Dear Music Coorporation of America,
When I asked for permission to record John Williams’ legendary composition ‘Theme from Schindler’s List’ on my new album, your company rejected the request because of the ‘commercial value’.
For a minute, I just assumed to have walked the right path here, in order to get permission. To me, it’s a decent routine I’ve been following ever since 2005, when I started my own little record label.
Permission denied? This can’t be true, I thought. Shouldn’t anyone who gets asked by someone to play his or her composition, feel honored in some way? Or at least feel sympathy for the poor soul, struggling out there to master the genius music of — in this case — John Williams that he or she loves to share. Remember, this is jazz, so it’s about 235,000% more...
Music
Dear Rap Music,
I’ve been known to “throw my hands in the air and wave ‘em like I just don’t care.” I used to hit up your shows and you could often “find me in the club, bottle full of bub,” where, if your beat thumped enough and your hook looped just right, I could be enticed to “jump motherf*cker, jump motherf*cker jump.” And while I’ve never really been “down with O.P.P.,” I do “like big butts and I cannot lie…” And man, those days were the days.
But now that I have two daughters, two centers of the Universe, these are not those days.
I am breaking up with you, Rap Music, and it’s not you, it’s me. And it’s also, kind of, you.
It’s your rampant misogyny, homie. It is an epidemic. Your unapologetic sexism is a scourge on an otherwise exceptional cultural phenomenon. A...
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Dear participants of the Red Sea Chamber Music Festival,
We, Israeli citizens and residents, Jews and Palestinians, are writing to you today to ask that you withdraw your participation from the 6th International Red Sea Chamber Music Festival.
As you may have heard, there is a call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions [1] (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law and ends its decades-long systematic oppression of the Palestinian people. This call, launched by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations, is supported by Archbishop Desmond Tutu [2], the international alliance Artists Against Apartheid [3], South-African Artists Against Apartheid [4], Creative Workers Union of South Africa, 500 Montreal artists [5], 200 Irish artists [6], and many acclaimed...
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Dear Creators of Sexist Fantasy and Comic Book Art,
This is addressed to those among you drawing and painting (and sometimes sculpting) women with skimpy clothing and bad anatomy and poses no actual human would stand in.
I could try to talk to you about the problem of objectifying women, the concept of the male gaze and the detrimental effects of this kind of thing on real-life women. But other people have done that already, at great length, and it doesn’t seem to have made much of a dent. So I’m going to try an argument that might be more persuasive to you:
Your sexist art is boring.
It’s indistinguishable from all the other sexist art out there. Oh, yawn, another butt shot. Another woman attacking her enemy ass-first. Another distortion to get both T...
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Dear Concerned San Franciscans,
The recent boom of development in the South of Market area has in many ways brought life to the City of San Francisco along with an exciting new neighborhood. SOMA Artists Studios has been a part of this community for 25 years, and we want to continue to be a part of the cultural life of the City. SOMA Artists Studios has watched the area change several times, but the latest influx of new businesses is threatening now to price us out.
SAS is losing its lease due to the burgeoning commercial real estate market, which is directly impacted by the rise of the tech industry in our neighborhood. In 2015, 46 artists will be forced to move out of the heart of the City, less than ideal for the artists and the cultural life of the City.
SAS is currently a...
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Dear Nashville,
Last week, on the day that would have been Chet Atkins’ 90th birthday (June 20, 1924), my office received news that the historic RCA Building on Music Row is likely to be sold. This building, with the historic RCA Studio A as its centerpiece, was Atkins’ and Owen Bradley’s vision and baby, and had become home to the largest classic recording space in Nashville. Word is that the prospective buyer is a Brentwood, TN-based commercial development company called Bravo Development owned and operated by Tim Reynolds. We don’t know what this will mean to the future of the building.
First off, kudos to the estates and descendants of Atkins and Bradley for doing their best to keep the building alive. They’ve owned the property all these years and could have at any point...
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Dear Caribbean Music Supporter
After 5 years of work, we (the Jamaican duo Voice Mail) are about to release a new album. Not only the Caribbean music industry, but the global music industry is in deep crisis. While major label executives fight to secure their piece of the cake in an industry that has been on the decline for 15 consecutive years, independent artists are the one's that can't reach the customer anymore. Investments in artist development can only be made by the majors as they control the structures (radio, PR, online and now also streaming) to promote music with the goal of achieving a return on their investment. Taylor Swift got it right when she said, music is art. The main point here is not to make ridiculous amounts of money with music, but that art needs to be...
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Dear Gilbert School Board Members –
Long time no chat! Somehow my annual pilgrimage to one of your meetings to beg, plead and grovel for funding for music and fine arts programs never materialized this year. This is good.
I do want to share a little story with you, one that I hope you will read, and remember, when the inevitable discussions around music programs occur — now or in the future. Maybe it will be funding issues, whether to cut or (hopefully) expand music programs and/or staffing. Perhaps whether or not to approve a band or orchestra field trip.
Someday, if not this academic year than certainly in some other, these discussions and crucial votes will make it onto your agenda. When they do, please consider this:
Questions always seem to arise about the value of a music...
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Dear Mr. Waters,
I am convinced, after reading your open letter to me in The Independent, that you misunderstand our concerns about your concert production and, specifically, its use of the Star of David imagery followed by dollar signs in "Good Bye Blue Sky." I hope this open letter will clarify ADL's concerns and set the record straight.
First of all, let me be perfectly clear that I have never accused you or "The Wall Show" of anti-Semitism. I take you at your word that you had no intention of imparting an anti-Semitic message, either through the imagery projected on the wall, or through references to Israel's security fence.
We have carefully watched the video montage from your show and understand it as being an anti-war statement.
Our concern is, quite simply, the order...
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Dear Maroon 5,
Hi. You don’t know me, but I know you. Well, not directly. I’ve been a fan for years, though. Your songs were my middle school jams, and I was always Team Adam when I watched “The Voice.” I even did a project over you guys for my seventh grade Computers class. If that’s not dedication, I don’t know what is.
I wish I could say I was still a fan, but things have changed. It all started around when you released “Payphone.” My hopes were high for your next album … until I heard “One More Night.” I remember thinking that this was not the Maroon 5 I used to be obsessed with, but instead just another band who can make cookie-cutter pop music. But, I didn’t lose all hope. I listened to “Daylight,” and I was still unimpressed. “Love Somebody” came along, and the deal was all but...
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