Music Biz Headlines, Feb. 7, 2018

By Kerry Doole

Leonard Cohen's 'I'm Your Man' album turns 30: Artists reflect on the 'dark,' 'cheesy' masterpiece

The dynamic shift in the sound of Man arguably left a generation of kids under the impression the Canadian poet was a synthpop act –  Ron Hart, Billboard

LSD to Fentanyl: The New Age of Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll

Death by recreational misadventure is so ‘60s. Legal prescription drugs seem to be an increasingly common culprit when stars are taken from us –  Jim Slotek, everythingzoomer.com

Halftime Review: Justin Timberlake emerges fumble-free after bad pre-game PR

The performance wasn't one for the ages, but was impressive as a show of athleticism interrupting the athleticism  – Chris Willman, Variety

Prince ‘Cloud’ guitars among late icon’s memorabilia set for auction

A custom electric blue two-piece ensemble Prince wore onstage in a 1999 pay-per-view concert at Paisley Park with Lenny Kravitz will also be auctioned, along with various pairs of Prince’s signature high-heel booties –  Associated Press

Istolethesoul FM aims to build a community around independent radio

Broadcasting open and live for 24 hours in the basement of Toronto's May Cafe, the streaming pop-up station is blurring the lines between music venue and radio –  Anders Marshall, NOW

Yacht makes things super personal

When they’re not making stomping disco-pop records, the duo has countless other projects on the go –  Kate Wilson, Georgia Straight

Full list of nominees: Junos mix in a few surprises to nominees list

Absence of superstars like Drake gives everyone from Edmonton’s Ruth B to Iqaluit’s Jerry Cans a shot at glory on the big night on March 25 –  Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

Indie recording studio in basement of west-end building ordered out

The Toronto studio was operated in the building by musician Bryant Didier long before TCH bought the property in 2000 – Philip Lee-Shanok, CBCNews

J. Lo shout-outs A-Rod, covers Prince at pre-Super Bowl show

Jennifer Lopez raised money for Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico, celebrated an anniversary with beau Alex Rodriguez and covered Prince songs at a pre-Super Bowl concert in Minneapolis –  CP

Hookworms: are they the most cursed band in pop?

Fraud, flood, the loss of their back catalogue and all their new songs … the Leeds band reveal how they bounced back from all this and more to make knockout new album Microshift –  Dave Simpson, The Guardian

Tafelmusik’s Alison Melville shows recorders are not just child’s play

Musician shows off the instrument’s virtuosic side starting Feb. 8 at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre in Toronto with A Recorder Romp  –  John Terauds, Toronto Star

Pianist David Virelles investigates the fading folk traditions of his native Cuba

He honed his musical chops during a long stint in Canada  –  Matthew Kassel, JazzTimes