Music & Culture

Opera singer Renee Fleming will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" live on Sunday night.

Opera Star Renee Fleming Brings Grace To The Super Bowl

12:00am February 02, 2014

by Scott Simon

Renee Fleming will sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl on Sunday in New Jersey. She is the first opera star to be asked. NPR's Scott Simon remembers how Fleming has performed under pressure many times, including when she sang "Amazing Grace" at the ruins of the World Trade Center after 9/11.

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Music & Culture

Too Much Of A Good Thing? Jane Ira Bloom's Beautiful Ballads

4:08pm January 31, 2014

by Kevin Whitehead

On Sixteen Sunsets, the soprano saxophonist varies and honors melody like Billie Holiday.

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Music & Culture

Don't Pigeonhole Me, Bro: New Country Albums On The Borderline

4:20pm January 29, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Both Jon Pardi and Jason Eady have to confront the dilemma of all young country musicians: how to navigate the pop current that keeps country music commercially viable while connecting to a past that fewer and fewer listeners are aware of.

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Music & Culture

Pete Seeger Remembers Guthrie, Hopping Trains And Sharing Songs

2:48pm January 28, 2014

Seeger believed songs were a way of binding people to a cause. He talks about fellow folk music icon Woody Guthrie and jumping railroad cars in an archival interview from 1985.

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Music & Culture

Grammy Show: Light On Awards, Heavy On Entertainment

3:51pm January 27, 2014

by Eric Deggans

Over the years, the Grammy awards have become less and less about music and more about an entertainment spectacle. The nominations were even announced on an hour-long TV show on a Friday night.

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In spite of the robotic persona they've cultivated for years, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo elected to make the latest Daft Punk album in a real studio, with real musicians.

Music & Culture

Daft Punk On 'The Soul That A Musician Can Bring'

12:00pm January 27, 2014

by NPR Staff

In spite of the robotic persona they've cultivated for years, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo elected to make their new album, Random Access Memories, in a real studio, with real musicians. Hear the elusive electronic duo in conversation with All Things Considered's Audie Cornish.

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David Crosby's new solo album, his first such release in two decades, is called Croz.

Music & Culture

David Crosby: 'Serve The Song,' Not The Self

6:20pm January 26, 2014

by NPR Staff

A prolific collaborator, Crosby says a good song is better off shared than strategically set aside. His new solo studio album, Croz, is his first such release in two decades.

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Music & Culture

On 'Hard Working Americans,' Songs For The Ordinary Joe

4:39pm January 23, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Todd Snider, Widespread Panic's Dave Schools and Duane Trucks perform in a new band that specializes in covering working-class songs.

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Linnea Olsson's debut album is called Ah!

Music & Culture

A Gifted Cellist Sails Beyond Sweden, Across 'Fields Of Love'

8:01pm January 22, 2014

by NPR Staff

Linnea Olsson grew up listening to ABBA and Bjork, but her debut album, Ah!, is a creation all her own. Her music is largely based in improvisation, with lyrics that resemble fanciful fairy tales.

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Choreographer Bill T. Jones at an appearance earlier this year.

Music & Culture

Schubert's 'Winterreise' Paints Bleak Landscape For Bill T. Jones

7:55pm January 21, 2014

by NPR Staff

The choreographer and dancer says that music "helps us bear the pain through sheer beauty and intensity."

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