music

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• SOURCE: UnHerd
  10/28/2022
  

  At 40, Springsteen's "Nebraska" Holds Up as a Harbinger of Rural Despair

  "It sold poorly and due to its troubling themes, Springsteen did not take it on tour. Nebraska was left to speak for itself. Today, exactly 40 years after its release, that voice is no less disquieting."

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  10/27/2022
  

  Stevie Wonder's "Talking Book" at 50

  Musical collaborators and artists later influenced by Stevie Wonder's declaration of musical independence explain the album's creation and impact. 

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• SOURCE: WBUR
  10/21/2022
  

  Steve Waksman on the History of Live Music in America

  Waksman's new book explains how a live performance depends on the confluence of art and business. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  10/4/2022
  

  Loretta Lynn, Country Music Star Who Voiced Rural Resilience, Dies at 90

  The singer expressed the endurance of hardship but also performed subversive and humorous takes on the changing mores reaching rural America in the 1960s and 1970s. 

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• 10/2/2022
  

  Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Criminal Underworld

  by James Thornton Harris

  T.J. English examines the relationship between jazz and organized crime in Prohibition America, and how the music moved on from the mob. 

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• 9/11/2022
  

  Arena Rockin' The Vote?

  by George Case

  Dismissed, derided, or even deplored by critics, and out of step with the trends, arena rock acts still pack them in in much of America. Is it the sonic key to understanding Trumpism? 

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• SOURCE: NPR
  8/9/2022
  

  Lamont Dozier, Part of Legendary Motown Songwriting Team, Dies at 81

  With Brian and Eddie Holland, Dozier formed the formidable "HDH" songwriting partnership that turned out many of the biggest hits of the 1960s for The Supremes and The Four Tops among other Motown acts. 

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• SOURCE: Texas Standard
  7/22/2022
  

  Texas State Prof. Launches Harry Styles History Course

  Louis Dean Valencia realized during the pandemic that icebreaking conversations with students about pop music opened up many avenues for discussing historical subjects including the politics of celebrity. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  7/20/2022
  

  Is a 23 Year-Old Named Kingfish Bridging the Past and Future of the Blues?

  by Carlo Rotella

  Although he came on the scene as a guitar hotshot, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram's artistic ambitions go beyond the bombastic soloing of the blues-rock genre and incorporate more of the traditional breadth of the blues as African American music. 

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• SOURCE: London Review of Books
  6/9/2022
  

  The Enduring Appeal of the BBC's "Desert Island Discs" – the Longest Running Interview Show

  The famous and would-be famous have faced the dilemma of telling the world about themselves by listing the records (and luxury items) they'd want with them on a desert island; post-1951 episodes are now available as podcasts.

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  5/19/2022
  

  Ukraine's Eurovision Victory Not the First Time Politics Has Been on Stage

  by Tess Megginson

  Since its beginnings in 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest has been a stage for statements about the politics of the continent, from the Cold War to the growth of the EU to the invasion of Ukraine. 

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• SOURCE: Vanity Fair
  4/21/2022
  

  Previewing Tulsa's New Bob Dylan Center

  by Douglas Brinkley

  "The center—a high-tech vessel holding the man’s oeuvre and an overview of the man—will be the spiritual home of Dylan, a relentless performer who is forever on the road."

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  4/18/2022
  

  Can the Roots of Greatness be Found in Bob Dylan's Minnesota Hometown?

  If Dylan himself has always been ambivalent about his Iron Range roots, there is still much to learn about the artist and the nation from a visit. 

• 
• SOURCE: Ms.
  3/29/2022
  

  Hip Hop’s ‘Hidden Figures’: The Feminist Herstory and Future of Hip Hop

  "In every facet of hip hop music and culture, women have been innovating and setting new precedents, yet most connoisseurs of hip hop remain unaware of how women have actively shaped its culture and music from inception."

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• SOURCE: The Metropole
  3/23/2022
  

  Planning For The People Y Qué? From Advocacy Planners To Hardcore Punks

  by Mike Amezcua

  "Punk fliers are planning documents. Not the official kind produced by city planning departments, of course, nor the grassroots plans by neighborhood activists resisting investment capital and gentrification. But these fliers contain a planning schema all the same."

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• SOURCE: Hyde Park Herald
  3/3/2022
  

  Chicago Landmarks Commission Authorizes $250,000 for Rehab of Muddy Waters's House

  The grant advances the renovation of the house on Chicago's south side for use as a museum and educational space. 

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• SOURCE: The Metropole
  2/17/2022
  

  Hardcore Urban Renewal: The Punk Origins Of The City Creative

  The authors' study and advocacy for place-based and democratic redevelopment policies is rooted in their experiences in underground punk music scenes in the 1990s. 

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• SOURCE: Scalawag
  2/11/2022
  

  Songs for a South Underwater: Music that Carried People Through the Great 1927 Flood

  After the devastating flooding of 1927, and an indifferent response from the government, another flood of songs of protest and resilience ensued, creating a southern musical and cultural tradition. 

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• SOURCE: Rolling Stone
  2/9/2022
  

  Betty Davis, Pioneering Queen of Funk, Dies at 77

  Her brief marriage to jazz great Miles Davis and ultimate withdrawal from the music business have overshadowed Betty Davis's legacy as a songwriter and performer with lasting influence beyond her album sales. 

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• SOURCE: Vox
  1/28/2022
  

  New Orleans's Second Line Tradition is a Reminder of the Need for Collective Grieving

  Funeral processions and independent second line marches in New Orleans demonstrate the power of the collective and public rituals, and represent the cultural influences of African, Caribbean and indigenous traditions in the city.