Hand Me Sounds

Cultural critic Alena Nicole joins us to talk about 2000s music trends that many of our favorite artists continue to reference throughout the 2020s. From artists of color bringing pop-punk and emo back to Zara Larsson and PinkPantheress taking us back to our girlhood, the 2000s are comforting for artists and fans as we navigate this increasingly fragmented and isolating time in history.

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On our final main episode of Hand Me Sounds Vol I, we’re asking the question: When did the 1980s come back? Well, the answer is that the 80s never really "came back" because they never fully left. Every few years, a different part of the decade gets rediscovered, repackaged, and made relevant to whatever the current cultural moment needs. We're finding out how major innovations in music technology are responsible for this old-meets-new standard in current pop music.

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Similar to the origins of rock 'n' roll, social dancing emerged from various forms of folk dances – and today we’re going to dive into an African American history of social dances that exploded into the mainstream.

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If rock 'n' roll was the original form of "pop" music, then is "pop" an inherently Black genre because African Americans created rock music through proliferations from blues and gospel? Today on Hand Me Sounds, we're diving into the storied history of America's definitive musical export to find out how Black musicians have continued to pave the way for innovations in music for decades. If you loved that juke joint dance scene from Sinners, then this one's for you.

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What makes a Black anthem? That's the question posed to scholar and musician DJ J-Renne, our special guest for this week's BackRoom BreakDown.

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Nothing gets certain patriots in a tizzy like an alternative take on "The Star Spangled Banner," especially when performed by a Black or Latino person. Today on Hand Me Sounds, we're surveying 5 controversial renditions of The National Anthem by artists of color. To get there, we'll unpack the origins of Francis Scott Key's original poem, visit a variety of sporting events plus an iconic festival, and even draw some sobering parallels to our current state of democracy.

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Should artists get sued and have to pay royalties when they borrow melodies from others? Whether you agree or not, there’s no denying the thrill of comparing two different songs to determine if a “theft” has occurred. Join us for today’s Backroom Breakdown where I rank 5 of the most ridiculous calls for royalties in modern pop history.

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Do you agree with the theory that there are no original ideas left? In popular music, there are only a finite number of chord progressions to perform and lyrical themes to explore yet copyright battles continue to plague the music industry. Today, we’re going to address some notorious copyright cases that resulted in a shift in trends or attitudes within the music industry from Ed Sheeran to Led Zeppelin, this is Copy Catz.

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Welcome to the Backroom Breakdown, where we scan our liner notes for any lingering threads from last week’s main episode. Today, we’re taking a bit of a closer look at Porgy and Bess compositions covered by Black musicians. In doing so, we’re going to unpack what it means to reclaim established works of art as a person of color, from Nina Simone’s first recording of “I Loves You Porgy” to Whitney Houston’s unreal medley featuring the song in 1994.

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Welcome to Hand Me Sounds, your musical consignment shop! At HMS we go through our racks to uncover the hidden, oftentimes Black histories behind some of the most iconic, reused sounds in popular music - and what better place to start than one of the definitive American standards and most covered song of all time? Today, we’re unpacking the 100-year history behind George Gershwin’s “Summertime,” composed for the opera Porgy and Bess. From a seaside town in South Carolina to ska punks in the 90s, this song has gone through a fascinating journey at the hands of some of the most revered artists of our time, but the circumstances that inspired its composition may be even more interesting…

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