Music & Culture

Max Richter brings a diverse playlist with him for an NPR Music Guest DJ session.

Music & Culture

What's Composer Max Richter Listening To? Pretty Much Everything

1:23pm April 05, 2017

by Tom Huizenga

The genre-busting composer, who believes in classical music's "multi-dimensional space," brings a strikingly diverse playlist with him for a relaxed session of spinning tunes and talking music.

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A still from Boss Hog's "Shh Shh Shh" video.

Music & Culture

Boss Hog Channels Scooby Doo For 'Shh Shh Shh' Video

1:19pm April 05, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

After 17 years, the sleazy blues-punk band from Cristina Martinez and Jon Spencer is back. The group investigates a mass murder in this video directed by Aaron C. Lazar.

Melody Grove stars in The Strange Undoing Of Prudencia Hart, the focus of this week's episode.

Music & Culture

The Thistle & Shamrock: 'The Strange Undoing Of Prudencia Hart'

11:29am April 05, 2017

Hear music from the National Theatre of Scotland show that has won acclaim over the past five years, including during its recent run in the U.S.

Mr. Mitch's new album, Devout, comes out April 21.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Mr. Mitch, 'Lost Touch (Feat. Duval Timothy)'

10:00am April 05, 2017

by Jake Witz

The DJ and producer pushes London's grime scene to new frontiers. His latest album is a reflection of his new fatherhood.

Nashville's Daddy Issues make stormy, grungey pop.

Music & Culture

Daddy Issues Confronts Deep Trauma With Sharp, Languid Rock On 'I'm Not'

9:00am April 05, 2017

by Marissa Lorusso

On "I'm Not," Daddy Issues deals with a deep personal trauma through a languid take on pop, rock and punk.

To celebrate her ninth wedding anniversary, Beyoncé has released a new video for "Die With You."

Music & Culture

Hold Up: Beyoncé Just Released A New Thing For Us All To Obsess Over

5:27pm April 04, 2017

by Stephen Thompson

"Die With You" has been around since 2015, but it's newly packaged with a video depicting the endlessly dissected love affair between Beyoncé and Jay Z.

Aimee Mann's newest album, Mental Illness, is out now.

Music & Culture

'I Think It's Hard To Be A Person': Aimee Mann On Compassionate Songwriting

5:18pm April 04, 2017

The singer-songwriter's music has long been characterized as melancholy. For her album Mental Illness, she leaned into that stereotype, writing songs that empathize with other people's struggles.

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Laura Jane Grace burned her birth certificate at a concert in North Carolina in 2016 in protest of the state's "bathroom bill" requiring transgender people in government facilities to use bathrooms that match the sex on their birth certificate.

For Laura Jane Grace, Punk Was A Form Of Armor

3:43pm April 04, 2017

The founder of the band Against Me! felt so conflicted about her gender growing up that she thought she was schizophrenic. Since transitioning, she's become more in touch with herself.

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Clockwise from upper left: Lydia Ainsworth, Big Thief, Son Lux, Public Service Broadcasting

Music & Culture

New Mix: Son Lux, Public Service Broadcasting, Big Thief, More

3:26pm April 04, 2017

Hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton share their favorite songs of the week, including premieres from Elf Power and Big Thief, plus new music from The Walkmen's Walter Martin, Son Lux and more.

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The 2017 NEA Jazz Masters on April 3, 2017 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. (left to right): Representing Ira Gitler, Fitz Gitler; Dick Hyman; Dave Holland; Dr. Lonnie Smith; and Dee Dee Bridgewater

The NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert Transcends Its Fraught Political Moment

3:05pm April 04, 2017

by Nate Chinen

Monday night's presentation of the 2017 NEA Jazz Masters fellowships, coming under the shadow of a proposed presidential budget that would eliminate the NEA outright, mixed politics with grace.