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Andrew Bird

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Andrew Bird Turns It Around With His "Olympians" Performance For Press Play

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The multi-talented musician/composer shares his "darkest before the dawn" original song on the latest episode of the Recording Academy's original performance series
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Aug 15, 2019 - 10:00 am

In the latest episode of Press Play, the incomparable Andrew Bird performs "Olympians" with help from Madison Cunningham. Have a look and listen:

From his new album, My Finest Work Yet, "Olympians" can be taken as a "socio-political allegory," according to Bird. Showing the contrast of despair and hope, the "darkest before the dawn" scenario song expresses how we as people can, "Spiral in our thoughts," said Bird, "get competitive about suffering" and ultimately, "Will ourselves out of these dark places." 

Growing up in Chicago with a mother who loved classical music and a father who loved Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, Bird started playing violin at age 4. His influences grew to include jazz, gospel, Lester Young, Staples Singers, and much more. Early in his career, Bird became known as a virtuoso violinist, songwriter, composer, vocalist and whistler, pushing the boundaries of style and technique with each new album since his 1666 debut, Music of Hair.

Enjoy Bird and Cunningham's live rendition of "Olympians," and stay tuned for more exclusive original performances on Press Play. 

La Santa Cecilia Scroll Down The Feed With "Winning" For Press Play

GRAMMYs

COASTCITY

Design: F. Inomata

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ReImagined Returns With More Exclusive & Unexpected Cover Performances All Summer Long

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A wide-ranging array of artist dig deep into the GRAMMY vault to cover classic songs with their own special twist, starting with Caribbean soul duo COASTCITY's take on a Childish Gambino's "Redbone"
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jul 9, 2019 - 10:00 am

Summer is upon us, and now here's another musical wonder to look forward to: every two weeks, the Recording Academy will debut a new installment of ReImagined, a video series where artists bring a fresh take on classic GRAMMY-winning/nominated songs by their favorite artists—from the Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best Rock Song, Best R&B Song and Best Rap Song categories.

To kick things off, Puerto Rican Caribbean soul duo COASTCITY tackle a modern classic, Childish Gambino's GRAMMY-winning hit "Redbone," which took home an award for Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 60th GRAMMY Awards.

Other upcoming ReImagined performances offer interpretations of songs by Lorde, Neil Young, Oasis, Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga and Brandley Cooper and more, from artists such as Andrew Bird, Angela Aguilar, VINCINT, Asiahn, Shea Diamond, La Santa Cecilia and others.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and visit our video page to watch each ReImagined episode, along with other exclusive content, as it's released.

ReImagined 2019 Schedule:

July 9: COASTCITY, "Redbone" by Childish Gambino

July 23: Angela Aguilar, "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Aug. 6: Shaun Ross, "Believe" by Cher

Aug. 20: Brandon Stansell, "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Sept. 3: Madison Beer, "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae

Sept. 17: Andrew Bird, "Harvest Moon" by Neil Young

Oct. 1: La Santa Cecilia, "House Of Cards" by Radiohead

Oct. 15: Jessenia + Jaimie, "Wonderwall" by Oasis

Oct. 29: VINCINT, "Issues" by Julia Michaels

Nov. 12: Shea Diamond, "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran

Nov. 26: Asiahn, "Royals" by Lorde

Meet First-Time GRAMMY Nominee Angela Aguilar

Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves

Photo: Manny Carabel/WireImage/Getty Images

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13 New Songs To Add To Your Holiday Playlist From Kacey Musgraves, Jacquees, The Flaming Lips & More

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Based on the sheer amount of new holiday music released this year, apparently we all really need a big dose of festive cheer—Los Lobos, Macklemore, blink-182 and more are also here to help
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 24, 2019 - 8:30 am

Before we enter into the next decade, we have to get through the holidays. Whether you're one of the many people responsible for streaming Mariah Carey's 1994 classic "All I Want For Christmas Is You" to the top of the charts this month or you've trying your best to avoid the sound of jingle bells at all costs, the holiday season can create a whirlwind of emotions.

But one thing's clear: we can all use a big dose of festive cheer. Thanks to a rich, diverse selection of new holiday songs and albums from Kacey Musgraves, Taylor Swift, Jacquees, The Flaming Lips, Los Lobos, Macklemore and many others, it's the perfect time to get cozy and pump up the sounds of peace and joy.

2018 Holiday Jams: Don't Sleep On These Brand-New Holiday Songs From RuPaul, Lil Jon & More

"Glittery," Kacey Musgraves ft. Troye Sivan

If Mariah Carey is the reigning queen of Christmas music, Kacey Musgraves is definitely the princess. Back in 2016, the GRAMMY-winning alt-country star released A Very Kacey Christmas, featuring both original and classic tracks and toured with it. This year, she added brand-new shimmer to the album with an Amazon Prime special, "The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show."

The show was filled with special guests, including Aussie pop star Troye Sivan, who joined her to sing "Glittery," a new, original holiday song about a lover that makes you feel like a beautiful snow globe. The special also spawned a live album, meaning you can tune into this track and the rest of the fun moments anytime. Musgraves is truly a better-dressed, modern Santa.

"Christmas Tree Farm," Taylor Swift

The Swifties had a great year, as GRAMMY winner Taylor Swift released her currently GRAMMY-nominated seventh studio album, Lover. As if the LP and the singles and videos that led up to it weren't enough, the pop star gave her fans another gift just in time for the holidays, a new song called "Christmas Tree Farm."

Her lyrics are filled with nostalgia for the farm she grew up on and the simpler times of childhood, as they dance over the classic, bright holiday song melodies. The music video even features cute footage from the Swift family's home videos.

"It's Christmas Time," Macklemore Ft. Dan Caplen 

Like Swift, GRAMMY-winning rapper Macklemore is also feeling a similar childhood nostalgia on his new track, "It's Christmas Time," featuring rising U.K. soul singer Dan Caplen. The cheerful song is paired with a cute, festive music video, in which the kids drink eggnog out of one of the Seattle artist's golden gramophones (which he won three of with Ryan Lewis back at the 56th GRAMMY Awards).

"Every year around Christmas time I think to myself 'Just do it Ben. Make the song. You can be the new Mariah Carey.' Well, this year I finally am," Macklemore joked on Twitter.

Watch: Mariah Carey Releases A New Video For "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

"7 O'Clock News / Silent Night," Phoebe Bridgers Ft. Fiona Apple and Matt Berninger

Tuning into the news in 2019 can be surreal and overwhelming. Apparently this was not so different in 1966, when GRAMMY-winning folk heroes Simon And Garfunkel released "7 O'Clock News / Silent Night," featuring a recording of the current news over their singing of the Christmas classic.

While technically not an original song like the rest on this list, Phoebe Bridgers, Fiona Apple and The National's Matt Beringer update the heart-wrenching song for our current reality, offering 100 percent of its proceeds to Planned Parenthood. Berninger plays the newscaster in this version, reading headlines about gun violence and anti-abortion legislation. The important, haunting song is part on the compilation album co-created by Berninger, 7-Inches for Planned Parenthood, which, of course, benefits the nonprofit organization.

"Miss You This Christmas," Letters to Cleo

"The days get short, the nights are really cold. / This year Christmas ain't the same / I'm not used to stringing lights alone, I miss you this Christmas," Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo sings on "Miss You This Christmas," from their new EP, OK Christmas. It is one of the two original songs on the Boston alt-rockers guitar-slicked holiday album, which also features two fun covers.

"Hanukkah in '96," Alex Frankel

In addition to all the new Christmas-themed music that dropped this season, Hanukkah+, a fun, star-studded compilation album, brought—finally!—a whole new batch of Hanukkah-themed bops. Frankel, a "Hebrew school dropout" and half of New York electro duo Holy Ghost!, contributes the synth-y, nostalgic "Hanukkah in '96." He says the fun new song is "the greatest Jewish song ever written (in a major key)."

Read: Holy Ghost! On What "Do This" Is Really About & Why They Feel So Good About 'Work'

"Sing It Now, Sing It Somehow," The Flaming Lips

Also a new track featured on Hanukkah+, The Flaming Lips' "Sing It Now, Sing It Somehow," is gorgeous, haunting and ecstatic, all at once. The producer of the album, GRAMMY-winning music supervisor Randall Poster said, "Seeing the Flaming Lips is like going to temple—if they had unicorns and body glitter as sacraments. So, I thought their spiritual connection would be relevant to celebration, contemplation and the spirit of the holiday." Amen.

"Christmas and You," Los Lobos

Read: Los Lobos' Louie Perez & David Hidalgo Working On A Ritchie Valens Musical

GRAMMY-winning Los Angeles rock greats Los Lobos recently released their first holiday album, Llegó Navidad, four decades into their illustrious musical career. Along with reimaginings of under-sung holiday classics "Feliz Navidad," "Dónde Está Santa Claus," "It's Christmas Time In Texas" and more, the album also offers a heartfelt original song, "Christmas and You."

As NPR's Michael Martin explained, "It is a classic Los Lobos operation—a lovingly curated collection of songs from across North, Central and South America with, of course, an original song that makes you want to cry."  

"Alabaster," Andrew Bird

Like Los Lobos, current GRAMMY nominee Andrew Bird has dropped his first holiday album several decades into his career (his first album came out in 1996). The indie folk-rock violinist's new EP, Hark!, follows his aptly-titled, GRAMMY nominated LP, My Finest Work Yet. The six-track surprise project is very much an Andrew Bird Christmas album, filled with his trademark whistling, melancholic lyrics and a mellow, lo-fi "White Christmas" cover. One of the original tracks, "Alabaster," feels both like a church hymn and a local pub's winter closing song, in the best way possible.

Of the project, the "Olympians" singer said, "A lot of folks have a hard time with the holidays but they serve a purpose to us as a people—to create comfort, warmth and atmosphere within the darkness and the cold that can crush one's spirit. There are a couple originals in here that address this idea of light and warmth in the darkness as well as some classics that have some nostalgic resonance with me. Hark! What sounds come flowing alabaster?"

Watch: Andrew Bird Covers Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" For ReImagined

"Christmas Party," Jacquees

The self-appointed "King Of R&B" Jacquees serves up a sexy dose of holiday spirit with his latest project and sophomore studio album, Christmas In Decatur. The nine-track LP of original holiday music, labeled as "HOTTTTT" by Hot New Hip Hop, arrived just one month after King Of R&B. The new album, whose title is a nod to his Georgia hometown, opens with the bubbling "Christmas Party," and also includes the amazingly NSFW "Like Santa Claus," ending on a celebratory high note with "Happy Holidays."

"Tell your people Happy Holidays (Happy Holidays). / We're so blessed to see these better days. / Oh, what a year it's been / All the up's and down's … / It's a New Year, baby, so glad that we made it out / all drinks on me, uh (all drinks on me)," Jacquees soulfully sings on the last track.

"Jolly Liver," Beach Slang

"I want beer!" James Alex of Philly rock outfit Beach Slang repeatedly growls over the chorus of their new rock 'n roll bah-humbug track, "Jolly Liver." Alex, who penned the song, closes it out with the amazing lines: "A-well-a-well-a, ho, ho, ho / and a-all that junk. / There ain't no halo hangin' 'round this dump. / I meant to be a saint. I ended up a drunk."

The new, rocking holiday-inspired song, released earlier this month, came along with the news that the band's next album, The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City, is due out Jan. 10.

"Not Another Christmas Song," blink-182

Apparently not one to follow their own advice, pop-punk group blink-182 follows 2001's "Won't Be Home For Christmas" with 2019's "Not Another Christmas Song." The new Christmas song has Mark Hoppus singing, "I'm burned out like lights on a tree. / Old songs, can't listen to these. / Fake a smile but all I can see is empty boxes and trees. / Another year not a coffin / Growing up or whatever you call it."

"Christmas Techno Dance," Klaus Blatter

This year, Santa was generous, as there are actually more new holiday songs than we can include on this list. We'll go out with the bizarre, hilarious holiday club track, "Christmas Techno Dance" by German comedic dance outfit act Klaus Blatter. It's paired with an equally wacky music video, for which the YouTube description explains, "The Christmas Techno Dance video is basically a summarized updating of the Bible with all the boring elements of the story removed… If you wish to enter the kingdom of god all you are for needing is this video and single of Klaus Blatter. The story is told!"

From the Recording Academy family to you and yours, please have a safe, joyful, music-filled holiday!

Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" Hits No. 1 25 Years After Its Initial Releas

GRAMMYs

SoundCloud

Photo Illustration: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

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SoundCloud Unveils New Artist Marketing Tool Called Promote

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Premier-tier users of the digital service can now self-manage their own promotional efforts to boost plays and grow audience
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Nov 12, 2019 - 3:35 pm

SoundCloud artists who have upgrated to Premier, the platform's premium-tier membership, now have a new promotional tool in their tool belt. Today the digital service launced Promote, a self-service feature empowering creators to boost plays and lift their songs to the top of listeners' feeds and mobile pages.

With Promote, Premier users can set their own budget and adjust advanced targeting options to, as SoundCloud's website puts it, "Get your music in front of our global tastemaker community." The promotional tool also allows artists to interact with fans and build real-time connections on the platform.

This new feature comes as part of the existing Premier plan, where artists get free distribution to every major music service with fast, direct payouts as well as, "Earn industry-leading revenue share on SoundCloud and keep 100 percent of your payouts from other services."

In order for artists to qualify for Premier and access the new Promote tool, they must be age 18 or older, be posting original music and have no copyright strikes against them and a minimum of 1,000 monetizable track plays on SoundCloud.

For more information, visit SoundCloud's Premier page.

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Hero The Band perform at the Recording Academy Atlanta Chapter Annual Membership Celebration
Photo: Marcus Ingram/WireImage

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Report: Music & Culture Infrastructure Can Create Better "Future Cities"

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How sound planning for a creative future in our urban areas makes all the difference for artists and musicians
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Oct 23, 2019 - 2:27 pm

The future, as they say, is now. And for music makers around the world, building a future for themselves often starts at home, in their local creative community and in the city where they live. While technology has expanded communication and made the world smaller, cities continue to grow, making planning for the future a critical cultural mission of the present.

To that end, a new report by global organization Sound Diplomacy titled "This Must Be The Place" examines, "The role of music and cultural infrastructure in creating better future cities for all of us." The 37-page deep dive into community planning and development highlights the importance of creative culture in what it calls "Future Cities."

"The government defines ‘Future Cities’ as 'a term used to imagine what cities themselves will be like," the report states, "how they will operate, what systems will orchestrate them and how they will relate to their stakeholders (citizens, governments, businesses, investors, and others),'"

According to the report, only three global cities or states currently have cultural infrastructure plans: London, Amsterdam and New South Wales. This fact may be surprising considering how city planning and sustainability have become part of the discussion on development of urban areas, where the UN estimates 68 percent of people will live by 2050.

"Our future places must look at music and culture ecologically. Much like the way a building is an ecosystem, so is a community of creators, makers, consumers and disseminators," the report says. "The manner in which we understand how to maintain a building is not translated to protecting, preserving and promoting music and culture in communities."

The comparison and interaction between the intangibility of culture and the presence of physical space is an ongoing theme throughout the report. For instance, one section of the report outlines how buildings can and should be designed to fit the cultural needs of the neighborhoods they populate, as too often, use of a commercial space is considered during the leasing process, not the construction process, leading to costly renovations.

"All future cities are creative cities. All future cities are music cities."

On the residential side, as cities grow denser, the need increases for thoughtful acoustic design and sufficient sound isolation. Future cities can and should be places where people congregate

"If we don’t design and build our future cities to facilitate and welcome music and experience, we lose what makes them worth living in."

For musicians and artists of all mediums, the answer to making—and keeping—their cities worth living in boils down to considering their needs, impact and value more carefully and sooner in the planning process.

"The report argues that property is no longer an asset business, but one built on facilitating platforms for congregation, community and cohesion," it says. "By using music and culture at the beginning of the development process and incorporating it across the value chain from bid to design, meanwhile to construction, activation to commercialisation, this thinking and practice will result in better places."

The report offers examples of how planners and leaders are handling this from around the world. For instance, the Mayor Of London Night Czar, who helps ensure safety and nighttime infrastructure for venues toward the Mayor's Vision for London as a 24-hour city. Stateside, Pittsburgh, Penn., also has a Night Mayor in place to support and inform the growth of its creative class.

Diversity, inclusion, health and well-being also factor into the reports comprehensive look at how music and culture are every bit as important as conventional business, ergonomic and environmental considerations in Future Cites. Using the Queensland Chamber of Arts and Culture as a reference, it declared, "A Chamber of Culture is as important as a Chamber of Commerce."

In the end, the report serves as a beacon of light for governments, organizations, businesses and individuals involved in planning and developing future cities. Its core principals lay out guideposts for building friendly places to music and culture and are backed with case studies and recommendations. But perhaps the key to this progress is in changing how we approach the use of space itself, as the answer to supporting music may be found in how we look at the spaces we inhabit.

"To develop better cities, towns and places, we must alter the way we think about development, and place music and culture alongside design, viability, construction and customer experience," it says. "Buildings must be treated as platforms, not assets. We must explore mixed‑use within mixed‑use, so a floor of a building, or a lesser‑value ground floor unit can have multiple solutions for multiple communities."

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