Music & Culture

The Billboard albums chart is showing signs of a summer slump, as even the biggest records experience dips.

This month, former NFL star Darren Waller both announced his retirement from football and also followed his famous great-grandfather into the music world with a new single.

NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Anamaria Sayre give you the lowdown on Omar Apollo's new LP, Lil Yachty's collaboration with James Blake, and the fourth album by Hiatus Kaiyote.

Featured albums:
- Omar Apollo, 'God Said No'
- Lil Yachty & James Blake, 'Bad Cameo'
- Hiatus Kaiyote, 'Love Heart Cheat Code'

Visit npr.org/music to see the entire list of albums out June 28 and stream our New Music Friday playlist.

The internet freaked out when Charli XCX and Lorde revealed - and put to rest - their pop girl rivalry on Charli's "Girl, so confusing" remix. That same day, Brandy and Monica seemed to settle their decades long feud when they appeared on the remix of Ariana Grande's version of "The Boy is Mine." But while the pop girls are healing, a lot of fans still seem to want blood - can this music heal us? To break it all down, Brittany is joined by NPR Music Editor Hazel Cills, and Pop Pantheon podcast host, DJ Louie XIV.

Then, AMC's Interview with the Vampire is back for a second season and so Brittany revisits her conversation with the star of the show, Jacob Anderson. But first, Brittany sits down with Black vampire aficionado, Kendra R. Parker to help understand what these monsters say about our fears and desires.

A new posthumous album has been announced from the late Japanese composer and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album is called "Opus".

Oran Etkin creates musical connections around the globe. He also makes instruments come to life in his Timbalooloo program for children.

By 1974, Steely Dan's two albums had helped established the band as a viable business proposition. With Pretzel Logic, they began a quest for studio perfectionism that would last for decades to come.