Apple debuted a new ad this week that uses a hydraulic press to illustrate how the company compacts a wide variety of tools into a sleek, thin new iPad model. I love a hydraulic press video, to be honest, but I didn’t love this one. Instead of striking me as soothing and slightly humorous, as hydraulic press videos often do, it made me wildly uncomfortable — and it seems I wasn’t alone. Because what the hydraulic press is squooshing in the minute-long ad, titled “Crush!,” is a stack of tools used by humans to make art. A trumpet, a guitar, cans of paint. Bent, broken, destroyed. Metaphor much? It’s astoundingly tone-deaf at a time when technology seems aimed squarely at dehumanizing art. Why hire a graphic artist when AI can whip up a logo in seconds, for free? Why take a chance on financing a band’s new album when you can get AI to math out an album for you with songs precisely designed to be hits? Who needs writers (gulp) when you’ve got ChatGPT? It’s a great ad, really, if you’re selling the end of culture, or celebrating the death of art. It’s almost like they said the quiet part out loud. As reported in this story from Variety, a UK venture capital firm marketing director drew a stark comparison between “Crush!” and Apple’s iconic “1984” ad that introduced its first personal computer with imagery of a sledgehammer thrown to disrupt a drab industrial hellscape: “1984: Monochrome, conformist, industrial world exploded by colourful, vibrant human. 2024: Colourful, vibrant humanity is crushed by monochrome, conformist industrial press.” Late Thursday, Apple apologized for the ad in a statement. “We missed the mark with this video,” a VP of marketing communications said, “and we’re sorry.”
A few weeks ago I told you about Frank Turner’s quest to set a new record in touring: 15 shows within 24 hours in different cities in the UK. It wasn’t easy, by his own account, but he did it! It’s important to note that Guinness is still working through its verification process for official world record status. And it’s even more important to note that the real aim of the stunt was to show support for independent venues (where the shows were held) and independent record stores (which handled ticketing). Read more about the feat in this coverage from Rolling Stone.
Marcus King and his friend and songwriting partner Charles Hedgepath have launched the Curfew Foundation to fund music programs in schools and destigmatize and provide support for mental health challenges in the arts community. Named for the late singer-songwriter and tour manager Matt “Curfew” Reynolds, the foundation will be highlighted during King’s current Mood Swings tour with support for sober attendees (including mocktail options) and information on mental health. Live Nation has committed to donating $1 from every ticket sold for King’s tour to the foundation. Learn more about The Curfew Foundation here.
The Americana Music Association announced the nominees for its 2024 Honors & Awards this week. In case you missed it, here are the nominees, with Sierra Ferrell, Tyler Childers, and Brandy Clark named in multiple categories. These awards, plus lifetime achievement awards and other recognitions, will be given at the Americana Honors & Awards Show on Sept. 18 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, during AmericanaFest.
Unfortunately, it’s been an incredibly tough week for losses in the music world. Here’s a brief look at folks who have left us; I hope you’ll take time to read the linked remembrances to learn about each one:
Steve Albini, 61, produced key albums by Nirvana, The Pixies, and PJ Harvey and fronted the bands Big Black and Shellac. He had a heart attack, according to an engineer at his Chicago studio, Electrical Audio Recording. His 1993 essay “The Problem With Music” is a fiery critique of the music business that’s still very much relevant today. The Associated Press
Jim Mills, 57, was a revered banjo player who logged a lot of years and miles playing with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder and Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. He released three solo albums and recorded with Dolly Parton, Dan Tyminski, and more, and he was IBMA’s Banjo Player of the Year six times. He died of a heart attack at his home in Durham, North Carolina. Bluegrass Today
Chris Stafford, 36, co-founder (at age 11!) of Cajun-Americana band Feufollet, died in a car accident in Lafayette, Louisiana. He was dedicated to preserving classic Cajun tunes as well as creating new ones, he when not onstage with some assemblage from his large community of musicians, he was often recording in his Staffland Studio in Lafayette. The Acadiana Advocate | Acadiana Profile
Phil Wiggins, 69, played a fierce harmonica and was a pillar in Piedmont blues and a fixture at folk festivals in the 1970s. With guitarist John Cephas, he toured with the US State Department, bringing blues across the globe. He received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts in 2017 and spent much of his later years teaching the blues to younger generations. Smithsonian Folkways Magazine | Facebook
WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO
Here’s a sampling of the songs, albums, bands, and sounds No Depression staffers have been into this week:
The Secret Sisters – “Mama, Now”
Rufus Wainwright – “Darling This Will Never Do,” from Linda Thompson’s new album, Proxy Music, coming in June
Bella White – “I’ll Find a Way (To Carry It All)” (Ted Lucas cover)
Ollella – Back Back Back
The Lostines – Meet the Lostines
Tomo Nakayama and Yuuki Matthews – “Our House”
Ray Wylie Hubbard – “Conversation With the Devil”
Allison Mahal – “18 Moving South”
John Fullbright – The Liar
Don Williams – “Tulsa Time”
Palmyra – “Happy Pills”
Stephanie Lambring – “Good Mother”
