Category: Success

Sony Music Supports Rape

12/7/2015

A few months ago I did an article on Kesha where I briefly touched on her court case against music producer Dr. Luke. You can read that here and at the time the trial wasn't completely in full swing.

Kesha has filed legal action to be released from her contract with recording producer Dr. Luke. According to her statements he has raped her, drugged her, emotionally abused her. You can do your own research on that. Some of it's very graphic and she feels unsafe to work with him.

My suggestion to Kesha was to release a greatest hits. Tack on one new song. Drop that greatest hits and get out of that contract. Jennifer Lopez satisfied her recording contract with Island by doing that. Madonna did the same with Warner Bros.

I didn't realize she had three more albums to record with Dr. Luke. If you don't know who he is. He's the force behind some of the biggest hits in pop music. He's worked with Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Nicki Minaj. All the greats. He's part of the reason for Kesha's mainstream success. As of right now Kesha has never had a single miss the top 40. That's amazing.

This complicates matters. She is working directly on Dr. Luke. He is supposed to produce her records and what safety can she have working with a man like that. Her stint in rehab over her eating disorders were caused by Dr. Luke.

Kesha asked Sony music to just release her from working with Dr. Luke. That she was willing to have her music released from Sony, she just didn't want to work with her abuser. Which, seems perfectly reasonable.

They refused. Sony is choosing to protect Dr. Luke instead of their artists, because he's a hit maker. With Kesha and Dr. Luke in a lawsuit, if Kesha loses her career is essentially over. Dr. Luke can shelve any album she makes. Release it and give it any promotion. He has all the power. There is no way Sony music will be able to make any money from Kesha if she's restricted to this contract.

This case should have been solved a long time ago. Her testimony is graphic and even if it wasn't it seems unlikely that Kesha would lie about this. For what gain? Dr. Luke made her a superstar. She isn't trying to get away from someone who's unable to produce her hits. She's getting away from her abuser.

Kesha gave Sony Music such a reasonable alternative to this continued lawsuit and they decided to support Dr. Luke. They have aligned themselves with a rapist in the terms of profits. Supporting Kesha would have lost them nothing other then some irritation on the part of Dr. Luke.

I support Kesha completely in her decision not to release any more music with Dr. Luke. I love Kesha and I would love more Kesha music in my life, but it's so much more important that she isn't put in hostile situations where she has to deal with this man.

It's absolutely disgusting that Sony is siding with a rapist who took advantage of one of their artists instead of choosing to support her, they have set the precedence that rape and molestation is acceptable as long as you produce hits.

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Gender Blurring Fashion

10/12/2015

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One of my favorite blogs, Nick's Attic, regularly talks about fashion and I've kept saying that I would love to be a fashion blogger. I've decided to take control of my life and bring to you the first fashion conscious piece at your favorite blog.

Fall is upon us. The September issue of Vogue (this year known as the Beyble) was 832 pages of high gloss ads and fashion commentary. I have had time to reflect and observe. Read a few articles to give you my full opinion.

A trend that fashion is leaning towards is dissolving the concept of what is “female” and “male”. It comes across almost as a political statement against this social insistence on gendering children. This isn't the newest concept in fashion. Ashley Simpson and husband Evan Ross have been working on an androgynous clothing line both admitting to sharing each others clothes.

Model Andreja Pejic has traded in on her ability to blend between the constructs of male and female in order to achieve success. Certainly part of Ruby Rose's attraction comes from the masculine edge she brings into her femininity. The ads Alexander McQueen ran in the September Issue certainly straddled that gender divide as. Coach used the same aesthetic with model Kayla Shadow when they put her in a biker jacket.

Andreja Pejic

Ruby Rose

Kayla Shadow for Coach

Fashion is a constant reinvention. We might finally be coming back to a time where men's and women's fashion did not differ strongly from one another. Steff Yotka writes on Vogue's website, “a boy-or-man- in heels or a skirt doesn't feel too out of place.” She clearly hasn't been to middle America in a while. Both of those things stand out as strange.

Personally, I love this trend. It gives men and women to explore the kind of clothing they like without being as critiqued. The bargain basement version of this meeting of the minds can be seen with the floral prints on shirts in the men's departments. It's filtered down into what is acceptable in conservative America. We're a long way from wide acceptance of men wearing skirts and heels.

The fashion forwardness of New York and Tokyo is bound to push it's way down at some time. Designers have started putting male models in their female collections. Much like in 2015 when Jelle Haen was put in the Proenza Schouler Fall show. Conversely female models have been put into male collections, like Craig Green's 2016 Spring Catwalk or when models Emilie Evander and Marland Backus walked for Gucci.

Jelle Haen in a black coat for the Proenza Show

Emillie Evander for Gucci

Marland Backus for Gucci

Yumi Lambert for Gucci

The Creative Director of Acne is doing really fascinating work currently. Jonny Johansson is working a lot with gender fluidity. Even putting his son in “pastel pink coats, heeled boots, and high necked blouses” for their 2015 womenswear campaign. All the looks do not strike home, but I found the collection to be fascinating. Especially that powder pink fleece of heat retention. Luke Leitch described the clothes as “an adroit mix of surf and pre-punk” and that it “tapped into menswear's current fixation with gender fluidity”.

This is just exciting to me. This emphasis that's being out on having different clothing and different options and not constricting people. What fashion is telling us is that we can dress however we want. J.W. Anderson has designed dresses for men. Italian fashion designer Ricardo Tisci promotes the kilt. Fashion is propelling the world forward and allowing us to express ourselves. People forget how much of an expression and defiance clothes can be. It's why fashion continues to be the most wearable of art forms.

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The Havana Brown Update

8/31/2015

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I'm a little late on the charge, but I had to do my civic duty and update you on the wonderings of the wonderful and talented Havana Brown.

The last update I gave you was really prior rehashing of what she has been up to. As most of her mainstream commercial success has happened in Australia this is not general public knowledge. One of the blogs I read recently said she was one of the highest selling Australian artists.

He wasn't wrong, but he was stanning hard. Who are universally famous Australian recording artists? Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Minogue, and ACDC. Sia if you want to go current. Their platinum certification is 70,000 copies compared to the United States a million copies. The thresholds are wildly different. Havana Brown's “We Run The Night” sold over a million copies in this country. She might be one of the highest selling Australian recording artists, but that doesn't mean well renowned.

Olivia Newton-John has sold an estimated 100 million records.

Kylie Minogue has sold an estimated 70 million records.

ACDC has sold over 200 million records

Sia has sold over 25 million records.

Havana Brown has for over the past year being gearing up for a follow up to her sensational debut album Flashing Lights. I was hoping it would be slated for a 2014 release, and now I'm just hoping we get it in 2015.

So far five singles have been released to promote this album. None of which have attained commercial success the way “We Run The Night” or “Warrior” have. "We Run The Night" being the single that brought her to international attention.

“Whatever We Want” was a catchy banger. Original might not be how I would describe it, but obsessed with it none the less I was. It reached the top forty in Australia for one week and it seems unlikely that it will appear on her new album. Much like it's follow up “Better Not Said”.

But "Whatever We Want"

Now “Better Not Said” actually got a music video made for it. I liked “Better Not Said”, but it took a couple spins for Havana Brown's breathy vocals to take over me and for me to fall head over heels for this song. That is not the way a hit pop record is done. It not all that surprisingly also did not fare well.

Then her and DJ Walden worked up a remix of Sade's “No Ordinary Love” with Havana on lead vocal. This wasn't a hit for Sade back when they were popular. Not that they were the tantamount of smash hit after smash hits. Needless to say it did not slay the charts the way she wanted.

Buy "Better Not Said"

Buy "No Ordinary Love"

This was the song I stood for. “Bullet Blowz” was good. It was a club banger. Too much of a club banger for radio. That's a damn shame, because that song is amazing. Havana slayed it. Our bald headed boy DJ Kronic served up some sick beats. You couldn't figure out the name of the song to save your life. It was tragically not destined for success.

Buy "Bullet Blowz"

The song that is ready to go top ten is prepped and ready for war. “Battle Cry” has Bebe Rexha as a feature along with Savi. Savi is not important. Bebe Rexha you may know as one of the cowriters on Eminem's hit “Monster” and her own turn on Cash Cash's “Take Me Home”. Bebe Rexha is a multitalented powerhouse with a voice to kill for.

This song is a more pop direction. Potentially signaling the drop of the previous four singles as a change of direction for Havana. This song is pop with a big battle cry. It doesn't take more then one listen to realize Havana has returned and is ready to let us have it. This is the song that could relaunch her in the United States.

The music video? To die for. Literally. There are sexy shirtless men surrounded in a stilted western themed extravaganza where Havana Brown gets her revenge. The concept is already more original then the shoot she and Pitbull did for “We Run The Night”.

Buy "Battle Cry"

She croons. She slays. Havana Brown's “Battle Cry” deserves to top your end of summer playlist.

With any luck we should have a second studio album release by the end of this year. I will keep you updated. With even more luck it might even be released in the United States. Wouldn't that be nice. Shipping from Australia takes too much time.

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Disco Is A Zombie

12/8/2014

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Disco is back from the dead. After three dormant decades, it is back with Giorgio Moroder leading the way. You could make the argument that disco never died and that it simply evolved. In Europe this was very true. Disco didn't fade, dance music changed. The United States, however really did have a come to terms with bringing disco down, and it wasn't until Madonna that dance music really came back in vogue.

Giorgio Moroder is probably not a household name to most people. Not even those who lived through the highlights of disco. I know who he is, because of his work with Donna Summer. I don't think I've really talked about her on the blog, but I love Donna Summer. Needless to say you will see Giorgio Moroder's name stamped across a lot of Donna Summer hits “Love to Love You Baby”, “Hot Stuff”, “I Feel Love” to name a few.

He's an iconic record producer. Quite recently his sound had a surge of popularity when Daft Punk enlisted him for their album, Random Access Memories. It won a Grammy for album of the year, spawned the massive hit that was “Get Lucky”. I was never interested enough to really look into it, but it received phenomenal reviews.

Fun fact that he also did the Scarface soundtrack. Jenny knew this for some odd reason. I don't know why, she is surprisingly skilled in knowledge in film scores and soundtracks. Something, I am not.

The moral of the story. The reason he is the subject of conversation is that Mr. Moroder is releasing a new album at the age of 74. There will be a slew of guest hit makers, much the way David Guetta and Calvin Harris tailor their albums.

At the moment there is no release date, but I will keep you updated. I'm definitely curious about this project. What does this 74 year old man think he can contribute to pop music? I have no idea and that's what is so intriguing, as his last studio album came out over 30 years ago. The same time disco died. He is now back, and about to let us have it?

Collaborators include: Britney Spears, Charli XCX, Kylie Minogue, Sia, Mikky Ekko, and Foxes.

Kylie Minogue

Sia

Foxes

Mikky Ekko

Britney Spears

Charli XCX

Obviously, I am excited for new Britney music as the rest of the world is. I'm kind of bored with Charli to be honest. I am considering buying Sucker next week, though. I still haven't decided. Kylie Minogue is irrelvant to Americans.

There's no reason Giorgio shouldn't enlist hit maker Sia, especially with her recent chart successes. As far as Mikky Ekko and Foxes go. I don't really have anything against it. I thought Mikky Ekko's career had flat lined after his duet with Rihanna, so if he can get his name back out there he might finally drop that solo album.

Who even knows what's happening with Foxes. She sang “Clarity” for Zedd and now she's on a veteran producers album. I suppose that's exciting for her. I have no interest in her career. If it blows up, I will take note, until then. I have better things to do.

One song has been released from the album so far. It is mainly instrumental, but it has me interested in this new project. It's called “74 is the New 24”.

I don't know if I would go that far.

Buy "74 is the New 24"

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Sony Music Supports Rape

Gender Blurring Fashion

The Havana Brown Update

Disco Is A Zombie

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