Music & Culture

Music & Culture

The 'Colorless City' And Odd Characters Behind The New German Wave Of The 70s

1:26pm August 01, 2016

by Ed Ward

Rock historian Ed Ward says that musicians in Düsseldorf, Germany, including Klaus Dinger of the band Neu!, helped start a new German pop movement in the 1970s and '80s.

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Lubomyr Melnyk has been clocked playing 19 notes per second.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Lubomyr Melnyk, 'sunset'

9:53am August 01, 2016

by Tom Huizenga

The Ukrainian pianist's torrent of notes can sweep one away, like stepping into the current of a fast-flowing river.

Music & Culture

Doc McKinney: 'There's Enough Bad Music Out There'

8:00am August 01, 2016

The producer and manager, who's worked with The Weeknd, Drake, Young Buck, Esthero and thestand4rd, is fighting the good fight.

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Music & Culture

Musician Rob Townsend Changes Tune With Gay Advocacy

9:37am July 31, 2016

Rob Townsend went from a successful Americana band in Texas to New York City, where he came out and is now writing music for the LGBT community. NPR's Elise Hu talks to him about his journey.

Music & Culture

It Runs In The Family: Stella Santana Releases Debut Album

8:55am July 31, 2016

Stella Santana, the daughter of Carlos Santana, has played music for years but is only now coming out with her own debut album. NPR's Elise Hu speaks with her about the album, "Selfish."

Park Boram is in many ways a model of the experience of K-pop stars. Her debut single is officially called "Beautiful," but the Korean title translates to "I became pretty."

Music & Culture

For Women In Korean Pop, 'Making It' Can Mean A Makeover

8:38am July 31, 2016

by Elise Hu

Female K-pop performers can face strong pressure to meet the industry's beauty standards. Some, like Park Boram, are starting to sing about it, while others are bucking the trend.

J Dilla (front) is pictured here in 2005 at Madlib's studios in Echo Park, Los Angeles. Collaborators MED, Eothen Alapatt and Madlib (left to right) surround him.

Music & Culture

'A Lot Of Detective Work': Piecing Together J Dilla's 'The Diary'

5:01pm July 30, 2016

by Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi

The late hip-hop producer left behind troves of unfinished music. How do you dig into the vault of an artist like Dilla and assemble an album that remains true to their creative vision?

Over 40 Broadway performers gathered to sing "What The World Needs Now Is Love" at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.

Music & Culture

Come Together (Or Not): Music At The Democratic National Convention

12:58pm July 30, 2016

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

A chaotic week of fractured loyalties surged into buoyant affirmations for Hillary Clinton's candidacy. But are all those left-leaning musicians just singing into an echo chamber?

What Music For The Dying Sounds Like

9:19am July 30, 2016

by Paige Pfleger

Jennifer Hollis is what's called a music-thanatologist. She plays the harp and sings for dying patients once a week at Lahey hospital outside of Boston.

Music & Culture

'Quiero Creedence' Covers Creedence Clearwater Revival With A Latin Beat

9:19am July 30, 2016

NPR's Scott Simon talks to La Marisoul and Juan Manuel Caipo, two of the musicians on a new collection of covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival. It's called Quiero Creedence.