Rhythm is what makes the world feel good and happy. Rhythm is a form of communication from soul to soul. | | | | September mood: Ray Barretto in New York, 1977.
(Richard E. Aaron/Redferns/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “Rhythm is what makes the world feel good and happy. Rhythm is a form of communication from soul to soul.”
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| | rantnrave:// Damn, BRANDY and MONICA have deep catalogs, and even if there was an occasional hint of tension between the two R&B singers best known for feuding over a boy on record two decades ago, their three-hour VERZUZ battle Monday night was a welcome reminder of a) that, and b) that music that can still provide unfiltered joy even in, maybe especially in, the darkest of times. KAMALA HARRIS showed up via video and MICHELLE OBAMA and HALLE BERRY were among the fans who showed up in the comments. There are no more water-cooler moments, cultural pundits like to say, but cultural pundits are wrong. Every Verzuz battle, going back to the inaugural TIMBALAND/SWIZZ BEATZ faceoff five months ago (was it really five months ago?!?), has been a water-cooler moment, and the fact that nobody in their right mind would go near an actual water cooler in 2020, ironically, only makes it more so. Noting the glut of new livestreaming content and livestreaming platforms that have shown up in recent months—pundits aren't wrong about that—CHERIE HU makes a case for the three qualities that newcomers in each category will need to survive. For content providers, she suggests production quality, intimacy/proximity and frequency/consistency. Verzuz scores a three-for-three, but the series has also had phenomenal booking, phenomenal timing and an organic je ne sais quoi that's the root of almost all water-cooler sensations. Part of the je ne sais quoi in this case, I believe, is that unfiltered joy, which I'm pretty sure almost all of use could use. "Please be on the lookout for the tour," Brandy said as she and Monica walked off camera together. I'm on the lookout for literally any tour at all right now but, still, yes... Was STONEHENGE the RED ROCKS of ancient England? Decades after SPINAL TAP inadvertently shrunk the mysterious stone monument, scientists created a miniature version on purpose to test its acoustic properties, and discovered it would have made a hell of a concert venue. The circle of stones was arranged in a way that would have amplified any sound made within and added natural reverb; the arrangement also would have prevented sound from leaking outside the circle. Ravers happy, neighbors happy. The researchers, who published their work in the Journal of Archaeological Science, aren't saying that's *why* Stonehenge was built—it's rather unlikely, they say—but then again, that's not why the building that now houses BERGHAIN was built either... BTS is the first K-pop group—and first Korean group—to hit #1 on the BILLBOARD HOT 100. The septet debuted at the top spot this week with its first English-language single, "DYNAMITE." (The last great English-language pop single titled "DYNAMITE" stalled a #2 on the chart, so consider this vengeance for that)... While on a ventilator in an LA hospital, critically ill with Covid-19, DEVO frontman and film composer MARK MOTHERSBAUGH hallucinated an entire new Devo album as well as an augmented-reality concert on the streets of Hollywood. This is a hell of a read on Mothersbaugh's near-death experience this spring. He's recovered. Devo face shields are a thing. Alas, that new Devo album remains a hallucination... Clubs across the US will be lit in red tonight as a message to Congress to pass the RESTART ACT... Best wishes to TOOTS HIBBERT. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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 | Trapital |
| An ecosystem of rappers and businesses have shaped the path and future for independent artists. | | |
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 | Level |
| Bemoaning the lack of protest anthems misses the point: what we need from artists has changed. | | |
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 | Water & Music |
| The market is starting to feel oversaturated, and artists are feeling a sense of fatigue with the format, at a time when communal, virtual entertainment should be more vital than ever. | | |
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 | Vulture |
| Thirty years into an epic career, Mariah Carey is still trying to explain herself. | | |
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 | MusicAlly |
| If artists can collectively own platforms like Spotify, we can address the underlying problem. | | |
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 | VICE |
| An unofficial ranking of the best most average songs in British music history. | | |
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 | Complex |
| We rank all the classic hip-hop movies from 'Straight Outta Compton' to '8 Mile.' | | |
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 | Pollstar |
| Every four years millions of Americans find themselves glued to their TVs for nights on end as part of a quadrennial summer ritual – not the Summer Olympics, but the country’s political conventions. | | |
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 | Bandcamp Daily |
| As an organizer, composer, and recording artist, Hammond played a pivotal role in freeing musicians from the constraint of systems and genres. | | |
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 | WQXR |
| The 1970s are hardly ancient history, but the decade seems like a distant world that had African American symphony and opera conductors in a few highly visible positions. | | |
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 | Consequence of Sound |
| Harvey Mason Jr., chairman and interim CEO of the Recording Academy and Grammys, and Milana Lewis, founder of Stem, both join Kyle Meredith With... to discuss how the two companies are spearheading new ways to make sure artists get paid for their work. First, Harvey Mason Jr. | | |
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 | TIDAL Magazine |
| As the institution’s Cleveland museum turns 25, a look back at the profoundly influential artists not yet included. They all may not have been megasellers, but they made the pop-music landscape that followed possible. | | |
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 | Variety |
| As larger-than-life rock stars go, St. Vincent may be a slightly slippery character, but Annie Clark, the woman who records under that name, isn't so much so. At least that's the impression you'll take away from the new audiobook "St. Vincent: Words + Music," which has just been released by Audible. | | |
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| Pollstar |
| It’s said that if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. Or, to your beach, if you are Jimmy Buffett. In the case of venue-based streaming platform NoCap, maybe Buffett can even bring the beach to you. | | |
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 | Stereogum |
| "I'mma take it slow just as fast as I can." That was Sam Hunt on 2017's "Body Like A Back Road," his first and only top-10 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. Fittingly, the track rose to its #6 peak almost three months after its early February release - slow compared to your average modern pop smash, but about as fast as a country song could. | | |
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 | More Fire |
| Rappers are the most prominent anti-police advocates in America, but they continuously demonstrate their convenient carcerality. | | |
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| Vulture |
| The performances took place in the only setting available: a disembodied, placeless nowhere. | | |
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 | Recording Academy |
| To honor the 25th anniversary re-release of 'Elliott Smith,' archivist Larry Crane and photographer JJ Gonson reflect on Smith’s impact on their lives-and ours. | | |
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 | Decibel |
| A chat with the author and a peek inside of the new book, "Tape Dealer 1984-1994: A Decade of Demos and Tape Trading," featuring artwork by Mark Riddick. | | |
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 | Colin and Samir |
| Colin and Samir spend $100 on creators' paid content subscription plans to determine which creator and platform are the best. They buy Logan Paul's Maverick Club, Cody Ko and Noel's Tiny Meat Gang Podcast, Issa Rae's Patreon, MKBHD and PewdiePie's YouTube Membership and Cardi B's OnlyFans. | | |
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 | YouTube |
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