From Rites of Spring to Olivia Rodrigo

Jason Tate Sep 21, 2023

Now squint your ears and listen to Rodrigo sing, “I made it weird, I made it worse,” all sweet and sour on her new “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl.” Can you hear emo’s intimacy wrestling with its vastness? This music has traveled a relatively short distance through time, but it has bridged so much: suffocating ’80s moralism, smothering ’90s ennui, numbing ’00s shock and awe, an opioid crisis that won’t let go — along with all the deeply personal awkwardness and anxiety commonly associated with coming of age in any of those shaky American timelines.

Sufjan Stevens Has Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Jason Tate Sep 20, 2023

Sufjan Stevens has revealed that he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

Last month I woke up one morning and couldn’t walk. My hands, arms and legs were numb and tingling and I had no strength, no feeling, no mobility. My brother drove me to the ER and after a series of tests—MRIs, EMGs, cat scans, X-rays, spinal taps (!), echo-cardiograms, etc.—the neurologists diagnosed me with an auto immune disorder called Guillian-Barre Syndrome. Luckily there’s treatment for this — they administer immuno-hemoglobin infusions for five days and pray that the disease doesn’t spread to the lungs, heart and brain. Very scary, but it worked. I spent about two weeks in Med/Surg, stuck in a bed, while my doctors did all the things to keep me alive and stabilize my condition. I owe them my life.
On September 8, I was transferred to acute rehab, where I am now undergoing intensive physical therapy/occupational therapy, strength building etc. to get my body back in shape and to learn to walk again. It’s a slow process, but they say I will “recover,” it just takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work. Most people who have GBS learn to walk again on their own within a year, so I am hopeful. I’m only in my second week of rehab but it is going really well and I am working really hard to get back on my feet. I’m committed to getting better, I’m in good spirits, and I’m surrounded by a really great team. I want to be well!

RIAA Share Mid-Year Revenue Report

Jason Tate Sep 18, 2023

The RIAA have released the 2023 mid-year report:

In the first half of 2023, recorded music revenues continued to set new milestones and reflect the results of more than a decade of industry transformation. Total revenues grew 9.3% at estimated retail value to an all-time first half high of $8.4 billion. At wholesale value, revenues grew 8.3% to $5.3 billion. Paid subscriptions continued to be the strongest driver of revenue growth, increasing by more than $550 million and averaging nearly 96 million subscriptions during the period.

Jann Wenner Removed From Hall of Fame Board of Directors

Jason Tate Sep 18, 2023

Pitchfork:

Jann Wenner has been removed from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation’s Board of Directors, a representative for the Hall of Fame confirmed to Pitchfork. The Rolling Stone founder has faced criticism for comments he made about Black and female musicians in an interview published yesterday in The New York Times, wherein he also admitted to letting interview subjects edit their own transcripts while at Rolling Stone.

Streaming Is Changing the Sound of Music

Jason Tate Sep 18, 2023

Wall Street Journal:

To keep the “skip rate” as low as possible, musical artists are increasingly moving a song’s hook or chorus to that initial 30-second sweet spot. Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding, the hosts of the “Switched on Pop” podcast, have coined the term “Pop Overture” to describe a new trend in which a song “will play a hint of the chorus in the first five to 10 seconds so that the hook is in your ear, hoping that you’ll stick around till about 30 seconds in when the full chorus eventually comes in.”
Creators are modifying more than just the introductory sections of tracks for optimal performance on streaming. Every track that is listened to for more than 30 seconds counts as a play, but whether a listener makes it all the way through a song helps to determine whether a streaming service like Spotify will recommend similar songs in the future.

Hope? Cope? No, no, ROPE.

Jason Tate Sep 8, 2023

Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra talked with Mens Health about his exercise routine on tour:

The bike was effective, but it wasn’t sustainable. Hull says the daily rides began to feel “less doable” as he bored of the monotony. Rather than quit, he took this as an opportunity to try something new: jumping rope. This was the perfect fitness tool for a touring musician, since it could fit in a small bag and be used anywhere—but it required a higher bar to entry than a stationary bike. “I said some of the most outrageous stuff out loud to myself that I’ve ever said failing for months at jump rope,” Hull admits.

Lauren Mayberry Talks Solo Work

Jason Tate Sep 7, 2023

Lauren Mayberry talked with NPR about her solo journey:

Me and the managers and the label were like, “What song do we put out?” I definitely wanted to make it clear that I’m not just going to be trying to rip off the band all the time, but also it’s not all going to be downbeat sobbing piano ballads.
I love the band, I’m grateful for the band, I’m never going to cut that grass — that grass is meant to be over there. And I think that’s partly why I was like, something that’s so different is a good palate cleanser. It kind of, like, scorches the earth. So people can be like, “Just so you know, don’t expect that.” But then there’s definitely more bangers

Apple Acquires Classical Music Label

Jason Tate Sep 6, 2023

Techcrunch:

More than 80% of the music we listen to today is delivered over streaming, according to figures from last year. But when you look at classical music, it’s been a stubborn hold-out, accounting for just a tiny fraction of that, with just 0.8% of streams (and that’s in the stream-friendly market of the U.S.). Apple’s bet is that this percentage will grow, though, and it wants a piece of that action.

Robert von Bahr, founder of BIS:

We thought long and hard on how to maintain and build upon our prestigious history and looked for a partner who would further our mission, as well as an increased global platform to bring classical music to new audiences all over the world. Apple, with its own storied history of innovation and love of music, is the ideal home to usher in the next era of classical and has shown true commitment towards building a future in which classical music and technology work in harmony. It is my vision and my sincerest dream that we are all a part of this future.

Rolling Stone Detail Allegations Against Anti-Flag’s Lead Singer

Jason Tate Sep 5, 2023

Rolling Stone has run a new article where 13 women speak out against Anti-Flag’s Justin Sane:

Sarhadi’s claim, however, is echoed by an additional 12 women who spoke to Rolling Stone about their alleged encounters with Geever, going back to the 1990s and as recently as 2020. These allegations include predatory behavior, sexual assault, and statutory rape, including sexual relations with a 12-year-old when Geever was a teenager. (Geever did not reply to multiple requests for comment after Rolling Stone sent him a detailed list of allegations for this article.)

Zach Bryan Earns First No. 1 Album

Jason Tate Sep 4, 2023

Zach Bryan has the number one album in the country:

The 16-song country-rock effort, his fourth full-length studio album, launches with 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 31, according to Luminate — the largest week for any rock album in four years. It’s also the first rock effort to hit No. 1 in more than a year. The set’s opening frame is largely powered by streaming activity — and the album boasts the biggest streaming week ever for a rock album.

‘Taylor Swift: Eras Tour’ Film Earns Record-Breaking $26 Million in Presales

Jason Tate Sep 1, 2023

Variety:

Her “Eras Tour” concert film, which opens theatrically on Oct. 13, has already earned a massive $26 million in presale tickets at AMC Theatres. It set a single-day ticket sale record for AMC, besting the benchmark previously held by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($16.9 million) less than three hours after tickets went on sale, according to the cinema chain.
This figure is only for presales at AMC, meaning the actual number of tickets sold is much higher. AMC is the world’s biggest theater chain and the film’s official distrubutor, but the “Eras Tour” concert film is also playing at rival circuits like Regal and Cinemark, as well as independent locations.
Separately, the ticketing service Fandango reported that “The Eras Tour” has broken its record for biggest first-day ticket sales for 2023. Without giving specific numbers, Fandango says pre-sales rank among blockbusters like “Avengers: Endgame,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” at similar points in their sale cycles.

The Killers Scrapped New Album Halfway Through

Jason Tate Aug 28, 2023

Brandon Flowers of The Killers talked with The UK Times:

“This is the crisis I’m in,” he says, sighing. “The Killers are my identity and our songs fill the seats, but I’m more fulfilled making music likePressure Machine. I found a side of myself writing it that was strong. This was the guy I’d been looking for! I’m as proud of Hot Fuss as you can be for something you did when you were 20, but I’m not 20. So I’m thinking about the next phase of my life.”

MxPx Break Down New Album

Jason Tate Aug 28, 2023

MxPx talked about their new album with Alternative Press:

The songs were chosen based on what fit together. There are some great songs that we didn’t end up putting on the record or recording. But we try to get to having a theme, having something people can parse into themes without actually saying it out loud because then you really make your whole thing about that. And really it’s about whatever people want it to be. The songs will find people in their lives in different places. So I don’t know if we really overthink it to that degree or if I’m just thinking about it now. Like with the artwork, Find a Way Home, all of that. We could tell a deeper story, and I think we will, but just put some images out there. Is he in space, or is he on Earth? Honestly, it could be both. You just don’t know exactly. Sure, it’s in space or a spaceship or something. But maybe he’s going back to Earth, [or] maybe he’s coming from Earth.

Ben Gibbard Profiled in the NY Times

Jason Tate Aug 22, 2023

The New York Times sits down with Ben Gibbard to talk about Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service:

I felt very self-conscious. I was already dealing with the weight of expectations on “Transatlanticism.” My ability to write both of those albums concurrently was predicated by a year-ish long break Death Cab took from touring. We had almost broken up, and we had a meeting where we decided to take some time away. During that break, there wasn’t nearly the same sense of expectation to the songs I was writing. Yes, there were fans of Death Cab who I’m sure were anticipating a new record, but in 2001 and 2002, the band still felt very small. But by the time that “Give Up” was out and had gone gold, and we’re touring “Transatlanticism” with Pearl Jam — we literally signed with Atlantic Records backstage at a Pearl Jam show — I was feeling a ton of pressure from my main gig.
Eventually Jimmy and I had a conversation where we were like, “Hey, this isn’t happening, is it?” He was the perfect partner. Jimmy is the most easygoing dude in the world. If I had made “Give Up”with someone who was a little more success-oriented, or career-oriented, it would’ve gone very poorly.

Hayley Williams Is Seeing Red

Jason Tate Aug 22, 2023

Los Angeles Magazine talked with Hayley Williams:

“It feels like a crazy victory lap and she’s not even close to the end of her career,” Williams says of the stadium trek. “It’s just so historic to be a part of it. Both [Taylor and I] started really young and we’ve grown up alongside our fan bases, and that makes both of our stories really unique in a way that we get to come together from two different sides of the industry. Paramore isn’t quite mainstream, but people know our band, and we’ve had a really lucky, long career thus far. For both of us to be feeling like we’re in our prime now in our early thirties, career-wise, that’s just so special, and we don’t take it for granted. I’m so grateful that all these years later, we’ve stayed connected.”
Williams’ favorite Swift era? “Speak Now — since it came out it’s been my favorite Taylor record ever,” she enthuses. “The fact that I got to be on Taylor’s version of a vault track [“Castles Crumbling”] was just like kismet. I really got to know her when she was writing that record and I was so enamored. … She is the epitome of a songwriter, you know, just someone that will stop in the middle of your conversation and say, I have to write this down, or I have to record this. I was so in love with how passionate and present she always was.”