Smoking in the '70s: singer, songwriter, civil-rights champion Nina Simone.
(Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Smoking in the '70s: singer, songwriter, civil-rights champion Nina Simone.
(Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
MUSICREDEF PICKS
Social A&R, Retreating Into Headphones, Hans Zimmer Rock God, Ugly God, Taylor Swift...
Matty Karas, curator August 14, 2017
QUOTABLES!
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The multicultural tapestry that is America must come together, acknowledge our very difficult but remarkable history. We must move away from the racist and ignorant elements of our past toward an inclusive, kinder, more intelligent future.
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rant n' rave
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TAYLOR SWIFT isn't the first woman to accuse a man in the music business of sexual assault and she won't be the last. But she presumably knows she'll get more coverage and attention than almost any other woman in a similar—or worse—position, and she used her day on the stand in a civil trial last week to make a mockery of the way victims are often treated. Lawyer: Why didn't anyone else see an assault happen? Swift: "The only person who would have a direct eye line is someone laying underneath my skirt and we didn’t have anyone positioned there." She was poised and direct like that throughout her testimony, and became an instant icon to a new kind of Taylor Swift audience. Whether that's who she will be, or wants to be, going forward, is immaterial. When she had a chance to stand up, she stood up. When it would have been easy to back down, she stayed up. Radio host DAVID MUELLER's $3 million suit claiming Swift interfered with his career was thrown out Friday; her $1 counterclaim against him remains. Closing arguments are expected today. In the case of Swift's willingness to use her platform to inspire, and advance the cause of, others who don't have the privilege of her voice, the verdict is already in... SOUNDCLOUD got more than a lifeline on Friday. It got an infusion of music/tech talent vowing not just to keep the site afloat, but to give it a viable future, with a focus on the musicians and producers who have made SC a crucial part of modern music culture. The collective sigh you're hearing is loud and worldwide—and will be uploaded shortly as a 45-minute SoundCloud mix... Is it too much to ask legislators to think everything through before they, y'know, legislate? Or is possible they're trying this on purpose?... A Republican super PAC backed by Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL is "very interested" in the idea of KID ROCK running for US SENATE. Kid Rock has been publicly toying with the idea without committing to a run. His would-be opponent, SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW, condemned the racist rally and violence in CHARLOTTESVILLE this weekend. Kid Rock, as of Sunday night, had said nothing about it publicly. He did go on INSTAGRAM to proclaim Sunday "one of the nicest days of the year"... MAX MARTIN and the BACKSTREET BOYS fart out a beat, literally... Silence is golden.

Matty Karas, curator

August 14, 2017