NASHVILLE — On any given Thursday night in Nashville, you can stand on a neon-soaked, tourist-packed block of Lower Broadway and hear Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart” blasting from a band at Layla’s Honky Tonk. Brooks & Dunn’s “Red Dirt Road” from Legends Corner. Clay Walker’s “If I Could Make a Living” from Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman” from a passing car. Big & Rich’s “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” from the speakers of a pedal tavern filled with bros, who loudly boo when they pedal past and you decline to give them a high-five.
And just up the street, if you step out of the party zone and into the historic Ryman Auditorium, you can hear the audience’s ear-shattering screams at Carly Pearce’s Oct. 28 concert when Trisha Yearwood stops by to croon “How Do I Live,” Ronnie Dunn arrives to sing “Cowgirls Don’t Cry” and Kelsea Ballerini shows up to cover the Chicks’s 1999 classic “Cowboy Take Me Away.”
It doesn’t really matter where you are: In country music, the genre’s iconic ′90s and early 2000s hits — and the acts that sing them — continue to reign supreme. After all, it was the era when country’s biggest acts became chart-topping, stadium-filling superstars, bringing country music to its widest audience ever — so it makes sense that singers, songwriters, executives and even fans cling to that time.
“That might be the loudest thing I’ve ever heard,” Martina McBride said to the roar of the sold-out crowd the following night across the street at Bridgestone Arena, where she was the opening act for Wynonna Judd. McBride sounded choked up as thousands gave her a standing ovation after she belted out “A Broken Wing,” her famous ballad from 1997. “God, I love Nashville,” she said.
“You have no idea how much you mean to the world,” Yearwood, the concert’s special guest singer, told Judd, who collected 14 No. 1 hits between 1984 and 1991 with her mother and duo partner, the late Naomi Judd. The noise level at Bridgestone was only rivaled the next night at the tour stop at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., where Judd’s guest singer was Faith Hill. Her husband, Tim McGraw, watched the show from the floor seats, and briefly entertained the audience by dancing between sets to Brooks & Dunn’s 1991 line dance anthem “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.”
Spend some time in Nashville and you will see this nostalgia obsession play out repeatedly and eventually televised on a national platform at Wednesday’s 2022 Country Music Association Awards. The three-hour broadcast on ABC came alive about a half-hour in when Jo Dee Messina strolled onstage during Cole Swindell’s performance of his five-week No. 1 single “She Had Me At Heads Carolina,” a reimagining of Messina’s 1996 smash “Heads Carolina, Tails California.” (“She’s a ′90s country fan, like I am,” Swindell sings approvingly in his song about a girl he meets in a karaoke bar.)
“Y’all give it up for Jo Dee Messina!” Swindell yelled at the end and bowed to Messina, who beamed and waved to the screaming crowd. A similar reaction occurred later when Chris Stapleton collaborated with Patty Loveless on “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” which she recorded in 2001. Ditto during the Alan Jackson lifetime achievement award tribute when the cameras could barely keep up with the number of country stars dancing in the audience, as various artists performed his hits spanning from “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” (1990) to “Remember When” (2003).
While observing all of this, the question arises: If a genre is this fixated on the past, what does that mean for its future? After talking to many people in the industry, as well as those industry-adjacent who count themselves as superfans, the answer is complicated.
First, it should be noted that country is far from alone when it comes to being obsessed with the past. The broader culture is going through a ′90s and 2000s nostalgia craze, from re-watch podcasts to TV and movie reboots and band reunion tours. But country music stands out as a place that was already fixated on its past.
Countless songs reminisce about the good old days, like McGraw’s “Back When” — and wonder why things can’t be as simple as they used to be, even if it’s recalling a fictional problem-free town that never actually existed, such as Rascal Flatts’s “Mayberry.” As a result, country music’s determination to constantly pay tribute to past legends and celebrate its history can make it difficult to move forward, and particularly now as the industry that likes to bill itself as one big family is more divided than ever as it grapples with complex issues like the rest of America.
The unpleasantness that has rankled Nashville was successfully swept under the rug on the CMAs broadcast. Nominees Jason Aldean and Maren Morris were both in the audience just two months after a rare social media blowup when Aldean’s wife, Brittany, posted an Instagram video that Morris criticized as transphobic.
About six weeks later, Aldean leaned into the controversy as he sarcastically told the crowd at a Bridgestone concert that he might bring Morris up onstage, and flashed a smile when fans booed — and then proceeded to welcome to the stage Morgan Wallen, best known to mainstream audiences as the singer who was caught on TMZ video last year saying the n-word and only becoming more popular when fans (and some Nashville singers and industry executives) fretted he was being unfairly “canceled.”
Both controversies made national news and spotlighted the larger issues that the format has yet to fully deal with, from the overwhelmingly White genre’s extreme lack of diversity to how LGBTQ singers have been marginalized by the industry for decades. Such incidents are discussed at length behind the scenes, and has caused a lot of soul-searching in Nashville as some have realized they have to work closely with people whose views they despise — while others wish everyone could just focus on the music, because they are at a loss to solve these problems.
In other whispered conversations — where people furtively glance over their shoulders at events and restaurants, because you never know who might be standing right behind you in this industry town — there’s further anxiety over how to respond to these issues publicly. Multiple people in the industry were unimpressed by CMA co-host Luke Bryan’s defensive statement last month after he saw backlash for inviting the “very polarizing” (his words) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) onstage at a concert, seemingly trying to argue that it wasn’t a political statement because he was promoting awareness for hurricane relief.
And of course, it’s all compounded by the fact that country music, like all genres, is struggling to adapt to the future of streaming, confronting a touring industry that was crippled by the pandemic and struggling with how to break new music stars other than advising them to somehow go viral on TikTok — a frustration that has spilled into public as musicians vent about this new pressure placed upon them.
So it’s no wonder that the day before the CMAs at the BMI Country Awards (a star-studded private industry event that honors songwriters), everyone preferred to bask in nostalgic times. Toby Keith was awarded the BMI Icon Award, and stars from Eric Church to Carrie Underwood performed covers of his hits and raved about his rise to stardom. Discussion of the difficulties songwriters face as royalties dry up in the streaming era were left to another night.
“It was artists like you that taught kids like me that greatness was possible if you work hard, give it all you got,” Underwood said before putting her spin on “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” Keith’s first No. 1 single in 1993.
It was more of the same the following night when CMA voters awarded the entertainer of the year prize (for the second year in a row) to Luke Combs. He’s the genre’s newest megastar who speaks frequently about legendary ‘′90s duo Brooks & Dunn as one of his biggest inspirations — and has found massive success by combining modern production with (you guessed it) a traditional ’90s country sound.
Gal Costa, one of Brazil’s most revered singers and a central figure in the Tropicália counterculture artistic movement that emerged during the repressive military dictatorship lasting from 1964 to 1985, died Nov. 9 in São Paulo. She was 77.
Her press agent announced the death but gave no cause.
Until 1969, the highest-profile artists of the Tropicália movement — which sought to undermine military rule via art and peaceful disobedience rather than through the leftist guerrilla activity of the time — were singer-songwriters Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. When they fled the country, under threat of prison or worse from the regime, Ms. Costa made sure their music stayed in circulation through evocative performance.
In addition, Ms. Costa was a leading exponent of música popular brasileira, which blended regional folk music with samba, jazz and rock. She never considered herself a traditional protest singer, or even politically motivated until the last few years when she spoke out against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. But her choice of lyrically allegorical songs, which she interpreted with her crystalline mezzo soprano voice and her virtuoso playing of the violão (acoustic guitar), often targeted political corruption and Brazil’s junta.
Usually outrageously and often scantily-dressed as a young woman, her long, dark hair often tressed in curls or an Afro, Ms. Costa was a child of the sexual revolution that came to Brazil in the 1960s along with rock music from the United States and England. She became known as a muse of desbunde, an anti-military but also anti-guerrilla nonconformist zeitgeist.
Ms. Costa was initially inspired by bossa nova musician João Gilberto and later by Veloso and Gil. But she also became influenced by American rockers, soul men and blues masters — including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and James Brown — and later (thanks to her son, Gabriel) hip-hop.
Her best-known songs include “Baby” and “Coração Vagabundo” (Vagabond Heart) — both written by Veloso; “Aquarela do Brasil,” a 1939 composition by Ary Barroso popularized in English as “Brazil” during the big-band era; and “London London,” written by Veloso during his exile in the British capital. She sang the last, as he had written it, in English.
Her most controversial album was “Índia” (1973), less for its allegorical lyrics than for its cover image of a women’s torso with a red thong-like bikini. The military banned the album sleeve and ordered Ms. Costa’s record company to sell it only inside an opaque blue plastic cover. It was the best inadvertent publicity any artist could wish for. Brazilians queued at record stores to buy it, and Ms. Costa emerged as an unwitting feminist icon.
One of the finest songs on the “Índia” album — with the collaboration of Gil, as producer, and Verdoso — was “Milho Verde” (“Green Corn”), a traditional song chanted by female enslaved cornfield workers under Portuguese colonial rule and echoing the songs of North American enslaved cotton pickers.
Maria de Graࣹça Costa Penna Burgos was born in Salvador, the capital city of the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, on Sept. 26, 1945. Her parents separated after her mother discovered that her husband had a secret second family.
After leaving school early to help her mother, Ms. Costa found work in a local record store and began singing along to the latest bossa nova releases. That brought her to the attention of customers including Veloso, Gil and a young singer called Maria Bethânia. They soon formed a musical group calling themselves Doces Bárbaros (Sweet Barbarians).
She recorded her first solo single in 1965 under the name Maria da Graça but soon settled on Gal Costa as her stage name. Her breakthrough album, “Domingo” (1967), also featured Veloso.
Ms. Costa said she didn’t have the financial means to go into self-exile like Veloso. Instead, in 1971, she launched a new Tropicália stage show called Fa-Tal, directed by her friend Waly Salomão, in which she performed with sexy clothes and brightly-painted lips.
As her fame grew, she continued with her hippie-hedonistic lifestyle in Rio, where she and her friends would sing and play on a stretch of the Ipanema beach which became dubbed the “Dunes of Gal.” In 1985, when she performed at the Carnegie Hall in her first performance in the United States, she told the New York Times, “I am not planning to conquer the United States market. I am a Brazilian singer, and I am kind of lazy about leaving Brazil.”
In 2011, Ms. Costa was awarded a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Survivors include her son, Gabriel.
At the core of Ms. Costa’s music was a free-spiritedness. “Any kind of diversity, I am a defender,” she once told an interviewer. “People have to respect differences. The other doesn’t have to be like you. You have to have freedom to be, to exist, whatever you may be. That’s implicit in me, in my way of being.”
If you have ever paid attention to the Smashing Pumpkins, you know that Billy Corgan is a famously self-important rock star: the type who talks at length to the press about how great he is and then complains about being misquoted. We are in a Manhattan hotel, discussing how Corgan came to realise that his lifelong pursuit of music – and the undeniable success that had come with it – had left him unfulfilled, when he says this: “I would watch people quite cleverly try to disassemble what I’d actually built. They were sort of interested in separating me from my own true narrative.”
Now, this reads like something a famously self-important rock star would say. But Corgan says it playfully, with such self-awareness that he gets away with it: suggesting that he knows this is absurd, but it’s how he feels, and actually it’s even appropriate given his stature; that he’d rather risk ridicule than minimise his feelings. Some version of this dynamic repeats constantly over the next hour. Irony may not always be a healthy coping device, but having fun with an interview seems like the least a rock star should do. I wondered how differently many of his previously controversial quotes – about social justice warriors, a pizza fast-food chain, the Shrek soundtrack – might read in the context of their delivery.
At any rate, talking like this never seriously impeded the Pumpkins in the 1990s, when they released a handful of classic records, racked up awards and had hit singles in the US and UK. The Pumpkins exemplified their “refuse to choose” Gen X milieu, flitting between noisy and tender musical styles that bridged raucous grunge and emotive indie rock. After 1995’s hugely popular double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, they suddenly pivoted to an electronica-inflected sound on their follow-up LP, Adore, a daring shift that repelled some critics but has grown in stature in the following years.
Smashing Pumpkins in 1991 … (clockwise from left) James Iha, D’Arcy Wretzky, Jimmy Chamberlin and Billy Corgan. Photograph: Paul Natkin/Getty Images
The Smashing Pumpkins were a bold and great band. But although nobody seemed to mind the Gallagher brothers’ braggadocio, something seemed to grate when Corgan did it. Was it his incandescent baldness, a look he adopted before he turned 30? His easily parodied adenoidal bray? The fact that he wasn’t “the cute one”, which he was known to complain about in interviews? Whatever it was, it hung over Corgan by the time the Pumpkins broke up in 2000, and certainly when they re-formed a few years later with drummer Jimmy Chamberlin as the only other member of the original lineup. Slowly, Corgan became far more written about for the things he said and did – being pictured grimacing on a rollercoaster, say – than the music he continued to make.
Corgan arrives to our interview in black jeans, a quilted jacket, a multicoloured scarf and a Chicago Cubs hat. He is dressed down from the Pumpkins’ show at Madison Square Garden the previous night, where he resembled a techno vampire. Playing alongside Chamberlin and the band’s original guitarist, James Iha, who rejoined in 2018, Corgan exuded a good-natured theatricality you might attribute to his ongoing investment in professional wrestling: he has owned and operated the National Wrestling Alliance since 2017, and has worked in the business for more than a decade. During a performance of their latest single, Beguiled, a pantomime wrestling match took place on stage between a shirtless, muscular hunk and a barely dressed biker girl. Moreover, it seemed like Corgan was having fun.
Has his involvement with pro wrestling changed his relationship to performing? Immediately Corgan launches into a full-scale reflection about his public reputation over the years, and how he recently realised he was no longer interested in playing the villain. “I don’t really see a value in it any more, honestly,” he says. “In fact, I think it’s the opposite: I think people need to feel inspired, and so if you want to talk about a narrative, the story for the band overall is just one of coming together and survival.”
The Pumpkins are about to celebrate their 35th anniversary, and while that anniversary comes with some caveats – they split between 2000 and 2007, the lineup has fluctuated heavily (bass player D’arcy Wretzky remains on the outs) – it’s hard to make a fuss when watching three-quarters of the lineup that made the LP Siamese Dream channel the explosive malcontent of its opener, Cherub Rock. This is itself a wrestling trick: trusting that a good narrative can wash away the petty details, if you tell it with enough conviction.
“I used to perceive it as sort of a funny game,” Corgan says of playing a troll in the press. “But that sort of stuff works better as it does in wrestling, when you have a hegemonic position. If you’re winning, and you’re being a heel, it’s kind of fun. But if you’re not winning, then the heel thing turns into a grating white noise, and everything that comes out of your mouth, somebody’s rolling their eyes.”
Was there a particular moment where this snapped into focus? Corgan turns matter of fact. “When you get to the point where you’re suicidal. And it’s not because the meta-narrative isn’t working; it’s just your life’s not happy, and then outside of you is this squalling noise that has no bearing to your reality, your accomplishments, to who you are as a human being. You become kind of a pin cushion.”
Corgan in 1992. Photograph: Gie Knaeps/Getty Images
Perhaps it’s not surprising that the past few years have welcomed a handful of profound changes in Corgan’s life. Now 55, he was recently engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Chloe Mendel, whom he notes – with another wry look,like one you might recall from the backseat of the video for single 1979 – he met through his divorce lawyer. (He was married to the art conservator and artist Chris Fabian from 1993 to 1997.) He and Mendel have two children, six-year-old Augustus and four-year-old Philomena. And Corgan’s father died last December, after years of health issues.
“When you start having kids, it’s like – OK, now you gotta not repeat all the mistakes that you’ve been complaining about in your songs for 20 years. Now, you got to be that guy that you wished your father was,” he says. “It has a way of sobering you up. I’ve never had any drug or alcohol issues; it was more like the classic: I guess I better grow the fuck up now.” Corgan admits, sheepishly, that it took until he was 48 for these changes to take root. “I put off adult responsibility about as long as possible, outside of work. It was always my inner rationalisation – ‘I’m working, and so everything’s fine.’ But that turned out not to be the case.”
‘When you start having kids, it’s like now you got to be the guy you wished your father was’ …Corgan with his daughter. Photograph: Ali Smith/The Guardian
This adult responsibility has resulted in a more adult period for the re-formed Pumpkins, where everyone accepts that they’re older and that it’s a privilege still to be playing packed shows at an age when many of their peers have split up or died. “I was able to rebuild the internal health of the band, and for the first time prioritise the things that matter – the band’s inner life, not the outer life,” Corgan says.
In the band’s heyday, Corgan concedes he gave too much weight to his boyhood dream of being a rock star. “Music was my saviour,” he says. “It was gonna fix all my problems. Suddenly, the stupid thing that happened in second grade has meaning because you’re on MTV.” What he found was that the bigger the Pumpkins got, the more problems accumulated – and, as the band’s leader, it fell on him to solve everything. (To be fair, some of those problems were of his own devising.) “You get to the point where you realise this game only works if you participate, and part of the participation is the emotional need to prove yourself. Once you stop needing to prove yourself, you just go back to what you know, which is: I’m a good musician, I’m a good producer. Why am I not making quality music to the level of my capability?”
This mindset resulted in Atum, a new 33-song LP due in three chunks. Act I is out this month, with the remaining parts arriving in January and April. Conceived as the final part in a trilogy that began with Mellon Collie, and continued through 2000’s Machina/The Machines of God, it’s a concept record that Corgan lays out like a movie, about artists exiled in space, whose isolation is both beautiful (from the Earth, their spaceships look like stars) and a warning to the human race about the dangers of being exiled.
Admittedly, it’s hard to get all that from the music. And even Corgan seems ambivalent about the concept, which he noted was initially received by his bandmates with “a big shrug”. The overarching idea was a recent invention, as Mellon Collie and Machina were never intended to be rounded out as a trilogy. “Some of my own sentimentalism, I find it unbearable – like: ‘Oh, jeez, get off the hearts and stars,’” he says. “But sometimes I find myself grappling for something that gives me the same je ne sais quoi feeling as when I watch the old silent movies.”
Smashing Pumpkins in London in July 1993. Photograph: Paul Bergen/Redferns
The Pumpkins’ debut album was named after the silent film star Lillian Gish, and the indelible video for 1995’s Tonight, Tonight – in which they donned old-timey outfits against a backdrop inspired by Georges Méliès’s silent film A Trip to the Moon – plays on the iconography of that era. The passing of the years gives new dimension to old concepts, says Corgan. “You can say the same thing every year and it changes because you’re just getting older.” Sometimes, he says, he’ll be playing on stage and suddenly have a flashback to sitting in his bedroom in 1985, playing guitar on a crummy carpet, and feel strongly about how everything has come full circle.
Concept aside, Pumpkins fans will be heartened to learn that Atum is more guitar-driven than recent records; the best moments are when jagged riffs give way to ascendant solos where melancholy and fury seem to ripple outward from some evergreen torrent of angst. Nevertheless, Corgan accepts that fans are mostly interested in the older songs. The music industry has flattened out in the streaming economy, and it’s harder to get attention with something new. “I’m not competing against Kurt and Eddie,” he says of his 90s peers. “I’m competing against the biggest pop stars in the world with like 14 publicists and 30 writers.”
Playing live remains especially fulfilling for him, even though he feels that the Pumpkins can go underappreciated. “One of my biggest disappointments, sometimes when we play a concert, is you don’t get the sense that the audience understands how rare it is that we’re actually standing there. It’s 34 fucking years later, you got three-quarters of the OG band in front of you, we’re ready to play and we want to be here.”
Corgan had mentioned that he could “bore me to tears” with his extended thoughts on what makes bands such as the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys endure over the years. How does his own band shake out within the broader landscape of rock history? He pauses to think. “If you look at us through a kind lens, we’re a wildly successful band for being as weird and as different as we are. If you look at us through another lens, we’re just a pile of wasted opportunity.”
True to form, he follows this pronouncement with something less effacing. “If you want to say there’s been 172 rock stars in the last 100 years, OK, well, then I’m one of them.” He says it lightly, in the way that suggests he knows how this could read, but again, it’s not untrue.
Corgan on stage in 2000. Photograph: Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
As the Pumpkins enter what might charitably be described as the back half of their career, Corgan seems intent on preserving the band’s legacy and place in the rock firmament. Earlier, when he talked about how being a parent had changed him, he admitted: “I don’t want my kids growing up with a has-been father.” (At the Madison Square Garden show, he brought his kids on stage in one of those feelgood moments that nobody could really deny.) This is declared bluntly, with no trace of contrarianism or self-pitying defensiveness. He makes it sound like a mission worth pursuing until the very end.
“I won’t play games: I believe we’re one of the great bands, and it starts with the conviction that we have something unique to say,” he says. “I felt that when we were playing to 50 people in 1988, and I don’t fucking know why. It was just something that the band had, and it’s endured. The sense, at this point, is not one of sort of chest-thumping victory. It’s just like: ‘No, this is the arc we should have stayed on.’ We were the ones who walked away from it; nobody took us off our game. And now we’re back to doing what we’re good at.”
To much anticipation, both the film and the soundtrack to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has hit the theaters and streaming platforms. And to the surprise of many, Rihanna has shared her second song from the project, “Born Again.”
Initially not on the original release of the soundtrack, “Born Again” was added as it plays during a crucial point in the film. Written by The-Dream, the song is another ballad (like “Life Me Up“) about overcoming one’s obstacles. Both the single and soundtrack can be heard below.
Rihanna Shares “Born Again” Single was last modified: November 11th, 2022 by Meka
If you have a deadline approaching, you may find so many distractions. The good news is that specialized music apps promise to help you focus if you put on your headphones and listen.
However, if you already subscribe to a music streaming service like Apple Music, you may already have hours of focus music available. But with so much music, where do you start?
The Best Music for Focus, According to Science
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For decades researchers have studied music’s effect on people while they work, study, solve puzzles, and perform tasks. Numerous studies indicate music can influence your ability to focus, but the best music for the job seems to vary. Here is a summary of some of this research.
Classical music, particularly Mozart, may temporarily boost spatial-temporal reasoning. We use this ability for other problem-solving and creative tasks. Nature published a study often cited by those who promote the “Mozart effect.”
If you need to perform repetitive tasks that still require accuracy, you may do best with the upbeat music of your choice, according to a JAMA study.
During this study, doctors performed repetitive test tasks. One group chose their own music, the second listened to researcher-selected music, and the third no music. The no-music group had the poorest performance, and the doctors who chose their own music performed the task with better speed and accuracy.
When you want to inspire creativity, a moderate-level ambient sound like you would naturally hear in a busy coffee shop may be better than silence, according to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. However, if you are learning and memorizing information, you may benefit more from white noise, according to a study published in Nature.
Sometimes different studies seem to conflict, as the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine describes. One theory is that music may affect people differently, and personal preference and the work involved may both play a role. Complex music can hinder performance with tasks requiring deep concentration but enhance performance with simpler tasks (per American Psychological Association).
Research also explored the effect of Binaural beats with mixed results, according to Medical News Today. Some find it beneficial, especially when wearing noise-canceling headphones.
At the same time, other studies didn’t observe a consistent response. If you are interested in seeing whether Binaural beats help you focus, Apple Music offers plenty to choose from.
These studies also affect the best music streaming services out there. In fact, Spotify surveyed what music its users prefer when working or studying. They found:
For studying, 69% preferred ambient music
For writing and data analysis, 43% said they preferred instrumental music
For repetitive tasks like household chores, 64% preferred upbeat music.
Discovering Music on Apple Music
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Apple Music lets you search songs, albums, and playlists based on artists, song titles, and genres. You can even use lyrics to search for a song on Apple Music.
Since Apple Music features pre-curated playlists for studying, working, and focusing, you can experiment with different kinds of music to find the right soundtrack for your needs. If you know you want a particular genre, you can search for that too. For example, if you want to try coffee shop sounds, just search for it.
How to Create Your Work Playlist on Apple Music
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Getting started with Apple Music playlists is pretty straightforward. To start your list, visit the Playlist section and choose the option to create a new one. If you already know a few songs you would like to include, start with them. If not, search for songs or playlists that interest you.
Many songs can help boost your productivity, so try the songs that you think will help you focus. If you need help getting started, visit Apple Music’s Focus Music page. If you save any tracks you enjoy, the Apple Music algorithm will factor those tracks into your recommendations.
Choosing the Soundtrack for When You Need to Focus
When it comes to what music helps you focus and work, the research is inconclusive. Still, if you are like many people, you may find some music more helpful for certain tasks. You may find the best focus music for you is music that you find pleasant and stimulates your brain just enough without distracting you.
This series highlights our favorite music of the moment – discoveries we’ve made when we’re at home cooking or cleaning, at the office, or out and about. Classical or otherwise, old, new, or just really cool, these are the tracks we’ve had on repeat this month. Find a cumulative playlist at the end of this post. Happy listening!
John O’Connor — Nocturnes No. 1 Colin Brumley As we gear up for the exciting and busy holiday season, it’s important as ever to make sure you take a step back and relax every so often. My oasis album is John O’Conor’s performances of fellow Irishman John Field’s piano Nocturnes, the first of which is the most honest and delicate melody I’ve ever found.
Carly Rae Jepsen — The Loneliest Time Kendall Todd As CRB’s resident CRJ devotee, it would be remiss of me not to choose a song from her excellent new album, The Loneliest Time, for this month’s Instant Replay. The title track, a joyful collaboration with fellow Canadian singer, songwriter, and composer Rufus Wainwright, has been stuck in my head for weeks, and the music video is just about the most charming thing I’ve ever watched.
The Oh Hellos — Eat You Alive Edyn-Mae Stevenson One thing I will be annoying about until the day I die is that the Oh Hellos was my favorite band before the kids (fairly recently) decided it was cool. But how can I blame them? When Through the Deep, Dark Valley first came out, it blew my little teen mind. Now I’m enjoying the tenth anniversary edition and feeling a little old, I must admit!
Bamberg Symphony, Jakub Hrůša — Hans Rott: Symphony No. 1 in E Major: I. Alla Breve Brian McCreath Hans Rott’s Symphony in E is kind of a ghostly presence for anyone who loves Gustav Mahler’s music. The two composers were friends while studying at the Vienna Conservatory, and Rott’s name comes up in biographies of Mahler. But the one full-scale symphony he composed before he sadly died at 25 is almost never played (it was only performed for the first time in 1989). It’s like the mysterious, distant relative who only gets a glancing mention at family gatherings… But now a new recording of this work by the Bamberg Symphony and Jakub Hrůša, one of the most exciting conductors to have visited the Boston Symphony recently, reveals not just Rott’s richly creative, maybe even pioneering voice, but also how clearly Mahler drew from his friend’s language to inform his own symphonies.
Max Roach, Hasaan Ibn Ali — Three-Four vs. Six-Eight Four-Four Ways Greg Ferrisi Back in my college days, I found a used CD of a Max Roach album buried deep in the belly of In Your Ear, the now-closed used-music store on Comm Ave by BU. That album, and Roach’s inventive, rhythmic drumming, sure didn’t help me hit the books, but, boy, did I love the distraction. My fave — here from a new(ish) release of a 60s recording with pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali — is “Three-Four vs. Six-Eight Four-Four Ways.” It’s a rollicking conversation between drums and piano, regardless of time signature.
twen — One Stop Shop (For A Fading Revolution) Nicholas Benevenia The infectious title track from twen’s sophomore album speaks to the precarious feeling of being overwhelmed and doing everything yourself—an apt concept for the Nashville duo, who wrote, produced, and mixed the entire album themselves. The music encourages us to take on that uncertainty with confidence, catapulting us forward with twangy acoustic guitars and a driving beat. It’s the perfect song for kicking crunchy leaves on your daily walk.
Austin Baker — Baby, Let’s Play House Katie Ladrigan I happened to see Baz Luhrmann’s latest spectacle “ELVIS” over three different flights recently – and even though the screen was tiny, actor Austin Baker really made Mr. Presley larger than life. The whole soundtrack is chock full of some fantastic mashups and remixes, but “Baby, Let’s Play House” is the first instance we see Elvis’ star-potential, and this arrangement really captures that dynamically, with some more modern electric guitar riffs thrown into the instrumental section, about half-way through. Baker actually sings in the film, and really does a great job of recreating Presley’s younger voice.
Charles Henson — Tavern at the End of the World Russ Gershon Charles Hansen is hard working guitarist on the local rock scene, also teaching at Berklee. Well, it turns out he’s quite the songwriting visionary, as his recent double CD Pop’n’Rock Music ’22 (Red On Red Records) amply demonstrates, effortlessly evoking 70’s power pop and glam rock. With 22 tracks, the album is an embarassment of riches; here’s a fave that also has a video, which can be seen here.
David Shifrin, Emerson String Quartet — Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581: II. Larghetto Anthony Princiotti Lately, it’s been the Larghetto from Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet. It exemplifies something I continue to find miraculous about his music: a quality of musical rhetoric that’s often subtle, yet extremely powerful. I can’t think of another composer who has such an unerring sense of how a slightly-unexpected harmony or the introduction of a contrasting texture – placed within utterly conventional structures – can touch our deepest emotions. This is music that’s somehow noble and sensuous at once. Total wizardry.
For your listening consideration is this slightly curious, but certainly seductive offering from a duo that once was, isn’t really any more, but nonetheless taps into something eternal in musical truth to offer an album that takes you back, and entertains wickedly. It’s called Memories To Burn, and if you’re one of those souls who feels elevated whenever the blood harmonies of the Every Brothers or other close singing duos hit your ears, this will be right up your alley.
The Williams Brothers were originally signed to the Warner Bros. record label from 1987 to 1994, and released three albums. Though the instincts of the label were right that recording twin brothers Andrew and David Williams could result in magic—and to not stifle that magic you had to keep any music accompaniment simple—aside from the semi-hit “Can’t Cry Hard Enough” from 1992, the project came and went without much notable recognition.
The new album Memories To Burn is just as much about producer, songwriter, and Lone Justice member Marvin Etzioni finally trying to make the magic of Andrew and David Williams work in the studio as it is anything else. The two brothers don’t really perform together anymore and have mostly moved on. But Etzioni was there for the original era of the band, co-writing “Can’t Cry Hard Enough” and others, and almost as a challenge or a passion project for himself, wanted to capture what these brothers are capable of for posterity.
Along with producing the album, Marvin Etzioni also writes four of the album’s tracks. But the genius of the album is to not try and take the two-part blood harmonies of the Williams Brothers and sell it to the modern music market as was done before during the Warner Bros. era, but instead to go in the opposite direction and try to capture the original spirit that made the Everly Brothers so significant that the duo became first year inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and eventually Country Music Hall of Famers as well.
Writing or procuring the right crop of quality songs, and recording everything live and in one take just like the Every Brothers did results in a listening experience that’s as haunting as it is gratifying. Though Memories To Burn is officially 28 years in the making, it really feels like a relic from 60 to 70 years ago unearthed and dusted off in the refuse of some forgotten music collection in an abandoned farmhouse melting into a field in middle America, and brought to life to evoke potent memories of better eras in music and life.
The songwriting of Robbie Fulks is employed for the opening song “Tears Only Run One Way,” which immediately sucks you in with its vintage sound and those succulent close harmonies. Another excellent Robbie Fulks selection in “She Took a Lot of Pills (And Died)” also makes the cut, along with Iris Dement’s “Let The Mystery Be” and “Death of a Clown” by The Kinks. The duo also writes for themselves on the song “She’s Got That Look In Her Eyes.”
Song selection was really critical to making this project work, and it gets it right by choosing well-written compositions that also fit within the vernacular of the Sun Studios era they’re looking to evoke, while the steel guitar of the great Greg Leisz offers spirited compliments. Except for Leisz, Marvin Etzioni on bass, drummer Don Heffington, and Andrew Williams on acoustic guitar, there is no other musical accompaniment or overdubs. It’s all raw and real, with flawless performances turned in by The Williams Brothers, even if audiophiles may want a little more clarity and separation in the tracks.
The longest song on Memories To Burn is 2 1/2 minutes, and four of the songs come in at under 2 minutes. But in the 30-minute run time, Marvin Etzioni and The Williams Brothers do more than what some labor at for weeks to not accomplish because it fails to capture those kernels of human emotion that so much of modern music misses in it’s misguided attempts at evolution and innovation.
Music must grow and evolve to some extent, but when it moves too far away from the eternal truths of music that The Williams Brothers capture here, it falters, while an album like Memories To Burn that is insulated from trend and era will always endure.
November is here with a sparkling variety of concerts and me trying to keep up with them! This month my music is traveling to Germany, Canada, USA and different cities in Finland.
November began with a pang: an excerpt of my string orchestra piece Fretus was performed during the Nordic Council Prize Ceremony. The event was streamed live to all Nordic Countries and can be seen online under this link. The exerpt of Fretus, a piece dedicated to all the oceans of our world, is performed before and after announcing the winner of the Nordic Council Enviroment Prize.
4th of November: The second movement Rädda mig from my choral suite Min Gud composed to Psalm 22 will get it’s Canadian premiere by the Vancouver Chamber Choir conducted by the genious Kari Turunen. The piece Min Gud composed in 2010 is a very important work for me, and quotes from this work can be heard in several of my later works, so I’m very thankful for this performance.
10th of November: my playful duo Groove for flute and accordion is getting its German premiere at Klangwerkstatt Berlin Festival für Neue Musik. Groove is a piece which combines a fusion of jazz, progressive rock, latino rhythms and contemporary music elements and I can’t wait to hear it again!
17th of November: Very happy about the Danish premiere of my piano solo pieces Characters and Under Stjärnhimlen, performed by the magnificent Xenia Frederiksen at Viborg Musikforening in Viborg Musiksal. You can find more information about the event here and find tickets here.
18th of November: Very happy that my music is returning to the United States and an other US premiere, with nothing less than my 20 minute Piano Quintet Helene – Nuances from the Life of Helene Schjerfbeck, inspired by paintings and the life of the most famous Finnish modernist painter Helene Schjerfbeck.
23rd of November: The third movement Athena from my duo Celestial Beings will be performed at the opening concert of the RUSK festival in Jakobstad, Finland. Link to the festival’s program here.
25th “Aphrodite” and “Persephone”from “Celestial Beings” will be performed at RUSKat the concert ”Souls of Ill Repute” at 6PM
28th of November: My piano solo piece Epitaph will be released on the splendid Ville Hautakangas’ debut album 12 Premieres! Soon avaiable on streaming platforms! The concert is part of the Pirkanmaa Piano Festival.
Moreover I will also be travelling thanks to these concerts to Berlin 9-12th of November, to New York 13-15th of November, to Winchester Virginia 16-19th of November, to Princeton University 20th of November as well as within Finland to Jakobstad 23-26th of November and Tampere 28th of November, so please feel free to reach out if you are in the vicinity.
In this week’s Times Will Tell, Jessica Steinberg speaks to Eytan Peled, an emerging Israeli singer-songwriter whose first song, “Where Are The Days?” went viral, placing him at the top of the Israeli charts.
That attention put the US-born Peled in the perfect situation to write songs — primarily in English — for breakout Israeli artists Mergui, Noa Kirel and others.
He also writes and sings in Arabic, a language he first learned in high school, then perfected during his army service and while living in a northern Druze village.
Peled speaks about his path to writing and composing music, and his preference for singing and writing in English and Arabic, his native and adopted languages. Peled wants to bridge together Jews and Arabs with his music, bringing that message to Israeli mainstream music.
We listen to Peled’s most recent release, “Sakatna,” sung by Peled in English and Arabic, with an accompanying video made with star producer Stav Beger and set in a southern Bedouin village, complete with a hip-hop Bedouin dancer.
It’s an experience that Peled is looking for again, and he’s moving ahead on more of his own solo music and will be working on the Eurovision 2023 song for Noa Kirel.
The following transcript has been very lightly edited.
The Times of Israel: I’m here with Eytan Peled, an American Israeli singer and songwriter who writes music in Arabic, English and Hebrew. He writes music for major Israeli singers such as Mergui and Noa Kirel and will be part of the team writing this year’s song for Israel for the upcoming Eurovision Contest. With his latest song, “Sakatna,” which means falling in Arabic, Etyan sees this song as part of an emerging movement in Israel that is using art to bring together Arabs and Jews. Welcome to you, Eytan.
Eytan Peled: Great to be here, salam alaikum.
We’re very happy to have you. You have American roots. Wondering, by the way, were you born in Israel or born in the States and moved here as a kid?
I was born in the States, in Boston. I moved as a kid while I was growing up, moving in between Boston and Israel for my whole childhood till I was around 14 years old, 13-14 years old.
So that dual citizenship life. How did you learn Arabic? What’s the story on that?
Language is definitely something that I love. It’s a big passion of mine that’s first and foremost why I speak Arabic, because I really love languages and everything that comes with it. But I think it was kind of intuitive to me when I moved to Israel. I mean, they offer Arabic in high school and it’s something that you can major in in high school. And it really interested me. I felt like I’m in the Middle East and I don’t know, I found it kind of surprising that people don’t know Arabic here.
But you also write songs in it. That’s taking it a step further.
I did Arabic as part of my army service. I was in 8200, which is the intelligence unit, and I was a commander there of an Arabic unit. And the first half of the year my service was just Arabic from seven in the morning till 11:00 at night, just studying Arabic. So it was very intense. And since I finished my army service, I’m always looking for meaning in life and with what I do, and I just decided that I want to move my passion for Arabic to education. I felt like there’s enough people working in security in Israel who like Arabic, but there aren’t enough in education. So I moved to a crazy change in my life. I moved to a Druze village called Julius in the north of Israel, and I spent a year living with a pre-army program that brought Druze and Jewish youth together. And I lived with them and I would teach lessons in Arabic and in Hebrew. And obviously living and being immersed, being around inside an Arabic-speaking village is something that helped my language, also with my confidence.
And when I decided to start doing music, I mean, that’s a whole other story why I decided to start that, but it kind of felt natural to my path and what I do to incorporate Arabic in my music. I didn’t really think about it. It just seemed obvious to me.
You play guitar, do you play other instruments as well?
I played the piano for maybe two years. So guitar and piano and I produce a little. So, you know, today everybody’s like, doing all the instruments through their computer.
Tell us a little bit about your musical path. When did guitar-playing happen? When did singing and songwriting start for you?
I started studying guitar when I was in second grade in Boston. I remember Gary, my first guitar teacher, [teaching me] all the rock songs, but I was actually very shy when I was a kid. I mean, I always wrote songs. That’s something also that I’d always do in my room, but I’d never show it to anybody. The whole switching gear to actually decide to pursue music and singing in front of people and showing my songs only happened pretty late. Like, after my army service.
Where did you go for your trip after the army?
I went to South America for half a year, and I don’t know, I just had this kind of switch in my mind. I was like, this is the time to try all the discomforting things that I always thought are like, something that’s the opposite of every decision I had to make. Suddenly I would think about what’s comfortable and what’s not comfortable, and I’d try and do what’s less comfortable. So I just went out to the street. I’d take a guitar, I’d perform in the street. And I remember my first show in Brazil. I was just like, standing in the street and with like, 100 people watching me. And I was like, there’s something here.
So I came back to Israel and I just went all in with the music. I just started to work with producers, work on my own songs, and then my first song, out, was a viral hit here in Israel.
Let’s listen to a short piece of Eytan’s breakout hit, “Where Are the Days,” which went viral when it first came out. Eytan was also nominated as the Galgalatz 2020 Breakout Artist of the Year following this first single. Galgalatz is one of the hit radio stations here in Israel.
You’ve found a lot of success pretty early on. How did that all come about?
I come to music from a place of meaning, for it to have a certain agenda and I have a certain thing I want to say. And I would say that when I got the opportunity to meet people in the music industry, I would say that people would be intrigued by it and curious about it. I feel like that’s something that opens some doors for me then, just creating music, and the music speaks for itself. But I think writing for others, that’s only after my first song that came out, as I said, it was, like, number one in the country, on Spotify and just everywhere. And so I got, like, a lot of people from the industry asking me to write for them.
I have kind of branded myself as an English songwriter, especially here in Israel. There’s a lot of international talent here in Israel and people trying to do international careers. And I help people with their accents as well, and just the writing itself. And I’d prefer to write in English than I do in Hebrew, that’s for sure.
Clearly having someone who actually knows how to write music and write songs in English is a big advantage. I imagine you also bring something else to the table, but it’s that cultural, that societal thing that’s so necessary when you write a song that’s really going to be able to hit it somewhere else.
Definitely, I feel that 100%. And then I said to myself, why do I not do this for myself in Arabic? And recently I’ve started to work with some native Arabic-speaking musicians who come to my sessions and try and help me more with my Arabic.
And yet you mentioned the fact that Hebrew, you do not feel so comfortable writing music in Hebrew. And that is fascinating because you’re essentially this trilingual guy. You live in Israel, I imagine you work in Hebrew.
I do write in Hebrew. I wrote eleven songs for the Israeli Hannah Montana, but I don’t enjoy it so much. I think that actually a lot of songwriters have said that Hebrew isn’t a very expressive language, but I think that 90% of the words in Hebrew you’re not allowed to use because they sound too high, they sound like too fancy or like too biblical. So you’re basically left with a small bank of words that you can use. Actually, if you were to take all the pop Israeli songs, because I do mainstream, so if you take all the mainstream songs and actually run through, they’re all the same words and also every word has a lot of syllables. So, like you say “leehiot,” [‘to be’ in Hebrew], so I could have said three words in English and I could only say one word in Hebrew with that. So it’s more like a puzzle, it feels more like a puzzle, like a lot of things sound cringy and every session I’ve ever been in Hebrew either, it’s like you’re laughing and having a good time and then it’s like Hebrew is a great language for writing those kinds of songs.
I think there’s a lot of humor in Israeli mainstream, but if you want to write something serious and honest, that’s actually a very hard language to do that. Some people manage it, more in hip hop in Israel, they manage to do that better.
Because of the way the music is fit to the words. Why is that?
Yeah, exactly. Because mainstream music has got to be catchy, right? And it’s got to sit on the beat and it’s got to be in a certain genre and it’s all very limiting. So at least in English, with those limitations, I like to find I still don’t feel like I’ve lost my expression. Like I can say 20 different sentences on the same melody, but in Hebrew I find this usually only one that works and you got to spend like 20 minutes looking for that one line.
It’s kind of like Wordle.
I was about to say Wordle!
Wordle is so different in English and Hebrew.
Yeah, definitely. And first of all, I do play Wordle. We have a family group and we do it every day. And definitely that’s what sessions in Hebrew feel like to me. In certain sessions, I’ve had good ones as well that are different, but a lot of them feel like that.
How does it work in terms of writing music and writing songs in Arabic? Are the words in Arabic more easily put to music or more difficult?
I find Arabic to be a very rhythmic language, so it brings out different phrasing for me. I kind of like to move between languages because it keeps me creative. I think about different ideas in every language. So that’s something that’s for sure. Arabic is, I find, my most creative language. It’s very creative for me since it’s not my native language anyway.
Let’s talk about your song, “Sakatna,” and we’ll first listen to some of it.
First, let’s talk about the video for a second, which is visually beautiful. It’s incredibly contemporary looking and yet it’s totally desert and Bedouin. You’ve got the sand, you’ve got the pickup trucks, the Mitsubishi pickup trucks that are often driven by Bedouin in the desert in Israel, very identified with Bedouin clans in the desert. And then you’ve got this very cool dancing dude in his headphones and his colorful turquoise clothing that is Bedouin in its design and yet colorful in a way that I’ve never seen a Bedouin man wearing, and he’s dancing around this classically white, pure white, Bedouin living room. Who is this and what was the vision here?
Well, I can say from every music video I’ve done, I’ve learned a lot. And this is the first time I felt like I’m ready to bring in something extra into my clip, like what I spoke to about my agenda of mixing the languages in my songs and wanting to I want to bridge different cultures and open eyes to different cultures, especially here in Israel. So I was ready to do that with this clip. And what I did was first of all, this is the first time I worked with a producer on this song.
Stav Berger, who is very well known.
Yeah, he did the Eurovision with Neta [Barzilai] and done a lot of major hits here in Israel. And I feel like it was also with the production and also with the clip. The first time I heard the song when he sent it to me, which is very special, when a producer sends you a song for the first time and you get to hear kind of like a finished version. I just had the idea for the clip, which I don’t have. That’s the only time that’s ever happened to me. And I just really imagine this Bedouin nomad was wearing like Beats headphones, like really modern headphones. And I was like, wow. The song in the production really brings together Oriental, Middle Eastern kind of culture when it comes to music. And it kind of clashes that with modern, like more electronic music. And I just really wanted to bring something visual that kind of shows that like a Bedouin who’s trying to break out the boundaries of like he wants to keep his identity and culture, but he also wants to break into something more modern, which I feel like is something that many different cultures feel.
But I definitely felt that also when I lived in the Druze village, I felt that a lot with people there, like, people who live in more traditional cultures and who have that kind of clash with wanting to be more modern, but also keeps respectful to their culture and to their identity. And so that’s what I did. I took my photographer called Daniel Tayuri, who I’ve been working with for a long time. We drove to the south of Israel near Arad, and I just took my car a week before the clip, I drove into a Bedouin settlement.
So I just took my car and I went for a full day into multiple settlements that have probably never seen somebody Jewish. I spoke to them in Arabic, and I told them about my idea for this clip and what I want to film. And at the end of the day, I met this amazing guy called Haliel who just said, come to my house for lunch. You talked about the living room in my clip. It’s his living room.
Two weeks later, I was there with my full crew, and we were filming in their settlement as well. It’s very important for us, for him to walk around with us, also because people see us, and think maybe we’re from . . . like there’s a lot of dispute around these kind of settlements and whatnot.
Sure, they think that you’re coming to bring them something a little more from civil society instead of arts and culture.
No, but he was so awesome. It was just so beautiful. He has, like, horses and sheep, and he let us just, like, you know, he just welcomed us, like, into his home so nicely. And then for the clip, I wrote out an ad for looking for an actor. I said, I’m looking for an actor. My first call was the actor of the clip. He told me he’s 21 years old. His name is Adam Labed. He’s Bedouin, and he wants to be a hiphop dancer. And I was just like, I couldn’t believe that. It’s like, wow, I didn’t even know that there’s going to be this kind of dancing in the club. But then I was like, of course, it’s got to be that.
He’s really awesome. I’m very inspired by him. It’s like, resonates with what I want to do. And that was very special. And the dancers I brought three dancers to dance debka. I wanted him to dance hip hop and the dancers to dance like the more traditional Arab dance. But an unknown fact is that these dancers are Jewish Yemenite. So it was like a mix of all cultural things. Yeah, it was awesome. I really enjoyed that. And I feel like it really touched a lot of people, like, everybody that saw the clip, and I got really great responses from it.
Tell us about what it is to be an American, though. I imagine you are one of the few in the music world that you revolve in.
Definitely. Yeah.
What’s that like? And what’s that like to be who you are in that milieu?
That’s a great question. I feel like it has so many advantages, of course, but I also feel like it actually has some disadvantages in Israeli culture. For me, it’s been a learning experience for me, especially in the music industry. I’m an independent artist. I do have now, like, some record deals and some, like, things that maybe I’m gonna get into the more, like, structured music deal. But I’ve been independent for, like, two and a half, three years. And doing business here, I’m very polite. I try to as polite as I can. And this culture can be also aggressive sometimes, and you can’t take too many things to heart. And I’m like I’m very polite now. How do you say, I’m sensitive? So I had to develop some thick skin while I was doing the music, especially in the industry. And also now I just spent a month in Los Angeles. It was my first time spending time in the US in a while. And I was just thinking about that question you asked me. I was thinking, like, whether I find myself more American or more Israeli.
And I don’t know. It’s the first time in my life where I really feel like, kind of split. There are certain things I feel more American and certain things I feel more Israeli. I think it’s all about just taking what you like. Especially what I feel right now at my age is just kind of reflecting on it and taking what I love about both cultures and incorporating them and the stuff that I like less. Leave behind.
Tell us a little bit about the Eurovision song. Is it really a room full of people working on this?
I can say, first of all, in general, music writing is a room full of people a lot of times, which is awesome. I enjoy creating music with lots of people. I mean, it’s got to be the right people, right? It’s all about the chemistry with people. So I think for the Eurovision, they wanted to work with people that have already worked with her [Noa Kirel] and that she feels comfortable with. So actually, we haven’t started writing it yet, but we all know each other and I was very humbled.
Noa Kirel, I will mention, is a very well-known artist here and who is, as we mentioned before, trying to break out into more international platforms. And that’s unusual because usually the Eurovision singer is not necessarily someone who’s so well known.
First of all, I’m a big fan of her song. I’ve been working with her for a while and I know her family. I love her very much.
She’s the first Israeli to sign an Atlantic record. She’s like, this is a huge label in the US. And, I mean, we haven’t really sat on it yet. I’m sure we’re going to brainstorm it. I think what I wanted to say before also about writing songs is I really believe in music is something therapeutic and something that honesty has a big power. And so I really would love it for the song to be something that’s honest, even though it’s mainstream. Something that’s honest and feels right and real to her. Because I think that Eurovision is such a huge stage watched by hundreds of millions of people. And if it’s not a song that you really feel, then that can affect your performance. Even though she’s like a top professional. But I really feel like for her, that’s something that could be amazing in English. Don’t want to break through that kind of honesty and send a text that’s real to her. So that’s where I think I can bring myself to the table with that. Because that’s something I love doing with artists.
I love sitting with artists and just talking about real things with them. I feel like people don’t do that so much. Right? I mean, you would think and music, that’s what people do, but not really interesting.
So then, final question for this podcast of ours. What are you working on next? Give us a sense of what we’re going to be hearing from you.
Because I write for other people, I’m all over the place. I do a lot of things. So I got a few projects going on. I’m doing more songs with Stav Beger. I’m very excited to continue that with the Arabic and the English and maybe also the Hebrew. I got a song in English in Arabic that’s coming out with him. I want to film a music video in Jordan. So I’m very excited about that.
Yeah. That’s the next kind of dream that I’m going to be soon. Besides that, with my own music, I got a whole rock project going. Like a more indie alternative, which I really love. I mean, I think that’s more the music I grew up on. And I really want to show people that side of me. And when it comes to writing for other people, I just came back from Los Angeles and I’m really focused on writing, like, international songs. I want to get like I’ve met a lot of amazing creators there. I really found that I don’t know, I felt like I fit in the sessions there. And that was a nice feeling to feel.
You can live in both worlds.
As I told you, I like to write in English, so I’m looking more to write in English for mainstream songs. Maybe, like a song for Billboard, I guess that would be, like, my biggest trip.
That’d be pretty exciting. We’re going to listen to some of your music at the end of the podcast. And we thank you so much for being with us at the Times Will Tell.
Thank you so much for having me. I had a great time.
Times Will Tell podcasts are available for download on iTunes, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, PlayerFM or wherever you get your podcasts.
If you’re looking for the best gifts for music lovers then you’ve come to the right place. We’re all big music fans at Tom’s Guide, and we’re here to help you make the best audio tech buying decisions we can. So if you’re struggling with gift ideas for the music fan in your life, you’ve come to the right place.
Music lovers are notoriously difficult to buy for. The problem is that there are many different types of music lovers — from quality-audio fans lusting over purist playback through audiophile headphones or speakers, to vinyl collectors, to listeners just looking to stream tunes from a mobile device as conveniently as possible, it can be difficult to know exactly what gift will hit the right note with individuals.
In selecting gift ideas for our list below, we’ve scoured the market, our reviews and our own personal experiences to draw up a shortlist of the best audio products for all kinds of budgets. Quality audio doesn’t often come cheap, but we’re sure our picks below will inspire and help you make the perfect gift choices this holiday season.
About Our Expert
About Our Expert
Lee Dunkley
As a former editor of the U.K.’s Hi-Fi Choice magazine, Lee is passionate about all kinds of audio tech and has been providing sound advice to enable consumers to make informed buying decisions since he joined Which? magazine as a product tester in the 1990s. Lee covers all things audio for Tom’s Guide, including headphones, wireless speakers and soundbars and loves to connect and share the mindfulness benefits that listening to music in the very best quality can bring.
Best gifts for music lovers you can buy right now
Why you can trust Tom’s Guide Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Music streaming
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Apple Music subscription
Whether you’re buying for a music fan who listens at home, or someone who enjoys personal listening on-the-go via the best wireless headphones, a subscription to one of the best music streaming services is quite literally giving them the gift of music. With access to a library of literally 100 million songs at CD-quality or better for the highest quality music streams, Apple Music is the best value streaming service right now.
The Apple Music app is clean and intuitive to use via iOS mobile and macOS, and the music streaming service is being integrated into more third-party components including Sonos, Xbox (Series X, S and One), PS5, and Roku, as well as Android mobile users. The only slight downside is that hi-res output is not supported on Windows desktops.
The only way to gift a subscription to Apple Music is to purchase an Apple Gift Card (opens in new tab). Gift card givers can select any value from $10 up to $2,000, and cards can be personalized with your own gift message and either emailed or delivered by post. Of course, the value of the gift card can be redeemed on all Apple products from any of its stores. An Apple Music individual subscription costs $10.99 / month.
Earbuds
(Image credit: Apple)
Apple AirPods Pro 2
Another great gift for music lovers favoring Apple’s ecosystem are the AirPods Pro 2, which are designed for iPhone owners looking for a more tailored listening experience. Launched in September at the same price as the original ($249), they can already be found discounted to $239 via some online retailers. They are the pinnacle of Apple technology and take performance to the next level.
Externally, the AirPods Pro 2 look pretty similar to the first generation but battery life has been increased to offer 6 hours on a single charge from the earbuds and a further 30 hours from the wireless charging case. Not only are the earbuds IPX4-rated, but now too is the case itself.
With features like personalized spatial audio sound to listen to some of the best Dolby Atmos sound in any pair of earbuds, and noise cancellation twice as effective as the original AirPods Pro, these are among the best we’ve yet to test, period.
(Image credit: Bose)
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II
As the best noise-canceling earbuds on the market, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are the ones to buy for the music lovers who desire the best possible noise cancelation for listening to music without interruption. These are a remarkable follow-up that delivers better sound, great call quality and unrivaled ANC. Proprietary technologies like ActiveSense and CustomTune balance sound and noise neutralization extremely well.
Bose’s redesign also makes these buds less of an eyesore compared to the original, and only the high price and mediocre battery life count against them. CustomTune automatically calibrates ANC and the sound frequency profile to the unique properties of your ear and optimal performance that’s right for you. The MSRP may be pitched high at $299, but they can already be found discounted for less via online retailers.
(Image credit: Sony)
Sony WF-C500
These Sony WF-C500 earbuds may not wow you with their looks, but arguably the are the best wireless earbuds under $100 (and they can regularly be found discounted for considerably less). There’s no noise canceling, but music sounds punchy with powerful lows, crisp highs, and natural-sounding mids. Should you want to tweak the sound, there’s the Equalizer feature in the Sony Headphones Connect app to manually adjust frequencies or select from nine presets that prioritize different sonic elements, depending on the music genre or content.
The WF-C500 aren’t perfect, though, with slightly impractical controls, and just 20 hours battery capacity from the charging case. However, these are trivial complaints when factoring in the level of sound Sony has managed to engineer into these tiny buds, meaning these bargain-priced earbuds really shouldn’t be overlooked.
Headphones
(Image credit: Sony)
Sony WH-1000XM5
The goal for the majority of music fans right now is to block out the hubbub of their surroundings and luxuriate listening to their favorite music without interruptions. As one of our favorite headphones of the year, the Sony WH-1000XM5 are a great value active noise canceling headphone option.
The latest flagship headphones improve upon the already great WH-1000XM4 with better active noise cancellation, call quality, sound, comfort and connectivity. They have useful touch controls on the earcups, and playback time runs to 30 hours with ANC on (40 with it off), which is better than most.
Quality audio fans can bask in one of the best-sounding noise-canceling headphone experiences available with LDAC support for the highest-quality Bluetooth streams from compatible playback devices. The excellent Sony Headphones Control app works with both iOS and Android devices and provides useful customization, and the whole Sony XM5 package is one of the most eco-friendly headphone designs we’ve come across.
(Image credit: Apple)
Apple AirPods Max
If you’re looking for one of the best gifts to give Apple iOS users, the AirPods Max noise-canceling headphones are the company’s only over-ear option. As Apple’s premium headphone design, the list price of $549 may feel a bit extravagant for a pair of headphones, but they can regularly be found discounted for considerably less.
Apple has also loaded the AirPods Max with some rather advanced features, like Adaptive EQ and spatial audio. There’s only one level of active noise cancellation available, but it works like a charm and does a great job of blocking out ambient sounds, especially at the lower end of the frequency spectrum. They sound excellent, and the design standards and build quality are so high you can bet that any music lover receiving the AirPods Max as a gift will be very impressed indeed.
The only downside is that they come with a smart case, which only offers basic protection. Alternative and more robust carry case options can be found in our best AirPods Max cases roundup.
Bluetooth speakers
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Anker Soundcore 3 portable speaker
A great stocking filler, the Anker Soundcore 3 is an amazing little Bluetooth speaker. It costs just over $50 in black, and is also available in blue, red and silver colors for $56. It’s one of the standout portable speakers of the year, and made the list as one of the best cheap Bluetooth speakers around.
This tiny powerhouse delivers loud, well-balanced sound within an IPX7-rated design that can survive water and dust, while the robust rubberized outer case takes care of protection from everyday knocks. The speaker lasts up to a whopping 24 hours, and delivers powerful sound in any setting. It’s the perfect portable speaker for tossing into a bag on a road trip, and SharePlay allows multiple Soundcore speakers to be synced for an even bigger sound.
(Image credit: Sonos)
Sonos Roam smart speaker
As its most affordable speaker, the Sonos Roam is the perfect introduction to the company’s multiroom ecosystem. It comes in five color options and is one of the most versatile portable speakers around. It’s a connected smart speaker at home, and a powerful Bluetooth beast on the road. Battery lasts around 10 hours, and it juices up quickly via USB-C or wireless charging, its auto Trueplay feature adjusts the sound to suit your surroundings wherever you’re listening, even outdoors.
When you return back from your latest excursion, say, the Sonos Roam should rejoin your larger Sonos system on its own. It also gives you the option to hand off your current soundtrack to the nearest Sonos speaker. Or you could stick to Roam, bringing your voice assistant and streaming services room-to-room, or as far as your Wi-Fi can reach.
Turntables and vinyl
(Image credit: Audio-Technica)
Audio-Technica AT-LP120XBT-USB record player
As one of the best affordable all-round turntables, this Audio-Technica deck packs an awful lot in. It looks similar to Technics’ iconic SL-1200 turntable with a direct-drive motor for stable playback, stroboscope and pitch control, making it a great start for any budding DJ as well as vinylistas. A Swiss Army knife of a record player, it has an integrated switchable phono stage (making it easy to slot into systems of any kind), aptX Bluetooth wireless streaming (for uber-convenience) and USB output (for making digital copies of vinyl to a computer).
Although we’ve not reviewed this particular model on Tom’s Guide, we’ve seen it in action and love the sound it makes. It extracts plenty of detail, has an easy-going way with rhythms and puts some nice emphasis on the midrange (vocalists in particular). It’s the best turntable pick if you want a little bit of everything.
(Image credit: Spin-clean)
Spin-Clean Record Washer MkII
If you’re looking for a great gift for someone who loves to buy music on vinyl but hates the pops and crackles that can often be heard when it’s playing, then the Spin-Clean Record Cleaner is a great choice to clean up their LPs. This manual record cleaner will spruce up any record collection and remove extraneous sounds caused by a combination of surface noise from dirt trapped in the record’s groove and static to deliver crackle-free results.
The Spin-Clean cleans both sides of the record at the same time as you rotate records through a pair of brushes in a reservoir of distilled water (not supplied) mixed with record care solution. As even new records can suffer from unpleasant clicks and crackles as they play, you could include an LP or two to make the music fan in your life feel even more special.
Portable DAC and Headphone amps
(Image credit: Chord Electronics)
Chord Electronics Mojo 2 headphone amp/DAC
If you’re shopping for a music lover that likes to listen on wired headphones, Chord’s Mojo 2 battery-powered headphone amp/DAC is the perfect gift. Aimed at anyone who cares about getting the best sound possible audio quality from their playback device and headphones while on the move, Chord’s Mojo 2 is even better than the original and makes the most of hi-res audio streams as well as improving the sound of compressed music streams, too.
Although we haven’t yet given the DAC a full Tom’s Guide review, we’ve spent some time with it on our travels to and from the office, and is one best iPhone audio upgrades we’ve tried. It delivers a three-dimensional soundstage and far more realism than anything we’ve heard using the same pair of headphones connected wirelessly, the Mojo 2 simply lets whatever music you’re listening to sing.
Soundbars and subwoofers
(Image credit: Polk Audio)
Polk MagniFi Mini soundbar with subwoofer
There aren’t many soundbars that pack as much audio punch into a tiny package quite like the Polk MagniFi Mini does. This unassuming speaker will fit seamlessly into any setup, and delivers crisp dialogue and deep bass with the help of its included wireless subwoofer. The MagniFi Mini decodes Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks (but doesn’t support Dolby Atmos), and TV audio input ports run to HDMI, digital optical, and Ethernet, plus, with Google Cast support, the MagniFi Mini doubles as a great home music speaker.
The MagniFi Mini gets loud enough to fill most bedrooms and small apartments, and we found it reliable for getting immersed in movies and TV shows. Factor in a handy remote and an easy setup process, and you’ve got one of the best soundbars out there for folks short on space. And at $300, it won’t set you back much, either.
(Image credit: Devialet)
Devialet Dione soundbar
If you’re wanting to splash out on the ultimate soundbar for your TV viewing this holiday season, then it doesn’t get much more high-end than the Devialet Dione. Properly expensive and strikingly stylish, it’s a full-on 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos affair, designed to deliver a surround-sound experience from a single unit.
We loved the way it handled full-on, action-packed Dolby Atmos soundtracks, and gave a dynamic, expansive and nuanced listen. For a soundbar that goes without the low-frequency reinforcement of a partnering subwoofer, the amount of bass it’s able to produce really is quite remarkable, and width and height soundstage elements are deeply effective. If you have deep pockets and are looking to gift big this holiday season, the Devialet Dione is top of the list in our best Dolby Atmos soundbars, and the most elegant Dolby Atmos soundbar solution on the market right now.
(Image credit: Sonos)
Sonos Sub Mini subwoofer
Adding a subwoofer to a home audio setup is one of the most rewarding audio upgrades we can think of, and the Sub Mini is the perfect Sonos add-on. It has a smaller design form than the Sonos Sub to complement and integrate with Sonos One speakers, and is ideally suited to Sonos Ray and Sonos Beam soundbars. It’s a great choice if you’re looking to give your holiday season viewing a boost, and is a great add-on for existing Sonos owners.
As part of Sonos’ reliably stable ecosystem, the Sonos Sun Mini is remarkably straightforward to integrate with other Sonos networked speakers, and achieves a satisfying boost to music listening with a full range of frequencies that everyone will be able appreciate. Movie fans will love the bass depth and boost it brings to TV sound, too.
Music system
(Image credit: Q Acoustics)
Q Acoustics M20 wireless music system
The Q Acoustics M20 is a wireless music system in a pair of powered bookshelf speakers with great sound. Available in black, white, or wood wrap finishes, the M20 is essentially one powered speaker partnered with a passive speaker that can be placed either side of the TV, a desktop computer, on speaker stands, or on a table top. It supports Bluetooth with aptX HD for wireless streaming (there’s no Wi-Fi), and there’s a digital optical input and USB port for wired digital connections. It does have a pair of analog RCA inputs for adding a music streamer or CD player, too.
We haven’t reviewed this active speaker system at Tom’s Guide, but we’ve had plenty of experience with it at home. The system has room-filling capabilities that belie the dimensions of the compact stereo speakers. You don’t get format handling for the likes of Dolby Atmos soundtracks, but you do get great stereo TV sound and music playback performance that will satisfy audio fans who want to fill the room with their favorite tunes.
