Object Of Sound

Just in time for the final weeks of March Madness, we’re bringing two of our favorite things together – music and basketball. Hanif heads to a Cleveland Cavaliers v. Detroit Pistons game to take in the sounds courtside. Then, together with sports journalist Haley O’Shaughnessy and former Tommy Boy Records President Monica Lynch, we’ll uncover the stories that explain why you hear what you hear at a game, and dig into 90s nostalgia. Plus, Hanif makes a playlist of his favorite arena hits. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode head over to https://bit.ly/oos-basketball.

Music in this week's episode:
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) - C&C Music Factory
Hip Hop Hooray - Naughty By Nature
Thunderstruck - AC/DC
Timber (feat. Ke$ha) - Pitbull, Kesha
Sirius - The Alan Parsons Project
Jump Around - House of Pain
Let’s Get Loud - Jennifer Lopez

Show Notes:

For more 90’s nostalgia, check out Arij’s arena songs pick: Space Jam (Music From and Inspired By the Motion Picture.) 

At the game Hanif and Arij attended, the Cavs Dancing Dads performed to Gasolina.

Read more about Victor the Wrestling Bear, who performed in the ABA, in Deadspin.

You can watch John Tesh talk more about the origins of the NBA on NBC theme song here. 

Credits:
This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Rhiannon Corby, and by Hanif Abdurraqib. We had wonderful help this week from Cleveland producer, Nate Kelmes. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. Extra gratitude to Joe Dawson and Saidah Blount at Sonos.

“I'm just so fascinated by the voice,” says Taja Cheek, the experimentalist and multi-instrumentalist behind L’Rain. “It feels so scary to me, but that's also what kind of draws me closer to it to try to figure it out.” It’s this fascination Taja credits with inspiring the dreamy and ethereal vocal manipulations on Fatigue, L’Rain’s second album. On this episode, Hanif and Taja sit down ahead of L’Rain’s upcoming tour to talk in detail about her process, the power of repetition, and confronting one’s own voice.  We’ll also talk about L’Rain’s upcoming show at BAM, where she is performing with Moses Sumney as part of a series of concerts curated by Hanif. Plus, stay tuned at the end of the episode as Hanif and Taja collaborate on a vocal experiment of their own. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode head over to https://bit.ly/oos-repetition.

Music In This Week’s Episode:

Find It - L’Rain
Halo - Beyoncé
I’m Goin’ Down - Bruce Springsteen
Work - Rhianna, Drake
Mr. Brightside - The Killers
Thong Song - Amber Mark
Ain’t No Sunshine - Bill Withers

Show Notes:

You can view the full Spring Music Series at BAM, curated by Hanif, here Tickets are still available for select performances.

To see L’Rain on tour, check out her tour schedule online. 

Taja (as L’Rain) is currently a resident host at NTS.

Check out Hanif’s profile of noise artist Dreamcrusher in Fader.

Hanif recommends checking out this article on L’Rain collaborator Jasper Marsalis, who performs under the name Slauson Malone.

Credits:
This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Rhiannon Corby, and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. Extra gratitude to Joe Dawson and Saidah Blount at Sonos.

“Soundtracks are the unsung heroes of film.” That’s the premise of this special episode of Object of Sound, recorded live at On Air Fest 2022. Hanif and New York Times critic at large Wesley Morris took to the stage in Brooklyn to talk about four of their all-time favorite Black movie soundtracks, from Do the Right Thing (1989) to Love and Basketball (2000), from Boomerang (1992) to Belly (1998). Plus, a playlist of standout hits from soundtracks of the 1990s. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode head over to https://bit.ly/oos-movies.

Music In This Week’s Episode: 
Know The Ledge, Eric B. & Rakim
End Of The Road, Boyz II Men
So Good, Davina
For the Love of Money / Living For the City (feat. Queen Latifah), Troop, Levert, Queen Latifah
Days of Our Livez, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Sittin’ Up In My Room, Brandy

Show Notes: 

Hanif remembers watching the music video for Eric B. & Rakim’s Know the Ledge before he was allowed to see Juice, the film for which the song was composed.

You can follow along with the scene from Boomerang (1992) featuring Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry here.

Watch the opening credits from Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, featuring Public Enemy’s Fight the Power, here. 

To follow along with the dance scene from Love and Basketball, see here.

Ahead of the scene from Belly, Hanif read from his piece On Warnings in the Paris Review.

The opening scene of Belly was in part inspired by the music video for Ja Rule’s Kill Them All.

Credits:

This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Rhiannon Corby, and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. Extra gratitude to Joe Dawson and Saidah Blount at Sonos.

“The journey to self-love is not quick, or easy, or ever over,” says musician Allison Russell, whose solo album Outside Child was released to widespread acclaim last year. In this episode, Allison and Hanif sit down to talk about healing and moving towards self-love through trauma—and the rollercoaster of emotions that often comes along with that work. How can we embrace the totality of our past, comfortably inhabit our contradictions, and love who we are in this moment—whether we feel shameless, ashamed, or both? This week, our playlist features songs about loving oneself. Plus, Allison and Hanif swap poem and book recommendations—check the show notes for links! For the playlist of songs curated for this episode head over to https://bit.ly/oos-self-love.

Music In This Week’s Episode:
Poison Arrow, Allison Russell
Feelins, Betty Davis
Deliverance, Sa-Roc
There She Goes, The La’s
Tomorrow Is My Turn, Nina Simone
Baby Can I Hold You, Tracy Chapman
Queendom, Girlhood
Nobody Knows, Pastor T.L. Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir
Lost In The Paradise, Gal Costa

Show Notes: 

Our Native Daughters is a collaboration between Rhiannon Giddens, Amethyst Kiya, Leyla McCalla and Allison Russell. Together, they reinterpret and create new works from old ones, shining light on African-American women’s stories of struggle, resistance, and hope.

Allison Russell has been reading Hanif’s collection of poems, A Fortune For Your Disaster, and giving away copies of the book as gifts.

Allison Russell’s song Nightflyer was inspired by the gnostic poem, The Thunder, Perfect Mind.

Allison read the proposal for Hanif’s book, Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest, as well as reading Tarana Burke’s Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of Me Too as part of preparation for writing her own forthcoming memoir

Allison works to raise money for organizations that prevent child abuse, such as the National Children’s Alliance and Little Warriors. Before the Me Too movement, she had experienced pushback when inviting advocacy groups such as RAINN to be present at events.

Check out Sa Roc and Mumu Fresh’s Tiny Desk concerts.
 

Credits:

This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Rhiannon Corby, and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. Extra gratitude to Joe Dawson and Saidah Blount at Sonos.

“For a very long time, people knew of techno as a genre, but never placed it in Detroit,” says writer and cultural producer Imani Mixon. In this episode, we’re digging deep into the origins of that Detroit techno sound. Hanif and Imani are joined by “godfather & originator” of Detroit techno himself, Eddie Fowlkes, to guide us through the evolution of techno, from the basements of Detroit to the airwaves of Europe, and beyond. Plus, Hanif guides us through a playlist of his top Detroit techno tracks. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode head over to https://bit.ly/oos-detroit. 

Music In This Week’s Episode:
Black Man Orchestra, Eddie Fowlkes
Alleys of Your Mind, Cybotron
Do It All Night, DJ Minx
Epilogue, Octave One
Good Life, Inner City
OBX-A, X-102
Urban Rains, Never On Sunday

Show Notes: 

Look out for Eddie Fowlkes’ forthcoming releases this year—two EPs and a full-length album—on Detroit Wax.

Check out more of Imani Mixon’s work at her website. 

Credits:

This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Rhiannon Corby, and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. Extra gratitude to Joe Dawson and Saidah Blount at Sonos.

Welcome back to Object of Sound. In the debut episode of our third season, we’re talking about the power of music to heal, inspire, and invite magic into our lives. “When we sing, we are deathless” says Lisa-Kaindé Diaz, one half of the duo Ibeyi describing her relationship with twin sister and collaborator, Naomi Diaz. That connection creates a special kind of magic, which is woven throughout the tracks of their forthcoming album, Spell 31. In this episode, Hanif sits down with Lisa and Naomi to talk about how they’ve grown through making music together, learning from past selves, and we’re giving you a preview of Ibeyi’s best album yet. On our playlist this week, songs that are a celebration of sisterhood. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode head over to https://bit.ly/ibeyi-magic.

Music In This Week’s Episode: 
Sister 2 Sister - Ibeyi
Runaway - Nina Sky
Crazy On You - Heart
Cannonball - The Breeders
Ungodly Hour - Chloe x Halle
Now I’m In It - Haim
The Con - Tegan and Sara
Emmylou - First Aid Kit

Show Notes:

Some of Hanif’s recently listening at the beginning of the year has included Shamir’s Heterosexuality, Summer at Land's End by The Reds, Pinks and Purples, and Crown the King’s Groundhog Day EP.

Ibeyi’s forthcoming album, Spell 31, will be out May 6 on XL Records. The music video for Sister 2 Sister is out now. 

Heart’s performance of Crazy On You Live in 1978 is one of Hanif’s favorite live performances of all time. 

Credits:

This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. Extra gratitude to Joe Dawson and Saidah Blount at Sonos.

Welcome to our first ever holiday special, ‘Christmas At Home with Hanif Abdurraqib’ an hour long deep dive into the world of Christmas Music. Whether you’re flooded with warm nostalgia at the first beat of Jingle Bells, or like Hanif didn’t grow up with the holiday but are nonetheless enchanted by the aesthetics of it, this episode is for you. We’ve invited special guests Hrishikesh Hirway and the duo She & Him on the show to talk about Christmas standards, eggnog, and lay praise at the feet of Mariah Carey. Plus we hear from listeners from across the country who’ve called in to share their non-traditional Christmas traditions. 

For the Hanif and Hrishi's Christmas song bracket, running 12/18-12/23, head over to @objectofsound.

Show Notes: 

She & Him’s first Christmas album, A Very She & Him Christmas, is being re-released in special edition this year on the occasion of its 10th anniversary. Both A Very She & Him Christmas and She & Him’s second Christmas album, Christmas Party, are available now. 

Hrishikesh Hirway is the host of Song Exploder and Home Cooking. He is also a composer. Recently, he composed the soundtrack for The Red Lantern, a dog-sledding survival game from Epic Games. 

Mariah Carey announced “It’s Time” for Christmas on Nov. 1, 2021. She has been welcoming the Christmas season this way for the past several years. 

Hrishikesh Hirway and Hanif Abdurraqib will be running their Christmas song bracket on Twitter (@nifmuhammad, @hrishihirway, @objectofsound). 

Hanif’s holiday tradition usually involves watching the 2003 classic, Love Actually. 

Credits:
This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Emily Shaw and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. Extra gratitude to Ian Fox, Sean Nesbit, Jason Saldanha and the team at PRX and of course, Joe Dawson and Saidah Blount at Sonos.

“Collaboration—that's the easiest way to grow” says Aaron Dessner, member of the National and Big Red Machine, and a prolific collaborator with artists from Taylor Swift to Kanye West. In our final episode of Season two, we’re talking to Aaron about what it’s like to learn and experiment alongside other musicians, and how valuable that can be for breaking through into new creative frontiers. To close out this season, Hanif leaves us with an expression of gratitude, and a final thought on music as a communal experience. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode head over to https://bit.ly/oos-aaron-dessner.

Music In This Week's Episode:

Big Red Machine, Magnolia

Aaron Dessner and Lauren Mayberry, Who’d You Kill Now?

Taylor Swift and Bon Iver, exile (feat. Bon Iver)

Aaron Dessner, Big Red Machine

Richard Reed Perry, In A Moment

Hiss Golden Messenger, Terms of Surrender

Hannah Georgas, Easy

Big Red Machine and Sharon Van Etten, A Crime

Show Notes: 

Big Red Machine’s latest album, How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? is out now.

You can watch Julien Baker’s performance of “Claws In Your Back” at Eaux Claires IV, featuring Hanif’s poetry performance, here. The Eaux Claires Festival is expected to return, reimagined, in 2022. 

Credits:
This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Mayari Sherina Ong, Kathleen Ottinger and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. 

It’s been 20 years since Aaliyah’s passing, and for most of those years, her music has been largely inaccessible. Kept off streaming platforms, hidden from the internet. That is, until now. With nearly all of Aaliyah’s catalog freshly released into the world, we’re celebrating by devoting our full show in praise of Aaliyah. With a deep dive into her influence on fashion, music and culture and a playlist of tracks that feel like the summer of 2001... And still hit today. Joining Hanif are journalists Kathy Iandoli and Kiana Fitzgerald to rejoice in the (re)discovery of her work. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode head over to https://bit.ly/oos-aaliyah.

Music In This Week’s Episode:

Aaliyah, If Your Girl Only Knew

Aaliyah, I Can Be

Aaliyah, Loose Rap (ft. Static Major)

Aaliyah, Hot Like Fire (Timbaland Groove Mix feat. Missy Elliott & Timbaland)

Aaliyah, 4 Page Letter

Timbaland & Magoo, We At It Again

Aaliyah, U Got Nerve

Aaliyah, Rock the Boat

Show Notes:

I Care 4 U and Ultimate Aaliyah come to Spotify on October 8th, completing her catalog on that platform. You can stream her self-titled album and One In A Million now.

Kathy Iandoli’s book, Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah is available now from Simon & Schuster. The Queen Bee, her forthcoming biography of Lil Kim, will be available in early 2022 from Hachette Books.

Aaliyah’s aesthetic was as visually powerful as it was sonic. Check out some of the music videos recommended by Hanif and our guests: 4 Page Letter; We At It Again; Crush On You; Are You That Somebody?

You can check out Hanif’s recent article on the Meters in Pitchfork. 

Credits:
This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Mayari Sherina Ong, Kathleen Ottinger and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair. 

What do you do when you revisit a beloved movie from your childhood, only to find out it's not quite what you remember? If you’re Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine, you write a song about it. Their forthcoming album, A Beginner’s Mind, is a journey back into childhood nostalgia and perspectives, shaped by films the pair watched while recording together. Through their songwriting process, Sufjan and Angelo strip away what was dark or violent in their source material, transforming it and reflecting back something that, in their words, is pure and good. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode head over to https://bit.ly/oos-source-material.

Music In This Week’s Episode: 

Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine, Fictional California

Pixies, Debaser

The Ataris, So Long, Astoria

Fugazi, Walken’s Syndrome

Dolly Parton, 9 to 5

Regina Spektor, Fidelity

Roxy Music, 2HB

Deep Blue Something, Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Show Notes: 

A Beginner’s Mind, by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine, is out one week from today, on September 24. The first six tracks of the album are available for preview now on Bandcamp. 

Credits:
This show is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Rose Brown, Mayari Sherina Ong, Kathleen Ottinger and by Hanif Abdurraqib. The show is mixed by Sam Bair.