What do we see [when we look at Michael Jackson]? A man who wants to be androgynous and beyond race? An artist of genius who has given us acute excitement and pleasure? A willful celebrity who wants everything his way, yet insists that everyone love him unconditionally? A man driven to shed his identity, while denying what pains him? Our man in the mirror? Or a creature we no longer wish to acknowledge? | | | | Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher's gear backstage, 1994.
(Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “What do we see [when we look at Michael Jackson]? A man who wants to be androgynous and beyond race? An artist of genius who has given us acute excitement and pleasure? A willful celebrity who wants everything his way, yet insists that everyone love him unconditionally? A man driven to shed his identity, while denying what pains him? Our man in the mirror? Or a creature we no longer wish to acknowledge?”
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| | rantnrave:// In August 2000, I was at a college graduation party and the "To All the Homies That We Lost" remix of R. KELLY's "I WISH" played. There are very few moments in my life that contain joy comparable to my friends and me pouring out bottles of cheap champagne to commemorate the rising seniors who would no longer regularly be a part of our marauding party clique. There was a sense of anticipation of our professional futures, a lovelorn sense of loss of our collegiate innocence, and, in general, an acceptance of maturity and adult responsibility. And for me it's attached to that R. Kelly song, forever. I can't get rid of that. And neither can he. Try as I might, for almost 20 years, I cannot stop listening to this song. SPARKLE can appear on Lifetime's SURVIVING R. KELLY and explain why I'm trash for still liking Kelly's creative output, but it's importance to my life still remains. Insert your favorite/most life-significant R. Kelly or MICHAEL JACKSON song here, and you may find the same feeling. You may also realize it's 18 years later, the circumstance is entirely different, and it's gone, forever. Pause for the sadness, certainly. But keep it moving. The context in which we enjoyed these stars, and their creative output, has been forever completely altered. But the music, and it what it means for many of us, has not. Think this, know this, and realize this, henceforth: Your favorite musician who’s writing or singing your favorite song? They may be deeply flawed. For every "remix to 'Ignition,'" and "I believe I can touch the sky," there's a "Billie Jean is not my lover" or "shake it baby shake it" that's indelibly attached to moments in our lives. Is it possible to throw the artists away and still retain the music? Is it possible not to?... We're one month away from the 25th anniversary of NAS' debut album ILLMATIC and OUTKAST's debut SOUTHERNPLAYALISTICADILLACMUZIK being released in back-to-back weeks on April 19 and 26, 1994. Which matters not just because the 19th is my date of birth, but because it's hard to find two "simultaneously" released bodies of work that did more to create an archetype for types and styles of modern music. There's an undeniable lineage from ANDRE 3000 and BIG BOI to the likes of TRAVI$ SCOTT, and from NAS to J. COLE. I've found that listening to Scott is like hearing the seductive creativity of Andre blended with the blunted gangster cool of Big Boi. That's probably the secret sauce that has allowed Scott's album ASTROWORLD toremain playable for me for the past eight months. As for Cole, his ability, like Nas, to be an unflinchingly honest and unfailingly human lyricist in a sea of oftentimes fraudulent claims about cars, women, jewelry, and clout, is appreciated. More a statement to spark thought than a definitive period at the end of a sentence, it's important to note the moments when the tides shift in any endeavor... It's FRIDAY, and that means there's new music from MAREN MORRIS, JUICE WRLD, WILLIAM BASINSKI, DIDO, HELADO NEGRO, THE COATHANGERS, GESAFFELSTEIN, AMANDA PALMER, MEAT PUPPETS, PATTY GRIFFIN and FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS. | | | - Marcus K. Dowling, guest curator |
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| | | a dreamer dreams she never dies |
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 | The New York Times |
| Listen to music -- from the blockbuster hits, critical darlings and conversation pieces of the moment -- few of which take a direct route to the usual joys of pop. | | |
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 | UPROXX |
| The band’s evolution from psych-rock outsiders to electro-pop stars mirrors the changes in indie music in the 2010s. | | |
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 | Drowned In Sound |
| Now being collected and published in a new book via The Quietus, at the time – much like the club itself – it was a labour of love that was never destined to run at anything other than a loss; like the club itself, it was a wild, joyous shot in the arm for a city that desperately needed one. | | |
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 | Rolling Stone |
| Grammy winner talks breakout album, search for empathy and new Highwomen project. | | |
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 | NPR |
| For Morris, creating her sophomore album "GIRL" meant adjusting to writing on the road, taking on country music stereotypes and exploring her confidence. | | |
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 | Quartzy |
| For decades K-pop has thrived in Asian markets and places like Latin America. But there was always one pop market it couldn’t quite penetrate-the US--until now. | | |
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 | The Week |
| Whatever happened to enjoyable music for adults? | | |
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 | Paper |
| If you've seen Gayle King's exclusive "CBS This Morning" interview with R. Kelly, then you already know how explosive it is. More on that in a moment. | | |
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| The New York Times |
| The documentary “Leaving Neverland” details devastating allegations of sexual abuse. How do fans process them, and Jackson’s body of work? | | |
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 | Billboard |
| Jimmie Allen, Darius Rucker and Kane Brown are making a statement in contemporary country by tearing down the historical belief that the genre is closed to people of color. | | |
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| | | wipe that tear away now from your eye |
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 | Los Angeles Times |
| With a baby girl on the way, Kehlani prepped for maternity leave by pausing the intensely personal album she was working on to cut “While We Wait,” her third mixtape and first project since her bright major label debut, 2017’s "SweetSexySavage." | | |
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 | Music 3.0 |
| With streaming revenue showing a massive increase in comparison to previous years, the major three record labels are rejoicing at their annual haul. A big part of this income still draws from physical sales however, and as these old-school revenue streams continue to thin to a trickle, will streaming be able to fully compensate? | | |
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 | Mixmag |
| A goldmine of '90s rave sounds, nostalgia and history. | | |
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 | Pitchfork |
| The experimental artist talks about revisiting his famed 9/11 piece at Pitchfork and the Art Institute of Chicago’s Midwinter event. | | |
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 | Soundfly |
| Some handy tips for the touring musician as to how to keep healthy and energized on the road without sacrificing too much of your precious nightly earnings. | | |
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| Rolling Stone |
| Twenty-five years after hitting the mainstream, Meat Puppets return with original lineup on psych-Americana "Dusty Notes." | | |
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 | WNYC |
| The world's greatest violinist discusses genius, reveals "the great secret of a good teacher," and makes a sausage joke. Plus his wife Toby pops in, and his students play a concert. | | |
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 | Red Bull Music Academy |
| Eva Barragan delves into the spiritually-centered underground movement in the South African city. | | |
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 | DJBooth |
| "He was just like, 'You won’t have any problems out of me dog, you from Richmond.'" | | |
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 | Afropunk |
| Aretha Franklin's formely unreleased documentary, 'AMAZING GRACE,' is finally seeing the light of day and the first trailer is here. | | |
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 | YouTube |
| | | | | | "Maybe, I don't really wanna know, how your garden grows, because I just wanna fly." |
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