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Fats Domino Passes Away

Jason Tate

Fats Domino has passed away. He was 89.

Mr. Domino had more than three dozen Top 40 pop hits through the 1950s and early ’60s, among them “Blueberry Hill,” “Ain’t It a Shame” (also known as “Ain’t That a Shame,” which is the actual lyric), “I’m Walkin’,” “Blue Monday” and “Walkin’ to New Orleans.” Throughout he displayed both the buoyant spirit of New Orleans, his hometown, and a droll resilience that reached listeners worldwide.

He sold 65 million singles in those years, with 23 gold records, making him second only to Elvis Presley as a commercial force. Presley acknowledged Mr. Domino as a predecessor.

Amazon Announces “Amazon Key”

amazon
Jason Tate

Amazon has announced “Amazon Key,” a new service that lets you get packages delivered inside your home. From the press release:

This state-of-the-art technology doesn’t simply replace a key with a digital passcode. Each time a delivery driver requests access to a customer’s home, Amazon verifies that the correct driver is at the right address, at the intended time, through an encrypted authentication process. Once this process is successfully completed, Amazon Cloud Cam starts recording and the door is then unlocked. No access codes or keys are ever provided to delivery drivers. And, for added peace of mind, in-home delivery is backed by Amazon’s Happiness Guarantee.

Uh, fuck no.

Sam Smith on Coming Out, and the Thrill of It All

Sam Smith
Jason Tate

Louis Wise, writing for The Times:

This is not new. “People don’t know this, but when I was 17, I remember becoming obsessed with Boy George and Marilyn, and all that. There was one moment in my life where I didn’t own a piece of male clothing, really. I would wear full make-up every day in school, eyelashes, leggings with Dr Martens and huge fur coats, for 2 ½ years.” Does he feel like a “cis” man? “No,” he scoffs. “I mean, I’ve got these tattoos on my fingers” — he flashes two delicately etched Venus symbols, one on each hand. “I don’t know what the title would be, but I feel just as much woman as I am man.”

Julien Baker Bravely Confronts Her Traumas and Fears

Julien Baker
Jason Tate

Jon Pareles, writing for The New York Times:

“Sprained Ankle,” was a measured cry in the wilderness, a distillation of solitary despair. Just two years later, “Turn Out the Lights” is the work of a songwriter who has resonated with an international audience and who is moving beyond the apocalyptic self-absorption of adolescence. It’s the rare second album that, despite new self-consciousness, stretches beyond an unspoiled debut to reach for even bigger things, with all its passion intact.

“Once we finished recording it, in January, there was a lot of anxiety for me,” Ms. Baker said. “Is it too similar? Is it too different? How can you be afraid of both of those things at the same time?” She laughed. “But I somehow was.”

Billboard Charts to Adjust Streaming Weighting in 2018

Billboard
Jason Tate

Billboard:

Beginning in 2018, plays occurring on paid subscription-based services (such as Amazon Music and Apple Music) or on the paid subscription tiers of hybrid paid/ad-supported platforms (such as SoundCloud and Spotify) will be given more weight in chart calculations than those plays on pure ad-supported services (such as YouTube) or on the non-paid tiers of hybrid paid/ad-supported services.

The 1975 and Pale Waves

Pale Waves and The 1975
Jason Tate

Matty Healy of The 1975 and Heather Baron-Gracie of Pale Waves are on the cover of the latest issue of NME talking about making music together:

Matty is at pains to point out the precise extent of his involvement in Pale Waves. “The songs were there, so my involvement in writing was only editing,” he says. “I always have a fear of being overbearing. I know what it’s like to be want to be prided on your own merits, and I would hate to be resented by an artist for feeling I’d strong-armed my involvement for my own personal gain.”

And:

The adulation looks set to grow as Pale Waves make their careful, precise steps forward. Later today, Heather’s back with the rest of the band in the studio recording an EP. An album will follow, but not for at least a year. “With the album, I think we’re just going to show another side to us which is a lot more emotional and not as – I don’t know how to put it… Just, like, a bit more intense.”