Music Features

Neil Peart, of Rush, photographed in Cleveland on Dec. 17, 1977. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee died Jan. 7, aged 67.

Music & Culture

Remembering Neil Peart, A Monster Drummer With A Poet's Heart

12:37pm January 11, 2020

by Annie Zaleski

"We're only immortal for a limited time." Peart, who died on Jan. 7, guided Rush through the decades with a pen, a massive drum kit and an openness towards life's many shades.

Music & Culture

The Endless Potential Of The Pedal Steel Guitar, An Odd Duck By Any Measure

1:28pm January 07, 2020

by Jesse Jarnow

The pedal steel guitar is, for many, inextricable from its roots in country music — but its well runs much deeper than providing some smooth twang.

Music & Culture

Encore: 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' The Anthem For A Generation That Didn't Want One

5:27pm January 01, 2020

by Joel Rose

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" made Nirvana's Kurt Cobain a reluctant spokesman for Generation X, and the song became an anthem for a generation that didn't want one.

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Music & Culture

In Memoriam 2019: The Musicians We Lost

3:34pm December 31, 2019

NPR Music celebrates the alt-rock heroes, Hollywood idols, Pulitzer-winning composers, jazz luminaries, cult legends, bold activists, old masters and rising stars the world lost this year.

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Jenee Fleenor at the 53rd annual CMA Awards on Nov. 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tenn., where she was honored as the first woman to win Musician of the Year.

Music & Culture

The Woman Leading The Fiddle Revival In Country Music

4:28pm December 30, 2019

by Jewly Hight

Fiddler Jenee Fleenor is the first woman ever to win the Country Music Association's Musician of the Year Award. Her work is partly responsible for the instrument's resurgence.

National

Encore: For Those Missing Puerto Rico, A Song About Dreaming Of Home

5:48pm December 27, 2019

by Adrian Florido

"En Mi Viejo San Juan" is an unofficial anthem of Puerto Rico and the official anthem of San Juan. It evokes memories of the island for those who have left and a yearning on the island for those who are gone.

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Harry Connick, Jr., onstage during a performance of his short-run Broadway show, A Celebration of Cole Porter.

Music & Culture

The Deceptive Ease Of Cole Porter: In-Depth With Harry Connick, Jr.

6:00am December 12, 2019

by Nate Chinen

"It's fascinating how this guy could be this master draftsman and do hyper-realistic paintings, and then the next he puts the ear on the back of the guy's head."

Music & Culture

The 25 Best Albums Of 2019

5:03pm December 11, 2019

We listened, voted and argued our way from more than 250 nominated albums down to just 25. And there was a clear No. 1.

Music & Culture

The 15 Best Rock Albums Of 2019

11:48am December 11, 2019

After a decade of genre-blending, the definition of rock is very much up for debate. But for us — and for the purposes of this list — it means one thing: Guitars.

Elvis Presley seen before his first performance at the International Hotel in Las Vegas on Aug. 1, 1969.

Music & Culture

The Best Reissues And Archival Albums Of 2019

11:23am December 11, 2019

by Tom Moon

The past is always present — but with a practically endless selection of music to choose from via the web, it's nice when some of the world's best record labels help excavate it for us.