Music & Culture

Aretha Franklin poses for the cameras in 1968.

Music & Culture

'Respect' Wasn't A Feminist Anthem Until Aretha Franklin Made It One

5:08pm February 14, 2017

by NPR Staff

Today, Franklin's recording of "Respect" is definitive. But when she recorded it on Valentine's Day 1967, it was a radical gender-bending of Otis Redding's original.

Music & Culture

Ryan Adams, Our Valentine's Day Guest DJ, Addresses Love And Lonesome Roads

4:42pm February 14, 2017

by Bob Boilen

Ahead of the release of his newest record, Ryan Adams sits down with NPR Music's Bob Boilen to consider his favorite love songs, including Springsteen, Dylan and Sonic Youth.

Queue Listen Now

Beyoncé performs at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 12. She won the award for best urban contemporary album, but was shut out of the major categories, which were all given to Adele.

Music & Culture

The Problem With The Grammys Is Not A Problem We Can Fix

3:50pm February 14, 2017

by Ann Powers

Adele's attempt to share her album of the year Grammy with Beyoncé on Sunday was a gesture that held within it a history of privilege and power that listeners and institutions alike reckon with.