Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Jazz Drummer Matt Wilson's 'Big Happy Family' Is Heartfelt And Harmonious

1:40pm June 15, 2016

by Kevin Whitehead

Wilson, who has been leading bands for 20 years, rounds up many of those players on his new tribute album. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Big Happy Family is full of humor and heart.

Queue Listen Now

From left to right: Kirk Knuffke, Bobby Previte, Charlie Hunter and Curtis Fowlkes.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Charlie Hunter, 'No Money, No Honey'

9:51am June 15, 2016

by Tom Cole

The guitarist's custom seven-string axe lets him create a deeply funky bass line and a Hendrix-like melody — at the same time.

The Los Angeles producer and DJ Dâm-Funk's entry in the DJ-Kicks series of mixes, released last month, revives a hypnotic, synth-based early-1980s variant of funk known as "boogie."

Music & Culture

Dâm-Funk's Time Machine Boogie

9:38pm June 14, 2016

by Andy Beta

A new album by the L.A.-based producer and DJ rescues a vintage style of D.I.Y. synth-based funk from slipping through history's cracks.

Music & Culture

Vetiver On World Cafe

3:49pm June 14, 2016

Hear Andy Cabic's freak-folk band play songs from Complete Strangers live in the World Cafe studio.

Music & Culture

Viking's Choice: Norma Jean, '1,000,000 Watts'

1:57pm June 14, 2016

by Lars Gotrich

In the early 2000s, Norma Jean helped give metalcore its shape, but has smartly grown with its fan base. The band's seventh album, Polar Similar, colors the chaos with brooding hues.

Clockwise from upper left: Tallest Man On Earth, Charles Bradley, LP, Chris Staples, Lisa Hannigan

Music & Culture

New Mix: The Tallest Man On Earth, The Lemon Twigs, Lisa Hannigan, More

1:07pm June 14, 2016

On this week's show we share songs about longing, loss and healing, with premieres from The Tallest Man On Earth, LP and more.

Music & Culture

Liz Vice On Mountain Stage

12:52pm June 14, 2016

The singer performs four songs live, including a haunting cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Music & Culture

Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

12:15pm June 14, 2016

Hear new music by A Giant Dog, Vic Mensa, Michael Kiwanuka, Ryley Walker and more in June's mix of public-radio favorites.

Caravan Palace's song "Mighty" is featured on this week's episode of Metropolis.

Music & Culture

Metropolis: 6/11/16

11:20am June 14, 2016

Hear music from Caravan Palace, Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP, Latroit and more in this week's two-hour EDM mix from KCRW's Jason Bentley.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Aaron Neville, 'I Wanna Love You'

9:00am June 14, 2016

by Rachel Horn

Baldly earnest and without a tinge of irony, Neville's song responds to the veteran singer's signature tune, "Tell It Like It Is."