Music & Culture

Alice Gerrard's new album is called Follow the Music.

Music & Culture

'Follow The Music': Alice Gerrard's Life In Folk

10:54am October 03, 2014

by Joel Rose

The title of the singer's new album neatly summarizes the thrust of her career, from her influential collaborations with Hazel Dickens in the '60s to her work as a folk music documentarian.

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Prince has two new albums out, Art Official Age under his own name and Plectrumelectrum with 3RDEYEGIRL (pictured).

Music & Culture

Two Princes: The Purple One Returns In Stereo

12:19pm October 02, 2014

by Tom Moon

Two new albums, a solo effort and a collaboration with the band 3RDEYEGIRL, mark Prince's return to the studio. Tom Moon says that only one fully captures what an explosive performer he can still be.

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The new tribute album Dionne Dionne is a collaboration between singer Dionne Farris (known for her work with Arrested Development) and guitarist Charlie Hunter.

Music & Culture

Dionne Warwick, Reduced To An Essence

7:29pm October 01, 2014

by Oliver Wang

On an unlikely tribute album, singer Dionne Farris and guitarist Charlie Hunter tackle Warwick classics with revealing subtlety — and nods to the musicians' own origins in early-'90s rap.

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Music & Culture

Tsapiky: Dance Music Fit For A Funeral

6:14pm October 01, 2014

by Banning Eyre

In the West, we're used to hearing dance music at weddings. In southern Madagascar, guests might hear tsapiky, a regional guitar-band music, at funerals, as well as any other number of ceremonies.

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The Oxford a cappella group Out of the Blue.

Music & Culture

No Lie: Shakira's 'Hips' Gets An Oxford Makeover

3:13pm October 01, 2014

by NPR Staff

The Oxford University men's a cappella group Out of the Blue has its own version of "Hips Don't Lie" — and an endorsement from the pop star herself.

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Between 2006 and 2010, Jason Hamacher made many trips to Syria to photograph and record ancient chants.

Music & Culture

Before War, A Punk Drummer Preserved Syrian Chants

10:01am October 01, 2014

Jason Hamacher wasn't trained as a photographer, a musicologist or a member of a religious community. The former Frodus drummer simply felt compelled to document this music.

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Ty Segall's latest album is Manipulator.

Music & Culture

Ty Segall Rocks Out — Acoustic-Style, And With More Polish

9:59am October 01, 2014

by NPR Staff

The garage rocker performs stripped-down versions of songs from his new album, Manipulator, and tells NPR's Arun Rath why the new songs are less rough around the edges than some of his earlier work.

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Julian Casablancas + The Voidz's new album is called Tyranny.

Music & Culture

Julian Casablancas: New Band, New Album, No Compromises

9:12am October 01, 2014

by NPR Staff

The Strokes frontman — now with a new band, The Voidz — returns with his most challenging release yet: a strange, dark album influenced by '80s hardcore and underground world music.

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Music & Culture

Queen Of Soul Gives Adele Some R-E-S-P-E-C-T

8:01am October 01, 2014

Aretha Franklin is covering Adele's song "Rolling in the Deep." The song is included on Franklin's new album, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, which is due out later this month.

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Enrique Iglesias' song "Bailando" — with versions in Spanish and in Spanglish — has hit big both on the Latin pop charts and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Music & Culture

How Did 'Bailando' Become A Spanglish Crossover Hit?

2:34pm September 29, 2014

by NPR Staff

Enrique Iglesias' catchy song went to No. 1 on the Latin streaming charts before jumping to the Billboard Hot 100. It's hardly the first crossover hit — but demographic shifts might be at play too.

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