Music Interviews

Music & Culture

Paul Simon Says 'I'm Finished' Writing Music

3:59pm September 05, 2018

by Bob Boilen

In this candid conversation, the singer reveals he hasn't felt compelled to write a new song in years, talks about the desire to better know himself and reflects on the very meaning of life itself.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Wayne Kramer On World Cafe

9:49am September 05, 2018

by Stephen Kallao

As an innovator of punk 10 years before the genre had a name, Wayne Kramer has seen some things. His new autobiography is no fairy tale, though there is something magical about it.

Matt Mays with his band inside the World Cafe Performance Studio.

Music & Culture

Matt Mays On World Cafe

11:29am September 04, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

Leave it to Mays to infuse a daytime studio visit with the spirit of a super sweaty, late night at your favorite dive bar.

Music & Culture

Musicians Honor Roger Miller

8:36am September 01, 2018

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Dean Miller, son of the late musician Roger Miller, who has put together a tribute album to his father.

Big Red Machine, born of the friendship of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and The National's Aaron Dessner, is less a band than a large-scale collaboration involving dozens of musicians.

Music & Culture

With Big Red Machine, Justin Vernon And Aaron Dessner Are Anti-Auteurs

5:36pm August 31, 2018

The two artists, best known for their bands Bon Iver and The National, say their new project isn't really a band but a large-scale collaboration involving dozens of musicians.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Meg Myers On World Cafe

5:29pm August 31, 2018

by Stephen Kallao

Myers' music is a bit like Nine Inch Nails got into a fight with the Pixies, with some incredibly dynamic vocals thrown in the mix.

Music & Culture

IDLES Explain 'Joy As An Act Of Resistance,' Track By Track

6:19am August 31, 2018

by Bob Boilen

The U.K. post-punk band's new album celebrates humanity in all its forms.

Carmen Miranda inspires one of the characters in The Air You Breathe, the new novel by Frances de Pontes Peebles.

Samba And Saudade: The Inspirations Behind 'The Air You Breathe'

4:35pm August 30, 2018

by Felix Contreras

"Samba's beating heart is actually suffering and sadness." The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles uses Brazilian music as a backdrop for an intimate story of female friendship.

Music & Culture

Gene Harris On Piano Jazz

1:36pm August 30, 2018

On this 1988 Piano Jazz episode, Harris opens with a slow and easy "Black and Blue," then McPartland joins him on "Bag's Groove."

Amos Lee performing at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, WA.

Music & Culture

Amos Lee Finds Mighty Inspiration On His New Album

11:14am August 30, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

"Little Light" stands out among the complex, twisty and sometimes even dark material on Lee's new album, My New Moon. The song's inspiration is a brave grade-schooler named Maya.