Darius Marder, the director of the film Sound of Metal, is on The Backstory podcast to discuss the film and its sound design with host Jason Bentley and fellow guest Ludwig Göransson, composer of the scores to Black Panther, Tenet, and The Mandalorian. You can hear their conversation here. "Early accolades for sound design, and rightly so," Bentley says of Sound of Metal. "The use of sound in this film is a powerful tool to support the storytelling. Darius wrote the screenplay with his brother Abraham, who also contributed music, and whose song 'Green' for the film has been shortlisted for an Oscar nomination."

Laurie Anderson’s 1982 debut album, Big Science, returns to vinyl for the first time in thirty years with a new red vinyl edition due April 9 on Nonesuch Records. The vinyl includes the re-mastered album first released on CD for the 25th anniversary of Big Science in 2007 and is available to pre-order now. Big Science foresaw the future, mixing performance art, pop, and electronics, most hauntingly on the hit single, “O Superman.”

Composer, pianist, and singer Gabriel Kahane is a recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Charles Ives Fellowship. He is one of eighteen recipients of the Academy's 2021 music awards. Harmony Ives, the widow of Charles Ives, bequeathed to the Academy the royalties of Charles Ives’s music, which has enabled the Academy to give awards in composition since 1970, including two Charles Ives Fellowships of $15,000 each. The awards will be presented virtually at the Academy's Ceremonial on May 19.

Emmylou Harris's Nonesuch Records debut album, Red Dirt Girl, which was first released more than twenty years ago, in September 2000, is now available on limited-edition, translucent red vinyl. Harris wrote all but one of the tracks on Red Dirt Girl, which won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. It was produced by Malcolm Burn, who also performs on the album, along with Buddy Miller, Daryl Johnson, and Ethan Johns. Dave Matthews sings a duet with Harris, and Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, and Patty Griffin also contribute vocals.

Yola and Mavis Staples are the guests on the inaugural episode of Spotify's new Duet podcast. The two share some favorite tunes—by Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Barry White, Curtis Mayfield, and Rotary Connection—and discuss the impact the music has had on them in their lives, how it has helped them in difficult times. "Yola's music exists on the border of a few different genres—country, soul, even a little disco," says host Matthew Boll, "but her voice, that's what hits you. It's unforgettable. It somehow feels both timeless and original."

Mountain Man has released Mountain Man Sings Fiona Apple, featuring its version of “Hot Knife,” from Apple’s 2012 album, The Idler Wheel..., the latest release in the trio's series of cover singles. "If we followed Questlove's advice and made gratitude lists before we went to bed every night," the trio says, "Fiona Apple would be at the top every time. She tells the truth like no one else does. Thank you, Fiona Apple. We love you." Glide described a 2018 Mountain Man performance of the song as “three voices colliding and weaving like a sensual fever dream.”

"Green," the haunting closing theme from the critically acclaimed and award winning film Sound of Metal that is written and performed by the film’s co-writer and composer Abraham Marder and produced by Thomas Bartlett, is out now on Nonesuch Records; an accompanying video can be seen here. “Green” is one of the fifteen songs on The Academy Awards shortlist for Best Original Song. A full motion picture soundtrack will also be released by Nonesuch later this year; details will be announced shortly. Sound of Metal, directed by Darius Marder and co-written by Darius and Abraham Marder, tells the story of Ruben, played by Riz Ahmed, an iterant punk-metal drummer who begins to unravel when he suddenly loses his hearing and identity.

Laurie Anderson and producer Bob Ezrin are guests together (remotely) on the latest episode of The Gould Standard, a new conversational podcast from the Glenn Gould Foundation about the arts, culture, and contemporary society. The two friends talk with each other and host Brian Levine about the current state of the world, life during the pandemic, and what it all might mean for the future. You can hear their conversation here.

Lake Street Dive has released its new single, "Hypotheticals," the first song on the band's forthcoming record, Obviously, due March 12. The album is titled after the first word in the song. You can watch a video for "Hypotheticals" filmed during the recording of the album at Phantom Studios in Gallatin, TN, here.

David Byrne—whose American Utopia on Broadway, filmed by Spike Lee, is now available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and other digital platforms in the US after having premiered on HBO Max—spoke with singer/songwriter Gregory Porter on his podcast The Hang. "For me, he's a genius, trailblazer, a hero of creativity," Porter says in his introduction. You can listen to their conversation here.

Rhiannon Giddens’ new album, They're Calling Me Home, recorded with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, will be released April 9 (vinyl June 11) on Nonesuch Records; vinyl is due June 11. The album was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown in Ireland. The two expats found themselves drawn to and comforted by the music of their native and adoptive countries of America, Italy, and Ireland, which they recorded at a spare studio on a working farm outside of Dublin. The result is a twelve-song album that speaks to the longing for the comfort of home as well as the metaphorical call "home" of death. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include a limited-edition, autographed print and an instant download of the song "Calling Me Home," the video for which can be seen here.

The Staves celebrated the release of their new album, Good Woman, with a live-streamed ticketed concert from the London venue Lafayette on Friday. The band has now released their performance of the album tracks "Best Friend" and "Waiting on Me to Change" from the show, which you can watch here. "It was utterly beautiful and powerful," Clash says of the concert. "You expect excellent and classy harmonies when watching this band and they didn’t disappoint ... The Staves are a breath of fresh air and should be on everyone’s list to see when they can tour properly."