| Toni Morrison and Samuel Delany both say they write novels they'd like to read but cannot find. In humbler moments I imagine Burnt Sugar my self-pleasuring answer to the void. I invented a band I wanted to hear but could not find. Three guitars two drummers two basses a flute one trumpet one alto two cellos one violin three singers acoustic piano synths turntables triangles laptops optional and a partridge family in a pear tree. | | | | |  | Greg Tate (right) conducting Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber during Winter Jazzfest, New York, Jan. 10, 2009.
(Hiroyuki Ito/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) | | | | | "Toni Morrison and Samuel Delany both say they write novels they'd like to read but cannot find. In humbler moments I imagine Burnt Sugar my self-pleasuring answer to the void. I invented a band I wanted to hear but could not find. Three guitars two drummers two basses a flute one trumpet one alto two cellos one violin three singers acoustic piano synths turntables triangles laptops optional and a partridge family in a pear tree." | | | | Q&A
The bottom line of TRAVIS SCOTT's nearly hourlong interview with CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, the first substantial interview Scott has granted since the tragedy at ASTROWORLD a month ago, is that Scott didn't realize what was going on in front of him until his set was over, and no one asked him to end his set before he did, and he had nothing to do with the logistics of the festival—that's the job of "professionals," not "artists"—and he, like everyone else, would like to find out exactly what happened, and why, that night.
If one of the 10 people who died was my child or sibling or parent, I'd be livid. And they are.
I've written in this space that I don't believe TRAVIS SCOTT is primarily to blame for the deaths at Astroworld, even though it was his festival, even though he was onstage when the festival turned into a nightmare, even though his talent for whipping crowds into frenzies is one of his calling cards. I still believe that. Experts say crowd crushes are generally the result of structural issues and crowd-management shortcomings, not something a single performer or single moshing fan says or does. And they can be prevented with good planning and strong safety protocols.
But that doesn't mean everyone else is automatically blameless. It doesn't absolve anyone of the need for self-reflection and self-examination. "Sorry, but it's not my fault" isn't what any of the survivors of Astroworld need to hear today, or ever, from the man they were there to see.
Especially if he doesn't quite use the word "sorry."
Charlamagne: "How much do you feel a sense of responsibility for what happened that night?"
Scott: "Well, you know, fans come to the show to have a good experience. And I have a responsibility to figure out what happened here. I have a responsibility to figure out the solution."
Charlamagne (trying again a half-hour later): "Who does Travis Scott ultimately think is responsible for this tragedy?"
Scott: "It's crazy 'cause something tragic happened here, and what I've just been trying to get to the bottom of is just what happened here, how it happened here, and I think the families are owed that, I feel like the community is owed that, I feel like we're owed that to just know what happened here."
The questions were softballs, from as friendly an interviewer as Scott will face. The answers, no matter how lawyered-up they may have been, were astoundingly evasive and lacking in self-reflection and empathy. "We're owed that"? No. The man who staged the festival, the man who was *on* stage at the festival, isn't owed. He owes. He doesn't need to accept the literal blame for 10 deaths and hundreds of injuries, for which he and his Astroworld partners are facing lawsuits seeking more than $10 billion, but he does need to accept a piece of the responsibility for what happened at his show, on his watch. There's a difference.
He needs to acknowledge the pain and hear the questions. And to figure out a way to answer them, not in a courtroom, but out here in the world, where the pain is present and real.
It's Friday
And that means new music, finally, from kinda sorta but not quite the WRENS. OBSERVATORY is the debut from AEON STATION, aka the Wrens' Kevin Whelan backed by two of his three former bandmates. It features songs originally intended for the Wrens' never-finished fourth album, which was more or less responsible for the beloved indie-rock band's unhappy demise. It's an album, Whelan told the New York Times, about "when you find the strength to get on with your life"... FIGHTING DEMONS is the second posthumous album from JUICE WRLD. It follows the chart-topping 2020 album "Legends Never Die" and features Justin Bieber, Polo G and BTS' Suga... THE DREAMING is the second English-language album from K-pop juggernaut MONSTA X. It's also the title of a documentary/concert film/press kit playing in theaters globally this weekend... There are two versions of each song on ALICIA KEYS' double album KEYS. The first half of the album is self-produced with what she calls "laidback piano vibes"; the second half features upbeat "unlocked" versions co-produced by Mike Will Made-It... Jazmine Sullivan, 21 Savage, Future and Benny the Butcher are among the guests on RICHER THAN I EVER BEEN, the 11th album by RICK ROSS, who, for what it's worth, would like to buy the Miami Heat in the near future... NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE made a record in a barn in Colorado with no headphones and lots of microphone bleed, what else would you expect them to do?... MOSES SUMNEY recorded LIVE FROM BLACKALACHIA outdoors in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which is basically the same thing... (Sumney's and Young's albums, as you'll see from those two links, each has an accompanying film, too)... KEYBOARD FANTASIES REIMAGINED is songs from BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND's 1986 cult classic "Keyboard Fantasies" remixed and/or remade by Arca, Bon Iver, Julia Holter and others.
Plus new music from TIERRA WHACK (EP released Thursday), JLIN, WIZ KHALIFA/CARDO GOT WINGS/SLEDGREN, FLEET FOXES (live album recorded a year ago at Brookyn's Holy Trinity Church), BEACH HOUSE, MICHAEL HURLEY, JEFF PARKER, BIG BOI & SLEEPY BROWN, PNB ROCK, NEVILLE STAPLE (of the Specials), TEEN DAZE, NICOLE ATKINS, BILL CALLAHAN & BONNIE PRINCE BILLY, NICK MURPHY AND THE PROGRAM, ZIEMBA, SAM GENDEL, MORDOM, KITTEN, DELAY, LONEY HUTCHINS (Johnny Cash associate's unreleased 1970s demos), JACK ENDINO, VADO, SAN FERMIN, BEATRICE DEER, TORY LANEZ and SPELL SONGS.
Rest in Peace
STEVE BRONSKI, co-founder of Bronski Beat... Compton rapper SLIM 400, at least the 23rd hip-hop artist murdered in the US in 2021... Puerto Rican salsa singer PAQUITO GUZMÁN... RALPH TAVARES, one of the four brothers who founded the '70s R&B group Tavares... Detroit DJ CHARLES ENGLISH.
| | | |  | | CNN |
| | James Brown said the CIA spied on him. The CIA won't say | | by Thomas Lake | | The Godfather of Soul said the federal government surveilled him, but CIA officials won't comment. A CNN investigation sheds light on Brown's intriguing relationship with the US government--including his interactions with the White House through eight presidencies. | |  | | Los Angeles Times |
| | A bittersweet escape for Afghans from a music school gone silent | | by Nabih Bulos and Marcus Yam | | A music institute in Kabul is one of the many victims of the Taliban's triumph. Now in exile, here are the budding musicians behind Afghanistan's world-renowned all-female orchestra. | |  | | YouTube |
| | A Conversation with Travis Scott and Charlamagne Tha God | | by Charlamagne Tha God and Travis Scott | | Charlamagne Tha God and Travis Scott in his first interview since the tragedies at the Astroworld Festival. During this open conversation, Scott goes in depth about the events that occurred on November 5th and how he wants to ensure it never happens again. | |  | | Billboard |
| | The Grammys' New Guard on 'Big, Bold Changes' In the Recording Academy's Future | | by Melinda Newman | | On Grammy night, they're under the spotlight. But the academy's leadership is working tirelessly and — despite some growing pains — progressing toward stability and much-needed evolution. | |  | | Defector |
| | You Don't Need Permission For Joy | | by Diana Moskovitz | | You are under no obligation to like BTS' music. You don't have to scream and plunge belly-first into a giant body of water you are seeing for the first time, either. But if something fires in your head that points you in that direction, I think it is advisable to listen to it, whether it is telling you to rush into the surf or buy a light stick and scream along with song lyrics. | |  | | Appetite for Distraction |
| | How Web3 Redefines Labour, Capital, and Fandom in Music | | by Yash Bagal | | Notes on the power of 1000 invested fans. | |  | | NPR |
| | 'I don't think about the dance floor': Jlin's complicated rhythms | | by Phil Harrell | | Electronic composer Jlin warps percussion and other-worldly sounds into a fascinating, challenging collage. On a new album, she also gets a bit more... straightforward. | |  | | Dweller |
| | The Technosonic of Black Expressionism | | by Reg Zehner | | At night, you can feel the bass from down the block. One night it is a consistent hypnotic thump. Other nights, it's rhythmic and dynamic— rising or falling in a moment's notice. The songs stretch across crowds and spaces, past and present. | |  | | The FADER |
| | Alicia Keys on creative breakthroughs and the meaning of home | | by Alex Robert Ross and Alicia Keys | | On the latest episode of The Fader Interview podcast, Alex Robert Ross talks to Alicia Keys about her latest album, "KEYS." | |  | | Guitar World |
| | The story of Africa's guitar god Dr. Nico, the Congolese innovator admired by Jimi Hendrix | | by Alan Di Perna | | By the time 'Clapton is God' graffiti was appearing on London walls, Africa had found a new deity of guitar, and his name was Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay. | | |  | | The Washington Post |
| | Neil Young made 'Barn,' his new album, in a barn | | by Geoff Edgers | | There was a full moon the night before. Neil Young, always attuned to the lunar calendar, headed with his dogs to the barn to meet with his bandmates that summer day. As he walked, framed by the Rockies, a new idea for a song popped into his head. | |  | | Pitchfork |
| | Ambient Jazz's Quiet, Forceful Return | | by Philip Sherburne | | In 2021, works by Pharoah Sanders and Floating Points, Nala Sinephro, Nicolás Jaar, and others furthered a contemplative sound that's impossible to ignore. | |  | | Complex |
| | What Does 'Underground Rap' Mean Today? | | by Andre Gee | | It's changed over the years as hip-hop has evolved. | |  | | Vulture |
| | Inside the Extremely Unfunny War Between Comedians and Spotify | | by Dan Reilly | | "For them to then pull down our work, it's so nasty. It's so corporate. It's so 'F*** you.'" | |  | | Music Business Worldwide |
| | Meet the organization that's distributed over $250m in mechanical royalties to rightsholders this year | | by Murray Stassen | | The Music Modernization Act "fundamentally changed how DSPs license the music they make available on their platforms and how rightsholders are paid for those uses of their music," explains Kris Ahrend, CEO of The Mechanical Licensing Collective. | | | | Complex |
| | A Luxurious Drive Through New York With Rick Ross | | by Jessica McKinney | | Rick Ross just took a bite out of an ice cream sandwich that he got for free from a food truck promoting Wu-Tang: An American Saga. It's a Wednesday afternoon in late October and he's standing parallel to the front doors of Complex's New York office building, right next to the heart of Times Square. | |  | | Variety |
| | Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss Reflect on Being 'Mr. A and Mr. M,' as Epix Doc Celebrates Music's Greatest Indie Label | | by Chris Willman | | "We did it on a handshake - the story is true," says Herb Alpert, adding that last affirmation for emphasis, knowing how hard it might be to believe that the duo behind one of music's all-time greatest independent label, A&M Records, were never quite lawfully wed. | |  | | The Ringer |
| | The Ringer's 50 Best Movie Soundtracks of the Past 50 Years | | by Lex Pryor, Justin Sayles, Andrew Gruttadaro... | | From the iconic closing notes of 'The Breakfast Club' to the era-encapsulating mix of 'Dazed and Confused' to the work of the Purple One himself, these are the best mixes of cinema and sound since 1971. | | | | Billboard |
| | LGBTQ Representation Within the Music Industry: 'It's Still Not Nearly Enough' | | by Stephen Daw | | "You would hope that people who claim to be progressive in entertainment could just take it upon themselves to just do better," says songwriter Justin Tranter. | |  | | GQ |
| | Mark Hoppus Is Growing Up | | by Chris Gayomali | | The Blink-182 singer got cancer--and then accidentally shared his diagnosis with the public over social media. Turns out getting sick renewed his faith, healed his old friendships, and reminded him what makes life worth living. | |  | | The Sydney Morning Herald |
| | Inside the battle that divided the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Opera House | | by Linda Morris | | Two of the most powerful women in the city's arts scene have locked horns. | | | |  | | | Music of the day | | "The Ballad of Harry Lewis" | | Allan Sherman | | Vintage Jewish humor. I can't even begin to tell you how hard my father would laugh at this every single time he heard it, which was a lot. |  | | YouTube |
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Vintage Jewish humor. I can't even begin to tell you how hard my father would laugh at this every single time he heard it, which was a lot. | The two-part doc concludes at 10 pm ET Sunday on EPIX. | | | 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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