Music Biz Headlines, Dec. 16, 2019
The accolades flow for Triumph (pictured), Blowup turns 25, and a new song from Grimes. Others in the headlines include Tencent, Leonard Cohen, Matt Mays, Drake, green tours, Boney M, Taylor Swift, Billboard, music royalties, The Clash, Rod Stewart, Dr. Dre, CMJ, and Carol Kaye.
By Kerry Doole
Blowup — the pop party that united T.O. anglophiles for a decade — back for its silver jubilee
On Dec. 17, 1994, Davy Love dropped Supergrass’s super-snotty “Caught by the Fuzz” to kick off the very first Blowup club night at a Dupont dive called the Red Raven. On Saturday, he presided over a “silver jubilee” celebration of Blowup’s 25th birthday at the more upscale Peacock Public House on College, but the songs — and the eternally modish crowd — will remain the same. – Ben Rayner, The Star
After almost 45 years, respect for power trio Triumph still endures
The Canadian band, which has just reissued its "Classics" album, is capping a year of accolades. They redefined rock stage shows and band business practices. And they did it on their own terms. – Bryan Reesman Billboard
How Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ brilliantly mingled sex, religion
Read the story behind the legendary artist’s most famous song, excerpted from Alan Light’s 2012 book ‘The Holy or the Broken’– Rolling Stone
Watch Grimes perform new song “4ÆM” at 2020 Game Awards
It’s set to appear on the soundtrack to the Keanu Reeves-starring game Cyberpunk 2077 (which is out April 16) and new album Miss Anthropocene. – Pitchfork
Behind the setlist with Matt Mays
The prince of the City Of Lakes dives into why treating a concert like a musical made the best concert of 2019. – Morgan Mullin, The Coast
Don’t be that parent: The etiquette of school holiday concerts
The annual holiday concerts that schools across Canada will be staging over the next few days are, for many parents, one of the most adorable spectacles of the season. They are also, for many parents, a source of bitter frustration as they cram into too hot auditoriums with too few seats, trying to see and be seen by their children from the stage. – Dave McGinn, Globe and Mail
A greener tour? Musicians work toward net-zero emissions on the road
From Coldplay to Billie Eilish, more and more musicians are stopping to consider their carbon footprint. – Jessica Wong, CBC News
Drake's Toronto Raptors Championship ring is receiving a ton of hate online
Drizzy had a custom championship ring made for himself, and he wasn't shy about showing it off last week. The reaction was hostile. – Narcity
Boney M., the original bop star
The German supergroup brings its dripping-in-extra breed of disco to Halifax on Dec. 18. – Lezlie Lowe, The Coast
Toronto charity making orchestral music accessible to youth in priority neighbourhoods
“If you want to play the cello, go ahead - it's a great instrument. If you want to play any instrument, go ahead. It's good to do what you want to do.” – Global TV
How they tore down, packed up and rolled away ‘Come From Away’ — and then set it back up
Scot Whitham is standing in the middle of a forest of floating trees sprawled across the stage of the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The grizzled director of production has a prime view of workers hammering in pieces of floor and turntable, even amid the 27 fake timbers that, at 28 feet in height, tower over him. – Tara Deschamps,The Star
International
Taylor Swift hits out at Scooter Braun and 'toxic male privilege' in Billboard Music Awards speech
The Lover hitmaker was awarded the Woman of the Decade accolade. – Rachel McGrath, Evening Standard
Billboard to factor YouTube plays into top-album charts
Billboard said Friday that it will soon consider videos played on YouTube and other streaming services when calculating the music industry publication’s album chart listings. – Andrew Blake, The Washington Times
Why Tencent Holdings is a better investment than Tencent Music
The Chinese tech giant has a better diversified business and faces fewer headwinds than its streaming music spin-off. – Leo Sun, Motley Fool
TV and film composers say Netflix, other streaming services insist on buying out their music rights
Close to 90 composers and songwriters from around the world traveled to Budapest recently to discuss a contentious issue: streaming services’ efforts to upend how composers are compensated for their work. – Kathryn Kranhold, Billboard
Discovery Networks corners composers in music royalties battle
Music makers for shows like "Deadliest Catch" decry the new contract provisions as “evil." – Jon Burlingame, Variety
The Clash – London Calling at 40: Their 20 best songs
Fresh and relevant as ever, London Calling is 40 years old. Graeme Ross trawls through The Clash’s back catalogue to pick out his 20 favourite songs. – The Independent
Celtic fan backlash after Rod Stewart congratulates Boris
Celtic supporters have told celebrity fan Rod Stewart to "stay away" from Parkhead after the veteran singer congratulated Boris Johnson on his election win. Stewart tweeted his congratulations to the new PM before being trolled and called a "fraud" by fellow fans on the social media site. – STV
The 20 Best Country & Americana Albums of 2019
Following a year of monumental releases from artists like Kacey Musgraves and Eric Church, 2019 brought lots of shifts to country music. Canadian Orville Peck makes No. 4 on the list. – Staff, Paste
How ‘Waves’ got Kanye and Kendrick on its soundtrack
Some of the biggest names in music lent songs to this intimate family drama, but convincing them took time. – Kyle Buchanan, NYT
Dr. Dre: The Chronic
Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today, we revisit the timeless 1992 debut from Dr. Dre, a historic moment in hip-hop that redefined West Coast rap. – Sheldon Pearce, Pitchfork
Sheffield's post-punk explosion: synths, steel and skinheads
In the late 70s, the city’s bands set out to create the sound of the future – while trying to avoid getting beaten up. Jarvis Cocker and other leading lights recall a revolutionary scene led by Cabaret Voltaire. – Daniel Dylan Wray, The Guardian
CMJ, College Music Marathon are relaunching but not everyone’s happy
CMJ, the College Media Journal, and the College Music Marathon conference are relaunching in 2020, and it appears that the once go-to source for college radio and music has some serious fence-mending to do. – Hypebot
The bassist in Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is inspired by the revolutionary real-life musician Carol Kaye
Known as First Lady of Bass, she performed on hits from The Beach Boys, Ray Charles, Simon & Garfunkel, and many more. – Lauren Kranc, Esquire
The Year in Review: Top 50 Jazz Albums of 2019
JazzTimes' critics choose the top 40 new albums and top 10 historical releases of the year. – JazzTimes
DSO launches plans to create 'universal access' to music programs for Detroit students
An 18-month planning effort will seek to bring citywide efforts into harmony to ensure all students can access music programs, The program will engage families, other nonprofits, teachers, artists, school and municipal leaders. – Sherri Welch, CrainsDetroit
