Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Igor Levit, 'Fugue No. 7 In A Major, Op. 87' (Dmitri Shostakovich)

3:28pm September 09, 2021

by Tom Huizenga

For a taste of the pianist's technique, here's a lighter mood from Shostakovich that sparkles with interlocking inner voices that ripple as clear as a mountain stream.

Lorde performs at Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series in Central Park on Aug. 20 in New York City. She worked with a team of language experts to re-record five of her new songs in the indigenous Māori language.

Music & Culture

Lorde Dropped A Surprise Mini-Album Of 'Solar Power' Tracks In The Māori Language

2:18pm September 09, 2021

by Rachel Treisman

The New Zealand singer worked with a team of language experts to re-record five of her new songs in the indigenous Māori language, released just in time for Māori Language Week.

A crowd rallying for John Lennon, in a scene from the film Imagine: John Lennon.

Music & Culture

John Lennon Released 'Imagine' The Same Year NPR Debuted Original Programming

2:11pm September 09, 2021

We're celebrating NPR's 50th anniversary by revisiting cultural milestones from 1971. On this day, 51 years ago, John Lennon's album Imagine — along with its utopian title track — was released.

Music & Culture

Joe Troop, 'The Rise Of Dreama Caldwell'

12:54pm September 09, 2021

by Eric Teel

Best-known as the leader of the Grammy-nominated folk ensemble Che Apalache, singer and banjo player Joe Troop has sharpened both quill and activist voice on his new single.

Music & Culture

MUNA (Feat. Phoebe Bridgers), 'Silk Chiffon'

11:12am September 09, 2021

by Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis

With a video inspired by But I'm a Cheerleader, MUNA pairs a sapphic, satirical whimsicality with warm, tender lyrics and supporting vocals from Phoebe Bridgers.

Music & Culture

Singer And LGBT Icon, Archbishop Carl Bean, Dies At 77

8:11am September 09, 2021

Archbishop Carl Bean, an AIDS activist and pioneer in the LGBTQ religious movement, has died. The openly gay pastor was also a Motown singer. His version of "I Was Born This Way" inspired Lady Gaga.

Music & Culture

The Prosecution Continues To Lay Out Its Case Against Singer R. Kelly

8:11am September 09, 2021

The federal trial in New York against R&B star R. Kelly heads into its fourth week. There's been a long line of alleged victims, former employees and others who have already testified against him.

The strength with which Salt-N-Pepa delivered messages on Blacks' Magic "gave a lonely Wyoming girl a blueprint for a confidence I didn't inherently possess," writes Julianne Escobedo Shepherd.

Music & Culture

How Salt-N-Pepa's 'Blacks' Magic' Gave Me A Blueprint For Feminism

6:01am September 09, 2021

by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd

As a kid, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd adored Salt-N-Pepa's music and moves. In revisiting the trio's third album, she realized it also taught her what confidence and collectivity look like in action.

Phil Schaap attends the Jazz at Lincoln Center's Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame induction ceremony on June 4, 2013 in New York.

Phil Schaap, Iconic Jazz DJ And NEA Jazz Master, Dies At 70

6:45pm September 08, 2021

by Martin Johnson

Schaap was one of the leading jazz scholars in America and the genre's foremost evangelist. He died at 70, after a long battle with cancer.

Music & Culture

On 'Peacemeal,' Ron Gallo Embraces A Playful Pop Sound

12:30pm September 08, 2021

Ron Gallo's Peacemeal is a warm and playful low-fi pop record, unafraid to be skeptical and insightful.