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Press Play At Home: Tune-Yards Perform A Glitched-Out Version Of "nowhere, man"

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In the latest episode of Press Play At Home, the Oakland, California, art-pop band Tune-Yards perform an abstracted version of their song "nowhere, man," from their 2021 album, 'sketchy'
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
May 13, 2021 - 10:12 am

Tune-Yards' new track, "nowhere, man," fires up like a scratched CD—in the best way possible. "People want to hear you sing," frontwoman Merrill Garbus repeats at the top—and repeats and repeats—as the arrangement staggers to its feet.

Far from being an inscrutable art project, though, "nowhere, man" hooks you early, with an off-kilter sense of pop structure. Plus, it’s a response to a real-life reproductive rights issue: a 2019 Alabama law that banned abortion under any circumstances.

"I felt constrained and terrified," Garbus told The Independent in 2021. "I am aware that people will call it an 'angry song' but it was more complicated than just anger. Anger sounds like a flattening word. It was me questioning: What do I have control over?"

In the latest episode of Press Play At Home, listeners can feel the might of "nowhere, man," which is featured on Tune-Yards' 2021 album, sketchy.

Check out the heaving, psychedelic performance above and click here to enjoy more episodes of Press Play At Home.

Press Play At Home: Techy Fatule Performs A Charismatic, Otherworldly Version Of "Tu Me Quieres Más"

Artwork for Press Play At Home episode with dodie performing "Four Tequilas Down"

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Press Play At Home: Watch Dodie Perform A Morning-After Version Of "Four Tequilas Down"

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In the latest episode of Press Play At Home, singer/songwriter dodie conjures a bleary last call in a hushed performance of "Four Tequilas Down"
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Jun 24, 2021 - 8:38 am

"Four Tequilas Down" is as much a song as it is a memory—a half-remembered one. "Did you make your eyes blur?/So that in the dark, I'd look like her?" dodie, the song's writer and performer, asks. To almost anyone who's engaged in a buzzed rebound, that detail alone should elicit a wince of recognition.

Such is dodie's beyond-her-years mastery of her craft: Over a simple, spare chord progression, she can use an economy of words to twist the knife. "So just hold me like you mean it," dodie sings at the song's end. "We'll pretend because we need it."

In the latest episode of Press Play At Home, watch dodie stretch her songwriting muscles while conjuring a chemically altered Saturday night—and the Sunday morning full of regrets, too.

Watch Dodie Perform A Bleary "Four Tequilas Down"

Check out dodie's hushed-yet-intense performance of "Four Tequilas Down" above and click here to enjoy more episodes of Press Play At Home.

Press Play At Home: Watch Yola Perform A Rock-Solid Rendition Of "Stand For Myself"

Press Play At Home: Charlotte Day Wilson

Charlotte Day Wilson

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Press Play At Home: Watch Charlotte Day Wilson Perform A Lithe Version Of "I Can Only Whisper"

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In the newest episode of Press Play At Home, watch singer/songwriter Charlotte Day Wilson perform a muted version of her song, "I Can Only Whisper"
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Aug 19, 2021 - 1:47 pm

Learning to write a half-decent song is one thing; learning to sing and play guitar simultaneously presents another series of tripwires to avoid.

Budding musicians know the struggle: How do I keep a consistent tempo? How do I not go too loud or too breathy? How do I weed out bum notes and excessive string scrapes?

To those ends, Charlotte Day Wilson's below performance is a masterclass in control. She negotiates the relatively elaborate chord progression with ease; her phrasing is fluid and natural. Plus, it doesn't hurt that "I Can Only Whisper," from her 2021 album ALPHA, is a hell of a song.

Watch Charlotte Day Wilson's "I Can Only Whisper"

In the newest episode of Press Play At Home, check out the Canadian R&B wunderkind's spare rendition of the tune, which features instrumental greats BADBADNOTGOOD on the studio version.

Watch the stirring clip above and click here to enjoy more episodes of Press Play At Home.

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Jake wesley rogers

Jake Wesley Rogers

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Press Play At Home: Watch Jake Wesley Rogers Throw Himself Into A Kinetic Performance Of "Middle Of Love"

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In the newest episode of Press Play At Home, watch singer/songwriter Jake Wesley Rogers practically radiate electricity in his galvanizing performance of "Middle Of Love"
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Jul 29, 2021 - 9:06 am

Music may only consist of 12 notes and a piano may only have 88 keys, but that's only half the story. It's the human behind the instrument offering a piece of themselves—that really counts, and makes us return to this form of expression time and time again.

Jake Wesley Rogers proves this axiom in the below performance of "Middle of Love." Despite the simple presentation—a keyboardist and a keyboard—watch as he launches his whole musculature into it and croon the lyrics with palpable gravity. Even alone, he sounds like an orchestra.

Jake Wesley Rogers Performs "Middle Of Love"

Watch More: ReImagined At Home: Jake Wesley Rogers Performs A Scintillating Version Of Brandi Carlile's "The Joke"

In the newest episode of Press Play At Home, watch Jake Wesley Rogers' solo, homebound performance and meditate on the human element of music-making—which is the part that truly matters.

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Press Play At Home: Ashe

Ashe

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Press Play At Home: Ashe Finds Universality In The Small Things In "Me Without You" Performance

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In the latest episode of Press Play At Home, Ashe performs a pindrop version of “Me With You,” her ballad about taking stock of her surroundings and moving on after a breakup
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
May 6, 2021 - 9:57 am

Call it the John Prine approach: Make the verses tangible and specific and the chorus universal. Singer/songwriter Ashe begins her song “Me Without You” with everyday images: red velvet wallpaper, cigarette smoke, a passenger’s seat.

But something is amiss. The smoke is breathed by other lovers. The car drives into a wall. When the chorus picks up, it’s not hopeless or helpless at such developments. “I can be me without you/I don't feel lost without you,” Ashe sings, flipping the song’s theme from self-pity to self-actualization.

In the latest episode of Press Play At Home, watch Ashe perform an intimate version of “Me Without You,” alone at an electric piano, letting her poetic words bloom on their own merits.

Watch the pindrop performance above and click here to enjoy more episodes of GRAMMY.com’s Press Play At Home.

Press Play At Home: Lydia Luce Calls For Romantic Armistice In Performance Of "Tangled Love"