Music & Culture

The kingdom famously barred public music performances for more than 25 years. So what's changed? And why did the Saudis alight on an American country music star for one of the first approved shows?

The survival of the MP3 is more complicated than the lapse of a patent and its marketplace by its inventors. A wide-ranging discussion with professor Jonathan Sterne helps us unpack its implications.

The emo band imagines a Japanese character missing home while temporarily living in small-town Central Illinois.

Johnny Jewel and crew play the dreamy, codeine-soaked synth-pop song in front of the Black Lodge's red curtains.

On Feb. 20, 2003, the band Great White was playing when pyrotechnics ignited flammable soundproofing foam. The nightclub was engulfed in flames — killing 100 people and injuring more than 200.

A restrained, whisper-soft Tiny Desk concert from Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin with songs taken from her debut album Don't Let The Kids Win.

The songs on James' latest album, My Spirit Sister, are staggeringly honest snapshots of love and doubt. Hear an interview and performance from the Americana songwriter.

With the release of Neva Left on Friday, the elder statesman of rap isn't making a comeback as much as he's maintaining his streak of consistency.

The fifth album by the one-time pop-punk champions ditches the four-letter qualifier to embrace a classic '80s pop sound. But there's still anxiety beneath the gloss.