Music & Culture

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma (front row, second from left) and fellow members of the Silk Road Ensemble.

Music & Culture

Join Yo-Yo Ma And Us For A Special Event In NYC

10:02am June 02, 2016

by NPR Staff

On June 7, we're hosting a screening of The Music Of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble — with a musical introduction by the renowned cellist and a Q&A with filmmaker Morgan Neville.

Diarrhea Planet's new album, Turn To Gold, comes out June 10.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Diarrhea Planet, 'Turn To Gold'

9:38am June 02, 2016

by Mike Katzif

With its four guitarists, the band crafts a potent and sometimes ridiculous mix of garage rock, pop punk, metal and even Southern rock.

Music & Culture

'Pet Sounds' At 50: It Never Gets Old

9:00am June 02, 2016

by Bob Boilen

The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds is regarded as a seminal album now, but when it came out in 1966, not many noticed. Watch a mini-documentary by those who made the record.

Moon Hooch's new album, Red Sky, comes out June 10.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Moon Hooch, 'Red Sky'

7:00am June 02, 2016

by Bob Boilen

No one makes music like Moon Hooch, a muscular trio whose setup typically consists of two saxophones and a drummer. Its third album feels new, vibrant and essential.

Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle's new album, Colvin & Earle, comes out June 10.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Colvin & Earle, 'Colvin & Earle'

7:00am June 02, 2016

by Jewly Hight

Side by side, with good humor and the wisdom of experience, two veteran songwriters dwell on what it means to be creatures of habit, all while learning to live with deficiencies and disappointments.

Allen Toussaint's new album, American Tunes, comes out June 10.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Allen Toussaint, 'American Tunes'

5:18pm June 01, 2016

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

A posthumous album from the great behind-the-scenes man sets a retrospective, autumnal focus on songs which gave rise to Toussaint and his city — and thus to a bigger American music canon.

Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone play the hip-hop trio The Style Boyz in the film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

The 'Best Fake Rappers Out There' Satirize Breakout Success In 'Popstar'

4:43pm June 01, 2016

Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer describe themselves as "frappers" — fake rappers. Working together as The Lonely Island, they created a comic film about pop-music documentaries.

Queue Listen Now

Eli Paperboy Reed's new album, My Way Home, comes out June 10.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Eli Paperboy Reed, 'My Way Home'

3:37pm June 01, 2016

by Rachel Horn

The gospel-inspired soul singer has a knack for imbuing narrative tropes with new meaning, transforming them into stories that couldn't be anyone else's.

Parker Millsap (center) and bandmates Michael Rose (left) and Daniel Foulks (right) in the World Cafe performance studio.

Music & Culture

Parker Millsap On World Cafe

3:13pm June 01, 2016

The Oklahoma songwriter's new album, The Very Last Day, lays bare his blues influences. Hear him play live in the studio.

Music & Culture

Naftule's Dream Returns, With A Fleshy, Folkie New Album

3:03pm June 01, 2016

by Milo Miles

After a long absence, the klezmer-fusion band Naftule's Dream turns introspective on it's new release, Blood. Music critic Milo Miles says the band's warmth and cohesion is as rich as ever.

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