jason hirschhorn's @MusicREDEF: 09/23/2022 - Makaya McCraven's Fusions, Rap Lyrics on Trial, Tour Bus Inflation, Luke Combs, Anton Fier...

The physical thing is not the thing that we're talking about [in country music]. It's the emotion that's evoked by what that moment speaks to. It's not about your dad's truck, it's not about the truck—it's about your dad. That's the thing where I think we're a little misunderstood sometimes.
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Friday September 23, 2022
REDEF
Makaya McCraven at the Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, R.I., July 30, 2022.
(Douglas Mason/Getty Images)
quote of the day
"The physical thing is not the thing that we're talking about [in country music]. It's the emotion that's evoked by what that moment speaks to. It's not about your dad's truck, it's not about the truck—it's about your dad. That's the thing where I think we're a little misunderstood sometimes."
- Luke Combs
rantnrave://
It's Friday

And let's talk about the borders of jazz and hip-hop and electronic music and time and space, or maybe let's just listen to the new albums by MAKAYA MCCRAVEN and the COMET IS COMING. It's a good day for this sort of thing, which means it's a good day for music.

Drummer/composer/producer McCraven runs improvised live performances through hip-hop post-production and editing tools. On the years-in-the-making IN THESE TIMES, he applies the technique to a large ensemble that, over the course of several sessions, included the likes of harpist Brandee Younger, guitarist Jeff Parker, vibraphonist Joel Ross, trumpeter Marquis Hill, bassist Junius Paul and himself. "These Times" appears to have a number of possible meanings. The 11 songs stitch together performances that took place across physical time and distance. They intentionally employ complex meters and malleable tempos—"hard times, challenging times, difficult times," in McCraven's own words, which suggest metaphoric meanings on top of the literal ones. And yet the results sound unusually organic and seamless, as if challenging those challenging times. You might find yourself thinking of, say, watching the sun rise or set, not on a random morning or evening, but the first time it's ever happened. You may be aware you're listening to jazz, and you may not.

Likewise with the Comet Is Coming, the trio of saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, keyboardist Dan Leavers and drummer Max Hallett, aka King Shabaka, Danalogue and Betamax. The jazz-leaning saxophonist and his electronic-leaning bandmates alternately pull each other toward a middle ground of fusion consensus and push each other to explore their respective corners. "This trio seems intent on humanizing the EDM beat while actually upping its power, not diluting it," the New York Times' Giovanni Russonello wrote in a preview of their fourth album, "Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam." You may, as a result, be aware you're listening to EDM, and you may not.

Also today: new music from DaBaby, Alex G, Brandi Carlile (an acoustic remake her 2021 album "In These Silent Days" called "In The Canyon Haze"), Willow, wifisfuneral, CKay, Kelsea Ballerini, Nikki Lane, Jake Blount, Dr. John (country standards recorded shortly before his death in 2019), Muni Long (third album by R&B singer formerly known as Priscilla Renea), Protoje, Vieux Farke Touré & Khruangbin, Abel Selaocoe, Cam'ron & A-Trak, Lucki, DreamDoll, the Smithereens (album of unreleased tracks recorded in 1993), Beth Orton, Death's Dynamic Shroud, 5 Seconds of Summer, Billy Idol, the Wonder Years, Lande Hekt, the Casual Dots (first album in 18 years from band with members of Slant 6, Bikini Kill and Deep Lust), Blackstarkids, the Soft Moon, Ken Mode, Tim Burgess, Iceage (rarities), Nils Frahm, Caroline Shaw & Attacca Quartet, John Luther Adams, Daniel Lanois, Angelica Sánchez, Boney James, Silvana Estrada, Marisa Anderson, Maddie & Tae, Sunny Sweeney, Daniel Tashian, Benjamin Tod, the Tallest Man on Earth, Arkells, Maya Hawke (of "Stranger Things"), Sofie Royer, Editors, James & the Shame... And a collection of spiritual dance tracks from the '70s and '80s tracks by Nigerian highlife bandleader Alhaji Waziri Oshomah.

Rest in Peace

Uncategorizably prolific drummer/composer/producer ANTON FIER, whose résumé included memberships in the Golden Palominos (which he founded), the Lounge Lizards and the Feelies and associations with Bill Laswell, John Zorn, Herbie Hancock, Pere Ubu, Bob Mould and countless others. "A truly mythic NYC specimen," tweeted the Numero Group. Cleveland had a claim on him, too. He was one of a kind, or maybe, more accurately, 20 or 30 of a kind... Original Doobie Brothers drummer JOHN HARTMAN, one of the nine Doobies inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020... Zimbabwean percussionist LANCELOT MAPFUMO, a long-running member of his brother Thomas's pioneering chimurenga band, the Blacks Unlimited... Nashville session guitarist RAY EDENTON, a member of Music City's fabled A-Team... Montreal rapper YOUNG A STUNNIN, who was shot to death in his home city Tuesday night. He's at least the 32nd musician murdered worldwide in 2022... Jazz radio DJ ERIC JACKSON, known as the Dean of Boston Jazz Radio. He was on the air for more than 50 years, most of that time at WGBH-FM.

- Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator
in the moment
XXL
Rap Lyrics on Trial Are Altering Careers of A-List Rappers
By Grant Rindner
Since its early days, rap lyrics have been used by prosecutors to build narratives with criminal trials. With the genre's popularity booming, this trend affects aspiring artists and A-list rappers alike more than ever. 
Billboard
Off the Road Again: A Tour Bus Shortage Is Pricing Some Acts Out of Touring
By Steve Knopper
"Buses are raising their prices, and bands have to either pay it or lose the bus," says Stryper frontman Michael Sweet.
The Guardian
'A whole village destroyed with one shot': how PnB Rock's murder shook hip-hop
By Andrew Lawrence
The emcee was fatally shot in Los Angeles, joining a list of rappers murdered in the City of Angels.
Clash Magazine
The Calling: Makaya McCraven Interviewed
By Louis Torracinta
Jazz figure talks genre evolution, the importance of curation, and his new album.
The Washington Post
Luke Combs is country music's newest mega-star, and its fiercest defender
By Emily Yahr
At just 32 years old, the North Carolina native is becoming the face of a genre that he feels is misunderstood. He'd like to set the record straight.
Bloomberg Businessweek
The Sneaky Genius of Apple's AirPods Empire
By Max Chafkin
AR/VR headsets are a small market by Apple standards, but Tim Cook's massive headphones division shows just how big the company can make a niche product.
Variety
No More Dueling Music Charts: Luminate and Mediabase Will Join Forces to Power Billboard's Radio Airplay Rankings
By Chris Willman
For years, the radio world has looked to two different sets of radio charts - the Billboard rankings, which are currently powered by BDS, owned by Luminate (formerly known as Nielsen Music), and separate charts from the airplay monitoring service Mediabase. But that dueling-charts era is coming to an end.
Music Business Worldwide
Could Spotify's locked audiobooks model be a new way for artists to make money on its platform?
By Murray Stassen
Could the locked play button model used for audiobooks be applied to artist content?
The New York Times
2 Michael Jackson Impersonators Look Identical. The Resemblance Ends There
By Jack Nicas
Two imitators of the King of Pop in Buenos Aires offer a study in contrasts, reflective of Argentina's deep economic divide. One man financed 13 surgeries, while the other draws on his sideburns.
Some Came Running
I Remember Anton Fier
By Glenn Kenny
I remember my campus friend Bob in 1978 or so expressing fake annoyance when telling me of drummer Anton Fier's imminent move from Cleveland to New York, where he would join the Haledon, N.J. band The Feelies. "I guess he heard somewhere that I had a pool at my house," Bob said. By which, I believe, Bob meant his parents' house.
universal beings
The Guardian
'This should not be normalised': Why musicians are cancelling tours to protect their mental health
By Laura Barton
High-profile acts from Justin Bieber to Arlo Parks have cancelled gigs recently, prioritising mental health over the demands of a relentless industry.
Slate
Are Britney's Fans Doing Her a Disservice?
By Nicole Lewis and Daisy Rosario
How a life in the spotlight is damaging to mental health.
Loud And Quiet
'It's Earth music': Khruangbin and Vieux Farka Touré on their dynamic new collaboration
By Michelle Kambasha
The American psych trio have teamed up with the 'Hendrix of the Sahara' on their latest record.
Music Ally
A guide to micro-sync for indie artists
This is a guest post by an established independent artist and songwriter, with tens of millions of streams to their name. After researching a number of platforms in the micro-sync (or micro-licensing) space for their own music and career, they contacted Music Ally to share their thoughts on the state of this burgeoning sector.
UK Music
This Is Music 2022 [PDF]
By Andy Edwards
UK Music, the collective voice of the UK music industry, publishes its This Is Music 2022 annual report, which reveals how the sector began to recover from the initial impact of the pandemic.
The Independent
The complicated story of Dr John's final album -- the one he'd always wanted to make
By Kevin EG Perry
Before his death in 2019, the master of the voodoo groove fulfilled his lifelong dream of recording a country and western album. Kevin E G Perry gets the lowdown on disagreements with the artist's estate from producer Shane Theriot, and finds out why the funk and blues icon turned to Hank Williams and Johnny Cash in his final hour.
The New York Times
The Remarkable, Resilient Loren Connors
By Grayson Haver Currin
Three decades ago, the New York guitarist was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. His output still hasn't slowed.
Music Business Worldwide
'Classical music is not subject to trends and fads. The genre shows longer-term value across generations'
By Murray Stassen
Martin Kudla, deputy director and digital marketing manager at Czech record label Supraphon, shares his views on the pro-rata versus user-centric streaming royalty debate for niche genres, and challenges and opportunities in the classical music space.
Afropop Worldwide
Seun Kuti Back in the U.S.A.
By Banning Eyre
Seun Kuti, Fela's youngest son, will be 40 in a few months. He is working on his sixth studio album, and will soon be rolling out songs from his pandemic-era collaboration with Black Thought.
ESPN
Hit parade: Walk-up songs of MLB's Latin stars
By Enrique Rojas and Alden González
With the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, ESPN spoke with some of the best Latin American players in Major League Baseball today to try to weigh the impact that music has on their game.
what we're into
Music of the day
"Seventh String"
Makaya McCraven
From "In These Times," out today on International Anthem/Nonesuch/XL.
Video of the day
"Rockit, (live on The Tube, 1984)"
Herbie Hancock
RIP Anton Fier (who doesn't exactly get a lot of camera time here, but he's very much in here).
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