The more people who parrot the old Rock Is Dead line, the tighter all the fans who know that’s not quite true are inclined to bind together, a devout and fearsome army dwindling in number, perhaps, but only growing in force.
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Mastodon's Troy Sanders in Berlin, Aug. 23, 2016.
(Frank Hoensch/Redferns/Getty Images)
Thursday - May 25, 2017 Thu - 05/25/17
rantnrave:// Has rock's death been exaggerated? Are hip-hop and BLINK-182 in cahoots? Is it possible that dance music is still the next big thing? Yes, maybe and wait, what was the question?... THE RINGER's ROB HARVILLA goes to the ROCK ON THE RANGE fest in OHIO and finds 60-ish bands steadfastly refusing to not rock no matter how many times they've read their own obit. They are led by METALLICA, a band "too big (and too loud) to fail, too monolithic to dismiss or even mock in any sustained or credible manner," and haunted by the ghost of CHRIS CORNELL (SOUNDGARDEN was supposed to be a headliner), with bands from BUSH to LIVE to STONE SOUR paying tribute. There are tears. Twenty years from now I will write the same item with some of the same bands and rock will still not be dead and the sound of screaming voices and loud guitars will have lost none of its power to make black-t-shirted masses go insane. Meanwhile, two states away, INVISIBLE ORANGES' RHYS WILLIAMS wonders if the venerable MARYLAND DEATHFEST, which begins today, has jumped the shark. But he's talking about the festival, not the music; one of the reasons he cites is the growth of smaller, cooler metal fests elsewhere. Metal will never ever say die... (Speaking of which, millions of people do not protect their ears. Do you?)... Also, and this is musically sort of related, JOE PRICE at PIGEONS & PLANES notices LIL UZI VERT borrowing moves from MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE and LIL PEEP rapping with a "TOM DELONGE meets MARK HOPPUS drawl" and asks: "Is Pop-Punk Rap's Big Obsession?" Price's evidence is persuasive, his interview with DeLonge less so. But if I'm reading correctly, DeLonge is into what Lil Peep is doing, so there's that... "Rock" is still more popular than "dance" in the US, per NIELSEN SOUNDSCAN, which is among the pot-luck stew of facts and figures KEVIN WATSON features in his annual report on the dance music industry for the INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SUMMIT. Dance is strong in sales in GERMANY, on the radio in FRANCE and on social media everywhere. My favorite stat: Five of the top 10 names on DJ MAG's 2016 Top 100 DJs list are under 30. In 2007, none were. Not sure if that means this crop of DJs has that many more years of mixing and remixing ahead, or if its days are numbered because dance fans don't trust anyone over 30 anymore. Oh, and they're still all men. I wish some things would change more than they do... NETFLIX cancels THE GET DOWN... RIP FRANKIE PAUL and BARBARA SMITH CONRAD.
- Matty Karas, curator
capitalismo's favorite boy child
The Ringer
Rock 'n' Roll Lives (in Ohio)
by Rob Harvilla
Three days at the Rock and the Range Festival, featuring Metallica, Korn and determined nostalgia.
DJBooth
The Life and Death of the Freestyle Mixtape
by Matt Wilhite
The freestyle mixtape wasn’t just a service to the fans, it was a representation of hip-hop’s core. Now it's dead.
MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY
The MTP Podcast: The Consequences of DOJ's New Rule on 100% Licensing with David Lowery, Steve Winogradsky and Chris Castle
by David C. Lowery, Steve Winogradsky and Chris Castle
David Lowery, Steve Winogradsky and Chris Castle discuss the implications of the new rule by the U.S. Department of Justice re-interpreting the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees to require 100% licensing and prohibiting partial withdrawal.
NPR
This Was It: Inside The Whirlwind That Was The NYC Rock Revival
by Eric Ducker
Author Lizzy Goodman talks about living through -- and revisiting -- the explosive rock scene in New York during the early 21st century to write her oral history, "Meet Me In The Bathroom."
Talkhouse
Was This It?
by John Colpitts
A review of "Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011" from someone who lived it.
Variety
Red Rocks Booked Through 2022? Why Some Bands Get Shut Out of the Iconic Venue
by Steve Knopper
Bands looking to book a date at the storied Denver venue have to think as many as five years out in what’s described as the country’s “most extreme” hold-and-challenge policy.
Quartz
We no longer know who the biggest pop star in the world is
by Amy X. Wang
50 years since the Beatles dropped "Sgt. Pepper’s," no one can agree on who's number one.
Pacific Standard
Music Teachers Believe a Lot of Myths
by Tom Jacobs
New research from Germany suggests many are unclear regarding which claims about music and the brain have actually been confirmed.
Pitchfork
The Dance Music Trends to Keep You Moving This Summer
by Philip Sherburne
The sound, the scene, and the series of events that capture summer ’17 dance music.
Danceonomics
International Music Summit Business Report 2017 [PDF]
by Kevin Watson
An annual study of the electronic music industry.
something to sell your labor for
Rolling Stone
The Sequence: The Funked-Up Legacy of Hip-Hop's First Ladies
by Christopher R. Weingarten
Read the inside story of pioneering female rap trio the Sequence, still fighting for recognition 38 years after their landmark single "Funk You Up."
Vulture
How 'The Handmaid's' Tale Picked Each of Its Songs
by Maria Elena Fernandez
Life in "The Handmaid’s Tale" is very quiet. According to the laws of Gilead, the Handmaids are not allowed to read, watch TV, or listen to music. All Offred (Elisabeth Moss), the show’s protagonist whose real name is June, ever hears when she is in her bedroom are her thoughts.
Production Advice
Spotify just reduced its loudness playback level!
by Ian Shepherd
The post title says it all -- in the last few days it’s become clear that Spotify have chosen to reduce their playback loudness reference level from approximately -11 LUFS down to approximately -14, broadly in line with YouTube and TIDAL.This is a big deal, and in a minute I’ll discuss why, but before that – what does it mean, in simple terms ?
The New York Times
Grateful Dead Documentary: A Four-Hour Jam on Jerry Garcia's World
by Will Dana
Amir Bar-Lev’s “Long Strange Trip” strives to evoke the band’s spirit while making a fresh argument about its place in American culture.
Detroit Metro Times
The street drummers who soundtrack downtown Detroit
by Anthony Spak
Boom chakka-lakka-lakka boom.
Pigeons & Planes
Is Pop-Punk Rap's Next Big Obsession?
by Joe Price
On Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Peep, and the unexpected ways hip-hop is evolving.
CLRVYNT
Do Concertgoers Actually Want Heightened Security?
by John Hill
We spoke to the VP of Webster Hall, as well as the Devil Wears Prada and concertgoers, about how the Manchester attack will affect security going forward.
Noisey
The Emancipation of Donna Summer
by Ira Madison III
2017 marks 40 years since Summer's audacious, pivotal pair of albums 'I Remember Yesterday' and 'Once Upon a Time.'
Inside Science
Heavy Metal Singers are Big Babies
by Jason Socrates Bardi
Science and high speed cameras prove that heavy metal singers do intuitively what babies know instinctively -- how to protect their voices while making very loud sounds.
The Guardian
Arianators assemble: Ariana Grande’s fans weave a web of support
by Caroline Sullivan
The pop star declared herself ‘broken’ after the Manchester suicide bombing but her army of fans are fighting to reframe the way that terrible evening ended.
MUSIC OF THE DAY
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"Ashes"
Pallbearer
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