The Grammys Tried To Course-Correct. Was It Enough?
Plus, send us your questions about NPR Music!
Kevork Djansezian/NPR
If we’re being honest, we spent most of this week recovering from a late night of Grammys-watching (and -blogging). And in a surprising twist, the show was better than expected! We can’t stop thinking about Brandi Carlile’s astonishing performance, Cardi B’s emotional acceptance speech for Best Rap Album and Kacey Musgraves’ surprised reaction to winning Album of the Year.
But before the send-off music plays, we’re already on the search for next year’s Grammys contenders. And this week’s First Listens – including the debut from Our Native Daughters, the banjo-wielding supergroup dedicated to the history of both string-band music and black women in America, and the Southern gothic blues of Adia Victoria – caught our ears.
And if you were celebrating, we hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day – even if your significant other didn’t come through with a surprise in-home appearance from Kenny G.
Roses are red, Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna
Featuring
Do the Grammys have a hip-hop problem? The Recording Academy stepped up on Sunday, giving major awards to Childish Gambino, Cardi B and Drake, but, as NPR Music’s Rodney Carmichael writes, these efforts might be too late to make up for decades of turning its back on the genre.
Is there a song that can be both a great love song and a breakup song? All Songs Considered’s Bob Boilen asked; you answered.
How did Samuel Barber's stirring Adagio For Strings – music that has become America's semi-official music of mourning – morph into a beloved dance floor anthem?
Though you may not know her by name, Holly Knight helped define the sound of 1980s pop music, writing songs for Aerosmith and Rod Stewart, and co-writing with Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart.
New Music
Out this week: the first new album from funk and R&B legend Chaka Khan in 12 years; bubblegum punk from Sir Babygirl; the engaging debut of Kenyan-born, Minneapolis-based musician J.S. Ondara. Hear about those albums and more in our quick sprint through the essential releases for Feb. 15.
What would El Dia de San Valentin be without a little mariachi? Flor De Toloache’s "Besos de Mezcal" – a sneak peek from an upcoming album by the mariachi femenin, produced by mastermind Camilo Lara – is about the intoxicating spell cast by love.
In The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Tim Blake Nelson and Willie Watson duet on “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings.” That exaggerated performance earned the song an Oscar nomination; now the duo who wrote it, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, have released their own version that brings out the tune's true heartache.
This week, we kicked off a new series: Station Breaks, a monthly mix of songs you need to hear from emerging artists, as chosen by public radio stations across the country. The inaugural edition includes indie rock from the Vegas-based band Black Camaro, jangly dream-pop from SASAMI and the pop-inspired soundscapes of Bayonne.
Tiny Desk
Amr Alfinky/NPR
Amelia Meath, Molly Erin Sarlé and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig have known each other for more than a decade, since their college days in Vermont. Behind the Desk, their voices were the stars; adorned by only light and rhythmic acoustic guitar, they sang songs that conjure a simpler life, one full of dogs, friends, skinny dipping and sand.
Incoming
Got a question for NPR Music? Ever wondered how Bob Boilen chooses artists to play behind his desk? Or how our staff finds all the new music we share? We want to hear from you. Send us your questions, and we might answer them in a future newsletter.
One More Thing
Before they won Grammys, they stopped by NPR HQ: Meet the 2019 Grammys winners who’ve played behind the Tiny Desk.
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