The Reverend Shawn Amos

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Flashback Interview: Sharon Jones on the Healing Power of Soul

This interview originally ran in August of this year. Today, Yahoo Music is re-running it to honor the brilliant singer, who has lost her long battle with pancreatic cancer at age 60.

Sharon Jones performs at DTE Energy Music Theater on July 18, 2016 in Clarkston, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images)

There is a scene towards the end of the Sharon Jones documentary, Miss Sharon Jones!, that tells you all you need to know about the singer and the power of soul music. Returning to stage for the first time after ending a punishing year of surgery and chemotherapy to stave off pancreatic cancer, Jones’s legs are weaker than usual and she battles her “chemo brain” — the side effects of memory loss. Her rock-solid band, the Dap-Kings, kick into gear and Jones promptly forgets her lyrics.

Without missing a beat, “the female James Brown” turns the Beacon Theatre into a church confessional, begging her congregation’s patience as she relearns her craft. In this publicly tender moment, you understand not only the purity and strength of spirit that has brought Sharon Jones legions of fans across the world, but you also understand what makes soul music so distinctly different from other musical forms. Soul music’s unique power rests in its ability to bear witness.

This confessional is not just part of a stage act. It is elemental to the music itself. Anyone tempted to write off Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings as a retro phenomenon misses the point. This singer and this band are one of the last precious living links to a music, an age, and an art form nearing extinction. Sharon Jones, however, is far from extinction.

Says the South Carolina-born singer, “I let my fans know, ‘This is what’s going to be happening, you understand?’ So, you know, I’m doing my best. That’s what you gotta do. I love that. You know my managers, they had to get used to me being so free and open to my fans. You know. They disagree with some things, but went along with me and then I’m like, ‘See?’”

Since the film’s release, Jones has made a few more stage concessions to her cancer battle. “With this chemo. I really do get short-winded. I have that memory, ‘chemo brain.’ Forgetting stuff. So the guys try to get monitors. I put a rug down because my feet are tender with the neuropathy. I can’t… you know, the bare foot on the different floors and stuff. It’s very sensitive to my feet. You know. My legs… really, I can’t lift them as high. I come right on and I start moving and I start getting short breath, so I put it to a little minimum. I slow down because of what’s going on with my body. I keep telling everybody, ‘I lost my ass! My ass is gone!’ It’s just like flat. I can grab it, like, ‘Oh my gosh what is this”?

Ass aside, what remains intact is Sharon Jones’s indomitable spirit — her boundless joy. And a voice generations deep. This former wedding singer and corrections officer who rose to fame at an age when most people near retirement, Jones is fully grateful of her soulful perch.

“They told me I need to get out there and get me a 9-to-5. I had some people say, ‘Who’s gonna come and see her old ass?’ Yeah, her old ass. Yeah, that’s right.”

Jones continues: “I found strength [in fighting this cancer]. I found even having more faith. And being able to open myself up and accept the love from people coming in. You know, all of my fans. I try and read everything I can, and that strengthens me. So you know, just, accept that love. And people who are around you, being supportive. And I tell them all the time, ‘Don’t nobody show me pity. But show me love. Be there.’ And that’s what keeps me going. That’s all I can put out. I just keep on fighting, take it one day at a time.”

The truth is this: Sharon Jones is one of our last direct links to the golden age of soul. This woman who stood on the shoulders of Otis Redding, Mavis Staples, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown is now a giant herself. Her importance not only rests in her bravely staring cancer in the ugly face. Sharon Jones has been adopted by an adorning music world because they recognize that she represents a scarce commodity: musical authenticity. Sharon Jones is a reminder that regardless of genre, we need the soul to come first in music.

“I’m not trying to go and do pop, you know. I’m not trying to compete against Beyoncé and Rihanna and whoever else is out there. I love them. I love what they’re doing. I just hope we cross paths and they listen to my music. Maybe we’ll get to do something o stage together. Bring it together. But I’m still going to be soulful. And they can be who they are, you know what I mean?”

Another big item on Jones’s bucket list? A collaboration with Stevie Wonder. “Man, just to feel his aura. It’s a good aura, you know.”

It takes a good aura to know one. Get better, Miss Jones. The world needs you now more than ever. And to Stevie Wonder, Miss Jones is expecting your call.

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Hanging Out With Mary Lambert, the Beyoncé for the Disenfranchised

(Mary Lambert on ‘The Today Show.’ Photo: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

It’s 111 degrees in Los Angeles, and Mary Lambert has had enough.

“I can be in L.A. for about three days before I start questioning everything about myself. It’s so competitive. Also, I think the sun is trying to kill us here.”

Dressed in a sleeveless royal blue top and a half sleeve of matching tattooed petunias, Lambert radiates pure transparency and exuberance. For some random reason, a lyric from the 1967 musical Hair pops into my head as she enters a Silver Lake coffeehouse:

I got life, mother

I got laughs, sister

I got freedom, brother

I got crazy ways, daughter

I got headaches and toothaches

And bad times too like you

Lambert and I sit down for an hour-long conversation. We originally met a year ago, when she was honored with an Erasing the Stigma Leadership Award by Los Angeles nonprofit Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. It’s eight days after the Orlando shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse, and three days before she would reunite with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to sing their gay rights anthem “Same Love” on NBC’s Today Show. Lambert sang the song a few days earlier at non-televised event, and could barely make it through.

I watched her sing “She Keeps Me Warm” (which incorporates the “Same Love” chorus) at a BuzzFeed live stream the day after our interview, where she replaced her “I’m not crying on Sundays” lyric with “each one of them had a name,” repeating the line like a mantra over tears until the song’s end. It was raw, spontaneous, and emotional — all of the things fans have come to expect from the 27-year-old Seattle native.

Mary Lambert is the antidote to the mindless-social-media-selfie-self-obsessiveness that defines most 21st century pop stars. She’s the anti-Kardashian – a proudly open and articulate lesbian, bi-polar, plus-sized poet/singer committed to a life of meaning and message.

But the girl also wants to have fun. Lambert’s new single, “Hang Out With You,” could be considered her summer break from her usual soul mining. Despite the opening lyrics which could easily pass as a manic-depressive journal entry (“I don’t wanna go to work/I don’t wanna go to sleep/I don’t wanna do it”), “Hang Out With You” is really a bait-and-switch into pure pop giddiness.

Lambert’s musical move into less politically charged territory is not so much a departure as a further exploration of her inner landscape.

“More and more, I've been trying to explore this idea of a ‘complex person.’ I think we're all born so multifaceted and so complex. And the main motivation for so much that we do is to be understood and loved. And in seeking those things socially, we're taught the best way to achieve that is to become ‘digestible.’”

Lambert continues on this theory, convincingly striking a tone somewhere between philosophy professor and psychologist. “What is the best way I can be perceived? So we cut off parts of ourselves. As if being a high school jock means X, Y, and Z. So ‘I don't do this’ or ‘I don't do theater.’ We condition ourselves to believe we are simple people — that we are just presumably not as intelligent or complex as another person. But what if we could all embrace our complexities? How much fuller could our lives be?”

It’s a tricky balance: the political, confessional artist who also wants to simply write a great pop song. Lambert is fully aware of the expectations of her audience, yet maintains the journey is all the same.

“I’m sure some people will say, ‘Mary, where's your social messaging?’ That's a great question. I think being a gay artist you're inherently political, no matter what you're writing. And it automatically sets a precedent of like, ‘Oh she's writing about a woman.’ I don't have pronouns in the song. But Michelle [Chamuel, Lambert’s partner and co-writer of “Hang Out With You”] makes an appearance in the video and she plays my girlfriend in the video. For me, I really wanted the visual to be instantly paired with the song. So I'm not releasing the song before the video. So as soon as you hear the song, you have the attachment. And so in that way I think that it is a bit political and it does have some messaging to it. Umm... but it's definitely much more subversive than you know or not as jarring as the previous things I've done. I'm not starting it talking about my bi-polar disorder this time.”

The career changes go beyond the penning of cute pop songs. Lambert is now the CEO of Lambert, Inc. Having been dropped by her label, Capitol, and parted ways with her longtime manager, she know finds herself retiring to her independent roots.

“I was independent during ‘Same Love.’ That was how I got here. I think my biggest success was when I was independent and able to trust my instinct and say, ‘I think this is right, I’m just gonna trust my gut.’”

It’s more than just trusting her gut. Lambert’s second act finds her with a considerably higher profile than her pre-Macklemore days. She has a brand that needs investment as well as instincts.

“To be able to financially invest in myself is a scary thing to do,” Lambert admits. “But I'm also so privileged to be able to have this opportunity. It’s definitely like going to a casino and saying, ‘OK, I'm betting on myself.”

Lambert’s return to indie roots can be seen as a furthering commitment to her idealism and politics. “I think the same way that we are culturally polarized, I'd say the music industry is also polarized. You see people and you're like, ‘Where did you come from and how do you have a #1 single that seemingly came out of nowhere?’ And sometimes it is orchestrated and it's a big covert operation we don't know about. But I do think there is more power to the people now. I feel like people are making what they want to make. I don't feel like people are being shoved into doing anything they don't want to do.”

So goes Mary Lambert boldly into her future — the Beyoncé for the disenfranchised. Another strong woman owning her message, controlling her business, and knowing her audience.

“Being a woman in this world, it's really hard. And if I can provide a voice of visibility or some sort of invitation to live fully and live uninhibited, then that's what I want to do. You know? And I still... just because I think I'm creating this fun pop song and going a different direction with the single, it doesn't negate body love or same love. I just want to be able to show all sides of me.”

We wrap our conversation with a hug and a promise to meet again in cooler temperatures. I tell her she’s a bright spirit. She receives the compliment with a bit of relief. “Sometimes I go and do interviews. And people are all, ‘You are so positive and upbeat and we weren't expecting that.’ Like I'm gonna come in this like hoodie, smoking cigarettes.”

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Under Prince’s Covers: His Great Moments as Interpreter and Sideman

(Prince at Coachelal 2008. AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Yes, the late Prince wrote some of the most enduring music of the past century, but he spent nearly as much time exploring other people’s songs. He was fiercely curious, and he understood the importance of taking apart others’ work to return more deeply to his own.

And despite being one of the most magnetic performers in a generation, Prince was also comfortable in the shadows — playing the role of producer, sideman, and/or songwriter for others (often under pseudonyms like “Christopher,” “Alexander Nevermind,” and “Joey Coco”). The music was the thing. He often didn’t care whose name was on the marquee.

Here are a few great moments of Prince paying musical service to others.

“Creep” (2008)

Prince threw a bone to the Coachella faithful with this Purple Rain-esque remake of Radiohead’s classic. Thank Thom Yorke himself for making sure it saw the light of day. Prince famously hated having his material online, but since Radiohead own the composition, they convinced Prince to relent.

“A Case of You” (2007)

Prince’s cover of Joni Mitchell’s Blue classic was recorded for the 2007 A Tribute to Joni Mitchell album. He played it during his last “Piano & A Microphone” tour. More evidence that he could have had a career as a straight-up jazz pianist if he’d wanted.

 “Heroes” (2016)

Performed during his final weeks, this David Bowie cover is now haunting for its subtext. Boing Boing pop culture critic Xeni Jardin sums it up in this tweet:

Prince was a certain American generation’s David Bowie. Mine.

— Xeni (@xeni) April 22, 2016

  “Crazy” (2011)

On the final night of a string of Madison Square Garden shows, Prince gave the stage to CeeLo Green, backing him up for a faithful, funkier version of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.”

  "Everyday People" (circa 2002)

Sly & the Family Stone’s influence on Prince is self-evident. He even picked up Sly’s bassist, Larry Graham for much of his later career (Graham is said to have introduced Prince to the Jehovah’s Witness faith). This life performance brings it all full circle.

  For another Sly fix, check this live take on “Sex Machine.” Just epic.

"With a Little Help From My Friends" (2014)

Prince was a famous nightcrawler who regularly showed up at clubs unannounced to jam into the day morning hours. Witness this 2014 drop-in at the Hollywood W Hotel. It’s worth it just to hear the stunned reactions of the crowd. The solo is damn good, too.

   Chaka Khan Tribute (2006)

Prince honored his heroes and loved strong women. He gave Chaka Khan one her biggest career hits with “I Feel For You” (originally on Prince’s 1979 debut album). The mutual admiration continued in 2006 when Prince joined a BET tribute as part of the band playing Chaka’s songs.

  "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (2004)

This performance from Prince’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony sums up all you need to know about his generosity and joy as a player. Prince’s transcendent, epic solo closing George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction has circulated on the internet for years, and it’s easy to see why. He summons every signal being poured from above into his red fedora, brings the classic rock geezers to church, throws his guitar to the heavens, and disappears. Amazing.

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Purple Reign: Remembering the True Artist Known As Prince

“You mother---ers have no idea how big this guy is going to be.”

Those were the first words I head about Prince, shouted through the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum P.A. system by concert promoter Bill Graham in 1981. It was my first concert and I was pressed right up front. Prince was summarily booed offstage after only a few songs (his attempt to get a singalong of “Jack U Off” certainly didn't help with the largely biker crowd).

It was a well-intentioned but mismatched pairing of him opening for George Thorogood, the J. Geils Band, and headliners the Rolling Stones. Three songs, and he was gone. It was my first and last Prince concert, and I remember every detail to this day. It also would have been a lesser man’s career epitaph. Thirty-five years later, this is it.

Has anyone cared so much, so deeply, so purely about music? Has anyone worked so hard to put the music up front and push all of the nonsense to the side? Prince made music. Simple. Day and night. Tirelessly. Compulsively. He gave his entire being to the music. He was an untamed musical spirit animal who understood that we can only be touched and touch others if we surrender.

Prince has finally laid down after a life of surrender.

There will be the gossip stories. The determination to dig up unseen dirt. You can have ‘em all. Who was Prince? No one will ever know and no one should ever care. Like David Bowie, the musical conversation was the only one he cared to have. He gave us music multi-layered, meant to hold our fascination more than pop culture ephemera.

For 38 years, Prince maintained an impossible balance of sexuality, showmanship, sensitivity, style, and swagger. He held the church in one hand and classic rock in the other. And as I write that sentence, I realize I am part of genre-obsessed world for which Prince could not be bothered. Music — like love — sees no color.

Prince released 39 original studio albums from 1978 to 2015. There are presumably thousands of hours of unreleased music locked in his Paisley Park studio. Others will write their top 10 lists, underrated classics, most embarrassing or obscure tracks. I want to point to only two moments that sum up his spirit and his power as a performer. Both occur 26 and 29 years into his career.

This mini-doc, above, on Prince’s Super Bowl performance says volumes about what it means to be a performer. Forgot the whole ginned-up controversy about his guitar phallus. As New York Times music critic Jon Pareles says in the video, “He’s not promoting himself. He’s just making music.” The purity, professionalism, precision, and passion are spellbinding.

Prince’s transcendent, epic solo closing George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction has also circulated on the internet for years. It’s easy to understand why. Watch him stand in the shadows for the first half the song then step forward (at the 3:28 mark) to take over the second half. He summons every signal being poured from above into his red fedora, brings the classic rock geezers to church, throws his guitar to the heavens, and disappears.

Watch both and ask yourself, “Who else would be willing to be so spirit-led, unscripted, and spontaneous so deep into a career?” Most artists etch their script into stone by the time they reach the 25-year mark. Prince understood that maintaining relevance had nothing to do with being on the pop charts (his last top 10 hit was 1994’s “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”) and everything to do with surrender. Watch these videos and imagine a life where you just gave it up and laid it down every day.

As I finish this, two items have appeared in my social feed (sorry, Prince, I know you hated social media) closing the musical circle. One is this Los Angeles Times photo of the Stones show I attended, taken a few hours after Prince’s ejection.

It was found by one of my middle school concert-mates. The other is this tweet from Mick Jagger, the man who asked Prince to perform for that Coliseum crowd in 1981:

I am so saddened to hear of Prince's passing. Prince was a revolutionary artist, a wonderful musician and composer. 1/3

— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger)

April 21, 2016

Prince was an original lyricist and a startling guitar player. His talent was limitless. 2/3

— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger)

April 21, 2016

Prince was one of the most unique and exciting artists of the last 30 years. 3/3

— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger)

April 21, 2016

What better summation could exist? What more could any artist want? Years ago, he once called himself “The Artist Formerly Known As Prince” due to a record label contract dispute. But perhaps, Prince realized he was actually an artist first. Perhaps he understood that art transcends any name given to us at birth — any flesh and blood we lease for this short time on earth.

Prince surrendered to the music because it was his only path to heaven. He was simply an artist in a world where celebrity survives more easily than art. And in watching him, we were reminded of the power and necessity of transcendence.

Thank you, Prince for taking us away.

[therevamos]

Look Up, David Bowie’s in Heaven in Eerily Foreshadowing ‘Lazarus’ Video

Look up here, I'm in heaven I've got scars that can't be seen I've got drama, can't be stolen Everybody knows me now

-- ”Lazarus,” David Bowie (2016)

Last Thursday, one day before David Bowie’s 69th birthday, he released the video for his single, “Lazarus.” The following day, Jan. 8, his 25th album, Blackstar, was released to great critical acclaim. 

And two days later, on Jan 10, David Bowie shockingly died, after an 18-month battle with cancer.

It’s impossible to watch ”Lazarus” and not think you are seeing one of our great artists choreographing his own death. This is as close to a goodbye as we’ll get from David Bowie. Bowie wasn’t much for hellos or goodbyes. He always came and went as he pleased.  

Related: David Bowie’s Best: 10 Tracks That Sold the World on Rock’s Greatest Change Agent

Or maybe it’s the perfect goodbye. Bowie’s death was “sudden” only because his long slow illness was his secret. But it gave him time to plan his affairs. “Lazarus” is a man writing his own obituary in all the impressionistic, oblique language we would expect from someone who so generously gave his art while viciously guarding his life.

In the Bible, Lazarus was the brother of Mary, whom Jesus raised from the dead. It’s fertile ground for a songwriter dying of cancer. In the video, Bowie lies on a hospital bed, buttons sewn on his eyes, outstretched like Jesus.

Look up here, man, I’m in danger I’ve got nothing left to lose I’m so high it makes my brain whirl Dropped my cell phone down below

Bowie writhes on the bed, a black skull sitting on a nearby desk. Was he in pain in this final days? The announcement from his Twitter account says he died peacefully in his sleep. Was the skull an omen? In the video, a shadowy female also reaches from underneath the bed.

By the time I got to New York I was living like a king Then I used up all my money I was looking for your a--

We see the writer furiously getting out his thoughts on paper. He cannot write fast enough, and the paper isn’t large enough to contain his words. He writes down the side of the desk. He’s running out of time. Is he writing a goodbye letter? His last will and testament? Nonsensical ramblings induced by pain meds?

Related: David Bowie on the Charts: From 'Changes' to 'Fame' and Beyond

Writers, fans, and curiosity-seekers will undoubtedly pore over the lyrics to Blackstar looking for confessional clues. They’ll come up empty. Bowie was not into clues. Bowie was a painter. Of images. Of words. Of imaginary places borne of fantasies and nightmares. He was a man who always looked up to the heavens. He knew we were made of stars and all destined to return to space and dust. Ashes to ashes.

The above photo — used as the cover of David Bowie’s 1977 album Heroes — sums up everything. He was the man everyone loved and no one knew. David Bowie is... was... that most precious of artists. He gave us all of his art yet none of himself. It was none of our business. His sexuality, marriage, fatherhood, and even his cancer were his and his alone. 

This way or no way You know, I’ll be free Just like that bluebird Now ain’t that just like me

The final act of “Lazarus” ends with Bowie backing himself into an armoire and closing himself shut in it. Is he hiding? Burying himself alive? Dying?

Bowie's longtime producer, Tony Visconti, posted the following on his Facebook page the day after Bowie's passing.

"His death was no different from his life -- a work of Art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift."

You’re free, David Bowie, back to outer space from whence you came. And we’re left here to wonder. 

See the rest of our David Bowie coverage HERE

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Career Lessons Learned From David Bowie

  David Bowie turns 69 on Friday, Jan. 8 — not that you’ll know it from him. Bowie doesn’t speak much these days. In fact, it’s been nearly 10 years since he stood onstage, all of his powers intact after emergency 2004 heart surgery.

Since then, Bowie has played by his own rules: no press, albums released with little to no forewarning (including this week’s Blackstar — easily one of the top 10 albums of his career), his private life off-limits. These have largely always been Bowie’s rules. We’ve always needed David Bowie more than he’s needed us.

His life of putting art before celebrity is a masterclass for today’s musicians who search for their their best camera angle or hashtag before seeking out their unique contribution.

Before Bowie disappeared from public view, he made the rounds in 2002-03 promoting his album Heathen. His various interviews – and a few choice moves in the years since — provide the syllabus for the class. Here are four key takeaways from Professor Bowie’s Musical Bravura 101.

You Don’t Need to Show Up for Everything

Bowie’s take on the hypocrisy of awards and the hunger for attention are perfectly summed up in this 2002 Late Night interview with Conan O’Brien. “I only want [the ones] that you really mean.”

Keep Your Private Life Private

Over the years, Bowie famously professed bisexuality and played the eligible bachelor (he also had an unsuccessful tumultuous first marriage). In 1992, however, he married supermodel Iman, and together they have become the prototypical married couple. Aside from Paul and Linda McCartney, there isn’t another rock couple that keeps their balance and priorities more in check. Iman shared their secret in this 2012 interview.

Remember the Element of Surprise

Bowie released his first album in 10 years, The Next Day, in March 2013 without advance warning or publicity. It’s the move of a confident artist who not only knows the work speaks for itself, but also has no need to speak about anything else. Beyoncé imitated the move later that same year. 

MAKE ART!!

Above all else, David Bowie’s public life has been a lesson in the importance of placing one’s own creative journey above all else. Look at any of his videos; listen to any of recordings. You’ll see and hear a man who is first and foremost chasing his own muse and searching for his own truths. The commercial consequences of that search are the byproduct, not the motivation.

Class dismissed. Happy birthday, David Bowie. We await your next move.

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Bill Graham Loved Concerts More Than You

(photo: Michael Ochs Archives) 

Concert promoter Bill Graham would have been 85 years old on Jan. 8. Graham escaped the Holocaust at age 10, ran America’s leading nightclub (the Fillmore) by age 37, and died tragically in a helicopter accident in 1991 at age 60. He invented nearly everything that is great about concerts. Graham helped create an industry that last year grossed more than $2.2 billion according to industry magazine Pollstar. He cared about music, artists, fans, and art. He also yelled a lot.

Bill Graham yelled at me during my first stadium show. It was 1981, and Prince was opening for the Rolling Stones at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was Prince’s biggest audience to date. His fourth album, Controversy, would be rereleased in a few days and Prince thought he’d start a singalong with the album’s closing track, “Jack U Off.”

The capacity crowd of 90,000 wasn’t having it. Objects and slurs were hurled at the band, and Prince was forced to leave the stage after 15 minutes (traditional rockers the J. Geils Band and George Thorogood fared better during their opening sets).

(photo: New York Daily News Archive)

Bill Graham wasn’t having it. He stormed onstage, grabbed a mic, and gave a stadium full of fans a profanity-laced lecture on how to treat artists. My recollection was it went something like this:

“You mother---ers are out of your mind. This guy is going to be a huge star. I’m not gonna have this s--- at my show.”

Then he left the stage. My mind had a million questions. Who was that dude? Who yells at 90,000 people? Is this what all stadium shows are like? Sign me up.

Don’t take my word for it. Here’s a bit of Bill Graham doing his thing during his Fillmore heyday.

For Bill Graham, concerts were about respect: for the artist, the audience, and the art. Here are a few of Bill Graham’s greatest hits. They are a testament to the importance of good taste and engendering trust. Next time you’re standing in line outside a club or getting your favorite concert poster framed, thank Bill Graham.

POSTER ART

Concert posters existed before Bill Graham, of course, but he recognized they could be high art. Graham was the first to begin regularly commissioning art from Bay Area psychedelic art masters Wes Wilson, Rick Griffin, and Alton Kelley. Graham was smart enough to know the concert experience begins before a fan walks in the door.

(courtesy of GAB Archive/Redferns)

THE POWER OF CURATION

Bill Graham loved music and wasn’t concerned about genres. In an age when seeing Guns N’ Roses and LCD Soundsystem on the same Coachella bill seems routine, it’s hard to remember that music was once as segregated as the South. Graham booked his shows like the best public radio playlist: full of eclectic music and deep authenticity. And in doing so, he introduced “niche” artists to a wider audience (like the Prince/Stones experiment). Witness this particular 1967 lineup for all the proof you need.

THE CONCERT AS EPIC EVENT

Yes, there was Woodstock beforehand, but Graham perfected the art of the large-scale concert event. More importantly, he was among the first to leverage music for social good. This started humbly enough when he organized a 1960s benefit concert to cover legal fees for the radical San Francisco Mime Troupe. It went on to include events as varied as the Last Waltz (The Band’s last show that included a Thanksgiving dinner for 5,000 people) and the U.S. portion of Live Aid.

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Artists to Watch in 2016 (Thank You, England) Now that the best-of lists have been written, published, and read, let’s forget 2015, shall we? It’s done. Over. A faded musical memory. It’s now time to...

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Artists to Watch in 2016 (Thank You, England)

Now that the best-of lists have been written, published, and read, let’s forget 2015, shall we? It’s done. Over. A faded musical memory. It’s now time to look to the future. 2016 is destined to bring fresh grooves and higher musical ground. Power up your playlists and make room on your vinyl shelf. Here’s our lucky list of 13 artists who will be your favorites by this time next year. Shocker: most of them are from London. It’s just the way it is. That town has the magic touch.

Here’s to a year of heroes, hooks, and hell-raising licks. See you on the other side.

Related: Check out the rest of our Year in Music news here!

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Jack Garratt

Garrett’s debut isn’t due until February, but the star-making machine is already gearing up for his official arrival. The Londoner has an electronica soul, a R&B heart, and a music critic’s lucky charm. He’s already won the BRITs’ Critics’ Choice Award, which didn’t hurt past winners James Bay, Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, Florence Welch, and someone you may have hard of named Adele. (Photo: Getty Images)

Watch the music video for “Weathered.” 

Marlon Williams

Marlon Williams is New Zealand born-but carries the soul of Nashville Skyline-era Bob Dylan. Not unlike Chris Stapleton or Sturgill Simpson, Williams seems hellbent on keeping honest music making alive and relevant. He’s keeping cowpunk safe for the 21st century. (Photo: Getty Images)

Watch the music video for “Hello Miss Lonesome.” 

Wet

The Brooklyn trio has had pretty fairytale ride: a successful independently released EP, a major-label bidding war, and a sold-out headlining club tour. They deserve it all. Wet makes spare, haunting music that sounds like Everything But the Girl and Imogen Heap’s forlorn lovechild. Get ready to fall in love. (Photo: Getty Images)

Watch the music video for “Deadwater.”

Sonny Boy Thorn

Christopher Thorn used to be in Blind Melon. Davie Dennis used to be in Voxhaul Broadcast. Sonny Boy Thorn is WAY better than those two bands. They’re full of ragged glory, Joshua Tree roots, and singalong harmonies. Plus, they pal around with Dave Grohl. (Photo: Facebook)

Watch the music video for “Wild and Free.” 

Gallant

Christopher Gallant is 23 years old, sings like a wrongly fallen angel, and defies categorization (although most seem to be calling it “alt-R&B”). Skrillex comes to his gigs. Zane Lowe spins his tracks. He’s a long way from his Maryland home and on his way to serious stardom. Hopefully he’s ready. The dude’s future is bright. (Photo: Facebook)

Listen to “Open Up.” 

The Suffers

Along with Leon Bridges, the Suffers are part of the so-called “Gulf Coast Soul” movement that has cropped up in Houston. Don’t let the name confuse you. The Suffers are full of joy. They’ve a got big sound that only a 10-piece band can deliver. And after a year making all the tastemaker stops (NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, one of Late Night With David Letterman’s last shows), the Suffers are ready for flight.

Watch the music video for “Stay.” 

Gabriel Garzón-Montano

Every artist is looking for his lucky break. Gabriel Garzón-Montano’s was named Lenny. Lenny Kravitz called him up to invite him to open on his 2014 European tour. Next break? Drake sampled one of Garzón-Montano’s tunes on his 2015 mixtape, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. How could Lenny and Drake be wrong? They can’t. Garzón-Montano is a 21st century Donny Hathaway. Pure international soul. (Photo: Facebook)

Watch the music video for “Everything Is Everything.” 

Nao

The East London singer did a stint with Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker before releasing a 2014 EP and getting a slot at 2015′s Glastonbury. Her jazz training is front and center, but Nao is not interested in recreating some smoky bandstand vibe. She disarms you like the best pop singers but has the gravitas of a master. (Photo: Getty Images)

Watch the video for “In the Morning.” 

The Big Moon

More good news from London. Four women who have known each other less than two years and make rock 'n’ roll like they they came of age in a ‘90s garage. They’re hard and run like a gang with guitars. They’ll make you want to throw it all away and join a band. (Photo: Getty Images)

Watch the music video for “Sucker.” 

Tiggs Da Author

And MORE good news from London. Tiggs comes to East London by way of Tanzania. The brother makes music as if Motown was relaunched in a Camden dancehall. Play his infectious single, “Georgia” until his debut arrives sometime in 2016. And check out his Instagram feed for a glimpse at his trip back to Tanzania. He’s got a beautiful family. (Photo: Getty Images)

Listen to “Georgia.” 

Declan McKenna

This dude is proof that not all 16-year-olds are destined for the boy band wasteland. Listen to “Brazil” and tell me how it could it be any more perfect of a pop song. His Bandcamp page says it all:

i am declan mckenna 

n i make music with 

my hands and dignity

Right on, brother. 

Watch the music video for “Brazil.”

Clean Cut Kid

We’re suckers for a husband and wife who decide to double down as bandmates. This Liverpool quartet has got the magic potion: a band name copped from a Bob Dylan tune, infectious songs, and one of the best music videos around. (Photo: Facebook)

Watch the music video for “Vitamin C.” 

Blossoms

The BBC says they are the sound of 2016. Who are we to argue? Here is your latest ‘80s guilty pleasure courtesy of Manchester. (Photo: Facebook)

Watch the music video for “Charlemagne.”

[therevamos]

The Best in Late-Night Music: Week of Dec. 14

A week left until Christmas Day, and the late-night shows gave us all sorts of early gifts -- including this week’s musical meme from Jimmy Fallon, as seen above.

...and this bit of holiday rage from Henry Rollins...

..and of course, some Christmas Carpool Karaoke...

Enjoy all the music late night has to offer. Don’t stay up too late on Christmas Eve and see you next year.

MONDAY

Sleater-Kinney on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The nine-year hiatus served them well. Sleater-Kinney has returned more taut, focused, kickass, and inspired than ever. They are one of our best bands -- and if Carrie Brownstein ever wants to give up her day job as a comedic actress, she’s always got a future as a guitarist. Her inventiveness on six-strings is pretty mesmerizing.

TUESDAY

CHVRCHES on The Late Late Show with James Corden

This Scottish band is one of the few bands that can find the soul in the electronica machine. Chvrches is full of elegant, simmering intensity. With a solid beat.

WEDNESDAY

The Brian Setzer Orchestra on Conan

It’s not Christmas until the Stray Cat shows. Setzer’s big band is now entering its 26th year, and it never gets old. He’s also one of the few folks talented and brave enough to keep this quintessential American music alive. A Christmas gift, indeed. (WATCH IT HERE.)

THURSDAY

Chris Stapleton on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 

I sound like a broken record, but damn, Chris Stapleton is just one off the best things to happen this year. He played nearly every late-night on the air in 2015, but this one is a stand out if for no other reason than to hear how a power trio sounds Southern-style with Otis Redding’s Kentucky cousin in front.

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The Best Breakout Artists of 2015 “New” is a slippery word. No artist truly comes out nowhere to meet the world fully formed. “New” merely means they moved form the streets to the stratosphere. “New”...

[therevamos]

The Best Breakout Artists of 2015

“New” is a slippery word. No artist truly comes out nowhere to meet the world fully formed. “New” merely means they moved from the streets to the stratosphere. “New” is code for months (years?) of hard work finally paying off — the stars aligning and the magic mix of preparation and luck colliding at last. It’s hard to break through. It’s nearly impossible to break through in only a year. And the really hard part? Breaking through with music that rather than occupying space. 

These artists became new in 2015. The fates finally smiled and allowed them to rise above the fray. They not only got a whole bunch of people to remember their name, they did something more essential: They made music that mattered, adding some essential new songs to that great playlist in the sky. 

If you somehow got through 2015 without hearing this music, please pull your head from the sand and catch up before the New Year’s ball drops. You owe it to yourself. 

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Nathaniel Ratliff

OK, he’s hardly new. Nathaniel Rateliff has been paying his dues for the better part of eight years. His brooding 2007 self-released project, Nathaniel Ratliff & The Wheel, earned him a well-deserved following in his adopted hometown of Denver. But 2015 was the year that the rest of the country caught up. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats brought Rateliff’s barroom soul to the mainstream. Good things happen to good songwriters who wait. (Photo: Facebook)

Watch Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats perform at Yahoo Studios

Chris Stapleton

The Kentucky coal miner’s son tooled around for 15 years writing songs for others, joining some cool bands (check out the short-lived bluegrass bands the SteelDrivers) and preparing for his closeup. Stapleton’s debut, Traveller, won him converts and three CMA Awards. It’ll most likely get him a Grammy this February. Most importantly, Stapleton helped steer country music away from the slick NashVegas pop ditch. (Photo: Facebook)

Listen to “Traveller”

Courtney Barnett

The Australian singer-songwriter spent the first part of the ‘10s playing a supporting role in Melbourne’s thriving underground scene (including the must-know psychedelic folk band, Immigrant Union). Barnett’s slow burn to mainstream notice began with a spot-on 2014 Tonight Show appearance. Her 2015 solo debut, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit showed a sardonic wit worthy of Randy Newman comparisons and a Best New Artist Grammy nomination. She also plays a mean slide guitar. (Photo: Facebook/Mia Mala)

Watch the video for “Pedestrian at Best”

Tobias Jesso Jr.

Jesso’s story is the stuff music myth-making: Frustrated bass player gives up on L.A. after four years and retreats to his Canadian home. Frustrated bass player takes up piano and makes demos. Frustrated bass player gives demos to friend and soon famous musicians (including the Black Keys’ Patrick Carney) help produce album. Frustrated no more, Jesso not only gets his own stellar debut, Goon, but he gets to co-write a tune with Adele (”When We Were Young”), too. See how easy it is?

Listen to “How Could You Babe”

Raury

Yahoo Music’s Chris Willman predicted Raury’s rise in his 2015 prediction list. It took me seeing him sing around a campfire on The Late Late Show With James Corden to get the memo. This 19-year-old Atlanta kid has the soul of Gil Scott-Heron, the hippie-hope of Arrested Development’s Speech in his prime, and the musical curiosity of Kendrick Lamar. He’s the face a future that is free of cynicism while still deeply concerned. We need more brothers like this one.

Watch the video for “Devil’s Whisper”

Elle King

King’s DNA would lead you you to believe she is suited for a catwalk or comedy club, but her body and soul definitely belong to the blues. The daughter of SNL comedian Rob Schneider and model London King, Elle King armed herself with a banjo, a Delta blues sixth sense, and an indie-rocker’s sense of mayhem. The mix is potent, confounding, and totally rewarding. Anyone who can pivot from the morning show safety of the Today Show to the near-chaos of a Modest Mouse opening tour slot is OK with me.

Watch the video for “Ex’s and Oh’s”

Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield

All right, I’m technically cheating, but it’s my list so I can do what I want. I have no idea if Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield will remain a duo. And, yes, I know they both are past being “new” as individual artists. Still, their pairing was brand-new by any definition. The two got together for the first time this year to record a collection of Elliott Smith songs. They sing like they joined at the heart and reminded the world (or me at least) how heartbreaking Smith’s words, music, life, and loss still remain. (Photo: Getty Images)

Watch a live performance of “Baby Britain”

Kamasi Washington

The Los Angeles tenor sax player is Kendrick Lamar’s secret weapon. Any mortal would have nothing left in the tank after mind-melding with Lamar to create the far-reaching arrangements for his To Pimp a Butterfly. But Washington is no mere mortal. He is a superhuman music time-traveler who walked out of the studio with Lamar and hit the record button on nearly three hours of his own uncompromising jazz debut, The Epic. What did you do the year? (Photo: Facebook)

Listen to “Miss Understanding”

Leon Bridges

Here’s an artist who dons 1960s vintage wear and shines a light on a criminally forgotten era of African American music. That has, admittedly, been done before. I was initially included to write off Bridges as simply derivative without the personal conviction or gravitas to carry the music forward. But I was wrong. The dude cares, and he’s getting attention: both of which are good for American soul music. Keep preaching, Brother Bridges. I’ll see you on the road. (Photo: Facebook/Jason Kim)

Watch the music video for “Coming Home”

Wolf Alice

The London group started as an acoustic duo in 2010 and ended 2015 as a Grammy-nominated rock quartet. Like the best British bands, Wolf Alice know how to marry swagger, expansiveness, and detached sex appeal to make music that is deeply confident. An American version of this band would try just a little too hard. An American Wolf Alice would be just a little too self-conscious and smile a little too much.  Wolf Alice hold the delicate balance perfectly. They just know they are badass. Damn, those Brits. (Photo: Facebook)

Watch the music video for “Bros”

[therevamos]

The Best in Late-Night Music: Week of Dec. 7 (Holiday Edition)

Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings on Conan.

‘Tis officially the season, folks, and this week’s late-night champ was Christmas in a landslide.

All of the late night shows pulled out the holiday decorations and officially got into the spirit. There as no War on Christmas on late night TV. Lots of egg nog, bad sweaters, and sleigh races.

And of course, holiday tunes. Enjoy.

MONDAY

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings on Conan

Yes, Coldplay was across town on Corden’s stage. Meh. My heart was in Burbank with Sharon Jones who was sharing the Christmas spirit. The woman sings better while battling cancer than most people do after the gym. She’s an inspiration and one of our national treasures.

“WATCH IT HERE”

As an extra Christmas gift, the soul warrior gave us a version of Charles Brown’s holiday classic, “Please Come Home For Christmas.”

“WATCH ‘PLEASE COME COME FOR CHRISTMAS’ HERE”

TUESDAY

Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets on Conan

Nick Lowe is repeating his successful Christmas tour with surf rock heroes Los Straitjackets. They make the dreamiest  Christmas music around — especially for dudes wearing Mexican wrestler masks.

“WATCH IT HERE”

And as an added bonus, Lowe and Los Straightjackets gave us a gentle surf-rock version of his 1984 single “Half A Boy and Half A Man.”

“WATCH ‘HALF A BOY AND HALF A MAN’ HERE”

WEDNESDAY

Band of Merrymakers on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Sam Hollander and Kevin Griffin are back for year two of their Band Aid redux. They’ve got lots of famous friends and write a catchy holiday tune. Somewhere, Santa is smiling.

THURSDAY

James Corden and Chris Hardwick on The Late Late Show with James Corden

What could be better than a Bing Crosby/David Bowie recreation with Chewbacca and Stormtroopers. The perfect Christmas gifts for Star Wars geeks everywhere.

Here’s the original in case you’re The Force doesn’t work on you.

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Why Frank Sinatra Is Still the Chairman After 100 Years

(photo courtesy of Associated Press)

This coming Saturday, the 12th, would have been the 100th birthday of one Francis Albert Sinatra. Why should you care? And why should we be talking about Frank Sinatra 17 years after his death at age 82?

You should care because Frank Sinatra invented the pop-culture in which you live. He was the original pop star, crossover artist, media mogul, hyphenate, and badass. Diddy, Jay Z, and Taylor Swift all owe their success to the Sinatra playbook. Every artist needs to fight for his or her career. And Sinatra fought harder than most. He was born scarred and partially deaf (due to use of forceps during birth). He spent his childhood in the Great Depression. For 82 years, Sinatra beats the odds, expanded his influence, and advanced his craft. Impressed with Justin Bieber’s career resurrection? Sinatra was there first. Think Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson’s film turns are dramatic? Sinatra was there first. Believe that Dre, Jigga, and Kanye are the groundbreaking examples of recording artists who also flex their muscle as record label owners? Sinatra was there first. He’s the original gangster. He wrote the book -- whether you read it or not.

Proof of Sinatra's staying power was on display earlier this week when CBS aired Sinatra 100: An All-Star GRAMMY Concert, featuring Lady Gaga, Zac Brown, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Nick Jonas, and a bunch of other singers not even born when Sinatra was at his prime. Still, they are all smart enough to know they stand in his shadow.

Happy birthday, Saint Francis. You made the world safe for strong-willed, entrepreneurial artists. In an age of musicians being marginalized by subscription services and shorter attention spans, we all can learn from your grit and ability to reinvent yourself. 

The Pop Star One of Sinatra’s first gigs was as a singing waiter in a New Jersey roadhouse. It paid $15 a week. A year later, he was fronting Tommy Dorsey’s big band. By 1942, Sinatra said goodbye to Dorsey (and sued him over royalties) and set out to become a pop star like his idol, Bing Crosby. Columbia Records signed him in 1943 and cranked out four singles, including “Close to You.”

In less than five years, Sinatra was the biggest pop star in the country. Bigger than Bing.

The Comeback

Ol’ Blue Eyes' potential slide into irrelevance happened as quickly as his initial rise. By the early 1950s, Sinatra was unable to full concert halls, and Columbia dropped him. Enter Nelson Riddle -- a fellow New Jersey native and a genius arranger who was the (not-so) secret weapon behind Capitol Records’ biggest recordings. Riddle worked with legends such as Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, but his Sinatra collaboration would be career-defining for both of them (despite the fact that Sinatra initially refused work with Riddle).

The Sinatra-Riddle recordings represent some of the best American popular recordings ever made. They also give us “The Voice.” At Capitol, Sinatra went from being a great singer to a singular singer. More than 50 years later, these recordings would serve as inspiration to another singular voice: Bob Dylan’s 2015 album, Shadows in the Night, was recorded in the same studio and covered some of the same material.

The Mogul

In 1960, after over 20 years of recording, Sinatra wanted control. He founded Reprise Records and installed himself as CEO (hence “The Chairman of the Board” nickname). The Chairman gave his buddies, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., recording contracts. He also gave them -- and all Reprise artists -- something rarely found in the music business: full creative control and ownership of their work.

Sinatra also recorded some of his most memorable recordings at Reprise, including perhaps his most iconic tune, “My Way.”

Sinatra sold Reprise for a reported $80 million. It was small change for a man who also had multiple real estate holdings, a private airline, and a missile parts company. The former singing waiter’s net worth was reported as much as $600 million at the time of his 1998 death.

The Hyphenate

Sinatra's film debut was in an uncredited role in a little-known 1941 comedy called Las Vegas Nights. Four years later, Sinatra would truly begin a second career as a film star, when he starred alongside Gene Kelly in the MGM musical Anchors Aweigh. The film won an Oscar for Best Score and received four more nominations, including a Sinatra-sung cover of Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn's “I Fall In Love Too Easily."

Over the course of his life, Sinatra starred in 57 films, 24 television projects, and none radio series. He produced, directed, and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in From Here to Eternity, and showed up in The Cannonball Run II. Boom.

The Badass

Frank Sinatra was not a badass because of his style. He was not a badass because he could handle his booze and presumably hung with mobsters (the FBI had a 1,000-plus page file on him). He was not a badass because he ran with the Rat Pack (a name he refused to use, preferring “The Summit” or “The Clan”). And he was not a badass because he could get inside of a song like his life depended upon it.

Sinatra was and is a badass because he endures.  His influence was there until the end and still lingers. Witness nearly every hip-hop star's obsession with recreating his own Rat Pack. Witness every rock star that dares to sing a Sinatra tune in an effort to be seen as a “real” artist.

While other artists talk of their “brand” and grope at merchandising and marketing opportunities, Sinatra simply did it. He was the pop star, the mogul, the hyphenate, and the badass -- all effortlessly. Sinatra’s cool transcends genre, race, and age. All roads go through him. All roads lead to him. Long live the Chairman.

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The Best in Late-Night Music: Week of Nov. 30

Now that the turkey has worn off, let’s get back to some music, shall we?

While Seth, Carson, and Colbert took an extended break this week,  the Jimmys, Corden, and Conan dug deep into their playlists and puled out some perfect music to kick off the holiday season. Take a spin, my friends. 

This week’s late-night champ: Los Angeles

This week, L.A. was the center of the music universe. No other town has such a wealth of talent and musical gifts. Until next week, at least.

MONDAY

The Flaming Lips on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

The Lips left Miley at home, but brought the beautiful strangeness to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their Clouds Taste Metallic album -- with Wayne Coyne prowling the stage like a Futurama beaded Barbie-Ken impersonator. Or not. But damn, he’s still cool all these years later.

Plus, as an added bonus the baddest sax player on the planet (and my album producer), Mindi Abair, rocked it with the Roots.

TUESDAY

The Chainsmokers ft. Roses on The Late Late Show with James Corden

A little over a year ago, the New York DJs were riding high on a gimmicky single. They celebrated by making a stop on American Idol. It was pretty... awkward.

Flash forward to this week’s Late Late Show appearance. They ditched the contrivance and cranked up a bit of showmanship (having Rozes doesn’t hurt). What a difference a year makes. Keep it up, boys.

WEDNESDAY

Glen Hansard on Conan

It’s almost hard to remember when Hansard was the young troubadour outsider. He’s now a graybeard approaching 50, but Hansard is still a busker at heart. And his spare songs are a calm from the pop storm. (WATCH HIM HERE.)

THURSDAY

Weezer on Conan

One winter weekday night, Rivers Cuomo came down from the mountain and blessed us with a new single, “Thank God for Girls.” And the world rejoiced and all was well. (WATCH THEM HERE)

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The Best in Late-Night Music: Week of Nov. 16

Before I begin, I must acknowledge a bit of musical history that went down after last week’s late night recap was posted: A Tribe Called Quest just reunited after a 15-year absence. Check out their grand return below.

Now, on to the business at hand.

This week’s late night champ: retro reinvention

All the geezers came out this week. Some of it was nostalgia, but most of it was later-in-life reinvention on late-night parade. It’s proof that art never gets old and artists have no expiration date.

MONDAY

Billy Gibbons on Conan

He brought the car, he brought the boogie, but Gibbons left ZZ Top at home — trading his trio for a killer combo and some old-school showmanship. (WATCH IT HERE.)

TUESDAY

Public Image Ltd. on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Don’t be distracted by his use of a teleprompter and the reading glasses. Yes, John Lydon is old, but he’s gloriously cranky as ever in this profanity-laced bit of late night performance art.

WEDNESDAY

Jeff Lynne’s ELO on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Make no mistake: Jeff Lynne’s ELO is not ELO. The band is completely different, there’s no spaceship, and it feels middle phones-in. But screw it, “Mr. Blue Sky” still sounds great nearly 40 years later. A little nostalgia never hurt anyone.

THURSDAY

One Direction on Jimmy Kimmel Live

This has to seen just for the spectacle alone. Six-thousand crazed teens packed on Hollywood Blvd. The song? Mediocre. The performance? They look bored. Harry Styles’s pants? I can’t make sense of them. [Cue the hate mail.] Still, there is something riveting about the whole scene. The guys travel in rarified air.

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The Best in Late-Night Music: Week of Nov. 9

Two weeks to Thanksgiving, and we remain grateful for good music and its power to heal in very trying times. This week was full of femme fatales, musical foot soldiers, and surprising politics. Read on, watch closely, and play it loud.

This week’s late-night champ: Trevor Noah

As he approaches his two-month anniversary as The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah is slowly making the show his own — which includes displaying some seriously eclectic music taste. Plus, the dude can work a day after an emergency appendectomy. Take that, Jimmy Fallon, with your cut fingers.

MONDAY

Pras on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Pras didn’t perform but rather showed us his new documentary satire, Sweet Micky for President. The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Festival and is a ridiculously scary look at celebrity and politics. Sweet Micky also offers all the evidence you need as to why there will never be a Fugees reunion. (WATCH IT HERE)

TUESDAY

Ellie Goulding on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

After a three-year recording break, Goulding is back with her third album. She’s as refreshing as ever. She has the voice of a troubled electronica angel and she’s musically wily in ways that outshine her more manufactured pop-y peers.  Welcome back.

WEDNESDAY

Six-String Soldiers on Conan 

Here’s something even Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton could agree upon. These soldiers-turned-bluegrass players do the country proud — and they can pick like Ralph Stanley’s lost kin. A perfect Veterans' Day booking. (WATCH IT HERE)

THURSDAY

Christine and the Queens on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Host Trevor Noah gave this French act the perfect summation."You’re weird but amazing.” Truth. French singer, Heloïse Letissier, runs with drag queens, prowls like stage like a performance art master, and wears Grouch Marx nose and glasses (not last night). You’ll be seeing her accepting her VMA soon enough.

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