Real cultural diversity results from the interchange of ideas, products, and influences, not from the insular development of a single national style. | | | | John Mayer at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Confident, making fans happy, and winning over the last skeptics.
(Daniel Prakopcyk, @daniel on Instagram) | | | | |  | “Real cultural diversity results from the interchange of ideas, products, and influences, not from the insular development of a single national style.”
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| | rantnrave:// One of my best friends is from ASPEN. And 11 years ago this August, he was married there. Until that time, I’d never been during the summer. It’s a divine section of the country. Like WYOMING. Like MONTANA. Since his wedding, I’ve visited there for most LABOR DAY weekends. There’s a great music festival right outside of town called JAZZ ASPEN. Which, funny enough, has no jazz. The one in June does. This year’s lineup included JOHN MAYER, STING, WEEZER. PORTUGAL. THE MAN, LUKE COMBS, H.E.R., ZZ WARD, TURKUAZ, and others. If you’ve read REDEF over the years, you know I’m a big fan of both Mayer and Sting. To me, they're similar in ways. And I’ve discussed Sting with Mayer a few times. We both loved his live album “BRING ON THE NIGHT.” I had the poster on my wall growing up. That album was my entry to jazz musicians. He played with the best of the best: BRANFORD MARSALIS, KENNY KIRKLAND, OMAR HAKIM, DARRYL JONES, JANICE PENDARVIS, and DOLETTE MCDONALD. But it also taught me something at a young age. Artists are way more eclectic than a label, a record store (back in the day), or radio station would prefer. And that’s where their paths are similar. Their interests and tastes are wide-ranging. And they make it into the music. For Mayer, I can’t say many of his albums are similar. Maybe one or two. But they're all John Mayer. He doesn’t seem comfortable repeating himself. And that’s how some artists think. Some of the best. I hear the influences. STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN, Sting, JAMES TAYLOR and others. He was a lovechild. But now, very much his own artist. I hear Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Rock, Jazz, Reggae, Pop and more. I have an incomplete SPOTIFY playlist of 53 songs that cover his albums (studio and live), acoustic tracks, and some covers too. They span the map of styles. But they're all John Mayer. MTV legend TOM FRESTON once took me to a show at NYU. It was a Senegalese band named ORCHESTRA BAOBAB. They were supporting their album “SPECIALIST IN ALL STYLES.” As I watched Mayer play his set, I thought of that album name. Because as he’s explored his own craft, he’s become somewhat of a “specialist in all styles.” Evidenced further by his work with DEAD & COMPANY. You have to be a little crazy, a superb musician, and a big fan to even try to attempt to sit in with, let alone help lead members of the GRATEFUL DEAD playing their songbook to massive crowds of the most dedicated fan base that ever lived. I’ve witnessed him win over a skeptical crowd in real-time with insane playing and yet making the parts his own. I don’t think I’ve seen an artist turn an audience (a supposedly all Rock one) like that since JAY-Z at GLASTONBURY in 2007. Mayer’s career began before the TMZ-ization of music coverage. A time when you turned to music publications for information. Later, gossip overshadowed his music at times. Now? He’s using social media in a way that has built an extremely entertaining relationship with his audience. When you go to a show, they aren’t just there to hear their favorite song. It’s like visiting a friend. A funny one. Obviously, there's still a little wall. But Mayer has figured out how to break that down a bit, keep it real, and let the music lead. There’s a confidence there that comes with hard work and age. You can see it in the choices he makes. He releases music on his own timetable in the way and amounts he wants. Like PEARL JAM, he’s built a very loyal fan base that allows him to sell-out anywhere in the world when he wants. The Dead & Co. project further proved the fact that he's one of the best guitarists in the world. One thing I’ve also liked about his music is that it evokes a vibe. Moods, colors or locales. At least for me. I mentioned Montana. Mayer happens to have a home and does a bunch of recording there. And if you’ve ever been to Montana or Colorado or Wyoming, there’s a calmness that comes over you. I asked him if that had an effect on his sound. “No doubt. That’s why I have more songs to write there, and more excitably, I have records to write and record with others there.” As you listen to his new song “CARRY ME AWAY,” it has space. He knows when to play and when to let it breathe. Just like his recent, “I GUESS IT JUST FEEL LIKE.” He’s on tour right now. Making fans happy and winning over the last skeptics. In LOS ANGELES this weekend. Go see him. Here’s a taste of his another level performance and humor from Aspen… A special weekend treat full or knowledge carbs for you music heads and musicians. MATTY KARAS' REDEF MusicSET: "Instrumental Inventions and Innovations, From Martin to Moog and Beyond." Where did the saxophone come from? How are pianos made? Who was building drum machines in the 1930s? Origin stories, essays, and appreciations of our favorite noisemaking toys. An awesome timesuck... Happy Birthday to DR. ANNE PETERS, SRIRAM KRISHNAN, SEAN MILLS, LARRY ZHONG, VIVIAN SCHILLER, and SALOME EDGEWORTH. | | | - Jason Hirschhorn, curator |
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 | Amazon Music |
| "The Birth of Biggie: 25 Years of Ready to Die" follows the Notorious B.I.G. at the crucial moment when he was transitioning from “unsigned hype” to rap superstar. The minidoc includes interview audio with Biggie by biographer Cheo Hodari Coker, as well as conversations with producers Easy Mo Bee and DJ Mister Cee; Coker, and Arista/Bad Boy's Rob Stone. | | |
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 | Harper's Magazine |
| What was the Golden Age of TV? | | |
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 | The Guardian |
| AI and brain-scanning technology could soon make it possible to reliably detect when people are lying. But do we really want to know? | | |
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 | Billboard |
| As the founder of Island Records, Chris Blackwell guided the careers of Bob Marley, U2, Cat Stevens and more. Now, with the label he launched turning 60, one of the music business’ greatest-ever moguls looks back on a career, and a life, well-lived. | | |
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 | TED Talks |
| The use of deepfake technology to manipulate video and audio for malicious purposes -- whether it's to stoke violence or defame politicians and journalists -- is becoming a real threat. As these tools become more accessible and their products more realistic, how will they shape what we believe about the world? | | |
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 | Real Life |
| Sex robots share the same imperatives as video games, gambling machines, and social media apps, implementing feedback reward structures. | | |
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 | CNET |
| Between restoring net neutrality, regulating the tech industry and tackling the state's housing crisis, California state Sen. Scott Wiener never stops moving. | | |
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 | B/R Mag |
| The biggest stars in the world are pledging their brains. Young players are leaving the game with their destinies unfulfilled. The stories they tell spark fear and raise questions. And the science hasn't even begun to provide answers. | | |
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 | Seeking Alpha |
| Spotify has struggled to achieve profitability due to the poor economics inherent in the music streaming business model. I believe Spotify is on a path to becom | | |
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 | The Ringer |
| After Jim Carrey’s ascendance, Adam Sandler and Chris Farley emerged in the mid-’90s primed to take over the comedy world. Tragically, only one of them actually did. | | |
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 | The Washington Post |
| Sharon Van Etten, Lucy Dacus, Emily Haines and others on the risks of getting “dumped in your little pink sidecar.” | | |
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 | Modern Retail |
| Supreme has long been an arbiter of all what’s cool, thanks to its drop model strategy. The brand keeps customers waiting and then drops new items at a moment’s notice. Now, fast food restaurants are… | | |
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 | Next Reality |
| If we were to assign a theme for the 2019 edition of the Next Reality 30 (NR30), it might be something along the lines of, "What have you done for me lately?" | | |
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| The Washington Post |
| As the new school year begins, Scout leaders on the ground are vying for the future of an organization facing threats from all sides. | | |
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 | CNN |
| Chief Justice John Roberts cast the deciding vote against President Donald Trump's attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, but only after changing his position behind the scenes, sources familiar with the private Supreme Court deliberations tell CNN. | | |
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 | Axios |
| Situational awareness: The Jeffrey Epstein story is going to far outlive Jeffrey Epstein, as is evidenced by Ronan Farrow's latest blockbuster report in the New Yorker about the criminal's secret ties to the MIT Media Lab, as well as by MIT president Rafael Reif's latest revelations about the number of university officials who knew about Epstein's donations. | | |
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 | Vox |
| Mithril Capital raised over $1 billion on the name of Thiel, one of Silicon Valley’s biggest celebrities. Now federal investigators are looking under the hood. | | |
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 | 500ish Words |
| Some thoughts on Apple’s iPhone 11 event. | | |
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 | Undark |
| There is no established method of identifying patients in immediate danger of attempting suicide. Some researchers want to change this. | | |
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 | Vulture |
| "I've always felt that if you're noticing the props, you're doing your job wrong," says Robin L. Miller, a veteran prop master. It's a funny thing for the guy behind "Cast Away's" Wilson and "Ocean's Thirteen's" Chunnel drill to say, but there you have it. | | |
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 | BBC Future |
| As the Amazon fires continue to burn, Rachel Nuwer asks: how dependent are we on the survival of forests? | | |
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 | YouTube |
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