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National Museum of African American History and Culture and Smithsonian Folkways Announce Aug. 20 Release of the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap

Eric Alper
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National Museum of African American History and Culture and Smithsonian Folkways Announce Aug. 20 Release of the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) has partnered with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings to produce the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap to be released Aug. 20. This first-of-its-kind collection chronicles hip-hop’s growth and impact from the parks of the Bronx to the broadest areas of the American experience and worldwide influence. A track list and additional information [1] about the anthology are available, including images from the set.

“Born in Bronx and raised across the American West and South, hip-hop is one of the most influential genres of music in the modern era,” said Kevin Young, the Andrew W. Mellon Director of NMAAHC. “Through beats, dynamic rhymes and pointed lyricism, hip-hop has provided a platform for communities and generations to voice their ongoing struggles and has changed society and culture around the world.”

The project is the latest in the Smithsonian African American Legacy Series, a collaboration between Smithsonian Folkways and NMAAHC to tell stories about music by African Americans and the experiences that inspire it. The launch of the anthology comes as the museum prepares to celebrate its five-year anniversary and highlights its ongoing mission to tell the stories of American history through the African American lens. The anthology details the evolution of hip-hop over four decades through 129 tracks spread across nine CDs, along with a 300-page coffee table book featuring 11 essays from prominent music scholars, authors and journalists covering topics such as entrepreneurship, graffiti, women in hip-hop and more, as well as extensive notes on each track.

“We wanted the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap to be reflective of the culture, of the music, of the people, of everything that is part of hip-hop,” said Dwandalyn R. Reece, NMAAHC’s associate director for curatorial affairs, curator of music and performing arts and producer of the anthology.

In addition, the anthology features hundreds of photographs spanning decades of history. It was designed by artist Cey Adams, founding creative director of Def Jam.

In hip-hop’s early years, some critics refused to acknowledge the art form as music, dismissing it instead as unoriginal and uncreative. As a result, hip-hop spent its first decade of growth as a niche genre that much of the music industry assumed would burn out in a short time. Now, as hip-hop nears its 50th anniversary, it is the most popular musical genre in the U.S., with notable influence and impact in all aspects of American culture. Arguably one of the last music counter cultures, hip-hop is instrumental in shaping and narrating the stories of America’s inner cities.

The Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap is a thoroughly researched and thoughtfully curated set of essays that tell the story of hip-hop and rap, acting as an extension of the museum’s permanent collections. The project was produced over seven years from launch to completion, with the care and intention befitting the weight and scope of hip-hop’s story. The work began in 2014 from an executive committee composed of key figures in the music and culture of hip-hop, including rappers Chuck D and MC Lyte; writers and scholars Adam Bradley, Jeff Chang, Cheryl Keyes and Mark Anthony Neal; early Def Jam senior executives-turned-cultural advisors Bill Adler and Bill Stephney; artist and writer Questlove; and producer and educator 9th Wonder. An additional panel of advisors was assembled with equal representation from all facets of hip-hop culture.

While music is the centerpiece, the anthology dives into the cultural impact of hip-hop and global influence. It is not a greatest-hits compilation but a narrative of hip-hop’s music, culture and legacy. Spanning musical eras from 1979–2013, the final collection of 129 songs is the first with music from all three major record companies: Sony, Universal and Warner. The anthology is a contextual education on hip-hop’s origin, social and cultural impact, commercial dominance and more. It follows other defining collections from Smithsonian Folkways, the Anthology of American Folk Music and Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology.

Disc 1 (1979-1982):
Fatback – King Tim III
Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight
The Sequence – Funk You Up
Kurtis Blow – The Breaks
Funky Four +1 – That’s the Joint
Spoonie Gee feat. The Sequence – Monster Jam
Treacherous Three – The Body Rock
Blondie – Rapture
Grandmaster Flash – The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel
Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force – Planet Rock

Disc 2 (1982-1984):
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – The Message
The Fearless Four – Rockin It
Cold Crush Brothers – Punk Rock Rap
Herbie Hancock – Rockit
Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force – Looking for the Perfect Beat
Run-DMC – It’s Like That
Whodini – Friends
Cold Crush Brothers – Fresh, Fly, Wild & Bold
T. La Rock – It’s Yours
The World’s Famous Supreme Team – Hey! DJ
Newcleus – Jam On It
UTFO – Roxanne, Roxanne

Disc 3 (1984-1987):
Roxanne Shanté – Roxanne’s Revenge
Fat Boys – Fat Boys
Doug E. Fresh & MC Ricky D – La Di Da Di
LL Cool J – I Can’t Live without my Radio
Schoolly D – P.S.K. ‘What Does It Mean?’
Run-DMC feat. Aerosmith – Walk This Way
Beastie Boys – Paul Revere
Ultramagnetic MC’s – Ego Tripping
Ice-T – 6 ‘N The Mornin’
Kool Moe Dee – How Ya Like Me Now
LL Cool J – I Need Love
Eric B feat. Rakim – Eric B is President
Mantronix – King of The Beats

Disc 4 (1987-1989):
Stetsasonic feat. the Rev. Jesse Jackson & Olatunji – A.F.R.I.C.A.
Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Parents Just Don’t Understand
Audio Two – Top Billin’
MC Lyte – Lyte As A Rock
Big Daddy Kane – Raw
Marley Marl feat. Master Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, & Big Daddy Kane – The Symphony
MC Lyte – I Cram to Understand U (Sam)
Tone Lōc – Wild Thing
Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock – It Takes Two
Jungle Brothers – I’ll House You
N.W.A. – Fuck Tha Police
Public Enemy – Fight the Power
The Stop the Violence Movement – Self Destruction
Too Short – Life Is…Too Short
Slick Rick – Children’s Story
3rd Bass – The Gas Face

Disc 5 (1989-1991):
Queen Latifah feat. Monie Love – Ladies First
Public Enemy – Bring the Noise
De La Soul – Me Myself and I
Biz Markie – Just a Friend
The D.O.C. – It’s Funky Enough
2 Live Crew – Me So Horny
Digital Underground – The Humpty Dance
MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This
Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby
Brand Nubian – All for One
Geto Boys – Mind Playing Tricks on Me
A Tribe Called Quest – Scenario
Black Sheep – The Choice is Yours
Salt-N-Pepa – Let’s Talk About Sex
Yo-Yo feat. Ice-Cube – Can’t Play with My Yo-Yo
Naughty By Nature – O.P.P.

Disc 6 (1992-1994):
Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg – Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang
Ice Cube – It Was a Good Day
Sir Mix-A-Lot – Baby Got Back
Arrested Development – Tennessee
Digable Planets – Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
House of Pain – Jump Around
Positive K – I Got a Man
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth – They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)
UGK – Pocket Full of Stones
Wu-Tang Clan – C.R.E.A.M.
Cypress Hill – Insane In The Brain
The Pharcyde – Passin’ Me By
Eightball & MJG – Comin Out Hard
Common Sense – I Used to Love H.E.R.
Da Brat – Funkdafied
Nas – N.Y. State of Mind
Craig Mack feat. The Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes – Flava In Your Ear

Disc 7 (1994-1997):
Beastie Boys – Sabotage
The Notorious B.I.G. – Juicy
Gang Starr feat. Nice & Smooth – DWYCK
Warren G feat. Nate Dogg – Regulate
Snoop Doggy Dogg – Murder Was The Case
E-40 feat. Suga T – Sprinkle Me
Goodie Mob – Cell Therapy
Coolio feat. L.V. – Gangsta’s Paradise
2Pac – Dear Mama
Mobb Deep – Shook Ones, Part 2
Method Man feat. Mary J. Blige – I’ll Be There For You / You’re All I Need To Get By
Foxy Brown feat. Jay-Z – I’ll Be
Lil Kim feat. Puff Daddy – No Time
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – Tha Crossroads
Wu-Tang Clan feat. Cappadonna – Triumph
Busta Rhymes – Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See
Master P feat. Silkk The Shocker, Mia X, Fiend – Make ‘Em Say Uhh!

Disc 8 (1997-2003):
Missy Elliot – The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
Lauryn Hill – Doo Wop (That Thing)
DMX – Ruff Ryders’ Anthem
The Roots – The Next Movement
Mos Def – Mathematics
BG – Bling Bling
dead prez – Hip Hop
Eminem feat. Dido – Stan
OutKast – Ms. Jackson
Nelly – Country Grammar (Hot Shit)
Ludacris feat. Pharrell – Southern Hospitality
Nas – One Mic
50 Cent – In Da Club
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins – Get Low

Disc 9 (2004-2013):
Talib Kweli – Black Girl Pain
Kanye West – Jesus Walks
Three 6 Mafia feat. Young Buck, Eightball & MJG – Stay Fly
Rick Ross – Hustlin’
Lupe Fiasco feat. Nikki Jean – Hip-Hop Saved My Life
Young Jeezy feat. Nas – My President
David Banner feat. Chris Brown & Yung Joc – Get Like Me
Lil Wayne feat. Robin Thicke – Tie My Hands
Jay Electronica – Exhibit C
Nicki Minaj – Super Bass
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz – Thrift Shop
J Cole feat. TLC – Crooked Smile
Kanye West – Blood On The Leaves
Drake – Started From the Bottom

Sonic Reducers: Remembering Amy Winehouse, 10 Years After Her Death

Eric Alper
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Sonic Reducers: Remembering Amy Winehouse, 10 Years After Her Death

Sonic Reducers. One topic. Two music nerds. Five minutes. Join us as we mark the 10th anniversary of Amy Winehouse’s death, share personal recollections about her music and concerts, and wonder whether it’s time to stop talking about the 27 Club.

Smithsonian Folkways Presents “Let Love Be Your Guide”, Dan + Claudia Zanes’ First Duo Album

Eric Alper
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Smithsonian Folkways Presents “Let Love Be Your Guide”, Dan + Claudia Zanes’ First Duo Album

On September 10 from Smithsonian Folkways comes Let Love Be Your Guide, the first duo album by internationally renowned family musicians Dan + Claudia Zanes. The collection is a welcoming, freewheeling musical conversation about anti-racism, racial justice, and the joys of community. Conceived during the 2020 Black Lives Matter uprisings and coronavirus pandemic, the songs describe the new terms of togetherness – how we understand it, how we build it, and how we strive for more.

Dan + Claudia Zanes like to describe their style – rooted in many different traditions including gospel, country, R&B, and traditional Haitian music – as electric folk. At the core it’s two voices and an electric guitar. The eclectic, warm, and accessible music the duo makes reflects the kindness and openness that underpin their message: out of isolation and hardship we can learn how to accept and heal the wounds of the past, and how to change and face the future with grace and compassion, regardless of our age. In addition to the usual ways that music enhances our daily lives, the artists imagine that families will use these songs as a starting point for important and uplifting conversations at home.

Let Love Be Your Guide was written and recorded in Baltimore shortly after the couple moved to the city from Brooklyn at the end of 2019. They had been there just a few months when the pandemic hit and they were left, like all of us, at home. In an effort to connect with others, they decided to record and share a new song online every day, creating a Social Isolation Song Series. The popular series, which was later acquired by the Library of Congress, delivered inspiration and hope by bringing people together when we were forced apart, providing light when things were so dark for the artists and their virtual audience. The series ended after two hundred days. The experience changed the couple as they realized more clearly what folk singers have always known: songs are here to inspire and uplift, but they’re also here to tell the stories and reflect the times, and these were indeed unprecedented and unforgettable times.

“As we put this album together, we were reminded again that there is a time for dancing and a time for protest. When we sing, we share a sense of possibility and love. The songs, like the conversation, can tell us where and who we are and what we might become…together.” – Dan + Claudia Zanes

Fans of Dan Zanes will discover a collection that represents the full evolution of his work since he started creating family music, with songs that are inclusive and speak to people of all ages about love, community, and activism. Listeners can hear the joy and fullness from a singer now joined by the love of his life, Claudia, whom he credits with helping him become the person and artist he was meant to be. He declares this is the album that expresses everything he’s always wanted to say and is a representation of life’s greatest possibilities: a creation from their love that shares what they can accomplish together. Claudia brings to the album, her first, her life’s story, her observations and personal experiences.

The title track “Let Love Be Your Guide (for John Lewis)” is dedicated to the Georgia congressman and civil rights icon. In the final weeks of his life Lewis wrote an op-ed for the New York Times entitled “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation” and arranged to have it published on the day of his funeral. Dan and Claudia we were so moved by John’s life and words that they sat in their kitchen that afternoon and wrote this song. On “Coming Down” the duo envisions the dismantling of white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and militarism. Who doesn’t want freedom for one and all? Join the cause and enjoy the party on the other side. Faith provided them much comfort and strength this past year, and “In These Troubled Times” comes from a call-and-response they practice in church. “The Bridge” is about the assumptions we make about each other based on appearance and features MC J Pope. The first single off the album, “Reparations Is a Must (4th of July Love Song),” is a loud call for healing, freedom, promise, acknowledgement, truth, love, and most importantly justice.

As Dan is no stranger to making music aimed at families, and Claudia is a jazz vocalist of Haitian American heritage, here the duo offers songs like the playful “Arriba,” the soothing jazz lullaby “Startime,” and “Ki Lè M’ap We Ou Anko?” (When Will I See You Again?), a song about longing for and missing the people we care about and love. As an interracial couple Dan and Claudia acknowledge that they live in “Two Different Worlds,” and on this song they embrace this truth as they walk together towards a better tomorrow. “For the Long Night” is about looking ahead and imagining possibilities, and the dreamy “Hold On” reminds us to hold on to hope, joy, faith, songs, peace, and in the long shadow of night, to each other.

The album was 100 percent a Baltimore-based production: produced by Dan + Claudia Zanes, recorded live in studio and mixed by Steve Wright at WrightWay Studios, and mastered by Tony Eichler at GoldTone Masterworks, LLC. Guests on the album, all locals, include Amadou Kouyate, Eze Jackson, Greg Corneille, Yesenia Mejia Herrera, Ashley Sierra, Isabelle DeLeon, Mike Lowry (Future Islands), Jeff Reed, David Morales Mejia, Kylie Grace, Eva Grace, Haven Grace, Prince Phillip, Reverend Korcoran Smith, Keenan Smith, Lilly Smith, Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead, J Pope, Black Root, and Max, Grace, and Phillip Ferrell.

Grammy award–winning children’s performer Dan Zanes and Haitian American music therapist / jazz vocalist Claudia Zanes have been making music with each other since the day they met in the fall of 2016. In their early time together the duo began performing sensory friendly concerts which brought about the notable Night Train 57: A Sensory Friendly Comic Folk Opera, commissioned by the Kennedy Center, in 2017.

Their love of songs and communal music-making led to an award-winning songbook entitled Dan Zanes’ House Party: A Family Roots Music Treasury, published by Quarto Group USA in 2018. In late 2019 the now married couple moved from Brooklyn to Baltimore. When the coronavirus brought about a national state of emergency just after their arrival, Dan and Claudia started their Social Isolation Song Series. For the next 200 days, in an effort to stay connected and uplift others, they performed a different song every day. This remarkable series of videos currently resides in the Library of Congress.

The two continue to adapt and reinvent and sing their way to new beginnings. In addition to music-making, Claudia runs her flourishing handmade skin care business called CLEO Soaps, and Dan continues his work with Constructive White Conversations, a white anti-racist organization he co-founded in 2011. Let Love Be Your Guide is the couple’s first album together and Dan’s second with Smithsonian Folkways after Lead Belly, Baby! which released in 2017.

LET LOVE BE YOUR GUIDE TRACKLISTING:
1. Let Love Be Your Guide (for John Lewis)
2. Open Windows (Here I Am)
3. Long Hot Summer Nights
4. Ki Lè M’ap We Ou Anko? When Will I See You Again?)
5. Coming Down
6. New Beginnings
7. In These Troubled Times
8. For the Long Night
9. The Bridge
10. Reparations Is a Must (4th of July Love Song)
11. Hold On
12. Arriba Means Up!
13. Two Different Worlds
14. Star Time

Halsey Announces Theatrical Film Experience To Accompany Her New Album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power”

Eric Alper
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Halsey Announces Theatrical Film Experience To Accompany Her New Album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power”

Halsey shared the trailer for If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power – an hour-long film experience set to the music of her upcoming album of the same name. Written by Halsey, it was directed by Colin Tilley, who previously worked with her on the official videos for her chart-topping singles “Without Me” and “You Should Be Sad.”

Select cities and theatres will be announced soon for the film experience. Tickets will go on sale Tuesday, August 3, for IMAX showings.

Halsey’s fourth studio album will be released by Capitol Records/Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company on August 27. Fans can pre-order the album on Halsey’s store. If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power was produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, known for their work in Nine Inch Nails and as Oscar, Golden Globe and GRAMMY®-winning film/television composers. Halsey penned all of the album’s songs.

In her career to date, Halsey has surpassed 60 million RIAA-certified units across albums, singles and features. Worldwide, she has sold over 150 million adjusted singles. If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power follows Manic, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Current Albums chart. It was the first album of 2020 to be certified Platinum in the U.S. and attained Platinum certification in numerous other countries also.

She continues to push creative boundaries, expanding her influence and impact beyond music. Her first book, I Would Leave Me If I Could: A Collection of Poetry, debuted on The New York Times Best Sellers list last November. Named as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020, she has won over 20 awards, including an AMA, MTV VMA, GLAAD Award, the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Hal David Starlight Award and a CMT Music Award. Halsey recently introduced about-face, a multi-dimensional makeup line for made for everyone. Halsey continues to use her voice to speak up for causes she passionately believes in, including disenfranchised youth, women’s rights, mental health and the LGBTQ community.

My Next Read: “It Ain’t Retro: Daptone Records & The 21st-Century Soul Revolution” By Jessica Lipsky

Eric Alper
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My Next Read: “It Ain’t Retro: Daptone Records & The 21st-Century Soul Revolution” By Jessica Lipsky

Soul is the most powerful expression of American music—a distinct combination of roots, migration, race, culture, and politics packaged together for your dancing pleasure. But if you thought the sounds of Motown or Stax Records died along with 8-tracks and macramé, you’d be wrong. For two decades, Daptone Records has churned out hard funk and such beautiful soul that these records sparked a musical revolution.

With a collective of soul-obsessed producers and musicians, the Brooklyn-based independent label launched the careers of artists such as Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley, while providing sonic support for the likes of Amy Winehouse, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga. Daptone’s records—and those of the larger soul revival scene—pay homage but never lip service to the original artists, proving that soul is still culturally relevant, and just as exciting as ever.

It Ain’t Retro charts this revival’s players, sounds, and tectonic shifts over the past twenty years, taking you from dingy clubs where soul-crazed DJs packed the dance floor, to just uptown where some of the genre’s heaviest musicians jumpstarted the renaissance in a basement studio, and all the way to the White House. This definitive tale of Daptone Records’ soulful revolution chronicles the label’s history, players, and sounds, while dissecting the scene’s cultural underpinnings, which continue to reverberate in pop music. The book also contains rare and unseen images of Daptone artists past and present, including Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley, Lee Fields, Antibalas, The Sugarman 3, The Budos Band, and more.

Here’s Paul McCartney’s Isolated Vocals Err…Eating Vegetables On Super Furry Animals’ “Receptacle for the Respectable”

Eric Alper
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Here’s Paul McCartney’s Isolated Vocals Err…Eating Vegetables On Super Furry Animals’ “Receptacle for the Respectable”

“Receptacle for the Respectable” is a song from the Super Furry Animals, on which Paul McCartney is credited doing “carrots and celery rhythm”.

From MTV (about the collaboration between McCartney and Super Furry Animals):

[…] A far stranger relationship developed between the Furrys and the former Beatle. The two forces first intersected in 2000 at an NME Awards ceremony in London when Furry keyboardist Cian Ciaran got drunk and found himself in the men’s room next to the music legend. Their bathroom conversation continued into the ceremony room, and by the end of the night Ciaran had convinced McCartney to let the Welsh band remix some previously unreleased Beatles music.

“One minute Cian is dragging Paul McCartney to a table, and within two weeks four boxes of original Beatles master tapes arrived in our office in Cardiff,” marveled Rhys. “We sampled chunks of John [Lennon] and Paul chatting, and we made loops of George’s guitar and Ringo [Starr]‘s drums. That was extremely surreal.”

The music came out last year on a record called The Liverpool Sound Collage and was used as background music for an installation by British pop artist Peter Blake at the Tate Gallery in London. Pleased by the collaboration, McCartney agreed to guest on Rings Around the World.The only problem was scheduling the time.

“He was always going to fashion shows in Paris and was always canceling on us,” grumbled Rhys. “Also, there was a lot of security involved. It was like trying to make a record with the pope.”

In typically perverse fashion, Super Furry Animals didn’t want McCartney to sing on their record. Instead, they asked him to chew carrots and celery into the mic on “Receptacle for the Respectable,” as he allegedly did for Brian Wilson on the track “Vegetables” from the unreleased 1967 album Smile.

“He claims that was his favorite moment of last year — chewing the celery and carrots to the beat,” Rhys said. “We just didn’t want him to strain his voice, and we didn’t want him to play bass because he’s done that so many times in his life. He’s probably sick of singing cameo roles.” […]

Osheaga Is Back With Charlotte Cardin, Jessie Reyez And Half Moon Run

Eric Alper
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Osheaga Is Back With Charlotte Cardin, Jessie Reyez And Half Moon Run

This fall, Montreal will come alive with a musical celebration at the OSHEAGA Get Together presented by Bell in collaboration with Coors Light, taking place between October 1-3, 2021 on beautiful Île Sainte-Hélène at Parc Jean-Drapeau. It will be a unique opportunity for fans to reunite and enjoy world-class live music in an intimate outdoor setting (with the stunning beauty of Montreal’s skyline as a backdrop for the two-stage setup).

The three-day OSHEAGA Get Together will feature moving performances from a wide array of festival favourites, with a focus on Canadian and local talent. Headlining will be some of this city’s top international exports, including Charlotte Cardin, the critical darling who just sold out 11 shows at Montreal’s MTELUS (scheduled for 2022) – that’s 24 000 tickets sold within a couple of days! The Montreal-born singer/songwriter, who is as comfortable crooning an intimate jazz tune as she is swimming in a sea of electro beats and pop sensibilities, takes the stage Friday, October 1st. The incredibly talented artist – who is an OSHEAGA favourite, having played the fest in 2016 – quickly made a name for herself as one of Quebec’s most notable talents and greatest exports, having amassed over 149 MILLION streams around the world! With her new album, Phoenix, burning up the charts, fans know that this will be an unforgettable show!

Saturday night, rising pop star Jessie Reyez will take the stage. With multiple Junos under her belt, including Breakthrough Artist of the Year (2018) and the following two consecutive years for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year (2019 & 2020), the Colombian-born, Toronto-raised singer will prove why she is considered one of the great ones by fans and critics all over the world. The Canadian gem has been shortlisted for the Polaris Prize twice already in her relatively short career, so far, and she’s worked on hits for the likes of Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris, Sam Smith and Eminem. Reyez also delivered a blistering set at the outdoor blowout event for the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2018, and as anyone who witnessed that show will attest, this will be a can’t miss set!

The Sunday night headliners will be Half Moon Run – one of the most exciting young live acts who perfectly capture the essence of Montreal’s indie sound. With a new EP out, Inwards and Onwards, the group continues to make a name for themselves with unforgettable live performances that marry multi-layered harmonies with driving percussion and a catalogue of songs that always inspire impromptu singalongs from the crowd. The Juno Award winners will be turning heads full circle when they take the stage Sunday, October 3rd.

“We are keenly aware of how important live music is to our fans and our city, and how much everyone misses it” says Nick Farkas, Senior Vice President, Booking, Concerts and Events at evenko and founder of Osheaga. “We are thrilled about this announcement, because we promised fans that we would do everything in our power to get them to Parc Jean-Drapeau to be united by live music again as soon as possible, and we are going to make that happen!”

The OSHEAGA Get Together will follow all government recommendations and all on-site COVID-19 health and safety measures, which will be communicated at a date closer to the event.

Single day and weekend passes for #OSHEAGAGT will be available via pre-sale today and General Admission on sale Friday, July 23rd at noon at www.osheaga.com.

OSHEAGA GET TOGETHER PASS PRICES (taxes and service fees are included*)

GENERAL ADMISSION PASS – 1 DAY : starting at 85.00$
GENERAL ADMISSION PASS – 3 DAYS : starting at 245.00$
CASINO DE MONTRÉAL GOLD PASS – 1 DAY : starting at 135.00$
CASINO DE MONTRÉAL GOLD PASS – 3 DAYS : starting at 390.00$
GOLD Pass holders will have access to the Casino de Montréal OSHEAGA Terrace, a platform offering a premium view of the Bell River Stage and Coors Light Mountain Stage, with access to private washrooms, an exclusive beverage stand and fast-lane entry onto the event grounds.

National Bank is offering a $15.95 discount on the 1-day General Admission Pass. This offer is for a limited time and in limited quantities. Visit National Bank’s Facebook or Instagram page for more details. Also, National Bank will keep festival goers hydrated for a third year by offering water bottle filling stations on site. The Bank will also give back to the community by making a $10,000 donation to the evenko foundation to provide musical instruments to schools in need. To learn more about the foundation: www.fondationevenko.ca.

The team behind OSHEAGA Get Together presented by Bell in collaboration with Coors Light would like to extend a huge thank you to fans, numerous sponsors and public partners, including : the Government of Quebec through the Ministry of Tourism and the Secretariat for the Metropolitan Region for their continuous support.

The OSHEAGA Music and Arts Festival presented by Bell in collaboration with Coors Light official 15th anniversary mega celebration has been postponed to July 29-31, 2022, so the OSHEAGA team can pull out all the stops for that momentous occasion, but this special 2021 reunion will be an epic celebration of the power of live music to bring people together.

*$1 from every Osheaga Get Together ticket sold will be donated to the evenko foundation, via the Plus1 organization.

Treaty #6 Territories of Saskatchewan Alt.Rockers THE RECKLESS FAMOUS Say “Goodbye Sorrow”

Eric Alper
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Treaty #6 Territories of Saskatchewan Alt.Rockers THE RECKLESS FAMOUS Say “Goodbye Sorrow”

Alt-rockers The Reckless Famous let go of self-destruction and despair to say “Goodbye Sorrow” on this, their latest single — available now.

An instant hit plucked from the heart of modern rock, the song is fourth of five brand new tracks from the band’s sophomore eponymous effort, released in April 2021; the album The Reckless Famous is a follow up to their 2017 breakthrough LP, 10 Stories.

The track bursts out of the gates with a raging riff, and succinctly follows through with savoury vocals steeped in brilliant range. Mingling their influences of rock, blues, soul, funk, jazz, and even hip hop, The Reckless Famous have managed to carve out a unique place they can call entirely their own.

Hailing from the Treaty #6 Territories of Saskatchewan, The Reckless Famous is made up of Adam Jack – Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation, Kyle Wuttunee – Onion Lake Cree Nation, Jesse Fehr – Onion Lake Cree Nation, Harlan Blayne Kytwayhat – Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation, and Ray Pambrun – Onion Lake Cree Nation, Treaty #6.

As they explain, “Our individual origin stories in music are vast and have intertwined, whether realized or not and, ultimately, our collective stories leading down roads that have accumulated into the reckless dream that indigenous rockers from the prairies will be counted as our heroes.”

The group is proficient at blending intricate rock melodies, with velvet vocals and bleeding harmonies. Each layer of the soundscape is an independent entity — racing guitar solos and riffs, hankering percussion, pulsating bass — yet, swirls together in a musical kaleidoscope you find yourself getting lost inside.

“’Reckless’,” they reveal, “describes the unrelenting desire to transform the world using the power of music, and through focus, determination, and adaptability, this is accomplished. ‘Famous’ is a tribute to our predecessors whose music has changed society for the better, whose music served as a catalyst for inner-transformation; essentially, whose music inspired, and thus is our mission and our statement

“‘We stand to be counted among you, we are The Reckless Famous’.”

Though it may be the group that introspectively bid adieu to the feeling of desperation, failure and loneliness on this particular single, it’s the listener who truly gets to wave “Goodbye Sorrow” when The Reckless Famous floods their speakers.

“Goodbye Sorrow” and The Reckless Famous are available now!

Video: Sesame Street Original Sales Pitch Reel

Eric Alper
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Video: Sesame Street Original Sales Pitch Reel

In 1969, a promotional pitch reel was produced for the series that would become Sesame Street, starring the Muppets. The reel was intended as a sample to be shown to station representatives at NET (later to become PBS), as well as parents and teachers, and included some of the earliest cartoon and film inserts (the street scenes concept had yet to be developed or filmed).

Best part: “Hey these kids can’t read or write, right?” Then howzabout we call the show Hey Stupid?”

Experimental Math-Prog Metal-Rockers TSIEN Chart You Through “Storm at Sea”

Eric Alper
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Experimental Math-Prog Metal-Rockers TSIEN Chart You Through “Storm at Sea”

Strap in; there’s a “Storm at Sea” with experimental math-prog metal rockers Tsien and their newly released single (with its own tumultuous backstory) — available now.

A sonic soundscape hurricane that threatens to wreck you the longer you hang on for dear life, this United Kingdom-based band is no stranger to doom. And they’re providing a whole new round of it on their re-released offering of their seminal album, No Two People Are Not on Fire.

For the veteran six-piece that comprises of of Adam Strazzanti, Alex Baldwin, Tim Wilson, Sandy Strazzanti, Steve Neale, and Dave Hill, the making of No Two People Are Not On Fire was a laborious project birthed of over half a decade of songwriting between the members. Tsien would form in 2006, and remain active until 2011, but the recording of the album cultivated tension between the group, forcing them to split shortly after.

Now, with their hands on new equipment, new production techniques, and time to remaster the originals, the album is back in full throttle, ready to engage an entirely new audience with its melodic, industrial prog metal.

“We finally had the time, space, equipment and inclination to revisit them and polish them to a standard we’re happy with — considering how they were recorded in the first place,” the band explains. “So, the album has now finally been properly released a decade after it was recorded, and 15 years after some of the song’s first inceptions.”

Acknowledging songwriters Kieran Parnell, Daniel Gilks, and Matthew Atkins for their contribution to the album, No Two People Are Not On Fire is a cascading anthology of metal novellas — with each track clocking in beyond the five minute mark.

Each record is a deliciously designed paradox of instrumental enchantment, suddenly raging aggressively through strangled vocals and damned lyrics. What Tsien sets out to achieve is an absurdly hypnotizing foray into their ever-changing genre inspirations. As the band says, their “eclectic style fuses inspiration from across the whole musical spectrum; from metal, to funk, to jazz, to pure disgusting tonal noise — all condensed to make for an absurdist auditory experience.”

Their lead single off the album, “Storm At Sea” is an audio journey through dreamy vocals, heavy industrial guitar riffs, and smashing percussion. Infused with harmonic interludes featuring layered vox, Tsien invites the listener to walk through a cascading plea; the heartbreak of a toxic relationship falling apart, being unable to break free, begging for release and unable to stop the cycle.

From hushed tones of acceptance, to pulsating screams of resistance, “Storm At Sea” is as much a revelation as it is a surrender to the power of love gone peril. At nearly eight minutes, the track refuses to back down from its commitment to see through the longing, and the sadness; the acceptance and the fear of being unable to sever ties completely with a floundering former flame.

Once you’ve entered the world of Tsien, you’re imprisoned to their haunting tales of yearning and reluctance. The ride isn’t over until they say so.

Tsien, the band that had a local cult following, brought their brand of genre hopping, raw aggression to the digital realm. Recorded on a potato in a shoddy lock-up in central Birmingham with a budget of precisely nothing-at-all, treat yourself to a sonic experience like you’ve never heard before. Six microphones directly into a computer never sounded so weird.

“Storm at Sea” and No Two People Are Not On Fire are available now.

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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