Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Just In Time For Father's Day: Bad Dads In Opera

8:19am June 17, 2014

Renee Montagne talks to music commentator Miles Hoffman, who says his candidate for opera's most evil father is the character of Alberich from Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung.

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Music & Culture

'Fresh Air' Remembers Jazz Singer Jimmy Scott

8:19am June 17, 2014

Scott, who had a rare genetic condition that made him sound like a woman, was popular in '50s but didn't make any records between 1975 and 1992. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1992 about his comeback.

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Like the song says, his wife's gone to the country and, well, you fill in the blanks.

Music & Culture

Nobody Panic! It's Only A Pop Song About Sex

11:36am June 15, 2014

Jody Rosen says that 1909's "I Love My Wife — But Oh! You Kid!" not only spurred guardians of public morality to action but also changed American popular music forever.

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Jenny Scheinman made her name in the New York City jazz scene, but she grew up on a bluff in Northern California's Humboldt County, where she now lives again.

Music & Culture

Jenny Scheinman Reaches Out To Her Father In Song

9:31pm June 13, 2014

Scheinman says that since writing and performing The Littlest Prisoner's "Just a Child," the song has "really transformed" her relationship with her father.

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Adam Goldberg, the creator of the PS 177 band, conducting at band practice.

A High School Band Where Everyone's Voice Can Be Heard

7:53pm June 11, 2014

by Eric Westervelt

One music teacher has used tablets to change life for students at a New York school. The members of the school's orchestra have learning disabilities. For some, the band has opened up their world.

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Music & Culture

In Big Bill Broonzy's Blues, Brothers Find A Way To Sing Together

3:43pm June 11, 2014

Dave and Phil Alvin have made their first full album together in nearly 30 years, a tribute to one of their early influences. "His persona was so big to me," Phil Alvin tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross.

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Jack White's first solo album was the sound of heartbreak. His latest, Lazaretto, feels more like isolation.

Music & Culture

From Jack White, A Fierce New Record Raised In Captivity

8:31pm June 10, 2014

by Meredith Ochs

Whether he's producing, leading a band or on his own, White continues to evolve with each project. His first solo album was the sound of heartbreak, but the new Lazaretto feels more like isolation.

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What do you mean Apple is getting rid of the headphone jack? Where's it going?

Music & Culture

Apple Jacks The Headphone Port

10:54am June 10, 2014

Industry folks and Apple fanatics are upset about the company's plan to lose the standard 3.5mm connector in favor of a Lightning port. But the decision might be good for consumers in the long run.

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Music & Culture

Album Review: 'Natalie Merchant'

9:59am June 10, 2014

by Will Hermes

Though she's been a popular singer since the '80s, Natalie Merchant has often worn the air of one who finds pop stardom distasteful. On her new self-titled LP, she dredges that tension to the fore.

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Music & Culture

Album Review: 'Runaway's Diary'

9:53am June 10, 2014

by Robert Christgau

Amy LaVere sings in a sweet soprano, but her lyrics are anything but sweet. Robert Christgau reviews her new album, Runaway's Diary.

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