The Grammys

Mar 29, 2023

Courtesy of BMG

interview

Journey through the Kinks' latest release with singer and guitarist Dave Davies, who details the stories behind some of his favorite deep cuts — from "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" to "Wonderboy."

"We change as human beings on a daily basis, so our opinions and our feelings change as well," Dave Davies says with a soft smile. "Music is like a painting: hanging it on the wall, it keeps relating different things to you."

Considering the many musical lives that Davies has lived, he has become intimately familiar with that evolving sense of meaning. Since co-founding the legendary English rock band the Kinks with his brother Ray in 1963, Davies has exposed every inch of his soul and personal history through song. With the recent release of The Journey, Part 1 — the first of two career-spanning Kinks compilations of hits, B-sides, and favorites — Davies has had even more opportunity to discover new facets to the memories and feelings he's been expressing across the decades.

"I can't imagine what we would do without music or art," he says. Countless fans around the world have Davies to thank that they don't need to worry about that sad possibility.

Davies spoke with GRAMMY.com about some of his favorite songs from The Journey, Part 1 that deserve more love, the impact of his parents' and siblings’ favorite music, and the lessons he's taken from the Kinks’ discography.

Ray's always been prolific, but that was a particularly prolific stage. We've always been, like, visual writers. The music is very visual. It's kind of a family thing, as well. We even had an album called Think Visual some years ago.

And even thinking back to my early days, listening to Eddie Cochran, it's very visual music, the movement and the words. It can really put you into a mental dimension of that time. Ray was a genius at that, writing about things that had been going on at that time, even though sometimes it was like recycling a menu from a diner. [Laughs] It was all fantastic.

A song I've always liked is "Dead End Street". That's always made me feel like that's where our family comes from. That's always been really important to me.

Ray and I are obviously very attached to our family history and family members. A lot of inspiration comes from people either in our family or people connected to our family. A lot of memory flows through family and through events. We were listening to everything — country music, my mom and dad liked a lot of the music from the '30s and '40s, and my sisters liked show music and film music like "Oklahoma," dance band music — just so much. Ray and I were so lucky to grow up with so many musical influences.

That song makes a statement about where we come from as people. I never thought I was like anybody else. Ray always thought that that would be a key song for me. It says a lot about the Kinks as people. I've always found that the Kinks were always a bit different in what we did as artists and people. I would use that song as a recommendation for the whole compilation.

I always talk about "Wonderboy" as a very overlooked track. It's a lot deeper and has a lot more meaning to it than what people realize. Sometimes we try so hard to get things, to do things, and maybe the best thing is staring us straight in the face.

[Music] is even sometimes a great means of expressing what you don't know. That's what "Wonderboy" intimates: Maybe what we're looking for is in front of us… It's all happening now. You don't have to try so hard. You don't have to drive yourself crazy trying to work out what you need to do in life. Sometimes people are put in our lives for joy and wonderment and unusual thoughts. It's important to encourage each other, to help other people.

I was going through a time where I thought, What the hell are we doing? I was going to parties all the time and hanging out, and it made me reflect on what we were doing as a band. It made me think of being a circus actor, a clown.

I think the important thing was that we were just a regular working class family. Ray had a great ability to observe life in a slightly different way. The whole family did, really. We learned at a young age, being a big family, that music was a great means to express everyday things in a positive way.

That one's a really great rocker, and it's about a rock 'n' roll romance. I love to do that one live.

The remastering is really cool. I think they did a really good job on the remaster for the compilation. Ray kind of oversaw most of the remastering, but we had all had different important stages. And BMG were of great help. It's great to work with a record company like that. It makes it a bit different.

"Days" has always been a very important track for the Kinks, through our evolution as a band. That song ticked so many boxes [and] it's always a poignant piece of music whenever we've played it. It came out at a time when we were all experiencing a lot of inner change, emotional change, business change, life change — Ray especially. And that song would always lend itself to a memory of some sort of loss but also of understanding.

Maybe we should think more about things before we've done them. We don't always take the time to understand feelings. We can't throw our emotional ideas away because we don't understand the depth of them. But over time we can find out more through a song, a painting, a person. Really good music you listen to and think about over and over again.

That song is really based on a theme of childhood love — really my first love, which was at school. We were 15, and we were separated, and our parents wouldn't let us see each other. You can read all about it in my autobiography [laughs] if you fancy. "Mindless Child of Motherhood" is about how she had a baby and we couldn't become a proper family, all that heavy emotional stuff.

It's like poetry. Sometimes you don't realize fully what it's about until some years later. That makes it more interesting. Art offers a way of expressing the way you feel, even if you don't know exactly what you mean. It's very deep inside of you and sometimes you only find out later. We'd go really mad if none of us had a means of expression like that. That's what's so great about rock 'n roll in the early days, when we were kids: It was a great means to express ourselves. When you're young, you don't always know what you're expressing, but sometimes it's enough to dance, or stomp your feet. We can take so much sometimes by saying very little.

Living Legends: The Kinks' Dave Davies On 21st-Century Breakdown, Mellowing Out In His Seventies & Stirring The Pot On Twitter

Photo: Peter Wafzig/Getty Images

list

On their recently released album, 'But Here We Are,' Dave Grohl and company offer a gripping confessional of both painful loss and blistering resilience. In honor of their 11th album, revisit 10 of the Foo Fighters’ most essential tracks.

Foo Fighters — one of contemporary rock's most pivotal mainstays — boasts an almost mythical history. What began as Dave Grohl's one-man band in 1994 after the devastating end of Nirvana has become a seminal machine with a catalog that spans three decades.

The group currently holds the record for the most GRAMMY wins in the Best Rock Album category, picking up awards in 2000 (There Is Nothing Left to Lose), 2003 (One By One), 2007 (Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace), 2012 (Wasting Light) and 2022 (Medicine at Midnight). At the 2023 GRAMMY Awards, Medicine at Midnight also took home awards for Best Rock Performance ("Making a Fire") and Best Rock Song ("Waiting on a War").

Their recently released 11th studio album, But Here We Are, is the facet's first project following the death of drummer and vocalist Taylor Hawkins last year. Hawkins, who joined Foo Fighters in 1997 and would become a driving creative force in the group, was mourned by musicians and fans across the world. Tribute concerts in London and Los Angeles presented by the Hawkins family in conjunction with Foo gracefully paid homage to his legacy.

Grohl and company managed to push through their collective grief on But Here We Are. The project serves as a gripping confessional of both painful loss and blistering resilience. In honor of their latest endeavor, GRAMMY.com lists 10 of Foo Fighters’ most essential tracks.

Released one year after Kurt Cobain's death, Foo Fighters’ debut album brimmed with promise. "Losing Kurt was earth-shattering, and I was afraid of music after he died," he told Anderson Cooper during a 2014 episode of "60 Minutes."

Though Grohl insisted that the record was just an outlet for grief, it marked the beginning of his illustrious career. "Big Me," the final saccharine single from the project, proved that the drummer-turned-frontman had a knack for crafting catchy tunes that would become undeniable hits.

The campy nature of the track was the result of Grohl not putting much thought into the album, but that intrinsically simple approach — which trickled down to the song's video which famously parodied Mentos commercials — was the start of something great.

One of Foo Fighters’ most exhilarating moments to date comes in the form of a love song. "Everlong," which was the second single from the band's sophomore effort, pulls listeners in with its gentle, melodic chords, keeping their attention with sweltering percussion and heart wrenching lyricism.

"Everlong" is about being so in tune with a romantic partner that the conclusion of that relationship is wholly devastating. "Come down and waste away with me," Grohl serenely sings. "Down with me/Slow, how you wanted it to be/I'm over my head/Out of her head, she sang." He performed it for the first time acoustic in 1998 on "The Howard Stern Show," which Grohl said "gave the song a whole new rebirth" during a performance at Oates Song Fest 7908.

"Breakout" appeared on both the band's third album, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, and is filled with a frenzied, punk energy that channels Grohl's grunge roots. While critics praised the album and noted the Foos' notable progression toward more melodic anthems, this quick, fast hit remains worthy of the hype it received over 20 years ago.

The track also appeared in the 2000 comedy film Me, Myself & Irene starring Jim Carrey, and several of its stars appear in its music video. There Is Nothing Left To Lose also spurred the radio hit "Learn To Fly," which won the GRAMMY Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 2000.

The Foo Fighters' fourth studio album marked a turbulent period in the band's history. Aside from personal issues, Grohl had just recorded drums for Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf, and joined the group for a subsequent tour.

While the fate of Foo remained unknown, a triumphant performance at Coachella in 2002 gave the members a new outlook on their future. "‘Times Like These’ was basically written about the band disappearing for those two or three months and me feeling like I wasn't entirely myself," Grohl stated in the group's 2011 documentary Back and Forth. "I just thought, ‘Okay, I’m not done being in the band. I don't know if they are, but I’m not.’"

With its lyrical simplicity and crippling sincerity ("It's times like these you learn to live again/It's times like these you give and give again"), the song has come to embody love, togetherness and hope.

"I’ve got another confession to make/I’m your fool," Dave Grohl howls at the top of lungs on the riveting opening for "Best of You." His declaration is followed by the existential proposition: "Were you born to resist or be abused?"

In Your Honor's lead single is ripe with emotion, in which the Foo frontman is buoyantly defiant and encourages those listening to his words to be the same. That sentiment was politically driven, as "Best of You" was penned after Grohl made several appearances on the 2004 Democratic presidential campaign for John Kerry.

"It's not a political record, but what I saw inspired me," he told Rolling Stone in 2005. "It's about breaking away from the things that confine you." "Best of You" is their only song in the U.S. to reach platinum status.

One of the group's most highest charting songs was "The Pretender," from 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Grohl's songwriting on the track is of macabre proportions, as introductory solemn chords give way to the lyrics: "Send in your skeletons/Sing as their bones go marching in again/They need you buried deep/The secrets that you keep are ever ready."

Heavier riffs and pulsating percussion make it quite the auditory experience. Perfectly paced crescendos on the "The Pretender" give it just the right amount of suspense, making it indelible to the Foo discography.

In 2012, Wasting Light earned four GRAMMY Awards including Best Rock Album. "White Limo" snagged the accolade for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance — and for good reason.

The second single from Foo Fighters’ seventh studio album is a ferocious number saturated with primal screams and whirlwind rhythms. "White Limo" was one of their most raucous songs to date and the group does their best Motorhead impression (Lemmy Kilmister's appearance in the music video serves as the ultimate seal of approval). The group was intentional in maximizing their aggression on the heavy-metal track, making "White Limo" the sonic equivalent of a lightning bolt in their immense catalog.

2017's Concrete and Gold wasn't about redefining the wheel as much as it was perfecting it. The group's ninth studio album is as rock 'n' roll as it gets.

There were a slew of memorable guest appearances including Paul McCartney on "Sunday Rain," Boyz II Men's Shawn Stockman on "Concrete & Gold," and the Kills’ Alison Mosshart on "The Sky Is a Neighborhood" and "La Dee Da."

The album's best track, "Make It Right," features an uncredited, sonically off-putting cameo from Justin Timberlake . Yet the collaboration's venture into heavier territory pays off, with Grohl paying respect to Led Zeppelin. The rock legends' influence oozes all over "Make It Right" in the form of ragged taunts and splintering riffs. Timberlake slinks into the background with additional vocals, making sure to not alter Foo's formula in any way.

Foo Fighters’ 10th album, Medicine at Midnight, was a refreshing return to form for the rockers.

Sparked by a conversation by Grohl's daughter, "Waiting on a War" embodied the group's pensiveness about America's ominous future. Over four minutes, Grohl states that he's "waiting for the sky to fall," though his melancholy thoughts ultimately transform from wistful crooning over acoustic guitar chords to a rumbling, full-throated ferocious outro. Foo's bold approach snagged them a GRAMMY Award in 2022 for Best Rock Song.

The power in "Rescued," the emotionally-charged first single from But Here We Are, relies not only on the lyrics to spell out the feeling of despondency, but on Grohl's expression of them.

"We’re all free to some degree/To dance under the lights," he sings. "I’m just waiting to be rescued/Bring me back to life." His voice languishes between fatigue and vigor as swirling guitars and ethereal buildups provide catharsis for both the band and the listener. The vulnerability of "Rescued" channels the intriguing self-awareness heard on albums like The Colour and The Shape and In Your Honor. But this song represents a brand new chapter for Foo and it's one that confronts their pain head on.

Foo Fighters Are An Indestructible Music Juggernaut. But Taylor Hawkins' Death Shows That They're Human Beings, Too.

Photo: Caity Krone

interview

As Lizzy McAlpine winds down the U.S. leg of her tour, the "ceilings" singer looks back on her song going viral, performing on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," headlining a sold-out tour, and signing with a major record label.

Lizzy McAlpine is a skilled storyteller who has become known for her candid and relatable songwriting in genres ranging from pop to indie folk. "As I’ve grown and evolved as a songwriter, I've been able to let the vulnerability shine through a little bit more and I’ve become less afraid of saying exactly what's on my mind," she says, speaking from Los Angeles over a Zoom call.

Apparently, listeners appreciate her honesty.

McAlpine has turned hundreds of millions of listeners into dedicated fans since the release of her first album, Give Me A Minute, in 2020. After introducing her sophomore album five seconds flat, her popularity seems to have skyrocketed . Her hit song "ceilings" peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reached 230 million streams and climbing on Spotify, was certified Gold, and inspired a TikTok challenge resulting in over 742,000 posts featuring a sped-up version of the song. She recently performed on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and signed with RCA Records. The second leg of her tour sold out immediately.

"Even though the experiences we all go through are universal, it can feel isolating when you’re in the moment," says the 23-year-old Philadelphia-born musician. "I hope that people can feel less alone and have an outlet to express their emotions that is healthy by listening to my songs."

With her soft but steady voice, McAlpine sings from a place where most of us feel least comfortable — a place of uncertainty, contradiction, and discovery — which is reflected in lines like "it's not that I hate you, I hate that it hurt" and "I was trying to be honest, but now I think I should've just lied." Instrumentally, five seconds flat is layered with electronic features, strings, guitar, piano, drums, and horns. But McAlpine doesn't want to be pigeonholed into a style: "My albums are just a reflection of who I am at the time."

After completing a 27-show international tour on Sept. 11, McAlpine will head back into the studio to continue developing her third album — and to work toward new goals, including getting back to acting on stage or screen ("I'll literally take anything. I miss it so much"), building a world around her upcoming album through visuals and fan experiences, and buying a house. But first, she discussed her recent career highlights with GRAMMY.com.

I was definitely surprised. I don't expect any of my songs to have viral moments. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen, and I'm not going to chase it or try to make it happen. Also, this wasn't a single, it was just on the album, and so I definitely wasn't expecting this song to resonate as much as it did with people.

I try to just write about things that have happened to me. Apparently, it's universal — I’ve gone through things that everyone seems to go through, and I put them into words. I think about my feelings all the time. I journal all the time; I have to write about a feeling until I understand it. That's part of what songwriting is, for me, too. It's writing about things that I don't understand until I understand them. And I feel like a lot of people connect to that.

I'm not having any crazy experiences that no one else has ever had in their life before. I just tend to find ways to talk about these things that I experienced, [which are] sometimes feelings that are hard to put into words, and in ways that not a lot of people have talked about. I think people connect to the realness and the honesty.

[Noticing the "ceilings" TikTok trend] was a gradual thing for me. I can't remember which video I saw first, but I saw the sped-up sound getting a little bit of traction on TikTok, and then I started seeing the videos, and it snowballed from there. I wasn't expecting it. It was wild.

I've done the late night talk show world before, but this was the first talk show experience that I had in at least a year. I had so much fun. I get nervous before I perform anywhere; it doesn't matter who's watching. But I wasn't that nervous at all. Jimmy was so nice. We did the bit, we filmed it. And then at the end, he was like, "Let me know if you want to listen to the mixes back. We want to make sure that you like it." It was just fun to be there and be on the set and perform the song for an actual audience.

I wouldn't say that was the turning point in being more widely recognized. I can't pinpoint one exact moment where it started changing, but it's always been a gradual, uphill kind of growth, which is what I want. I'm not chasing the overnight success thing. I want a long lasting career. And so I'm trying to build it gradually and with intention. That was one step on the path.

A post shared by lizzy (@lizzymcalpine)

At first, I was fully convinced that all the tickets had been bought by bots or scammers or something, and that there was no way they sold out that fast. I was only convinced when I walked onstage at the first show and saw actual people in the audience. It was surreal.

Especially since this is the second leg of the five seconds flat tour, we wanted to make it different from the first tour, so if people are coming for a second time, they're not getting the same thing. And we also wanted to level it up production-wise, because we have the means to do that now. We have a whole set. We have walls and a couch. We have lighting. It basically feels like a living room, which was my design and I really wanted to make it feel homey and intimate because that's my vibe. I interact with the furniture and the lamps, and I move around the set. I'm pretty sure last tour just had a rug onstage — and that was it. But that's all we could afford. It's starting to feel like an actual production now.

There are a lot of challenging parts of touring for me. My cup is already pretty empty — I don't have a lot of social energy. The traveling takes more out of it, and then the performing takes even more out of it, so that at the end of the day, every day, I have nothing left. Sometimes it's easy once I'm on stage to go into that mode of performing. But it is hard on my mind and my body afterward.

So it's hard, but there are obviously fun moments. I love my team so much. My band and the crew are so kind and so fun to be around. My favorite moments on the tour so far have been with them.

A post shared by lizzy (@lizzymcalpine)

In tandem with the tour being a level up this time around, this also feels like the right time to go to a major label. I had thought about it right before five seconds flat came out but I wanted to hold out a little longer. That album didn't seem like the right album to take to a major. It was a gut thing. And now it feels like I am on the edge of something and this decision to sign with RCA is definitely pushing me towards that.

I want to do and accomplish a lot of things in my life and my career. This is a step towards all of those goals. I was ready to take that step.

I am working on my third record, and it's taken a long time, but it's finally on its way. All my albums are going to sound different because I'm always going to be a different person when I'm making them. Who I am now is leaning more towards ’70s-inspired sounds like Elliott Smith and the Smiths and those types of artists. A big inspiration for this album is Andy Shauf — his music is incredible. Just like ’70s-sounding, live, more raw and less tuned and perfected. I want the next album to feel more authentic. Not that my stuff before hasn't sounded authentic, but I'm leaning more towards a less clean, less polished sound.

Arlo Parks On How Patience, Film & Falling In Love Molded 'My Soft Machine

Photo: Le3ay

interview

Three years in the making, Madison Beer started her next chapter with "Home to Another One," the first single from her second album. The singer details her "freeing" journey to creating 'Silence Between Songs.'

In today's viral era, internet personalities are not always hard to come by. But what isn't so easy to find is an internet personality with longevity — and Madison Beer has proven she's more than a fleeting viral star.

Beer started posting cover songs to YouTube in 2012, showing off her pop prowess and ethereal vocals at the age of just 13. She briefly went on the teen pop star trajectory after Justin Bieber signed her to Island Records that same year, but first found her true musical voice on her debut EP, 2018's As She Pleases. And once she took full control with her debut album, 2021's Life Support — co-writing and co-producing all 17 songs — she fully settled into Madison Beer the artist.

Now on the cusp of releasing her second album, Silence Between Songs (due Sept. 15 via Epic Records), Beer aims to expand on the mix of unflinching vulnerability and infectious melodies she's showcased since stepping into her own. She first gave a taste of that with "Home to Another One," an airy track that's a mix of Lana Del Rey and Tame Impala — two of her biggest inspirations, the former of whom even gave Beer feedback on the album.

Del Rey's approval is one of many reasons Silence Between Songs is special to Beer, along with the fact that she once again co-wrote and co-produced every song. But perhaps the most important aspect of the project is the freedom she found through the nearly three-year process.

"As an artist, sometimes we're told that if we take a break someone will replace you, someone's gonna be coming up right behind you," Beer says. "I don't subscribe to that anymore, and I think that's been a really freeing thing."

Beer spoke to GRAMMY.com about how becoming more grounded in her personal life inspired the new music, and why, despite her online fame, she's "actually quite terrified of the internet at times."

Congratulations on the release of "Home to Another One" and the album announcement. I would imagine it's nerve-wracking because one is never really sure how things will be perceived. What's it like finally starting to get everything out there?

"Home to Another One" I actually only just made six months ago, so it was one of the last additions to the album before I turned it in. It hasn't been too painful of a waiting process like the other ones. But I think the reveal of the album title was actually kind of the most intense for me. I've been sitting on it for three years, so to have it out there feels pretty surreal. But people's responses have been really positive and people feel excited, which I'm so grateful for.

It is a bit of a new sound for me; it has a different energy from my other songs. But the real fans who listen to my interviews or see me on tour, they know my music catalog of things I listen to is quite electric or different; there's not just one genre I love. There's nothing I can do that would really surprise them, because they know I love all kinds of music.

Album titles, and titles in general, are always tricky. Tell me how you came up with yours, Silence Between Songs?

I was really young when I first saw a poem or a book about this kind of idea. It was about missing someone, and it said "I miss you so much in between the time it takes for the next song to start."

I always thought that was such a cool concept, and wanted to do something with that idea for my debut album. But when we started creating the album in 2020, the song "Silence Between Songs" was one of the first that we created, so it was the first title I had in mind. We worked off of that, and now three years later, it has proper meaning for me. I've grown so much since I started creating it, and the album is really about how you can grow by tuning the noise out.

It's a testament to the title that you stuck with it for three years and nothing overtook it. How have you found that you settle down and tune the noise out?

Definitely, the title has been non-negotiable for me since. But coming off of tour, it's hard to decompress and settle down. I actually did have a hard time coming back from my last tour, and coming back down to reality; you're just so crazy busy, and it's such a dopamine hit every day. It was a bit hard to settle back down, but it is in those moments that I learn the most about myself.

Now I prioritize my alone time and down time; I let my body rest and don't feel pressured to go out and do things all the time. If I want to stay home and relax in bed the whole weekend, I'll do that. I'm trying to understand and not feel guilty for the downtime and rest times.

As an artist, sometimes we're told that if we take a break someone will replace you, someone's gonna be coming up right behind you. I don't subscribe to that anymore, and I think that's been a really freeing thing.

A post shared by Madison Beer (@madisonbeer)

Is that why you felt like you had to keep going?

I think in the past it was that thing of whether people I worked with or people online; this notion who's always going to be willing to do more than you and do everything, and if you aren't you're gonna get replaced. That was a real fear I had for a long time. I don't let that happen anymore, though. I've been dropped from a label and I've been replaced, so the fear is real, and for a long time I was quite scared of that. But I'm not anymore.

Do you ever worry about revealing too much or too little of yourself? As an artist, too much may seem like oversharing; yet too little, you're not being totally honest. Where's the balance for you, and how have you struck it?

It's definitely interesting to discuss, because in this day and age of social media a lot of us have this pressure to be relatable and likable. But again, I don't put that pressure on myself, because I think that I'm not the kind of person who wakes up every single day and feels the need to make a video about these personal things. I'm down to do it when I feel like it, but I feel it's inauthentic to force yourself into doing it just to be liked. So I try to just post when I feel like it. I think my fans know me and my fans love me. I don't need to win over the hearts of the general public in order to get my music out there and to be received. I don't want to ever force myself into doing anything I don't want to do.

"Home to Another One" is a melancholy anthem with a breakdown. I'm wondering what the genesis of that song was?

Well I thought, "What is my pop sound?" In the past when I've made upbeat songs, they've kind of been maybe not so authentic to me, or songs that I wouldn't get in the car and want to listen to. So I thought, "What can I do that is poppy and fun, but still is me, and not selling out to make a song that's classified as upbeat?"

When I heard it, vocal-wise, it reminded me so much of Lana Del Rey. Would that be fair to say?

Definitely. I'm a huge, huge fan of hers and I feel she's integrated in me in ways I can't even pinpoint.

When you're writing music, as a co-producer, do you know where your songs are going to go style-wise off the bat? What's your process?

I am a co-producer on all of the songs, which has been another awesome endeavor of mine. I'm lucky to work with my amazing producer Leroy Clampitt who's willing, and actually eager, to hear my opinion, and wants me to co-produce everything.

It's not really calculated, I don't think. It just really flows. It's kind of a bummer that we didn't have a camera in the room when we were making it, because I was really involved in every single sound that you hear. My relationship with Leroy is really special because I can make a sound like mmmmm and he'll know what I mean. Everything is very meticulously planned, but it's not like, "I want this type of synth." We let the song flow. and build as we go.

A lot of artists are credited as co-writers on songs, but not many are credited as co-producers. Why was it important for you to be credited as a co-producer on your own tracks?

Working with the same producer for five-plus years now, I feel like I can voice my opinion and it not be weird. Leroy was the one who was gracious enough to say he thought I should get a co-producer credit. He said, "You've done just as much as me." All of the ideas stem from me and us, and we do everything together.

Your debut album came out a couple years ago and you started working on this in 2020. Why such a long process?

It wasn't supposed to be. Time gets away from you, and I definitely went back in the studio many times to redo things and edit. We've had multiple test pressings of the vinyl, and many times I thought it was finished and then went back in.

I don't know, I feel like this is kind of how I am. I'm never really overly satisfied. But my goal now is to try to get an album out within the next year or so after this one drops. I want to get into a groove of dropping music more frequently and not taking three-year gaps between all of them.

You have such a massive internet footprint, with 34 million followers on Instagram alone. Is a following like that a gift or a burden? How do you grapple with that in your mind knowing you can pick up your phone and post something for an audience of millions?

I've been steadily gaining flowers for 12 years, so it's something that didn't happen overnight for me. There's a big difference in the way I go about it now than a couple years ago. I don't force myself to be engaged all the time or posting every single day.

I'm actually quite terrified of the internet at times. The way it moves can be really scary and I think we don't give each other room to make human errors. If I do state an opinion online or want to say something, It's not that I don't care what people say about it, but I know my intentions are. I'm never going to appeal to and please everyone, but I do know when I want to speak and share, it's authentic and it's coming from a good place.

Kesha Reveals The 10 Most Important Songs Of Her Career, From "Tik Tok" To "Eat The Acid"

Photo: Courtesy of Mathew V

video

Emerging jazz-pop singer Mathew V puts his spin on Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind," one of the many classic hits he covered on his latest album, 'Anything Goes.'

Over 60 years ago, musical legend Ray Charles kept Georgia on our minds with an unforgettable cover of Hoagy Carmichael's original song — rightfully topping the Billboard charts and winning two golden gramophones at the 1961 GRAMMYs.

"I said, Georgia, oh, Georgia/ No peace I find/ Just an old, sweet song/ Keeps Georgia on my mind," Charles croons in the song's chorus. "Other arms reach out to me/ Other eyes smile tenderly/ Still, in peaceful dreams, I see/ The road leads back to you."

In this episode of ReImagined, emerging pop singer Mathew V delivers his interpretation of "Georgia on My Mind." Though Mathew V remains loyal to Charles' original recording, he makes the song his own with his soft vocal tone and agile runs.

"Georgia on My Mind" is one of the many songs Mathew V covered on his latest project, Anything Goes, which also features jazzy reimaginings of other classics like Etta James' "At Last" and Barbra Streisand's "Don't Rain on My Parade." He'll bring his jazz stylings to the stage on Aug. 6, when he'll perform a one-night-only hometown show at Frankie's Jazz Club in Vancouver, Canada.

Press play on the video above to watch Mathew V's soulful rendition of Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of ReImagined.

Kassa Overall Breaks The Mold And Embraces Absurdity On New Album 'Animals'

Photo: Dutty Vanier

list

Held June 7-13 at various theaters around New York City, the Tribeca Film Festival will feature more than 20 exciting music films — from shorts to documentaries and biopics. Read on for some of the festival's most exciting screenings.

The annual Tribeca Film Festival is jam-packed with critically acclaimed indies, provocative shorts and groundbreaking documentaries — at the 2023 edition, music is at the heart of many categories.

Held June 7-13 at various theaters around New York City, Tribeca Film Festival will feature exciting music films spanning all genres. There are more than 20 music-related screenings at the festival, including shorts and music videos like Lizzo's Special, alongside films touching on subcultures and insightful biopics about Gloria Gaynor, Cyndi Lauper, Carlos Santana, the Indigo Girls and Biz Markie.

Feature films include Lost Soulz, a drama set to a lo-fi hip-hop soundtrack and starring rapper Suave Sidle; a concert film of Taylor Mac's musical extravaganza, showcasing three decades of American social history with a 22-piece orchestra and a host of special guests. Also showing is the legendary hip-hop movie Wild Style, and a tense telling of the Milli Vanilli controversy with Frank Farian that ultimately led to the duo's demise. Some of the featured artists will also perform live following the premiere of their films.

Accompanying the film slate are talks by music stars like Chance the Rapper, Lin-Manual Miranda, Hailee Steinfeld and Diplo, all offering up their individual expertise and industry insights, and screenings of music videos including Lizzo's Special and Lunarcode's The Light. A music lounge will also host performances by Tei Shi, Frost Children, LuNika, Habibi and Sussan Deyhim.

Ahead of the festival, GRAMMY.com rounded up some of the most exciting music documentaries and feature films.

Making its world premiere at Tribeca, this documentary takes us behind the scenes of Alicia Keys’ women's songwriting camp She Is The Music. Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Beth Aala, this film explores the difficulties of breaking into the music industry as a woman of color.

Keys acts as a mentor, guiding the songwriters through live performances and intimate writing sessions, as well as opening up about the difficulties she experienced coming up. However, it is the camp's participants who take center stage in this documentary, including Barbados-born Ayoni and Atlanta native DaVionne.

On the night of the premiere, some of the camp's participants will perform in a show curated by Alicia Keys.

Legendary disco singer Gloria Gaynor shares her life story in this new biopic, charting not only her landmark successes, but her struggles along the way. Since releasing the song that landed her in history books, "I Will Survive," Gaynor's life was blighted by health issues and her abusive ex-husband. Now, aged 76, she is releasing a new gospel album and we get to come along for the ride.

Gloria Gaynor herself will be performing after the premiere of the doc.

As Jamaicans migrated to New York City in the '80s and '90s, they brought with them a catalog of culture — from music and dance, to food and language. Of particular note was the import of dancehall music, a genre that was elevated in the city and, eventually, across the rest of the country and world.

In this documentary, we get to hear the story of dancehall told through some of the genre's most recognizable faces: Sean Paul, Shaggy, Ding Dong, Kool Herc and more. Alongside their anecdotes, audiences will view never-before-seen archival footage to help tell the story of how dancehall traveled from Kingston to the Big Apple and how it has inspired generations, including in hip hop, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

Following the premiere, there will be a performance by dancehall legends.

This feature film tells the story of Sol (played by rapper Suave Sidle), who joins a hip-hop group and travels across Texas hoping to find himself. He creates, produces and performs with a troupe who are also rappers in real life.

While most of the film is scripted, director Katherine Propper also gave actors freedom and space to improvise. Set to a lo-fi hip-hop soundtrack, the effect is one of hazy comfort and moments that take you by surprise. Lost Soulz is about finding home in whatever form that may be, and seeking to achieve your dreams without knowing exactly what they are.

Filmmaker Alexandria Bombach has adored the Indigo Girls since her early teens, and is part of a global following who are drawn to the folk-rock duo's liberatory music.

In this documentary ode, members Emily Saliers and Amy Ray share their story of success that spans decades of impressive accolades, including selling 15 million records. But it also highlights the difficulties they faced as women and lesbians within a misogynistic and homophobic music industry, and how this seeped into their wider life and work.

Did you know that America's National Anthem is based on an old British song? In this documentary, musicians and producers Kris Bowers and Dahi travel across the U.S. to find out what a national anthem inspired by America's rich mix of musical genres might sound like.

As they cross the country, they explore and discuss Motown in Detroit, blues in Clarksdale, country music in Nashville, jazz in New Orleans, Native American music and dance in Tulsa, and Latine music in San Francisco. With all this information, knowledge and infusion of cultural expertise, they set about recording a new anthem that aims to reflect the America of today.

Tierra Whack rose to fame at age 15 after a video of her freestyle rapping on the streets of Philadelphia racked up thousands of views. As she became a staple in the rap world, director Chris Moukarbel wanted to document her journey.

He began filming at her concerts and on the set of her music videos to capture the behind-the-scenes journey. One evening, a strange interaction with a fan led Tierra and her team down an unwitting path towards conspiracy theories around the music industry being run by a small group of elites. In this pseudo-documentary, we are forced to question everything: What is real, who is telling this story, and what should we believe?

Taylor Mac is an extraordinary, multipotentialite artist whose extensive theater work includes this condensed version of a 24-hour musical performance filmed at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse. It is an attempt to summarize America's history of music from 1776 to the present day.Taylor Mac is the star of the show, but is supported by a host of other incredible performers, artists, singers, musicians and more. Captured by renowned filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, this is a delectably queer, glamorous and riotous extravaganza.

9 Artist-Hosted Podcasts You Should Check Out Now: Sam Smith, David Guetta, Norah Jones & More