Monday Music: I found an 8-minute, 46-second song

If you had any doubts about the eccentric mix of music and audio content you’d be introduced to here, hopefully this post dispels them. 

First, in light of what’s happening in Atlanta after the police killing of Rayshard Brooks, I figured OutKast needed to be in the queue. But I couldn’t decide which track to feature until I noticed the length of one in particular – 8:46. It almost chose itself.

Here’s the full lineup of this week’s Monday Music selections:

OutKast – “Liberation (with Cee-Lo Green)” 

Make what you will of the fact that OutKast’s darkly soulful “Liberation” from 1998 is 8 minutes and 46 seconds long. 

Layered with the alternating vocals of Cee-Lo Green and Erykah Badu, a haunting piano, and an unnerving Big Boi verse, it demands the listener’s unfettered attention. Not until more than halfway through the track is there a verse by a member of OutKast. But Big Boi’s words cut steel when they do come. 

Big Boi hails from Savannah, my hometown, and Andre 3000 was raised in Atlanta. OutKast’s deep Georgia roots had me thinking about the unrest in Atlanta right now after the killing of Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old father of four who was shot and killed by police, while armed with no more than a taser, at an Atlanta Wendy’s. 

Incidentally, my experience seeing OutKast during their massive 2004 ATLast tour in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park may have been the last time I’ve seen so many white people and so many Black people together in the same place since the Black Lives Matter protest I attended two weeks ago in response to the killing of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. This song, unlike the Floyd video, is nine minutes you won’t have to struggle through.

Listen to "Liberation" on Spotify. 

TWOFER:

Masego, FKJ – “Tadow” and Tom Misch, Yussuf Days, Freddie Gibbs – “Nightrider”

These two feel similar. Masego’s smooth vocals coupled with French multi-instrumentalist FKJ’s groove makes for a powerful combination in “Tadow”. In “Nightrider,” Misch’s unmistakable sound is at its hypnotizing best.

In sum: the five artists featured in these two tracks bring a lot to the table. Both of these are perfect for unwinding after a long day – with your drink of choice, if you choose.

• Masego, FKJ – “Tadow” 

• Tom Misch, Yussuf Days, Freddie Gibbs – “Nightrider”  

Chris Joss – “Vinyl in Vain”

“What’s a Chris Joss?” you ask. Turns out the internet considers him a “French multi-instrumentalist” just like FKJ. If you’ve ever watched “Better Call Saul,” you may have heard Joss’s music featured.

“Vinyl in Vain” is my current go-to “powerwork” song – for tearing through routine tasks with a bit of extra velocity. 

Get productive.

People Under the Stairs – “The Effects of Climate Change on Densely Populated Areas” 

The title sounds like a research paper, but this is actually a rap song about the effects of climate change on densely populated areas. 

It addresses climate change and climate justice, to my mind under-explored topics in music and art overall. The brief lyrics of “The Effects of Climate Change on Densely Populated Areas” made me laugh and think and listen all over again. The group is from L.A., so they feel the impacts of climate change acutely. Here’s a sample: 

“Hundred degrees at midnight for the third day in a row
Nobody sleepin' well and I can feel the tension growin'
LA wth rollin' brownouts, rollin' papers and rollin' sixties
Heat exhaustion increasing caution across the city
Some people hit the mall, they're tryin' to stay cool
Some people call the cops; "there's black children in the pool"  

Listen now.

BONUS:

Podcast: Short Wave – “Coronavirus 'Long-Haulers' Have Been Sick For Months. Why?”

Speaking of science, COVID-19 is still raging in America and promises to accelerate after widespread protests and many states relaxing distancing guidelines. And, it turns out, some people are dealing  with the symptoms of the disease for months after infection. They’re being called “long-haulers”. One of the best science writers I know of, Ed Yong of The Atlantic, has been studying long-haulers and recently published this fascinating piece. He joined the “Short Wave” science podcast produced by NPR and the ensuing 15-minute discussion is well worth your time. 

Listen to it here.