Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Sam Baker: Finding Grace In The Wake Of Destruction

2:39pm December 29, 2014

In 1986, a bomb planted by the Peruvian terrorist group Shining Path exploded in the luggage rack above Sam Baker. Somehow, during his long recovery, songs focused on empathy started coming to him.

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How To Compose Music For A Movie About Music

11:17am December 29, 2014

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to film composer Justin Hurwitz, 29, about his first major movie score, for the movie Whiplash. Hurwitz talks about using music to heighten tension.

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Music & Culture

Director John Carpenter On The Sound Of A Terrifying Film

11:12am December 29, 2014

John Carpenter, famous for his cult-classic films (Halloween), is also behind soundtracks. Robert Siegel talks to him about how to scare an audience. His solo horror album, Lost Themes, is out Feb. 3.

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The rotunda at the historic Steinway Hall in Manhattan. The building will be torn down to build luxury condominiums.

Music & Culture

Steinway Bids Farewell To Its Historic Hall

11:10am December 27, 2014

by Jeff Lunden

The resplendent New York piano showroom is shutting down to make way for luxury condos. But that doesn't mean the company is going anywhere.

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By the 1960s, humpback whales and other whale species had been hunted extensively, sometimes to the point of near extinction. Then a recording of humpback whale songs helped shift public opinion on the hunting of all whale species.

Recordings That Made Waves: The Songs That Saved The Whales

6:22pm December 26, 2014

by Michael May

In the mid-1960s, a biologist discovered the beauty of humpback whale songs. But his recordings weren't just academic — they were woven into popular music, and they kicked off an entire movement.

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Anthony Hamilton's first Christmas album is called Home for the Holidays.

Music & Culture

Anthony Hamilton Brings Home Holiday Funk

9:30am December 26, 2014

by NPR Staff

How do you make a Christmas album without succumbing to formula? "Put a little Outkast to it," the soul singer says.

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Music & Culture

Remembering When Johnny Cash Stopped To Talk To A Young Reporter

7:52am December 26, 2014

by Don Gonyea

In 1981, NPR's Don Gonyea's was working as a disc jockey in Michigan when he got an interview with Johnny Cash at a county fair. (This piece first aired on Feb. 23, 2013 on Weekend Edition Saturday).

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Music & Culture

Naive, Yet Revolutionary: Ray Davies On 50 Years Of The Kinks

1:13pm December 25, 2014

"I think if I had been an accomplished songwriter I wouldn't have written 'You Really Got Me,' " Davies tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. Originally broadcast Nov. 26.

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Music & Culture

Barry Manilow: I Jump At The Chance To Do A Christmas Album

7:00am December 25, 2014

David Greene talks to Barry Manilow about his favorite Christmas music. In 2012, he released a compilation of his 3 Christmas albums. (This piece initially aired on Dec. 17, 2012 on Morning Edition).

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Music & Culture

Committed's 'Home For Christmas' Has Fun Songs And Some Classics

7:00am December 25, 2014

David Greene talks to members of the a cappella group Committed about their new holiday album, Home For Christmas. Committed won season two of NBC's a cappella competition series, The Sing-Off.

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