For much of this century's first two decades, there has been at least one Rihanna song on the pop charts. If she is not seen as taking musical risks, it's only because so many of them have paid off.
Julia Ward Howe wrote a rousing anthem for the Union in the Civil War. Since then, it's been caught in a cultural tug-of-war over who it's an anthem for.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney have differing memories of who wrote the music for "In My Life." A mathematics professor has spent 10 years working with statistics to decide once and for all.
To celebrate our list of the 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+, a group of contributors gathered to talk about the artists who are defying labels, blazing trails and reclaiming history today.
A love song about wildflowers is the song of the summer on both sides of Kashmir's much-disputed border, after getting a push from a popular Pakistani television program funded by a soda company.
The world may be going to hell. But, while Cursive's forthcoming Vitriola wallops and revels in bleakness, Tim Kasher tells NPR that he's doing everything he can not to be swallowed up by the chaos.
The revolution necessary to honor artists of all genders has to combat not only a history of bias, but sometimes even the institutions that seem to be supporting the fight.
Born as a children's song, transformed by the civil rights movement into an anthem, "This Little Light of Mine" works by letting the singer control their own story.
Over the first two decades of the 21st century, as the influence of Latin music and R&B has swept over pop, songs by women of color have allowed us to hear real stories that were once obscured.