jason hirschhorn's @MusicREDEF: 04/28/2023 - Willie at 90, Music's Nostalgia-Industrial Complex, The National, boygenius, Lonnie Holley...

If a song was ever good, it's still good. Open in browser Friday April 28, 2023 Happy birthday Willie Nelson, who turns 90 Saturday. Here he is many phases and stages ago in Atlanta, Oct. 28, 1975. (Tom Hill/Getty Images) quote of the day "If a song was ever good, it's still good." - Willie Nelson rantnrave:// It's Friday And WILLIE NELSON is 89 years and 364 days old. He was born in 1933, on DUKE ELLINGTON's 34th birthday. ROBERT JOHNSON was 21 and had yet to record a note. FRANK SINATRA was 17 and HANK WILLIAMS was 9. They all live somewhere in the grooves and digital bits of Nelson's 150 albums, and he lives somewhere within the grooves and bits of nearly every artist whose name appears anywhere in this newsletter. Happy birthday Willie and happy birthday all of us. He's celebrating his 90th with a two-day party Saturday and Sunday at the HOLLYWOOD BOWL featuring GEORGE STRAIT, KACEY MUSGRAVES, SNOOP DOGG, NEIL YOUNG, MIRANDA LAMBERT, TYLER CHILDERS and everybody else in America who was smart enough to say yes. This newsletter and all music within is for him. Sad Songs and Waltzes According to band lore, every album the NATIONAL has made, stretching back more than 20 years, has been the product of intra-band fighting and has nearly broken the band up. But FIRST TWO PAGES OF FRANKENSTEIN is the first one that's actually about that, the classic-dad-rock band tells the Washington Post's Travis M. Andrews, which is why the brooding opening track finds Matt Berninger singing, "This is the closest we've ever been / And I have no idea what's happening / Is this how this whole thing is gonna end?" It's also the first album the band has made since the National's Aaron Dessner co-produced Taylor Swift's two pandemic albums, and she shows up to duet with Berninger on "The Alcott"... This sublime dance song about "these lips" that are "wanted in a hundred countries, maybe more" is from JESSIE WARE's pleasure-principled fifth album THAT! FEELS! GOOD! Stereogum's James Rettig praises it as "a celebration of life's most carnal desires, packaged in sumptuous elegance"—and, like all good pop, unafraid to be goofy and "embrace the absurdities in her dance music." PROOF OF LIFE is the fourth album from Nashville singer/songwriter JOY OLADOKUN, who "would like to be the Black Bruce Springsteen" and has a lot of people in her corner thinking she might get there. Or somewhere near there. Her one-time tourmate Jim James of My Morning Jacket suggests John Prine or Bill Withers: "She has a way of talking one-on-one with the listener in this seemingly casual way while delivering the deepest truth you really needed to hear." And/or maybe she'll deliver a pop singalong about how "We're All Gonna Die"... Mexican pop star THALIA covers Soda Estéreo, Aterciopelados and other bands from her teenage mixtapes on THALIA'S MIXTAPE: EL SOUNDTRACK DE ME VIDA. "Those songs that were the soundtrack of my life," she tells Billboard, "were rock in Spanish." A companion three-part docuseries is coming next week on Paramount+... JID017 is the great jazz pianist LONNIE SMITH's first album as a leader in 25 years, recorded for Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad's Jazz Is Dead series. The Guardian's Neil Spencer explains the process (the JID team "feeding ideas and motifs to their chosen star alongside a rhythm section and adding more later") and results ("the magic remains in place"). Also today: New music from Jack Harlow, Labrinth, G Herbo, Shordie Shordie, Baby Rose, Mike Dean, Bebe Rexha, Smokey Robinson, Rickie Lee Jones, Yungmorpheus, Tony Shhnow, Jim Legxacy, Summrs, Nines, Nate Smith, Mya Byrne, Kip Moore, Ryan Beatty, Indigo De Souza, Nabihah Iqbal, Enforced, Danava, Arturo O'Farrill, Jonathan Butler, Iranian Female Composers Association, Y La Bamba, Avalon Emerson & the Charm, Illenium, Neggy Gemmy, Matthewdavid, Braids, JFDR, Bill Orcutt, Tommy Emmanuel (duets album), Taj Mahal, Don Letts, the Damned, Glen Matlock, Washer, Crown the Empire, Ryan Hamilton, Neil Gaiman & FourPlay String Quartet (yes, that Neil Gaiman), Diplo (his second country album under his Thomas Wesley moniker), Bernice, Harrison, Joseph, Baba Ali, Ron Morelli, Martyna Bast, Country Westerns, Josh Ritter, Del Barber and this "Slow Beethoven" project. Always on My Mind Punk-rock gym rats... Punk-rock restaurateur... Punk-rock wrestling... Punk-rock (and metal) JERRY SPRINGER moments (RIP)... The RAP ACT, which would limit the ability of prosecutors in the US to use lyrics to rap and other songs as criminal evidence, was reintroduced in Congress Thursday. The first attempt at a federal law fell short a year ago, but similar bills have passed in the state of California and are being considered in a handful of other states. "This act is absolutely not just about hip-hop artists," RECORDING ACADEMY CEO HARVEY MASON JR. said. "Every single artist, no matter the discipline, should be able to express themselves without fear of prosecution"... Posthumous albums are "f***in' gross" and TYLER, THE CREATOR says his will prohibits anyone from doing that to him... FLUME (Song of the Year) and RÜFÜS DU SOL (Songwriter of the Year) were the top winners at Australia's APRA AWARDS. MEN AT WORK's COLIN HAY and late concert promoter COLLEEN IRONSIDE were honored for Outstanding Services to Australian Music... BRETT MORGEN's DAVID BOWIE doc, MOONAGE DAYDREAM, arrives at HBO and HBO MAX Saturday... Also Saturday, THE JUDDS: LOVE IS ALIVE—THE FINAL CONCERT airs on CMT. It features WYNONNA JUDD and friends including BRANDI CARLILE, KELSEA BALLERINI and ASHLEY MCBRYDE recreating the JUDDS' 1991 farewell tour... Sister channel Paramount+ premiered the Wynonna doc BETWEEN HELL AND HALLELUJAH earlier this week. - Matty Karas, curator honeysuckle rose Pitchfork Everything Is Interpolated: Inside Music's Nostalgia-Industrial Complex By Jayson Greene Publishing companies like Primary Wave and Hipgnosis are making old hits new again. And again. And again. The New Yorker The Sad Dads of the National By Amanda Petrusich For two decades, the band has written music about the kind of sadness that feels quotidian and incremental-the slow accumulation of ordinary losses. The New York Times Willie Nelson's Long Encore By Jody Rosen As he approaches 90, even brushes with death can't keep him off the road - or dim a late-life creative burst. NPR Louder Than A Riot: If you see something, say nothing: Kim Osorio v. 'The Source' By Sidney Madden, Sam Leeds, Soraya Shockley... In 2006, Kim Osorio, editor-in-chief of The Source, sued the magazine and its owners for workplace sexual harassment. Nearly two decades later, hip-hop still has not had a true reckoning around sexual misconduct. Lefsetz Letter The Bob Lefsetz Podcast: Michael Rapino By Bob Lefsetz and Michael Rapino All you ever wanted to know about ticketing, and more! Pollstar Touring While Undocumented: A DACA Recipient On The Road By Ariel King Maythe Santos - who holds numerous roles including artist hospitality, merch coordinator and freelancing on tours - is trying to figure out whether or not she'll be able to join a band on an upcoming tour. The band has several dates in Canada, and she plays through the different scenarios of what might happen. Rolling Stone How Lawyers Became Celebrities on The Rap Internet By Andre Gee The intersection of the legal system, social media, and hip-hop bloggers has resulted in the rise of a new kind of viral sensation. Apple Music boygenius: Debut Album, Coachella & Friendship By Zane Lowe, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers... Indie rock supergroup boygenius, comprised of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, sits down with Zane Lowe for a conversation about their debut studio album, 'the record'. Los Angeles Times Smokey Robinson on love, Motown and sex at 83: 'I feel as good as I felt when I was 40' By Mikael Wood The title of Robinson's new album, 'Gasms,' created a stir online and even with his family. Says Smokey: 'A gasm is any good feeling you might have.' Music Business Worldwide Universal Music Group: Yes, ripping off Drake's voice for that AI track was illegal -- and we're certain of it By Tim Ingham UMG's Sir Lucian Grainge and Michael Nash couldn't be more unequivocal: The rash of copycat AI voices is 'clearly illegal'. trigger The New York Times Ed Sheeran Defends Himself in Court, With His Guitar By Ben Sisario The pop star strummed a four-chord progression from "Thinking Out Loud" in a Manhattan courtroom, seeking to separate his work from Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." The Daily Beast Ed Sheeran Is on Trial for Being a Musician By Helen Holmes To stamp down every instance of sonic parallelism--or in this case, stealing "magic"--is bad for music. Music x What happens when music is no longer static? By Tristra Newyear Yeager And: An explosion of spaces for genAI music mavericks; Artists as APIs?; Found fandom families; How media is decentralizing in hopes of solving web2 problems. KEXP Lonnie Holley Reflects on The Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children By Emily Fox and Lonnie Holley Lonnie Holley started releasing music about a decade ago when he was in his 60s. He's now out with his seventh album, "Oh Me Oh My." Billboard Record Store Day 2023: Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' Release Brings Long Lines, Sellouts at Retailers By Ed Christman The RSD-special double album was the highlight of this year's event, as fans scrambled to obtain one of the set's 75,000 copies. Sound Field What Do They Mean When They Call Hip Hop 'Alternative'? By Arthur 'LA' Buckner, Linda Diaz, Robeson "Taj" Frazier... We dive into the world of alternative Hip Hop and explore what it even means for Hip Hop to be called alternative. Our hosts take a deep dive into the history of the word alternative in music and how it relates to rap and r&b. Covering the journey of artists like The Pharcyde, Odd Future, and Missy Elliott. Love is the Message ‎Love is the Message: The State of 70s Psychedelia with Jesse Jarnow By Tim Lawrence, Jeremy Gilbert and Jesse Jarnow In this episode we were extremely happy to welcome the writer, podcaster and historian Jesse Jarnow to discuss the state of psychedelic culture in 1975. Jesse is the author of several books, including Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America, as well as the host of the official Grateful Dead podcast, so he is the perfect guide through the bardos of American drug history. Vulture Reggie Watts Looks Forward to the AI Takeover By Joe Berkowitz The comedian and musician talks the end of "The Late Late Show" and the projects he wants to tackle next. Texas Monthly Willie Nelson's Son Lukas on Ancient Texts, Pearl Jam, and 'I Never Cared for You' By John Spong On this special birthday episode, Lukas Nelson talks about truly timeless songwriting-and the song that first made Leon Russell a Willie fan. what we're into Music of the day "Funny How Time Slips Away (live on Austin City Limits, 1997)" Willie Nelson The onstage audience includes fellow country legends Kris Kristofferson, Porter Wagoner, Billy Joe Shaver and Bobby Bare. Video of the day "Funny How Time Slips Away / Night Life (live on the Midnight Special, 1976)" Willie Nelson Frank Sinatra "never sang a song the same way twice," Nelson once said. "I don't think I do either." Music | Media SUBSCRIBE Suggest a link "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 HOME | ABOUT | SETS | PRESS Redef Group Inc. 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