Music & Culture

Remembering The Queen Of Soul In Detroit

12:02pm August 31, 2018

In Detroit, Aretha Franklin gets her final sendoff — in the vintage, white Cadillac hearse that once carried civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Her fans have been celebrating the Queen of Soul all week.

Lorde performs at the Governors Ball Music Festival on June 2, 2017 in New York City.

Music & Culture

Lorde Is The 21st Century's Author Of Adolescent Evolution

6:30am August 31, 2018

by Cyrena Touros

Before Pure Heroine, Ella Yelich-O'Connor was just a teen from suburban New Zealand trying to kill time. Instead, she snatched the mic, ushering in a sonic shift towards minimalism and dark pop.

Music & Culture

IDLES Explain 'Joy As An Act Of Resistance,' Track By Track

6:19am August 31, 2018

by Bob Boilen

The U.K. post-punk band's new album celebrates humanity in all its forms.

George Li performs a Tiny Desk Concert on July 31, 2018 (Eric Lee/NPR).

Music & Culture

George Li: Tiny Desk Concert

5:00am August 31, 2018

by Tom Huizenga

Watch the young Harvard grad dispatch some of the most "knuckle-busting" piano repertoire with uncommon panache and precision.

Troye Sivan's Bloom is on our short list of the best albums out on Aug. 31.

Music & Culture

New Music Friday For Aug. 31: Six Albums You Should Hear Now

5:00am August 31, 2018

by Robin Hilton

This week's essential new albums feature the pop paradise of Troye Sivan, Big Red Machine (with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and The National's Aaron Dessner), a tribute to Roger Miller and more.

Queue Listen Now

Carmen Miranda inspires one of the characters in The Air You Breathe, the new novel by Frances de Pontes Peebles.

Samba And Saudade: The Inspirations Behind 'The Air You Breathe'

4:35pm August 30, 2018

by Felix Contreras

"Samba's beating heart is actually suffering and sadness." The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles uses Brazilian music as a backdrop for an intimate story of female friendship.

Kelly Clarkson performs during the KISS 108 FM Jingle Ball in Lowell, Mass. in 2004 — the year her second album, Breakaway, cemented her status as a pop superstar.

Music & Culture

'Since U Been Gone': The Crossover Pop Needed, The Anthem Rock Deserved

2:35pm August 30, 2018

by Maura Johnston

The Kelly Clarkson smash wasn't just a great pop song: In 2004 it was a cultural bellwether, a sign that the walls between mainstream and underground were starting to crack.

Music & Culture

Gene Harris On Piano Jazz

1:36pm August 30, 2018

On this 1988 Piano Jazz episode, Harris opens with a slow and easy "Black and Blue," then McPartland joins him on "Bag's Groove."

Laurie Lewis with Tom Rozum on mandolin, Max Schwartz on bass, Tatiana Hargreaves on fiddle and Justin Hiltner on banjo.

Music & Culture

Laurie Lewis And The Right Hands On Mountain Stage

1:30pm August 30, 2018

by Adam Harris

Lewis is joined by Tom Rozum on mandolin, Max Schwartz on bass, Tatiana Hargreaves on fiddle and Justin Hiltner on banjo.

Amos Lee performing at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, WA.

Music & Culture

Amos Lee Finds Mighty Inspiration On His New Album

11:14am August 30, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

"Little Light" stands out among the complex, twisty and sometimes even dark material on Lee's new album, My New Moon. The song's inspiration is a brave grade-schooler named Maya.