Music & Culture

The Beatles with George Martin in January 1967 at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Music & Culture

All Together Now: The Beatles Are (Back) In Mono

5:48pm September 09, 2014

by Jem Aswad

The latest reissue project in the never-ending celebration of the most famous catalog in rock 'n' roll goes back to the beginning. Does listening to The Beatles in mono make sense in 2014?

Bob Gaudio says that he and Frankie Valli split royalties and performance fees.

Music & Culture

How The Four Seasons Clashed, Dealt With The Mob And Made Lasting Hits

3:58pm September 09, 2014

Bob Gaudio wrote most of The Four Seasons' hits, some of which are compiled in a new anthology. He tells Fresh Air about the band's history, including why its songs had some "anger" in them.

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A fan crowd-surfs at the 2014 Wacken Open Air heavy metal music festival in Germany.

Manliness In Music: The XY Hits The Hi-Fi

1:29am September 06, 2014

by Joel Rose

There's no shortage of songs about what it means to be a man. But what makes some music sound "manly" — and what attracts men to play and listen to certain genres of music? The answers are changing.

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Music & Culture

In Tenor Saxophonist Mark Turner's New Album, The Music Unfolds Like A Narrative

7:38pm September 05, 2014

by Kevin Whitehead

Turner's new quartet album Lathe of Heaven gets its name from Ursula K. LeGuin's novel. A lot of action happens at thoughtful medium tempos, and there's beautiful dissonance in the two-horn harmonies.

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Music & Culture

The New Pornographers Return With A 'Celebration Record' That's Fun To Figure Out

2:27pm September 03, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Brill Bruisers is a collection of lushly arranged and harmonized pop. While Neko Case, Dan Bejar and A.C. Newman make moody music individually, there's a brightness when they come together.

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Music & Culture

On Final Recording, Joe Beck Exposes Possibilities Of The Guitar

4:36pm September 01, 2014

by Tom Moon

Guitarist Joe Beck said he thought of the guitar as a six-piece band. Music reviewer Tom Moon says that's exactly how Beck's music sounds: layers of overlapping ideas. He reviews Beck's posthumous release, "Get Me Joe Beck."

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Music & Culture

Dom Flemons Holds On To Those Old-Time Roots

1:41pm September 01, 2014

Prospect Hill is Flemons' first album since leaving the band Carolina Chocolate Drops. By coincidence, the multi-instrumentalist recorded it the day Pete Seeger died. Originally broadcast July 30.

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Music & Culture

The Story Of Little Feat's Fame, Destruction And Revival

1:41pm September 01, 2014

by Ed Ward

The archetypal '70s band had a charismatic frontman and wonderful songs, but they also had drug problems and kept breaking up. Their Warner Bros. recordings are in a new box set called Rad Gumbo.

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Singer Ian Curtis on stage in 1980 with Joy Division, whose song "Transmission" is among those explored in Greil Marcus' book The History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten Songs.

The Other Rock History

3:54pm August 31, 2014

by NPR Staff

What makes an essential rock song? Music journalist Greil Marcus argues that it's not the stature of the performer, but the degree to which a song tells the story of rock 'n' roll itself.

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Music & Culture

At 71, Elvin Bishop Is Still Vigorous, And Can Do Wrong Right

1:45pm August 26, 2014

by Ken Tucker

The white bluesman whose corny jokes have made his music enduring and fun has a new album Can't Even Do Wrong Right. He has a raspy chuckle in his singing, and he plays the guitar precisely.

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