What has he done to help good music?

Jason Isbell's 'Reunions' - "an excellent album"

"With 'Reunions', Isbell unites the disparate aspects of his craft — soothing acoustic and fiercely electric; Hemingway's word economy dashed with Oscar Wilde-worthy asides, relatable details and otherworldly allusions" - Exclaim says in a review of alt-country singer-songwriter's new album. Glide Magazine says Isbell's reputation as “one of the best” and “the best singer-songwriter of his generation” today is well-earned. Paste Mag praises his inner strength - "he knows a little something about putting up a fight, even if it’s against his own worst impulses. His best impulses he keeps channeling into his music". PopMatters puts it simple: "an excellent album... It's already a candidate for one of 2020's best".

Britain’s hospital radio stations are one of the less well-known features of its health system: tiny operations, staffed by volunteers, who mostly play patient requests. Patients can normally listen to the shows, which are heavy on chart music and old hits, using headphones connected to an entertainment unit beside their beds. There are still over 200 such stations, and some claim they have found themselves more useful than ever during the pandemic, providing a human connection to patients who would otherwise be alone, New York Times reports.

Spotify has officially launched new Group Session feature, which allows multiple people to control the same playlist in real time, The Verge reports. The feature can accommodate up to 100 users, and hey all have to be in the same location. To use the feature, the “host” will tap the Connect menu in the bottom-left corner of their Play screen, then share with their “guests” the scannable code that appears. The guests then join the session by scanning the host’s code. Then, using Spotify’s built-in controls, they’re able to pause, play, skip and select tracks on the queue and add choices of their own to be played next.

Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson has revealed that he is “suffering from an incurable lung disease... exacerbations”, but he's okay if he's "kept in a reasonably pollution-free environment in terms of air quality", although "my days are numbered”, Variety reports. The 72-year-old rocker pointed to fog machines as a major culprit, stating - “I’ve spent 50 years of my life onstage among those wretched things that I call smoke machines. Today, they’re politely referred to as hazers, as if they’re somehow innocent and not damaging to your lungs. I really do believe that’s a very significant part of the problem I have”.

Mabel

Musicians and songwriters in the UK received a record amount of money last year - £810m, a rise of 8.7% compared to the previous year, BBC reports. PRS for Music, the body that makes sure 145,000 songwriters, composers and publishers in the UK are paid when their music is played or performed around the world, is warning, however, that the Covid-19 would result in an "inevitable decline" in 2020 and 2021.

BTS

Watch any K-pop music video and you’ll likely be met with loud hair colors, elaborate outfits, flawless skin, heavily made-up eyes and painted lips. To South Korean stars - or idols as they're called there - it’s not only the norm, it’s also specifically calibrated for audience appeal - Rafinery 29 writes in an analysis of young beautiful South Korean boy bands.

Girl in Red

"If you want to record, just hit record. It’s not about equipment. For the Beck record we had nothing, just inspiration” - Calvin Johnson, of K Records told Guardian about recording albums in his basement. One of the latest bedroom pop artists is 21-year-old Girl in Red, who is ratcheting up hundreds of millions of streams with indie-pop tracks made in her bedroom. Everybody is locked down now due to the pandemic, so everybody can be a music producer, the G argues.

"His songs don’t settle into familiar shapes or patterns. He sings in a scratchy falsetto that seems to fray at the edges" - Stereogum argues in favor of Moses Sumney's 'Grae' (part two is out this week, part one came out in February). Sumney recruited dozens of collaborators for the album - Adult Jazz, Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart, James Blake, Jill Scott, Yvette, bass virtuoso Thundercat, Son Lux drummer Ian Chang, Oneohtrix Point Never’s Daniel Lopatin - in "a time-honored method for creative visionaries seeking to tease out different sides of themselves". Treblezine says it's "the perfect culmination of its transcendent first half", and Guardian rounds it up - "places the Ghanaian-American’s vast emotional range and unfurling musicality front and centre".

Skinny Girl Diet at the Meltdown Festival

Independent music festivals in Britain are at risk of collapsing after coronavirus forced many to cancel their 2020 editions, a new report by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has warned. Some 92% of AIF members - including Gloucestershire’s 2000trees, London’s Meltdown and Sheffield’s Tramlines - warn they face ruinous costs as a result of cancelled events, with the vast majority (98.5%) not covered by insurance for cancellation as a result of coronavirus, the Guardian reports.

Jimmy Fallon has gathered a dozen artists for the latest edition of his "classroom instruments" segment for an elaborate virtual performance of Bowie/Queen song 'Under Pressure'. Tonight Show host, Panic at the Disco's Brendon Urie and The Roots covered the ‘80s classic with (mostly) home “home instruments" - Questlove played the butter knife/wine glass, bottle, jar and bowl, Black Thought worked the frosting spatula and toaster, and Dave Guy was on frisbee - and the song turned out GRRREAT!!! Watch below.

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