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NEAR TRUTHS: BLUSH OF FAME
We'll drink to that. (10/30a)
MEET THE AGENTS: BATCH #4
That's all she wrote. (10/30a)
UPDATE: THIS TOP 20 IS WIDELY RED
Columbia, the gem of the album chart. (10/30a)
HOLLY GLEASON SNAGS SIX NATIONAL A&E JOURNO NOMS
Oops, she did it again. (10/30a)
TYLER IS HEADED TO THE TOP
Unconventional move by unconventional dude is paying off. (10/30a)
THE GRAMMY SHORT LIST
Who's already a lock?
COUNTRY'S NEWEST DISRUPTOR
Three chords and some truth you may not be ready for.
AI IS ALREADY EATING YOUR LUNCH
The kids can tell the difference... for now.
ALL THE WAY LIVE
The players, the tours, the enormous beers.
THE B-SIDE
IHF'S OASIS
4/14/20

Washington DC-based producer Ben Gorvine, better known by his stage name IHF, has released his junior EP Oasis on 4/10 via Lowly Records. The EP features vocals from Gorvine himself and is accompanied with electronic and indie melodies.

IHF’s music first gained traction back in 2014 when he dropped his EP Floating— a project that has now accumulated millions of streams online. He’s previously toured with artists such as Big Wild, Glass Animals, Hayden James and has played major festivals including Coachella and Electric Forest.

Stream Oasis below.

STEVE AND ABIGAIL'S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST
4/14/20

Steve Greenberg, President of S-Curve Records, home to AJR, Andy Grammer, A Great Big World and more, has naturally turned his home confinement into a playlisting adventure.

Steve and his teenage daughter Abigail have been sending each other music, then discussing their thoughts on it. These discussions then turn into playlists which the two wanted to share, in hopes that other music lovers and their families might find this a fun activity to do during this time of self-isolation. Here's a sample of what their conversations look like, and the resulting Spotify playlist Abigail and Steve Stuck at Home below.

Greenberg is best known for discovering Hanson, Baha Men, Jonas Brothers, Joss Stone and AJR, and is a two-time Grammy winner who has also produced and co-written songs for Grammer, Stone, Jo Bros, Boyzone, Baha Men, The O'Jays, Leslie Odom Jr. and more.

1. “Self Control” by Frank Ocean

Abigail: Ok, so this is a song I definitely do literally listen to every single day. It is probably the best song ever. It’s really simple in its production, obviously the “keep a place for me” part is vocally doctored, but whatev.

I think it’s the lyrics that get me. When he says, “Wish we’d grown up on the same advice,” that rings true, even though it’s not a desire I’ve ever heard expressed before. Every Frank Ocean song is liquid gold, but this hits different.

Steve: I love this song, as well. What do you think “Wish we’d grown up on the same advice” means?

ASG: I think it’s like a way of reacting to a really deep, endemic rift between Frank (as I casually call him) and the person to whom he’s singing.

He says, “you see me like a UFO.” There’s an estrangement...

SG: I feel a sense of wistfulness and maybe even regret in so much of Frank Ocean’s music. Like in “Ivy” when he sings “we’ll never be those kids again.”


2. “Death Bed (coffee for your head)” by Powfu and Beabadoobee

SG: I don’t know much about them, but I feel this song captures something about the current moment, even though it came out a couple of months ago.

ASG: This is actually a TikTok song. It’s for TikToks where someone is like, “I am in love with my best friend, and she doesn’t know it. Today I’m gonna make a move.” And then they kiss. Also sometimes baby animals. It’s sweet, but there’s something weird about the duet between like…a baby alien and an adult human man?

I do just wish I was sitting in the garage where this person decided to name their act “Beabadoobee” Or board room. Or Starbucks. Or wherever. I’m so there...

SHAGGY'S BACK, AND "IT (STILL) WASN'T" HIM
4/10/20

Shaggy has returned, with a new version of his hit song "It Wasn't Me (Hot Shot 2020)(Ft. Rayvon)." The Jamaican artist’s diamond-selling fifth LP Hot Shot, released in 2000, boasted two #1 singles, including the multi-platinum original version of “It Wasn’t Me," which cemented his status as one of the best-selling dancehall artists of all time. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hot Shot, the two-time Grammy winner will soon share Hot Shot 2020, a new album featuring updated renditions of his biggest hits and fan favorites, along with a several new unreleased tracks.

“My initial thought for this project was to recreate the full Hot Shot album exactly how it was done, but then I decided I wanted to mix it up,” said Shaggy. “I lived that Hot Shot moment already and it was an amazing ride. I wanted to move forward and try new things, add some of my other hits...and bring in different vibes while exploring some sounds we’d never used before.”

In the recording of Hot Shot 2020, Shaggy called on an impressive lineup of producers, including Martin Kierszenbaum (Lady Gaga, Madonna), Dave Audé (Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige), and Dwayne “iLL Wayno” Shippy (Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj). Mostly made in NYC but partly recorded in Jamaica, Hot Shot 2020 also found Shaggy re-joining forces with his longtime collaborator producer Shane Hoosong. “Shane’s got a way of putting the right feel and flavor into the production, so that the song hits you right in the chest,” Shaggy noted.

On Hot Shot 2020’s update of “It Wasn’t Me,” produced by Hoosong and featuring Barbadian singer Rayvon, the track at first proved challenging to revisit. “What we ended up doing was bringing in the dancehall drums, like we always do when we play it on tour," said Shaggy. "It took the song to a completely different place, and at the same time it felt so natural for us to go there.”

Looking back on the making of Hot Shot 2020, Shaggy admits to a certain feeling of surprise at the final product. “I’m extremely critical and figured there was no way we could top what we’d done before, but now when I’m playing these new versions, I just love the feel of them so much,” he said. “I think my purpose and my job is to bring joy to as many people as I can, and I want that to resonate within all of the music that I create.”