Start young. | | | | Seymour Stein sandwiched by David Byrne and Madonna at the Rock Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Jan 17, 1996.
(Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “Start young.”
|
| |
| | rantnrave:// How to do A&R the SEYMOUR STEIN way: Look where everybody else isn't looking. (Pro tip: Everybody reads the big features in the NME. Nobody reads the tiny blurbs and news items.) Be ready to pounce immediately, even if it means getting on the CONCORDE to see a band you had never heard of until 6:30 this morning play a gig in England tonight. (Cost of a roundtrip flight to DEPECHE MODE via SST: $8,000. "Luckily, I had a credit card.") Sign acts today, worry about everything else tomorrow. (If it's, say, THE RAMONES, there will be a lot to worry about.) Love what you're doing. I assume this is how you should do pretty much any job in any business, but music is what Seymour Stein and HENRY ROLLINS were there to talk about Wednesday night in West Hollywood, so music is what this shall be about. Rollins, who knows a bit more about SST the punk label than SST the mode of travel, was interviewing Stein, who helped change the course of rock and pop with his label SIRE RECORDS, about his memoir, SIREN SONG: MY LIFE IN MUSIC. It was a master class in the art and history and visceral beauty of music disguised as a master class in the business of music. Lots of boldface names. Lots of boldface emotions. More than a few tears. He was born with a hole in his heart. Literally. A medical condition. No sports when he was a kid, but all kinds of music. He got the hole repaired eventually, but the music biz conspired to puncture it at least one more time. "I thought they'd be giants," he said of the Ramones, perhaps the signature signing in a career (except for that other signature signing). Musically, they were. Rock-star-wise, not so much. "It broke my heart." More tears. He was 13 when he got his first gig, at BILLBOARD, and 14 when he met SYD NATHAN, the KING RECORDS impresario who became his mentor. He music-bizzed through the '50s, '60s and '70s, touring with JAMES BROWN, signing bands like BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST and FOCUS that no one else was trying to sign, and making lifelong connections and friendships on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean (all three sides if you include the new mentors he found at ATLANTIC RECORDS). His ears, eyes and heart were always open. His wife, LINDA, saw the Ramones before he did because he was too sick that night. The next day, he bought them an hour of studio time and they did 17 or 18 songs in 25 minutes, “which was great ‘cause it gave us all this extra time. We made a deal. We shook hands on it." He offered TALKING HEADS a deal the day after he heard them at CBGB (he was outside; their sound, he said, sucked him into the room) only because DAVID BYRNE didn’t feel like having the conservation at the club. Byrne and band made him sweat by sitting on the deal for 11 months; it takes two to pounce, it turns out. A producer named MARK KAMINS wanted to produce one of Stein's acts, any act; Stein said no dice unless you bring me an artist. He gave Kamins a few thousand bucks to record some demos, and on his third or fourth try Kamins delivered MADONNA. She met Stein in his hospital room in LENOX HILL and accepted his offer (three 12-inch singles for $15,000 plus an option for an album) on the spot. MO OSTIN, whose WARNER BROS. RECORDS owned Sire, tried to talk him out of it because she wasn't "Sire material." Stein, a proud member of the "there are no categories except good and bad" school of music, went to his old friend NESUHI ERTEGUN from Atlantic Records, who was now at WEA International, and got the Madonna money from him. Ertegun had one condition: Stein had to listen to his nurses. Which he did. His ears were his greatest asset. How could he refuse that deal?... It's FRIDAY and that means new music from THE SUFFERS, DEAFHEAVEN, WIZ KHALIFA, BODY/HEAD, DIRTY PROJECTORS, MISS RED, LULUC, CHIEF KEEF, BURY TOMORROW, DEADMAU5, WIMPS, THE VAMPS, JADE NOVAH, JENN CHAMPION, ELVIN BISHOP, JON CLEARY, MIKAELA DAVIS, WET, REAL FRIENDS, THE DAVENPORTS, THE JAYHAWKS, COWBOY JUNKIES, RAYLAND BAXTER, THE OPHELIAS, RICK ASTLEY and the late JIMMY LAFAVE... RIP SEAN HALEY. | | | - Matty Karas, curator |
|
|
 | Stereogum |
| I am sitting on a folding chair in the middle of a football field. A few dozen yards in front of me stand two video screens several stories high, each angled slightly toward its respective side of the stadium, converging at the center of the stage like two sides of a triangle. | | |
|
 | Rolling Stone |
| A Nashville journey with classic rock’s new hope. | | |
|
 | The New Yorker |
| I ended up with a by-no-means-comprehensive playlist of nearly a hundred songs, and also a survey of the gritty, often thrilling turns that hip-hop is taking around the globe. | | |
|
 | Music Tech Solutions |
| We’ve noted a few times that there’s a limited benefit to ASCAP and BMI from being involved with the Music Modernization Act (although fans of the bill have been dining out on their support for quite a while). All of those benefits involve relief from the oppressive government control over songwriters through the ancient consent decrees that now mostly protect the MIC Coalition. | | |
|
 | Dazed Digital |
| Musicians Moses Boyd and Binker Golding reflect on the significance of the temporarily shuttered venue, which helped usher in the city’s ‘new jazz scene.’ | | |
|
 | Fact Magazine |
| FACT chats with some of the trailblazers of UK pirate radio. | | |
|
 | Vibe Magazine |
| The amazing oral history of "Yo! MTV Raps" by Fab 5 Freddy, Ed Lover, Doctor Dre & others celebrate the 30th anniversary concert in New York City. | | |
|
 | The New York Times |
| New albums from Kanye West, Jay-Z, Drake and J. Cole showcase rap’s superstars staring down their role as the genre’s elders. | | |
|
 | The Guardian |
| He helped Bieber find God and Ariana Grande respond to the Manchester Arena attack, while having to keep tabs on Kanye West. Scooter Braun explains why managing pop stars is perfect training for politics. | | |
|
 | Noisey |
| Some thoughts on doom and friendship in Chicago, Indian's return, and new tunes from Cliterati, Dispirit, Infernal Coil, and lots more. | | |
|
 | The Atlantic |
| The artist raps about cocaine with effortless dexterity. But in lionizing the antics of the dealer, he fails to fully comprehend the life of an addict. | | |
|
| Rolling Stone |
| XO Festival, canceled days before it was set to begin, is being called a second Fyre Festival. | | |
|
| The Guardian |
| The Russian producer became techno’s most divisive figure after filming an interview in the bath. Here, she discusses sexism, her ‘emotional’ DJ sets and raving on the Great Wall of China. | | |
|
 | NPR Music |
| From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell, just about anyone can sing its hypnotic riff. Here's why The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" is the world's biggest jock jam. | | |
|
 | Billboard |
| Amanda Palmer has been music's best-known crowdfunding pioneer ever since she used Kickstarter in 2012 to raise $1.2 million for her solo album 'Theatre Is Evil.' Now she has quietly moved onto a new platform where she's found even more funding for her career. | | |
|
 | Lawyer Drummer |
| So, you’ve found the perfect producer for your upcoming recording project. Great news. Now the producer sends over a 10-page contract full of legalese regarding record royalties, songwriting splits, SoundExchange revenues, producer advances and more. Before you enter the studio, here are some key points to look for and understand. | | |
|
 | She Shreds |
| Annie Clark and Ernie Ball Music Man introduce a new guitar to their St Vincent Collection. Want to know the specs? We got you. | | |
|
 | Variety |
| "I actually said ‘You can’t make a single that long.’ I was shouted down by the boys — not for the first time in my life." (Excerpted from "Sound Pictures: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin - The Later Years, 1966 - 2016" by Kenneth Womack.) | | |
|
 | ADWEEK |
| The singer created playlists and videos for the streaming service’s ongoing series, Black History Is Happening Now. | | |
|
 | Please Kill Me |
| Pamela Des Barres shares fond memories of her mentors, Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) and Frank Zappa, including her time as a nanny for the Zappas. | | |
|
 | YouTube |
| | | | | | This is my single favorite thing that Seymour Stein helped bring into this world. One of the most sublime pop singles, ever. |
| | |
|
|
| © Copyright 2018, The REDEF Group |
|
|
