Friday, September 24, 2010

Links & Bits for 9/24/10

KEXP Documentaries: "Sirens of Jazz" - Nina Simone (KEXP Blog)
"This KEXP Documentary has vintage clips of the mysterious woman speaking her mind. Showing the balance of her sensitivity and richness, next to her hot temper and fear. One of the first and most important civil rights activists, Nina wrote many songs about racism in America. And at the time, during the Civil Rights Era of the 50′s and 60′s, she could have been killed for speaking up. But no one could silence Nina Simone."

Carrie Brownstein has a new band!

Social Media From Muscians' Perspectives (Online Fandom)
"The last decade has brought tremendous changes in the tools and possibilities for musicians and audiences to interact with one another. On one hand, this brings new possibilities as artists can directly mobilize supporters on their behalf. On the other, it poses problems as artists try to work through changing expectations of how sociable and accessible they are supposed to be with their audiences and which ways of relating to which sectors of their audiences work best for them. Except for anecdotal success and failure stories, no one knows much about the common problems musicians face, the rewards they reap, or what works and what doesn’t. Furthermore, we don’t really have a good grasp on what is really new vs. new tweaks to what’s been true for generations."

The problem with Nicki Minaj: Out female MCs on being real in rap (AfterEllen)
"The problem is that Nicki Minaj is the biggest thing in hip-hop right now. Not just the biggest woman, the biggest new artist that everyone anticipates seeing, hearing, Tweeting. Whether she means to or not, she represents women in hip-hop, and the ones who hear her lyrics about lesbians and sleeping with women aren't always going to read every interview with her in which she "clarifies" she doesn't sleep with them."

Comment of the day courtesy of No Depression from the post "On Justin Townes Earle's recent arrest, etc."

"Oh, so I see. JTE punches a 23-year-old girl in the face and HE is the victim. There are plenty of artists that travel and play shows, and don't act in this behavior. I put my own name behind this man, propped him up. I was also the only one willing to speak publicly about the warning signs that JTE had relapsed and was causing problems for the people around, and caught holy hell from many, while NPR and others propped him up and fed his cult of celebrity in an unhealthy and enabling manner.

Sure, he needs support and blessings, but how about lets see even an ounce of remorse first. He no only showed no remorse, he's added insult to injury. I'll give support and forgiveness when it is asked for.

Until then, everyone reading reports of loud crowds and bad sound (which are conflicted by just as many other eyewitness reports), just keep saying to yourselves. "He punched a 23-year-old in the face, and refuses to take responsibility for it."
(savingcountrymusic)

I'm not a fan of Justin Townes Earle, but as I watched this whole debacle unfold earlier this week, I found myself frustrated with fans' excuses and rationalizations for his alleged violent behavior (the fans were rowdy, the sound was bad, he was drinking, etc.). I wanted to post that quote in its entirety as it was one of the most rational things I read all week. For a good chunk of my twenties and early thirties, I was a fan of a critically acclaimed, but commercially doomed singer-songwriter who fell off the wagon in a big way during his last tour, and the fallout from the JTE arrest mirrored a lot of the conversations I had with other fans during that time.

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