Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Saxophonist Sonny Rollins On His Colossal Archive

4:15pm May 30, 2017

by Nate Chinen

The jazz giant reflects on his decision to release a sprawl of writings, recordings and other material to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, in his old neighborhood of Harlem.

U.S. troops man a roadblock on Dec. 26, 1989, in Panama City, preventing access to the Vatican Embassy where Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega was holed up. The U.S. forces played loud rock music in an attempt to bring Noriega out. He surrendered on Jan. 3

How The U.S. Military Used Guns N' Roses To Make A Dictator Give Up

2:56pm May 30, 2017

by Greg Myre

Panama's dictator, Manuel Noriega, surrendered to the invading U.S. military in 1989. He holed up at the Vatican Embassy, and gave up after being subjected to days of deafening music.

A still from The Homeless Gospel Choir's "Normal" video.

Music & Culture

For 'Normal,' The Homeless Gospel Choir Re-Creates Alanis Morissette's 'Ironic' Video

2:21pm May 30, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

Derek Zanetti's anthemic rocker tells the story of a weird 11-year-old who discovers punk rock. It comes, naturally, with a shot-for-shot remake of the "Ironic" video.

Ladi6's Royal Blue 3000 EP comes out June 2.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Ladi6, 'Royal Blue'

1:00pm May 30, 2017

by Bobby Carter

Ladi6 takes everything that was great about '90s soul music and updates it, sprinkling cosmic effects and big synths throughout.

Blondie performs live at WXPN's Non-COMM 2017 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Music & Culture

Blondie On World Cafe

11:46am May 30, 2017

by Talia Schlanger

Original members Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, and drummer Clem Burke are back with a new studio album, Pollinator. Hear an ecstatic performance recorded live at World Cafe.

Music & Culture

OMD Gets Kraftwerkian, Examines Our Emoji Present In A Zoetropic Video For 'Isotype'

11:24am May 30, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

The British synthpop duo's new song is a soaring six minutes of Kraftwerk-ian vocoder-pop, and a clever comment on how emojis have replaced everyday language.

Royal Thunder performs a Tiny Desk Concert on May 10, 2017. (Claire Harbage/NPR)

Music & Culture

Royal Thunder: Tiny Desk Concert

9:00am May 30, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

What happens when you ask a hard-rock band to unplug its thunder? It draws power from a raw, desperate vulnerability.

Music & Culture

Mutual Benefit Covers An Entire Vashti Bunyan Album

8:00am May 30, 2017

by Stephen Thompson

Hear "Jog Along Bess" and "Glow Worms" from Mutual Benefit's album-length remake of Bunyan's 1970 classic Just Another Diamond Day.

Saintseneca's new song is titled "The Book Of The Dead On Sale."

Music & Culture

Watch: Saintseneca Goes Nuts With The Fisheye Lens

7:40am May 30, 2017

by Stephen Thompson

A new video provides a perfect match for Saintseneca's mystery, beauty and undercurrent of deep weirdness.

The job of a composer might be going the way of typewriter mechanics and bowling alley pinsetters, as computers begin to create music cheaper and quicker than man.

Music & Culture

For Video Soundtracks, Computers Are The New Composers

7:13pm May 29, 2017

by Laura Sydell

In some cases, the job of composer might be going the way of typewriter repairman and bowling pinsetter as software creates music more cheaply and quickly than humans. Can you hear the difference?

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