Every album that I write is supposed to convey the arc of an emotional weather pattern I've been having, and finishing the album is what triggers the next emotional weather pattern. | | | | | Frank Ocean, for whom we all wait. | | | | | | “Every album that I write is supposed to convey the arc of an emotional weather pattern I've been having, and finishing the album is what triggers the next emotional weather pattern.”
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| | rantnrave:// Since we last talked, way back in JUNE, APPLE has bought TIDAL, driven SPOTIFY out of business, exclusively released the new FRANK OCEAN album and, for the hell of it, given concert promoters, police and repressive governments a handy tool to prevent you from shooting photos or video. Just kidding. Obviously that sentence can't be true. There's no new FRANK OCEAN album. Nothing else in that sentence has happened either, but troops do appear to be massing all around CUPERTINO. APPLE either is or isn't in talks to buy TIDAL, but there were enough sources on the "is" side to put that story into motion over the weekend. It's unclear what exactly APPLE would be getting, or why: a relatively small number of subscribers, a catalog that's 99-plus percent identical to what APPLE already has, the appearance of being a little more artist-friendly, an enhanced ability to score exclusives from major artists. The latter two are the actual reasons pundits have used to explain the potential purchase. I'm not sure why you have to buy a whole company to get that; why not just hire one or two people who are good at artist relations? That seems like it would be cheaper. But I don't have experience running corporate behemoths so maybe I'm missing something. Meanwhile, SPOTIFY got loud with its campaign against APPLE's billing practices for IPHONE apps, which effectively force SPOTIFY and similar services (including TIDAL) to charge significantly more for subscriptions purchased through an IPHONE than APPLE's own service has to charge. This, says SPOTIFY, "raises serious concerns under both U.S. and EU competition law." APPLE got equally loud with its response, which accuses SPOTIFY of demanding preferential treatment and says the fact that APPLE competes with SPOTIFY is irrelevant since it treats all apps the same way. It seemed, for a minute or so last week, that the entire music industry might unify to fight the WHITE WALKERS of YOUTUBE. But, alas, the internal wars rage on. And let's not even talk about the battle over the strange concept of 100 percent licensing, which essentially pits all artists and labels against all music services and radio stations; the U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT appears to have taken the latter's side with a decision that SONY ATV chief MARTIN BANDIER says is "like BREXIT. No one understands it." As far as a new tool that can disable your IPHONE camera in certain locations, no need to get alarmed yet. It's one of a zillion features APPLE has sought a patent for at one time or another, and one that APPLE has never said a word about actually using. But now that the word is out: Please don't... But by all means, more of this, please: APPLE helping connect musicians like TRENT REZNOR, CORINNE BAILEY RAE and BRAD PAISLEY with NASA... Eight people arrested and 37 hospitalized after a single concert, and city officials in PITTSBURGH are "very pleased." How come they never say that after a hip-hop or dance show, neither of which this was?... Oh yeah, FRANK OCEAN. He put this on his website. That's it. There is no information. There is only hope. | | | - Matty Karas, curator |
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| A data-driven look at Beyonce, Kendrick, Rihanna, Drake, Kanye and the evolution of the pop album. | | |
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| The thought of Jay Z and friends trying to cash out with dignity brings to mind Bernie Sanders exiting the Democratic race: It would be a capitulation to the machine they supposedly existed to fight in the first place, but they could perhaps, in defeat, try and reform that machine. | | |
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| On January 11, America awoke to a planet off its axis: David Bowie had passed away, at 69, after a long and secretive battle with cancer. But not all "Starman" superfans had been asleep when the news broke late into the night-including Rolling Stone columnist Rob Sheffield. | | |
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| In the summer of 2013, a YouTube video appeared showing a trio of 11- and 12-year-old boys playing astonishingly polished metal in Times Square. The band, called Unlocking the Truth-guitarist/vocalist Malcolm Brickhouse, bassist Alec Atkins, and drummer Jarad Dawkins-soon became the center of internet buzz, and they attracted the attention of entertainment industry veteran Alan Sacks, creator of Welcome Back, Kotter and producer of numerous Disney TV movies. | | |
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| We talked high times and high anxiety with frontman Will Toledo, whose studio debut "Teens of Denial" sees its long-awaited physical release July 8. | | |
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| The battle between YouTube stars and copyright holders over fair use laws is shaping the future of digital content | | |
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| I interviewed my hero. It went horribly wrong. | | |
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| Latin Night's DJ Infinite, DJSImon2001, and DJ Flawless talk about what the club meant to the city and its LGBTQ community. | | |
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| Charlie Clouser has taken a circuitous route to becoming a composer for television. After helping create some of the most well-known industrial music of the '90s as a member of Nine Inch Nails, as well as working with Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, the musician-producer moved into composing for film and TV. | | |
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| With few exceptions, the majority of streaming platform users tend to be largely in the under 35 set, but these services might do well to start courting an older demographic, with their deep pockets and streaming compatible tastes in music. | | |
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| We spent 2015 wondering when Adele, Kanye, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Drake, and Radiohead would surprise-drop their massive albums. But with the exception of Adele, none of them turned up until the first half of 2016. Was there something in the air that made our biggest stars really go for it this year? | | |
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| In the fall of 1996, DJ Shadow blew minds around the world using materials he found in a dusty Sacramento basement. Four years later, the Avalanches did much the same from their headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. DJ Shadow's "Endtroducing" and the Avalanches' "Since I Left You" were landmarks in the art - and science - of sampling. | | |
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| Do-it-yourself culture is rooted in idealized inclusion, but what happens when young people on the margins try to break the mold? | | |
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| In this special edition of the CMU Podcast, CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke chats to musician and vocal artist rights advocate David Lowery about the digital music market, his criticisms of the streaming sector, his lawsuit against Spotify, and whether he's optimistic about the future of the music business. | | |
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| In between interviewing Britney Spears and judging Spring Break wet T-shirt contests, former VJ Dave Holmes struggled with being openly gay on-air. Now he’s dishing about it all. | | |
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| Popular culture hasn't just whitewashed the story of punk; it's normalized it for hetero audiences, too. Kid Congo Powers will assure you that "punk was very gay in the beginning." | | |
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| "Keep You In Mind" found a home on the Adult R&B charts. | | |
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| John Doran speaks to one of tQ's favourite artists of recent years, the singer and tape manipulator, Ian William Craig. | | |
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| Popcaan talks the longevity of dancehall, notorious clashes and his mentor Vybz Kartel. | | |
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| Jeremih has a song called “Oui” that came out at the end of 2015 that is getting a lot of play currently. Because you’ve probably read books or eaten French fries, you know that “oui” is the French word for “yes.” Jeremih has decided to go the homophone route—given its pronunciation in English is “we”—and include the hook, “There’s no ‘oui’ without u and i.” | | |
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