Pick Six is a half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view.
Sara Fish, Minneapolis music photographer:
1 Thundercat and Haim. A tweet from Este Haim ("I wish I could steal your hands @thundercat") was quote tweeted by actor Jeremy O. Harris. He attached a video of Thundercat laying down a groovy bass line in a studio with Danielle and Alana Haim with the caption "No context just vibes."
2 URL NYE with Gully Boys and Friends Nur-D and Bugsy. These local favorites have announced a New Year's Eve livestream. As a heavily introverted human who doesn't feel the need to celebrate or even acknowledge the passage of time, I'm typically not one to partake in NYE festivities; this year, though, I have something to look forward to.
3 Hayley Williams Tiny Desk (Home) Concert. She and her band brought three "Petals for Armor" tunes to NPR. Highly recommended if you're a fan of powerhouse vocals or hair flips.
Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:
1 Grammys blowback. Artists have been speaking out about injustices, whether it's No. 1 hitmaker the Weeknd about his lack of nominations, the Twin Cities' own Okee Dokee Brothers about lack of diversity in their children's music category, or comedy nominee Tiffany Haddish about the Recording Academy asking her to host the pre-telecast for free with no budget for glam. The Grammys need to step up. Again. And again.
2 Bob Dylan sells his song publishing catalog to Universal Music. Having seen what happened with the estates of Aretha, Prince and James Brown, Dylan probably wanted to avoid having, say, Jakob Dylan debate with Maria Dylan Himmelman (Peter's wife) whether one of their father's songs should be used for a particular TV commercial. This way, Universal makes the decision, and the Dylan heirs will inherit straight cash.
3 Jake Clemons, "We the People" remix. With machine-gun drums and Bonoesque braying, the E Street Band saxophonist delivers a rally cry out of the Lenny Kravitz Bill of Rights songbook.
