Music Friyay: Japanese Breakfast, Kevin Morby, Bessie Smith

By Joanna C. Valente

Here’s some music, new and old, you should listen to and check out:

Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds from Another Planet

This 2017 album is magic and goes back to a shoegaze alternative aesthetic. My favorite: “Boyish.”

Kevin Morby - “No Halo”

Morby just released a new song and its full of nostalgia - and echoes the likes of Bob Dylan.

Bessie Smith - The Essential Bessie Smith

So yourself a favor and listen to Bessie Smith, one of the jazz and blues heroes of our planet. Smith is often overlooked, but she shouldn’t be. My favorite: “Weeping Willow Blues.”

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Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York. They are the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Marys of the Sea, Sexting Ghosts, Xenos, No(body) (forthcoming, Madhouse Press, 2019), and is the editor of A Shadow Map: Writing by Survivors of Sexual Assault. They received their MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. Joanna is the founder of Yes Poetry and the senior managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine. Some of their writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Them, Brooklyn Magazine, BUST, and elsewhere. Joanna also leads workshops at Brooklyn Poets. joannavalente.com / Twitter: @joannasaid / IG: joannacvalente / FB: joannacvalente