter | | As part of a new GW series on mental health, the activist, musician and daughter of Chris Cornell discusses breaking down barriers with her Mind Wide Open interviews. | |  | | NPR |
| | Maryland Repeals State Song That Called Lincoln A 'Tyrant' | | by Scott Neuman | | A song alluding to Abraham Lincoln as a "tyrant" and a "despot" and to the Union as "Northern scum!" is no longer Maryland's official anthem after Gov. Larry Hogan this week approved its repeal — a move that some Republicans say is another example of "cancel culture." | |  | | DJ Mag |
| | How China's club scenes adapted to return post lockdown | | by Bruce Tantum | | After intensive, early lockdowns, China's events industry is gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels, with safety measures in place. Bruce Tantum speaks to DJs and clubs to hear how the scene has returned, with homegrown talent in the spotlight. | |  | | AL.com |
| | Swampers drummer, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio cofounder Roger Hawkins has died | | by Matt Wake | | Hawkins played on hits by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Bob Seger, many others. | |  | | VAN Magazine |
| | A Demonstration of a Physical Fact | | by Olivia Giovetti | | Listening to Alvin Lucier's "I Am Sitting in a Room" from a vaccination recovery room. | | | | | Music | Media | Sports | Fashion | Tech | | "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?'" | | |  | | | Jason Hirschhorn | | CEO & Chief Curator | | |  |
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