“Writing a good song is not mimicry, or replication, or pastiche, it is the opposite,” he wrote. “It is an act of self-murder that destroys all one has strived to produce in the past. It is those dangerous, heart-stopping departures that catapult the artist beyond the limits of what he or she recognises as their known self.
“This is part of the authentic creative struggle that precedes the invention of a unique lyric of actual value; it is the breathless confrontation with one’s vulnerability, one’s perilousness, one’s smallness, pitted against a sense of sudden shocking discovery; it is the redemptive artistic act that stirs the heart of the listener, where the listener recognizes in the inner workings of the song their own blood, their own struggle, their own suffering.”
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/17/this-song-sucks-nick-cave-responds-to-chatgpt-song-written-in-style-of-nick-cave
Category Archives: music
How FILA Took Over The Culture in the 80s & 90s
If you grew up in the 90s, you remember FILA. If you couldn’t afford Ralph Lauren or Tommy, you could still sit at the lunch table in peace with FILA on — but be cautious. Past the year 2000, you’d be risking ridicule.
That said, today’s piece is about how FILA became one of the top clothing brands of the 90s and how it’s making its resurgence today.
https://snobhop.substack.com/p/how-fila-took-over-the-culture-in
‘Similar to criminal conspiracy’: draconian new law targets Italian ravers
The so-called “decreto anti-rave” was the first bill proposed by Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing coalition when the prime minister took office in October. Now officially approved by parliament, it makes organising raves a specific crime punishable with three to six years of jail time, fines of up to €10,000 (£8,900) and the confiscation of equipment. The new statute also allows the surveillance of groups who are suspected of holding these unauthorised events, including tapping their phones.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/06/italian-ravers-new-laws-meloni
Gender-neutral Brit awards nominate all men for 2023’s best artist
Men dominate nominations in the top categories for this year’s Brits as the music awards enter their second year without separate prizes for male and female artists.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/701f4664-928f-11ed-beb4-99fcdfa7645c?shareToken=871dd2bbd4f5f0d1c416aec496c13742
Sound Is Becoming An Increasingly Important Component Of AR/VR
As we spend more of our lives in digital spaces, it follows that users want to have more natural experiences in those spaces. For those who are building these digital spaces, it’s essential to deliver realistic sound. VR- and AR-enabled sound has been a challenge for the industry. However, AI is pushing the evolution of virtual audio, and stakeholders need to take time to look (and listen) closely at how far the most advanced tech providers have come.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/10/24/sound-is-becoming-an-increasingly-important-component-of-arvr/?sh=1965c56a459c
Kanye West says his “war’s not over” with Adidas and Gap
In two subsequent Instagram posts, Ye uploaded identical lists of Gap’s board of directors. The first is captioned “Magically No production companies have been willing to produce my YZYSZN9 fashion show in Paris on October 3rd,” seemingly an allegation that the board is blackballing him. The second is captioned “Funny that Bob Martin called me and said we are amicably ending our deal But I can’t do a fashion show but they can keep selling my product hmmmmm,” referring to a private conversation he claims to have had with the Gap CEO.
https://www.thefader.com/2022/09/19/kanye-west-adidas-gap-yeezy-restrictions
K-everything: the rise and rise of Korean culture
The global success of Psy’s rap could be traced back to the dramatic rises and falls in fortune that have characterised Korean history (the peninsula has been invaded and colonised many times, without ever encroaching on its neighbours). After the Korean war, South Korea was ranked among the poorest nations in the world. With a mixture of authoritarian repression and collective will, the “hermit kingdom” had by the late 1990s turned that around to look like a tech and manufacturing success story. That rise came to an abrupt end with an economic crash in 1997, when the Korean government was forced to ask the IMF for an emergency loan of $57bn. The day of that request is still known as the Day of National Humility. In order to pay off the debt there were many collective sacrifices (including a drive for gold that saw tens of thousands of ordinary Koreans donate wedding rings to the national cause).
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/04/korea-culture-k-pop-music-film-tv-hallyu-v-and-a
Why Do We Love TikTok Audio Memes? Call It‘ Brainfeel.’
Welcome to the era of the audio meme, a time when replicable units of sound are a cultural currency as strong as — if not stronger than — images and text. Though TikTok didn’t invent the audio meme, its effortless interface may have perfected it, and the platform, which recently ended Google’s 15-year-long run as the most visited website in the world, would be nothing without sound.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/08/17/magazine/tiktok-sounds-memes.html
Capitol Records “Severs Ties” With AI Rapper FN Meka
On August 14, Capitol Records announced that it had signed FN Meka, a digital rapper and TikTok influencer described by the label as “the world’s first A.R. artist to sign with a major label.” A press release from FN Meka’s 2021 publicist described Meka as an “A.I. powered robot rapper.” Meka’s first single on the label was “Florida Water,” which featured Gunna and gaming streamer Clix. As of today, FN Meka is no longer on a major label; Capitol has announced that it has “severed ties” with the rapper, The New York Times’ Joe Coscarelli reports.
https://pitchfork.com/news/capitol-records-has-severed-ties-with-ai-rapper-fn-meka-issues-apology-after-facing-criticism-for-gross-steretypes/
This Man Married a Fictional Character. He’d Like You to Hear Him Out.
Mr. Kondo is one of thousands of people in Japan who have entered into unofficial marriages with fictional characters in recent decades, served by a vast industry aimed at satisfying the every whim of a fervent fan culture. Tens of thousands more around the globe have joined online groups where they discuss their commitment to characters from anime, manga and video games.
Analyzing Trends with Tim Stock 