| [Coachella is] kind of the groundhog for all the venues. If Coachella is OK to go, then everyone is going to feel comfortable. | |  |  | | Coachella, the last time it was allowed to happen. The crowd at J Balvin's set on April 20, 2019. | | (Kevin Winter/Getty Images) | | | | quote of the day | | | rantnrave:// | Spring, Forward
It's Good Friday, Passover begins tonight, Sunday is Easter, renewal is in the air and so is COACHELLA. And uncertainty. And dreams, for the first time in three years, of a more or less regular spring and summer festival season ahead. And a stubborn virus. Coachella, with debatable timing, has dropped all vaccination, testing and masking requirements, which makes you either super happy or super nervous. My contribution from my living room 3,000 miles away: Just because you don't have to wear a mask doesn't mean you can't wear a mask. You can.
The New York Times' BEN SISARIO has a good overview of where the live music industry stands at this moment. The road is crowded with touring acts and fans are starting to show up again (at least for some shows; some smaller acts appear to be getting crowded out). There's a general feeling of confidence in the air. There isn't a lot of insurance in the air against Covid-related cancellations, and a positive test within a band or its crew can therefore be financially devastating. There's an unwritten "don't ask, don't tell" rule among some musicians, who feel pressured to stay on the road and not get tested unless they're actually feeling sick. There are others—hopefully in greater numbers—who are being "scrupulously safe." In general, Sisario reports, "the machine is moving forward at full throttle."
This weekend's (and next's) headliners: BILLIE EILISH, HARRY STYLES, SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA and the WEEKND. The latter two will perform both separately and together Sunday night, filling in for last minute dropout KANYE WEST. Here's the complete lineup with set times. For those of us staying home, YouTube will livestream the fest on three simultaneous feeds—giving us the same potential conflicts and choices to make as the thousands of fans who'll be there—starting at 4pm PT today. There'll also be interviews, behind-the-scenes videos and, of course, shopping.
If you're headed to Indio, there will be billboards to read along the way.
It's Friday
And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in being left nearly speechless by SAULT's nearly wordless sixth album, AIR, which arrived (on Thursday) as a surprise in every sense of the word. No one had any idea it was coming until Thursday morning, when Sault posted the cover and five song snippets on Instagram, and no one could have been prepared for what it sounded like when it showed up online a few hours later. "Air" is a suite of orchestral pieces featuring harps, violins, brass, percussion and mostly wordless choral vocals that could pass for film cues for European romantic comedies from the 1960s (or, say, the 2020s), or vintage easy(ish) listening vinyl, or, as more than one commenter has noted, a lost David Axelrod album. The metadata for the versions on YouTube appear to include the phrases "Relaxing Music," "Sleep Music" and "Healing Music," and the last of those seems especially apt. There's a lush, gospelly a cappella section on one song, "Time Is Precious," that includes some of the album's only recognizable lyrics ("Don't waste time 'cause time is precious...") and the only hint of the poetic, politically conscious neo-soul on which Sault established its reputation during an amazing, prolific run of releases over the past three years. "Air" is an audacious left turn that comes with no explanation beyond the music itself, and there's no reason to believe any will come. Sault is a beautiful mystery that's gifted us with no interviews, no photos, no videos and, though the records do come with production and songwriting credits, no indication of who Sault actually is. We're left with no recourse but to listen and to let the mystery be...
Things EDM supergroup SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA accomplished before releasing its debut album: a string of global hit singles, a breakup, a farewell tour, a reunion and booking its first headlining gig at Coachella. That debut album, PARADISE AGAIN, finally spins off the trio's turntables today, just in time to give the trio something to sell at that headlining gig, which happens this Sunday (with the Weeknd)... British drill rapper DIGGA D has cultivated critical acclaim and a growing audience while working under unusual restrictions for the past few years: a court order, because of a gang affiliation, that required him to get police permission before releasing any music, to not rap about death or injury and to avoid mentioning certain London neighborhoods. His third mixtape, NOUGHTY BY NATURE, features bleeped out names and places, a broadening of his musical palette into trap and pop (including multiple nods to 50 Cent) and, writes the Guardian's Alexis Petridis, "an authentic whiff of danger"... EDGAR WINTER pays tribute to his late great brother Johnny on BROTHER JOHNNY, an all-star session featuring the likes of Joe Walsh, Ringo Starr and Michael McDonald—and the first posthumous appearance of Taylor Hawkins, not on drums but on lead vocals on a version of Johnny Winter's "Guess I'll Go Away"...
Plus new music from ANITTA (released earlier this week), JERRY PAPER, KURT VILE, FREDO BANG, TEE GRIZZLEY, ISHA, ALEC BENJAMIN, JOEL ROSS, JAS KAYSER, CHAD FOWLER & MATTHEW SHIPP, FRED MOTEN/BRANDON LÓPEZ/GERALD CLEAVER, AXEL BOMAN, KOLOAH, the CRYSTAL METHOD TSTEWART, BODYSYNC JOYRIDE!, 50 FOOT WAVE (Throwing Muses' Kristin Hersh and Bernard Georges), JEWEL, WHEELER WALKER, KAITLIN BUTTS, JAMES KRIVCHENIA (of Big Thief), LA NEVE (aka Joey La Neve DeFrancesco of Downtown Boys), TIM KASHER, FLOCK OF DIMES, VUNDABAR, SAVAK, MONUMENTS, GREYHAVEN, A WILHELM SCREAM, CANCER BATS, MANEGARM and CARLOS DENGLER (of Interpol).
Rest in Peace
Jazz bassist, composer and bandleader CHARNETT MOFFETT, who played with Art Blakey, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Branford and Wynton Marsalis and many others... CHARLES MCCORMICK, bassist for '70s and '80s soul/funk group Bloodstone. He wrote and sang lead on the band's biggest hit, 1973's "Natural High"... Atlanta rapper ARCHIE EVERSOLE, best known for his 2002 single "We Ready," which became a popular sports anthem. He's at least the 10th rapper murdered in the US in 2022; it's April. Police have charged his brother with the crime... FRANZ MOHR, who as Steinway's longtime chief concert technician was the world's most in-demand piano tuner. "I play more in Carnegie Hall than anybody else," he once said. "But I have no audience"... Bassist TIM FEERICK of California post-rock band Dance Gavin Dance.
| | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator | |
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| | The Maestro's ATM | | By Anna Tarassova | | Alexei Navalny's team investigates the finances of Valery Gergiev. | | | | | | | | what we're into |  | | Music of the day | | "Air" | | Sault | | From the album of the same title, out now on Forever Living Originals. | | |
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| | Music | Media | | | | | | Suggest a link  | | "REDEF is dedicated to my mother, who nurtured and encouraged my interest in everything and slightly regrets the day she taught me to always ask 'why?'" |
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