Music & Culture

Poison Season, Dan Bejar's 11th album as Destroyer, continues the singer's campaign of constant reinvention by small degrees.

Music & Culture

In Classic Pop, Destroyer's Dan Bejar Finds A New Voice

11:17am August 27, 2015

by Andy Battaglia

For his latest album, Poison Season, the sometimes confrontational singer and songwriter, a master of reinvention, looked to the most iconic vocalist in American pop for an example: Frank Sinatra.

In Straight Outta Compton, Ice Cube's famous line from 1995's Friday — "Bye, Felicia!" — gets an origin story that has left some fans uncomfortable.

Music & Culture

A Meme Gets An Uncomfortable Backstory In 'Straight Outta Compton'

5:47pm August 25, 2015

by NPR Staff

The N.W.A biopic pays homage to a cultural reference made famous by member Ice Cube in the 1995 film Friday, but writer Allison Davis didn't find the joke funny.

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Yo La Tengo plays the music you hear between Morning Edition stories in Studio 1.

Music & Culture

Yo La Tengo: Morning Edition's In-House Band For A Day

1:32pm August 25, 2015

by Lars Gotrich

"This morning thing's not really working for me," says guitarist/vocalist Ira Kaplan. Well, too bad. Yo La Tengo played the music you hear between stories live.

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Music & Culture

Yo La Tengo Brings Their Live Show To NPR's Studio

1:32pm August 25, 2015

David Greene introduces Morning Edition's in-house band for a day: Yo La Tengo. The group performs one of their hit songs.

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Music & Culture

Yo La Tengo Energizes Morning Edition Studio

1:32pm August 25, 2015

NPR's David Greene talks to members of the rock band Yo La Tengo at the end of their stint as Morning Edition's in-house band for a day, and throws it to them for a song.

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MC Ren (Aldis Hodge), DJ Yella (Neil Brown, Jr.), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) and Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) form the NWA hip hop group in Straight Outta Compton.

In 'Straight Outta Compton,' Hip-Hop Legends Get The Biopic Treatment

8:39am August 25, 2015

by Scott Tobias

N.W.A's hard-won battle for mainstream success is illustrated in a film produced by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.

Music & Culture

Yo La Tengo To Perform Live On 'Morning Edition'

6:37pm August 24, 2015

As you listen to Morning Edition on Tuesday, pay special attention to the music you hear between stories. The band Yo La Tengo will be in the NPR studios, accompanying the show while it's live on the air.

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Kenneth Jackson stands outside the Dew Drop Inn, which his grandfather, Frank Painia, opened in 1938.

Music & Culture

As New Orleans Recovers, Will The Dew Drop Inn Swing Again?

2:55pm August 24, 2015

by John Burnett

The popular New Orleans club welcomed everyone, even when the city code enforced segregation. It's been closed since 1972, but there's now a crusade to rescue the venue for a new generation.

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Music & Culture

The One Real Problem With Rolling Stone's 'Greatest Songwriters Of All Time'

8:16am August 24, 2015

by Tom Moon

There are many valid gripes with the magazine's selections — who was left out, who was included — but taken as a whole, the list reveals something disappointing about the way it was conceived.

Music & Culture

Why Is 'Billboard' Asking Industry Execs If They Believe Kesha?

10:27pm August 23, 2015

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

After an anonymous questionnaire circulated to "top music-industry executives" leaked online, questions arise about the industry publication's ethics and objectives.