NEWS ROUNDUP: Political Popstars, Return of the 2000s & More

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Pussy Riot

Political Popstars, Return of the 2000s & More

By Jasmine Williams

Pussy Riot Forever!

Days after members of Pussy Riot were arrested for staging a protest during the World Cup, the Russian firebrands were awarded a settlement relating to their 2012 jail sentences for performing a “punk prayer” at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. On Tuesday the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia has to pay around $57,000 in damages to Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda “Nadya” Tolokonnikova for being unfairly imprisoned. Following the World Cup, Pussy Riot released a new music video called “Track About Good Cop.”

M.I.A.

This week, another controversial female musician returns. M.I.A. has never been one to shy away from politics, forever finding a way to inject global news stories into earworm hooks. (“All I wanna do is bang, bang, bang, and get your money” has to be the most gangster satire on anti-immigrant sentiments, ever.)

Finally, fans of Maya Arulpragasam will be able to get an insider view into her life through an upcoming documentary. Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. will journey from her childhood among Tamil Tigers to her Super Bowl settlement. The film comes out this September.

That New New

It’s not just early aughts fashion that’s back, three of your favorite feely bands from the 2000s have dropped videos this week. Death Cab for Cutie and The Blow both released new clips that veer into art-student-film-project territory while Cat Power debuted the song “Wanderer,” featuring unlikely collaborator (and tour mate), Lana Del Rey.

Chance The Rapper announced his foray into media with a new track. “I Might Need Security” discloses his purchase of local news site, The Chicagoist.

Alt-rappers Brockhampton also entered new waters this week, the group dropped a music video for “1998 Truman,” their first release since the departure of ex-member, Ameer Vann, due to allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct.

End Notes

  • Pitchfork Music Festival is this weekend in Chicago. You can livestream many of the acts, including Lauryn Hill, Blood Orange, and Courtney Barnett on Pitchfork’s YouTube channel.

 

  • Fans who were worried about SZA can breathe a sigh of relief. After missing some dates on TDE’s Championship tour due to damaged vocal cords, the Drew Barrymore singer made a valiant comeback at Firefly Festival.

 

  • Jay-Z is disputing with Philadelphia mayor, Jim Kenney over the music festival that the rapper founded six years ago. Since its 2012 inception, Made in America Festival has been held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art,  but this may be about to change. Without talking to festival organizers, Kenney told local news that the fest’s busy location was inconveniencing the city and would have to be moved in 2019. In response to the mayor, Jay-Z published a statement in the The Inquirer to voice his disapproval. Maybe op-eds are the new rap battle?

 

  • Mad Decent Block Party returns to New York after taking a one-year hiatus from the city. On September 24, TroyBoi, Walshy Fire, and more will play at the Brooklyn Mirage.

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NEWS ROUNDUP: Nas, A Sony Payout & More

 

Nas, A Sony Payout & More

By Jasmine Williams

The Internet’s Hip-Hop Hypocrisy

Last night Kanye West was involved in yet another livestream event. He produced the new Nas album, Nasir, which debuted via a listening party in Queens, New York. While many Illmatic fanboys have lit up the internet with their excitement and praise for the album, others are seeing its open-armed reception as more evidence that the #MeToo movement is having trouble gaining a foothold in an industry where some of the biggest money makers and critical darlings happen to be raging misogynists.

Wear a MAGA hat in a bi-polar frenzy and get scorned by all of the internet but hit a woman? No big deal! West has had his fair share of criticism for recent remarks and Twitter tirades but Nas has barely suffered a scratch following the April allegations of ex-wife Kelis, who claimed that the NYC legend physically and mentally abused her over the course of their four year marriage. Her accusations echo that of Nas’ ex-girflfriend, Carmen Bryan, who said that the rapper punched her in the face during their relationship.

Sony Loves You

Sony recently made $750 million from selling half of their Spotify shares and this week the industry giant pledged to share some of those profits with indie artists. Around 100,000 artists will potentially be able to take part in Sony’s new compensation program, which is outlined in a memo stating that because of the giant stakes sale Sony now has an “opportunity to pay additional compensation to all of our eligible artists and participants.”

That New New

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Christina Aguilera photographed by Luke Gilford.

Christina Aguilera’s highly anticipated new album dropped today! It’s her first album in six years and proves that the noughties superstar is no longer concerned with your concerns. As she says in the Zoe Grossman-directed album trailer, “Fuck it, this is who I am and…whoever’s not on board can suck my dick.”

Ryan Adams went from troubadour to weatherman and back again on Wednesday night when he took over Denver7’s weather report. In exchange for letting him play forecaster, (something Adams called a “longtime dream”) the singer-songwriter wrote about Denver7 and dropped a new animated music video on their channel.

Dirty Projectors also released an animated video in support of the single, “That’s A Lifestyle.”

Drake has been accused of keeping fatherhood a secret and blackface photoshoots swept under the rug but there are some parts of his past that the rapper does not shy away from. Case in point? His latest video for “I’m Upset” features a Degrassi reunion, although some are wondering, “Where’s JT?”

End Notes

~Now concluding its 176th season, the New York Philharmonic is the oldest orchestra in the country. For all of these years, they’ve had a pretty strict dress code but that may finally change. The orchestra is now considering loosening up the rules so that female players may no longer be required to wear dress and skirts and men could possible stop wearing white ties and tails.

~Two weeks ahead of the June 29th release of her next Florence + The Machine album, High As Hope, Florence Welch gave an extensive interview to The New York Times. Of her upcoming LP She told journalist Melena Ryzik, “This one, I had a lot of joy in making it.”

~The expression “high seas” may soon take on a new meaning. Kesha just announced a new cruise tour – Kesha’s Weird and Wonderful Rainbow Ride will sail from Florida to the Bahamas in February.

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NEWS ROUNDUP: Killer Mike’s NRA Interview, New R. Kelly Doc & More

NEWS ROUNDUP: Killer Mike, R. Kelly & More

By Jasmine Williams

Killer Mike ❤’s the NRA

While country musicians are distancing themselves from the National Rifle Association, the pro-gun lobby is getting support from an unlikely ally – Killer Mike. As half of explosive rap duo Run The Jewels the musician has never been known for his subtlety; however, he still managed to catch his fans off-guard earlier this week when he was the featured subject of an NRA interview. The NRATV segment was broadcast on March 22nd, two days before the March for Our Lives. During the 42-minute Q&A, Mike backs up the NRA, criticizes student gun-reform activists and attempts to link civil rights to the right to bear arms.

To be fair, Killer Mike has defended black gun ownership in the past so his arguments weren’t completely new and he did bring up some interesting points about the disparity in the treatment of black versus white activists. However, to choose NRATV to air his opinions was confusing and unacceptable to many; critics pointed out that his partnership with the gun lobbyists undermines some of the core arguments he makes in the interview. In fact, one of the only times that the NRA backed gun reform was in 1967 when it helped get the Mulford Gun Ban Act through. The law banned the open carrying of guns in California. It’s not a coincidence that the act was passed during the same period that the Black Panthers were rising to prominence.

Killer Mike has since apologized for some of his statements and the timing of his interview.

Is R. Kelly the Harvey Weinstein of the music industry?

Compared to the movie industry, the music world has been slow to catch onto the #MeToo movement. Case in point? R. Kelly. For years we’ve known that the R&B hitmaker was a sexual predator. He supposedly married Aaliyah at the ripe old age of fifteen and has since been accused of myriad forms of sexual abuse, starting a cult, and holding women at his home against their will. Recently released BBC documentary, R . Kelly: Sex, Girls and Videotapes has added more disturbing allegations to the musician’s list. The film features interviews with ex-girlfriend Kitti Jones, who describes how she was forced to engage with Kelly and others in a “sex dungeon” and his disturbing practice of “grooming” underaged girls.

Kelly has paid various court settlements to women over the years but has yet to be convicted of any crimes. He is currently on tour.

In other shitty-men-in-the-music-industry news: Charlie Walk is officially out at Republic Group. The record executive is the subject of an ongoing sexual misconduct investigation.

That New New:

Next month the Tribeca Film Festival will screen a new Patti Smith documentary. Horses: Patti Smith and her Band features the final concert of her 2016 tour which honored the 40-year anniversary of her 1975 album. Garbage will also celebrate an impressive milestone with a new-old release. The 20th anniversary of the band’s sophomore album, Version 2.0, will be commemorated with a reissue of the album on June 22nd.

Soul, psych, chill-out queen, Kadhja Bonet released a new track, “Mother Maybe.” It’s the first single off of her upcoming album, Childqueen, out June 8th.

Frankie Cosmos has a new album out this weekend. Vessel is Greta Kline’s third LP.

Phoenix, Real Estate, Nils Frahm, Ty Segall, and Cut Copy have all announced new tour dates.

The festival lineup for the Brooklyn edition of Afropunk is here! Erykah Badu, Miguel, The Internet, Janelle Monae, Ibeyi and many more will play Commodore Barry Park on August 25th and 26th.

A Tribe Called Quest has released their final video. Erykah Badu, Questlove, Common, Janelle Monae and many more guests pop up in “The Space Program,” an eight-minute Afro-futuristic journey that celebrates the seminal hip-hop group’s history while maintaining Tribe’s usual dose of political commentary. Audiofemme faves, Wax Idols, also have a new video out. Watch Mausoleum here and look out for their upcoming album, Happy Ending, out May 16th.

For more new music clips, check out Desdemona Dallas’ new Audiofemme column, Video of the Week.

More Music News:

  • At the beginning of this week, Chance The Rapper put attention on an incredibly racist advertisement for Heineken Light and brought up an interesting point by tweeting “I think some companies are purposely putting out noticeably racist ads so they can get more views.” He might be right – in this age of increasing political correctness and social media sharing, cultural controversies often go viral. Maybe advertisement firms are using this as a strategy; after all, no one has ever touted the industry for its upstanding morality. Heineken has since pulled the commercial but on Thursday, the beer company’s stock was up.
  • On Monday, The Associated Press reported that a toxicology report from Prince’s death reveals that he had an “exceedingly high” concentration of fetanyl in his body. The synthetic painkiller is 50 times more powerful than heroin and is a key facet of the current opioid crisis in the United States. The investigation in to the music legend’s passing remains open.
  • The Bushwick building that hosts soon-to-close venue, Silent Barn, may become the headquarters of Educated Little Monsters. ELM is a “local grassroots youth program and movement dedicated to providing artistic outlets and economic opportunity to native-Brooklyn youth of color.” The organization has launched a fundraiser to raise $50,000 to take over the space. Read ELM’s full statement and donate here.

NEWS ROUNDUP: Gender Equalizers, Night Mayors & More

NEWS ROUNDUP: Gender Equalizers, Night Mayors, & More

By Jasmine Williams

An App for Gender Equality: 

On Thursday, in honor of International Women’s Day, Spotify and Smirnoff partnered together to launch the Smirnoff Equalizer, a tool that reveals the gender breakdown of the artists you are listening to. The streaming platform created that app after collecting data that revealed that 100% of their most streamed tracks in 2017 were performed by men. The equalizer analyzes each listener’s history to produce percentages of male to female artists. It then provides a slider tool so that listeners can discover artists of different genders, including non-binary. You may be surprised by your streaming habits! It turns out that the feminist writer of this news breakdown has been listening to 88% of tracks by male performers versus 13% females. The shame!

Try the Smirnoff Equalizer here.

NYC’s 1st Night Mayor:

It’s a new era for New York City nightlife! Last year the archaic Cabarat Law was repealed and the city has named its first ever Night Mayor. Despite the vampiric title, Ariel Palitz will spend a lot of daylight hours smoothing over the relationships between rigid community councils and venues who often have trouble applying for liquor licenses and getting permits. Palitz is a seasoned promoter and was owner of the club Sutra for ten years. In theory, she will be making it easier for DIY event spaces to operate throughout the five boroughs. Fingers crossed!

Other Highlights:

Anderson .Paak’s new single, “Til It’s Over,” gets the Spike Jonze treatment for an Apple Music video starring FKA Twigs as a working stiff who escapes reality through dance.

On Wednesday, In response to recent criticism of his live shows, Vince Staples launched a GoFundMe page so that he can leave the music biz, he states, “You can decide to donate to the cause of $2 million, which will allow me to shut the fuck up forever and you will never hear from me again…If not, you can choose to let me do what I want to do, when I want to do it…” The next day it emerged that the crowd fundraiser was actually a stunt in promotion for new track, “Get the Fuck Off My Dick.”

Shamir, Pussy Riot, Jeremih, Sade and Warpaint’s Theresa Wayman also released new music this week. Beach House debuted another track off of their upcoming album, 7 and unveiled the tracklist and plans for an extensive tour. Mitski, Dirty Projectors, Twin Shadow, Lily Allen, and serpentwithfeet (who just put out a new video) will also be hitting the road in the near future. serpent’s NYC stop will be a part of Redbull Music Festival’s 2018 lineup which also includes Robyn and Fever Ray among others.

Nick Cave announced an unconventional tour this week, he’ll be inviting audience members for open Q&A sessions at spots along the East Coast. He stops at Murrmrr Theatre in Brooklyn on May 5th.

On the film front, Yo La Tengo and King Krule have released special performance footage, the former played a set at National Sawdust and the latter gave a concert “on the moon.”

Q-Tip was recently named advisor-at-large and artistic director of the new Hip-Hop Culture Council at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Billy McFarland, the promotor behind doomed island disaster, Fyre Music Festival, pled guilty to two counts of fraud this week.

 

NEWS ROUNDUP: David Bowie, Courtney Barnett, & The Market Hotel

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Illustration by Bejamin Schwartz of The New Yorker.
Illustration by Bejamin Schwartz of The New Yorker.

  • David Bowie Dies

    Just a week ago we were celebrating David Bowie’s 69th birthday and the release of Blackstar, but reviews of the album turned into eulogies with the news that he passed away on Sunday after a fight with terminal cancer. Memorials quickly appeared outside of his Manhattan apartment, and across the country, Bowie Street in Austin was replaced with a sign that read David Bowie Street.

    His last album was amazing to begin with, but after the realization that Bowie recorded the album knowing he would not be here much longer, Blackstar has become even more beautiful and haunting. AudioFemme’s Jerilyn Jordan wrote a moving review, which you can read here.

 

  • Courtney Barnett Releases New Song

    Courtney Barnett has a bad habit, but it’s not what you think. On “Three Packs A Day,” the Australian singer/songwriter celebrates a vice that isn’t cigarettes, but instant ramen: “That MSG tastes good to me, I disagree with all your warnings.” Similar to the work on previous album and EP, Barnett uses her humor to show that she’s a bit of an introvert (and also to warn us of the dangers of ramen addiction): “I’m down to three packs a day, I sneak away to find a kettle/ I withdraw from all my friends and their dinner plans, I’m sick of lentils.” The song will be on on the Milk! Records compilation Good For You, available February 14th.

 

  • Father John Misty Performs On The Late Show

    “Maybe love is just an institution based on resource scarcity.” The ever-cheerful Father John Misty performed on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” last night, playing the normally quieter, stripped-down song “Holy Shit.” If you’ve ever seen FJM live, you’ll know that he thrives on being unpredictable, so naturally, midway through his song things take an unexpected turn. He’ll be going on a Spring tour in April, but won’t be coming to NYC until the Governors Ball Music Festival this summer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3eDqluZ-Cs

 

  • Brooklyn’s Market Hotel Anounces Reopening

    The DIY space on Myrtle and Broadway in Bushwick was closed for five years, but after an anonymous grant (and a Sleater-Kinney show last month), Market Hotel announced they will be officially, and legally reopening the weekend of January 22nd. Bands that will playing that weekend include Via App, Kill Alters, Dreamcrusher, Malory, Guerilla Toss, PC Worship, Pill and special guests that have yet to be announced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN4PDI1VDHY

 

  • Upcoming Shows

    For our readers in NYC, here are the shows we recommend for this weekend and next week:

    • 1/15 – Whiskey Bitches @ Baby’s All Right

      1/15 – WALL / Pill / RIPS @ Union Pool

      1/16 – Guerilla Toss / Zula / Erica Eso / Wume / Father Finger @ Shea Stadium

      1/17 – Moon Hooch @ Mercury Lounge

      1/17 –  Mariachi Flor de Toloache @ Rockwood Music Hall

      1/20 – Antibalas @ Brooklyn Bowl

      1/21 – Torres / Palehound @ Bowery Ballroom

      1/22 – Acid Dad / Total Slacker / AMFMS @ Baby’s All Right

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NEWS ROUNDUP: Hinds, Making a Murderer, and David Bowie

davidbowiemain

With the new year we’re going to be bringing you a weekly news round up. Here are our highlights. Dig in.

  • HINDS Takes Over NYC Hinds, the Madrid-based, garage rock band, released Leave Me Alone today, and made a few noteworthy appearances in NYC to celebrate: An in-store session at Manhattan’s Other Music on Tuesday, and a wild, karaoke-style party at Bushwick’s Palisades last night. If you were lucky enough to get in, we’re jealous.

  • Making a Murderer/Making a Mixtape

    If you have a Netflix account- or a maybe nice friend’s password- chances are, you’ve spent the holidays obsessing over the true crime drama Making a Murderer, the story of crooked cops who will stop at nothing to frame a man who is innocent (or is he?!?). Dan Auerbach is right there with you, guys. He enlisted his new band The Arcs to record “Lake Superior,” a song about the story of Steven Avery. It’s a spacey, lo-fi track featuring lyrics that echo the corruption the documentary tackles: “Back on the shore where the poor get whipped/ Where the fat get fat and the rich stay rich.” All proceeds the song earn will go to the Innocent Project, Auerbach says.

  • It’s (Almost) Music Festival Season

    Tickets went on sale for two California festivals, Coachella and BottleRock. Guns N’ Roses are reuniting for Coachella, and other notable headliners include LCD Soundsystem and Sufjan Stevens. But as many sites have pointed out, there is, and always has been a serious lack of female headliners at the famous festival. There’s only ever been two instances where a woman was a headliner, but both of those were Bjork (in 2002 and 2007), so that’s really like one and a half. Also, that poster is practically impossible to read. Back on the east coast, the lineup for the 2016 Governors Ball festival in NYC was just announced as well. 

  • Upcoming Shows

    For readers in NYC who need help planning their social life for next week or so, may we suggest these shows:

    • Rubblebucket at Brooklyn Bowl: Tonight, 8:30 PM
    • NYC’s Hardest Working Bands (featuring Pill, Future Punx, Acid Dad, Gingerlys, Surf Rock is Dead,Dreamcrusher, and Vomitface) at Baby’s All Right: 1/09, 4 PM
    • A Tribute to Lou Reed (featuring Sinkane, Mirah, Invisible Familiars, Your 33 Black Angels, Pencil, Cassandra Jenkins, Jolie Holland, and Sam Owens) at Manhattan Inn: 1/10, 8:30 PM
    • Metz/Bully/Palm at Bowery Ballroom: 1/13, 8 PM
  • Happy Birthday, David Bowie and Elvis!

    “The King of Rock’n’Roll” would have been 80-years old-today. David Bowie also turned 69 today and finally released Backstar. We’re calling today David Bowie Day. Stay tuned for AudioFemme’s take on his much anticipated 26th studio album.