Hear An Original Song By Rhiannon Giddens, Composed For NPR

Plus, help us find our next (remote) interns!

by Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna This week, we’re turning over our Editor’s Note to our current editorial intern, LaTesha Harris. Applications are open for NPR’s winter/spring internship program through Nov. 2! Being employed in the middle of a global pandemic is a privilege. Being employed at a place where you can hear unreleased albums, chat with the music journalists behind NPR Music and glimpse behind the scenes of your favorite shows – from All Songs Considered to Morning Edition – is a tremendous privilege.  Since September, I have done all that and more as NPR Music’s editorial intern. I made my podcast debut on All Songs Considered, chatting about Masego’s “Passport,” and wrote several blurbs for the We Insist timeline of protest music. Honestly, the only downside to this remote internship is not being able to lurk around Bob Boilen’s desk for primetime concert views.  Applications are now open for NPR’s winter/spring internship program. This semester, there are two opportunities to intern with the music team: an editorial internship and an Alt.Latino internship, the first time NPR Music has offered an internship opportunity working directly with NPR’s Felix Contreras. Whether your background is in music, journalism, design, finance, coding or photography, there’s an opportunity waiting for you. Applications are open until Nov. 2. Forward this email to any college student or recent graduate in your life and tell them to apply!  One day I’ll be at the Tiny Desk, LaTesha Harris Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music This week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered: the first new album in eight years from Busta Rhymes; an exuberant country-pop album from Cam; emotional pleas from Sam Smith; a stirring collection of anthems from Common and more great albums out Oct. 30. The Morning Edition Song Project, which asks musicians to compose an original song about the COVID-19 era, returned this week with a new song from Rhiannon Giddens that grew from this year's extreme ups and downs. Nashville singer-songwriter Kelsey Waldon, along with Adia Victoria and Kyshona Armstrong, has covered Nina Simone’s iconic song "Mississippi Goddam.” “This is about listening to someone else's perspective,” she says of the cover. “Country music at its absolute core would be nothing without the influence of the Black South and Black artistry.” This week, our friends at GBH shared a socially distanced recording of singer-songwriter Izzy Heltai performing his song “Songbird” live in Northampton, Ma. Featuring Two days after George Floyd was killed, Anthony McGill, the principal clarinetist with the New York Philharmonic, picked up his instrument and offered a musical response to systemic racism and violence. He asked his fellow musicians to join him in a video that went viral. He’s the latest visionary in conversation in our new video series, Amplify with Lara Downes.  In Jazz Night in America’s new Crate Digging series, host Christian McBride explores the riches of the Jazz at Lincoln Center archives. In this installment, hear highlights of a 2006 concert from the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. The Flaming Lips’ latest album, American Head, centers on stories of drug use, frequently depicting tragedy and loss. In an interview on All Songs Considered, frontperson Wayne Coyne shares how the death of Tom Petty served as unlikely inspiration. Jerry Jeff Walker, the man behind the modern standard “Mr. Bojangles,” died last Friday at the age of 78. Born in New York, Walker cut his teeth in the folk music scene of Greenwich Village in the '60s before becoming an Austin country legend.  Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy isn't touring anytime soon, but he's kept busy during his time off the road – and it’s been a family affair. His sons appear with him on a new solo album and in a playful livestream series on Instagram. Tiny Desk NPR It’s not often we get to share a three-act, 18-person Tiny Desk (home) concert — but this week, Snarky Puppy composer and bandleader Michael League delivered. He pulled together a cadre of artists on the GroundUP record label for this ambitious Tiny Desk, which includes (among others) Grammy winners Gregory Porter, Brad Mehldau and Chris Potter.  Also this week: Tiny Desk (home) concerts from superstar songwriter Ty Dolla $ign and Nashville singer-songwriter Katie Pruitt, plus a special Halloween performance by Sad13. Louder Than A Riot This week, Louder Than A Riot tells the story of DJ Drama, who changed the game for rap in the early 2000s with his signature mixtape series. But when the cops came knocking, those same mixtapes landed Drama in jail with a bank account balance of $0.00. This week’s episode breaks down the raid that turned the mixtape from cultural innovation into criminal conspiracy, from the perspective of the man who took the fall. Hear The Episode One More Thing “Run in a Graveyard,” lurk in a "Forest of Evil” and eavesdrop on the "Song of the Mad Woman by the Sea”: Happy Halloween from NPR Classical.  Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music! You received this message because you're subscribed to NPR Music emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy