Q&A

The bottom line of TRAVIS SCOTT's nearly hourlong interview with CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, the first substantial interview Scott has granted since the tragedy at ASTROWORLD a month ago, is that Scott didn't realize what was going on in front of him until his set was over, and no one asked him to end his set before he did, and he had nothing to do with the logistics of the festival—that's the job of "professionals," not "artists"—and he, like everyone else, would like to find out exactly what happened, and why, that night.

If one of the 10 people who died was my child or sibling or parent, I'd be livid. And they are.

I've written in this space that I don't believe TRAVIS SCOTT is primarily to blame for the deaths at Astroworld, even though it was his festival, even though he was onstage when the festival turned into a nightmare, even though his talent for whipping crowds into frenzies is one of his calling cards. I still believe that. Experts say crowd crushes are generally the result of structural issues and crowd-management shortcomings, not something a single performer or single moshing fan says or does. And they can be prevented with good planning and strong safety protocols.

But that doesn't mean everyone else is automatically blameless. It doesn't absolve anyone of the need for self-reflection and self-examination. "Sorry, but it's not my fault" isn't what any of the survivors of Astroworld need to hear today, or ever, from the man they were there to see.

Especially if he doesn't quite use the word "sorry."

Charlamagne: "How much do you feel a sense of responsibility for what happened that night?"

Scott: "Well, you know, fans come to the show to have a good experience. And I have a responsibility to figure out what happened here. I have a responsibility to figure out the solution."

Charlamagne (trying again a half-hour later): "Who does Travis Scott ultimately think is responsible for this tragedy?"

Scott: "It's crazy 'cause something tragic happened here, and what I've just been trying to get to the bottom of is just what happened here, how it happened here, and I think the families are owed that, I feel like the community is owed that, I feel like we're owed that to just know what happened here."

The questions were softballs, from as friendly an interviewer as Scott will face. The answers, no matter how lawyered-up they may have been, were astoundingly evasive and lacking in self-reflection and empathy. "We're owed that"? No. The man who staged the festival, the man who was *on* stage at the festival, isn't owed. He owes. He doesn't need to accept the literal blame for 10 deaths and hundreds of injuries, for which he and his Astroworld partners are facing lawsuits seeking more than $10 billion, but he does need to accept a piece of the responsibility for what happened at his show, on his watch. There's a difference.

He needs to acknowledge the pain and hear the questions. And to figure out a way to answer them, not in a courtroom, but out here in the world, where the pain is present and real.

It's Friday

And that means new music, finally, from kinda sorta but not quite the WRENS. OBSERVATORY is the debut from AEON STATION, aka the Wrens' Kevin Whelan backed by two of his three former bandmates. It features songs originally intended for the Wrens' never-finished fourth album, which was more or less responsible for the beloved indie-rock band's unhappy demise. It's an album, Whelan told the New York Times, about "when you find the strength to get on with your life"... FIGHTING DEMONS is the second posthumous album from JUICE WRLD. It follows the chart-topping 2020 album "Legends Never Die" and features Justin Bieber, Polo G and BTS' Suga... THE DREAMING is the second English-language album from K-pop juggernaut MONSTA X. It's also the title of a documentary/concert film/press kit playing in theaters globally this weekend... There are two versions of each song on ALICIA KEYS' double album KEYS. The first half of the album is self-produced with what she calls "laidback piano vibes"; the second half features upbeat "unlocked" versions co-produced by Mike Will Made-It... Jazmine Sullivan, 21 Savage, Future and Benny the Butcher are among the guests on RICHER THAN I EVER BEEN, the 11th album by RICK ROSS, who, for what it's worth, would like to buy the Miami Heat in the near future... NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE made a record in a barn in Colorado with no headphones and lots of microphone bleed, what else would you expect them to do?... MOSES SUMNEY recorded LIVE FROM BLACKALACHIA outdoors in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which is basically the same thing... (Sumney's and Young's albums, as you'll see from those two links, each has an accompanying film, too)... KEYBOARD FANTASIES REIMAGINED is songs from BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND's 1986 cult classic "Keyboard Fantasies" remixed and/or remade by Arca, Bon Iver, Julia Holter and others.

Plus new music from TIERRA WHACK (EP released Thursday), JLIN, WIZ KHALIFA/CARDO GOT WINGS/SLEDGREN, FLEET FOXES (live album recorded a year ago at Brookyn's Holy Trinity Church), BEACH HOUSE, MICHAEL HURLEY, JEFF PARKER, BIG BOI & SLEEPY BROWN, PNB ROCK, NEVILLE STAPLE (of the Specials), TEEN DAZE, NICOLE ATKINS, BILL CALLAHAN & BONNIE PRINCE BILLY, NICK MURPHY AND THE PROGRAM, ZIEMBA, SAM GENDEL, MORDOM, KITTEN, DELAY, LONEY HUTCHINS (Johnny Cash associate's unreleased 1970s demos), JACK ENDINO, VADO, SAN FERMIN, BEATRICE DEER, TORY LANEZ and SPELL SONGS.

Rest in Peace

STEVE BRONSKI, co-founder of Bronski Beat... Compton rapper SLIM 400, at least the 23rd hip-hop artist murdered in the US in 2021... Puerto Rican salsa singer PAQUITO GUZMÁN... RALPH TAVARES, one of the four brothers who founded the '70s R&B group Tavares... Detroit DJ CHARLES ENGLISH.