Our favorite albums from October

Plus, remembering Atlanta rapper Takeoff

View this email online Nov. 5, 2022 by Marissa Lorusso This week, we’re sharing our favorite albums released in October; plus, remembering rapper Takeoff.  Courtesy of the artists Each month, my colleague Lars Gotrich gathers a group of NPR Music’s writers, editors and producers and asks: What’s the song or album you couldn’t stop listening to this month? Sometimes the answer is a game-changing, major album (Kendrick Lamar’s May release and Beyoncé’s album from July come to mind); sometimes, it’s a chance to talk about a less obvious but still deeply impressive piece of music we know we’ll be talking about all year. In October, Taylor Swift’s Midnights dominated much of the conversation – but beyond that record-setting album, there were a number of intriguing, thoughtful releases that grabbed our attention. This week, I joined an All Songs Considered panel with Lars and our colleague Sheldon Pearce to talk about three of them: Open Mike Eagle’s Component System with the Auto Reverse, Plains’ I Walked With You A Ways and Maral’s Ground Groove. Those three albums come from very different worlds. Open Mike Eagle is wry, introspective rapper. Plains, the duo of Jess Williamson and Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, makes indie-leaning pop-country. Maral makes glitchy, pulsing electronic music. During our conversation, though, I was struck by the way all three albums fixate on history, be it personal or cultural. Open Mike Eagle reflects on golden-age hip-hop and the long arc of his own career; the record from Plains, meanwhile, was fueled by the songwriters’ desire to honor their childhood love of country music. And Maral weaves samples of traditional Iranian music into her electronic soundscapes. But none of the music feels like a throwback; instead, each artist is able to use that nostalgic edge to make music that feels current and rooted in the present. Another piece of music we covered this week takes that approach to a new level: a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” by the musician Holly Herndon, which my colleague Hazel Cills wrote about for our #NowPlaying blog. Herndon made the track using her "deepfake" digital twin Holly+, which she built to replicate her singing voice using machine learning technology. The cover of the ’70s classic is eerie and fascinating — and, as Hazel points out, raises compelling and very contemporary questions about AI, ownership and consent. Newsletter continues after sponsor message Featuring This week, the rapper Takeoff, one-third of the dynamic Atlanta rap group Migos, died at age 28. Migos emerged in the 2010s as a viral force within its local scene before exploding onto the national stage, managing to shape the zeitgeist without losing any of its regional appeal — and Takeoff was always the group’s secret weapon. “Takeoff never seemed much interested in being the guy in the front,” writes critic Meaghan Garvey in a remembrance, “but through his pure enjoyment of rapping, he found a reason to endure it and eventually, to own it. … The acclaim met Takeoff where he was; the harder he worked, the sharper his skills — it became impossible not to notice.” This week on Alt.Latino, Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sat down with Puerto Rican composer Angélica Negrón. Negrón spoke about using humor as a form of resistance, and about diversity and representation within classical music and beyond. Lavender Country’s 1973 debut is widely considered the first openly gay country album. The record quickly fell into obscurity, but was rediscovered and reissued in 2014. That led to a wave of recognition and appreciation for Patrick Haggerty, the singer and songwriter behind Lavender Country, who died this week at age 78. The “chance to witness a warmly uncompromising and incisively charismatic figure revive the life-endangering truth-telling he did during the Stonewall era while occupying the spotlight in a lavender-hued snap shirt the final eight years of his life,” writes WNXP’s Jewly Hight, “was monumental.” This week, our friends at Colorado Public Radio shared a video of Daisy the Great performing “The Record Player Song” live in Denver. New Music A new version of The Beatles’ landmark album Revolver was recently released, featuring a completely remixed version of the album and discs full of outtakes. Bob Boilen spoke to producer Giles Martin about the technology used to remix Revolver, which makes it sound like a brand-new album from a young band still putting out records. This week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered: a surprise drop of five new albums from the mysterious group SAULT, the debut record from Atlanta duo Coco & Clair Clair, the latest from French pop group Phoenix and more great new albums out this week. Special Interest, a dance-punk band from New Orleans, makes music that combines frenzied punk energy, disco basslines and thumping beats with lyrics that confront imperialism, capitalism and inequality. “It's tough not to feel moved by Endure,” the band’s latest album, writes critic Mia Hughes — literally and figuratively. The album “presents the circumstances we must endure, and the tools we have with which to do so,” Hughes writes, “the pain and yearning of feeling beaten down, and a resolve to fight back.” Tiny Desk NPR Every year, there’s one artist named the winner of the Tiny Desk Contest — but the team receives tons of other really incredible entries. And sometimes, Bob Boilen likes an entry enough that he invites one of those great artists who didn’t win to come play a Tiny Desk anyway. That was the case for NoSo, an artist who entered the Contest in 2019 and put out an impressive debut record this year. At the Tiny Desk, their soft-spoken nature complemented their musical dexterity for a moving, intimate performance. Also this week: We shared a set from King Princess, whose songs mix love, lust and playful self-deprecation. One More Thing The invite is open. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music 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! 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