Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Poetry Is Set To Melody In Iris DeMent's 'The Trackless Woods'

2:30pm October 19, 2015

by Ken Tucker

Poems by the Russian writer Anna Akhmatova form the basis of singer Iris DeMent's new album. Critic Ken Tucker says Akhmatova and DeMent share an urge to articulate "sorrow, sacrifice and gratitude."

Queue Listen Now

This week's episode of Metropolis includes the Altered Tapes rework of Jamie xx's "Loud Places."

Music & Culture

Metropolis: 10/17/15

2:19pm October 19, 2015

Guest host Raul Campos spins music by St. Germain, Claptone, Frankie Knuckles and more in a two-hour EDM mix.

Music & Culture

Paolo Angeli: Tiny Desk Concert

2:08pm October 19, 2015

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The Sardinian guitarist has a whole toy shop aboard his instrument, from hammers and pedals to springs and a couple of cell-phone ringers.

Music & Culture

World Cafe Next: Ben Caplan

1:40pm October 19, 2015

Hear two new songs from the stylistically freewheeling Canadian singer and bandleader.

Queue Listen Now

Joanna Newsom's fourth album, Divers, will be out on Friday, October 23.

Music & Culture

One For The Ages

10:46am October 19, 2015

by Ann Powers

Joanna Newsom's new album, Divers, is novelistic, with recurring musical themes, memorable characters and a preoccupation with the change brought on by passing time.

Mike Krol performs live in the KEXP studio.

Music & Culture

KEXP Presents: Mike Krol

9:03am October 19, 2015

by Jim Beckmann

Watch a live performance of "Left Out" that captures the punkish brevity of Krol's new album Turkey.

Shall I Compare Thee To An Algorithm? Turing Test Gets A Creative Twist

7:54pm October 18, 2015

by Joe Palca

Can a computer program craft passable prose — something readers can't distinguish from human-authored stuff? How about poetry, or dance mixes? New contests pose those challenges.

Queue Listen Now

"When I was in New York, I wanted to hang out with all these amazing musicians that I really admired," says nightclub D-22 owner Michael Pettis. "But I wasn't cool enough. So I figured, well, if I create a club and they all play there, then I get to hang

As China Cracks Down On Cultural Fringe, Indie Rock Finds A Home In Beijing

7:15pm October 18, 2015

by Anthony Kuhn

U.S. economist Michael Pettis, an expert on China's economy and professor at Beijing University, is also a key figure nurturing a distinct American sound in Beijing's avant-garde music scene.

Queue Listen Now

Teddy Abrams conducts the Louisville Orchestra in his first concert as Music Director in Spring 2014.

Music & Culture

In Louisville, A Young Conductor Seeks To Challenge And Delight

10:38am October 18, 2015

by NPR Staff

At 28, Teddy Abrams is the youngest-ever music director of the Louisville Orchestra. He speaks with Rachel Martin about the task of making classical music at once accessible and provocative.

Queue Listen Now

Alfred Newman stands between actor Eddie Cantor (left) and director Norman Taurog, listening to a playback on the set of Strike Me Pink, circa 1935.

When John Williams Can't Go, Whom Does Spielberg Call? Thomas Newman

2:28pm October 17, 2015

by Tim Greiving

It's been decades since Steven Spielberg directed a film without Williams' help. With the composer unable to do his latest, Bridge of Spies, Spielberg kept it in the "extended family," tapping Newman.

Queue Listen Now