jason hirschhorn's @MusicREDEF: 01/28/2022 - Neil Young Never Sleeps, '90s Music on TV, Janet Jackson, Wig Wam, Anaïs Mitchell, J Dilla...

I feel an immense amount of pressure to make sure that I'm only putting out stuff that I'm willing to stand by for years and years. I want to treat my music with seriousness knowing that it's being inducted into this huge archive of amazing work. I can't take that for granted.
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Friday January 28, 2022
REDEF
Sebastián Yatra in Miami, Oct. 22, 2021. "Dharma" is out today on Universal Latino.
(John Parra/WireImage/Getty Images)
quote of the day
"I feel an immense amount of pressure to make sure that I'm only putting out stuff that I'm willing to stand by for years and years. I want to treat my music with seriousness knowing that it's being inducted into this huge archive of amazing work. I can't take that for granted."
- Immanuel Wilkins, whose second album, "The 7th Hand," is out today on Blue Note
rantnrave://
Out of the Blue, Into the Black

Music Twitter is rocking this week with the intensity of a 10-minute CRAZY HORSE guitar jam, and I'm dying to know how a couple days of loud and sustained SPOTIFY bashing and NEIL YOUNG stanning will translate into actual numbers. Will a meaningful number or Spotify subscribers follow Young out the door, or is this just the Twitterati Twitterati'ing? Will Spotify let them leave? Will someone take their place? (I'd link to that one U.S. senator's attempt to write a Neil Young parody lyric, but I don't want to link to that one U.S. senator, plus I re-read his attempt five or six times to see if it would start making sense and it never did. Find better interns, Senator.) Will this seed of a movement turn into an actual movement? Is this genuine anger or an internet trending cycle?

In either case, Spotify's competitors have been rockin' in the free world since Spotify chose comedian and podcast host JOE ROGAN over rock legend Young. APPLE MUSIC declared itself "the home of Neil Young" and started actively promoting his catalog, including its Spatial Audio version of his new album, BARN. TIDAL needled Spotify with this A-plus tweet. Young himself, who's always had beef with Spotify's audio quality, put in a good word for AMAZON, Apple and QOBUZ.

SIRIUSXM revived a channel called Neil Young Radio for a seven-day run on its radio platform and a monthlong stint on its app, after having "reached out to Mr. Young's camp Wednesday," according to the Wall Street Journal (paywall). The Journal's source didn't say if Mr. Young's camp picked up the phone or answered the text. Since it operates under a radio license, Sirius wouldn't need Young's permission anyway. But one wonders how that convo would have gone. From JEM ASWAD in Variety: "SiriusXM hosts multiple conservative radio shows that espouse views similar to or more outspoken than Rogan's—particularly on SiriusXM Patriot channel, which features SEAN HANNITY, BREITBART NEWS, ANDREW WILKOW and others." Who would Sirius pick if Young said you can have me or them but not both? How serious is Sirius with its love?

While you ponder that, here are helpful explainers from Billboard and Variety on how an artist goes about pulling catalog from Spotify—having a lot of leverage with your label helps—and some speculation from analyst MARK MULLIGAN on how Spotify's "platform-to-media-company transition" could lead to regulatory headaches sooner rather than later. Subscriber headaches, too: "It is really hard (perhaps impossible) to simultaneously appeal to both sides of the political divide," Mulligan writes. "If you want to pursue the middle path, that means removing much of the sort of content that drives streams. There is no Joe Rogan in the middle path."

It's Friday

And that means THE 7TH HAND, the second album by Brooklyn-via-Philadelphia alto saxophonist IMMANUEL WILKINS, is here. Following up an acclaimed debut, 2020's "Omega," steeped in political turbulence, there's still "enough sonic clamor and dissonance to suggest disturbance, yet the focus is more squarely on evocations of spiritual salvation, even serenity," the Wall Street Journal's Larry Blumenfeld writes. The album ends with a torrential 26-minute track, "Lift," full of "terrorized reactions and ecstatic exclamations"... Twenty-six, schmenty-six. The title track of EARTHLESS' NIGHT PARADE OF ONE HUNDRED DEMONS is a two-part, 41-minute, melodic instrumental jam in which "the influence of Black Sabbath pervades each lurch and metallic gesture." So, basically, return to form... Colombian cantante y compositor SEBASTIÁN YATRA, who has ganado corazones con su dramatic performance of "Dos Oruguitas" in Disney's "Encanto," releases his third album, DHARMA... The mesmerizing Tuareg band IMARHAN gets assists from members of Tinariwen and Super Furry Animals on ABOOGI... War co-founder LEE OSKAR's NEVER FORGET is an instrumental album inspired by the stories of his mother and aunt, both Holocaust survivors. Thursday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day... The TEMPTATIONS, led by their one surviving original member, 80-year-old Otis Williams, celebrate six decades in the biz on TEMPTATIONS 60, with a little help from their friend Smokey Robinson.

Today also brings the soundtrack to the best music film of 2021, QUESTLOVE's SUMMER OF SOUL, featuring NINA SIMONE, SLY & THE FAMILY STONE, MAHALIA JACKSON and the STAPLES SINGERS—but not that amazing STEVIE WONDER performance. Clearance issues. Hopefully on the deluxe version, the director says... And, speaking of 1969, a streaming audio version of THE BEATLES: GET BACK—THE ROOFTOP PERFORMANCE. (On Sunday, the 53rd anniversary of the concert, the film version will be screened for one night only in Imax theaters. And while we're on the subject, the four-part JANET JACKSON documentary starts tonight and continues Saturday night, on both Lifetime and A&E.)

Plus new music from NLE CHOPPA, CLOAKROOM, KRALLICE, STEVE GUNN (EP released earlier this week), AMBER MARK, LADY WRAY (aka Nicole Wray), ANAÏS MITCHELL ("Hadestown" creator) ,PINK PANTHERESS (remixes), MADDIE & TAE, ANTHONY ROTH COSTANZO & JUSTIN VIVIAN BOND, ERIC GALES, TYLER MITCHELL & MARSHALL ALLEN (of the Sun Ra Arkestra), CHRISTIANE KARAM, MATHIS PICARD, BABYFACE RAY, DRO KENJI, KYLE, DOE BOY, EELS, SIMONE FELICE, PINK SWEAT$, JOSEPHINE FOSTER, IMAAD WASIF, ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES, NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS, GRADY SPENCER & THE WORK, AARON LEWIS, RYAN CULWELL, PINEGROVE, MØ, MAYA SHENFELD, KATIE DEY, BEIRUT (rarities album), DEATHCRASH, BIG BIG TRAIN, MILQUETOAST, BAD SUNS, JANN ARDEN, JOHN MAYALL, STEVE VAI and JETHRO TULL.

Rest in Peace

LUCY ROWAN MANN, classical music patron and mentor who administered the influential Naumburg Competition.

- Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator
psychedelic shack
Los Angeles Times
From MTV to Spotify, Neil Young has never shied from waging war against powerful corporations
By Randall Roberts
Young is no stranger to taking on powerful interests, whether it's music gatekeepers, soft-drink companies or his own record label.
Vulture
Yellowjackets and Euphoria's '90s Music Is Filling a 'Void of Angst and Anger'
By Lillian Brown
Music supervisor Jen Malone breaks down the two shows' musical fixations and teases some tracks still to come.
Do the M@th
James P. Johnson Gets Dressed
By Matthew Guerrieri
The sartorial requirements of the great Harlem pianists.
Salon
Janet Jackson is finally back in control of her rightful legacy in must-see docuseries
By Melanie McFarland
The highly private pop star opens up in Lifetime's emotionally genuine four-part series, five years in the making.
Variety
DAOs Primed to Play Key Role in Artist-Fan Relationship: 'It's Not About Remaking the Old Industry; It's a Whole New Thing'
By Jeremy Gilbertson
The relationship between artist and fan is ever evolving and how will it look in the years to come will not at all resemble its past. So as music and Web3 intersect, questions are being explored. Like, what drives music fans from a human perspective?
Music Industry Blog
Spotify chose audio over music, but bigger decisions lie ahead
By Mark Mulligan
Spotify's audio problem actually has remarkably little to do with the music business, and everything to do with media company regulation.
Billboard
Wig Wam Were Washed Out Until Insane 'Peacemaker' Credits Danced Them Back to Life
By Gil Kaufman
The Norwegian metal band had broken up and were days from being dropped by their agent when 'Do Ya Wanna Taste It' was tapped for the show's iconic opening.
MTV News
Anaïs Mitchell's Watershed Moment
By Grant Sharples
The prolific indie-folk artist and 'Hadestown' creator returns to a 'circular' pattern of songwriting for her first solo album in a decade.
The Washington Post
Taylor Swift vs. Olivia Rodrigo vs. the world: Why dance nights are serving up instant nostalgia
By Chris Kelly
The rise in artist-specific dance nights — especially ones dealing in almost instant-nostalgia — seems to be yet another pandemic side effect, of both venues and promoters looking to fill slots emptied by tour changes and of audiences looking for a fix of familiar fun during a time when joy is in short supply.
KQED
A Professor X for Oakland: Mistah F.A.B. Is On a Quest to Uplift His City
By Nastia Voynovskaya
The beloved Oakland hip-hop artist is opening a nightclub and setting his sights towards a youth development center.
cloud nine
Variety
In Removing Neil Young's Music, Spotify Didn't Have to Listen to the Artist, but Did Have to Heed His Label
By Chris Willman
An entertainment law expert explains why the takedown request had to come from Warner Records. Other artists inclined to follow his lead in protesting the platform Spotify has given Joe Rogan might not have as much clout with their labels.
BBC News
More and more musicians are releasing their own music: Here's why
By Mark Savage
One more TikTok effect.
Pitchfork
'Dilla Time' Dives Into the Life and Legacy of a Hip-Hop Genius
By Dan Charnas
This excerpt from Dan Charnas' new J Dilla biography details the producer's mainstream rise, thanks to A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip.
Consequence
Sly and the Family Stone Kicked Off a Funk Riot in 1971
By Jill Hopkins, Carlos Santana, Joseph Patel...
In Episode 1 of The Opus Season 17, we explore how There's a Riot Goin On marked a shift in soul's sound.
Billboard
Plugged In: Is Spatial Audio the Future of Music -- or Just Noise?
By Micah Singleton
Described as the successor to stereo, Spatial Audio was the talk of the town in 2021. But has it lived up to the hype?
Los Angeles Times
Drakeo the Ruler's family says lack of security at L.A. concert contributed to fatal stabbing
By Richard Winton
The rapper's family plans to sue Live Nation and others over his killing at the Once Upon a Time in Los Angeles music festival on Dec. 18.
Complex
A Conversation With The Alchemist, 2021's Best Hip-Hop Producer Alive
By Andre Gee
Sometime around the turn of the 2010s, The Alchemist moved back to his native Los Angeles in hopes of starting a new musical chapter. He was already a well-regarded producer, thanks to his work with east coast rap royalty like Mobb Deep and Dilated Peoples and classic hits like "We Gonna Make It" and "Hold U Down."
SPIN
Måneskin's La Dolce Vita
By Katherine Turman
Italy's glam rock superstars have moves like Jagger.
what we're into
Music of the day
"Lift"
Immanuel Wilkins
From "The 7th Hand."
Video of the day
"Janet Jackson"
Lifetime
Premiering tonight on Lifetime and A&E.
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