André 3000 made this week weird, and we’re thankful

Plus, a series on regional Mexican music, the return of Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard and more

View this email online Nov. 18, 2023 by Stephen Thompson André 3000 made this an unusually big week for sonic exploration; plus, a series on regional Mexican music, the return of Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard and more. Kai Regan/Courtesy of the artist We’ve encountered a lot of major music news lately, from the release of a new Beatles song to the latest round of Grammy nominations to whatever the latest utterance by Taylor Swift might entail. And, where there’s major music news, there’s virtually certain to be a body of music that’s accessible to millions upon millions of people. After all, the Grammys certainly reward popularity. The Beatles are, well, The Beatles. And Taylor Swift may be more popular than The Beatles at this point — which, through the power of the transitive property, would make her considerably more popular than Jesus. But this week, NPR Music helped break a piece of major music news, about the release of a new record by André 3000 — his first album since the dissolution of OutKast back in 2006. A new André 3000 record is a very big deal, and Rodney Carmichael’s hour-plus interview (which we dropped this past Tuesday as a way of announcing the album’s existence) is full of fascinating insights. But what most delighted me about this story is that the music in question isn’t, by design, massively accessible. To put it mildly, New Blue Sun isn’t “Hey Ya!” It doesn’t even contain words, unless you count the hilarious and unwieldy titles, the first of which acts as an explainer for the whole record: “I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time.” That’s not a misuse of the word “literally,” by the way. André 3000 is an accomplished flutist, and his woodwinds are all over New Blue Sun, which also includes contributions from the L.A. jazz artist Carlos Niño, among others. What you get is 87 minutes of exploratory wordlessness — a warm and engrossing head trip that’s akin to ambient jazz, and the farthest thing from pop, R&B, hip-hop or any other sound that dominates the mainstream cultural conversation. There’s a lot to love about New Blue Sun: It’s a joy to see an artist make music that’s true to a vision, it’s a treat to see audience expectations confounded and upended, and it’s inspirational to hear André 3000 speak about his craft and the road that led him to where he is now. But I’m especially delighted to have a broad cross-section of the music world pick over 87 minutes of experimental wordless jazz and ponder the question, “Is this for me?” For those who answer yes — and especially those who find themselves surprised by that answer — New Blue Sun could well serve as a gateway into the works of Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra and other visionary sonic explorers. Not many pieces of “major music news” can make the same claim. Newsletter continues after sponsor message More to hear, read and watch Rodney Carmichael’s André 3000 interview isn’t the only big-time headliner in NPR Music’s coverage this week. Alt.Latino hosts Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras went out on the road to record the first of three episodes examining the rise of regional Mexican music. In their look at what the genre says about major trends in the Latin music industry, as well as America itself, they headed to Nashville for a concert by Peso Pluma (of “Ella Baila Sola” fame). Brittany Howard, the rock star who came up as lead singer of Alabama Shakes, has been mostly and uncharacteristically quiet since the release of her 2019 solo album Jaime. Now, she’s announced a follow-up — titled What Now, due out Feb. 2 — and sat down for a sprawling conversation with ace NPR Music contributor Jewly Hight. Jewly conducted the interview in person, at Howard’s dining-room table, and that intimacy comes through. Late on Friday night, the singer Cassie and the hip-hop mogul Sean Combs (a.k.a. Diddy or Puff Daddy, among other monikers) agreed to settle a lawsuit that Cassie had filed against Combs the day before. She had accused him of more than a decade of coercion and abuse. Combs had denied the allegations. Before that rapid resolution, Louder Than A Riot host Sidney Madden and NPR Music editor Sheldon Pearce wrote an explainer that put Combs’ power in the music industry into context and addressed the New York state law under which Cassie filed her suit. For our last episode of New Music Friday this year — the release schedule slows down considerably come Thanksgiving — I convened a distinguished panel to discuss the new album-length collaboration by 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne, a “drumless edition” of Daft Punk’s 2013 blockbuster Random Access Memories and a new record by South African experimental musician Thandi Ntuli and the aforementioned Carlos Niño. (Between this and the André 3000 record, Niño is having a big week.) In a development that couldn’t possibly result in a single unintended consequence, Google has announced the development of an AI tool called Dream Track, which allows users to “create” “new” “songs” using voice clones of famous musicians. The artists who’ve signed on for the project include Alec Benjamin, Charli XCX, Charlie Puth, Demi Lovato, John Legend, Papoose, Sia, T-Pain and Troye Sivan. As part of her video series Amplify With Lara Downes, Downes recently sat down with tireless jazz great Christian McBride to discuss and celebrate his many influences. Americana star Allison Russell just picked up four Grammy nominations for her excellent new album The Returner, doubling her career total in one fell swoop. In a live session for WNXP, she performed three songs at the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. Tiny Desk Polly Jean Harvey is used to inhabiting characters in her music, and two of them dominate the songs that kick off the legendary singer’s Tiny Desk debut: “[S]he becomes both Ira-Abel, the child who, in the aftermath of an assault, merges with the forest around her Dorset, England, home, and the bard whose verses keep that shepherd girl alive after her vanishing,” Ann Powers wrote of the performance. Joined by longtime collaborators John Parish and James Johnston, Harvey closed with the title track from 2007’s White Chalk. Also this week: Portuguese guitarist Marta Pereira da Costa bridged centuries of history, while another guitarist, Hayden Pedigo, played quiet tunes inspired by his home in the Texas panhandle.  One More Thing All Songs Considered host Robin Hilton is crowd-sourcing an upcoming episode by turning the microphone in your direction to ask, “What song hit you hard in 2023?” Get those voice memos ready! 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! You received this message because you're subscribed to NPR Music emails. 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