In this day and age, it’s ridiculous for an artist to make something and not have a reason for it. ‘I made it ’cause it sounds good.’ You made something ’cause it sounds good? For real? You’re not doing enough. | | | | Stormzy at the MTV EMAs, London, Nov. 12, 2017.
(Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “In this day and age, it’s ridiculous for an artist to make something and not have a reason for it. ‘I made it ’cause it sounds good.’ You made something ’cause it sounds good? For real? You’re not doing enough.”
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| | rantnrave:// Rainy-day reminders: Rock and roll shall not be spelled any other way. No apostrophes, no ampersands, no other cheats... Hip-hop is hyphenated, like Jay-Z... It's reasonable to refer to a band as either "it" or "they," but not both in the same sentence... A band whose members are all women should be referred to as "a band"... Singers are musicians... Your exclusive news story is not in fact exclusive. It's news. It's not your property... Likewise your exclusive interview. I understand that any given phone conversation between two people is as singular as a snowflake. But that's the only claim to exclusivity you have. Please refrain from labeling it as such and I'll refrain from calling the scrambled eggs and arugula I had this morning my exclusive breakfast. While I was two forkfuls into it, your interviewee was on the phone with someone else... Ask yourself if that story is true before you hit publish. As in, are you sure it actually happened? "TMZ said so" is not a great answer. "DEATH AND TAXES said maybe" isn't any better. "Well, it's already out there" is the worst answer of all... There are authentic pre-CBS FENDER guitars and there was an authentic mode in ancient church music, but there are no authentic songs and no authentic artists. Singular historical exception to that rule: "LET ME OUT" by the LIFERS GROUP. That was unimpeachably authentic expression... There are things about the current streaming economy that are beneficial to artists and there are things about it that hurt artists. It's possible to hold both of these beliefs at the same time. It's harder to act on both of these beliefs at the same time. But do you have any other choice?... According to a recent study, that other recent study may or not mean anything... Clean design matters... If the pre-roll ad is longer than the video, you need to reconsider your business model... Arugula makes any dish better... No, this is probably not SO-AND-SO's best album since that other so-and-so album. Find another angle... Get to the chorus soon. Unless you don't want to... RIP JOHNNY HALLYDAY. | | | - Matty Karas, curator |
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 | Pigeons & Planes |
| Underground artists have used the internet to build huge followings. Now, they're figuring out how to bring that success to headlining tours of their own. | | |
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 | Chartmetric |
| We’ve seen this before: the Beatles, New Kids on the Block, *NSync, and most recently, One Direction. Lots of high-pitched screaming, lots of security, and a whole lot of people making money. But since One Direction’s split in 2015, who are American teens going to fangirl/boy over? | | |
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 | Victory Journal |
| 2 Chainz isn't the first rapper to mention bowling in his lyrics. But in his case, it's a perfect fit. | | |
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 | Noisey |
| 'Hellraisers: A Complete Visual History of Heavy Metal Mayhem' authors Axl Rosenberg and Chris Krovatin explain the methods behind their metal madness. | | |
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 | The New York Times |
| Our critic reflects on the legacy of the revered Metropolitan Opera conductor, who has been suspended by the company after sexual abuse accusations. | | |
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 | Marketplace |
| A new public company gives investors the chance to bet on a musician's continued success. | | |
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 | Dazed Digital |
| The founder of The Hard Times speaks to Dazed about bringing alt-music’s darkest issues to the forefront with comedy. | | |
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 | Los Angeles Times |
| Hip-hop defined the Grammy nominations in 2017, but further down the bill, there was also a notable shift in how Recording Academy voters saw the year in electronic music. This year, two acts -- the duo Odesza and the producer Bonobo -- each earned a pair of nominations for electronic music's top two categories, for dance recording and dance/electronic album. | | |
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 | The Guardian |
| Her smash hit New Rules gave relationship advice to an army of young women, making her more popular than Beyoncé and Rihanna - and her carefully nurtured rise could change the music industry for good. | | |
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 | Stereogum |
| Lorde, Kendrick Lamar, Priests, Perfume Genius, SZA... | | |
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 | The Fader |
| As is the case for his peers on the OVO roster, there’s a swole, Drake-shaped shadow looming over Woods. But also like them, he’s defining a lane of his own. And what he’s landed on — an earnest and charming, if slightly off-kilter, sound — is a welcome foil to the smooth-guy style that elsewhere dominates the camp. | | |
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 | CDM Create Digital Music |
| What connects 1930s Germany, post-War musique concrete, 1980s computer music, and a Eurorack module? Why - tape and microsound! This history explains. | | |
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 | Getintothis |
| As secondary ticket sites are threatened with legal action under consumer rights law, Getintothis' Cath Bore finds the move doesn't go far enough. The secondary ticketing market, designed to re-sell tickets to events where the original buyer can no longer attend, suffers a poor reputation. | | |
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 | Consequence of Sound |
| The 14-member outfit brings new levels of DIY influence, diversity, and inclusivity to hip-hop. | | |
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 | NPR |
| The members of Alien Weaponry aim to preserve their indigenous language through a unique medium: thrash metal music. The New Zealand trio is billed as the first Maori metal band. | | |
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 | The Telegraph |
| I5 had planned to discuss the threat posed by the Manchester suicide bomber just nine days after he launched his attack, an official report has revealed. The review by David Anderson QC found the bombing which killed 22 people could have been averted "had the cards fallen differently." | | |
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 | Pitchfork |
| A collection of the wisest, funniest, and most poignant highlights from the interviews we did this year. | | |
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 | Song Exploder |
| The day after the hurricane hit Puerto Rico, Lin-Manuel Miranda began working on “Almost Like Praying,” a song whose proceeds could be used to raise money for hurricane relief. He recruited an all star cast of singers, rappers, and actors, including Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony. In this episode, Miranda tells the story of how it all came together. | | |
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| Noisey |
| Shortly before his death on November 28, we visited Magín Diáz at his home in Gamero, in the Bolívar Department of Colombia. He was the oldest artist to win one of the most important awards in Latin American music. | | |
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 | The Partially Examined Life |
| Alejandro started as a punk guitarist for the The Nuns, moved to Austin in the ’80s and became a songwriter with True Believers. He has since put out 14+ solo albums of story-driven, lyrically intense, stylistically varied Texas rock. | | |
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 | SoundCloud |
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| © Copyright 2017, The REDEF Group |
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