‘El Tiny’ Takes Over The Tiny Desk

Plus, remembering Sarah Dash; Lil Nas X covers "Jolene."

View this email online by Marissa Lorusso NPR To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, our friends at Alt.Latino are taking over the Tiny Desk (home) concerts series. We asked the team’s Anamaria Sayre to tell us a little more about the special series of performances they’re sharing between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15:  As Latinos in the media, we spend a lot of our time battling misconceptions about Latinos and Latin music — ideas that everything in nuestra comunidad looks, sounds and feels the same. We on the Alt.Latino team firmly believe that there’s no better representation of the diversity, nuance and variety that is Latin America than in its music. That’s why we’ve dedicated our time and energy to showcasing that range. For over a decade now, the show has been a space for us to dive in and understand all facets of our culture and ourselves, listening to artists that simultaneously help us traverse the Americas and transport us back home.  This Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re taking that exploration to a whole new level. Between Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, we’re sharing 10 Tiny Desk concerts in an unprecedented "El Tiny" takeover. If you’re not a member of the community, we hope that watching these concerts illustrates a fraction of the breadth and color of the many images and sounds that make up our beautiful world. As for nuestra gente: We hope you are basking in this moment as much as we are. Let the twinkly lights of maye’s areperia remind you of long nights in your tía’s backyard and the clip clop of the clave in Silvana Estrada’s workshop — in a (home) concert publishing next week — match the beat of swaying huaraches on your abuela’s kitchen floor. These concerts are for us by us, and we can’t think of anything more beautiful. Con tanto cariño, Anamaria Sayre and the Alt.Latino team Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music This week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered: Anthony Hamilton’s Love is the New Black puts a contemporary spin on classic R&B sounds, Japanese Breakfast composes a video game soundtrack, country singer Mickey Guyton releases her long-awaited debut and more great albums out this week. “This had to happen,” writes our colleague Ann Powers: Lil Nas X covered Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Ann wrote about the cover’s canny, casual subversiveness for our #NowPlaying blog this week; the blog also featured new tracks from the kaleidoscopic songwriter Kadhja Bonet, prismatic pop duo Let’s Eat Grandma and Chicago collaborators Vic Mensa and BJ The Chicago Kid. All Songs Considered’s new mix this week includes new songs by two of Bob Boilen’s favorite bands of the last decade, alt-J and Loney Dear, plus a couple releases by artists Bob discovered recently — one track inspired by ASMR and another inspired by apathy. Featuring Sarah Dash, the singer and co-founder of Labelle, died Monday at the age of 76. After Labelle disbanded, Dash continued her career as a solo artist and became a well-established session singer. "She was a true giver, always serving and sharing her talent and time,” bandmate Patti LaBelle shared on Twitter.  The Magnetic Fields’ remarkable "100,000 Fireflies” is a desolate love song that finds comfort in emptiness. For many, including writer Ryan H. Walsh, the key to the song’s magic is in the voice of Susan Anway, the singer on The Magnetic Fields' early albums, who died earlier this month. Lorde recently released an EP of songs from her album Solar Power sung in te reo Maori, the native language in her home country of New Zealand. Maori artists say this is just one branch of a larger movement to revive the language, and prompts conversation about who is entitled to sing in a language that is not their own. This week, our friends at Pop Culture Happy Hour chatted about Lil Nas X and his triumphant new album, Montero. Over the past year, Jazz Night in America's Crate Digging series has been an opportunity for host Christian McBride to share some special concerts from the Jazz at Lincoln Center archives, often featuring master musicians who have left us. But this latest edition shines a light on a master who is very much of the now: drummer and composer Jeff "Tain" Watts. One More Thing They call it "Noah's Violin." Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). 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