Louder: The Pandemic Party Is on Instagram. Rap Led the Way.

May 8, 2020

By Caryn Ganz

Pop Music Editor

We have an extraordinary lineup of stories this week:

Have you noticed that Instagram is the sight of pandemic musical gatherings, that hip-hop has been leading the charge, and that nostalgia has been a big part of the equation? Jon Caramanica traces it all back to its start, talking to D-Nice, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Diddy and Tory Lanez for a fascinating piece about how we gather now.
Independent clubs across the U.S. aren’t asking when they’ll reopen, but if. We could lose a horrifying amount of music history if the Troubadour, First Avenue, 40 Watt and others close their doors for good. Ben Sisario tells the story of their struggle to survive, and our readers have been sharing their memories in the comments. See some of my favorite at the bottom of this Louder.
“Diary of a Song” is back with an new episode! See how Dua Lipa made her ’80s throwback dance hit “Physical,” a tale that involves Care Bears, “Flashdance,” alpacas, tarot cards and more.

Plus: The music in the Michael Jordan doc “The Last Dance” is incredible — it also reveals a lot about the N.B.A.’s evolving relationship with hip-hop, Jeremy Gordon explains; Melena Ryzik brings you the N.Y.C. sounds we’ve been missing, like crowded bars and Showtime dancers; Ben Sisario and Jon Pareles pay tribute to Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider. And Hayley Williams’s solo LP “Petals for Armor,” one of my favorite albums of the year already, is out today: Lindsay Zoladz reviewed it, and I profiled the Paramore frontwoman in March.

Javier Jaén

How Hip-Hop Royalty Found a New Home on Instagram Live

The pandemic halted in-person gatherings, but a new type of party was born on social media, with rap stars leading the charge.

By Jon Caramanica

Lyndon French for The New York Times

Small Clubs Are Where Rock History Is Made. How Many Will Survive?

Independent venues are critical to local scenes and artists on the rise. With concerts on hold during the pandemic, they’re struggling to hang on and fighting for government aid.

By Ben Sisario

Continue reading the main story

Rap Soundtracks the Michael Jordan Doc. The N.B.A. Wasn’t Always That Way.

“The Last Dance,” the ESPN series about his final season with the Bulls, is interwoven with classic hip-hop that presented some legal hurdles. But Jordan, and the league, weren’t always fans.

By Jeremy Gordon

It’s Showtime! Press Play to Hear the N.Y.C. That Used to Be

“Missing Sounds of New York,” an album from the New York Public Library, recreates the everyday soundtrack many have been missing since March.

By Melena Ryzik

DIARY OF A SONG

Diary Of A Song

Dua Lipa Craved a Fun ’80s Dance Song. See How She Made ‘Physical.’

The upbeat track has become an escape in uncertain times. Writing it involved tarot card readings and a wacky flute sample. The pop star explains it all in “Diary of a Song.”

By Joe Coscarelli

THE CRITICS

the playlist

Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s Slow Dance, and 10 More New Songs

Hear tracks by Bob Dylan, Rhiannon Giddens, Jamie xx and others.

By Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica and Giovanni Russonello

album review

Drake Was Isolated (at the Top) Way Before Quarantine

“Dark Lane Demo Tapes” is a collection of rough drafts about the struggles of success and hints at what his next album might sound like.

By Jon Caramanica

album review

Hayley Williams Lays Down New Roots on Her First Solo Album

The Paramore singer and songwriter’s new LP, “Petals for Armor,” is an exploration of past traumas and future hopes in tracks that veer from pop to R&B and beyond.

By Lindsay Zoladz

critic’s notebook

Live(ish), From Someone’s Room, This … Is American Isolation

“American Idol” and “The Voice,” usually oversized spectacles, have become test cases for TV under lockdown.

By James Poniewozik

Continue reading the main story

AN ARCHITECT OF KRAFTWERK

Florian Schneider, 73, Dies; Revolutionized Pop Music With Kraftwerk

The German band he helped found toyed with ideas about technology and society, leaving a profound mark on rock, dance music and hip-hop.

By Ben Sisario

playlist

Florian Schneider’s 10 Essential Songs, in Kraftwerk and Beyond

The German musician, who died at 73, shaped sounds that provided templates for countless varieties of electronic dance music, rock and hip-hop.

By Jon Pareles

OBITUARIES

Tony Allen, Drummer Who Created the Beat of Afrobeat, Dies at 79

With the Nigerian bandleader Fela and later on his own, he merged West African styles with American jazz and funk, reaching listeners worldwide.

By Jon Pareles

Hamilton Bohannon, Driving Disco Drummer, Dies at 78

Mr. Bohannon’s steady four-on-the-floor beat kept dancers moving, and many of his tracks became hip-hop samples long after disco’s heyday.

By Daniel E. Slotnik

Ronan O’Rahilly, Pioneer of Pirate Radio, Is Dead at 79

He said he was in the “why-not” business. And his Radio Caroline became the soundtrack of British and European youth in the 1960s.

By Penelope Green

Ian Whitcomb, Rocker Turned Pop Music Historian, Dies at 78

After his 1965 single “You Turn Me On” became a Top 10 hit, he renounced rock stardom for older musical idioms like ragtime.

By Daniel E. Slotnik

those we’ve lost

Dave Greenfield, Keyboardist of the Stranglers, Dies at 71

Mr. Greenfield’s sound helped his band transcend the British punk rock scene.

By Iliana Magra

Continue reading the main story

A TRIP TO THE PAST

Paul Natkin/Getty Images; Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images; Bernard Weil/Toronto Star, via Getty Images

Playlist

15 Essential Hair-Metal Videos

The bands’ looks were over-the-top. So were the aesthetics of their clips for MTV.

By Gavin Edwards

Arizona State University Music Library Sheet Music Collection

The 1918 Pandemic’s Impact on Music? Surprisingly Little

Unlike the existential threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak, cultural life returned swiftly to normal after the flu.

By William Robin

PODCASTS

Fiona Ex Machina

Fiona Apple blows our minds, again.

By Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham

Was a ’90s Scorpions Song the Work of the C.I.A.? This Podcast Is on It

A new show hosted by Patrick Radden Keefe explores the possibility that the West German metal band’s hit “Wind of Change” was actually a bit of Cold War espionage.

By Hilary Moss

NEWS

Filipino Musicians Drive Hong Kong’s Music Scene, but Gigs Have Dried Up

Battered by the one-two punch of protests and a pandemic, Hong Kong’s music venues have mostly gone silent. No one has felt the pinch more than singers, drummers and guitarists from the Philippines.

By Mike Ives

the charts

YoungBoy Never Broke Again Earns a Second No. 1 Album in 7 Months

“38 Baby 2,” the rapper’s latest mixtape, opened with considerably lower numbers than his last top seller in a slow week on the charts.

By Ben Sisario

Indie Venues at Risk: Your Comments

Jana: “I love First Avenue! I’ve been a long time patron since early 1990s. Through the years I have seen so many amazing performances from new bands in the 7th Street Entry, dancing the night away in the main room, to celebrating the life of Prince outside the club with 10,000 other Minnesotans.”

Rick Hamilton from Cleveland, Ohio: “Cleveland has a long tradition of great, small clubs. I was able to see Miles Davis, Jeff Beck, Tom Rush, and too many great artists to name them all at the Jazz Temple, LaCave, the Smiling Dog, Farragher’s Back Room, Peabody’s, and more.”

Greg Tutunjian from Milton, Mass: “Saw the Rollins Band at Club Babyhead in Providence, RI (’92, I think.) The ceiling was filled with baby doll heads nailed in place. Very small room holding maybe 100-120 people on a block that had seen better days. Lifted off my feet a few times as the crowd moved and moshed. Hot, sweaty night and crowd. Loved every second of it.”

fast/furious: “I worked at the legendary Bottom Line on W. 4th Street in 1974, the summer I graduated from college. My first experience working in a nightclub was there during Bruce Springsteen’s multi-night stand in July ’74, when he played early versions of ‘Jungleland,’ ‘Rosalita’ and ‘Born to Run.’”

honeywhite from Virginia: “I grew up in Chicago and the many (many many!) nights spent at (Cabaret) Metro, the Riv, Avalon, Schuba’s, Lounge Ax (plus Blind Pig in Ann Arbor and St. Andrew’s in Detroit) are among the happiest and most formative experiences of my life. Sometimes the music was bad, sometimes is was great and sometimes it was transcendent — but these are sacred spaces and communities and I hope they endure!”