Great new music this month from Rodney Crowell, Emily King, Moby, LA Priest, SBTRK, The Lemonheads, H.E.R., Madison McFerrin, Hannah Jadagu, Keturah, Arlo Parks, Monaleo, Radiator Hospital, and dozens more. [Spotify]
“They feel very much the same to me,” says Kimya Dawson of the songs on The Moldy Peaches, “they’re special little gems that I love. The only difference is that I don’t give a shit what some indie boy thinks of me.” She laughs. “Now I’m like, God, those guys are such creeps.” [The Guardian]
“The next Warren Zevon record, 2000’s Life’ll Kill Ya, is also the strangest in terms of what happened to him afterward. Released two years before his cancer diagnosis, it sounds like the work of a man who already knows he’s living on borrowed time. The signature track, My Shit’s Fucked Up, essentially predicted his own fateful doctor’s visit, and the surprisingly effective cover of Steve Winwood’s Back In The High Life Again sounds like a preview of The Wind. Calling the album prescient is a massive understatement...” [Uproxx]
“Wait Til I Get Over tells the story of Jones’ hometown of Hillaryville, Louisiana, from its start as a community formed by eight former slaves who were given the land as reparations to its present-day sociopolitical travails. To bring this history and his own place in it to life, Jones broadened his sonic palette, pulling together soul, blues, jazz, hip-hop, and classical music to tell a cohesive, beautiful narrative.” [No Depression]
Lead vocalists have gotten quieter over the decades, compared with the rest of the band, according to a new study. A leading industry figure says it's part of the "volume wars." [NPR]
“It’s been over a decade since we’ve heard from the elusive White Stripes drummer. Could renewed attention over a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination coax her back into the spotlight?” [Answer: no.] [ELLE]
Books
“I described the unwelcome novelty of having numerous publishers reject my latest novel after publishing twenty-two prior novels, sixteen of them New York Times bestsellers. But most dispiriting was confronting the new regime in publishing: that as a white author, I should not have presumed to write fiction which featured black characters grappling with issues of racial justice.” [The Bulwark]