In a year in which the word "touring" has all but disappeared from the lexicon, a good number of artists appear to have decided that releasing new music doesn't make sense. "I've already heard of indie rock bands with very sizable followings," LARRY FITZMAURICE writes, "that have already turned in new albums to their labels with the understanding that they be held until, at the very least, next fall." Others, he notes, may have reason to regret having put out albums anyway, including, for example, CHILDISH GAMBINO, whose surprise release in March, during what turned out to be the first week of pandemic lockdowns in many cities, I had completely forgotten about until Fitzmaurice reminded me. Which was his point. But one size has never fit all in pop music career planning, and another good number of artists—maybe because they had nothing else to do in this lost year, or maybe because the apocalyptic contour of 2020 stirred up their anger, their rage, their sadness or just their need to respond in some fashion—have decided it's a great time to drop multiple projects. Today alone brings us rapper BOLDY JAMES' fourth album-length release of 2020, graybeard indie rockers GUIDED BY VOICES' third (OK, that might actually be a slow year for them), STURGILL SIMPSON's second deep dive into bluegrass and, as you might have heard sometime in the past 24 hours, TAYLOR SWIFT's second full-length, too. Swift's EVERMORE seems to be of a piece with her July album FOLKLORE, featuring warm, intimate, stripped-down songs made with AARON DESSNER, BON IVER and many of the same supporting musicians and, for the second straight time, finding room for at least one F-bomb. (Also, she kills a dude. He deserves it.) The last one was 2020's best-selling album (so far). It's doubtful anyone's going to forget, or regret releasing, this one, and DANIEL "You Can’t Record Music Once Every Three to Four Years" EK will no doubt be especially pleased. But once every three to four years, or less, may continue to make perfect sense for artists like FIONA APPLE, whose 2020 masterpiece FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS was her first album in eight years. And twice every year may or may not continue to make sense for artists like Swift and SAULT, whose two in 2019 and two in 2020 add up to one of the most astonishing four-album runs anyone's produced in a long time. A good pace for releasing new music, if you ask me, is whenever the inspiration strikes, whenever the songs present themselves, and whenever circumstances gift you with the time... Grammy gripes: Hours after TIFFANY HADDISH said she turned down the RECORDING ACADEMY's invitation to host the GRAMMY AWARDS pre-telecast ceremony because the job doesn't pay, the Academy's interim chief, HARVEY MASON JR., publicly apologized—but not, strangely, for asking her to work for no pay. Also, he threw his own talent booker under a bus... Also saying no to the 2021 Grammy Awards: three of the nominees for Best Children's Music Album, who have asked to be removed from the ballot to protest that all the nominees in the category are white and only one is a woman. "These numbers would be disappointing in any category," they write, but especially "in a genre whose performers are uniquely tasked with modeling fairness, kindness, and inclusion"... It's FRIDAY and in addition to TAYLOR SWIFT that means new music from JACK HARLOW, KID CUDI, the AVALANCHES, BOLDY JAMES & REAL BAD MAN, KAMAIYAH, CHRIS CORNELL (covers album recorded in 2016, shortly before his death), STURGILL SIMPSON (more bluegrass remakes of his own songs), SALAMI ROSE JOE LOUIS, NILÜFER YANYA, YO-YO MA & KATHRYN SCOTT, ROSIE CARNEY (covering RADIOHEAD's THE BENDS in full), M. WARD (covering BILLIE HOLIDAY's LADY IN SATIN almost in full), PETE ROCK & THE SOUL BROTHERS, HEEM, FXXXXY (posthumous debut from Dallas rapper who died in September) , PLAYTHATBOIZAY, GRIMES (DJ mix to coincide with the release of the game CYBERPUNK 2077), the KILLS (rarities), FOXY SHAZAM, BORIS WITH MERZBOW, HERETICAL SECT, LESS THAN JAKE, KING HANNAH, IDA ENGBERG, KACY & CLAYTON and MARLON WILLIAMS, MAINO, FETTY WAP, LIL LOADED, FRENCH CASSETTES, MUZZ, OGBERT THE NERD, GUIDED BY VOICES and a 20th anniversary reissue of DEFTONES' WHITE PONY paired with a new remix album, BLACK STALLION)... The BEE GEES documentary HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART? premieres Saturday on HBO. JASON HIRSCHHORN says it’s a must-see... RIP DALE SHEETS.