Lady Blackbird, 'It's Not That Easy'
Equal parts torch song and funeral dirge, it's a raw and pining anthem whose heartbreak slowly seeps in as the organ crawls beneath Lady Blackbird's sorrowful vocals.
Music & Culture
Injury Reserve, 'Knees'
Moved both by the loss of a founding member and a desire to return to the rap group's experimental roots, Injury Reserve's "Knees" feels like a musical left turn.
On 'Home Video,' Lucy Dacus Translates Her Life Into Song
Home Video is a collection of personal moments from Lucy Dacus' life, translated into song by way of her vulnerable, honest lyricism.
John Coltrane's Masterpiece Breathes New Life With 'A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle'
John Coltrane rarely performed the music from A Love Supreme after its release at the end of 1964 – meaning even the most ardent Coltrane-ologists have been unaware of the existence of these tapes.
Lilith Ai, 'Bloodlines'
This #NowPlaying discovery of Lilith Ai comes to us from this year's Tiny Desk Contest.
Tom T. Hall, Country Music's Storyteller, Captured Life's Humble Moments
Tom T. Hall developed the singer-songwriter as a trustworthy observer, a persona who could supply all the detail we needed to get the sense of the situation in three minutes flat.
How Kate Bush's 'The Dreaming' Made My Monsters My Own
There are so many ways that women are made into monsters. On The Dreaming, Bush expresses the pain and explores the potential of monstrous transformation — and teaches us how to do the same.
Esperanza Spalding, 'Formwela 10'
"Formwela 10" is one of Spalding's more enchanting spells: a shape-shifting chamber invention that ponders the question of what we ask of one another in the course of romantic exchange.
Helado Negro, 'Outside The Outside'
A late-night song with an infectious groove, "Outside the Outside" transports listeners to a dance floor where the only light we see is bouncing off a disco ball.
IDK, 'Santa Monica Blvd'
Life's big challenges have fueled the rapper's hard-earned success. "Santa Monica Blvd" affirms a triumphant IDK, punctuated by the hook: "I win, I win, again and again."