R.E.M. breaking up after three decades: Excuse us, we have to start crying. (With Mike Mills singing backup.)
This is kind of an alarming story, but it also has some, albeit vague, culturally conflicting implications on a larger scale. How do American-made products become more abundant when something like this happens to the existing ones?
After stage collapses at shows for Cheap Trick, the Flaming Lips, and the latest one at a Sugarland show that left five dead, this summer has already looked dangerous for outdoor music shows. It’s not entirely clear, but Pitchfork is reporting that the stage collapsed on the Smith Westerns at the Pukklepop Festival in Belgium. While it appears the band members are alright, frontman Cullen Omori has tweeted that their equipment is broken. As of right now, there are unconfirmed reports of six deaths.
UPDATE: The Associated Press confirms at least four two have died from the stage collapse. This story is still developing.
After learning the kinds of loses many independent labels are facing from the London fire, it’s clear that some of them are seriously damaged by the occurrence. The Beggars Group, for instance, which includes labels like Matador, XL, and 4AD, lost their entire UK stock. Similar damages are being reported by other labels. Now, there’s something the good people of the Internet community can do to help.
A website called LabelLove has been put together in order for people to donate to the labels that suffered damages in the fire resulting from the London riots. The website has set up a PayPal account for immediate donations, and if there’s anything else people want to do to contribute, there’s also an e-mail address people are welcome to write to.
This rather extensive piece from Pitchfork collects responses to and outcomes from the warehouse fire that occurred late last night in London.
This article from The Guardian provides the most complete list of labels potentially affected by the burning of a Sony music distribution center.
I was a little young for the show’s initial run, but oh man does this look promising. The website has some previews of the upcoming debut that is occurring this Saturday night at 1 AM EST. There are clips with the Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon as well as a slew of 2-minute interviews with artists like PJ Harvey, Tame Impala, Foster the People, Danger Mouse, and others. Time to start using the DVR.
