RIP: Teddy Pendergrass

By Shane Mack on

From Rolling Stone:

Teddy Pendergrass, one of the most successful R&B singers of the 1970s and ’80s, passed away yesterday after a battle with colon cancer. He was 59. Pendergrass was diagnosed with cancer last year and had a difficult time recovering from surgery; he died at Bryn Mawr Hospital outside of his native Philadelphia, ABC News reports. The five-time Grammy-nominated singer had chart-topping hits in three different decades with 1978’s “Close the Door,” 1988’s “Joy” and 1991’s “It Should’ve Been You,” plus well-known songs like “Love TKO,” “Two Hearts” with Stephanie Mills and “Hold Me,” a duet with Whitney Houston that featured on Houston’s 1985 debut album.

• Teddy Pendergrass: http://teddypendergrass.com
• Teddy Pendergrass (Wiki): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Pendergrass

U.K. Approves Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger; U.S. to Decide in Early 2010

By Brom on 01-14-2010

Just before Christmas, the U.K.’s Competition Commission announced that they had approved the proposed merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation. At the time, Tiny Mix Tapes was too busy fawning over our 2009 year-end feature to have bothered noticing. The decision by the Competition Commission was a surprise, since back in October they had made a preliminary ruling against the deal. They now say that if the deal was blocked it would harm “German ticketing firm CTS Eventim, which signed a deal with Live Nation to expand into the UK in 2007.”

Industry watchers (who are these people?) now wait with bated breath to see how America’s Department of Justice will rule on the deal. Their decision is due early this year. However, “of the 1,726 mergers reported in 2008… the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division challenged only 16.”

Concern has been raised about the merger since Ticketmaster is the world’s largest ticket vendor and Live Nation is the world’s largest concert promoter. Visions of an out-of-control corporate empire abound with Ken Solky, President of the National Association of Ticket Brokers, saying the merger would create a behemoth that “could control every part of a live concert, from artist management and promotion to venue management, merchandise sales, and ticket sales and resales.” The two companies see the deal as “creating a new kind of live entertainment business,” according to Chris Edmonds, managing director of Ticketmaster U.K.

RIP: Jay Reatard

By Shane Mack on 01-13-2010

From Goner:

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard. Jay died in his sleep last night. We will pass along information about funeral arrangements when they are made public.

From The Commercial Appeal

Memphis musician Jay Lindsey, better known as Jay Reatard, was found dead in his Midtown home this morning, according to family and friends.

Memphis police have opened a death investigation, spokesman Jennifer Robinson said. Lindsey was found around 3:30 a.m. in his bed, Robinson said.

“Yeah, it’s true,” friend Alicia Trout said. “I don’t know much about it yet, because I haven’t been able to get in touch with the police.”

Added Eric Friedl of Goner Records: “Yeah. He was found at his house. That’s all I know right now.”

• Jay Reatard official website: http://www.jayreatard.com
• Jay Reatard MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jayreatard

WELCOME TO TMT: 2010! (Updated)

By TMT Staff on 01-13-2010

UPDATE: Sorry for the kinks, everyone. We’re trying to iron out the problem as quickly as possible!

Welcome to the new Tiny Mix Tapes! New decade, new design, new everything! Well, that’s not entirely true. We’ll still be posting the same good ol’ news, reviews, features, film reviews, and mix tapes. But in addition to our sexy new wardrobe, we’re implementing several changes for 2010 that we’re really excited about.

First off, we’re converting the DeLorean from an old-albums review section to a more dynamic blog, allowing us the freedom to post more frequently and to cover more than just albums. Second, we’re expanding the Chocolate Grinder, our multimedia section. In addition to having streamable/downloadable mixes, we’ve added a sub-section to post audio and video, news-style. Finally, we have Shrimp Scampi. While it used to ambiguously refer to the weirder stories in our news section, it’ll now itself be comprised of three sections: (1) TMT Comics, (2) TMT Debates, and (3) Mix Tapes. Comics and Mix Tapes are in full gear already, and we’ll soon debut TMT Debates, where we hope to have Important music/film/culture discussions with you, the reader! (Haven’t you noticed how some of the most intriguing cultural discussions happen on message boards and comment sections?)

Of course, every major design change also comes with a bittersweet goodbye. But while we loved our giant-sized pulp-y look, we had to blow it up to make room for all the new sections. Plus, you can now flip through our archives easily, the search actually works, and soon artist names (and your favorite irreverent TMTer) will be clickable!

Anyway, we hope you love the new TMT as much as we do. We’ll be fine-tuning things over the next several weeks, so email us (feedback@tinymixtapes.com) and let us know what you think.

Thanks for reading!

RIP: Willie Mitchell

By Shane Mack on 01-06-2010

From The New York Times:

Willie Mitchell, who shaped the elegant yet gritty sound of Al Green, Ann Peebles and other stars of soul music as the house producer at Hi Records in the 1960s and ’70s, died Tuesday in Memphis, where he lived. He was 81. The cause was cardiac arrest, his son Lawrence said.

RIP: Lhasa de Sela

By Shane Mack on 01-03-2010

From Lhasa de Sela’s official website:

The singer Lhasa de Sela passed away in her Montreal home on the night of January 1st 2010, just before midnight.

She succumbed to breast cancer after a twenty-one month long struggle, which she faced with courage and determination.

Throughout this difficult period, she continued to touch the lives of those around her with her characteristic grace, beauty and humor. The strength of her will carried her once again into the recording studio, where she completed her latest album, followed by successful record launches in Montreal at the Théatre Corona and in Paris at the Théatre des Bouffes du Nord. Two concerts in Iceland in May were to be her last.

She was forced to cancel a long international tour scheduled for autumn 2009. A projected album of the songs of Victor Jara and Violeta Parra would also remain unrealized.

Lhasa de Sela was born on September 27, 1972, in Big Indian, New York.

• Lhasa de Sela: http://lhasadesela.com

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