Jennifer Pochat/Courtesy of the artist |
Difficult times call for new avenues of creative expression: That is, more or less, the thesis of the Morning Edition Song Project, which asks artists to write and perform an original composition inspired by this current moment.
Host David Greene and producer Vince Pearson started the project last year, kicking it off with a track by Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, who shared a reflection on the project: “We as songwriters, we got to keep adding to the canon of songs about America because we need to update it,” he said at the time. Since then, we’ve shared more than a dozen new songs written for the Song Project, including entries from Rhiannon Giddens, Indigo Girls, Tank and the Bangas and more. This year comes with some changes: Greene has departed from his host role at Morning Edition, and handed the reins over to Rachel Martin, with continued assistance from Pearson.
So far in 2021, the Project has shared two new songs: Brandy Clark’s “Remember Me Beautiful,” which celebrates life and death; and Lila Downs’ “Dark Eyes,” about essential workers who are often overlooked, especially Native American workers. Downs says her tricultural identity – Indigenous Mixtec, Mexican national and American – helped inform the song.
“All this and more,”
Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna |
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| - Between chores and news, friends and family, work and play…it can be hard to keep up. At the very least, let us help you find some new music: Press Pause And Hit Play — our playlist of the best new songs — is back for 2021.
- This week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered: fiery, fearless music from Pharoahe Monch’s new project, Th1rt3en; a surprise release from the band Typhoon; intricate electronica from Yu Su and more amazing albums out Jan. 22.
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- Palberta’s idiosyncratic punk keeps you on your toes; as soon as you think you have a frame of reference for the Brooklyn band’s sound, it swerves into an entirely new direction. Ahead of the release of its new album, the members spoke to NPR Music about their love of harmonies and their unique chemistry.
- Phil Spector – who was convicted in 2009 of murdering actress Lana Clarkson – died last weekend at the age of 81. Spector produced some of the greatest recordings of the 20th century, but monstrous, manipulative behavior was part of the work that cemented his musical legacy. In an essay for NPR Music, cultural anthropologist Maureen Mahon, author of Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll, celebrates the voices of young Black women – including Darlene Love, Tina Turner and Ronnie Spector – upon whom Spector depended, even as they were forced to contend with his domineering practices.
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Filmed in artful black and white, Max Richter’s Tiny Desk (home) concert includes six pieces whose simplicity and beauty invite us into a world as we once knew it, featuring two canine cameos from Evie and Haku. (It’s a fitting follow-up to last year’s moving Tiny Desk concert featuring Max Richter and members of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble.)
And speaking of dogs, also this week, we shared a set from the Canadian punks of PUP. Recorded in frontperson Stefan Babcock’s neatly furnished living room, it gave your newsletter editors the opportunity to reminisce on a particularly lovely night out featuring pre-concert drinks and a blistering set at Washington, D.C.’s Black Cat back in 2019. Rest assured, when we can get bands back at NPR HQ, we’ll be sending PUP an invite for a repeat performance. |
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