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You are one of the few channels we thought we would not have to deal with this issue!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Late on Sunday, the Hallmark Channel released \u003ca href=\"https://corporate.hallmark.com/news-article/hallmark-affirms-its-commitment-to-diversity-and-inclusion/?fbclid=IwAR2H2vSNun-yM4fAq7Fyxxj038mXrpZdykCBt0kfP6KXIyBIo8z7N6TWtF8\">a statement\u003c/a> apologizing for the ad’s removal, saying it “has been agonizing over this decision as we’ve seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused.” Taking the ad off the air was “the wrong decision,” the network said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/hallmarkchannel/status/1206422589725433857\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Hallmark will be working with GLAAD to better represent the LGBTQ community across our portfolio of brands. The Hallmark Channel will be reaching out to Zola to reestablish our partnership and reinstate the commercials,” \u003ca href=\"https://corporate.hallmark.com/news-article/hallmark-affirms-its-commitment-to-diversity-and-inclusion/?fbclid=IwAR2H2vSNun-yM4fAq7Fyxxj038mXrpZdykCBt0kfP6KXIyBIo8z7N6TWtF8\">according to the statement\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hallmark originally said that it chose to remove the ads because the controversy was a distraction. “The debate surrounding these commercials on all sides was distracting from the purpose of our network, which is to provide entertainment value,” it said in a statement to the Associated Press by Molly Biwer, senior vice president for public affairs and communications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Hallmark brand is never going to be divisive,” Biwer said in an interview with \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/7926c82c3a646ebe73c13d98d1c43bd7\">the AP\u003c/a>. “We don’t want to generate controversy, we’ve tried very hard to stay out of it … we just felt it was in the best interest of the brand to pull them and not continue to generate controversy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zola submitted six ads to Hallmark, and all had been airing since Dec. 2. 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Zola has since pulled its other ads from the channel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only difference between the commercials that were flagged and the ones that were approved was that the commercials that did not meet Hallmark’s standards included a lesbian couple kissing,” Zola’s chief marketing officer, Mike Chi, said in a statement. “All kisses, couples and marriages are equal celebrations of love and we will no longer be advertising on Hallmark.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis called the decision hypocritical and discriminatory. “LGBTQ families are part of family programming,” she said in \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2019/12/hallmark-channel-at-center-of-storm-over-ad-featuring-lesbian-brides-kissing-1202809545/\">a statement\u003c/a> to Deadline. “Advertisers on The Hallmark Channel should see this news and question whether they want to be associated with a network that chooses to bow to fringe anti-LGBTQ activist groups, which solely exist to harm LGBTQ families.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Netflix, which has pushed hard into Hallmark’s market as a provider of feel-good holiday movies, threw shade at the company on Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Titles Featuring Lesbians Joyfully Existing And Also It’s Christmas Can We Just Let People Love Who They Love,” it \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1206012403126657024\">wrote \u003c/a>on Twitter, referencing Netflix’s hyper-specific content categories. 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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>“Hallmark will be working with GLAAD to better represent the LGBTQ community across our portfolio of brands. The Hallmark Channel will be reaching out to Zola to reestablish our partnership and reinstate the commercials,” \u003ca href=\"https://corporate.hallmark.com/news-article/hallmark-affirms-its-commitment-to-diversity-and-inclusion/?fbclid=IwAR2H2vSNun-yM4fAq7Fyxxj038mXrpZdykCBt0kfP6KXIyBIo8z7N6TWtF8\">according to the statement\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hallmark originally said that it chose to remove the ads because the controversy was a distraction. “The debate surrounding these commercials on all sides was distracting from the purpose of our network, which is to provide entertainment value,” it said in a statement to the Associated Press by Molly Biwer, senior vice president for public affairs and communications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Hallmark brand is never going to be divisive,” Biwer said in an interview with \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/7926c82c3a646ebe73c13d98d1c43bd7\">the AP\u003c/a>. “We don’t want to generate controversy, we’ve tried very hard to stay out of it … we just felt it was in the best interest of the brand to pull them and not continue to generate controversy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zola submitted six ads to Hallmark, and all had been airing since Dec. 2. The company says Hallmark did not object to an ad in which a heterosexual couple was seen kissing, but flagged the four ads that included the lesbian couple. Zola has since pulled its other ads from the channel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only difference between the commercials that were flagged and the ones that were approved was that the commercials that did not meet Hallmark’s standards included a lesbian couple kissing,” Zola’s chief marketing officer, Mike Chi, said in a statement. “All kisses, couples and marriages are equal celebrations of love and we will no longer be advertising on Hallmark.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis called the decision hypocritical and discriminatory. “LGBTQ families are part of family programming,” she said in \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2019/12/hallmark-channel-at-center-of-storm-over-ad-featuring-lesbian-brides-kissing-1202809545/\">a statement\u003c/a> to Deadline. “Advertisers on The Hallmark Channel should see this news and question whether they want to be associated with a network that chooses to bow to fringe anti-LGBTQ activist groups, which solely exist to harm LGBTQ families.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Netflix, which has pushed hard into Hallmark’s market as a provider of feel-good holiday movies, threw shade at the company on Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Titles Featuring Lesbians Joyfully Existing And Also It’s Christmas Can We Just Let People Love Who They Love,” it \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1206012403126657024\">wrote \u003c/a>on Twitter, referencing Netflix’s hyper-specific content categories. The tweet was accompanied by a still that trumpeted its own approach to LGBTQ content: a scene of two girls kissing in the high school holiday movie \u003cem>Let It Snow\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Charlize Theron Explores the Complexities of #MeToo in 'Bombshell'",
"headTitle": "Charlize Theron Explores the Complexities of #MeToo in ‘Bombshell’ | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>In 1994, actor Charlize Theron was just starting out in show business when a famous director invited her to an audition at his home. When she showed up, she found the director drinking and in his pajamas. He touched her leg; she apologized and left in a hurry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Driving away, Theron became angry—with herself: “I just kept hitting the steering wheel,” she says. “I put a lot of blame on myself … that I didn’t say all the right things, and that I didn’t tell him to take a hike, and that I didn’t do all of those things that we so want to believe we’ll do in those situations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until years later that Theron understood her experience as sexual harassment. It’s a subject that she’s taking on in her latest film, \u003cem>Bombshell\u003c/em>, which follows the women of Fox News who came forward to accuse then-CEO and chairman \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/18/528925119/roger-ailes-former-fox-news-ceo-dies-at-77\">Roger Ailes\u003c/a> of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/21/486938004/roger-ailes-accused-of-sexual-harrassment-out-as-chairman-of-fox-news\">sexual harassment\u003c/a>. Theron is one of the film’s producers and also plays former Fox News host \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2016/12/07/504622630/megyn-kelly-on-trump-and-the-media-were-in-a-dangerous-phase-right-now\">Megyn Kelly\u003c/a>, who wrote about Ailes’ unwanted sexual advances in her 2016 book, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/books/titles/502042223/settle-for-more\">Settle for More\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Theron says she felt conflicted about playing Kelly: “We have different points of view on a lot of issues,” she says. “And she has definitely said things in the past that I took issue with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, Theron embraced the opportunity to explore what she calls the “grey area” of sexual harassment: “It’s not always physical assault. It’s not always rape,” she says. “There’s a psychological damage that happens for women in the everyday casualness of language, touch or threat—threat of losing your job. Those are things I’ve definitely encountered.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2G9-KhBek8\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>Interview Highlights\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On the movie’s portrayal of the women who worked for Fox News\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of these women have been somewhat hypocritical when it comes to sexual harassment, and have made statements about sexual harassment that have not necessarily been about really bettering the workplace for women or just for women in general. … We weren’t trying to make them heroes. We weren’t trying to whitewash all of the things that they have said in the past. We were going to pepper those things into the film so that we were authentic to them and the story and still feel like, through all of that, that what they did was still incredible. They took down this media mogul, and that has never happened before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On confronting the director who sexually harassed her years later—and it being unsatisfying\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In sexual harassment, you’re always waiting for that moment where there’s full closure, where you feel like you’ve actually … had your moment, where you get to say your piece. And that never really happens. I’ve heard this repeatedly in hearing other women’s stories, and that is the unfortunate thing about sexual harassment. You never get that moment where you feel like the tables are reversed and now he’s finally getting it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closest we’ve ever gotten to it is seeing people like Roger Ailes or \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/787306873/harvey-weinstein-reaches-tentative-25-million-deal-to-settle-sex-claims\">Harvey Weinstein\u003c/a> seeing some real consequences. I’ve never seen that in my entire career. This is really the first moment in my life where I see that maybe there can be real consequences for people with these actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On why the name of the director who harassed her hasn’t been made public \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I actually did disclose his name. You don’t know that because every time I disclosed his name, the journalist made the decision to not write his name, and it goes to show just how deeply systemic this problem is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I remember the first time somebody asked me if I ever had a casting couch experience, and I openly shared the experience and named him, and the person decided to not write his name. So the story is out, and strangely, when the Harvey Weinstein story broke, I, for the first time ever, Googled the story and the story came up everywhere. It popped up everywhere, and nowhere could you find this guy’s name. And it was incredibly upsetting to me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m conflicted in the sense that I know that, if I said his name again while I’m promoting this film, that it would take over the importance of this story and that would become the story. I think there will be a time and a place where I will definitely share this. … I’ve always been honest about it. I don’t have a desire to protect him, but I also don’t want him to overshadow this film right now. So there will be a right time where I will talk about this again, and I will say his name, yes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On growing up in apartheid-era South Africa and what she was taught in school about race \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On our farm, all of the workers, everybody who worked in the company—and it was a pretty substantial company—all lived on the farm. So my whole childhood, I was raised with Xhosas and Zulus and South Sothos and all different cultures. Their children were raised with me on the property and I consider them my family. … It was only until I was 12 or 13 that I went to an art school in Johannesburg where I really got to witness firsthand absolutely the atrocities of apartheid. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>History was leaning very much into our white history. The heroes of our story, of our founding fathers, were all white. That was really the story that we were all told. … This climate that we’re in right now with our polarizing political views in this country, it was very similar in South Africa. I had friends whose father would be for apartheid and once they found out that black people lived on our farm wouldn’t let me come over for a sleepover. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I always wonder what my life would have been like if I grew up in one of those families—if I was just an innocent child who was born into the family, like one of my friends, who believed that apartheid was the right way of life. I was just incredibly blessed that I was raised … by a mother who was just aghast by all of this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I didn’t really truly understand what any of this really did to me as a young child until I was in my mid-30s and I went to therapy for the first time, because of a relationship that was failing. And what I discovered while in therapy, trying to save my relationship, was that I had a lot of trauma from being a young child growing up in South Africa during the apartheid era. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[It’s] a lot to reconcile with when you realize that you benefited under an administration, a nation, a country, because you had the “right” skin color. I benefited. My life was more comfortable because of the suffering of a lot of people who just by chance were born in the “wrong” skin color. That was a lot for me to carry; it still is. It’s something that I’ll carry for the rest of my life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On her mother killing her father in self-defense \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My father was a very sick man. My father was an alcoholic all my life. I only knew him one way, and that was as an alcoholic. … It was a pretty hopeless situation. Our family was just kind of stuck in it. And the day-to-day unpredictability of living with an addict is the thing that you sit with and have kind of embedded in your body for the rest of your life, more than just this one event of what happened one night. I think our family was an incredibly unhealthy one. And all of it, I think, scarred us in a way. Of course, I wish what happened that night would have never happened. It’s unfortunately what happens when you don’t get to the root of these issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My father was so drunk that he shouldn’t have been able to walk when he came into the house with a gun. My mom and I were in my bedroom leaning against the door, because he was trying to push through the door. So both of us were leaning against the door from the inside to have him not be able to push through. He took a step back and just shot through the door three times. None of those bullets ever hit us, which is just a miracle. But in self-defense, she ended the threat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This family violence, this kind of violence that happens within the family, is something that I share with a lot of people. I’m not ashamed to talk about it, because I do think that the more we talk about these things, the more we realize we are not alone in any of it. I think, for me, it’s just always been that this story really is about growing up with addicts and what that does to a person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On her decision to adopt as a single parent \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I cast a very wide net. I wanted to believe that somehow my child would find me in the way that we were just meant to be. So I wasn’t specific with anything. … In whatever country they would allow me as a single woman to adopt, that’s where I filed. And it just happened to be that both my children ended up being American. They were born in the United States and they both happened to be African American. Everything that I hoped would happen during my adoption process did happen because these two babies were meant to be in my life—and they’re my children. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s definitely something that we still need to work on, this concept of what a family looks like and what constitutes the “right” family or a “strong” family or what we think that should look like. In a lot of places—and I think even for a lot of people and in America—it still feels very traditional in the sense that it should be that every child should have a mother and a father. We’ve kind of wrapped our heads slowly around the idea of two mothers and two fathers, but not so much around the idea of a single parent. It’s just so unfortunate. I know so many people who would be incredible parents. My fight was a little bit easier because of my circumstances, but I would want that for all women who want to share their life and be part of raising another young, small child’s life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Heidi Saman and Joel Wolfram produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Patrick Jarenwattananon adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 Fresh Air. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/\">Fresh Air\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Charlize+Theron+Portrays+The+%27Gray+Area%27+Of+Sexual+Harassment+In+%27Bombshell%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In 1994, actor Charlize Theron was just starting out in show business when a famous director invited her to an audition at his home. When she showed up, she found the director drinking and in his pajamas. He touched her leg; she apologized and left in a hurry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Driving away, Theron became angry—with herself: “I just kept hitting the steering wheel,” she says. “I put a lot of blame on myself … that I didn’t say all the right things, and that I didn’t tell him to take a hike, and that I didn’t do all of those things that we so want to believe we’ll do in those situations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t until years later that Theron understood her experience as sexual harassment. It’s a subject that she’s taking on in her latest film, \u003cem>Bombshell\u003c/em>, which follows the women of Fox News who came forward to accuse then-CEO and chairman \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/18/528925119/roger-ailes-former-fox-news-ceo-dies-at-77\">Roger Ailes\u003c/a> of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/21/486938004/roger-ailes-accused-of-sexual-harrassment-out-as-chairman-of-fox-news\">sexual harassment\u003c/a>. Theron is one of the film’s producers and also plays former Fox News host \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2016/12/07/504622630/megyn-kelly-on-trump-and-the-media-were-in-a-dangerous-phase-right-now\">Megyn Kelly\u003c/a>, who wrote about Ailes’ unwanted sexual advances in her 2016 book, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/books/titles/502042223/settle-for-more\">Settle for More\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Theron says she felt conflicted about playing Kelly: “We have different points of view on a lot of issues,” she says. “And she has definitely said things in the past that I took issue with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, Theron embraced the opportunity to explore what she calls the “grey area” of sexual harassment: “It’s not always physical assault. It’s not always rape,” she says. “There’s a psychological damage that happens for women in the everyday casualness of language, touch or threat—threat of losing your job. Those are things I’ve definitely encountered.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/B2G9-KhBek8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/B2G9-KhBek8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>Interview Highlights\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On the movie’s portrayal of the women who worked for Fox News\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of these women have been somewhat hypocritical when it comes to sexual harassment, and have made statements about sexual harassment that have not necessarily been about really bettering the workplace for women or just for women in general. … We weren’t trying to make them heroes. We weren’t trying to whitewash all of the things that they have said in the past. We were going to pepper those things into the film so that we were authentic to them and the story and still feel like, through all of that, that what they did was still incredible. They took down this media mogul, and that has never happened before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On confronting the director who sexually harassed her years later—and it being unsatisfying\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In sexual harassment, you’re always waiting for that moment where there’s full closure, where you feel like you’ve actually … had your moment, where you get to say your piece. And that never really happens. I’ve heard this repeatedly in hearing other women’s stories, and that is the unfortunate thing about sexual harassment. You never get that moment where you feel like the tables are reversed and now he’s finally getting it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closest we’ve ever gotten to it is seeing people like Roger Ailes or \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/787306873/harvey-weinstein-reaches-tentative-25-million-deal-to-settle-sex-claims\">Harvey Weinstein\u003c/a> seeing some real consequences. I’ve never seen that in my entire career. This is really the first moment in my life where I see that maybe there can be real consequences for people with these actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On why the name of the director who harassed her hasn’t been made public \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I actually did disclose his name. You don’t know that because every time I disclosed his name, the journalist made the decision to not write his name, and it goes to show just how deeply systemic this problem is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I remember the first time somebody asked me if I ever had a casting couch experience, and I openly shared the experience and named him, and the person decided to not write his name. So the story is out, and strangely, when the Harvey Weinstein story broke, I, for the first time ever, Googled the story and the story came up everywhere. It popped up everywhere, and nowhere could you find this guy’s name. And it was incredibly upsetting to me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m conflicted in the sense that I know that, if I said his name again while I’m promoting this film, that it would take over the importance of this story and that would become the story. I think there will be a time and a place where I will definitely share this. … I’ve always been honest about it. I don’t have a desire to protect him, but I also don’t want him to overshadow this film right now. So there will be a right time where I will talk about this again, and I will say his name, yes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On growing up in apartheid-era South Africa and what she was taught in school about race \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On our farm, all of the workers, everybody who worked in the company—and it was a pretty substantial company—all lived on the farm. So my whole childhood, I was raised with Xhosas and Zulus and South Sothos and all different cultures. Their children were raised with me on the property and I consider them my family. … It was only until I was 12 or 13 that I went to an art school in Johannesburg where I really got to witness firsthand absolutely the atrocities of apartheid. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>History was leaning very much into our white history. The heroes of our story, of our founding fathers, were all white. That was really the story that we were all told. … This climate that we’re in right now with our polarizing political views in this country, it was very similar in South Africa. I had friends whose father would be for apartheid and once they found out that black people lived on our farm wouldn’t let me come over for a sleepover. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I always wonder what my life would have been like if I grew up in one of those families—if I was just an innocent child who was born into the family, like one of my friends, who believed that apartheid was the right way of life. I was just incredibly blessed that I was raised … by a mother who was just aghast by all of this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I didn’t really truly understand what any of this really did to me as a young child until I was in my mid-30s and I went to therapy for the first time, because of a relationship that was failing. And what I discovered while in therapy, trying to save my relationship, was that I had a lot of trauma from being a young child growing up in South Africa during the apartheid era. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[It’s] a lot to reconcile with when you realize that you benefited under an administration, a nation, a country, because you had the “right” skin color. I benefited. My life was more comfortable because of the suffering of a lot of people who just by chance were born in the “wrong” skin color. That was a lot for me to carry; it still is. It’s something that I’ll carry for the rest of my life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On her mother killing her father in self-defense \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My father was a very sick man. My father was an alcoholic all my life. I only knew him one way, and that was as an alcoholic. … It was a pretty hopeless situation. Our family was just kind of stuck in it. And the day-to-day unpredictability of living with an addict is the thing that you sit with and have kind of embedded in your body for the rest of your life, more than just this one event of what happened one night. I think our family was an incredibly unhealthy one. And all of it, I think, scarred us in a way. Of course, I wish what happened that night would have never happened. It’s unfortunately what happens when you don’t get to the root of these issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My father was so drunk that he shouldn’t have been able to walk when he came into the house with a gun. My mom and I were in my bedroom leaning against the door, because he was trying to push through the door. So both of us were leaning against the door from the inside to have him not be able to push through. He took a step back and just shot through the door three times. None of those bullets ever hit us, which is just a miracle. But in self-defense, she ended the threat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This family violence, this kind of violence that happens within the family, is something that I share with a lot of people. I’m not ashamed to talk about it, because I do think that the more we talk about these things, the more we realize we are not alone in any of it. I think, for me, it’s just always been that this story really is about growing up with addicts and what that does to a person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On her decision to adopt as a single parent \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I cast a very wide net. I wanted to believe that somehow my child would find me in the way that we were just meant to be. So I wasn’t specific with anything. … In whatever country they would allow me as a single woman to adopt, that’s where I filed. And it just happened to be that both my children ended up being American. They were born in the United States and they both happened to be African American. Everything that I hoped would happen during my adoption process did happen because these two babies were meant to be in my life—and they’re my children. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s definitely something that we still need to work on, this concept of what a family looks like and what constitutes the “right” family or a “strong” family or what we think that should look like. In a lot of places—and I think even for a lot of people and in America—it still feels very traditional in the sense that it should be that every child should have a mother and a father. We’ve kind of wrapped our heads slowly around the idea of two mothers and two fathers, but not so much around the idea of a single parent. It’s just so unfortunate. I know so many people who would be incredible parents. My fight was a little bit easier because of my circumstances, but I would want that for all women who want to share their life and be part of raising another young, small child’s life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Heidi Saman and Joel Wolfram produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Patrick Jarenwattananon adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 Fresh Air. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/\">Fresh Air\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Charlize+Theron+Portrays+The+%27Gray+Area%27+Of+Sexual+Harassment+In+%27Bombshell%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Certain fictional mansions exist only so their owners can mysteriously die in them. The gothic revival abode of famous novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) in Rian Johnson’s \u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em> is one of them. All brick turrets and spindly spires on the outside, all dark wood and winding staircases on the inside, it’s a perfect place to throw a party—especially one in which all the suspects in a death are gathered at the request of law enforcement. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family Harlan leaves behind is a motley collection of the idiosyncratic products of his wealth: daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her husband Richard (Don Johnson); Linda and Richard’s hot, aggressive, disappointing son Ransom (Chris Evans); Harlan’s son Walt (Michael Shannon) and his wife Donna (Riki Lindhome) and their son Jacob (Jaeden Martell); widowed daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Collette) and her daughter Meg (Katherine Langford); and the mysterious Greatnana (K Callan), always watching from the corner. There’s also Harlan’s faithful nurse Marta (Ana de Armas), perhaps the only person Harlan truly liked and trusted. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A police detective (LaKeith Stanfield) and his helpful right hand (Noah Segan) have gathered everyone for interviews—and accompanying them is Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), a southern detective so thickly accented that he’s compared to Colonel Sanders. Why Blanc is there at all is one of many things I would not dare reveal, as this film is not a trick or a postmodern deconstruction of a genre, but is instead an actual old-fashioned whodunit that will eventually tell you whodunit and why, precisely as it should.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/qGqiHJTsRkQ\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it sounds like a very big cast full of potentially very big performances, please know it is one. With the exception of de Armas and perhaps Evans, everyone in the film is working in marvelous broad strokes, drawing these characters as types but not retreads. From Collette’s goofy lifestyle influencer to Shannon’s stone-faced and resentment-driven grump, they’re all perfectly cast. And that’s before you get to Jamie Lee Curtis, resplendent in Linda’s luscious, vibrant, real-estate-peddling pantsuits, with round glasses and a cap of perfectly kept, snow-white hair. The work of assembling this group is a credit to casting director Mary Vernieu, and a reminder of what an art it is to find the right people for the right parts. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em> is also one of the best-dressed movies you’ll see this year, both in terms of actual wardrobe from costume designer Jenny Eagan and from production designer David Crank. This is a very rich family that, as some rich families do, often looks both indulgent and stupefyingly tacky. Their family home is similarly luxurious and weird at the same time, its elaborate rugs and ornate \u003cem>everything \u003c/em>speaking to both the family’s excesses and its overly complicated existence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13871507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Group portrait of the cast of 'Knives Out.'\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13871507\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200-1020x680.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Knives Out,’ written and directed by Rian Johnson, brings together an all-star cast for a festive and fun family fatality. \u003ccite>(Claire Folger/Lionsgate)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The same goes for the things they are given to say. Johnson’s dialogue is sharp and filled with quotable lines no fair review would quote, and sometimes, just as the story gets very big and broad, a joke will go by very quietly, almost under the breath. Everyone in this cast can nail a line reading to the wall, including a couple of folks—Don Johnson for one, Daniel Craig for another—who have maybe never been given such a good workout for their comic chops. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That goes for Chris Evans as well, even though he’s spent the past several years in some of the most popular movies of all time. He was allowed to be funny in a wholesome sort of way in his Captain America days, but it’s a special treat to see him tear right into this rich-brat bit, both preternaturally handsome and cheerfully obnoxious, a one-man cable-knit charm offensive, emphasis very often on “offensive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What Rian Johnson has done here is a masterful feat of balance, staying within the rules of the creaky-old-house genre but making just enough adjustments to stay clear of story trouble. Because story trouble isn’t uncommon in a film like this: There’s only so long it’s fun to watch people accuse each other while clues accumulate and red herrings fly by before you start to want something to happen, something to be revealed. In \u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em>, there’s not just one information dump; there are several. The twists are plentiful enough that even if some ungenerous person tried to spoil the film for you, they couldn’t really; you’d still be missing chapters upon chapters of necessary information. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13871506\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Chris Evans leans on a table in white cable knit sweater with four empty beer bottles in front of him.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"899\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13871506\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200-800x599.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200-768x575.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200-1020x764.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Move over, Captain America: Chris Evans in this cable-knit sweater may be Peak Chris Evans. \u003ccite>(Claire Folger/Lionsgate)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If it seems to you that this film has much in common with \u003cem>Clue\u003c/em>, Johnson knows it. You feel echoes of \u003cem>Murder, She Wrote\u003c/em>? He knows. You think Craig sounds like Foghorn Leghorn? Yup, Johnson knows that too. (Although Craig says he based the voice on historian Shelby Foote.) Self-aware but not self-conscious, \u003cem>Knives Out \u003c/em>acknowledges its debts to the trappings of mystery and frolics in them like a field of clover. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, touches of a contemporary consciousness drive the story. Marta is “the help” to many of the Thrombeys, and the family treats her with a sharply observed combination of affection, condescension and dismissal, provided she stays in what they consider her place. Given how big the other performances are, de Armas and her work here, which has both comedy and stillness, could have been swallowed up. But they aren’t at all. She’s often the most compelling person in the story, even as she’s doing the least. (Not hard, when everyone else is, as they say, doing the most.) \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is always a delight to see someone joyfully, efficiently, and indelibly demolish any alleged hard barrier between art and entertainment. \u003cem>Knives Out \u003c/em>is Rian Johnson’s salute to mysteries, but it is also his latest demonstration of his uncommon mastery of the idea that you can—that you \u003cem>should \u003c/em>— artfully entertain an audience with loving attention to detail; that it is just as high a purpose as to artfully devastate or confound them. It’s one of the best movies of the year, and one of the most purely enjoyable, as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Copyright 2019 \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Certain fictional mansions exist only so their owners can mysteriously die in them. The gothic revival abode of famous novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) in Rian Johnson’s \u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em> is one of them. All brick turrets and spindly spires on the outside, all dark wood and winding staircases on the inside, it’s a perfect place to throw a party—especially one in which all the suspects in a death are gathered at the request of law enforcement. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family Harlan leaves behind is a motley collection of the idiosyncratic products of his wealth: daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her husband Richard (Don Johnson); Linda and Richard’s hot, aggressive, disappointing son Ransom (Chris Evans); Harlan’s son Walt (Michael Shannon) and his wife Donna (Riki Lindhome) and their son Jacob (Jaeden Martell); widowed daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Collette) and her daughter Meg (Katherine Langford); and the mysterious Greatnana (K Callan), always watching from the corner. There’s also Harlan’s faithful nurse Marta (Ana de Armas), perhaps the only person Harlan truly liked and trusted. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A police detective (LaKeith Stanfield) and his helpful right hand (Noah Segan) have gathered everyone for interviews—and accompanying them is Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), a southern detective so thickly accented that he’s compared to Colonel Sanders. Why Blanc is there at all is one of many things I would not dare reveal, as this film is not a trick or a postmodern deconstruction of a genre, but is instead an actual old-fashioned whodunit that will eventually tell you whodunit and why, precisely as it should.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/qGqiHJTsRkQ'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/qGqiHJTsRkQ'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>If it sounds like a very big cast full of potentially very big performances, please know it is one. With the exception of de Armas and perhaps Evans, everyone in the film is working in marvelous broad strokes, drawing these characters as types but not retreads. From Collette’s goofy lifestyle influencer to Shannon’s stone-faced and resentment-driven grump, they’re all perfectly cast. And that’s before you get to Jamie Lee Curtis, resplendent in Linda’s luscious, vibrant, real-estate-peddling pantsuits, with round glasses and a cap of perfectly kept, snow-white hair. The work of assembling this group is a credit to casting director Mary Vernieu, and a reminder of what an art it is to find the right people for the right parts. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em> is also one of the best-dressed movies you’ll see this year, both in terms of actual wardrobe from costume designer Jenny Eagan and from production designer David Crank. This is a very rich family that, as some rich families do, often looks both indulgent and stupefyingly tacky. Their family home is similarly luxurious and weird at the same time, its elaborate rugs and ornate \u003cem>everything \u003c/em>speaking to both the family’s excesses and its overly complicated existence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13871507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Group portrait of the cast of 'Knives Out.'\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13871507\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutGroup_1200-1020x680.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Knives Out,’ written and directed by Rian Johnson, brings together an all-star cast for a festive and fun family fatality. \u003ccite>(Claire Folger/Lionsgate)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The same goes for the things they are given to say. Johnson’s dialogue is sharp and filled with quotable lines no fair review would quote, and sometimes, just as the story gets very big and broad, a joke will go by very quietly, almost under the breath. Everyone in this cast can nail a line reading to the wall, including a couple of folks—Don Johnson for one, Daniel Craig for another—who have maybe never been given such a good workout for their comic chops. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That goes for Chris Evans as well, even though he’s spent the past several years in some of the most popular movies of all time. He was allowed to be funny in a wholesome sort of way in his Captain America days, but it’s a special treat to see him tear right into this rich-brat bit, both preternaturally handsome and cheerfully obnoxious, a one-man cable-knit charm offensive, emphasis very often on “offensive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What Rian Johnson has done here is a masterful feat of balance, staying within the rules of the creaky-old-house genre but making just enough adjustments to stay clear of story trouble. Because story trouble isn’t uncommon in a film like this: There’s only so long it’s fun to watch people accuse each other while clues accumulate and red herrings fly by before you start to want something to happen, something to be revealed. In \u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em>, there’s not just one information dump; there are several. The twists are plentiful enough that even if some ungenerous person tried to spoil the film for you, they couldn’t really; you’d still be missing chapters upon chapters of necessary information. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13871506\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Chris Evans leans on a table in white cable knit sweater with four empty beer bottles in front of him.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"899\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13871506\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200-800x599.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200-768x575.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/12/KnivesOutChris_1200-1020x764.jpg 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Move over, Captain America: Chris Evans in this cable-knit sweater may be Peak Chris Evans. \u003ccite>(Claire Folger/Lionsgate)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If it seems to you that this film has much in common with \u003cem>Clue\u003c/em>, Johnson knows it. You feel echoes of \u003cem>Murder, She Wrote\u003c/em>? He knows. You think Craig sounds like Foghorn Leghorn? Yup, Johnson knows that too. (Although Craig says he based the voice on historian Shelby Foote.) Self-aware but not self-conscious, \u003cem>Knives Out \u003c/em>acknowledges its debts to the trappings of mystery and frolics in them like a field of clover. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, touches of a contemporary consciousness drive the story. Marta is “the help” to many of the Thrombeys, and the family treats her with a sharply observed combination of affection, condescension and dismissal, provided she stays in what they consider her place. Given how big the other performances are, de Armas and her work here, which has both comedy and stillness, could have been swallowed up. But they aren’t at all. She’s often the most compelling person in the story, even as she’s doing the least. (Not hard, when everyone else is, as they say, doing the most.) \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is always a delight to see someone joyfully, efficiently, and indelibly demolish any alleged hard barrier between art and entertainment. \u003cem>Knives Out \u003c/em>is Rian Johnson’s salute to mysteries, but it is also his latest demonstration of his uncommon mastery of the idea that you can—that you \u003cem>should \u003c/em>— artfully entertain an audience with loving attention to detail; that it is just as high a purpose as to artfully devastate or confound them. It’s one of the best movies of the year, and one of the most purely enjoyable, as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "NPR's 25 Best Albums of 2019",
"headTitle": "NPR’s 25 Best Albums of 2019 | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This list was made by writers, editors and producers at NPR Music operating under two rules: Albums had to be released during 2019 and no lead artist was allowed to appear on both this list and our list of the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778226410/the-25-best-songs-of-2019\">\u003cem>25 Best Songs of 2019\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. You can find the rest of our picks for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778229970/best-music-of-2019-editors-note\">\u003cem>the best music of 2019 here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>25.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Tyler, The Creator\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>IGOR\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmAsUQEFYGI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Generally speaking, breaks-up are trash. But what if you’re not even allowed to call it a break-up?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>IGOR, \u003c/em>the fifth studio album from Tyler, The Creator, mourns a love that was never really allowed to flourish in the first place. Across 40 minutes, \u003cem>IGOR\u003c/em> draws, erases and redraws emotional lines in the sand, smudging up Tyler’s self-esteem with each new boundary crossed. The pining of “EARFQUAKE,” the short-lived euphoria of “I THINK,” the feeble negotiation of “NEW MAGIC WAND,” the obvious lie of “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE,” the diluted compromise of “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” Think of these tracks as the face muscles that construct the dead-eyed, sanguine smile you flash during that first unexpected run-in with your ex. Even with a supporting chorus of Kanye West, Lil Uzi Vert, La Roux, Solange and more, the true magic of this album is Tyler’s ability to let his guard down just enough to give you symphonic slivers of his heartbreak. —\u003cem>Sidney Madden\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2017/12/11/569203961/tyler-the-creator-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Tyler Perform At NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>24.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Tanya Tucker\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>While I’m Livin’\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVEd0YUx7X8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In spite of the reverence shown for country music made in the 1970s and the groundswell of nostalgia for ’90s country, Tanya Tucker—an artist whose high-caliber hits spanned both eras—has been perpetually underappreciated. This year she found champions in Shooter Jennings and Brandi Carlile, who took up the task of framing Tucker with a warmly rustic, often rocking vintage sound on \u003cem>While I’m Livin’\u003c/em>. The album cast a more intimate spotlight on her gravelly timbre and the sensuality and gravitas of her phrasing, but more than that, its songs showcased her interpretive gifts and, at long last, placed her at the center of her own enthralling mythology. —\u003cem>Jewly Hight\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2019/11/12/778265643/hear-tanya-tucker-perform-selections-from-her-first-original-album-in-17-years\">Hear Tanya Tucker In Concert At AmericanaFest\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>23.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Kris Davis\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Diatom Ribbons\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVhEV5RDG4w\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the hands of pianist Kris Davis, a musical phrase can bristle or bloom—sometimes managing both at once, as often happens on this visionary album. Working with two core partners, turntablist Val Jeanty and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, Davis devises a new strain of avant-garde chamber-jazz, volatile yet gleaming. A clutch of blue-chip guests (like Nels Cline and Marc Ribot on guitars, Tony Malaby on tenor saxophone and Esperanza Spalding on spoken word) bring personality as well as fire. This is sound that refuses stasis, insisting on endless renewal from one moment to the next. —\u003cem>Nate Chinen, WBGO\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>22.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Bad Bunny & J Balvin\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>OASIS\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPc3Pe42bGI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bad Bunny and J Balvin have both taken up the charge to make urbano a worldwide project without sacrificing the hunger that has made the genre seem abrasive and vulgar to some in their industry. That this album-length collaboration by two of urbano’s most visible artists covered as much genre territory as it did prompted another examination of its often relegated place within “Latin” music, whatever that is. From the knotted bass punto guajiro on “Yo Le Llego” to the rock en español”Un Peso” with Enanitos Verdes’ Marciano Cantero to the two taking a backseat to Afrobeats rising star Mr. Eazi on the closer “Como Un Bebé,” \u003cem>OASIS \u003c/em>stretches across the spectrum of where urbano has been and where it’s going. —\u003cem>Stefanie Fernández\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/altlatino/2018/12/24/679179404/bad-bunny-en-espa-ol-el-nuevo-disco-y-sus-influencias\">Bad Bunny’s Alt.Latino interview\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>21.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>John Luther Adams\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Become Desert\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VN9TBfWAEo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is, simply put, one of the most stunning recordings of 2019. John Luther Adams’ follow-up to his Pulitzer Prize-winning \u003cem>Become Ocean\u003c/em> is brought to life here by the Seattle Symphony and its conductor emeritus Ludovic Morlot in grand-scale minimalist fashion. The orchestra’s 100 or so musicians and a chorus of singers weave a beatless, beatific drone that draws inspiration from the deceptive monotony of our planet’s deserts, where time only appears to stand still. Like its namesake, \u003cem>Become Desert\u003c/em> feels infinite, stretching out in every direction at once; even after 40 celestial minutes, its ending arrives unexpectedly, lest we forget that sand always runs out. —\u003cem>Otis Hart\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2014/09/28/350911062/an-inviting-apocalypse-john-luther-adams-on-become-ocean\">John Luther Adams on All Things Considered\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>20.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Sault\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>5\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1F0qO7QIR4\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, out of thin air, an impossibly polished, balanced and restrained piece of work from a faceless trio—we think it’s a trio, at least—quietly slipped into the world. The surreptitious Sault—is it pronounced “soo” or “salt” or “so,” we wonder—may have connections to the equally mysterious-at-the-outset group Jungle, a rumor that has some heft given the evolved disco/pop/R&B/soul genetics they clearly share. But while mysteries are fun, and can be a slam-dunk marketing approach too, there’s no urgent need to solve this one. First of all, this lovely, wholly consistent album is answer enough. But also, the group will most likely be unavoidable in the new year, so enjoy the unknowing while you still can. —\u003cem>Andrew Flanagan\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>19.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Lana Del Rey\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Norman F****** Rockwell\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qolmz4FlnZ0\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=ten%20year%20challenge&geo=US\">Twice this year\u003c/a> across social media, the so-called ten-year challenge meme made the rounds (and prompted some extremely 2019\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/kateo/status/1084199700427927553\"> cybersecurity concerns\u003c/a>). Consider, then, a side-by-side accounting for a certain pop star who came into full flower over the course of the decade: In 2011, Lana Del Rey’s mere presence was viewed by some as an affront to the ideal of authenticity; in 2019, few albums achieved the critical consensus that greeted \u003cem>Norman F****** Rockwell! \u003c/em>At some point between “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE6wxDqdOV0\">Video Games\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrSX_OcpeJg\">The Greatest\u003c/a>,” Lana Del Rey went from upending accepted norms to voicing our collective unease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Norman F****** Rockwell! \u003c/em>sharpens the singular vision that’s always animated Lana Del Rey’s body of work. As her discography has grown, her imagery has evolved: less shorthand, more self-reference. With callbacks crisscrossing place and time, her music is now made of her own sepia-toned mythology. In collaboration with producer Jack Antonoff, drawing on the Laurel Canyon sound, she achieves both timelessness and timeliness in tone. Wistful, resigned and cutting, it’s a fitting swan song for the decade. —\u003cem>Lyndsey McKenna\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/757545360/lana-del-rey-lives-in-americas-messy-subconscious\">Ann Powers on Lana Del Rey\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>18.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>iLe\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Almadura\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTzL-G2kIA8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>iLe recorded \u003cem>Almadura\u003c/em> long before the political situation in Puerto Rico came to a historic conclusion this past summer, but the themes she addresses on the album were the same as those raised in the massive protests that eventually drove its governor from power: musical stands against injustice and inequality, passionate statements of cultural pride and a barely contained fury at being at the mercy of U.S. policies for over 100 years. Case in point: “Tu Rumba” comes across as a hypnotic love song that stands as a personal statement of desire, but like the best protest music, the power of the message is in the storytelling. It’s a cleverly-worded plea for social justice set to a masterful pastiche of Afro-Caribbean rhythms. The powerful music on \u003cem>Almadura \u003c/em>will long outlast the injustices iLe and the rest of the island are fighting against. —\u003cem>Felix Contreras\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/altlatino/2019/07/10/740190505/ile-and-making-movies-discuss-music-activism-and-mixing-the-two\">Alt.Latino’s interview with iLe\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>17.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Holly Herndon\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>PROTO\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4sROgbaeOs\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spirit of collaboration courses through Holly Herndon’s third album, \u003cem>PROTO\u003c/em>. The talk that’s surrounded it has focused on Herndon’s co-creation of an AI that became part of an ensemble she worked with to make the record. While that’s of note, it does a disservice to the music, which is epic on every level. Human voices and machine voices coalesce in double helix formations; trance motifs and mile-wide drums offset the choir’s earnest emoting and lyrics unfurl like folk stories. \u003cem>PROTO \u003c/em>is an album about the human spirit and the future that new kinds of collaboration—or, as Herndon calls it,\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hollyherndon/status/1199455651170263040\"> interdependence\u003c/a>—could bring. —\u003cem>Ruth Saxelby\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/07/767904887/the-2010s-a-music-making-evolution-and-revolution\">All Songs Considered interviews Holly Herndon\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>16.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Burna Boy\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>African Giant\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zvDLW5Klo8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Burna Boy has been a superstar of Nigerian music for years. “I am an AFRICAN GIANT,” he blasted on Instagram after Coachella displayed his name on a festival poster with what he considered a too-small font. Months later, he released his fourth album with the same title. Whether it’s conceit or confidence, Burna Boy deserves to brag. Every one of the album’s 19 tracks is a gem and features his signature Afro-fusion genre blend of dancehall, reggae, R&B and hip-hop. Though fundamental African rhythms are clearly defined, the album’s dance-infused pop sensibility makes it a crossover success. And while its musicality and artfulness are outstanding, the album spans party anthems and themes of love, history and political activism too. It’s no surprise that Burna Boy received his first Grammy nomination for this album. Look for his name in larger fonts in the future. —\u003cem>Suraya Mohamed\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/18/779548274/burna-boy-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Burna Boy perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>15.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Ancestral Recall\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYFFV7exVWs\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New Orleans trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah is one of the most compelling voices working in music today—and his latest “stretch music” album is possibly his most ambitious work to date. With guest artists including musician/poet/rapper/actor Saul Williams, \u003cem>Ancestral Recall\u003c/em> is an intense, keenly felt and richly articulated celebration of many of the musical streams that have nourished generations of the African, Native and Caribbean diasporas—a sonically and texturally spacious project that would feel urgent and necessary at almost any time, but asserts itself especially now. From the exuberant, endlessly intricate West African polyrhythms of “I Own The Night” to the Afro-Latinx groove of “The Shared Stories of Rivals” to the metallic, Afrofuturist clang of “Prophesy,” this project is both firmly rooted in the past and a vision of a dynamic, powerful future. —\u003cem>Anastasia Tsioulcas\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SxzS4mtH9o\">Watch Jazz Night In America’s Christian Scott special\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>14.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Weyes Blood\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Titanic Rising\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFtRq6t3jOo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of artists made big, ambitious albums in 2019, but few soared as wondrously as Weyes Blood’s \u003cem>Titanic Rising. \u003c/em>Singer Natalie Mering’s meticulously layered harmonies drew comparisons to the celestial sounds of Enya and her winding melodies, crystalline voice and autumnal reflections owe just as much to ’70s folk-pop icons like Joni Mitchell or The Carpenters. It’s a beautiful and potent mix, one Mering deftly subverts with hints of madness. Songs suddenly stagger and devolve into warped or broken electronics while her videos, for songs like “Everyday” or “Mirror Forever,” include graphic scenes of murder, rape and drug use. It’s a beautiful world, but we are not okay. —\u003cem>Robin Hilton\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/786391406/weyes-blood-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Weyes Blood perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>13.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Our Native Daughters\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Songs Of Our Native Daughters\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeTEgDy7kbQ&list=RDFeTEgDy7kbQ&index=1\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our Native Daughters chose a band name and album title that highlight the kinship ties between the four group members—Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Allison Russell and Leyla McCalla—and their musical, cultural and spiritual ancestors. It would’ve been a historic event for four women of color who write, reinterpret and perform roots music on banjo to simply come together and make music—their collaboration is, in and of itself, a reminder of the whitewashed African roots of their instruments. But, urged on by Giddens, they shaped a song cycle aimed at reversing the erasure of black women from American historical narratives, at zeroing in on the dehumanizing suffering black women faced under slavery, their strategies of survival and resistance, their sharp, sly critiques of oppressive systems, their creativity. The Daughters’ collaboration is enriched by the distinctness of each of their voices: the dogged Appalachian blues rock of Kiah’s “Black Myself,” the willowy reverence of Russell’s “Quasheba, Quasheba,” the commandingly vivid narration of Giddens’ harrowing call-and-response “Mama’s Cryin’ Long,” the Kreyol liveliness of McCalla’s “Lavi Difisil,” the polyrhythmic communal audacity of “Moon Meets the Sun.” It’s an album that rustles with collective imagination and purpose. —\u003cem>Jewly Hight\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/02/14/693624881/first-listen-our-native-daughters-songs-of-our-native-daughters\">Jewly Hight reviews \u003cem>Songs Of Our Native Daughters\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>12.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Ari Lennox\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Shea Butter Baby\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf06109Zivo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/728737359/ari-lennox\">Ari Lennox\u003c/a> declared her intentions for her debut album right from the title. \u003cem>Shea Butter Baby\u003c/em> speaks to an often misunderstood and underrepresented music lover: The Black woman. The D.C. native sings about universally recognizable ebbs and flows of life on songs like “Broke,” “BMO” and “Speak To Me,” which are sprinkled with euphemisms that will hit women of color first. Producers Elite and Ron Gilmore handle the bulk of production, lacing her words with jazzy and soulful sonics that put her range on display. Awards season has begun and we’ve already seen \u003cem>Shea Butter Baby\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/a35mxg/ari-lennoxs-shea-butter-baby-deserves-better-than-its-award-season-soul-train-awards-grammys-2019-snubs\"> obviously snubbed\u003c/a> by the Soul Train Awards and the Grammys. It’s just more confirmation that we need Ari’s voice now more than ever. —\u003cem>Bobby Carter\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/09/25/763604571/ari-lennox-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Ari Lennox perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>11.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Vagabon\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Vagabon\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzFb1z_-Cvw\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The working title for Laetitia Tamko’s second album as Vagabon was \u003cem>All the Women in Me\u003c/em>—a versatile phrase to sum up everything from the roles women play in society to the singer’s own complex identity as a Cameroonian who relocated to New York at 13. But the moniker didn’t stick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After 2017’s \u003cem>Infinite Worlds\u003c/em> pushed past the boundaries of bedroom pop, Tamko’s new record expands her sound still further, most notably landing on synth-smeared electro-pop in masterful, appropriately fluid songs like “Flood” and “Water Me Down.” Singing of her deep ambivalence about love and identity, Tamko ultimately settled on the only album title that could sum up the full measure of her sleek, soulful shape-shifting: \u003cem>Vagabon\u003c/em>. —\u003cem>Stephen Thompson\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/15/757514260/stream-laetitia-tamko-on-the-making-of-vagabon\">Laetitia Tamko On The Making Of \u003cem>Vagabon\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>10.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Jenny Hval\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>The Practice Of Love\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wACSfREgJys\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What does it mean to make a family? How do we care for each other? How do we make sense of our relationships with our bodies or the planet—and how do those relationships impact each other? To grapple with these questions, Jenny Hval made her most accessible album yet; the production is delicately beautiful and hypnotic, with lyrics that unspool like poetry. Hval and her collaborators conjure Georgia O’Keefe, ponder childlessness and search for God. Quotidian objects—dried figs, stretch mark cream, a cigarette, a porn magazine—become vessels for meaning both grander and more visceral than expected. This isn’t \u003cem>love\u003c/em> in the strictly romantic sense—nor is it strictly platonic, or familial, or sexual. Instead, as the title promises, the album depicts intimacy as a process: a series of trials and metaphors that draw us closer to each other. —\u003cem>Marissa Lorusso\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>9.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>billy woods & Kenny Segal\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Hiding Places\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXFgjQ9dZ8M\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s said that comedy is tragedy plus time, but what if the tragedy never ends? Does the lengthening onslaught ever become absurd enough to laugh at? billy woods released two great albums in 2019: the jagged \u003cem>Terror Management\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Hiding Places\u003c/em>, a collaboration with L.A. producer Kenny Segal. The latter is an album-length self-excavation that crawls through moldy memories in a brutal poetry that is at times darkly funny but mostly wrestles with personal and societal truths that’ll leave you touched, shook. woods found an inspired partner in Segal, whose beats are built like the condemned house falling apart on the album’s cover. On “Speak Gently,” heavy fuzz guitar suddenly disintegrates as if Thanos had snapped his fingers; it’s disarming, haunting. woods rocks references to authors who distilled drama with forceful wordplay (John Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger and Charles Dickens), but he himself knocks at their door with an ability to wrap nostalgic imagery within a crucial moment that never leaves your psyche: “Dollar movie theater, dingy foyer, little kid, not a penny to my name / F*****’ with the joystick, pretendin’ I was really playin’.” —\u003cem>Lars Gotrich\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778228299/9-rap-albums-as-dark-and-dystopian-as-2019\">billy woods is the rapper of 2019\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>8.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Lankum\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>The Livelong Day\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxKx-BBWX8Q\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This stunningly beautiful, trance-inducing album record draws heavily on traditional Irish folk music, but with a deep dark Dublin twist. The sound of drones play a central role in the overall tone of \u003cem>The Livelong Day. \u003c/em>Brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch, Radi Peat and Cormac MacDiarmada create crushing, apocalyptic, layered drones using Uilleann pipes, harmonium, fiddle, voice and more. It has the intensity of electronic music, but this is all acoustic musicin service of songs that are often centuries old. The opening track, “The Wild Rover,” goes back at least to the 16th century and is often thought to be a drinking song, one you might raise your glass to at a pub, singing, “No, nay, never no more / Will I play the wild rover / No, never no more.” But the original intent is that of a temperance song, and that’s how Lankum approach it, with a sustained heaviness to match the story’s consequence and building sense of regret. \u003cem>The Livelong Day\u003c/em> makes the past entirely fresh and present. —\u003cem>Bob Boilen\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/21/771982922/lankum-and-the-strange-new-sounds-of-ireland\">Lankum’s All Songs Considered interview\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>7.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Caroline Shaw / Attacca Quartet\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Orange\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQlcyXacUrc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those who might consider the string quartet little more than a fusty, forgotten genre haven’t heard \u003cem>Orange\u003c/em>. With help from the expressively agile Attacca Quartet, Pulitzer-winning composer Caroline Shaw takes inspiration from the old masters but makes the music shine in her singular way. Shaw gene splices strands of Mozart and Ravel into rigorously assembled pieces such as “Plan & Elevation,” proving that while some tricks of string quartet architecture remain, her buildings emerge with fresh authority. From the album’s compact spaces to its expansive vistas, Shaw excels in the evocative power of the pluck—formally termed, pizzicato—which is the backbone of the ricocheting yet songful “Limestone & Felt.” They say the mark of a great artist is a smart, distinct and identifiable voice. If that’s true, Shaw has arrived, speaking loud and clear. —\u003cem>Tom Huizenga\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2019/04/19/700361912/caroline-shaws-love-letter-to-the-string-quartet\">All Things Considered’s review of \u003cem>Orange\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>6.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Sharon Van Etten\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Remind Me Tomorrow\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7sTHoeH0eA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Remind Me Tomorrow \u003c/em>opens with six seconds of silence. Then: simple piano chords. It’s a compelling, echoing acoustic introduction to a primarily synth-driven album, which at times resolves into chaotic crescendos. The starkness of those first chords of “I Told You Everything” offer a reprieve; a chance to gather yourself, to take one last breath before dunking deep beneath the surface. Because Sharon Van Etten has no time for superficiality. She pulls you under with her. Like that opening track warns, she tells you everything. \u003cem>Remind Me Tomorrow \u003c/em>is an album of introspection and honesty that never feels navel-gazing. In a time when people deploy terms like “emotional bandwidth” to refer to how much energy they have to support their own friends and family, this album reminds us that vulnerability is not a commodity, but the essence of genuine connection. —\u003cem>Raina Douris, World Cafe\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/07/766645155/sharon-van-etten-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Sharon Van Etten perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>5.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Aldous Harding\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Designer\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTgyJ8jWD3M\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No music I heard this year convinced me I could hear my own cells dividing like \u003cem>Designer\u003c/em>, Aldous Harding’s approachable, enigmatic third album. It’s lovely, but how do you explain it? The New Zealand-born Harding writes songs in familiar, folk-simple forms but appends them with odd angles that sometimes land like jokes and sometimes like warnings. Voices emerge from the depths to thread hints of peril or restlessness into the fabric of gentle melodies. Harding’s lyrics are filled with poetic images that slip away when you try to grasp them—\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2019/02/19/695796657/aldous-harding-talks-about-her-intriguing-new-song-and-video\">she’s spoken\u003c/a> about her desire to resist interpretation. (With her flexible but utterly distinctive voice, she sometimes reminds me of Cat Stevens, if you never had a single clue what Cat Stevens’ songs were about.) The title track stops and starts as if looking over its shoulder to see if you’re still there. “The Barrel” could be a consideration of motherhood, or it could be about creation and destruction, a tale of a minor deity, off in a corner of the universe, a god sinking her fingers into clay, shaping a new world by rules as she imagines them. All that inscrutability could be off-putting, but \u003cem>Designer \u003c/em>is the kind of art that rewards questioning. It only frustrates if you demand answers. —\u003cem>Jacob Ganz\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/morning-becomes-eclectic/aldous-harding\">Aldous Harding performs live for KCRW’s \u003cem>Morning Becomes Eclectic\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>4.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Solange\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>When I Get Home\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6giKIu5jUvA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back when DJ Screw was plying his chopped-and-screwed mixtape trade heavy in Houston, Solange was living out her wonder years. His time-altering mixes—as otherworldly as Sun Ra’s Afrofuturist musings; as inventive as Kool Herc’s Merry-Go-Round breakbeat technique—were the soundtrack for anybody coming of age in the ’90s in H-Town. They tainted the water. They colored a universe. In the 19 years since DJ Screw’s death, his Screw music escaped Houston and infected the world. It practically became a genre unto itself, with DJs taking up the mantle, younger artists adopting the sound and producers incorporating his slurred, stutter-step technique. Then, Solange messed around and made the hardest Screw tape of the decade in the form of an R&B album: The woozy BPMs. The repetitive phrasing. The freestyle flows. If \u003cem>A Seat At The Table \u003c/em>was all about her giving the world a piece of her mind, \u003cem>When I Get Home\u003c/em> is Solange returning to her interior world for some peace of mind. It flew over some folks’ heads, but only because it so thoroughly resists the white gaze. “These are black-owned things,” as Solange sings on “Almeda.” She’s been around the world, professionally and personally, but there’s a special kind of power in being at home with yourself. —\u003cem>Rodney Carmichael\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/03/06/700256924/solange-at-home-in-space-city\">‘Still Tippin’: Solange At Home In Houston’\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>3.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Raphael Saadiq\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Jimmy Lee\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOrZgRJ88kc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a producer, an electric bassist and a singer-songwriter, Raphael Saadiq has long been meticulous: about chord voicings and melodic pathways, about the quantum mechanics of rhythm, about his sly evocations of classic soul and the wobble or sheen that brings them up to date. You could always count on him for craft and concision, the way you count on a sports car to roar to life when you turn the ignition key.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Jimmy Lee\u003c/em>, Saadiq’s first studio release in eight years, has all of those musical trademarks in place. But it’s also untidy, uneasy, irresolvable. Drawing from personal history—including the death of his older brother, the album’s namesake, from a heroin overdose — Saadiq delivers an anguished suite of songs about black struggle and surrender, incarceration and redemption. The result is revelatory, not only for the raw emotion in his lyrics and delivery but also for the way that this material pushes his music out of a comfort zone. —\u003cem>Nate Chinen, WBGO\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/05/784786360/raphael-saadiq-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Raphael Saadiq perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>2.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Angel Olsen\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>All Mirrors\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uaN60k0-zY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t know that the record was going to sound this way at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those words, spoken by Angel Olsen \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/05/776382293/angel-olsen-and-john-congleton-on-how-they-made-all-mirrors\">during a conversation\u003c/a> we had just after \u003cem>All Mirrors\u003c/em> was released this fall, summed up my sentiments too. This album, Olsen’s fourth, runs screaming from her quiet side, with songs propelled by string arrangements that, along with her dramatic vocal performance, enhance the lyricism of some of Olsen’s most energetic songs. She co-produced this record with John Congleton; those string parts were written by Ben Babbitt and arranged by Jherek Bischoff. Congleton told me that after they first made a solo acoustic version of the album (a version you may get a chance to hear in 2020), they worked to expand its scope, aiming for “early period Scott Walker” as an inspiration, “where it’s fantastic songs, with really cool arrangements and you’re hearing something totally new.” This is an album of deep inner struggles thrust onto a bigger stage, with words—”What about my dreams? What about the heart?”—that matter, magnified magnificently. —\u003cem>Bob Boilen\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/05/776382293/angel-olsen-and-john-congleton-on-how-they-made-all-mirrors\">Angel Olsen’s All Songs Considered interview\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>1.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Brittany Howard\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Jaime\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfizQsGWOxI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black radicalism, the philosopher Fred Moten has written, cannot be understood outside the context of its origins in oppression; as a force of rebirth, it also always breaks out of that context. The same, Moten says, is true of black music—a broken circle, rooted and free, it demands a new way of listening. The first solo album by Alabama Shakes front woman Brittany Howard inspires such heady thoughts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sinking her fingers into the dirt of her own life story as a black biracial queer woman born in the Deep South, now living far West of that beloved, problematic home, Howard wrote a set of songs that invoke Moten’s image of the groove as a broken circle. These are songs that draw the ear into their slow rhythms, only to disrupt and rearrange themselves; that build melodies like vines growing, turning and knotting into loops, getting tangled as they move toward sun. They tell stories of desire with names like “Stay High,” unorthodox faith through declarations like “He Loves Me” and family history by facing painful memories (in “Goat Head,” the stench of racism permeates). Yet following her own perspective, Howard turns confession on its head. To realize her songs’ deceptively plainspoken complexity, Howard and producer Shawn Everett brought together jazz disruptors Nate Smith on drums and Robert Glasper on keys, alongside her old bandmate and musical anchor, bassist Zac Cockrell. They took chances. They got psychedelic, locked into heavy funk, slid into classic R&B and then cleared space for Howard to be lonely, like the blues chanteuse she also can be. This album is a radical act of self-claiming, one that does more than reintroduce a great 21st Century voice. It turns a broken circle into an open road. —\u003cem>Ann Powers\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/15/768439696/brittany-howard-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Brittany Howard perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=The+25+Best+Albums+Of+2019&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This list was made by writers, editors and producers at NPR Music operating under two rules: Albums had to be released during 2019 and no lead artist was allowed to appear on both this list and our list of the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778226410/the-25-best-songs-of-2019\">\u003cem>25 Best Songs of 2019\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. You can find the rest of our picks for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778229970/best-music-of-2019-editors-note\">\u003cem>the best music of 2019 here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>25.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Tyler, The Creator\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>IGOR\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/HmAsUQEFYGI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/HmAsUQEFYGI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Generally speaking, breaks-up are trash. But what if you’re not even allowed to call it a break-up?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>IGOR, \u003c/em>the fifth studio album from Tyler, The Creator, mourns a love that was never really allowed to flourish in the first place. Across 40 minutes, \u003cem>IGOR\u003c/em> draws, erases and redraws emotional lines in the sand, smudging up Tyler’s self-esteem with each new boundary crossed. The pining of “EARFQUAKE,” the short-lived euphoria of “I THINK,” the feeble negotiation of “NEW MAGIC WAND,” the obvious lie of “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE,” the diluted compromise of “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” Think of these tracks as the face muscles that construct the dead-eyed, sanguine smile you flash during that first unexpected run-in with your ex. Even with a supporting chorus of Kanye West, Lil Uzi Vert, La Roux, Solange and more, the true magic of this album is Tyler’s ability to let his guard down just enough to give you symphonic slivers of his heartbreak. —\u003cem>Sidney Madden\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2017/12/11/569203961/tyler-the-creator-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Tyler Perform At NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>24.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Tanya Tucker\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>While I’m Livin’\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/WVEd0YUx7X8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/WVEd0YUx7X8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In spite of the reverence shown for country music made in the 1970s and the groundswell of nostalgia for ’90s country, Tanya Tucker—an artist whose high-caliber hits spanned both eras—has been perpetually underappreciated. This year she found champions in Shooter Jennings and Brandi Carlile, who took up the task of framing Tucker with a warmly rustic, often rocking vintage sound on \u003cem>While I’m Livin’\u003c/em>. The album cast a more intimate spotlight on her gravelly timbre and the sensuality and gravitas of her phrasing, but more than that, its songs showcased her interpretive gifts and, at long last, placed her at the center of her own enthralling mythology. —\u003cem>Jewly Hight\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2019/11/12/778265643/hear-tanya-tucker-perform-selections-from-her-first-original-album-in-17-years\">Hear Tanya Tucker In Concert At AmericanaFest\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>23.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Kris Davis\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Diatom Ribbons\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/DVhEV5RDG4w'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/DVhEV5RDG4w'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In the hands of pianist Kris Davis, a musical phrase can bristle or bloom—sometimes managing both at once, as often happens on this visionary album. Working with two core partners, turntablist Val Jeanty and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, Davis devises a new strain of avant-garde chamber-jazz, volatile yet gleaming. A clutch of blue-chip guests (like Nels Cline and Marc Ribot on guitars, Tony Malaby on tenor saxophone and Esperanza Spalding on spoken word) bring personality as well as fire. This is sound that refuses stasis, insisting on endless renewal from one moment to the next. —\u003cem>Nate Chinen, WBGO\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>22.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Bad Bunny & J Balvin\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>OASIS\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/kPc3Pe42bGI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/kPc3Pe42bGI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Bad Bunny and J Balvin have both taken up the charge to make urbano a worldwide project without sacrificing the hunger that has made the genre seem abrasive and vulgar to some in their industry. That this album-length collaboration by two of urbano’s most visible artists covered as much genre territory as it did prompted another examination of its often relegated place within “Latin” music, whatever that is. From the knotted bass punto guajiro on “Yo Le Llego” to the rock en español”Un Peso” with Enanitos Verdes’ Marciano Cantero to the two taking a backseat to Afrobeats rising star Mr. Eazi on the closer “Como Un Bebé,” \u003cem>OASIS \u003c/em>stretches across the spectrum of where urbano has been and where it’s going. —\u003cem>Stefanie Fernández\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/altlatino/2018/12/24/679179404/bad-bunny-en-espa-ol-el-nuevo-disco-y-sus-influencias\">Bad Bunny’s Alt.Latino interview\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>21.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>John Luther Adams\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Become Desert\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/1VN9TBfWAEo'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/1VN9TBfWAEo'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>This is, simply put, one of the most stunning recordings of 2019. John Luther Adams’ follow-up to his Pulitzer Prize-winning \u003cem>Become Ocean\u003c/em> is brought to life here by the Seattle Symphony and its conductor emeritus Ludovic Morlot in grand-scale minimalist fashion. The orchestra’s 100 or so musicians and a chorus of singers weave a beatless, beatific drone that draws inspiration from the deceptive monotony of our planet’s deserts, where time only appears to stand still. Like its namesake, \u003cem>Become Desert\u003c/em> feels infinite, stretching out in every direction at once; even after 40 celestial minutes, its ending arrives unexpectedly, lest we forget that sand always runs out. —\u003cem>Otis Hart\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2014/09/28/350911062/an-inviting-apocalypse-john-luther-adams-on-become-ocean\">John Luther Adams on All Things Considered\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>20.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Sault\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>5\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/i1F0qO7QIR4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/i1F0qO7QIR4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>And then, out of thin air, an impossibly polished, balanced and restrained piece of work from a faceless trio—we think it’s a trio, at least—quietly slipped into the world. The surreptitious Sault—is it pronounced “soo” or “salt” or “so,” we wonder—may have connections to the equally mysterious-at-the-outset group Jungle, a rumor that has some heft given the evolved disco/pop/R&B/soul genetics they clearly share. But while mysteries are fun, and can be a slam-dunk marketing approach too, there’s no urgent need to solve this one. First of all, this lovely, wholly consistent album is answer enough. But also, the group will most likely be unavoidable in the new year, so enjoy the unknowing while you still can. —\u003cem>Andrew Flanagan\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>19.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Lana Del Rey\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Norman F****** Rockwell\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/qolmz4FlnZ0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/qolmz4FlnZ0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=ten%20year%20challenge&geo=US\">Twice this year\u003c/a> across social media, the so-called ten-year challenge meme made the rounds (and prompted some extremely 2019\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/kateo/status/1084199700427927553\"> cybersecurity concerns\u003c/a>). Consider, then, a side-by-side accounting for a certain pop star who came into full flower over the course of the decade: In 2011, Lana Del Rey’s mere presence was viewed by some as an affront to the ideal of authenticity; in 2019, few albums achieved the critical consensus that greeted \u003cem>Norman F****** Rockwell! \u003c/em>At some point between “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE6wxDqdOV0\">Video Games\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrSX_OcpeJg\">The Greatest\u003c/a>,” Lana Del Rey went from upending accepted norms to voicing our collective unease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Norman F****** Rockwell! \u003c/em>sharpens the singular vision that’s always animated Lana Del Rey’s body of work. As her discography has grown, her imagery has evolved: less shorthand, more self-reference. With callbacks crisscrossing place and time, her music is now made of her own sepia-toned mythology. In collaboration with producer Jack Antonoff, drawing on the Laurel Canyon sound, she achieves both timelessness and timeliness in tone. Wistful, resigned and cutting, it’s a fitting swan song for the decade. —\u003cem>Lyndsey McKenna\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/757545360/lana-del-rey-lives-in-americas-messy-subconscious\">Ann Powers on Lana Del Rey\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>18.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>iLe\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Almadura\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/RTzL-G2kIA8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/RTzL-G2kIA8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>iLe recorded \u003cem>Almadura\u003c/em> long before the political situation in Puerto Rico came to a historic conclusion this past summer, but the themes she addresses on the album were the same as those raised in the massive protests that eventually drove its governor from power: musical stands against injustice and inequality, passionate statements of cultural pride and a barely contained fury at being at the mercy of U.S. policies for over 100 years. Case in point: “Tu Rumba” comes across as a hypnotic love song that stands as a personal statement of desire, but like the best protest music, the power of the message is in the storytelling. It’s a cleverly-worded plea for social justice set to a masterful pastiche of Afro-Caribbean rhythms. The powerful music on \u003cem>Almadura \u003c/em>will long outlast the injustices iLe and the rest of the island are fighting against. —\u003cem>Felix Contreras\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/altlatino/2019/07/10/740190505/ile-and-making-movies-discuss-music-activism-and-mixing-the-two\">Alt.Latino’s interview with iLe\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>17.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Holly Herndon\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>PROTO\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/r4sROgbaeOs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/r4sROgbaeOs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>A spirit of collaboration courses through Holly Herndon’s third album, \u003cem>PROTO\u003c/em>. The talk that’s surrounded it has focused on Herndon’s co-creation of an AI that became part of an ensemble she worked with to make the record. While that’s of note, it does a disservice to the music, which is epic on every level. Human voices and machine voices coalesce in double helix formations; trance motifs and mile-wide drums offset the choir’s earnest emoting and lyrics unfurl like folk stories. \u003cem>PROTO \u003c/em>is an album about the human spirit and the future that new kinds of collaboration—or, as Herndon calls it,\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hollyherndon/status/1199455651170263040\"> interdependence\u003c/a>—could bring. —\u003cem>Ruth Saxelby\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/07/767904887/the-2010s-a-music-making-evolution-and-revolution\">All Songs Considered interviews Holly Herndon\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>16.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Burna Boy\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>African Giant\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/4zvDLW5Klo8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/4zvDLW5Klo8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Burna Boy has been a superstar of Nigerian music for years. “I am an AFRICAN GIANT,” he blasted on Instagram after Coachella displayed his name on a festival poster with what he considered a too-small font. Months later, he released his fourth album with the same title. Whether it’s conceit or confidence, Burna Boy deserves to brag. Every one of the album’s 19 tracks is a gem and features his signature Afro-fusion genre blend of dancehall, reggae, R&B and hip-hop. Though fundamental African rhythms are clearly defined, the album’s dance-infused pop sensibility makes it a crossover success. And while its musicality and artfulness are outstanding, the album spans party anthems and themes of love, history and political activism too. It’s no surprise that Burna Boy received his first Grammy nomination for this album. Look for his name in larger fonts in the future. —\u003cem>Suraya Mohamed\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/18/779548274/burna-boy-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Burna Boy perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>15.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Ancestral Recall\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/FYFFV7exVWs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/FYFFV7exVWs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>New Orleans trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah is one of the most compelling voices working in music today—and his latest “stretch music” album is possibly his most ambitious work to date. With guest artists including musician/poet/rapper/actor Saul Williams, \u003cem>Ancestral Recall\u003c/em> is an intense, keenly felt and richly articulated celebration of many of the musical streams that have nourished generations of the African, Native and Caribbean diasporas—a sonically and texturally spacious project that would feel urgent and necessary at almost any time, but asserts itself especially now. From the exuberant, endlessly intricate West African polyrhythms of “I Own The Night” to the Afro-Latinx groove of “The Shared Stories of Rivals” to the metallic, Afrofuturist clang of “Prophesy,” this project is both firmly rooted in the past and a vision of a dynamic, powerful future. —\u003cem>Anastasia Tsioulcas\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SxzS4mtH9o\">Watch Jazz Night In America’s Christian Scott special\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>14.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Weyes Blood\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Titanic Rising\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/RFtRq6t3jOo'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/RFtRq6t3jOo'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>A lot of artists made big, ambitious albums in 2019, but few soared as wondrously as Weyes Blood’s \u003cem>Titanic Rising. \u003c/em>Singer Natalie Mering’s meticulously layered harmonies drew comparisons to the celestial sounds of Enya and her winding melodies, crystalline voice and autumnal reflections owe just as much to ’70s folk-pop icons like Joni Mitchell or The Carpenters. It’s a beautiful and potent mix, one Mering deftly subverts with hints of madness. Songs suddenly stagger and devolve into warped or broken electronics while her videos, for songs like “Everyday” or “Mirror Forever,” include graphic scenes of murder, rape and drug use. It’s a beautiful world, but we are not okay. —\u003cem>Robin Hilton\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/786391406/weyes-blood-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Weyes Blood perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>13.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Our Native Daughters\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Songs Of Our Native Daughters\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/FeTEgDy7kbQ'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/FeTEgDy7kbQ'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Our Native Daughters chose a band name and album title that highlight the kinship ties between the four group members—Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Allison Russell and Leyla McCalla—and their musical, cultural and spiritual ancestors. It would’ve been a historic event for four women of color who write, reinterpret and perform roots music on banjo to simply come together and make music—their collaboration is, in and of itself, a reminder of the whitewashed African roots of their instruments. But, urged on by Giddens, they shaped a song cycle aimed at reversing the erasure of black women from American historical narratives, at zeroing in on the dehumanizing suffering black women faced under slavery, their strategies of survival and resistance, their sharp, sly critiques of oppressive systems, their creativity. The Daughters’ collaboration is enriched by the distinctness of each of their voices: the dogged Appalachian blues rock of Kiah’s “Black Myself,” the willowy reverence of Russell’s “Quasheba, Quasheba,” the commandingly vivid narration of Giddens’ harrowing call-and-response “Mama’s Cryin’ Long,” the Kreyol liveliness of McCalla’s “Lavi Difisil,” the polyrhythmic communal audacity of “Moon Meets the Sun.” It’s an album that rustles with collective imagination and purpose. —\u003cem>Jewly Hight\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/02/14/693624881/first-listen-our-native-daughters-songs-of-our-native-daughters\">Jewly Hight reviews \u003cem>Songs Of Our Native Daughters\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>12.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Ari Lennox\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Shea Butter Baby\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Qf06109Zivo'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Qf06109Zivo'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/728737359/ari-lennox\">Ari Lennox\u003c/a> declared her intentions for her debut album right from the title. \u003cem>Shea Butter Baby\u003c/em> speaks to an often misunderstood and underrepresented music lover: The Black woman. The D.C. native sings about universally recognizable ebbs and flows of life on songs like “Broke,” “BMO” and “Speak To Me,” which are sprinkled with euphemisms that will hit women of color first. Producers Elite and Ron Gilmore handle the bulk of production, lacing her words with jazzy and soulful sonics that put her range on display. Awards season has begun and we’ve already seen \u003cem>Shea Butter Baby\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/a35mxg/ari-lennoxs-shea-butter-baby-deserves-better-than-its-award-season-soul-train-awards-grammys-2019-snubs\"> obviously snubbed\u003c/a> by the Soul Train Awards and the Grammys. It’s just more confirmation that we need Ari’s voice now more than ever. —\u003cem>Bobby Carter\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/09/25/763604571/ari-lennox-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Ari Lennox perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>11.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Vagabon\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Vagabon\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/mzFb1z_-Cvw'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/mzFb1z_-Cvw'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The working title for Laetitia Tamko’s second album as Vagabon was \u003cem>All the Women in Me\u003c/em>—a versatile phrase to sum up everything from the roles women play in society to the singer’s own complex identity as a Cameroonian who relocated to New York at 13. But the moniker didn’t stick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After 2017’s \u003cem>Infinite Worlds\u003c/em> pushed past the boundaries of bedroom pop, Tamko’s new record expands her sound still further, most notably landing on synth-smeared electro-pop in masterful, appropriately fluid songs like “Flood” and “Water Me Down.” Singing of her deep ambivalence about love and identity, Tamko ultimately settled on the only album title that could sum up the full measure of her sleek, soulful shape-shifting: \u003cem>Vagabon\u003c/em>. —\u003cem>Stephen Thompson\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/15/757514260/stream-laetitia-tamko-on-the-making-of-vagabon\">Laetitia Tamko On The Making Of \u003cem>Vagabon\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>10.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Jenny Hval\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>The Practice Of Love\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/wACSfREgJys'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/wACSfREgJys'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>What does it mean to make a family? How do we care for each other? How do we make sense of our relationships with our bodies or the planet—and how do those relationships impact each other? To grapple with these questions, Jenny Hval made her most accessible album yet; the production is delicately beautiful and hypnotic, with lyrics that unspool like poetry. Hval and her collaborators conjure Georgia O’Keefe, ponder childlessness and search for God. Quotidian objects—dried figs, stretch mark cream, a cigarette, a porn magazine—become vessels for meaning both grander and more visceral than expected. This isn’t \u003cem>love\u003c/em> in the strictly romantic sense—nor is it strictly platonic, or familial, or sexual. Instead, as the title promises, the album depicts intimacy as a process: a series of trials and metaphors that draw us closer to each other. —\u003cem>Marissa Lorusso\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>9.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>billy woods & Kenny Segal\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Hiding Places\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/gXFgjQ9dZ8M'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/gXFgjQ9dZ8M'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s said that comedy is tragedy plus time, but what if the tragedy never ends? Does the lengthening onslaught ever become absurd enough to laugh at? billy woods released two great albums in 2019: the jagged \u003cem>Terror Management\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Hiding Places\u003c/em>, a collaboration with L.A. producer Kenny Segal. The latter is an album-length self-excavation that crawls through moldy memories in a brutal poetry that is at times darkly funny but mostly wrestles with personal and societal truths that’ll leave you touched, shook. woods found an inspired partner in Segal, whose beats are built like the condemned house falling apart on the album’s cover. On “Speak Gently,” heavy fuzz guitar suddenly disintegrates as if Thanos had snapped his fingers; it’s disarming, haunting. woods rocks references to authors who distilled drama with forceful wordplay (John Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger and Charles Dickens), but he himself knocks at their door with an ability to wrap nostalgic imagery within a crucial moment that never leaves your psyche: “Dollar movie theater, dingy foyer, little kid, not a penny to my name / F*****’ with the joystick, pretendin’ I was really playin’.” —\u003cem>Lars Gotrich\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/11/778228299/9-rap-albums-as-dark-and-dystopian-as-2019\">billy woods is the rapper of 2019\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>8.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Lankum\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>The Livelong Day\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/JxKx-BBWX8Q'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/JxKx-BBWX8Q'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>This stunningly beautiful, trance-inducing album record draws heavily on traditional Irish folk music, but with a deep dark Dublin twist. The sound of drones play a central role in the overall tone of \u003cem>The Livelong Day. \u003c/em>Brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch, Radi Peat and Cormac MacDiarmada create crushing, apocalyptic, layered drones using Uilleann pipes, harmonium, fiddle, voice and more. It has the intensity of electronic music, but this is all acoustic musicin service of songs that are often centuries old. The opening track, “The Wild Rover,” goes back at least to the 16th century and is often thought to be a drinking song, one you might raise your glass to at a pub, singing, “No, nay, never no more / Will I play the wild rover / No, never no more.” But the original intent is that of a temperance song, and that’s how Lankum approach it, with a sustained heaviness to match the story’s consequence and building sense of regret. \u003cem>The Livelong Day\u003c/em> makes the past entirely fresh and present. —\u003cem>Bob Boilen\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/21/771982922/lankum-and-the-strange-new-sounds-of-ireland\">Lankum’s All Songs Considered interview\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>7.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Caroline Shaw / Attacca Quartet\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Orange\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/eQlcyXacUrc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/eQlcyXacUrc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Those who might consider the string quartet little more than a fusty, forgotten genre haven’t heard \u003cem>Orange\u003c/em>. With help from the expressively agile Attacca Quartet, Pulitzer-winning composer Caroline Shaw takes inspiration from the old masters but makes the music shine in her singular way. Shaw gene splices strands of Mozart and Ravel into rigorously assembled pieces such as “Plan & Elevation,” proving that while some tricks of string quartet architecture remain, her buildings emerge with fresh authority. From the album’s compact spaces to its expansive vistas, Shaw excels in the evocative power of the pluck—formally termed, pizzicato—which is the backbone of the ricocheting yet songful “Limestone & Felt.” They say the mark of a great artist is a smart, distinct and identifiable voice. If that’s true, Shaw has arrived, speaking loud and clear. —\u003cem>Tom Huizenga\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2019/04/19/700361912/caroline-shaws-love-letter-to-the-string-quartet\">All Things Considered’s review of \u003cem>Orange\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>6.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Sharon Van Etten\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Remind Me Tomorrow\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/j7sTHoeH0eA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/j7sTHoeH0eA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Remind Me Tomorrow \u003c/em>opens with six seconds of silence. Then: simple piano chords. It’s a compelling, echoing acoustic introduction to a primarily synth-driven album, which at times resolves into chaotic crescendos. The starkness of those first chords of “I Told You Everything” offer a reprieve; a chance to gather yourself, to take one last breath before dunking deep beneath the surface. Because Sharon Van Etten has no time for superficiality. She pulls you under with her. Like that opening track warns, she tells you everything. \u003cem>Remind Me Tomorrow \u003c/em>is an album of introspection and honesty that never feels navel-gazing. In a time when people deploy terms like “emotional bandwidth” to refer to how much energy they have to support their own friends and family, this album reminds us that vulnerability is not a commodity, but the essence of genuine connection. —\u003cem>Raina Douris, World Cafe\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/10/07/766645155/sharon-van-etten-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Sharon Van Etten perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>5.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Aldous Harding\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Designer\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/pTgyJ8jWD3M'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/pTgyJ8jWD3M'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>No music I heard this year convinced me I could hear my own cells dividing like \u003cem>Designer\u003c/em>, Aldous Harding’s approachable, enigmatic third album. It’s lovely, but how do you explain it? The New Zealand-born Harding writes songs in familiar, folk-simple forms but appends them with odd angles that sometimes land like jokes and sometimes like warnings. Voices emerge from the depths to thread hints of peril or restlessness into the fabric of gentle melodies. Harding’s lyrics are filled with poetic images that slip away when you try to grasp them—\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2019/02/19/695796657/aldous-harding-talks-about-her-intriguing-new-song-and-video\">she’s spoken\u003c/a> about her desire to resist interpretation. (With her flexible but utterly distinctive voice, she sometimes reminds me of Cat Stevens, if you never had a single clue what Cat Stevens’ songs were about.) The title track stops and starts as if looking over its shoulder to see if you’re still there. “The Barrel” could be a consideration of motherhood, or it could be about creation and destruction, a tale of a minor deity, off in a corner of the universe, a god sinking her fingers into clay, shaping a new world by rules as she imagines them. All that inscrutability could be off-putting, but \u003cem>Designer \u003c/em>is the kind of art that rewards questioning. It only frustrates if you demand answers. —\u003cem>Jacob Ganz\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/morning-becomes-eclectic/aldous-harding\">Aldous Harding performs live for KCRW’s \u003cem>Morning Becomes Eclectic\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>4.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Solange\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>When I Get Home\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/6giKIu5jUvA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/6giKIu5jUvA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Back when DJ Screw was plying his chopped-and-screwed mixtape trade heavy in Houston, Solange was living out her wonder years. His time-altering mixes—as otherworldly as Sun Ra’s Afrofuturist musings; as inventive as Kool Herc’s Merry-Go-Round breakbeat technique—were the soundtrack for anybody coming of age in the ’90s in H-Town. They tainted the water. They colored a universe. In the 19 years since DJ Screw’s death, his Screw music escaped Houston and infected the world. It practically became a genre unto itself, with DJs taking up the mantle, younger artists adopting the sound and producers incorporating his slurred, stutter-step technique. Then, Solange messed around and made the hardest Screw tape of the decade in the form of an R&B album: The woozy BPMs. The repetitive phrasing. The freestyle flows. If \u003cem>A Seat At The Table \u003c/em>was all about her giving the world a piece of her mind, \u003cem>When I Get Home\u003c/em> is Solange returning to her interior world for some peace of mind. It flew over some folks’ heads, but only because it so thoroughly resists the white gaze. “These are black-owned things,” as Solange sings on “Almeda.” She’s been around the world, professionally and personally, but there’s a special kind of power in being at home with yourself. —\u003cem>Rodney Carmichael\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/03/06/700256924/solange-at-home-in-space-city\">‘Still Tippin’: Solange At Home In Houston’\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>3.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Raphael Saadiq\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Jimmy Lee\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/QOrZgRJ88kc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/QOrZgRJ88kc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>As a producer, an electric bassist and a singer-songwriter, Raphael Saadiq has long been meticulous: about chord voicings and melodic pathways, about the quantum mechanics of rhythm, about his sly evocations of classic soul and the wobble or sheen that brings them up to date. You could always count on him for craft and concision, the way you count on a sports car to roar to life when you turn the ignition key.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Jimmy Lee\u003c/em>, Saadiq’s first studio release in eight years, has all of those musical trademarks in place. But it’s also untidy, uneasy, irresolvable. Drawing from personal history—including the death of his older brother, the album’s namesake, from a heroin overdose — Saadiq delivers an anguished suite of songs about black struggle and surrender, incarceration and redemption. The result is revelatory, not only for the raw emotion in his lyrics and delivery but also for the way that this material pushes his music out of a comfort zone. —\u003cem>Nate Chinen, WBGO\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/12/05/784786360/raphael-saadiq-tiny-desk-concert\">Watch Raphael Saadiq perform at NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>2.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Angel Olsen\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>All Mirrors\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/6uaN60k0-zY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/6uaN60k0-zY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“I didn’t know that the record was going to sound this way at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those words, spoken by Angel Olsen \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/05/776382293/angel-olsen-and-john-congleton-on-how-they-made-all-mirrors\">during a conversation\u003c/a> we had just after \u003cem>All Mirrors\u003c/em> was released this fall, summed up my sentiments too. This album, Olsen’s fourth, runs screaming from her quiet side, with songs propelled by string arrangements that, along with her dramatic vocal performance, enhance the lyricism of some of Olsen’s most energetic songs. She co-produced this record with John Congleton; those string parts were written by Ben Babbitt and arranged by Jherek Bischoff. Congleton told me that after they first made a solo acoustic version of the album (a version you may get a chance to hear in 2020), they worked to expand its scope, aiming for “early period Scott Walker” as an inspiration, “where it’s fantastic songs, with really cool arrangements and you’re hearing something totally new.” This is an album of deep inner struggles thrust onto a bigger stage, with words—”What about my dreams? What about the heart?”—that matter, magnified magnificently. —\u003cem>Bob Boilen\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>■ MORE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/11/05/776382293/angel-olsen-and-john-congleton-on-how-they-made-all-mirrors\">Angel Olsen’s All Songs Considered interview\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch6>1.\u003c/h6>\n\u003ch3>Brittany Howard\u003c/h3>\n\u003ch3>\u003cem>Jaime\u003c/em>\u003c/h3>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/CfizQsGWOxI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/CfizQsGWOxI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Black radicalism, the philosopher Fred Moten has written, cannot be understood outside the context of its origins in oppression; as a force of rebirth, it also always breaks out of that context. The same, Moten says, is true of black music—a broken circle, rooted and free, it demands a new way of listening. The first solo album by Alabama Shakes front woman Brittany Howard inspires such heady thoughts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sinking her fingers into the dirt of her own life story as a black biracial queer woman born in the Deep South, now living far West of that beloved, problematic home, Howard wrote a set of songs that invoke Moten’s image of the groove as a broken circle. These are songs that draw the ear into their slow rhythms, only to disrupt and rearrange themselves; that build melodies like vines growing, turning and knotting into loops, getting tangled as they move toward sun. They tell stories of desire with names like “Stay High,” unorthodox faith through declarations like “He Loves Me” and family history by facing painful memories (in “Goat Head,” the stench of racism permeates). Yet following her own perspective, Howard turns confession on its head. To realize her songs’ deceptively plainspoken complexity, Howard and producer Shawn Everett brought together jazz disruptors Nate Smith on drums and Robert Glasper on keys, alongside her old bandmate and musical anchor, bassist Zac Cockrell. They took chances. They got psychedelic, locked into heavy funk, slid into classic R&B and then cleared space for Howard to be lonely, like the blues chanteuse she also can be. This album is a radical act of self-claiming, one that does more than reintroduce a great 21st Century voice. It turns a broken circle into an open road. —\u003cem>Ann Powers\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Singer Marie Fredriksson, who co-founded the hitmaking Swedish pop group Roxette, died yesterday in Sweden. She was 61 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before she became one of the most recognizable voices of her era, Fredricksson grew up in a tiny village, where her mom was a factory worker and her dad a postman. There wasn’t any day care, so he’d take her along while delivering mail and sing to her—the experience was formative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2C5TjS2sh4\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fredriksson \u003ca href=\"http://www.mariefredriksson.se/bio.php\">began\u003c/a> her music career in earnest as a teenager, performing in bands before going solo. But later, as half of Roxette, Fredriksson scored half a dozen hits—including the one above—and sold around 75 million albums. Frederiksson was diagnosed with brain cancer seventeen years ago, but she kept recording and touring until 2016, when her illness eventually forced her and bandmate Per Gessle to \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelocal.se/20160418/swedish-roxette-cancel-europe-summer-tour\">cancel\u003c/a> an upcoming summer tour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking in 2015, Fredriksson \u003ca href=\"https://vi.se/artikel/srwAdMdB-a0Ev3DKW-e491b\">recalled\u003c/a>, to the Swedish magazine \u003cem>Vi\u003c/em>, of her extended period of sickness: “When things were at their most difficult… even if nobody else believed in me, I believed in myself. Felt I had to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCC_b5WHLX0\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Roxette%27s+Marie+Fredriksson+Dead+At+61&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Singer Marie Fredriksson, who co-founded the hitmaking Swedish pop group Roxette, died yesterday in Sweden. She was 61 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before she became one of the most recognizable voices of her era, Fredricksson grew up in a tiny village, where her mom was a factory worker and her dad a postman. There wasn’t any day care, so he’d take her along while delivering mail and sing to her—the experience was formative.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/k2C5TjS2sh4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/k2C5TjS2sh4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Fredriksson \u003ca href=\"http://www.mariefredriksson.se/bio.php\">began\u003c/a> her music career in earnest as a teenager, performing in bands before going solo. But later, as half of Roxette, Fredriksson scored half a dozen hits—including the one above—and sold around 75 million albums. Frederiksson was diagnosed with brain cancer seventeen years ago, but she kept recording and touring until 2016, when her illness eventually forced her and bandmate Per Gessle to \u003ca href=\"https://www.thelocal.se/20160418/swedish-roxette-cancel-europe-summer-tour\">cancel\u003c/a> an upcoming summer tour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking in 2015, Fredriksson \u003ca href=\"https://vi.se/artikel/srwAdMdB-a0Ev3DKW-e491b\">recalled\u003c/a>, to the Swedish magazine \u003cem>Vi\u003c/em>, of her extended period of sickness: “When things were at their most difficult… even if nobody else believed in me, I believed in myself. Felt I had to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Miss Universe 2019 is Gifted, Outspoken and All About 'Black Girl Magic'",
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"content": "\u003cp>Yes, the Miss Universe pageant has its share of detractors. There is, for example, that swimsuit competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But then there is this year’s winner to consider: Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Tunzi was crowned as the winner of the 2019 Miss Universe competition on Sunday night, she took a moment to speak about the importance of shifting antiquated beauty standards—and finally celebrating “black girl magic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me—with my kind of skin and my kind of hair—was never considered to be beautiful,” the 26-year-old said during her closing statement. “I think it is time that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face, and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tunzi is the pageant’s first black winner in eight years, since Leila Lopes from Angola took home the crown in 2011. In her official Miss Universe \u003ca href=\"https://www.missuniverse.com/titleholder/1000734\">bio\u003c/a>, the 26-year-old is described as a strong proponent of natural beauty who “encourages women to love themselves as they are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She wore her hair in a natural, short style during the competition, which she \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Official_MissSA/status/1203913238943031296\">said\u003c/a> was “a symbol of my firm belief in fair representation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even her outfit in the national costume segment reflected her beliefs. Tunzi had asked South African men to demonstrate their solidarity with the gender equality campaign #HeforShe by writing letters to honor and celebrate South African women. The letters, written on colorful ribbons, were woven into her costume, which was called “Wave of Love.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her coronation at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta received a wide amount of social media support and celebration from around the world, with people noting how exciting it is to see that Miss America, Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and now Miss Universe are all black women this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/Essence/status/1204026870301413377\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was also applauded for her thoughtful answers during the pageant on climate change and leadership.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/zozitunzi/status/1203930667316371457\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the Top 5 question and answer segment, Tunzi stated that individuals, government leaders and corporations should all be taking action toward protecting the planet, noting that it’s time adults listen to young children who have taken part in climate strikes and protests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/MissUniverse/status/1203864288819064833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1203864288819064833&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2Fsections%2Fgoatsandsoda%2F2019%2F12%2F09%2F786312377%2Fmiss-universe-2019-is-young-gifted-and-an-outspoken-believer-in-black-girl-magic\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Since sixth grade, I’ve been learning that the climate is deteriorating and the planet is dying, and it is up to us to keep our planet safe,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked what she thinks is the most important thing young girls should be taught today, Tunzi responded: “I think the most important thing … is leadership.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s something that has been lacking in young women and girls for a very long time, not because we don’t want to but because of what society has labeled women to be,” she added. “I think we are the most powerful beings in the world and that we should be given every opportunity. And that is what we should be teaching these young girls—to take up space.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her response was retweeted by Oprah Winfrey, who agreed with the sentiment and extended an invitation for Tunzi to visit the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/Oprah/status/1203888524107436032\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Additionally, a clip of Tunzi addressing gender-based violence during the Miss South Africa competition began making the rounds on Twitter as people congratulated her on her new title.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/theklmanuel/status/1204001146571878400\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the video, a presenter asked what reason South African women have to keep smiling despite facing challenges like emotional, physical and economic abuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have absolutely no reason to keep smiling because South African women are dying everyday and mostly people are doing nothing about it,” Tunzi replied. “I think it’s time that we stop asking women what to do and start asking perpetrators to do better, to be better, to start treating women the way that they deserve to be treated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Miss+Universe+2019+Is+Young%2C+Gifted+And+An+Outspoken+Believer+In+%27Black+Girl+Magic%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Yes, the Miss Universe pageant has its share of detractors. There is, for example, that swimsuit competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But then there is this year’s winner to consider: Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Tunzi was crowned as the winner of the 2019 Miss Universe competition on Sunday night, she took a moment to speak about the importance of shifting antiquated beauty standards—and finally celebrating “black girl magic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me—with my kind of skin and my kind of hair—was never considered to be beautiful,” the 26-year-old said during her closing statement. “I think it is time that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face, and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tunzi is the pageant’s first black winner in eight years, since Leila Lopes from Angola took home the crown in 2011. In her official Miss Universe \u003ca href=\"https://www.missuniverse.com/titleholder/1000734\">bio\u003c/a>, the 26-year-old is described as a strong proponent of natural beauty who “encourages women to love themselves as they are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She wore her hair in a natural, short style during the competition, which she \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Official_MissSA/status/1203913238943031296\">said\u003c/a> was “a symbol of my firm belief in fair representation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even her outfit in the national costume segment reflected her beliefs. Tunzi had asked South African men to demonstrate their solidarity with the gender equality campaign #HeforShe by writing letters to honor and celebrate South African women. The letters, written on colorful ribbons, were woven into her costume, which was called “Wave of Love.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her coronation at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta received a wide amount of social media support and celebration from around the world, with people noting how exciting it is to see that Miss America, Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and now Miss Universe are all black women this year.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>She was also applauded for her thoughtful answers during the pageant on climate change and leadership.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>During the Top 5 question and answer segment, Tunzi stated that individuals, government leaders and corporations should all be taking action toward protecting the planet, noting that it’s time adults listen to young children who have taken part in climate strikes and protests.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>“Since sixth grade, I’ve been learning that the climate is deteriorating and the planet is dying, and it is up to us to keep our planet safe,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked what she thinks is the most important thing young girls should be taught today, Tunzi responded: “I think the most important thing … is leadership.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s something that has been lacking in young women and girls for a very long time, not because we don’t want to but because of what society has labeled women to be,” she added. “I think we are the most powerful beings in the world and that we should be given every opportunity. And that is what we should be teaching these young girls—to take up space.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her response was retweeted by Oprah Winfrey, who agreed with the sentiment and extended an invitation for Tunzi to visit the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Additionally, a clip of Tunzi addressing gender-based violence during the Miss South Africa competition began making the rounds on Twitter as people congratulated her on her new title.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>In the video, a presenter asked what reason South African women have to keep smiling despite facing challenges like emotional, physical and economic abuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have absolutely no reason to keep smiling because South African women are dying everyday and mostly people are doing nothing about it,” Tunzi replied. “I think it’s time that we stop asking women what to do and start asking perpetrators to do better, to be better, to start treating women the way that they deserve to be treated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Miss+Universe+2019+Is+Young%2C+Gifted+And+An+Outspoken+Believer+In+%27Black+Girl+Magic%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "In 'Parker Looks Up,' a 2-Year-Old Shares a Moment with Michelle Obama",
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"content": "\u003cp>In the spring of 2018, 2-year-old Parker Curry visited the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., with her mom, her sister and her best friend. They saw a lot of artwork that day—but it was \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/02/13/585299081/obama-portraits-unveiled-at-national-portrait-gallery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amy Sherald’s portrait of first lady Michelle Obama\u003c/a> that made Parker stop in her tracks and look up in awe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The portrait of the first lady Michelle Obama loomed before me,” Parker recalls. Now 4, Parker says the painting made her feel inspired. Also, she adds, Michelle Obama is now \u003cem>her friend.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because Parker became \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-moment-of-awe-photo-of-little-girl-staring-at-michelle-obama-portrait-goes-viral/2018/03/04/4e5a4548-1ff2-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a viral sensation\u003c/a> when a fellow museum-goer took a picture of her standing there, spellbound. Less than a week later, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf_WsiYAiZu/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Parker got to meet\u003c/a>—and dance—with Obama.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience has inspired a picture book—\u003cem>Parker Looks Up\u003c/em>—written by Parker and her mom, Jessica Curry Morton, and illustrated by Brittany Jackson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s fun working with my mommy!” Parker says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s fun working with you, too,” Curry Morton replies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Parker Looks Up\u003c/em>, Jackson depicted a number of the Portrait Gallery’s famous paintings. She says it was a challenge to translate these artworks into a book for kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Naturally I want to do everything justice and show respect to Amy Sherald …” Jackson says. “I just drew it in my style which is just a little bit cartoonized or more playful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jackson depicts Parker’s journey through the museum in vivid colors. And there was one other technique she used to add “a little extra character” to the book.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whenever Parker is spellbound, or she sees something that is inspiring to her, you see these sparkles, and these little confetti pieces,” Jackson says. Attentive readers will notice that the pieces of confetti match the colors from Michelle Obama’s dress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These illustrations “make the story,” Curry Morton says. She remembers watching 2-year-old Parker looking up at Sherald’s portrait of Obama and says Jackson’s images bring “the magic of that moment back to life again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jackson is familiar with that stop-in-your-tracks, spellbound feeling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know what it feels like to be young and to see something that inspires you,” she says. “That’s part of the reason why I got into doing illustrations is because I was awestruck by other artists’ work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I look at that picture today I smile and get teary eyed,” Curry Morton says. “Because it’s a moment that will hopefully inspire children and people for many, many generations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Barrie Hardymon edited this interview for broadcast. Beth Novey adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2019 \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=In+%27Parker+Looks+Up%2C%27+A+2-Year-Old+Shares+A+Moment+With+Michelle+Obama&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the spring of 2018, 2-year-old Parker Curry visited the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., with her mom, her sister and her best friend. They saw a lot of artwork that day—but it was \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/02/13/585299081/obama-portraits-unveiled-at-national-portrait-gallery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amy Sherald’s portrait of first lady Michelle Obama\u003c/a> that made Parker stop in her tracks and look up in awe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The portrait of the first lady Michelle Obama loomed before me,” Parker recalls. Now 4, Parker says the painting made her feel inspired. Also, she adds, Michelle Obama is now \u003cem>her friend.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because Parker became \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-moment-of-awe-photo-of-little-girl-staring-at-michelle-obama-portrait-goes-viral/2018/03/04/4e5a4548-1ff2-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a viral sensation\u003c/a> when a fellow museum-goer took a picture of her standing there, spellbound. Less than a week later, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf_WsiYAiZu/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Parker got to meet\u003c/a>—and dance—with Obama.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience has inspired a picture book—\u003cem>Parker Looks Up\u003c/em>—written by Parker and her mom, Jessica Curry Morton, and illustrated by Brittany Jackson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s fun working with my mommy!” Parker says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s fun working with you, too,” Curry Morton replies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Parker Looks Up\u003c/em>, Jackson depicted a number of the Portrait Gallery’s famous paintings. She says it was a challenge to translate these artworks into a book for kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Naturally I want to do everything justice and show respect to Amy Sherald …” Jackson says. “I just drew it in my style which is just a little bit cartoonized or more playful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jackson depicts Parker’s journey through the museum in vivid colors. And there was one other technique she used to add “a little extra character” to the book.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whenever Parker is spellbound, or she sees something that is inspiring to her, you see these sparkles, and these little confetti pieces,” Jackson says. Attentive readers will notice that the pieces of confetti match the colors from Michelle Obama’s dress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These illustrations “make the story,” Curry Morton says. She remembers watching 2-year-old Parker looking up at Sherald’s portrait of Obama and says Jackson’s images bring “the magic of that moment back to life again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jackson is familiar with that stop-in-your-tracks, spellbound feeling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know what it feels like to be young and to see something that inspires you,” she says. “That’s part of the reason why I got into doing illustrations is because I was awestruck by other artists’ work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I look at that picture today I smile and get teary eyed,” Curry Morton says. “Because it’s a moment that will hopefully inspire children and people for many, many generations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Barrie Hardymon edited this interview for broadcast. Beth Novey adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2019 \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=In+%27Parker+Looks+Up%2C%27+A+2-Year-Old+Shares+A+Moment+With+Michelle+Obama&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "This Year's Golden Globe Nominations are Even More Ridiculous Than Usual",
"headTitle": "This Year’s Golden Globe Nominations are Even More Ridiculous Than Usual | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The rapid ascent of Netflix as a creator of film and television continued Monday morning as the streaming service placed four films in the Golden Globes’ 10 best motion picture contenders in comedy and drama. But the Hollywood Foreign Press Association rewarded established directors like Quentin Tarantino, too, while continuing its legendarily wacky devotion to some of its favorite celebrities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As wise observers will remind you every year, the Golden Globes are, in a word, weird. Handed out by only about 90 members of the HFPA, they only \u003cem>kind of \u003c/em>track with other awards, and they’re much less useful as Oscar predictors than things like the Screen Actors Guild or Producers Guild of America—awards handed out by subgroups of Oscar voters. The Globes also have a reputation for rewarding the very most A-list people possible, a habit that coincidentally (?) helps populate the ceremony with stars. Still, the Globes can nudge some projects toward a higher profile, and for good or for ill, it’s one of the flashier (and drunker) ceremonies of the season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003cem>even for the Globes\u003c/em>, this was a set of nominations that can be most generously described as “whimsical.” The HFPA’s tendency to lend television nominations to what you might call the superfamous—people so established that \u003cem>even now\u003c/em>, they are asked why they might dabble in television—may be at its height. (There are more categories than we can possibly get to; you’ll see what we mean when you \u003ca href=\"https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/nominations-77th-golden-globes-have-been-announced\">review the entire list\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for Netflix, only three years ago it was pushing its first real scripted awards contender, \u003cem>Beasts Of No Nation\u003c/em>, starring Idris Elba. Now, with \u003cem>Dolemite Is My Name\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Two Popes\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Marriage Story \u003c/em>and \u003cem>The Irishman\u003c/em>, it’s presenting four of the leading candidates of the season in multiple categories. Netflix had more than twice as many nominations \u003cem>in the motion picture categories \u003c/em>as Sony Pictures, the second-place distributor. All four films had theatrical openings, but only for a few weeks and only in certain places. All four seem sure to find their primary audiences—even prior to the Globes and the Oscars—on Netflix, in subscriber homes. All four seem like Oscar contenders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHi-a1n8t7M\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Marriage Story\u003c/em>, written and directed by Noah Baumbach, stars Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as divorcing parents of a young son. \u003cem>The Irishman \u003c/em>is Martin Scorsese’s three-and-a-half-hour mob drama in which Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci lead a sprawling cast through a story that spans years. \u003cem>The Two Popes \u003c/em>is a fictionalized account of a meeting between Pope Benedict and future Pope Francis. And \u003cem>Dolemite Is My Name \u003c/em>stars Eddie Murphy in the true story of Rudy Ray Moore, whose Dolemite character became a sensation in the 1970s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nominated in the outstanding drama category alongside \u003cem>Marriage Story\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Two Popes \u003c/em>and \u003cem>The Irishman \u003c/em>is \u003cem>Joker\u003c/em>, the Scorsese-inspired but Todd Phillips-directed film about a sad clown. And that category is rounded out by \u003cem>1917\u003c/em>, Sam Mendes’ war drama shot to resemble a single unbroken take. One perhaps surprising absence in that category and some others is \u003cem>Uncut Gems\u003c/em>, starring Adam Sandler as a desperate jeweler trying to get through a particularly bad day. Directed by the Safdie brothers, it’s been racking up wins and nominations from groups including the National Board of Review, the Independent Spirit Awards and the Gotham Awards. It didn’t show up on the Globes’ radar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLZk03rXpVc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the comedy/musical side, \u003cem>Dolemite \u003c/em>is joined by Tarantino’s \u003cem>Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood,\u003c/em> a truth-adjacent tale of an actor and a stuntman (Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt) who cross paths with history in Los Angeles in 1969. Representing musicals is \u003cem>Rocketman\u003c/em>, the Elton John biopic; representing “it’s a comedy, but about Hitler” is Taika Waititi’s \u003cem>Jojo Rabbit;\u003c/em> and representing comedies not based on actual history is Rian Johnson’s \u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nominated TV dramas included \u003cem>Big Little Lies\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Crown\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Killing Eve\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Morning Show\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Succession\u003c/em>. The miss on HBO’s \u003cem>Watchmen \u003c/em>is glaring, and in the dramatic acting category, the miss of Regina King as that show’s lead is equally regrettable, particularly since Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon were both nominated for \u003cem>The Morning Show\u003c/em>, which asks far less of both of them than \u003cem>Watchmen \u003c/em>does of King. Despite its middling reviews, \u003cem>The Morning Show \u003c/em>is perhaps the biggest Golden Globes bait ever assembled, with the superfamous Aniston, Witherspoon and Steve Carell all involved, and it’s amusing but not surprising that the show’s best performance—Billy Crudup as a slippery but transfixing television executive—was skipped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA7D4_qU9jo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nominated TV comedies are \u003cem>Barry\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Fleabag\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Kominsky Method\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel \u003c/em>and \u003cem>The Politician\u003c/em>—with the surprise being \u003cem>The Politician\u003c/em>, a Ryan Murphy Netflix project that, it should be noted, has a superfamous cast member in Gwyneth Paltrow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But perhaps no superfamous person seems more directly responsible for a nomination than George Clooney. Clooney’s supporting performance in, and position as an executive producer and director for, Hulu’s mostly overlooked miniseries adaptation of \u003cem>Catch-22 \u003c/em>seems like the only possible reason the show was nominated in the limited series category. That smarts in particular because the category—and the nominations in their entirety—snubbed Ava DuVernay’s \u003cem>When They See Us\u003c/em>, a project packed with deservedly lauded performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi-1NchUqMA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The best use to which the Globes’ sense of whimsy has been put in the past has been the periodic boosting of new talent, and it’s not that it didn’t happen at all this year. It was lovely to see comedy/musical acting nominations for Ana de Armas in \u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em>, Awkwafina in \u003cem>The Farewell \u003c/em>and Beanie Feldstein in \u003cem>Booksmart \u003c/em>(along with Cate Blanchett in \u003cem>Where’d You Go, Bernadette\u003c/em> [really!] and Emma Thompson in \u003cem>Late Night\u003c/em>). All three are exciting and interesting actors with massive upside, and de Armas would have been easy to overlook in \u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em>‘s huge cast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And what a treat—albeit not really a surprise—to see Jennifer Lopez justly nominated for her supporting performance in \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em>. It seemed at one time like Lopez might not ever have a role as good as the one she had in \u003cem>Out of Sight\u003c/em>. But here she was again, demonstrating that in the right role, she is like no one else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOpl44ewgYk\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there are no female directors nominated this year, and no female screenwriters either. Little of this Netflix juice—so often lauded as a chance for people who can’t find homes elsewhere to shine—inured to the benefit of women. Who are the big names in streaming, quoth the Globes? A lot of them are the same names who have been kicking around in Hollywood for a long time—Scorsese, Baumbach, Clooney. Powerhouse women in streaming, for the moment, are onscreen: Aniston, Witherspoon, Johansson. Not that theatrical releases were better: There was no nomination for Greta Gerwig for her directing or writing of the fabulous \u003cem>Little Women \u003c/em>adaptation that’s soon to arrive, although Saoirse Ronan was nominated for playing Jo March and Alexandre Desplat for his score.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artists of color are mostly left out as well. While Bong Joon-Ho’s \u003cem>Parasite \u003c/em>was recognized in the foreign film, directing and screenplay categories, all five motion picture dramas are stories of white protagonists, told largely by white storytellers. Across movies and television, across 70 acting nominations, there are three black nominees: Billy Porter for the TV series \u003cem>Pose\u003c/em>, Cynthia Erivo for playing Harriet Tubman in \u003cem>Harriet\u003c/em>, and Eddie Murphy for \u003cem>Dolemite\u003c/em>. That makes omissions like the work of artists like DuVernay and King all the more jarring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s good not to get all wound up about the Golden Globe nominations, because they’re always somewhat ridiculous. But this year, they do seem a little extra ridiculous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Golden+Globe+Nominations%3A+Netflix+Cleans+Up+As+Famous+Faces+Rule&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The Golden Globe nominations are always odd, but this year they may be even odder than usual, particularly on the TV side. But it must be said: The Globes love a star, and now they love Netflix.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The rapid ascent of Netflix as a creator of film and television continued Monday morning as the streaming service placed four films in the Golden Globes’ 10 best motion picture contenders in comedy and drama. But the Hollywood Foreign Press Association rewarded established directors like Quentin Tarantino, too, while continuing its legendarily wacky devotion to some of its favorite celebrities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As wise observers will remind you every year, the Golden Globes are, in a word, weird. Handed out by only about 90 members of the HFPA, they only \u003cem>kind of \u003c/em>track with other awards, and they’re much less useful as Oscar predictors than things like the Screen Actors Guild or Producers Guild of America—awards handed out by subgroups of Oscar voters. The Globes also have a reputation for rewarding the very most A-list people possible, a habit that coincidentally (?) helps populate the ceremony with stars. Still, the Globes can nudge some projects toward a higher profile, and for good or for ill, it’s one of the flashier (and drunker) ceremonies of the season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003cem>even for the Globes\u003c/em>, this was a set of nominations that can be most generously described as “whimsical.” The HFPA’s tendency to lend television nominations to what you might call the superfamous—people so established that \u003cem>even now\u003c/em>, they are asked why they might dabble in television—may be at its height. (There are more categories than we can possibly get to; you’ll see what we mean when you \u003ca href=\"https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/nominations-77th-golden-globes-have-been-announced\">review the entire list\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for Netflix, only three years ago it was pushing its first real scripted awards contender, \u003cem>Beasts Of No Nation\u003c/em>, starring Idris Elba. Now, with \u003cem>Dolemite Is My Name\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Two Popes\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Marriage Story \u003c/em>and \u003cem>The Irishman\u003c/em>, it’s presenting four of the leading candidates of the season in multiple categories. Netflix had more than twice as many nominations \u003cem>in the motion picture categories \u003c/em>as Sony Pictures, the second-place distributor. All four films had theatrical openings, but only for a few weeks and only in certain places. All four seem sure to find their primary audiences—even prior to the Globes and the Oscars—on Netflix, in subscriber homes. All four seem like Oscar contenders.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/BHi-a1n8t7M'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/BHi-a1n8t7M'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Marriage Story\u003c/em>, written and directed by Noah Baumbach, stars Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as divorcing parents of a young son. \u003cem>The Irishman \u003c/em>is Martin Scorsese’s three-and-a-half-hour mob drama in which Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci lead a sprawling cast through a story that spans years. \u003cem>The Two Popes \u003c/em>is a fictionalized account of a meeting between Pope Benedict and future Pope Francis. And \u003cem>Dolemite Is My Name \u003c/em>stars Eddie Murphy in the true story of Rudy Ray Moore, whose Dolemite character became a sensation in the 1970s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nominated in the outstanding drama category alongside \u003cem>Marriage Story\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Two Popes \u003c/em>and \u003cem>The Irishman \u003c/em>is \u003cem>Joker\u003c/em>, the Scorsese-inspired but Todd Phillips-directed film about a sad clown. And that category is rounded out by \u003cem>1917\u003c/em>, Sam Mendes’ war drama shot to resemble a single unbroken take. One perhaps surprising absence in that category and some others is \u003cem>Uncut Gems\u003c/em>, starring Adam Sandler as a desperate jeweler trying to get through a particularly bad day. Directed by the Safdie brothers, it’s been racking up wins and nominations from groups including the National Board of Review, the Independent Spirit Awards and the Gotham Awards. It didn’t show up on the Globes’ radar.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/gLZk03rXpVc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/gLZk03rXpVc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>On the comedy/musical side, \u003cem>Dolemite \u003c/em>is joined by Tarantino’s \u003cem>Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood,\u003c/em> a truth-adjacent tale of an actor and a stuntman (Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt) who cross paths with history in Los Angeles in 1969. Representing musicals is \u003cem>Rocketman\u003c/em>, the Elton John biopic; representing “it’s a comedy, but about Hitler” is Taika Waititi’s \u003cem>Jojo Rabbit;\u003c/em> and representing comedies not based on actual history is Rian Johnson’s \u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nominated TV dramas included \u003cem>Big Little Lies\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Crown\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Killing Eve\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Morning Show\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Succession\u003c/em>. The miss on HBO’s \u003cem>Watchmen \u003c/em>is glaring, and in the dramatic acting category, the miss of Regina King as that show’s lead is equally regrettable, particularly since Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon were both nominated for \u003cem>The Morning Show\u003c/em>, which asks far less of both of them than \u003cem>Watchmen \u003c/em>does of King. Despite its middling reviews, \u003cem>The Morning Show \u003c/em>is perhaps the biggest Golden Globes bait ever assembled, with the superfamous Aniston, Witherspoon and Steve Carell all involved, and it’s amusing but not surprising that the show’s best performance—Billy Crudup as a slippery but transfixing television executive—was skipped.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/eA7D4_qU9jo'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/eA7D4_qU9jo'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The nominated TV comedies are \u003cem>Barry\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Fleabag\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Kominsky Method\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel \u003c/em>and \u003cem>The Politician\u003c/em>—with the surprise being \u003cem>The Politician\u003c/em>, a Ryan Murphy Netflix project that, it should be noted, has a superfamous cast member in Gwyneth Paltrow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But perhaps no superfamous person seems more directly responsible for a nomination than George Clooney. Clooney’s supporting performance in, and position as an executive producer and director for, Hulu’s mostly overlooked miniseries adaptation of \u003cem>Catch-22 \u003c/em>seems like the only possible reason the show was nominated in the limited series category. That smarts in particular because the category—and the nominations in their entirety—snubbed Ava DuVernay’s \u003cem>When They See Us\u003c/em>, a project packed with deservedly lauded performances.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/xi-1NchUqMA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/xi-1NchUqMA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The best use to which the Globes’ sense of whimsy has been put in the past has been the periodic boosting of new talent, and it’s not that it didn’t happen at all this year. It was lovely to see comedy/musical acting nominations for Ana de Armas in \u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em>, Awkwafina in \u003cem>The Farewell \u003c/em>and Beanie Feldstein in \u003cem>Booksmart \u003c/em>(along with Cate Blanchett in \u003cem>Where’d You Go, Bernadette\u003c/em> [really!] and Emma Thompson in \u003cem>Late Night\u003c/em>). All three are exciting and interesting actors with massive upside, and de Armas would have been easy to overlook in \u003cem>Knives Out\u003c/em>‘s huge cast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And what a treat—albeit not really a surprise—to see Jennifer Lopez justly nominated for her supporting performance in \u003cem>Hustlers\u003c/em>. It seemed at one time like Lopez might not ever have a role as good as the one she had in \u003cem>Out of Sight\u003c/em>. But here she was again, demonstrating that in the right role, she is like no one else.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/iOpl44ewgYk'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/iOpl44ewgYk'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>But there are no female directors nominated this year, and no female screenwriters either. Little of this Netflix juice—so often lauded as a chance for people who can’t find homes elsewhere to shine—inured to the benefit of women. Who are the big names in streaming, quoth the Globes? A lot of them are the same names who have been kicking around in Hollywood for a long time—Scorsese, Baumbach, Clooney. Powerhouse women in streaming, for the moment, are onscreen: Aniston, Witherspoon, Johansson. Not that theatrical releases were better: There was no nomination for Greta Gerwig for her directing or writing of the fabulous \u003cem>Little Women \u003c/em>adaptation that’s soon to arrive, although Saoirse Ronan was nominated for playing Jo March and Alexandre Desplat for his score.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artists of color are mostly left out as well. While Bong Joon-Ho’s \u003cem>Parasite \u003c/em>was recognized in the foreign film, directing and screenplay categories, all five motion picture dramas are stories of white protagonists, told largely by white storytellers. Across movies and television, across 70 acting nominations, there are three black nominees: Billy Porter for the TV series \u003cem>Pose\u003c/em>, Cynthia Erivo for playing Harriet Tubman in \u003cem>Harriet\u003c/em>, and Eddie Murphy for \u003cem>Dolemite\u003c/em>. That makes omissions like the work of artists like DuVernay and King all the more jarring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s good not to get all wound up about the Golden Globe nominations, because they’re always somewhat ridiculous. But this year, they do seem a little extra ridiculous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Golden+Globe+Nominations%3A+Netflix+Cleans+Up+As+Famous+Faces+Rule&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Greta Thunberg did not sail across the Atlantic Ocean\u003ca href=\"https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/08/1045161\"> for two weeks\u003c/a> to become a lead singer. But, just days after the 16-year-old proselytizer\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/09/23/763452863/transcript-greta-thunbergs-speech-at-the-u-n-climate-action-summit\"> censured\u003c/a> a room of world leaders many times her age for their shared “fairy tales of eternal economic growth,” the internet made her one, anyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most impassioned moments of Thunberg’s September sermon at the United Nations quickly sprouted musical memes. In New York, a drummer \u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/greta-thunberg-swedish-death-metal-892000/\">growled\u003c/a> her words above relentless Swedish death metal, a nod to her homeland that doubled as a fundraising blunderbuss for Greenpeace. Two producers turned the speech into bombastic electronica, with roaring choirs and stomping boots\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GOoajKDIME\"> set to scenes\u003c/a> of forests burning and children marching. And another\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABIbH-LtpFs\"> mashed\u003c/a> the day’s \u003cem>cri de cœur\u003c/em>—”Right here, right now is where we draw the line.”—with the Fatboy Slim hit “Right Here, Right Now.” Just days later, Slim himself slipped it into a live set, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWvFcR7UtAI\">sending \u003c/a>his audience into a tizzy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpWftLOWXLY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmentalism in music is nothing new, of course. A full quarter-century before James Hansen \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/24/us/global-warming-has-begun-expert-tells-senate.html\">told Congress\u003c/a> that humans were changing their climate, Peter La Farge, an indigenous songwriter from the Southwest, repeatedly warned of environmental devastation on 1963’s\u003ca href=\"https://folkways.si.edu/peter-la-farge/as-long-as-the-grass-shall-grow-sings-of-the-indians/american-folk-american-indian/music/album/smithsonian\"> \u003cem>As Long as the Grass Shall\u003c/em> \u003cem>Grow\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a remarkable album of Native American laments about the various plagues of pioneers. From Joni Mitchell \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bdMSCdw20\">singing\u003c/a> of the birds, bees and DDT to Neil Young\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33N8M6tQ4e0\"> rhapsodizing\u003c/a> of “Mother Earth / and her healing ways” in 1990 (or\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaaJCJvFP9M\"> grousing\u003c/a> about “old white guys trying to kill mother nature” in 2019), the stars of the ’60s and ’70s have often stepped into a\u003ca href=\"https://www.nrdc.org/stories/story-silent-spring\"> post-\u003cem>Silent Spring\u003c/em>\u003c/a> fray.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s never stopped, really: Depeche Mode\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwS5WexDVHI\"> sang\u003c/a> of forests dying and streams putrefying in 1983, presciently alluding to climate-science deniers. One of Dave Matthews’ earliest songs, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdLj0c9iaEA\">One Sweet World\u003c/a>,” inspired a Ben & Jerry’s flavor that has raised tens of thousands of dollars for an\u003ca href=\"http://saveourenvironment.org/\"> environmental coalition\u003c/a>. There are\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3skR9wQL8s\"> entire milieus\u003c/a> of metal and punk devoted to socioecological unsustainability, realms where\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uiADLX1ZXc\"> nuclear weapons\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QjXtrQKf88\"> animal agriculture\u003c/a> share culpability. On her second album, Miley Cyrus wrote a\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNEZp8BWGEU\"> rock song\u003c/a> about “going green,” while Anohni sardonically\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi0q0O4V5Qs\"> longed\u003c/a> for it all to burn—”dogs crying for water… fish go belly-up in the sea”—above demonic horns and militant drums on “4 Degrees.” Mos Def has\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N5Bk8FMw9Y\"> rapped\u003c/a> about the money-hungry ruining the water supply. And even Smash Mouth tried to alarm us about the corroding ozone layer and melting ice shelf during “All Star,” that song from\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo2SNtFofWI\"> \u003cem>Shrek\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thunberg’s unlikely ascendance as a source of inspiring samples highlights something that’s missing: a song that helps us sort through our globally mounting anxiety about climate change and our role in our own potential doom, an actual anthem that propels people towards action. Despite its news-cycle ubiquity and increasing threat of globe-altering impacts, songs touching on climate change have rarely crossed the threshold of the mainstream, existing instead as a distant flicker on the radar of our collective awareness. “Big Yellow Taxi,” perhaps as close as we’ve gotten to a unifying environmental ode, turns 50 next year; it’s been so ubiquitous for so long it feels as pat as an advertising jingle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bdMSCdw20\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the last few years, however, global warming and the intense feelings it fosters have begun to creep subtly into lyrics where you may overlook them, a quiet corollary to a movement \u003ca href=\"https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-experimental-musicians-are-soundtracking-the-end-of-the-world/\">spider-webbing\u003c/a> through electronic music. Songwriters are increasingly treating climate unease like the very air we breathe or the technology we use—a part of life with which we must reckon and reconcile, like love or lust or loss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These new tunes aren’t protest songs as we think of them, and they don’t shoehorn motivational slogans into their choruses; they are reflections of a reality lived under the specter of global collapse, the evidence of our personal adjustments to an anxiously indeterminate present and future. And their writers, unlike Thunberg, aren’t looking to proselytize to world leaders or to synthesize scientific research into an empowering single—they’re not the experts, after all. They’re just people offering others a way to sort through what’s happening, even to mourn what’s already been lost. It’s the difference between a command and a confession, a lecture and a conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“We’re afraid of darkness. We’re afraid of endings. We’re afraid of death,”\u003c/strong> says Tamara Lindeman, a Canadian singer whose work as The Weather Station has started \u003ca href=\"https://theweatherstation.bandcamp.com/track/the-most-dangerous-thing-about-you\">to integrate\u003c/a> snippets of impending disaster into her songs. Her next album, due in 2020, commits to the subject. “To look at something so profoundly devastating is so scary, but it’s powerful if you can allow yourself to feel those feelings. You can stop hiding from it. Having that experience through art is healthy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcPDgWMkEiM\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of these newer songs confront global warming like a mammoth sparring partner, squaring up to the subject wielding rhetoric like fists. Andrew Bird’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv68Kivrl5g\">Manifest\u003c/a>” sounds as breezy as a Sunday stroll through the Laurel Canyon, with licks of whistling and gliding strings. But in the first verse, he renounces the United States’ westward sprawl, condemning a country of unfaithful stewards. He gazes at the ocean with anxiety and ponders the way we burn ancient organisms—the fossils in our fossil fuels—just to drive to the grocery store. During 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_UKDPR7k_E\">Generation Why\u003c/a>,” Weyes Blood offers her fearful vision like she’s reading the evening news: “It’s not the past that scares me / Now what a great future this is gonna be.” She spells out “YOLO” during the hook, her mind caught in the evermore-tight vice between modern indulgence and future existence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others, though, are almost subliminal in their climate change invocations. Justin Vernon hides his worry in plain sight during Bon Iver’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIzFg4eEvbQ\">Holyfields\u003c/a>.” With his clutched falsetto, he renders “The dawn is rising / the land ain’t rising” almost as an aside, as if the circumstances of\u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/high-tides-flood-venice-for-third-time-in-one-week/2019/11/18/ad73a1f8-0701-11ea-ac12-3325d49eacaa_story.html\"> modern Venice\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/29/climate/coastal-cities-underwater.html\"> future\u003c/a> Mumbai, Bangkok and Miami are so obvious they’re best left coded. Lana Del Rey slips her own stark observations into the final verse of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrSX_OcpeJg\">The Greatest\u003c/a>,” calmly inserting a note about wildfires and eternal heat waves between lines about Kanye West’s blond hair and Hawaii’s bomb scare. On a song where “the culture is lit,” it’s a lyrical detail that’s easy to miss—just as it’s possible to overlook that, on the album’s \u003ca href=\"https://images.app.goo.gl/NyMxNWrxnBe1idkz5\">cover\u003c/a>, California is burning.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Blake Mills knows that coastline in flames well.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born in Santa Monica and raised in Malibu, the songwriter and star producer, once\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/arts/music/blake-mills-releases-his-second-album-heigh-ho.html\"> called\u003c/a> “the last guitarist I heard that I thought was phenomenal” by Eric Clapton, is conditioned to months of perpetually balmy days, interrupted with occasional downpours as fall slides into winter. But a few years ago that rain was slow to come, and the landscape around Los Angeles felt like a tinderbox. When, at last, storms arrived, a friend joked to Mills that maybe it would be the last rain ever for Los Angeles. The storm’s petrichor, Mills remembers, smelled of nostalgia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills sat down at his piano and began to ponder what that might mean. The result—a sobering, tender ballad called “Summer All Over”—teeters at the threshold of hope and despair. With his sigh caked on the keys like mud at the bottom of some drought-devastated lake, Mills tempers his quiet horror by “looking for laughter, looking for kindness,” for any human quality that aims to right our colossal wrongs. Mills captures that seesaw of feelings musically with a pervasive flicker of melodic dissonance. Electronics drift in the background, like smog hovering above a troubled valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Writing about the season of summer inherently evokes a Beach Boys vibe, maybe because I’m in Los Angeles,” says Mills, who penned the song with Cass McCombs and hopes to release it on his third album. “But the implication of the warmest season happening all over the world at the same time is an ‘endless summer.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He notes the sad irony of a term that, less than 50 years ago, belonged to\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/05J8PFXdYKeYNb8YjqqJYr\"> a relatively carefree\u003c/a> Beach Boys collection. But “Summer All Over,” an enticing title that suggests burnished bodies on a California shoreline, is tragically beautiful, a warm hug from an old ghost. Rock and roll can’t be all good times on the bleeding edge of environmental ruin.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>While touring for the last several years,\u003c/strong> Kentucky songwriter Joan Shelley came to similar epiphanies along the California coast. Not long ago, she was driving north from Los Angeles to Seattle between shows, marveling at the scenery along California’s fabled Highway 1. She remembers the cliffs and the sunlight glittering on the Pacific, a fantasy come to life. That image is captured by “\u003ca href=\"https://joanshelley.bandcamp.com/track/stay-all-night\">Stay All Night\u003c/a>,” a seaside reflection from her quietly uneasy 2019 album,\u003ca href=\"https://joanshelley.bandcamp.com/album/like-the-river-loves-the-sea\"> \u003cem>Like the River Loves the Sea\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. She marvels at the vista but, in the final verse of her reverie, wonders how temporary it may be, hoping that “the waves don’t rise this high.” Actually, it was the opposite: On a recent return visit, that road was closed, nearby cliffs washed into the water by landslides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=3u4Pe2YHH-Y&feature=emb_logo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the album’s arresting centerpiece, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u4Pe2YHH-Y\">The Fading\u003c/a>,” Shelley retreats to Kentucky, the place Mark Twain (\u003ca href=\"https://oregonscribbler.com/mark-twain-i-want-to-be-in-kentucky-when-the-end-of-the-world-comes-because-they-are-always-20-years-behind/\">allegedly\u003c/a>) joked he’d like to be when the world ended, because it’s always years behind everywhere else. Shelley keys on that idea as she reclines to witness the natural world overrun the order we’ve imposed upon it. “I cheered the flood / when the water hit the wall and won,” she lilts, her cotton-soft voice temporarily stiffening. It’s a love song at, and for, the end of time, an exercise in appreciating what you’ve had the chance to cherish, whether it’s a drink of gin or a gentle lover or a lovely day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes, Shelley admits, she turns off the news, because the devastation is too much to hear. As a songwriter, then, it was paramount to create a new way of approaching that helplessness, of facing those truths. These songs don’t protest reality—they simply acknowledge it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With the small rooms I play for, I’m hoping to give people tools for feeling where we may want to be numb. There’s a grief that is hard to admit to,” she says. “But through art, people can express those low-humming anxieties in a way that isn’t so hard to face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sweetly wizened voice trailing Shelley’s during “The Fading” belongs to fellow Kentucky native Will Oldham. She, in turn, adds harmonies across \u003cem>I Made a Place\u003c/em>, Oldham’s first record as Bonnie “Prince” Billy in eight years. Moments of intense worry and woe linger in the record’s quiet corners, absorbing the light of these seemingly incandescent songs. During the album’s jaunty first verse, a home burns, part of a personal conflagration that Oldham suggests is spreading. And during the hypnotic “Nothing Is Busted,” a wounded woman and an oblivious man capture the dynamic between our ecosystem and our social order, a relationship hamstrung by the need for new things to sell, buy and discard. “This particular assemblage of molecules and memories someday soon may just run out of gas,” Oldham sings in one song’s closing verse without pausing to take so much as a breath, as if racing against the apocalypse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For most of \u003cem>I Made a Place\u003c/em>, Oldham dances around or with these end times. But during “This Is Far From Over,” an acoustic stunner near the album’s center, he faces them with softness and resolve. Presumably written for his newborn daughter, the song conjures a world where rising tides force her to take to the sea as an adult, a continental refugee who will do her best to persevere. It is a tragic lullaby, a preemptive apology for the mess she will inherit. Despite the title, Oldham is neither blithe nor disingenuous, using the last verse to confront the possibility that new kinds of life will thrive in humanity’s absence. “The whole world’s far from over,” he sings in the final line at the edge of his falsetto, just where his voice might crack into tears.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“Our kids are being handed a rotten deal, everyone’s children,”\u003c/strong> says The National’s Matt Berninger, father to a 10-year-old daughter, Isla. “The Industrial Revolution gave the Earth a gaping wound not that long ago in the grand scheme, and it’s bleeding out fast. But a tipping point is happening, I think, in understanding how rigged that system is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National have rarely been an overtly political band—Berninger has instead spent two decades mapping the darkest and most dangerous corners of his psyche. He’s worried out loud about\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPp-3QSXf1g\"> handing down\u003c/a> his worst habits to Isla, about\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsZmE95t2Yw\"> taking love too hard\u003c/a> for his own health, and about\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxL_xRM0Wug\"> losing himself\u003c/a> in the\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCfWAVRR794\"> strange alchemy\u003c/a> of lust and blood and booze. But now the peril of climate change has entered that matrix of considerations, part of “the soup of everyone’s minds and hearts all the time,” as he puts it, alongside sex and drugs and comedy and general dread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2018, Berninger was at a wedding just north of Los Angeles when a song sketch from The National’s Aaron Dessner arrived. Berninger woke up one morning before sunset and, while wandering the streets, unspooled 17 verses to the loop, a sort of living chronicle of his consciousness. There were headline anxieties about the alt-right and immigration, opinions about R.E.M. and The Bible, an interest in the seemingly infinite minimalism of artist\u003ca href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/hanne-darboven/evolution-leibniz-a-bSB3naI0qNnejm9Es8cqXw2\"> Hanne Darboven\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po61rjjdUPs\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When he sent the epic to Dessner and filmmaker and producer Mike Mills, they trimmed his diarist sprawl and added an unexpected twist: the dire verses of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvFrSG37idM\">Noble Experiment\u003c/a>,” a waltz for the end of humanity, released by indie-rock eccentrics Thinking Fellers Union 282 in 1994. During the finished version, “\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/track/50DAgICmMnWaUVXQiLGlLx\">Not in Kansas\u003c/a>” from this year’s \u003cem>I Am Easy to Find\u003c/em>, a small choir intones those doomed words—”Be a fish or a weed or a sparrow / For the Earth has grown tired and all of your time has expired”—between Berninger’s own verses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National effectively nest the end of the world inside a laundry list of mundane thoughts; it’s like finding your own death certificate in the day’s otherwise ordinary mail. The world teems with distractions, “Not in Kansas” implies, to keep us from the crisis at the door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know how any artist isn’t talking about all of this stuff—sexism, racism, global warming, corporate corruption. I can’t spend time on a song now unless it’s somehow \u003cem>aware\u003c/em> of that stuff,” Berninger says. “Art has the responsibility to try to enlighten, instead of \u003cem>just\u003c/em> entertain. Pop music is still afraid to get into it, but not everyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the closest that recent pop has come to the subject is “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W9VYY5QpLg\">PARAD(w/m)E\u003c/a>,” a slyly sparkling 2018 single from the North Carolina duo Sylvan Esso. The tune is ebullient, with a chorus that sounds like a mechanized schoolyard chant and verses that shimmer like sunshine on the distant desert horizon. It’s possible to hear and even sing along without ever reflecting on its apocalyptic scenes—the gasless gas stations, the flora-less forests, the reprieve-less heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W9VYY5QpLg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Singer Amelia Meath laughs ruefully about fans who show up to shows wearing homemade shirts reading “How’s that for manifesting our destiny,” having misinterpreted the song’s linchpin indictment as a self-help mantra fit for yogis. About halfway in, Nick Sanborn’s keyboards wobble from their glistening perch, slinking briefly into a morass beneath taunting handclaps. In the refrain, Meath’s proclamation of liberation—”We finally got free”—comes only after she reveals the cause: We’ve already ruined everything.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While “PARAD(w/m)E” never landed on \u003cem>Billboard\u003c/em>‘s charts, it suggests a clear framework for some future global-warming protest anthem, much like Billie Eilish’s subtly hypnotic “all the good girls go to hell”: lyrics so sharp listeners might not feel the knife, surrounded by music that celebrates whatever it is we’ve salvaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No one likes the guy at the party who is just talking about horrible stuff all the time. But that’s me,” says Meath, smiling. She’s worked to weave such concerns into Sylvan Esso’s third LP, likely arriving in 2020, without being didactic. “That song is cloaked, very specifically, to be easy to swallow. That is the dream: Make the funnest music about the heaviest shit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>In Iceland, mourners \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/19/okjokull-glacier-funeral-iceland-activists-establish-plaque/2049194001/\">\u003cstrong>hold\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong> funerals for dead glaciers.\u003c/strong> In Washington state, a pioneering three-credit \u003ca href=\"https://www.uwb.edu/news/february-2018/environmental-grief\">course\u003c/a> called “Environmental Grief & Climate Anxiety: Coping in the Age of Consequences” teaches students how to sort through their despair and identify its sources. (The class subsequently became a\u003ca href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/us/global-warming-bringing-you-down-washington-state-offers-course-on-eco-anxiety-climate-grief.amp\"> Fox News punchline\u003c/a>.) And in magazines from\u003ca href=\"https://www.vogue.com/article/eco-anxiety-grief-mental-health-climate-change\"> \u003cem>Vogue\u003c/em>\u003c/a> to\u003ca href=\"https://www.vice.com/amp/en_uk/article/gy48d4/environmental-grief-climate-change-anxiety\"> \u003cem>Vice\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, recent articles about “eco-grief” signal the drift of these fears into the mainstream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Songs about climate change are an inevitable, essential, and overdue component of that movement, a necessary response and tool for people “to process the truth and the existential dread,” as Berninger puts it. And while these songs have slowly started to accumulate during the last several years, it seems that we’re just at the edge of a new tide of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next year, alongside new records from Sylvan Esso and The Weather Station, Grimes—a fringe pop star who has delighted in dancing at the edge of accessibility for a decade—will release\u003ca href=\"https://pitchfork.com/news/grimes-announces-new-album-miss-anthropocene/\"> \u003cem>Miss Anthropocene\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “Each song will be a different embodiment of human extinction,” she has written. So far, its singles have mined the power dynamics of abusive relationships and the burden of despondency, topics that get to the nuance of the overarching issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a presidential election year, when the United States is officially able \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/climate/trump-paris-agreement-climate.html\">to exit\u003c/a> the Paris Climate Agreement, Grimes likely won’t be alone, either in commiserating peers or coping listeners. The British singer-songwriter Bill Fay, now in his late 70s, touches on the topic for \u003ca href=\"https://pitchfork.com/news/bill-fay-announces-new-album-countless-branches-shares-new-song-listen/\">\u003cem>Countless Branches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, due in January, while buzzy LA producer \u003ca href=\"http://shallou.com\">Shallou\u003c/a> cloaks concerns about environmental collapse in breakup imagery on an album due next summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of these songwriters work under the illusion that these tunes, however poppy or plainspoken, will literally \u003cem>fix\u003c/em> anything, from reversing President Donald Trump’s confusing climate-change \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/5622374/donald-trump-climate-change-hoax-event/\">denial\u003c/a> to adjusting people’s disposable plastic habits. As working musicians, they have practical issues of their own to navigate, anyway, as the mechanisms of distribution for their work—be it a server churning through electricity or\u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en_uk/article/9kz3y5/this-is-how-bad-your-vinyl-obsession-is-for-the-world\"> an LP made with petroleum\u003c/a> or a tour bus burning gas—inextricably entail a carbon footprint for now. Coldplay \u003ca href=\"https://news.yahoo.com/coldplay-postpones-future-global-tours-climate-change-fears-135905727.html\">won’t tour\u003c/a> behind their recent \u003cem>Everyday Life\u003c/em> until they can do so in a carbon-neutral way, a powerful stand from one of the world’s biggest bands but a strategy that’s not yet sustainable for small acts working merely for their living. It’s the essential friction of making and selling art that questions capitalist foundations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for now, these songs simply exist for the people who need them, their writers included. They’re not expressions of what they know or what they want you to do but only how they feel—and implicit permission slips for you to feel that way, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not hoping to shine a light on something for anybody. Everything that needs to be said is being said really clearly,” says Mills, referring to scientists and policy experts who know and can articulate what he cannot. “But my song is about how we’re reacting to that information. And despair in music can help soak up the despair of the people listening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Music+For+Our+Emergency&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "No, songs addressing climate change aren't new. But the new music that does seems animated less by a sunny streak of mainstream activism, and more by a certain feeling we all seem to be sharing.",
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"title": "Music For Our Climate Emergency | KQED",
"description": "No, songs addressing climate change aren't new. But the new music that does seems animated less by a sunny streak of mainstream activism, and more by a certain feeling we all seem to be sharing.",
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"headline": "Music For Our Climate Emergency",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Greta Thunberg did not sail across the Atlantic Ocean\u003ca href=\"https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/08/1045161\"> for two weeks\u003c/a> to become a lead singer. But, just days after the 16-year-old proselytizer\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/09/23/763452863/transcript-greta-thunbergs-speech-at-the-u-n-climate-action-summit\"> censured\u003c/a> a room of world leaders many times her age for their shared “fairy tales of eternal economic growth,” the internet made her one, anyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most impassioned moments of Thunberg’s September sermon at the United Nations quickly sprouted musical memes. In New York, a drummer \u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/greta-thunberg-swedish-death-metal-892000/\">growled\u003c/a> her words above relentless Swedish death metal, a nod to her homeland that doubled as a fundraising blunderbuss for Greenpeace. Two producers turned the speech into bombastic electronica, with roaring choirs and stomping boots\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GOoajKDIME\"> set to scenes\u003c/a> of forests burning and children marching. And another\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABIbH-LtpFs\"> mashed\u003c/a> the day’s \u003cem>cri de cœur\u003c/em>—”Right here, right now is where we draw the line.”—with the Fatboy Slim hit “Right Here, Right Now.” Just days later, Slim himself slipped it into a live set, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWvFcR7UtAI\">sending \u003c/a>his audience into a tizzy.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/zpWftLOWXLY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/zpWftLOWXLY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Environmentalism in music is nothing new, of course. A full quarter-century before James Hansen \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/24/us/global-warming-has-begun-expert-tells-senate.html\">told Congress\u003c/a> that humans were changing their climate, Peter La Farge, an indigenous songwriter from the Southwest, repeatedly warned of environmental devastation on 1963’s\u003ca href=\"https://folkways.si.edu/peter-la-farge/as-long-as-the-grass-shall-grow-sings-of-the-indians/american-folk-american-indian/music/album/smithsonian\"> \u003cem>As Long as the Grass Shall\u003c/em> \u003cem>Grow\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a remarkable album of Native American laments about the various plagues of pioneers. From Joni Mitchell \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bdMSCdw20\">singing\u003c/a> of the birds, bees and DDT to Neil Young\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33N8M6tQ4e0\"> rhapsodizing\u003c/a> of “Mother Earth / and her healing ways” in 1990 (or\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaaJCJvFP9M\"> grousing\u003c/a> about “old white guys trying to kill mother nature” in 2019), the stars of the ’60s and ’70s have often stepped into a\u003ca href=\"https://www.nrdc.org/stories/story-silent-spring\"> post-\u003cem>Silent Spring\u003c/em>\u003c/a> fray.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s never stopped, really: Depeche Mode\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwS5WexDVHI\"> sang\u003c/a> of forests dying and streams putrefying in 1983, presciently alluding to climate-science deniers. One of Dave Matthews’ earliest songs, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdLj0c9iaEA\">One Sweet World\u003c/a>,” inspired a Ben & Jerry’s flavor that has raised tens of thousands of dollars for an\u003ca href=\"http://saveourenvironment.org/\"> environmental coalition\u003c/a>. There are\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3skR9wQL8s\"> entire milieus\u003c/a> of metal and punk devoted to socioecological unsustainability, realms where\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uiADLX1ZXc\"> nuclear weapons\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QjXtrQKf88\"> animal agriculture\u003c/a> share culpability. On her second album, Miley Cyrus wrote a\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNEZp8BWGEU\"> rock song\u003c/a> about “going green,” while Anohni sardonically\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi0q0O4V5Qs\"> longed\u003c/a> for it all to burn—”dogs crying for water… fish go belly-up in the sea”—above demonic horns and militant drums on “4 Degrees.” Mos Def has\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N5Bk8FMw9Y\"> rapped\u003c/a> about the money-hungry ruining the water supply. And even Smash Mouth tried to alarm us about the corroding ozone layer and melting ice shelf during “All Star,” that song from\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo2SNtFofWI\"> \u003cem>Shrek\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thunberg’s unlikely ascendance as a source of inspiring samples highlights something that’s missing: a song that helps us sort through our globally mounting anxiety about climate change and our role in our own potential doom, an actual anthem that propels people towards action. Despite its news-cycle ubiquity and increasing threat of globe-altering impacts, songs touching on climate change have rarely crossed the threshold of the mainstream, existing instead as a distant flicker on the radar of our collective awareness. “Big Yellow Taxi,” perhaps as close as we’ve gotten to a unifying environmental ode, turns 50 next year; it’s been so ubiquitous for so long it feels as pat as an advertising jingle.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/94bdMSCdw20'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/94bdMSCdw20'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In the last few years, however, global warming and the intense feelings it fosters have begun to creep subtly into lyrics where you may overlook them, a quiet corollary to a movement \u003ca href=\"https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-experimental-musicians-are-soundtracking-the-end-of-the-world/\">spider-webbing\u003c/a> through electronic music. Songwriters are increasingly treating climate unease like the very air we breathe or the technology we use—a part of life with which we must reckon and reconcile, like love or lust or loss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These new tunes aren’t protest songs as we think of them, and they don’t shoehorn motivational slogans into their choruses; they are reflections of a reality lived under the specter of global collapse, the evidence of our personal adjustments to an anxiously indeterminate present and future. And their writers, unlike Thunberg, aren’t looking to proselytize to world leaders or to synthesize scientific research into an empowering single—they’re not the experts, after all. They’re just people offering others a way to sort through what’s happening, even to mourn what’s already been lost. It’s the difference between a command and a confession, a lecture and a conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“We’re afraid of darkness. We’re afraid of endings. We’re afraid of death,”\u003c/strong> says Tamara Lindeman, a Canadian singer whose work as The Weather Station has started \u003ca href=\"https://theweatherstation.bandcamp.com/track/the-most-dangerous-thing-about-you\">to integrate\u003c/a> snippets of impending disaster into her songs. Her next album, due in 2020, commits to the subject. “To look at something so profoundly devastating is so scary, but it’s powerful if you can allow yourself to feel those feelings. You can stop hiding from it. Having that experience through art is healthy.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/mcPDgWMkEiM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/mcPDgWMkEiM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Some of these newer songs confront global warming like a mammoth sparring partner, squaring up to the subject wielding rhetoric like fists. Andrew Bird’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv68Kivrl5g\">Manifest\u003c/a>” sounds as breezy as a Sunday stroll through the Laurel Canyon, with licks of whistling and gliding strings. But in the first verse, he renounces the United States’ westward sprawl, condemning a country of unfaithful stewards. He gazes at the ocean with anxiety and ponders the way we burn ancient organisms—the fossils in our fossil fuels—just to drive to the grocery store. During 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_UKDPR7k_E\">Generation Why\u003c/a>,” Weyes Blood offers her fearful vision like she’s reading the evening news: “It’s not the past that scares me / Now what a great future this is gonna be.” She spells out “YOLO” during the hook, her mind caught in the evermore-tight vice between modern indulgence and future existence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others, though, are almost subliminal in their climate change invocations. Justin Vernon hides his worry in plain sight during Bon Iver’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIzFg4eEvbQ\">Holyfields\u003c/a>.” With his clutched falsetto, he renders “The dawn is rising / the land ain’t rising” almost as an aside, as if the circumstances of\u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/high-tides-flood-venice-for-third-time-in-one-week/2019/11/18/ad73a1f8-0701-11ea-ac12-3325d49eacaa_story.html\"> modern Venice\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/29/climate/coastal-cities-underwater.html\"> future\u003c/a> Mumbai, Bangkok and Miami are so obvious they’re best left coded. Lana Del Rey slips her own stark observations into the final verse of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrSX_OcpeJg\">The Greatest\u003c/a>,” calmly inserting a note about wildfires and eternal heat waves between lines about Kanye West’s blond hair and Hawaii’s bomb scare. On a song where “the culture is lit,” it’s a lyrical detail that’s easy to miss—just as it’s possible to overlook that, on the album’s \u003ca href=\"https://images.app.goo.gl/NyMxNWrxnBe1idkz5\">cover\u003c/a>, California is burning.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Blake Mills knows that coastline in flames well.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born in Santa Monica and raised in Malibu, the songwriter and star producer, once\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/arts/music/blake-mills-releases-his-second-album-heigh-ho.html\"> called\u003c/a> “the last guitarist I heard that I thought was phenomenal” by Eric Clapton, is conditioned to months of perpetually balmy days, interrupted with occasional downpours as fall slides into winter. But a few years ago that rain was slow to come, and the landscape around Los Angeles felt like a tinderbox. When, at last, storms arrived, a friend joked to Mills that maybe it would be the last rain ever for Los Angeles. The storm’s petrichor, Mills remembers, smelled of nostalgia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills sat down at his piano and began to ponder what that might mean. The result—a sobering, tender ballad called “Summer All Over”—teeters at the threshold of hope and despair. With his sigh caked on the keys like mud at the bottom of some drought-devastated lake, Mills tempers his quiet horror by “looking for laughter, looking for kindness,” for any human quality that aims to right our colossal wrongs. Mills captures that seesaw of feelings musically with a pervasive flicker of melodic dissonance. Electronics drift in the background, like smog hovering above a troubled valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Writing about the season of summer inherently evokes a Beach Boys vibe, maybe because I’m in Los Angeles,” says Mills, who penned the song with Cass McCombs and hopes to release it on his third album. “But the implication of the warmest season happening all over the world at the same time is an ‘endless summer.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He notes the sad irony of a term that, less than 50 years ago, belonged to\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/05J8PFXdYKeYNb8YjqqJYr\"> a relatively carefree\u003c/a> Beach Boys collection. But “Summer All Over,” an enticing title that suggests burnished bodies on a California shoreline, is tragically beautiful, a warm hug from an old ghost. Rock and roll can’t be all good times on the bleeding edge of environmental ruin.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>While touring for the last several years,\u003c/strong> Kentucky songwriter Joan Shelley came to similar epiphanies along the California coast. Not long ago, she was driving north from Los Angeles to Seattle between shows, marveling at the scenery along California’s fabled Highway 1. She remembers the cliffs and the sunlight glittering on the Pacific, a fantasy come to life. That image is captured by “\u003ca href=\"https://joanshelley.bandcamp.com/track/stay-all-night\">Stay All Night\u003c/a>,” a seaside reflection from her quietly uneasy 2019 album,\u003ca href=\"https://joanshelley.bandcamp.com/album/like-the-river-loves-the-sea\"> \u003cem>Like the River Loves the Sea\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. She marvels at the vista but, in the final verse of her reverie, wonders how temporary it may be, hoping that “the waves don’t rise this high.” Actually, it was the opposite: On a recent return visit, that road was closed, nearby cliffs washed into the water by landslides.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/3u4Pe2YHH-Y'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/3u4Pe2YHH-Y'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>During the album’s arresting centerpiece, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u4Pe2YHH-Y\">The Fading\u003c/a>,” Shelley retreats to Kentucky, the place Mark Twain (\u003ca href=\"https://oregonscribbler.com/mark-twain-i-want-to-be-in-kentucky-when-the-end-of-the-world-comes-because-they-are-always-20-years-behind/\">allegedly\u003c/a>) joked he’d like to be when the world ended, because it’s always years behind everywhere else. Shelley keys on that idea as she reclines to witness the natural world overrun the order we’ve imposed upon it. “I cheered the flood / when the water hit the wall and won,” she lilts, her cotton-soft voice temporarily stiffening. It’s a love song at, and for, the end of time, an exercise in appreciating what you’ve had the chance to cherish, whether it’s a drink of gin or a gentle lover or a lovely day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes, Shelley admits, she turns off the news, because the devastation is too much to hear. As a songwriter, then, it was paramount to create a new way of approaching that helplessness, of facing those truths. These songs don’t protest reality—they simply acknowledge it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With the small rooms I play for, I’m hoping to give people tools for feeling where we may want to be numb. There’s a grief that is hard to admit to,” she says. “But through art, people can express those low-humming anxieties in a way that isn’t so hard to face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sweetly wizened voice trailing Shelley’s during “The Fading” belongs to fellow Kentucky native Will Oldham. She, in turn, adds harmonies across \u003cem>I Made a Place\u003c/em>, Oldham’s first record as Bonnie “Prince” Billy in eight years. Moments of intense worry and woe linger in the record’s quiet corners, absorbing the light of these seemingly incandescent songs. During the album’s jaunty first verse, a home burns, part of a personal conflagration that Oldham suggests is spreading. And during the hypnotic “Nothing Is Busted,” a wounded woman and an oblivious man capture the dynamic between our ecosystem and our social order, a relationship hamstrung by the need for new things to sell, buy and discard. “This particular assemblage of molecules and memories someday soon may just run out of gas,” Oldham sings in one song’s closing verse without pausing to take so much as a breath, as if racing against the apocalypse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For most of \u003cem>I Made a Place\u003c/em>, Oldham dances around or with these end times. But during “This Is Far From Over,” an acoustic stunner near the album’s center, he faces them with softness and resolve. Presumably written for his newborn daughter, the song conjures a world where rising tides force her to take to the sea as an adult, a continental refugee who will do her best to persevere. It is a tragic lullaby, a preemptive apology for the mess she will inherit. Despite the title, Oldham is neither blithe nor disingenuous, using the last verse to confront the possibility that new kinds of life will thrive in humanity’s absence. “The whole world’s far from over,” he sings in the final line at the edge of his falsetto, just where his voice might crack into tears.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“Our kids are being handed a rotten deal, everyone’s children,”\u003c/strong> says The National’s Matt Berninger, father to a 10-year-old daughter, Isla. “The Industrial Revolution gave the Earth a gaping wound not that long ago in the grand scheme, and it’s bleeding out fast. But a tipping point is happening, I think, in understanding how rigged that system is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National have rarely been an overtly political band—Berninger has instead spent two decades mapping the darkest and most dangerous corners of his psyche. He’s worried out loud about\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPp-3QSXf1g\"> handing down\u003c/a> his worst habits to Isla, about\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsZmE95t2Yw\"> taking love too hard\u003c/a> for his own health, and about\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxL_xRM0Wug\"> losing himself\u003c/a> in the\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCfWAVRR794\"> strange alchemy\u003c/a> of lust and blood and booze. But now the peril of climate change has entered that matrix of considerations, part of “the soup of everyone’s minds and hearts all the time,” as he puts it, alongside sex and drugs and comedy and general dread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2018, Berninger was at a wedding just north of Los Angeles when a song sketch from The National’s Aaron Dessner arrived. Berninger woke up one morning before sunset and, while wandering the streets, unspooled 17 verses to the loop, a sort of living chronicle of his consciousness. There were headline anxieties about the alt-right and immigration, opinions about R.E.M. and The Bible, an interest in the seemingly infinite minimalism of artist\u003ca href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/hanne-darboven/evolution-leibniz-a-bSB3naI0qNnejm9Es8cqXw2\"> Hanne Darboven\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Po61rjjdUPs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Po61rjjdUPs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>When he sent the epic to Dessner and filmmaker and producer Mike Mills, they trimmed his diarist sprawl and added an unexpected twist: the dire verses of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvFrSG37idM\">Noble Experiment\u003c/a>,” a waltz for the end of humanity, released by indie-rock eccentrics Thinking Fellers Union 282 in 1994. During the finished version, “\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/track/50DAgICmMnWaUVXQiLGlLx\">Not in Kansas\u003c/a>” from this year’s \u003cem>I Am Easy to Find\u003c/em>, a small choir intones those doomed words—”Be a fish or a weed or a sparrow / For the Earth has grown tired and all of your time has expired”—between Berninger’s own verses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National effectively nest the end of the world inside a laundry list of mundane thoughts; it’s like finding your own death certificate in the day’s otherwise ordinary mail. The world teems with distractions, “Not in Kansas” implies, to keep us from the crisis at the door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know how any artist isn’t talking about all of this stuff—sexism, racism, global warming, corporate corruption. I can’t spend time on a song now unless it’s somehow \u003cem>aware\u003c/em> of that stuff,” Berninger says. “Art has the responsibility to try to enlighten, instead of \u003cem>just\u003c/em> entertain. Pop music is still afraid to get into it, but not everyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps the closest that recent pop has come to the subject is “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W9VYY5QpLg\">PARAD(w/m)E\u003c/a>,” a slyly sparkling 2018 single from the North Carolina duo Sylvan Esso. The tune is ebullient, with a chorus that sounds like a mechanized schoolyard chant and verses that shimmer like sunshine on the distant desert horizon. It’s possible to hear and even sing along without ever reflecting on its apocalyptic scenes—the gasless gas stations, the flora-less forests, the reprieve-less heat.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/4W9VYY5QpLg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/4W9VYY5QpLg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Singer Amelia Meath laughs ruefully about fans who show up to shows wearing homemade shirts reading “How’s that for manifesting our destiny,” having misinterpreted the song’s linchpin indictment as a self-help mantra fit for yogis. About halfway in, Nick Sanborn’s keyboards wobble from their glistening perch, slinking briefly into a morass beneath taunting handclaps. In the refrain, Meath’s proclamation of liberation—”We finally got free”—comes only after she reveals the cause: We’ve already ruined everything.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While “PARAD(w/m)E” never landed on \u003cem>Billboard\u003c/em>‘s charts, it suggests a clear framework for some future global-warming protest anthem, much like Billie Eilish’s subtly hypnotic “all the good girls go to hell”: lyrics so sharp listeners might not feel the knife, surrounded by music that celebrates whatever it is we’ve salvaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No one likes the guy at the party who is just talking about horrible stuff all the time. But that’s me,” says Meath, smiling. She’s worked to weave such concerns into Sylvan Esso’s third LP, likely arriving in 2020, without being didactic. “That song is cloaked, very specifically, to be easy to swallow. That is the dream: Make the funnest music about the heaviest shit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>In Iceland, mourners \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/08/19/okjokull-glacier-funeral-iceland-activists-establish-plaque/2049194001/\">\u003cstrong>hold\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong> funerals for dead glaciers.\u003c/strong> In Washington state, a pioneering three-credit \u003ca href=\"https://www.uwb.edu/news/february-2018/environmental-grief\">course\u003c/a> called “Environmental Grief & Climate Anxiety: Coping in the Age of Consequences” teaches students how to sort through their despair and identify its sources. (The class subsequently became a\u003ca href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/us/global-warming-bringing-you-down-washington-state-offers-course-on-eco-anxiety-climate-grief.amp\"> Fox News punchline\u003c/a>.) And in magazines from\u003ca href=\"https://www.vogue.com/article/eco-anxiety-grief-mental-health-climate-change\"> \u003cem>Vogue\u003c/em>\u003c/a> to\u003ca href=\"https://www.vice.com/amp/en_uk/article/gy48d4/environmental-grief-climate-change-anxiety\"> \u003cem>Vice\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, recent articles about “eco-grief” signal the drift of these fears into the mainstream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Songs about climate change are an inevitable, essential, and overdue component of that movement, a necessary response and tool for people “to process the truth and the existential dread,” as Berninger puts it. And while these songs have slowly started to accumulate during the last several years, it seems that we’re just at the edge of a new tide of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next year, alongside new records from Sylvan Esso and The Weather Station, Grimes—a fringe pop star who has delighted in dancing at the edge of accessibility for a decade—will release\u003ca href=\"https://pitchfork.com/news/grimes-announces-new-album-miss-anthropocene/\"> \u003cem>Miss Anthropocene\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. “Each song will be a different embodiment of human extinction,” she has written. So far, its singles have mined the power dynamics of abusive relationships and the burden of despondency, topics that get to the nuance of the overarching issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a presidential election year, when the United States is officially able \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/climate/trump-paris-agreement-climate.html\">to exit\u003c/a> the Paris Climate Agreement, Grimes likely won’t be alone, either in commiserating peers or coping listeners. The British singer-songwriter Bill Fay, now in his late 70s, touches on the topic for \u003ca href=\"https://pitchfork.com/news/bill-fay-announces-new-album-countless-branches-shares-new-song-listen/\">\u003cem>Countless Branches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, due in January, while buzzy LA producer \u003ca href=\"http://shallou.com\">Shallou\u003c/a> cloaks concerns about environmental collapse in breakup imagery on an album due next summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of these songwriters work under the illusion that these tunes, however poppy or plainspoken, will literally \u003cem>fix\u003c/em> anything, from reversing President Donald Trump’s confusing climate-change \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/5622374/donald-trump-climate-change-hoax-event/\">denial\u003c/a> to adjusting people’s disposable plastic habits. As working musicians, they have practical issues of their own to navigate, anyway, as the mechanisms of distribution for their work—be it a server churning through electricity or\u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en_uk/article/9kz3y5/this-is-how-bad-your-vinyl-obsession-is-for-the-world\"> an LP made with petroleum\u003c/a> or a tour bus burning gas—inextricably entail a carbon footprint for now. Coldplay \u003ca href=\"https://news.yahoo.com/coldplay-postpones-future-global-tours-climate-change-fears-135905727.html\">won’t tour\u003c/a> behind their recent \u003cem>Everyday Life\u003c/em> until they can do so in a carbon-neutral way, a powerful stand from one of the world’s biggest bands but a strategy that’s not yet sustainable for small acts working merely for their living. It’s the essential friction of making and selling art that questions capitalist foundations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for now, these songs simply exist for the people who need them, their writers included. They’re not expressions of what they know or what they want you to do but only how they feel—and implicit permission slips for you to feel that way, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not hoping to shine a light on something for anybody. Everything that needs to be said is being said really clearly,” says Mills, referring to scientists and policy experts who know and can articulate what he cannot. “But my song is about how we’re reacting to that information. And despair in music can help soak up the despair of the people listening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Music+For+Our+Emergency&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The Great British 'Up' Anthology is Back—and Worried About Brexit",
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"content": "\u003cp>For better and worse, class pride has always run a deep vein through British society, upstairs and down. Not so the United States, where the mere mention of social class often triggers strenuous manifestos about meritocracy and equal opportunity. Which may be why attempts to reproduce Michael Apted’s long-running \u003cem>Up\u003c/em> anthology—inquiring into the persistence of social hierarchy in post-World War II Britain—have so far failed this side of the Atlantic. For those who think \u003cem>Downton Abbey\u003c/em> is pretty much a documentary, the \u003cem>Up\u003c/em> series is the perfect antidote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning in 1964 with \u003cem>7 Up\u003c/em>, directed for British television by Paul Almond with Apted initially on board as a researcher, the series tracked a cross-section of 14 children from England’s famously rigid class system, with Apted checking in every seven years thereafter to document what and how they were doing. I’m roughly the same age and grew up lower middle class in London, so I’ve followed the series obsessively from soup to nuts. But you don’t have to have been as hooked as I on the anthology (now available as a boxed set) to find your way around the latest, \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8929142/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>63 Up\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which is studded with flashbacks to catch you up on how the group has fared since we first met them, mingling to frolic and brawl in a grim-looking adventure playground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inevitably a quiet tempo has settled on the hopes and dreams of these sexagenarians as they answer questions from Apted or go about their business with varying degrees of discomfort under cameras that have dogged them for decades. Some have retired; others contemplate their own mortality as they tell of parents passing away. One is seriously ill; another has died since \u003cem>56 Up\u003c/em>. Most seem content with what they have and express few regrets about what might have been. Luck, love, and loss, triumph and defeat, have beveled the edges of even the most pugnacious and intrepid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through every installment, Apted has peppered (some say, resentfully, pestered) the group with questions about whether England’s class divisions have grown more permeable. For some the short answer has become versions of “for the love of mike, Michael, quit asking, we are so much more than our station in life.” Apted deserves credit for including their protests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The long answer to his probing is: It’s complicated. Take Tony, the charming, infuriating Cockney child of London’s East End, and the only Upper who frankly enjoys the limelight. As a teenager Tony predicted some of his future with astonishing accuracy, becoming first a jockey and then (“If I’m not good enough”) a cab-driver. Both jobs came to pass, but what Tony couldn’t dream of was that he would one day buy a handsome holiday home in Spain for his growing family and plan to build a resort there. What followed had more to do with the global economy than with his business chops, but today Tony, a proud husband, father, and grandfather who moonlights as a cabbie in TV crime shows, has switched his working-class-Tory affiliation for fear of Brexit, and may cast in his lot with the Green Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugw7hUoJ0C0\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the other end of the social spectrum we revisit John, at 7 and 14 a snobby, upper-crust brat and easily the least likable of the \u003cem>Up\u003c/em> children. Now tweedy and balding, a considerably mellowed John (who also guessed right that he would become a barrister) is happily retiring to devote himself to charity work in the Balkans with his wife. Our early assumptions about John’s wealth and blue blood turn out to be mistaken, though there’s no doubt that his pricey education has given him more financial security than most of the Uppers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Certainly John hasn’t had to struggle like Symon, the group’s only mixed-race member, who grew up in a children’s home with his friend Paul. At 7 Symon wanted to be a movie star; at 21 he worked a sausage factory assembly line. Without functioning parents, Symon has had a checkered life. What he and Paul (now settled in Australia) have achieved with the support of two good women is by any measure remarkable, as is the fact that they’ve stayed friends. And after some difficult years as a divorced single parent, the congenitally cheerful Sue—one of three East End women who, at 21, gave Apted a brisk mouthful for asking them only family-oriented questions—heads a career counseling unit at London University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And what of Neil, at 7 a bonny lad in a duffel coat skipping down a suburban Liverpool street and by any measure the most beloved of viewers? At 28 we saw him homeless and roaming the British countryside. All I will say is that after a lifetime battling his biology and a less than idyllic childhood, at 63 Neil is not without faith, friends or resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every chapter of the \u003cem>Up\u003c/em> series has seen its dropouts, and with the exception of Tony, those who remain express reservations with varying degrees of vehemence. For John, whose early arrogance so antagonized viewers, each new episode has brought “a little pill of poison.” Over time Apted’s questions have grown more personal, but he still queries them about whether they still believe Britain to be a class society. All agree that inequality persists, but they worry less for themselves than for their children, who face cuts to the country’s generous welfare state services, further concentration of wealth in the top tier, the decline of full-time jobs, and most of all the potential ravages of a looming Brexit deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like Nick, the farm boy who became a professor in the United States, and Apted, who attended Cambridge University but now lives in America, I found far more career opportunities in the United States than I would have enjoyed in England despite a fancy education. Yet I’ve been struck by the nervousness that any discussion of social stratification inspires among students I’ve taught down the years in American universities. And I miss the stout class solidarity that, however diluted by upward mobility, remains strong among the English working class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>British cinema has always had a far more robust tradition than the U.S. of narrative films about the relations between the classes. Documentary offers the same satisfactions of family drama, the common hurts and losses endured and surmounted in movies by Mike Leigh or Ken Loach or the classic post-War Angry Young Men films, while permitting no facile class stereotypes. No one in \u003cem>63 Up\u003c/em> sounds like anybody above or below the salt in \u003cem>Downton Abbey\u003c/em>. We don’t see them gulping endless cups of industrial-strength tea or spending every waking hour down the pub or at the private club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Apted narrows his focus to the personal more than the overtly political, he has also learned from the Uppers that there is no such thing as an ordinary life; that money and education may carry you far, but that accent and income bracket have little to do with intelligence, wit, or goodness of heart. What’s striking is not just the sturdy durability of family and community, but (camera or no camera) the fundamental decency of just about every participant in this long cultural experiment. Rich or poor, all have ended up devoting themselves to helping others. So ‘bye for now, dear Uppers, and with luck and longevity, see you at \u003cem>70 Up\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Once+More%2C+Unto+The+Brits%3A+%2763+Up%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For better and worse, class pride has always run a deep vein through British society, upstairs and down. Not so the United States, where the mere mention of social class often triggers strenuous manifestos about meritocracy and equal opportunity. Which may be why attempts to reproduce Michael Apted’s long-running \u003cem>Up\u003c/em> anthology—inquiring into the persistence of social hierarchy in post-World War II Britain—have so far failed this side of the Atlantic. For those who think \u003cem>Downton Abbey\u003c/em> is pretty much a documentary, the \u003cem>Up\u003c/em> series is the perfect antidote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning in 1964 with \u003cem>7 Up\u003c/em>, directed for British television by Paul Almond with Apted initially on board as a researcher, the series tracked a cross-section of 14 children from England’s famously rigid class system, with Apted checking in every seven years thereafter to document what and how they were doing. I’m roughly the same age and grew up lower middle class in London, so I’ve followed the series obsessively from soup to nuts. But you don’t have to have been as hooked as I on the anthology (now available as a boxed set) to find your way around the latest, \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8929142/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>63 Up\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which is studded with flashbacks to catch you up on how the group has fared since we first met them, mingling to frolic and brawl in a grim-looking adventure playground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inevitably a quiet tempo has settled on the hopes and dreams of these sexagenarians as they answer questions from Apted or go about their business with varying degrees of discomfort under cameras that have dogged them for decades. Some have retired; others contemplate their own mortality as they tell of parents passing away. One is seriously ill; another has died since \u003cem>56 Up\u003c/em>. Most seem content with what they have and express few regrets about what might have been. Luck, love, and loss, triumph and defeat, have beveled the edges of even the most pugnacious and intrepid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through every installment, Apted has peppered (some say, resentfully, pestered) the group with questions about whether England’s class divisions have grown more permeable. For some the short answer has become versions of “for the love of mike, Michael, quit asking, we are so much more than our station in life.” Apted deserves credit for including their protests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The long answer to his probing is: It’s complicated. Take Tony, the charming, infuriating Cockney child of London’s East End, and the only Upper who frankly enjoys the limelight. As a teenager Tony predicted some of his future with astonishing accuracy, becoming first a jockey and then (“If I’m not good enough”) a cab-driver. Both jobs came to pass, but what Tony couldn’t dream of was that he would one day buy a handsome holiday home in Spain for his growing family and plan to build a resort there. What followed had more to do with the global economy than with his business chops, but today Tony, a proud husband, father, and grandfather who moonlights as a cabbie in TV crime shows, has switched his working-class-Tory affiliation for fear of Brexit, and may cast in his lot with the Green Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Ugw7hUoJ0C0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Ugw7hUoJ0C0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>At the other end of the social spectrum we revisit John, at 7 and 14 a snobby, upper-crust brat and easily the least likable of the \u003cem>Up\u003c/em> children. Now tweedy and balding, a considerably mellowed John (who also guessed right that he would become a barrister) is happily retiring to devote himself to charity work in the Balkans with his wife. Our early assumptions about John’s wealth and blue blood turn out to be mistaken, though there’s no doubt that his pricey education has given him more financial security than most of the Uppers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Certainly John hasn’t had to struggle like Symon, the group’s only mixed-race member, who grew up in a children’s home with his friend Paul. At 7 Symon wanted to be a movie star; at 21 he worked a sausage factory assembly line. Without functioning parents, Symon has had a checkered life. What he and Paul (now settled in Australia) have achieved with the support of two good women is by any measure remarkable, as is the fact that they’ve stayed friends. And after some difficult years as a divorced single parent, the congenitally cheerful Sue—one of three East End women who, at 21, gave Apted a brisk mouthful for asking them only family-oriented questions—heads a career counseling unit at London University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And what of Neil, at 7 a bonny lad in a duffel coat skipping down a suburban Liverpool street and by any measure the most beloved of viewers? At 28 we saw him homeless and roaming the British countryside. All I will say is that after a lifetime battling his biology and a less than idyllic childhood, at 63 Neil is not without faith, friends or resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every chapter of the \u003cem>Up\u003c/em> series has seen its dropouts, and with the exception of Tony, those who remain express reservations with varying degrees of vehemence. For John, whose early arrogance so antagonized viewers, each new episode has brought “a little pill of poison.” Over time Apted’s questions have grown more personal, but he still queries them about whether they still believe Britain to be a class society. All agree that inequality persists, but they worry less for themselves than for their children, who face cuts to the country’s generous welfare state services, further concentration of wealth in the top tier, the decline of full-time jobs, and most of all the potential ravages of a looming Brexit deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like Nick, the farm boy who became a professor in the United States, and Apted, who attended Cambridge University but now lives in America, I found far more career opportunities in the United States than I would have enjoyed in England despite a fancy education. Yet I’ve been struck by the nervousness that any discussion of social stratification inspires among students I’ve taught down the years in American universities. And I miss the stout class solidarity that, however diluted by upward mobility, remains strong among the English working class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>British cinema has always had a far more robust tradition than the U.S. of narrative films about the relations between the classes. Documentary offers the same satisfactions of family drama, the common hurts and losses endured and surmounted in movies by Mike Leigh or Ken Loach or the classic post-War Angry Young Men films, while permitting no facile class stereotypes. No one in \u003cem>63 Up\u003c/em> sounds like anybody above or below the salt in \u003cem>Downton Abbey\u003c/em>. We don’t see them gulping endless cups of industrial-strength tea or spending every waking hour down the pub or at the private club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Apted narrows his focus to the personal more than the overtly political, he has also learned from the Uppers that there is no such thing as an ordinary life; that money and education may carry you far, but that accent and income bracket have little to do with intelligence, wit, or goodness of heart. What’s striking is not just the sturdy durability of family and community, but (camera or no camera) the fundamental decency of just about every participant in this long cultural experiment. Rich or poor, all have ended up devoting themselves to helping others. So ‘bye for now, dear Uppers, and with luck and longevity, see you at \u003cem>70 Up\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Once+More%2C+Unto+The+Brits%3A+%2763+Up%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Lena Waithe's 'Queen & Slim' is an Odyssey For the Black Lives Matter Era",
"headTitle": "Lena Waithe’s ‘Queen & Slim’ is an Odyssey For the Black Lives Matter Era | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>In her debut feature film, screenwriter Lena Waithe has written an odyssey set in the Black Lives Matter era.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8722346/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Queen & Slim\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is about an African American couple on the run after a routine traffic stop gone wrong. They kill a white police officer in self-defense, and rather than entrust themselves to the U.S. criminal justice system, they flee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The movie plays out over much of the United States. It explores, on a bigger scale, a lot of the themes that Waithe writes about in \u003cem>The Chi\u003c/em>, her \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/01/11/577311653/the-chi-creator-lena-waithe-says-television-taught-me-how-to-dream\">Showtime series set in South Side Chicago\u003c/a>. In an interview, she calls this film a “meditation on blackness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The movie is sort of a result of every conversation that I’ve ever had with every black person I’ve ever met,” Waithe says. “And also, it’s an observation too, on our community: who we are, how beautiful we are, how complex we can be and how we are resilient. And sometimes we’ll do whatever we have to do to survive. But yeah, it’s really just this thing that came out of me, out of my body, that I needed to get off my chest—but it was really like a hug I wanted to give black people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDnhh4NEi_U\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>Interview Highlights\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On writing the traffic stop scene\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waithe\u003c/strong>: Daniel Kaluuya [who plays Slim] said something to me very interesting … “Sometimes a black person respecting themselves can be read by a white person as disrespectful.” And he said that to me the other day, and I thought: Whoa, that is so interesting. Because a big road map that I used for that scene, that I wrote a bajillion times again and again and again until I finally felt like I got it right, was \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kI7mzowxus\">Sandra Bland’s dashcam footage\u003c/a>. And it is horrifying to listen to, but here’s the thing: It’s not this really loud interaction. There’s not yelling or screaming or anything. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a turn that I noticed in that footage that’s very subtle—if you’re not paying attention, you don’t catch it. But it was the turn that I needed to help me figure out the scene, was that he asks her to put her cigarette out. And she makes a valid point. She says, “Is it illegal for me to smoke a cigarette in my own car?” He says, “No, it’s not, but I’m asking you to put the cigarette out.” She says no. And then instantly: “Step out of the car. Step out of the car. Get out of the car.” And that’s the turn. And to me, it was as if he felt disrespected. He felt like his authority wasn’t being respected or being honored or being valued. And obviously, that is the difference between life and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so for this scene, he just asks—it’s cold, and mind you we were in Cleveland, Ohio, it was freezing, we were there for a polar vortex … and the line was just, “Can you please hurry up?” And then Daniel added, “Because it’s cold.” Because it was freezing. And I knew, I said: Yeah, that could be the turn. And even on the page, I say: In an instant, it goes from 2019 to 1968. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is our fundamental issue, I think, between black people and police. The police want us to bow down and respect them. But also: Respect has to be earned. You’ve got to treat me like a human being.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On Queen and Slim being recognized as outlaw heroes\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13870465\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13870465\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Lena Waithe attends the world premiere of 'Queen & Slim' in Hollywood.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lena Waithe attends the world premiere of ‘Queen & Slim’ in Hollywood. \u003ccite>(Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Audi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waithe\u003c/strong>: I think, because our history as black people with the police has been so turbulent, so violent, a lot of people point to Rodney King, which is a clear example of police brutality. But then you could also go back to the civil rights movement. Who was it that was hosing down college students; who was it that was sicking dogs on them, beating them with batons? It wasn’t just crazy racist white people, it was the police. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So that is why I said if two black people ever killed a police officer, in self-defense or not, I knew that there would be pockets of the black community that would look at them and applaud, whether it’s right or wrong. There’d be some black people that would think that was extremely irresponsible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>King\u003c/strong>: You have characters say that too. You have a character who at one point says, “What you did was wrong. It gives the cops now an excuse to shoot us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waithe\u003c/strong>: Correct. But then somebody could argue: “Since when do they need an excuse?” … What Queen and Slim represent are the two different ways black people can behave when they get pulled over by a police officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>King\u003c/strong>: Which are?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waithe: \u003c/strong>Yes, sir; no, sir. Yeah, you can search my car; yes, you can search my person; no, I haven’t had anything to drink. You know, being very obedient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or you can say: May I ask why I was pulled over? May I see your badge number? Let me speak to the person above you. No, you may not search my car without a warrant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’ve got to decide. Who do you want to be that day?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On writing a road-trip odyssey\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waithe\u003c/strong>: I’d also write beautiful scenery, fields, trees, because I’ve been on a couple long road trips, and that always happens when you get out of a city. When you’re in between cities, it’s just, like, land for as far as the eye can see. … You just feel like: You’re out on the open road. And you don’t care what’s behind you. You’re excited to see what’s in front of you. And you just feel—it’s freeing. And that’s the thing, too, it’s like: America is beautiful. But it’s also ugly—you know, underneath the surface, because of our history and, you know, what we’ve done to each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s why I really love the exchange when he says, “Man, it’s beautiful out here” because he’s never been this far out of Cleveland, Ohio; he’s never done that. But then what do you see? Which is also a real thing: You see prisoners working the land. Which is just a real thing, which I’ve seen on long road trips and it freaks me out. I understand it, you know; I understand that part of the system, but it feels like modern-day slavery. … Nothing’s more American than that. A beautiful road and trees and grass—and then, of course, black and brown bodies working the land. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And she says—after he says, “It’s so beautiful out here,” she goes, “Is it? Is it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sydney Harper and Vince Pearson produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Patrick Jarenwattananon adapted it for the Web.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Lena+Waithe%27s+%27Queen+%26+Slim%27+Is+An+Odyssey+For+The+Black+Lives+Matter+Era&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In her debut feature film, screenwriter Lena Waithe has written an odyssey set in the Black Lives Matter era.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8722346/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Queen & Slim\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is about an African American couple on the run after a routine traffic stop gone wrong. They kill a white police officer in self-defense, and rather than entrust themselves to the U.S. criminal justice system, they flee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The movie plays out over much of the United States. It explores, on a bigger scale, a lot of the themes that Waithe writes about in \u003cem>The Chi\u003c/em>, her \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/01/11/577311653/the-chi-creator-lena-waithe-says-television-taught-me-how-to-dream\">Showtime series set in South Side Chicago\u003c/a>. In an interview, she calls this film a “meditation on blackness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The movie is sort of a result of every conversation that I’ve ever had with every black person I’ve ever met,” Waithe says. “And also, it’s an observation too, on our community: who we are, how beautiful we are, how complex we can be and how we are resilient. And sometimes we’ll do whatever we have to do to survive. But yeah, it’s really just this thing that came out of me, out of my body, that I needed to get off my chest—but it was really like a hug I wanted to give black people.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/CDnhh4NEi_U'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/CDnhh4NEi_U'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>Interview Highlights\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On writing the traffic stop scene\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waithe\u003c/strong>: Daniel Kaluuya [who plays Slim] said something to me very interesting … “Sometimes a black person respecting themselves can be read by a white person as disrespectful.” And he said that to me the other day, and I thought: Whoa, that is so interesting. Because a big road map that I used for that scene, that I wrote a bajillion times again and again and again until I finally felt like I got it right, was \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kI7mzowxus\">Sandra Bland’s dashcam footage\u003c/a>. And it is horrifying to listen to, but here’s the thing: It’s not this really loud interaction. There’s not yelling or screaming or anything. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a turn that I noticed in that footage that’s very subtle—if you’re not paying attention, you don’t catch it. But it was the turn that I needed to help me figure out the scene, was that he asks her to put her cigarette out. And she makes a valid point. She says, “Is it illegal for me to smoke a cigarette in my own car?” He says, “No, it’s not, but I’m asking you to put the cigarette out.” She says no. And then instantly: “Step out of the car. Step out of the car. Get out of the car.” And that’s the turn. And to me, it was as if he felt disrespected. He felt like his authority wasn’t being respected or being honored or being valued. And obviously, that is the difference between life and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so for this scene, he just asks—it’s cold, and mind you we were in Cleveland, Ohio, it was freezing, we were there for a polar vortex … and the line was just, “Can you please hurry up?” And then Daniel added, “Because it’s cold.” Because it was freezing. And I knew, I said: Yeah, that could be the turn. And even on the page, I say: In an instant, it goes from 2019 to 1968. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is our fundamental issue, I think, between black people and police. The police want us to bow down and respect them. But also: Respect has to be earned. You’ve got to treat me like a human being.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On Queen and Slim being recognized as outlaw heroes\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13870465\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13870465\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Lena Waithe attends the world premiere of 'Queen & Slim' in Hollywood.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/lena-waithe-2665f95ba1828bc1ccd90ddb23e64afbce6be344-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lena Waithe attends the world premiere of ‘Queen & Slim’ in Hollywood. \u003ccite>(Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Audi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waithe\u003c/strong>: I think, because our history as black people with the police has been so turbulent, so violent, a lot of people point to Rodney King, which is a clear example of police brutality. But then you could also go back to the civil rights movement. Who was it that was hosing down college students; who was it that was sicking dogs on them, beating them with batons? It wasn’t just crazy racist white people, it was the police. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So that is why I said if two black people ever killed a police officer, in self-defense or not, I knew that there would be pockets of the black community that would look at them and applaud, whether it’s right or wrong. There’d be some black people that would think that was extremely irresponsible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>King\u003c/strong>: You have characters say that too. You have a character who at one point says, “What you did was wrong. It gives the cops now an excuse to shoot us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waithe\u003c/strong>: Correct. But then somebody could argue: “Since when do they need an excuse?” … What Queen and Slim represent are the two different ways black people can behave when they get pulled over by a police officer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>King\u003c/strong>: Which are?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waithe: \u003c/strong>Yes, sir; no, sir. Yeah, you can search my car; yes, you can search my person; no, I haven’t had anything to drink. You know, being very obedient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or you can say: May I ask why I was pulled over? May I see your badge number? Let me speak to the person above you. No, you may not search my car without a warrant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’ve got to decide. Who do you want to be that day?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On writing a road-trip odyssey\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Waithe\u003c/strong>: I’d also write beautiful scenery, fields, trees, because I’ve been on a couple long road trips, and that always happens when you get out of a city. When you’re in between cities, it’s just, like, land for as far as the eye can see. … You just feel like: You’re out on the open road. And you don’t care what’s behind you. You’re excited to see what’s in front of you. And you just feel—it’s freeing. And that’s the thing, too, it’s like: America is beautiful. But it’s also ugly—you know, underneath the surface, because of our history and, you know, what we’ve done to each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s why I really love the exchange when he says, “Man, it’s beautiful out here” because he’s never been this far out of Cleveland, Ohio; he’s never done that. But then what do you see? Which is also a real thing: You see prisoners working the land. Which is just a real thing, which I’ve seen on long road trips and it freaks me out. I understand it, you know; I understand that part of the system, but it feels like modern-day slavery. … Nothing’s more American than that. A beautiful road and trees and grass—and then, of course, black and brown bodies working the land. …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And she says—after he says, “It’s so beautiful out here,” she goes, “Is it? Is it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s been 37 years since \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/tags/475156774/prince\">Prince\u003c/a> released \u003cem>1999\u003c/em>, but this week, the Prince estate will reissue a remastered version of the iconic album—this time with 35 previously unreleased tracks. During his lifetime, Prince was notoriously protective of his music, both released and unreleased. Notably, he had a long-term public battle with Warner Brothers over rights to his masters and sued \u003ca href=\"https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/prince-sues-bootlegging-facebook-fans-for-22-million-in-piracy-lawsuit-9088733.html\">Facebook users\u003c/a> for posting links to unauthorized music. To learn about the estate’s decision to release the record after his death, NPR’s Michel Martin spoke with Michael Howe, the archivist for the Prince vault.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003ch3>Interview Highlights\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On the role of “Prince’s archivist:”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The overarching thrust of the job is to organize and preserve Prince’s audiovisual legacy—his vault—and the extension of that is to be the A&R guy for everything that comes out of the vault. So I’m responsible, to some degree, for contextualizing and preserving Prince’s life work. It’s a pretty daunting proposition, as you might imagine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_o69a9ZFFA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On the rationale for releasing these songs right now:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think the idea is to shine a light on the entirety of Prince’s creative legacy. There were at least a couple of times during his life where he mentioned that he thought the contents of his vault, or some portion thereof, would be released at some point after he was gone. So using that guiding principle, we use our best judgment to present the things that we think are appropriate for specific creative eras of his life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On the fan response to releasing the songs:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I haven’t gotten any direct pushback. I know that the Prince fan community has very strong opinions and it’s very, very large. I’m sure there are some people who think, philosophically, that a lot of these things should probably stay in the vault. But I think the overwhelming majority of fans and musicians and people—who are interested in the history and artistry of a guy who was on the Mt. Rushmore of music—really should and deserve to be heard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>On the rumor that Prince has enough unreleased songs for an album every year until the 22nd century:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would say that’s probably true, yeah. It’s an enormous amount of work that he left behind that he didn’t release, not all of which, obviously, will end up emerging. But there’s a tremendous amount of stuff that correlates with particular creative periods in his life. The way we decided to proceed on this one, as we do with everything, the guiding principle is to approach these things with the completeness and respect and integrity that Prince himself would demand and that his body of work deserves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAdboa7jWZo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>1999 Remastered \u003cem>is out Nov. 29 via \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://store.prince.com/dept/1999-remastered\">\u003cem>The Prince Estate\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and Warner Bros.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Prince%27s+%271999%27+Sees+Another+Life+%E2%80%94+This+Time+With+35+New+Songs+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"id": "here-and-now",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
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},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
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