Thursday Thoughts and Things

Beware of platforms bearing polls—especially polls they commissioned themselves, and double especially those conducted online. Two new ones unveiled by TIKTOK Wednesday confirm what you already know—TikTok is a primary influence on music and culture—but with vague claims like "67% of TikTokers [are] more likely to seek out a song they heard on TikTok on a music streaming platform." More likely than who or what? More likely to do what exactly? Is there anyone who isn't more likely to seek out a song after they're exposed to it? Variety's GEOFF MAYFIELD notes that the polls, conducted by MRC DATA and FRANKLIN GROUP, are short on comparative data (read: context), and points to another recent poll, conducted by the major streaming companies, that places TikTok in the middle of the pack as an engine of music discovery. You're of course free to apply some gentle skepticism to that one, too... Beware also of congresspeople, even bipartisan ones, trying to get on the BRITNEY SPEARS anti-conservatorship train... Everything is an unauthorized remix: The THELONIOUS MONK estate wants you to know that JUPITER RISING's just-announced biopic on the jazz piano giant, starring YASIIN BEY, doesn't have the family's blessing and "we actually condemn the effort." The DR. JOHN estate feels the same about BLACK KEYS singer/guitarist DAN AUERBACH's planned documentary on the New Orleans piano great, and the SEX PISTOLS have apparently imploded over the decision of whether or not to license music to DANNY BOYLE's Pistols TV series, which is surprising only insofar as you had no idea they hadn't already imploded decades ago. Authorized docs and biopics, of course, aren't automatically good, cough cough QUEEN, but sometimes they BILLIE EILISH are, so anticipate accordingly...You can almost never go wrong following the example of the metal community... The reason people are still counting the number of women onstage at festivals like this weekend's ROLLING LOUD MIAMI (read: almost any festival) is that even after years of slow and steady improvement, it's still a little too easy to count them. Make it more difficult and they'll stop counting... This weekend in Germany, the 145-year-old BAYREUTH FESTIVAL will welcome its first woman conductor... Maybe ERIC CLAPTON can be the first major musician to play to an all-not-vaxed audience: You look wonderful tonight, sir, but I'm going to need to see proof that you haven't had your shots... Tweet of the week, courtesy WOLFIE's mom... You, you got what I need, JEFF GOLDBLUM... MOTOWN founder BERRY GORDY and singer/songwriter JONI MITCHELL will be 2021 KENNEDY CENTER HONOREES, along with BETTE MIDLER, JUSTINO DÍAZ and LORNE MICHAELS.

Rest in Peace

LA singer/songwriter, Viper Room co-owner and man about town CHUCK E. WEISS, who was in love with the little girl singing that song... Trinidadian rapso singer BROTHER RESISTANCE... Jazz drummer JERRY GRANELLI, who played on "A Charlie Brown Christmas."