There seems to be a common misconception amongst some singers/artists that the musicians who play on their records are just lucky to be there and should be grateful for the opportunity and not expect proper compensation.
Yes any musician is extraordinarily lucky to get in the same room as a front person with a vision and brilliant artistry that can carry the music to millions of people around the planet. They don’t come along every day.
But you should also be grateful for the collective decades they spent honing their craft and that they decided to spend their time sharing their talents together with you to create something special. Everyone should be grateful whenever a record is successful, it’s a wonderful thing.
I always find these disputes so sad. It’s like when families fight over winning the lottery.
This is correct - nobody can tell you what you can and cannot perform in a live setting (otherwise covers bands wouldn’t exist).
However changing the arrangements of the song will have no impact on whether performance royalties are paid to the writers of the song - as long as it’s recognisably a “version” of the song it remains a performance of the piece no matter whether you rearrange it to be played on harmonica and triangle at 220bpm in 5/4 timing.
So basically - if this is what she is saying is her reason I think it’s bullshit.. she may just not want to play the original versions because she despises the musicians and therefore their work.
Of course this has the opposite of the intended effect and just really goes to show how much the musicians contributions added to the compositions and their success.
Artists who don’t want to properly compensate the musicians who helped make their records that made (in this case) tens of millions of dollars really leave a bad taste in my mouth.
There are some cases of musicians holding the artist to ransom unfairly and behaving like assholes but the lions share of these situations are artists who have little to no respect for their collaborators. I’m going to go out on a limb and say from past behaviour I will assume Lauren is doing just that, it seems to be up her alley so to speak. Could be wrong.
There is no Miseducation without the musicians Lauren, and clearly as you have proven over the last 20 years you were incapable of repeating its success with other musicians. Further solidifying their claim to a massive contribution in its success.
He’s definitely in that conversation but I don’t know if I’d say it’s “completely obvious”, I don’t know if there can be such thing as a single greatest recording artist of all time, more like a club/group of them.
This guy had this sitting there for 20+ years and was waiting for Bowie to die to sell it as he couldn’t while he was still alive.
Not to say there’s anything wrong with that! I’m sure as hell Bowie & hiers don’t need the money and it’s a cool thing to have done in your life - be in a schoolboy band with one of the greatest of all time.
If I had cash to burn I’d definitely put in a bid for this it’s such a dope piece of memorabilia. Hope it fetches good money.
You’re right - he is incredibly smart and makes excellent decisions. His music is sometimes fantastic, and sometimes underwhelming however - can’t be denied.
The odds of his success in life were so stacked against him yet by the age of 22 he was a world famous artist, writing multi-platinum hit records that influenced and altered the entire pop music landscape. That takes intelligence, hard work, dedication and creative genius. He deserves full credit for all his success.
He is also a creative powerhouse and deserves respect in his field by any metric. His group has also made one stone cold classic album - Culture. This is a monumental achievement and an era defining album. It’s not my favourite rap album by a long stretch, but it is one of the most fully realised pop records in any genre this decade.
To be fair - if I was him I’d carry a gun too.. otherwise he’d have to move everywhere with armed security.
Less than a month after the robbery and killing of another young rap star (just the latest in a long line of such incidents) it’s clear to me why he would feel his life is in danger and the need to protect himself.
Sure, he has to get a slap on the wrist as the law against felons carrying guns needs to be upheld for obvious reasons. But to see this as a clear moral failing on his part is shortsighted at best.
He is a man, he has children. I understand.
Who would have thought driving round the hood with $50,000 cash would be dangerous? Clearly not this bright spark..
He didn’t deserve to be murdered like some folks here seem to think.
But he did deserve to do prison time for torturing and sticking a barbecue fork up that girls vagina what a horrible thing to do that’s someones daughter..
I will watch this - partly because I find her a fascinating figure, and partly because she’s such a carcrash whenever she opens her mouth that I’m sure there will be laughs to be had.
She’s made good music too.
MSG is an awful place to see live music - the Theater on the other hand is great.
Glad to see these old timers having fun together and sharing the stage.
This album is really the indie rock version of a heel turn..
still love Beck though.. his work with the Dust Brothers is iconic and he’s a brilliantly inventive songwriter.
I respect artists who have wild success with a sound then go and do something else entirely.. too many people just would mine that seam for the rest of their careers with diminishing returns.. at least he’s constantly pushing himself in new directions.
This is literally true.. it’s fucking hilarious - every Jamaican I know has submitted a song for this. Even the guys making oxtail stew at Golden Krust out in Bed-Stuy reckon they’ve got a joint on the album.
It’s been a joke in the industry for years “my buddy says he has a Rihanna song, it’s gonna be the first single” *cue laughter* But then when it actually happens it can really change your life/career.
Anybody who is mad about “oh 30 different writers” is an idiot - that’s 30 people who are getting a shot at the charts with one of the biggest pop stars on the planet.. and can suddenly leverage much more than before.
my only knock on it is that this is the result of songwriters/producers working for free (they don’t really get paid for sessions anymore) which is a little sad.. I’ve known plenty of genius writers working on albums for massive multi-millionaire world conquering pop stars who literally don’t have the money for food or a taxi home from the studio at 4am. It’s like the Hunger Games.
I like auteur records and I like pop-by-committee - it’s the end result that counts not the method. I’m looking forward to this record I’ll take Rihanna dominating the charts over the alternative (Drake)
At least she doesn’t pretend like the others (ahem Bey) - I like how open they are about the process. She never used to take publishing either (like a lot of scummy pop singers do).
Good luck Jamaican writers!
Meth really sucks - ruined a couple of my friends lives. It’s so much worse than any other drug because of psychosis.
03 Greedo is OK - gangsta ‘18 T-Pain, probably a couple hits in him. He will be out in 5 years - won’t be able to tour internationally but could have long career on Chitlin circuit..
Valees beat selection is exquisite and he knows exactly what to do with them. I’m excited for when one day he manages to make a proper hit - his flavour can be heard rubbing off on so many others.
I came, I clicked, I realised that by clicking I am part of the problem but I can’t help myself so I’m just going to do it anyway and to hell with the consequences
It’s an objectively bad name. Why do celebrities so often name their kids so terribly?
Side note she looks like a seahorse in these pictures. It’s a weird perspective for pregnancy photos.
Congratulations to them I hope their marriage is happy and their child is healthy.
Basically - if you’re going to make lo-fi 90’s indie guitar band music in 2018 you better have amazing songs otherwise I’m just not interested. If I want nostalgia I’ll go to the source I can bring up all those old records with the click of a button.
This is fair - I think the 90’s lo-fI revival is in a rut as the best of that stuff was always about the songs not the sound. And most of these bands seem to just ape the sound without actually writing the songs.
I’d be happy for well written aging rockstar albums from all those artists - but I’m not betting on them.
I do always find a song or two off every Interpol record that hits the spot - what more can one ask for really? It ain’t broke don’t fix it.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that she may have known about these allegations for some time. People don’t usually share stories of child abuse for the first time in a public forum like this.
Regardless it’s tragic. It never fails to shock me that someone could put their own gratification above the desire to protect and shelter any child - but especially a child under their care.
Must be heartbreaking for her.
He has Jared Fogle vibes.. He seems like a man who has a terrible secret of some kind - I’ve known a few in my time and he has all the behavioural tics. Make of this what you wish.
Russell still thinks he is getting away with it.. I hope his children never look at him the same way again. I hope he feels the pain of recognition. Fuck you Russell.
Nice re-write of “She’s Leaving Home”..
So many bits where they are straight up doing the melody and chords to that song then change one note halfway through.. it actually made me laugh out loud. Not mad at it - it’s one of my favourite Beatles records too.
I think his public persona has to be quite different from what goes on behind the scenes. So many people in the industry seem to have respect for him in a way that baffles those of us who see the buffoon he presents to the world.
Not saying he’s a genius (he’s definitely not) but he must be good at something - I just don’t think the public knows what that something is.
It’s called a long tail.. there’s a very visible small percentage at the top making big bucks.. most rap music is heavily independent.. maybe if indie rock bands weren’t so overwhelmingly middle class suburban kids they would actually write a pop song every once in a while to try get out of poverty.
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