Sorry again for not posting a lot (although I did better than the past couple of years). I got a job in August and got promoted last week. However, the job is closing in January (booooooo). So I will be back to posting at least twice a week (unless the music scene is boring AF). I hope everyone has a great holiday season. See yall sometime in 2020.
MH
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Forbes: Tinashe’s ‘Songs For You’ proves that creative control is best left to the artists
The evil truths behind record labels and corporate music ownership took center stage this week as Taylor Swift publicly struggled—and triumphed—to be allowed to perform her old songs at the American Music Awards this weekend. The kerfuffle highlighted a large problem for many artists in the industry: despite their success being built on the songs they perform (and in many cases, write and/or produce themselves), they legally have no ownership or say in what actually is allowed to be done with their music, and are often pushed in different musical directions depending on labels’ sales and trend projections.
This was certainly the case for triple-threat performer Tinashe when she was signed to RCA Records. When she was finally released from her contract at the top of this year, it was clear that she was gearing up to release music that aligned more with the sounds of her independently created mixtapes than with the countless pop&B singles that she released throughout the decade.
Songs For You, Tinashe’s fourth studio album and eighth project overall, is the culmination of a years-long saga that her fans have been waiting for. With Nashe now having full creative control over her work, a masterpiece that combined the best elements of her dreamy R&B mixtapes and her scattered pop records was only inevitable for so long.
The album’s release was preceded by two contrasting singles: “Die A Little Bit” with British rapper Ms Banks and “Touch & Go” with 2019 Grammy nominee 6LACK. With Tinashe now in charge of writing, producing, and releasing all her music—something she thankfully has lots of experience doing with her independently released mixtapes—she’s able to fully do what she wants to do and create music that comes completely from her soul. “None of my older music has ever affected me like this new music has,” she even says about the creative process behind Songs For You. “This shit really cracked me open.”
The 15-song tracklist spans many of the sounds that Nashe has dabbled in on previous projects: hip hop, crunk&B, neo-soul, sophisti-pop, and at times, just good old fashioned R&B. Songs like “Life’s Too Short” and “Stormy Weather” will recall memories of her Reverie mixtape for longtime fans, while attitude-filled uptempo tracks like “Perfect Crime” and MAKJ collab “Save Room For Us” pull the best pop, R&B, and hip hop sensibilities from her acclaimed debut LP Aquarius. She even samples herself on “So Much Better” with G-Eazy, reworking “Midnight Sun” from her Black Water mixtape into a trip hop delight.
There’s something for everyone on Songs For You, which speaks more to Tinashe’s artistry than it does her intent: her sound refuses to be defined by traditional definitions, and she’s musically creating a lane that has desperately needed to be paved in the 2010s. It’s a shame that most outlets have already published their best albums of the decade lists, because Tinashe squeaked in at the last minute with an undeniably strong contender.
This was certainly the case for triple-threat performer Tinashe when she was signed to RCA Records. When she was finally released from her contract at the top of this year, it was clear that she was gearing up to release music that aligned more with the sounds of her independently created mixtapes than with the countless pop&B singles that she released throughout the decade.
Songs For You, Tinashe’s fourth studio album and eighth project overall, is the culmination of a years-long saga that her fans have been waiting for. With Nashe now having full creative control over her work, a masterpiece that combined the best elements of her dreamy R&B mixtapes and her scattered pop records was only inevitable for so long.
The album’s release was preceded by two contrasting singles: “Die A Little Bit” with British rapper Ms Banks and “Touch & Go” with 2019 Grammy nominee 6LACK. With Tinashe now in charge of writing, producing, and releasing all her music—something she thankfully has lots of experience doing with her independently released mixtapes—she’s able to fully do what she wants to do and create music that comes completely from her soul. “None of my older music has ever affected me like this new music has,” she even says about the creative process behind Songs For You. “This shit really cracked me open.”
The 15-song tracklist spans many of the sounds that Nashe has dabbled in on previous projects: hip hop, crunk&B, neo-soul, sophisti-pop, and at times, just good old fashioned R&B. Songs like “Life’s Too Short” and “Stormy Weather” will recall memories of her Reverie mixtape for longtime fans, while attitude-filled uptempo tracks like “Perfect Crime” and MAKJ collab “Save Room For Us” pull the best pop, R&B, and hip hop sensibilities from her acclaimed debut LP Aquarius. She even samples herself on “So Much Better” with G-Eazy, reworking “Midnight Sun” from her Black Water mixtape into a trip hop delight.
There’s something for everyone on Songs For You, which speaks more to Tinashe’s artistry than it does her intent: her sound refuses to be defined by traditional definitions, and she’s musically creating a lane that has desperately needed to be paved in the 2010s. It’s a shame that most outlets have already published their best albums of the decade lists, because Tinashe squeaked in at the last minute with an undeniably strong contender.
Monday, September 30, 2019
8 things left out of Taylor Swift’s Rolling Stone interview
Taylor Swift had a lot to say in our recent cover story (on newsstands now), tracing her eventful path to Lover, her political views and many other topics in a lengthy, revealing interview. There was even more to the caffeine-fueled conversation, which Swift made it through on four hours of sleep after staying up greeting fans at her parents’ Nashville house. Here are some highlights:
On releasing “The Archer” after “Me” and “You Need to Calm Down.”
That’s sort of the world in which a lot of the album lives. It’s weird, because in pop, I love hooks and bop and catchy melodies so much. And I also love writing the songs you need to ugly cry to. So I really enjoy “You Need to Calm Down” and the brattiness of “damn, it’s 7 a.m.,” and then the next song being like, this is how I feel about myself in my lowest moments… It was unexpected when people liked “The Archer” seemingly sort of unanimously, I was like, What? This doesn’t happen to me. This almost feels like foreign and strange.
On Lover‘s place in her catalog.
Reputation was so far from what I usually do. And Lover feels like a return to the fundamental songwriting pillars that I usually build my house on. It’s really honest; it’s not me playing a character. It’s really just how I feel, undistilled. And there are a lot of very personal admissions in it. And also, I love a metaphor. I love building on the metaphor for a very long time. You know, the whole of Reputation was just a metaphor, but this is a very personal record. So that’s been really fun.
Writing the title track of Lover
I was sitting up at the piano up in my loft, and I had the chorus. It just kind of happened immediately. It was one of those ones that I wrote very very, very quickly. And I was working out the cadence of the first verse and it just sort of fell together. But then I took some time to write the bridge because I wanted to really level up with that bridge. That one would for me would be less of a ranting bridge and more of a story-time fable type bridge. Sometimes I like to imagine a bridge as like a sort of fairy-tale lullaby fable expanding upon a song that has been not as detailed until that point. “Can I go where you go/ Can we always be this close forever and ever” is less detail and you realize like, oh, it just got really personal in the bridge. It expands on it all.
I was sitting up at the piano up in my loft, and I had the chorus. It just kind of happened immediately. It was one of those ones that I wrote very very, very quickly. And I was working out the cadence of the first verse and it just sort of fell together. But then I took some time to write the bridge because I wanted to really level up with that bridge. That one would for me would be less of a ranting bridge and more of a story-time fable type bridge. Sometimes I like to imagine a bridge as like a sort of fairy-tale lullaby fable expanding upon a song that has been not as detailed until that point. “Can I go where you go/ Can we always be this close forever and ever” is less detail and you realize like, oh, it just got really personal in the bridge. It expands on it all.
On her creative burst circa 2016
I was writing constantly. And a lot of the things I was writing ended up being songs for Reputation. So after 1989, I didn’t write really anything. After I made 1989and put it out, did all the promo stuff, went on tour… The Grammys happen, which is like this unbelievable blitz of excitement, followed by me going, “Oh my god, what am I going to make next?” I had no idea what to make next, because I was so proud. 1989 — I’m still so, so deeply proud of that record. But I was like, where do we go from here? I have no idea what comes after this. And so, when my life took a very dramatic shift, all of a sudden I knew what to make next — which is a strange dichotomy to feel like, ‘whoa, this is all really weird, twisted, dark and dramatic, but I can’t stop writing.’
I was writing constantly. And a lot of the things I was writing ended up being songs for Reputation. So after 1989, I didn’t write really anything. After I made 1989and put it out, did all the promo stuff, went on tour… The Grammys happen, which is like this unbelievable blitz of excitement, followed by me going, “Oh my god, what am I going to make next?” I had no idea what to make next, because I was so proud. 1989 — I’m still so, so deeply proud of that record. But I was like, where do we go from here? I have no idea what comes after this. And so, when my life took a very dramatic shift, all of a sudden I knew what to make next — which is a strange dichotomy to feel like, ‘whoa, this is all really weird, twisted, dark and dramatic, but I can’t stop writing.’
I think I would have made Reputation whether or not I actually put out the album or ever made another album again. That album was a real process of catharsis, and I thought I experienced catharsis before, but I’d never had until that album, because it was creating this strange defense mechanism. And, I’d never really done that in that exact way before. The only way I’d done it in the past, was with “Blank Space,” which I wrote specifically about criticisms I had received for supposedly dating too many people in my twenties. I took that template of, OK, this is what you’re all saying about me. Let me just write from this character for a second.
On the Reputation Tour
That’s just such a fun album, Reputation. I’m so proud of how that whole process was because I’d never had an album that made more sense to people after they came to the concert. Literally people would be like, I came to the show and now I completely love the record. Now I get the record. Whereas before with1989, I felt like it was such a great listen but it was harder to portray it live because when you when you see it live, you’re like, “Oh, I love that song and now she’s performing it live.” But it never had songs that came alive live.
That’s just such a fun album, Reputation. I’m so proud of how that whole process was because I’d never had an album that made more sense to people after they came to the concert. Literally people would be like, I came to the show and now I completely love the record. Now I get the record. Whereas before with1989, I felt like it was such a great listen but it was harder to portray it live because when you when you see it live, you’re like, “Oh, I love that song and now she’s performing it live.” But it never had songs that came alive live.
With Reputation, I wanted to keep my head down, not say anything, but work harder than I ever worked. It was really motivational for me to just have the stadium tour to prepare for and prove myself almost. My career was in a weird spot, but still have that kind of ignite something in you to work harder, to practice longer, to think of bigger, better concepts for the live show. I was thinking, if anything can pull me out of this weird disillusionment I have with the way that things have gone in my career that I was feeling back then, I knew it would be playing live. If I could be proud of the live show and if I could feel that connection with fans, that would remind me of why I love this.
On being less caught up in chart battles
I’m just a little more chill about stuff like that now. Obviously, you want to do well, and you want to do things that people like and you want people not to make fun of you for that. A lot of the pressure that I feel in my career is just the fact that I’m compared to everything I’ve ever accomplished in the past and also new artists. I can’t live in that pressure cooker. Charts — I truly, truly do not understand how they work anymore. My friend Ed [Sheeran] is such a chart monger. He’s obsessed with how it works and the math of it. I have no idea what goes on with the math with it now, it used to be so easy. I don’t even get how, people get a big release week, because they they sold T-shirts, or they sold concert tickets with their albums. It’s just very confusing. But I was stoked about the “ME!” music video getting that many YouTube views. I was like, well, that’s like, that’s something to write home about.
I’m just a little more chill about stuff like that now. Obviously, you want to do well, and you want to do things that people like and you want people not to make fun of you for that. A lot of the pressure that I feel in my career is just the fact that I’m compared to everything I’ve ever accomplished in the past and also new artists. I can’t live in that pressure cooker. Charts — I truly, truly do not understand how they work anymore. My friend Ed [Sheeran] is such a chart monger. He’s obsessed with how it works and the math of it. I have no idea what goes on with the math with it now, it used to be so easy. I don’t even get how, people get a big release week, because they they sold T-shirts, or they sold concert tickets with their albums. It’s just very confusing. But I was stoked about the “ME!” music video getting that many YouTube views. I was like, well, that’s like, that’s something to write home about.
On the longevity of songs
I think it often takes a lot of time for people to understand how they feel about music. And I know that now because there’s a song on Red called “All Too Well” that I’m really, really proud of, and it took people about three years to note that that was one of the best songs. I didn’t see that starting to pop up when people would talk about my music until about two or three years after the album had its moment. So one thing that’s actually really comforting about music — and I know that people consume at a crazy speed now — but I think that things settle for people after a long period of time. My music kind of assigns itself to maybe a moment in somebody’s life; that’s the way that my fans usually describe it. So when you’re dealing in memory curation in a way, if they have memories that include one of my songs, they go and they live their lives and those memories become further in the past and more nostalgic to them, and the music becomes more important to them.
I think it often takes a lot of time for people to understand how they feel about music. And I know that now because there’s a song on Red called “All Too Well” that I’m really, really proud of, and it took people about three years to note that that was one of the best songs. I didn’t see that starting to pop up when people would talk about my music until about two or three years after the album had its moment. So one thing that’s actually really comforting about music — and I know that people consume at a crazy speed now — but I think that things settle for people after a long period of time. My music kind of assigns itself to maybe a moment in somebody’s life; that’s the way that my fans usually describe it. So when you’re dealing in memory curation in a way, if they have memories that include one of my songs, they go and they live their lives and those memories become further in the past and more nostalgic to them, and the music becomes more important to them.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
‘Kelly Clarkson’ Scores Highest Rated Premiere Week In 7 Years
The big series premiere for NBC Universal’s Kelly Clarkson was not a fluke. The Week One averages for new and returning syndicated programs are in, and the new talker hosted by The Voice coach logged a 1.6 Live+ Same Day national household rating for the week ending on Sept. 15, scoring the biggest debut week of any first-run strip since Disney’s Katie 2012.
The strong ratings catapulted Kelly Clarkson to the talk show elite, ranking fourth among 14 new and returning syndicated talk shows, behind only long-running juggernauts The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live with Kelly & Ryan and Dr Phil.
Friday, September 6, 2019
TMZ: Kevin might try to get Jamie removed as conservator
Britney Spears has been under a conservatorship with Jamie Spears at the helm for 11 years, but sources connected with the singer believe Kevin Federline could make a move to get Jamie removed ... in the wake of the incident between Jamie and Britney's 13-year-old son.
As we reported, Jamie is now under criminal investigation for allegedly breaking a door down and putting his hands on Sean. A temporary restraining order is now in place prohibiting Jamie from having contact with Jayden and Sean.
Certain members of Britney's team believe Kevin might go to the judge overseeing the conservatorship and ask to remove Jamie because he's ultimately responsible for the welfare of the children -- since he oversees their mom -- children with whom he's temporarily prohibited from having any contact.
Our Britney sources believe Jamie is secure in his role for one reason ... there's really no one else who can handle it. The judges associated with the conservatorship over the years have acknowledged Jamie righted the ship when Britney was at her worst -- in danger of losing custody, bleeding money and extremely unstable. Britney is now flush with cash, has joint custody and by all rights is considered a good parent.
As one Britney source put it ... "Jamie certainly has his flaws, but everyone knows he's done a good job and there's no one else who can do it."
The wild card -- will Britney's mom, Lynne Spears, make a move to wrestle the conservatorship away from Jamie? As we reported, Lynne expressed an interest to become involved in the conservatorship earlier this year, after a social media campaign went after Jamie. She spent time with Britney in L.A., reconnecting after years of estrangement, but she's been in the background ever since.
Lynne's is going to court next week for hearing
Jamie Spears wants a judge to let him take a breather for a few months as Britney's conservator and put one of his people in his place -- temporarily -- but we've learned Britney's mom appears to have different ideas ... TMZ has learned.
Lynne's lawyer, Gladstone Jones, tells us he and Lynne will be in court next week for Jamie's hearing. Gladstone will not say if they will challenge Jamie, but it's not hard to read the tea leaves.
Lynne was on board with the "Free Britney" social media campaign against Jamie earlier this year ... when some people online accused Jamie of forcing Britney into a mental health facility against her will. BTW ... that didn't happen -- it would be a crime for a facility to allow that, and Britney was coming and going as she wished during her stay.
Nevertheless ... as we reported, Lynne asked the judge in the conservatorship case to involve her in the process -- especially with respect to medical issues. She also reconnected with Britney and stayed at her home during the whole social media campaign.
Jones would not say if Lynne will challenge Jamie's latest move, and even ask the judge to appoint her conservator. If that were to happen, Lynne would almost certainly have to move from her home in Louisiana to So Cal. It's a 24/7 job.
TMZ broke the story ... Jamie is asking the judge to let him step down as conservator while he deals with medical issues. He wants to resume as conservator next January. One thing he's not saying in his legal docs -- he's been temporarily barred from having any contact with Britney's kids after an altercation with 13-year-old Sean. Police are investigating.
TMZ: Jaime Asks To Step Down As Conservator ... At Least Temporarily
Jamie Spears wants out as his daughter's conservator, at least through January 20, 2020.
According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, Jamie is asking "to temporarily relinquish the powers of conservatorship ... due to personal health reasons."
Jamie wants a temporary conservator ... Jodi Montgomery, whom he describes as Britney's care manager over the last year ... who he says has the ability to take on the responsibilities.
As we reported, Jamie's team believed Kevin Federline and/or Lynne Spears might try and challenge his conservatorship, in the wake of the criminal investigation regarding Jamie's confrontation with Britney's 13-year-old son Sean.
According to the docs, Jamie is asking the judge to give Montgomery the same powers he has, which includes --
1. The power to restrict or limit visitors by any means.
2. The power to retain caretakers and security for Britney on a 24-hour basis.
3. The power to prosecute civil harassment restraining orders.
4. The power to communicate with expert medical personal regarding Britney and to have full access to her medical and psychiatric records.
Montgomery has already consented to act as the temporary conservator.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
PEOPLE: Britney is “upset” | E!: “Very angry” with her father
The 37-year-old singer — who now shares about 10 percent of custody of her kids with ex-husband Kevin Federline— “can’t believe that her dad would jeopardize her relationship with her boys,” adds the source. “Britney is always terrified that she will lose custody.”
A source tells E! News, "Britney was very upset with her dad and left with the boys. She never wants Jamie to treat her boys the way he did or to get involved with disciplining them in that way."
Moreover, the source reveals that the pop star was the one to tell the father of her two sons about the alleged incident. "Britney had to explain to Kevin what happened and he felt they had no choice but to go to the police," the insider explains.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Hilary Duff to Reprise 'Lizzie McGuire' Role for New Disney+ Series
Disney continues to mine its library for its forthcoming streaming service.
The company on Friday announced that Hilary Duff will reprise her role in a new update of her beloved Lizzie McGuire for the forthcoming Disney+ streaming service. Original series creator Terri Minsky is attached to serve as showrunner on the live-action scripted comedy.
The new Lizzie McGuire will revolve around Lizzie as a 30-year-old millennial navigating life in New York City. Duff is poised to make the announcement during a surprise appearance Friday at Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim.
Additional details — including an episode count and premiere date — were not immediately available. Also unclear is if any other original Lizzie McGuire stars — including Lalaine, Adam Lamberg, Jake Thomas, Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine — will be part of the new Disney+ series.
Duff launched her career playing Lizzie McGuire, a 13-year-old who dreams of being popular at school, on the former Disney Channel comedy. Minsky created the series, which became a marketing gold mine for Disney, spawning soundtracks, books, apparel and a feature film, The Lizzie McGuire Movie. The latter grossed $55 million worldwide.
Duff, who currently stars on TV Land comedy Younger, was in talks to continue Lizzie McGuire in a new ABC primetime scripted series after the Disney Channel show ended after two seasons and 65 episodes in the early 2000s. However, talks between Duff's camp and Disney stalled and the series never metalized.
The new Lizzie McGuire series joins a Disney+ roster that also includes multiple Star Wars live-action series, Marvel Cinematic Universe TV spinoffs, a new take on High School Musical and an animated Monsters, Inc., among others.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Taylor Swift plans to re-record her back catalog after Scooter Braun bought it
Music superstar Taylor Swift plans to go back into the studio to create new masters for her classic songs, to offset a blockbuster deal that put earlier versions in the hands of music mogul Scooter Braun, she tells Tracy Smith in an interview for CBS SUNDAY MORNING. The interview will be broadcast Sunday, August 25 (9:00 AM, ET) on the CBS Television Network.
Braun, a talent agent with whom Swift has had a contentious relationship, recently bought the right to Swift’s masters – and more – when his company acquired Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group in a deal reportedly worth $300 million.
In an in-depth interview that features Swift at home, in the studio and much more, the chart-topping singer-songwriter tells Smith she found out about the deal “when it was online” and that nobody in her inner circle knew of the pending deal. Big Machine officials see it differently.
Smith asks Swift about re-recording the past songs as a way to regain control of her master recordings.
“Might you do that?” Smith asks.
“Oh yeah,” Swift says.
“That’s a plan?” Smith asks.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Swift says.
Swift opens up to Smith about her songwriting process, growing up in the business, addressing her haters in music, her insecurities, her life today and much more. Smith is also behind the scenes for the creation of Swift’s new music video and for the release of her new song.
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