Lydia Luce's presence is like the eye of a storm. Surrounded by masked musicians from her Lockeland Strings section, she stoically sings "Tangled Love," a song about settling scores and brokering accords in romance.\

"Let's call a treaty, let's call it quits/Love shouldn't feel like this," she sings with an earthy, grounded voice in the latest episode of Press Play At Home, making a breakup sound as weighty as collapsed relations between sovereign states.

In another sense, the storm is literal. On March 3, Luce released a virtual benefit show marking the one-year anniversary of the Tennessee tornado that devastated Nashville in 2020. She's pointing viewers to Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund at The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee if they wish to donate.

Watch Luce's mesmerizing performance of "Tangled Love" above and watch more episodes of Press Play At Home here.

Press Play At Home: Francisca Valenzuela Performs Her Courageous Feminist Paean "La Fortaleza"

Why has Bill Withers' immortal hit, "Ain't No Sunshine," endured for decades? And, furthermore, why does it seem set to reverberate throughout the ages?

Could it be because it's blues-based? Because it's relatable to anyone with a pulse? Because virtually anyone with an ounce of zeal can believably yowl the song at karaoke?

Maybe it's for all of those reasons and one more: "Ain't No Sunshine" is flexible. 

In the latest episode of ReImagined At Home, check out how singer/songwriter Ant Clemons pulls at the song's edges like taffy. With a dose of vocoder and slapback, Clemons recasts the lonesome-lover blues as the lament of a shipwrecked android.

Giving this oft-covered soul classic a whirl, Clemons reminds music lovers exactly why Withers' signature song has staying power far beyond his passing in 2020. It will probably be a standard in 4040, too.

Check out Ant Clemons' cosmic, soulful performance of "Ain't No Sunshine" above and click here to enjoy more episodes of ReImagined At Home.

ReImagined At Home: Keedron Bryant Powerfully Interprets John Legend's Love Song "Ordinary People"

 

The Librarian of Congress Carla Haden has named 25 new inductees into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. They include Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation 1814,” Louis Armstrong’s “When the Saints Go Marching In,” Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade,” Nas’ “Illmatic,” Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration,” Kermit the Frog’s “The Rainbow Connection” and more.

“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years,” Hayden said in a statement. “We received about 900 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry, and we welcome the public’s input as the Library of Congress and its partners preserve the diverse sounds of history and culture.”

The National Recording Preservation Board is an advisory board consisting of professional organizations and experts who aim to preserve important recorded sounds. The Recording Academy is involved on a voting level. The 25 new entries bring the number of musical titles on the registry to 575; the entire sound collection includes nearly 3 million titles. Check out the full list of new inductees below:

National Recording Registry Selections for 2020

1. Edison’s “St. Louis tinfoil” recording (1878)

2. “Nikolina” — Hjalmar Peterson (1917) (single)

3. “Smyrneikos Balos” — Marika Papagika (1928) (single)

4. “When the Saints Go Marching In” — Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra (1938) (single)

5. Christmas Eve Broadcast--Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (December 24, 1941)

6. “The Guiding Light” — Nov. 22, 1945

7. “Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues” — Odetta (1957) (album)

8. “Lord, Keep Me Day by Day” — Albertina Walker and the Caravans (1959) (single)  

9. Roger Maris hits his 61st homerun (October 1, 1961)

10. “Aida” — Leontyne Price, et.al. (1962) (album)

11. “Once a Day” — Connie Smith (1964) (single)

12. “Born Under a Bad Sign” — Albert King (1967) (album)

13. “Free to Be…You & Me” — Marlo Thomas and Friends (1972) (album)

14. “The Harder They Come” — Jimmy Cliff (1972) (album)

15. “Lady Marmalade” — Labelle (1974) (single)

16. “Late for the Sky” — Jackson Browne (1974) (album)

17. “Bright Size Life” — Pat Metheny (1976) (album)

18. “The Rainbow Connection” — Kermit the Frog (1979) (single)

19. “Celebration” — Kool & the Gang (1980) (single)

20. “Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs” — Jessye Norman (1983) (album)

21. “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814” — Janet Jackson (1989) (album)

22. “Partners” — Flaco Jiménez (1992) (album)

23. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”/”What A Wonderful World” — Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (1993) (single)

24. “Illmatic” — Nas (1994) (album)

25. “This American Life: The Giant Pool of Money” (May 9, 2008)

Learn To Make Beats With Library Of Congress' New Digital DJ Tool

"Four Tequilas Down" is as much a song as it is a memory—a half-remembered one. "Did you make your eyes blur?/So that in the dark, I'd look like her?" dodie, the song's writer and performer, asks. To almost anyone who's engaged in a buzzed rebound, that detail alone should elicit a wince of recognition.

Such is dodie's beyond-her-years mastery of her craft: Over a simple, spare chord progression, she can use an economy of words to twist the knife. "So just hold me like you mean it," dodie sings at the song's end. "We'll pretend because we need it."

In the latest episode of Press Play At Home, watch dodie stretch her songwriting muscles while conjuring a chemically altered Saturday night—and the Sunday morning full of regrets, too.

Check out dodie's hushed-yet-intense performance of "Four Tequilas Down" above and click here to enjoy more episodes of Press Play At Home.

Press Play At Home: Watch Yola Perform A Rock-Solid Rendition Of "Stand For Myself"

Some artists make larger-than-life demands on their tour riders—hence the classic urban legend about Van Halen requiring the removal of brown M&Ms. 

For their part, Dead Poet Society have decided to take the opposite tack, as their lead singer, Jack Underkofler, attests in the below clip.

In the latest episode of Herbal Tea & White Sofas, learn why Dead Poet Society's Underkofler is committed to having the world's most reasonable backstage rider—including one ordinary pillow to nap on.

Check out the cheeky clip above and click here to enjoy more episodes of Herbal Tea & White Sofas.

Herbal Tea & White Sofas: Why Greyson Chance Swapped Candy For Champagne & Candles Backstage