Lifestyle
People in prison explain what music means to them — and how they access it
Many states have introduced tablets into prisons, allowing users to do things like listen to music and send messages. Several incarcerated people told NPR that while the devices aren’t perfect, the ability to stream music has been a game-changer.
Sarah Gonzales for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Sarah Gonzales for NPR
Many states have introduced tablets into prisons, allowing users to do things like listen to music and send messages. Several incarcerated people told NPR that while the devices aren’t perfect, the ability to stream music has been a game-changer.
Sarah Gonzales for NPR
Joe Garcia first heard about Taylor Swift in the late 2000’s, while he was in the Los Angeles County jail awaiting trial on murder charges. He initially wasn’t impressed with her music.
Now, multiple albums and prison transfers later, he credits Swift’s music with helping him get through his life sentence.
“Taylor Swift’s voice, the fairytale romance of it all, takes me back to a much more idyllic time and kind of keeps me focused on recapturing that type of sentiment as I go forward in life,” said Garcia, who was convicted of murder and is eligible for a parole hearing, which is tentatively scheduled for April.
Garcia — who counts “White Horse,” “The Man” and “…Ready for it?” among his top five — detailed his journey into Swiftdom in an essay that was published in the New Yorker last fall in collaboration with the Prison Journalism Project (PJP), a nonprofit organization that trains and publishes incarcerated writers.
The piece describes the impact of Swift’s music on his life — including his rekindled relationship with the woman he describes as his “sweetheart” — and the often-complicated logistics of accessing music behind bars over the years.
It has since been shared widely on social media, where many users wrote that it brought them to tears.
Garcia, who is now at High Desert State Prison in California, told NPR that even though he wasn’t able to follow the reaction in real time, he’s been moved to hear that his essay (one of many he’s published through PJP) resonated with so many people.
“In a lot of ways, I’m a normal human being with all kinds of emotions and heartache and depression … just like anybody who’s not in prison,” he told Morning Edition in a phone interview. “And so I’m always trying to figure out a way to communicate that type of empathy, I guess, and get people on the outside to understand what it’s like in here.”
Joe Garcia wrote about his experience listening to Taylor Swift in prison in a New Yorker essay that went viral in September.
Courtesy of Prison Journalism Project and Joe Garcia
hide caption
toggle caption
Courtesy of Prison Journalism Project and Joe Garcia
Garcia hoped that centering Swift, one of the most beloved and influential musicians working today, would be a relatable way to get that point across.
And while he can (and did) speak at length about his favorite eras, his piece shines a spotlight on a much broader topic: the mechanics, and meaning, of music in prison.
How people get access to music in prison
Garcia’s story illustrates some of the challenges that incarcerated people have faced in accessing music — and how new technology has made it possible for many to listen to songs and artists of their choice, some for the first time in years.
His essay details how he navigated ever-changing sets of rules and social dynamics to listen to music in various prisons over more than a decade.
That journey included shared CD players, a borrowed pocket radio, a reconfigured “old-school boombox,” an MP3 player paid for by his family and, most recently, a tablet.
Dozens of states have made tablets available — either for free or for sale — to prisoners in recent years, starting with Colorado in 2016. Almost all people incarcerated in California, where Garcia resides, now have them. And the companies behind the tablets said they had roughly one million users nationwide as of late last year.
“We are given a free tablet that is assigned to us by the state,” Garcia explained. “And then there’s a whole bunch of services that are either free or we have to pay for.”
Users can pay money to send messages, make video calls, play games, download books and stream music, among other functions.
There are still limits around consuming music, as incarcerated people told NPR. Songs cost money and tablets are in many cases only allowed during certain hours of the day. And the streaming services they come with don’t all let users do things like play an artist’s entire discography or curate a personalized playlist — as opposed to saving existing playlists.
Even so, they say, the technology makes a big difference in their day-to-day lives.
“Music is just a huge, tremendous factor in here,” Garcia said. “All throughout my everyday day to day, you see guys walking around with headphones on, with earbuds in. They’ll be singing along to whatever they’re listening to, they’ll be reciting their own type of rap lyrics, they’ll be in circles comparing things.”
Not everyone is listening to the same songs, of course.
A Spotify playlist of the dozens of songs PJP writers said meant the most to them in 2023 includes artists as varied as Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood, Kendrick Lamar, John Lennon and Miley Cyrus (and also Swift).
Music as a means of relief and connection
Several people at prisons across the country told NPR that music makes them feel connected, both to others and the outside world.
Jeffrey Shockley, who is 24 years into serving a life sentence in Pennsylvania for murder, says music offers some relief from the “mundane monotony” of prison. That’s especially true when you’re not limited by what radio stations are nearby and which songs they decide to play, he adds.
Jeffrey Shockley, who is serving a life sentence in Pennsylvania, says he listens to everything from Beethoven to Eminem.
Courtesy of Prison Journalism Project and Jeffrey Shockley
hide caption
toggle caption
Courtesy of Prison Journalism Project and Jeffrey Shockley
Shockley estimates he has more than a thousand songs on his tablet, ranging from Christian music to classical to Eminem. He says being able to choose what he wants to hear throughout the day — like reggae on a happy morning or Beethoven before bed — has a huge impact on his mood.
“It’s being able to have that ability to reach out and hear something different that will catapult you out of whatever depths of hell you may be in in that moment, figuratively speaking,” he added.
Plus, Shockley said, listening to different genres gives him more to talk about with different types of people.
Garcia similarly says music is one of the few mediums — along with sports and news — that people in prison can share, regardless of their race or background. He says music helps him connect with others, even as someone who was admittedly somewhat antisocial before prison.
“Music is kind of one facet of me trying to open my heart and really appreciate people for who they are,” he added. “And I really do see that a lot in the other incarcerated guys … We end up using it as a platform to come together instead of being divisive.”
Garcia said music not only helps him connect with other people, but also with the outside world. He’s spent his whole life paying attention to new music — which is why he’s now listening to Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo at age 54.
“I don’t want to lose track of what the world is like,” he added.
Reflecting on the past and looking to the future
Music can bring back powerful memories and provide a source of hope for the future, incarcerated people say.
Shockley, 61, says hearing the music his grandmother raised him on, like gospel and Aretha Franklin, reminds him both of his family and simpler times.
“[Like] when you’re a young boy and you’re doing things and running around, playing in the backyard in the green grass,” he explained. “And now you’re sitting in a concrete jungle and hoping for a breath of fresh air .. It’s like a tranquil moment that some people may take for granted because when you don’t have it, you miss it.”
That music, he adds, inspires him to try to give back and uplift others as he was taught — but admittedly struggled to do — when he was younger.
“I don’t want to be who I was,” he said. “So I’m going to be who I can be or should have been.”
KC Johnson, who is incarcerated in North Carolina, described their tablet as a “lifesaver.”
They got it in 2021, just two months before their mom died. The two shared a love of blues, and Johnson was especially grateful to be able to listen to music that reminded them of her.
KC Johnson, whose release date is in three years, looks forward to going to concerts for the first time in over two decades.
Courtesy of Prison Journalism Project and KC Johnson
hide caption
toggle caption
Courtesy of Prison Journalism Project and KC Johnson
Johnson, who was convicted of robbery and second-degree murder, said music — especially concerts — was a huge part of their life before they went to prison some 17 years ago.
Now they listen to music pretty much all day: on their tablet while studying, with a portable radio while running or over the speakers at their work-release job at a local food bank (notably the only time they don’t need headphones).
“That’s where all my money goes,” said Johnson, 45. “It’s for my tablet, for my music.”
Johnson’s projected release date is in late 2026, at which point they are planning to move into a halfway house. They are especially excited that the facility allows MP3 players, which will hopefully mean easier access to artists on demand, including on runs.
Johnson is also looking forward to seeing live music again, for the first time in over two decades. Going to a festival is at the top of their to-do list. They say they’ve always loved the positive energy at concerts, where everyone is there for the same reason and getting along.
“I just want to get back in that atmosphere,” Johnson said. “So much has changed in the world, but I feel like going to something like that, it will still be like it was when I was younger — or I hope it is.”
Johnson sees music as a way to reconnect with their past self — and expects the same will be true even once they’re out of prison.
“The songs that I’ve listened to and hear will remind me of my strength and endurance and everything that got me through,” they said. “It’s a powerful tool, music is.”
The broadcast piece was produced by Mansee Khurana.
Sen. Tillis To Kristi Noem
ICE Killings Are Like Dog You Killed
Published
Fireworks on Capitol Hill … Sen. Thom Tillis ripped into DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a congressional hearing … comparing American citizens killed by immigration agents to a dog she killed.
Check out the video … the Republican Senator from North Carolina says Noem has shown terrible leadership and decision-making as Trump‘s DHS Secretary.
AP
Tillis says the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by ICE and Border Patrol remind him of a passage from Noem’s book … where she recalls killing a dog she brought on a hunting trip.
Noem said the 14-month-old dog, Cricket, was misbehaving … so she led the dog to a gravel pit and shot her.
X/@DHSgov
Sen. Tillis told her straight up … “Those are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment. Not unlike what happened up in Minneapolis. We’re an exceptional nation, and one of the reasons we’re exceptional is we expect exceptional leadership. And you’ve demonstrated anything but that.”
In 2021, Zhao made history as the first woman of color to win the best director Oscar for her film Nomadland. Her Oscar-nominated drama Hamnet has made $70 million worldwide.
Bethany Mollenkof for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Bethany Mollenkof for NPR
It took a very special kind of spirit to make Hamnet, which is nominated for best picture at this year’s Academy Awards. Chloé Zhao brought her uniquely sensitive, mind-body approach to directing the fictionalized story about how William Shakespeare was inspired to write his masterpiece Hamlet.
Zhao adapted the screenplay from a novel by Maggie O’Farrell, and for directing the film, she’s now nominated for an Oscar. She could make history by becoming the first woman to win the best director award more than once.
Zhao says she believes in ceremonies and rituals, in setting an intention, a mood, a vibration for any event. Before Hamnet premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, she led the audience in a guided meditation and a breathing exercise.
Zhao also likes to loosen up, like she did at a screening of Hamnet in Los Angeles last month, when she got the audience to get up and dance with her to a Rihanna song.
She, her cast and crew had regular dance parties during the production of Hamnet. So for our NPR photo shoot and interview at a Beverly Hills hotel, I invited her to share some music from her playlist. She chose a track she described as “drones and tones.”
Our photographer captured her in her filmy white gown, peeking contemplatively from behind the filmy white curtains of a balcony at the Waldorf Astoria.
Zhao says she believes in ceremonies and rituals, and makes them a part of her filmmaking process.
Bethany Mollenkof for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Bethany Mollenkof for NPR
Then Zhao and I sat down to talk.
“I had a dream that we were doing this interview,” I told her. “And it started with a photo shoot, and there was a glass globe –”
“No way!” she gasped.
It so happens that on the desk next to us, was a small glass globe — perhaps a paperweight.
I told her that in my dream, she was looking through the globe at some projected images. “We were having fun and it was like we didn’t want it to stop,” I said.
“Oh, well, me and the globe and the lights on the wall: they’re all part of you,” Zhao said. “They’re your inner crystal ball, your inner Chloé.”
“Inner Chloé?” I asked. “What is the inner Chloé like?”
“I don’t know, you tell me,” she said. “Humbly, from my lineage and what I studied is that everything in a dream is a part of our own psyche.”
Dreams and symbols are very much a part of Zhao’s approach to filmmaking, which she describes as a magical and communal experience. She said it’s all part of her directing style.
Chloé Zhao used painting and dance to connect with actors on the set of her latest film Hamnet.
Bethany Mollenkof for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Bethany Mollenkof for NPR
“If you’re captain of any ship, you are not just giving instructions; people are also looking to you energetically as well,” she explained. “Whether it’s calmness, it’s groundedness, it’s feeling safe: then everyone else is going to tune to you.” Zhao says it has taken many years to get to this awareness. Her own journey began 43 years ago in Beijing, where she was born. She moved to the U.S. as a teen, and studied film at New York University where Spike Lee was one of her teachers. She continued honing her craft at the Sundance Institute labs — along with her friend Ryan Coogler and other indie filmmakers.
Over the years, Zhao’s film catalogue has been eclectic — from her indie debut Songs My Brothers Taught Me, set on a Lakota Sioux reservation, to the big-budget Marvel superhero movie Eternals. She got her first best director Oscar in 2021 for the best picture winner Nomadland. Next up is a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
“A creative life,” she notes, “is not a linear experience for me.”
Zhao still lingers over the making of Hamnet, a very emotional story about the death of a child. During the production, Zhao says she used somatic and tantric exercises and rituals to open and close shooting days.
She also invited her lead actors Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley to help her set the mood on set. They danced, they painted, they meditated together.
“She created an atmosphere where everybody who chose to step in to tell this story was there for a reason that was deeply within them,” actress Jessie Buckley told me.
Buckley is a leading contender for this year’s best actress Oscar. She said that to prepare for her very intense role as William Shakespeare’s wife, Zhao asked her to write down her dreams “as a kind of access point, to gently stir the waters of where I was feeling.”
Buckley sent Zhao her writings, and also music she felt was “a tone and texture of that essence.”
That kind of became the ritual of how they worked together, Buckley said. “And not just the cast were moving together, but the crew were and the camera was really creating dynamics and a collective unconscious.”
Filmmaker and Hamnet producer Steven Spielberg calls Zhao’s empathy her superpower.
Bethany Mollenkof for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Bethany Mollenkof for NPR
That was incredibly useful for creating Hamnet — a story about communal grief. Steven Spielberg, who co-produced the film, called Zhao’s empathy her superpower.
“In every glance, in every pause and every touch, in every tear, in every single moment of this film, every choice that Chloé made is evidence of her fearlessness,” Spielberg said when awarding Zhao a Directors Guild of America award. “In Hamnet, Chloé also shows us that there can be life after grief.”
Zhao says it took five years and a midlife crisis for her to develop the emotional tools she used to make Hamnet.
“I hope it could give people a two-hour little ceremony,” she told me. “And in the end, I hope that a point of contact can be made. That means that there’s a heart opening. But it will be painful, right? Because when your heart opens, you feel all the things you usually don’t feel. And then a catharsis can emerge.”
As our interview time came to a close, I told Zhao I have my own little ritual at the end of every interview; I record a few minutes of room tone, the ambient sound of the space we’re in. It’s for production purposes, to smooth out the audio.
Zhao knew just what I meant. She told me a story about her late friend Michael “Wolf” Snyder who was her sound recordist for Nomadland. “He said to me, ‘I don’t always need it, but just so you know, I am going to watch you. And when I tell that you are a little frazzled, I’m going to ask for a room tone … just to give you space.’” she recalled. “‘And if you feel like you need the silence space, you just look at me, nod. I’ll come ask for a room tone.’”
I closed our interview ceremony with that moment of silence, a moment of peace, for director Chloé Zhao.
Lifestyle
This spring, have a tea ceremony inside of an art installation and shop the latest Givenchy
Givenchy by Sarah Burton introduces the Snatch
Givenchy’s “The Snatch” handbag.
(Marc Piasecki / Getty Images)
Echoing the designer’s ready-to-wear sculptural designs, the Snatch from Givenchy by Sarah Burton is sensually shaped by the contours of the person who carries it. Its supple leather, fluid silhouette and three sizes allow it to slip effortlessly and intimately into the hand, over the shoulder or across the body. Now available. givenchy.com
Guess Jeans opens new L.A. store
Guess Jeans store interior.
(Josh Cho)
In a move familiar to many millennials these days, Guess Jeans has returned home in its 45th year. The new flagship store in West Hollywood is both a return to its California roots and an envisioning of its future still ahead. While the brand may be an established icon, the store boldly reimagines the retail space as a living laboratory for design, craftsmanship and collaboration, with dedicated workshop and customization spaces. 8700 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. guess.com
Louis Vuitton’s new Color Blossom collection
Louis Vuitton’s new Color Blossom collection highlights sodalite.
(Louis Vuitton)
Taylor Swift’s sky may be opalite, but the starry blue hues in the new jewels of Louis Vuitton’s Color Blossom collection belong to sodalite. Rarely used in jewelry, the dark navy of sodalite adds an unexpected layer of depth to Color Blossom’s existing luminous gemstone lineup. Sun and star motifs rendered in gold enhance the gem’s night sky coloring, while the classic flower designs celebrate the 130th anniversary of the Louis Vuitton Monogram. Sodalite pieces available March 6, entire collection available April 4. louisvuitton.com
Loro Piana debuts Library of Knits
Loro Piana’s Library of Knits comes in over 20 shades.
(Lora Piana)
L.A.’s (many) winter showers bring spring wildflowers, and a bouquet of Loro Piana’s new Library of Knits fits right into the vibrant spectacle. The exquisitely soft cashmere pieces in classic styles now come in over 20 shades inspired by Sergio Loro Piana’s personal wardrobe. With a spectrum ranging from blues and greens to corals and creams, it’s hard to choose just one for a frolic in the fields. Now available. loropiana.com
Margesherwood X Peanuts
The Margesherwood X Peanuts collaboration features instantly recognizable motifs.
(Marge Sherwood)
Love is famously in the air this time of year, apparently even for cartoon characters. This enduring love is illustrated (literally) in the Margesherwood X Peanuts collaboration. Inspired by the heart-fluttering love letters Sally writes to Linus, the designs feature instantly recognizable motifs that marry the Peanuts’ charm with Margesherwood’s refined silhouettes. The zig-zag of that famous yellow shirt winkingly graces a crescent baguette, while the black stripes of Linus’s red red shirt wrap around a slouchy shoulder bag. For the true heads and lovers, there’s even a petite hobo emblazoned with Sally’s pet name for Linus: “FOR MY SWEET BABBOO.” Now available. margesherwood.com
Ryan Preciado at Hollyhock House
Ryan Preciado’s site-responsive “Diary of a Fly” at Hollyhock House features Oaxacan-woven textiles.
(Roman Koval)
Ryan Preciado’s new site-responsive installation at Hollyhock House, “Diary of a Fly,” is titled after a late-1930s musical composition by Béla Bartók that imitates the frenzied pace of a fly — a fitting name since his show reconceptualizes the experience of the springtime pest flitting around a house. Instead of hovering around overripe fruit or stalking a trash can long neglected, however, viewers are invited to take in Preciado’s Oaxacan-woven textiles and brightly colored sculptures situated throughout the city’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site. Open through April 25. 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. hollyhockhouse.org
Veronica Fernandez at Anat Ebgi
Veronica Fernanadez’s “Prey” filters childhood memories through experience and emotion.
(Veronica Fernandez)
In the figurative paintings of Veronica Fernandez’s first solo exhibition, “Prey,” the artist’s childhood is recalled through dreamlike and fantastical scenes, with memories filtered through experience and emotion. Many of her works place a child at the center of the scene among family, friends and caretakers, who usually appear shadow-like at the edges of the paintings. As a kid, Fernandez endured periods of homelessness. But rather than depict a childhood of adversity, her paintings empower the kids within them to claim their own space, imbuing her memories with strength and light. Open through April 4. 6150 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. anatebgi.com
Dior launches J’Adore Intense
Dior’s J’Adore Intense captures the scent of solar flowers with Rihanna as its muse.
(J’Adore)
Florals for spring can be groundbreaking, especially when they’re created with none other than Rihanna as their muse. Dior’s J’Adore Intense captures the scent of solar flowers — jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, violet — right before they burst into fruit. The result is a warm, bold, addictive fragrance that drips with sensuality and femininity, down to the curves of its signature gold and glass figure-eight amphora. In other words, it’s Rihanna in a bottle. Available now. dior.com
Rocky’s Matcha X Oscar Tuazon at Morán Morán
Rocky’s Matcha hosts Japanese tea ceremonies in an ensō-inspired tea house from Oscar Tuazon at Morán Morán.
(Stade New York)
The single, uninhibited brushstroke of the ensō, the circular form in Zen art, serves as a record of a moment. Commissioned by Rocky’s Matcha, Oscar Tuazon’s “Circle House” at Morán Morán shares both the ensō’s form and its call to mindfulness. In the artist’s tea house, constructed from cardboard, wood and tatami mats, architecture is inseparable from ritual: visitors will soon be able to partake in a Japanese tea ceremony inside the installation, thereby participating in a choreography of attention not unlike the act of gliding an ink brush across a sheet of washi. Open through December 31. 641 N. Western Ave. Los Angeles. Subscribe to rocky’s newsletter for tea ceremony information. rockysmatcha.com and moranmorangallery.com
Celebrate Mr. Wash’s new book, “Artists in Space”
Celebrate the launch of Mr. Wash’s new book of studio visits and interviews with other L.A. artists.
(Mr Wash)
Make your first BBQ of the season a meaningful one at the Art By Wash Studio & Community Center, where Compton artist and criminal justice advocate, Mr. Wash, will celebrate the release of his book “Artists in Space.” Proceeds from the book, which features interviews and studio visits with 20 Angeleno residents, go toward establishing the new community center where individuals returning home from incarceration will have access to art classes, creative residencies and housing. Mr. Wash will be in conversation with Patrisse Culllors and Evan Pricco (co-publisher and founder of the Unibrow) as well as displaying new works. The event is on March 7 from 2-6 p.m. 15 W. Rosecrans Ave., Compton. artbywash.com
Todd Meadows, ‘Deadliest Catch’ deckhand, dies at 25
Sen. Thom Tillis Rips Kristi Noem, Compares ICE Killings To Dog She Killed
Israel believes Iran war could last months, testing U.S. resolve
There were 13 full-service public health clinics in L.A. County. Now there are 6
Arnold, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Evans, Carl Lewis new members of California’s Hall of Fame
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Hungarian veto proves EU needs less unanimity, says new Dutch PM
Pregnant migrant girls are being sent to a Texas shelter flagged as medically risky
Fraud-plagued Minnesota sues Trump admin for withholding $243M in Medicaid payments
Is Iran expanding attacks to target energy and civilian sites in the Gulf?
Trump claims US stockpiles mean wars can be fought ‘forever’; Kristi Noem testifies before Congress – US politics live
-
World6 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts6 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO6 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Oregon4 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Florida3 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Maryland3 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Culture1 week agoTry This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies