We spun the dial, and today's stories were more challenging than usual. An 80s rocker tells the truth; several other big-name artists have not. Skeletons that were made as tools to coerce confessions and a book cover competition we couldn’t put our finger on. Sometimes we find inspiration in surviving a tough day.

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Dee Snider, the lead singer of the 80s band Twisted Sister, decided to use his talking voice to lay some truth on the never-ending reunion tour some of his contemporaries have gone on. He also talked about the challenges of doing live shows after 40 years in the business. Digital Music News brings the story; even though the truth hurts, it's still “the truth.”

Snider's words ring true and remind us of the concert last week. Big Head Todd and The Monsters and Blues Travelers are only a few years younger than Twisted Sister, but they put on a great show. As long as you can still rock and put on the show, you will remind us of when we were young. We'll know if you are going out for another reunion tour, and the check is more important than the music or the fans. As Snider says, don't remind us.

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Marketers have been telling us this for years, you can judge a book by it’s cover, just like you can judge an ad by clicks and calls. We also judge a book by; recommendations, ratings, and the inside flap or digital summary for digital readers. In what may be the oldest graphic design competition in the US, the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) released its 2022 winners of the 50 Book Covers Design competition.

We love words, writing, reading, and telling stories with words. The runner up might be design, ok music might be tied with design, but we like design and think it's a crucial element to telling a story. We spent some time on the AIGA website looking through the winners and spending some time with the entries, but it needed to clarify the criteria for winning a spot on the list.

The competition was global, and many winners were from outside the US. A deeper dive might be necessary to determine the answers to some of our questions.

This is not a story about AI in music; this is a story about humans making music. An article from Digital Music News reported on high-profile artists receiving grant money during the pandemic. The Small Business Administration (SBA) administered The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), and recipients were supposed to be venues and providers of live music and events, but reports show that more than $200 million was distributed to big-name artists like; Post Malone, Smashing Pumpkins, and Nickleback. The article went on to say all the artists were solicited for comment, but no replies were received.

As a daily newsletter full of music and music stories, we have yet to write many negative ones; if the shoe fits, the story should be told. Artists with the talent and the luck to make it big owe a lot to the venues and the people who work for them. We hope they aren't biting that hand, or we will send out the Karma Police.

Love You In The Fall.

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

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Thank you for spending a few minutes with us. Here’s one for the road!

With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.

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