During the height of the COVID crisis, both Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from Spotify in protest over the vaccine misinformation that was being spread over the service at the time.
Now, both Mitchell and Young are back at the largest and most popular music streaming service. Many will probably comment that they probably did it because of the money.
Possibly, but, then, having in mind their track record in expressing their opinions about other political and social themes, they had quite solid personal reasons for their boycott at the time.
Did it have an impact? Who knows, possibly not as much as they would have wished, but as the two always did, they had to show firmly where they stood. At the same time, Spotify went on as it did, with its stance, with only the service aware of what the effect of the boycott was after it ended its exclusivity with the Joe Rogan podcast, the named source for the COVID misinformation.
And Young was quite clear about his return: “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify. I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify.”
Misner & Smith - Silence of the Sun
It took Megan Smith (upright bass) and Sam Misner (guitar), quite a bit of time to come up with the album this single is culled from, but taking your time usually pays its dividends, as it does here, with some great vocal harmonies.
Dog Park - Time
This French quartet favors the dream pop side of things, but without overpowering it with too many guitar or other effects, favoring that the vocals and melody be at the front and they did well.
Keely Forsyth - Horse
Making your music sound dark and bleak can be not only touchy but can alienate quite a few listeners. Yet, Forsyth, who goes down this path here, makes this song so engaging that has exactly the effect she intended.
Spurts - Easy For You
Artists often express their grievances with the music industry through their music. Spurts decided to add a satirical touch here and it seems to work quite well for them here.
Troy Redfern - The Calling
Classic rock can be seen (and heard) as a broad category, but Redfern’s new single (and album) can surely fit within that category, particularly with Redfern’s ‘very classic’ guitar histrionics.
Bex Marshall - Preaching to the Choir
Another artist who can easily fit within the classic rock category, Marshall likes to add some R&B and soul touches into her music here, and she does it with quite some aplomb.
Elvie Shane - Does Heaven Have A Creek
The presence of soul and gospel in country music has been there, possibly always, but doing it right can be a tricky thing to do. Shane though does that admirably here, his gritty vocals leading the way.
Kiss Bang - Horrors of Your Hometown
L.A. duo Kaya Stewart and Max Mercier who operate under the Kiss Bang monitor seem to know how to come up with a good electro-pop song without going overtly electro. A good melody always does the trick.
Colour Film - Ain’t Coming Back
Sure, you can label Ontario’s Matthew de Zoete, aka Colour Film as a ‘standard’ singer-songwriter, but thinking that you can come easily with good music within the genre can be quite deceptive. Zoete does here.
Los Saints — Faded
San Diego’s Los Saints work squarely within the alt-rock parameters, another genre that might be easy to label but a hard one to come up with something substantial. This single just might indicate that Los Saints are on a good track.
Lyd Marie - Love Comes & Love Goes
Lyd Marie is one Lydia Froncek, who judging by this song has an excellent voice and quite a good melody and songwriting touches to carry her through admirably, making her forthcoming album something to seek out.
Calder Allen - Floating Shoes
Allen is another Texan storyteller, who, at the same time, is not afraid to add some not-so-usual musical touches here, but without departing from that strong storytelling line. Very nice.
FLETCHER - Doing Better
FLETCHER is another contender in the modern pop field who firmly sets her music within the cannons of that genre. And she doesn’t miss a bit here (literally). Will do well in the charts (and streams).
Lime Cordiale - The Big Reveal; Ou L’Hypocrite
Playing with cocktail music, easy listening, and yacht rock can always go wrong by becoming too light, or slight if you will but this duo knows quite well what they are doing here.
Then Comes Silence - Like A Hammer
Looking at the photos of this trio it is easy to guess they like the gothic side of rock, think Sisters of Mercy at their prime, but here they add a bit of post-punk speed to the proceedings, and it is to their benefit.
Speedrun - Daydream Delusion
Speedrun is New York’s Nina Lüders who likes her pop with quite a bit of jazzy touches there, and you have not only to know both your pop and jazz to do it well, but have the chops for it. She does.
Hunter Blair Ambrose - Next to Me
Another modern pop contender here, and as is always the case, knowing the rules and cannons of any pop is essential if you want to rise high, and Ambrose definitely has a chance here.
Dierks Bentley - American Girl
Doing a classic song by a classic artist has to go beyond reverence. Bentley gives this Tom Petty absolute classic a bit of a country touch which suits it so well.
Kanaan Brock - Sinner and Saint
Modern country is a very crowded field and your debut has to be really strong to make any sort of an impact. Brock has both the songwriting skills and a voice that just might take him somewhere.
Kelly Jones - Turn Bad Into Good
You just don’t get to be in a band like Stereohonics if you don’t have anything substantial in your music and Jones shows why his upcoming album is quite an anticipated one.