Interesting Vox article on how Cardi B works hard for her shmoney. It sadly didn’t try to connect Cardi B to any female artists beyond Beyonce. Perhaps if Constance Grady had looked back a bit further to the 1970s or 1980s could have made connections between Cardi B with someone like Madonna or Donna Summer, both of whom have more relevance to understanding Cardi B than do comparisons with her contemporaries. Grady has plenty of other stories, however, that make some great historical/modern day connections.
[kad_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/MX7MbG6MiQs” ] byCategory Archives: Rock & Roll History
All Mapped Out
I was initially skeptical that the 2003 song Maps by New York art-punk outfit Yeah Yeah Yeahs was the most influential song of the 21st century. However, the story on popbitch is strangely convincing.
Here is Maps:
Here are two songs that pay homage to it.
Source: All Mapped Out
byOrigins of American Woman
This is an awesome story. I love the link to the draft and Vietnam War.
[kad_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/cdqyrXLt8uU” ]
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Claims Alternative Rock Died in 1996 are Exaggerated
This story only works if you have a really narrow definition of alternative and you don’t believe in life after death.
Source: In 1996, alternative rock died a messy, forgettable death · For Our Consideration · The A.V. Club
byJames Brown’s invention of funk
Source: Dance moves: James Brown’s single-handed invention of funk – The Long and Short
Gender Inequity in the Top 40
Interesting story about how women are the most talked about people in pop music, but they’re still the minority of creators.
Source: Even Beyoncé can’t fix what’s wrong with the Top 40 | Fusion
byLed Zeppelin Not Guilty of Stealing ‘Stairway’ Rift
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were found not guilty of stealing the guitar rift for Stairway to Heaven from the song Taurus by Spirit. There probably is enough difference that you can’t PROVE their guilt, but it is pretty darn similar. I’ve linked to Taurus so you can judge for yourself.
Source: The Latest: Led Zeppelin thankful ‘Stairway’ rift is settled
byEvery Noise at Once
This might be one of best uses of digital scraping/analysis ever. Every Noise at Once is an algorithmically-generated, scatter-plot of the musical genres based on the 1467 genres by Spotify. You can see the relation between different genres and search for how groups are categorized too.
byHistory of the Jukebox
I once got a record pulled from a jukebox at my favorite college bar by playing it a dozen times in a row.
The story of Louis Glass, the original jukebox hero.
Source: How the Jukebox Got Its Groove
byThe Fake Zombies and the Musicians Who Portrayed Them
Gotta love when a song is so popular, but the band so little known that a fake group can claim their identity and tour the U.S.
Source: The True Story Of The Fake Zombies, The Strangest Con In Rock History
byThe Day Kanye Killed Gangster Rap
Great story on the build up to the release of 50 Cent’s and Kanye’s Sept. 11, 2007 albums that went head to head in a sales battle and changed hip-hop forever.
Source: The Day Kanye West Beat 50 Cent
byBeing the Number 1 Album No Longer Means You Sold More Albums Than Anyone Else
Story provides insights on how the top albums are now calculated and those performers and industry leaders who aren’t happy about it.
Source: The End Of Album Privilege – BuzzFeed News
byThe History Behind the Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You”
The A.V. Club examines a song that went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts to get to the heart of what it means to be popular in pop music and why The Rembrandts’ hated it.
Source: The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You” was a golden albatross · We’re No. 1 · The A.V. Club
byJesse Saunders and the Beginning of House Music
byI have never been a big fan of House Music but you can’t doubt its influence of popular music. Below is the track that seemingly started it all.
The math behind “8 CDs for a penny”
Interesting story and documentary about what it was like working for Columbia House in the 1990s. One of the most interesting points is how the music industry helped create the digital ‘sharing’ of music through their marked-up CD sales.
Source: Four Columbia House insiders explain the shady math behind “8 CDs for a penny”
byMainstream Country Music Has Little Room for Women
Interesting story about how the idea of authenticity in modern country music makes it difficult for women to be successful in the genre. Compares current stars to some of country’s past artists.
Source: The Marginalization of Women in Mainstream Country Music | The New Republic
byEpic Video History: MC Hammer’s ‘2 Legit 2 Quit’
In 1991 Hammer (neé MC Hammer) released a 15-minute video for his 5 minute and 36 second-long “2 Legit To Quit.” By all standards, it is beyond insane.
Source: 15 Minutes Of Shame: MC Hammer’s ‘2 Legit 2 Quit’
bySpotify Will Host Videos
Spotify is going to begin hosting streaming videos and podcasts alongside music. I’m not sure I like this change in focus. Hopefully it doesn’t mess up how they provide music.
Source: Spotify Will Stream Videos And Podcasts – BuzzFeed News
byThe Impact of Indie Rock
This is story in The Atlantic about the importance of the Indie Rock movement that began in the 1980s and how it influence a generation of geeky white kids.
Source: How Indie Rock Changed the World
byLyric Intelligence In Popular Music: A Ten Year Analysis
Very interesting story about the grade level of the lyrics in popular music. Country comes out looking pretty good and so does Nickelback (?!?!). It’s hard to argue with the data – although I would really like to.
Source: Lyric Intelligence In Popular Music: A Ten Year Analysis
byTribute to B.B. King
“Blues Legend B.B. King dies at 89,” is Variety’s tribute to the passing of B.B. King. It provides a much more historical view of King’s career than the piece in Rolling Stone.
byTech Takeover of Pop Music
The Atlantic has an interesting article, “Could a Robot Write the Perfect Pop Song?” It includes a section that examines the Japanese pop artist avatar, Miku.
byB.B. King Passed Away Today
B. B. King, one of the best R&B guitarists of all time passed away today. Here is the tribute the Rolling Stones posted on him: Derek Trucks on B. B. King: We’re All His Kids.
You can hear one of my favorite B.B. King songs below.
byWhat Other Bands Thought of Nirvana When Nevermind Came Out
“Takeoff: The Oral History of Nirvana’s Crossover Moment,” is an interesting group of quotes from underground bands of the 1990s about Nirvana and the Nevermind Album.
byStreaming and Hip-Hop
“How Hip-Hop Conquered Streaming,” is a buzzfeed news article that speculates on why hip-hop music does so well on streaming services like Spotify.
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