Frank Ocean drops a mellow new track

Lynyrd Skynyrd film blocked

NEW YORK, Aug 29, (Agencies): Frank Ocean, the introspective singer who has thumbed his nose at music industry conventions, has unexpectedly released a new song, a reflection on relationships set to a mellow R&B vibe.

Ocean put out the new track, “Provider”, on his irregularly scheduled Apple Music radio show on Sunday evening just as artists were gathered for the MTV Video Music Awards.

Ocean has recently steered clear of award ceremonies, questioning their value and methods, despite himself winning a wide platform when his first album “Channel Orange” was feted at the 2013 Grammys. “Provider” comes out one year after Ocean again gained wide acclaim for his follow-up album, “Blonde”, which he independently released a day after uploading an abstract film to free himself from a record contract.

“Provider”, characteristic of Ocean’s work, is set to gentle keyboards with his voice fluctuating between his rich, soulful range and hip-hop delivery.

The song touches obliquely into the question of how to find intimacy as Ocean sings, “Show me some wisdom in your movement” before a chorus in which he repeatedly says the phrase, “Feelings you provide”.

“Provider” goes heavy on pop culture references with allusions to Japanese anime, legendary film director Stanley Kubrick, New Wave rock pioneers Talking Heads and the English experimental DJ Aphex Twin.

Ocean starts the song by mentioning a close friend named Memo, leading online fans to point to Memo Guzman, who was most recently spotted with Ocean near the ring at Friday’s hotly anticipated boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.

Ocean made waves but largely won acceptance in the often macho world of hip-hop when he revealed at the start of his career that his life’s first love was a man.

Ocean

A film created with help from a former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer violates a “blood oath” surviving band members made not to exploit the band’s name and history, a judge concluded as he blocked its distribution, siding with a surviving member of the 1970s pioneering southern rock group and the widow of its lead singer.

The decision by US District Judge Robert Sweet was unsealed Monday at the request of a lawyer for a Los Angeles-based independent record label that planned to distribute the film, “Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash”. It was dated last Wednesday.

In the 1970s, the band rode the popularity of classics like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird” to stardom before lead singer and songwriter Ronnie Van Zant died in the October 1977 crash in Mississippi. The same year, the band released its final album: “Street Survivor”.

Evan Mandel, a lawyer for Cleopatra Records Inc and Cleopatra Films, said in a Manhattan court filing that Sweet’s ruling did not disclose the “specific parameters” of relief to the plaintiffs. The judge, though, wrote that a ruling against Cleopatra would result in no profits from the film, which cost $1.2 million to produce and was finished this spring.

Mandel said he would seek “immediate relief” from an appeals court. He did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

The judge said the film relied, in part, on the memories of Artimus Pyle, who joined as the group’s drummer in 1975. The film focuses on Pyle, his relationship with other band members, particularly Van Zant, and events during and immediately following the plane crash.

Pyle was critically injured but survived the crash, as did founding band member Gary R. Rossington.

Perform

Sweet said Rossington, fellow founding band member Allen Collins, and Van Zant’s widow, now Judy Van Zant Jenness, entered a “blood oath” post-crash, agreeing no one would ever perform as Lynyrd Skynyrd again. Collins died in the early 1990s.

The judge said a dispute after surviving band members decided to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the crash with a tribute tour resulted in an agreement defining when the parties could use the band’s name, its history or the name and likeness of Van Zant. Pyle signed the agreement, writing “Under Protest” adjacent to his signature. He performed until 1991, before signing a termination agreement.

In June 2016, Pyle signed a deal with Cleopatra that would pay him 5 percent of the film’s profits and give him a co-producer credit, the court ruling said. The judge said the film’s screenwriter, Jared Cohn, regularly received historical information from Pyle, who reviewed his outline and script, offering comments and revisions.

The judge said Cleopatra also solicited Pyle’s views on casting and costumes and let him provide feedback on the accuracy of the portrayals by actors.

After hearing publicity about the film last summer, the plaintiffs sent Cleopatra the 1988 court order in July 2016 after only about $7,000 had been spent developing the film, the judge noted.

Look at what you won’t make him do: Producer Jack Antonoff is keeping quiet about who Taylor Swift is singing about in her new song.

Antonoff co-wrote and co-produced “Look What You Made Me Do”, Swift’s upbeat new song that is rumored to be about Kanye West. Some even felt the song’s lyrics referenced former friend Katy Perry.

When asked who Swift is referring to, Antonoff told The Associated Press: “That’s for her to tell you”.

“Look What You Made Me Do” quickly set three records. The song has the most streams in a single day on Spotify with 10,129,087 plays; its official video — which debuted Sunday at the MTV Video Music Awards — broke Adele’s record for highest number of views within 24 hours on Vevo (30 million and counting); and its lyric video was viewed more than 19 million times on its first day.