Friday Miscellanea

Great article in The Guardian about photos that Paul took during Beatlemania: ‘Suddenly, we were in Wonderland’: Paul McCartney on his lost photos of Beatlemania.

How it looked from their perspective

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Yo-Yo Ma offers cello support!

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The weird times we live in! This is the big music story this morning: How Three Taylor Swift Fans Are Sticking It to Ticket Resellers

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has created a torrid resale market, with nosebleed seats listed on StubHub for more than $1,000. While scalpers try to turn a profit on the musical event of the summer, three Swifties are working to get tickets to fans at face value.

Through their Twitter account @ErasTourResell, Courtney Johnston, 25, Channette Garay, 24, and Angel Richards, 27, say they have connected more than 3,000 people with tickets to Swift’s shows. Their Robin Hood-like efforts come amid attempts to curb what some lawmakers describe as a monopoly over ticket sales in the U.S. After the Ticketmaster presale for Swift’s stadium tour saw unprecedented demand, many fans are still looking for last-minute seats. But on the secondary market, they have faced staggering prices, canceled orders and fake tickets.

There was no such thing as a billionaire musician until the last few decades. In the past even millionaire musicians were passing rare--one example is Gioachino Rossini who wrote some forty hugely successful operas and retired at age thirty-seven. He was probably a millionaire in today's currency. Popular music brought us a few millionaires (and a lot more who died poor!), but the first billionaire musician was probably Paul McCartney. He was followed by a host of others: Kanye West, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Rihanna, not to mention a bunch of "hundred-millionaires" like Drake. It seems we are on the verge of a musician becoming a billionaire after one tour! Yes, Taylor Swift, who was worth some $570 million in December and the way the tour is going, will likely be a billionaire any month now.

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And while we are on pop music, here is a look at its earthier (seamier) side: An Anthropologist of Filth. Chuck Berry was a harbinger of a certain kind of contemporary pop artist:

It was his cousin Harry who introduced him, as a teenager, to the joys of photography (and much more besides: chemistry, rockets, astronomy, hypnotism). Harry “provided a conduit of science and rational thought to Chuck, plus also plenty of dirty pictures.” At this point we hear an ominous organ note on the soundtrack: “Over the years, Berry would amass a vast collection of cameras, video monitors, darkroom technology, and assorted recording devices.” Even after the success of “Maybellene,” his personal business cards read charles berry, photographer. In tandem, Berry developed what might be termed an interest in, shall we say, the wilder shores of love. You get the impression that music was never really the place where he lost, found, or explored himself and his deepest desires. That place existed in the center of a Venn diagram whose twin cheeks were sex and tech.

Read the whole thing for a fascinating look at all sides of Chuck Berry.

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Further on the "weird times" meme: BANK GETS ALL TANGLED UP IN BACH. This is the note that violinist Viktoria Mullova got from her bank regarding a payment for use of a Bach recording:

Hello Viktoria,

We've suspended transfer 709043505 for a sanctions review.

Please send us the following information:

1. A detailed reason for this transfer. 2. What does reference "Nr. 2023/40013 / 17.5.2023, Bach, 6 Solo

Sonatas Partitas/2308100857" refer to? If the "Bach" is related to a person - send us their full legal name, date of birth, and the country they live in. If the "Bach" is related to a business - send us their full registered name and address. a valid website and any invoice if they have one. If we don't get this information, we may have to reject or block this transfer.

Bear in mind it can take up to 7 days to check your reply.

And here was her reply:

Hello, Thanks for taking care of this serious problem. The detailed reason for this transfer is that I am a musician and am being paid for the use of a recording of mine. The reference refers to exactly which recording they used (please see my website viktoriamullova.com)

And in answer to your other question:

Full legal name: Kapellmeister Herr Johann Sebastian Bach

Date of Birth: March 31st, 1685 (probably best not to try and track him down)

Country of residence: Ancient Thuringia (now known as Germany)

With best wishes

Viktoria Mullova 

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I'm not sure what to make of articles like these: AI Could Usher in a New Era of Music. Will It Suck? I mean, I'm pretty sure the answer is yes because I think most music "sucks" to use the vernacular. I have been trying to get a sense of the music of Taylor Swift recently, but I find it so insipid I can't even listen to it.

Ever since it launched in April, it’s been aggregating a controversial new musical … thing: songs created with artificial intelligence tools that mimic, with chilling accuracy, mainstream stars like Drake and Kanye West. The conversation around AI music has largely been frenzied and shot through with hand-wringing over What It All Means and What It All Portends.

My reaction to reading something like this is go to Amazon and buy this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092PG7WYT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

34 discs of Josquin and other members of the Franco-Flemish school that will enable me to avoid thinking about Taylor Swift and AI for a while

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Here is another weird story: An S.F. Safeway is annoying its neighbors by blaring classical music. Here’s why

“Since February, live classical music has been played from the unit to deter loitering,” said Safeway spokesperson Wendy Gutshall. “This is a common industry practice. As an ongoing effort we monitor the volume level of the unit and adjust where necessary.”  

As to why the volume was cranked up over the past weekend, Gutshall did not respond. Nor did she explain the choice of classical music, as opposed to, say, heavy metal or hard rock. In Australia, some stores blast Barry Manilow to deter loitering.

Sam Dodge, director of street response coordination in the S.F. Department of Emergency Management, said he had heard classical music being played to deter loitering at the now-closed Burger King at Market and Grove streets and at other Safeway parking lots throughout the Bay Area.

“It is a rather common practice. I don’t know why,” he said. “I find classical music soothing.”

Lots of questions come to mind: what "classical" music was being played, exactly? And are corporations simply exempt from noise abatement laws? Also, how could anyone live in a place like that?

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Finally, with a sigh of relief, we get to the envoi section for today. I guess Yo-Yo Ma playing the Cello Suite No. 1 by Bach is a logical choice. I like that this is the "official video." 

Rossini, Overture to The Barber of Seville:

And here is one of the pieces recorded in the box of Franco-Flemish music:

Have a nice weekend!