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| | Beyoncé’s new record, Renaissance, is here. The 16-song LP marks Bey’s first solo album in six years, following her pivotal visual album Lemonade. If you want to catch up before you dive in, my colleague Sidney Madden hosted an All Songs Considered conversation with our pop critic, Ann Powers, plus Ayana Contreras of WBEZ Chicago about where Beyoncé has been and what a new album from the superstar means for pop music and beyond. Renaissance aside, some other great new albums came out this week, too. On New Music Friday from All Songs Considered, our panel discussed the delightful new album from pop singer and songwriter Maggie Rogers; the head-spinning, jazz-adjacent debut from DOMi & JD Beck; a gorgeous, self-titled release from indie-folk band Florist and more. |
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Last Sunday, Joni Mitchell surprised crowds at the Newport Folk Festival (and fans across the world who saw on social media) with an unannounced performance. It was Mitchell’s first time performing at Fort Adams since an evening appearance there in 1969, and her first full-length public concert anywhere in two decades. Brandi Carlile, who has diligently worked to ensure Mitchell's place at the center of popular music history for the past five years, was the force behind Mitchell’s return to the stage. The set began as a group singalong with "Carey," the beloved romp from Blue, Mitchell’s classic album that turned 50 last year (if you want a reminder of the lasting power and genius of that record, I recommend Ann Powers’ deep dive on the record from last year). Mitchell has spent years recovering from a 2015 brain aneurysm, which left her unable to speak or walk, much less play the guitar. "To be able to recover to the point of being able to perform as a musician is really incredible," Dr. Anthony Wang, a neurosurgeon at Ronald Reagan UCLA Hospital, told NPR. Also this week: We asked Maggie Rogers to make us a roséwave playlist in honor of Surrender, her summery new record; Jazz Night in America shines a light on Rhoda Scott, an American organist who moved to Europe on a whim and became a jazz superstar; and our friends at the public radio show Live from Cain's shared a video of Kalyn Fay performing "Spotted Bird," part of a new album of original music performed entirely in the Cherokee language. |
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A song by the band Pigeon Pit has been getting my colleague Lars Gotrich through the year. Called “milk crates,” it’s a folk-punk track about finding “freedom from tyranny, exhaustion and the everyday nonsense that drags us down,” as Lars puts it. So he invited Pigeon Pit to play that song, plus a few others, for a cathartic, hopeful Tiny Desk concert. |
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A new college course that goes in more than One Direction |
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