A quarter way through 2016 -- nearly a century since women’s suffrage, more than half a century since the Civil Rights Act, and not even a full year yet since marriage equality -- there are still a lot of barriers to overcome in humanity, and music has as strong a stake as ever in all of the above. As KURT said of punk being freedom, like ICE CUBE said of rock and roll being a spirit embodied, and like folk singers of yore engaged in active protest, music has always been an all-inclusive environment for free expression (even if its industry is battling its own equality issues). It’s why LAURA JANE GRACE and many artists are standing up to right wrongs, including artist pay and copyright. And it’s not just what musicians say, it’s also what they do for music as art -- some artists like BRIAN ENO have shown brilliance in musical textures, others like CONVERGE marked a sound for an underground scene... HENRY ROLLINS loves RECORD STORE DAY... COACHELLA unleashes a trip to LA in the '80s... New music Friday means new A$AP FERG... Remembering PETER STEELE on the anniversary of his death... Thanks for having me this week!