Modern Feminism: The Role of Women in Music
Sandra Canosa
Miley Cyrus' responses were flippant, and she denies acting as a role model for anyone – including her largely young-teens female fanbase. But that's just the thing: as minorities in the music business, women out front-and-center like Miley serve as representatives for the population at large, whether they intend to or not. They serve to inform other females about culturally acceptable modes of behavior and how to express their sexuality while at the same time teaching men what to expect and/or desire from women.
Read more about Modern Feminism: The Role of Women in Music
The Passing of a Legend: Bossa Nova Musician João Gilberto Dies at 88
Tatiana Bautzer
Born in Bahia, a notheastern Brazilian state, João Gilberto Prado de Oliveira began singing at 18. After moving to Rio de Janeiro, he released the record Chega de Saudade in 1959, which marked the beginning of the world-famous bossa nova music style. His 1964 album "Getz/Gilberto" with American saxophone player Stan Getz sold millions of copies, won several Grammy awards and popularized bossa nova around the world.
Read more about The Passing of a Legend: Bossa Nova Musician João Gilberto Dies at 88
New Motley Crue Film Offers Tale of Success and Excess
Emily G. Roe
The Dirt, based on the band's best-selling autobiography, charts the rise of four Californian youngsters who channel the punk rage of the 1970s into the big-haired rock genre that, for many people, defined the 1980s. Like the hugely successful Queen movie Bohemian Rhapsody, it is a rags-to-riches tale of flamboyant showbiz glory and the perils of a rock 'n' roll lifestyle.
Read more about New Motley Crue Film Offers Tale of Success and Excess
Recording Academy Task Force to Investigate Music Industry
As part of its charter, the task force will identify the various barriers and unconscious biases faced by underrepresented communities throughout the music industry and, specifically, across Recording Academy operations and policies. In an effort to determine pathways toward greater parity at every level of the organization, the task force will look specifically at Recording Academy governance, hiring and promotion practices, membership, awards, and telecast.Grammys
Read more about Recording Academy Task Force to Investigate Music Industry
Farewell Rock 'n' Roll: Hip Hop, R&B Are Biggest U.S. Music Genres
Jill Serjeant
Powered by a 72 percent increase in on-demand audio streaming, eight of the top 10 albums came from the world of rap or R&B, including Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN," Drake's "More Life" and "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars, according to Nielsen Music's 2017 year-end report, released on Wednesday. Rap and R&B also dominate the Grammy awards later in January, with rapper Jay-Z and Lamar leading nominations.
Read more about Farewell Rock 'n' Roll: Hip Hop, R&B Are Biggest U.S. Music Genres
Carrying on Musical Family Traditions at the Grammys
Geraldine Wyckoff
As the title suggests, Gumbo stirs up a mixture of genres all of which remain solidly in Morton's comfort zone and mastery. He gets funky on another original, the dance-ready, "Sticking to My Guns" that gets down with a full band – horns and all – plus background singers. He sends his message with a groove on "Religion," and offers some old-school style soul on "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" that features The Chicago Kid and background vocals by the Hamiltones. Morton
Read more about Carrying on Musical Family Traditions at the Grammys
Racial Dynamics and Latin Music in the U.S.
Angelo Franco
Much like American Hip-Hop, reggaeton was first an "underground" genre that came from urban, predominantly black, working-class communities. In the Puerto Rican context, reggaeton's emergence in the 1990s is tied to public housing developments that were part of anti-crime initiatives in the island. Dubbed Mano Dura contra el Crimen (Iron Fist against Crime), it was enacted in 1993 by then governor Pedro Roselló (the very same one who danced to the Macarena in his campaign rallies).
Read more about Racial Dynamics and Latin Music in the U.S.
Radiohead Didn't Change the Music Industry, But at Least They Tried
Few alternative rock bands from the 1990s should still honestly be described as "contemporary" artists, but at least Radiohead can be safely counted among them. Their May 2016 release and ninth studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool, once again showcased the band's continuous refusal to become irrelevant, despite the usual statutes of popular culture regarding people over 40. The record explores new landscapes sonically, but its actual release proved, yet again, that the band knows how to take advantage of the Internet.
Read more about Radiohead Didn't Change the Music Industry, But at Least They Tried
Censorship or Hate Crime?: Analyzing Rapper YG's Controversial Song
Gloria Liao
Critics say the lines are in essence a how to manual for robbing Chinese and other Asian American homes and businesses. Protest organizers have already successfully gotten YouTube to remove the video. They have circulated a petition to ban the song from public media and have YG investigated by federal authorities. The petition has already garnered the necessary 100,000 signatures for it to go before the Obama administration.
Read more about Censorship or Hate Crime?: Analyzing Rapper YG's Controversial Song
Did Bob Dylan Deserve the Nobel? Maybe, But He Wasn't the First Musician
Hasan Zillur Rahim
The decision by the Swedish Academy to award Bob Dylan the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition" was lauded by many and lamented by a few. But there was universal acknowledgment that the Academy had broken new ground by awarding the Nobel "for the first time" to a singer-songwriter since the French poet and essayist Sully Prudhomme first won it in 1901.
Read more about Did Bob Dylan Deserve the Nobel? Maybe, But He Wasn't the First Musician