Music Interviews

Sire Records Co-Founder Seymour Stein Reflects On Life In 'The Pursuit Of Music'

1:59pm August 13, 2018

by Terry Gross

In his autobiography, Siren Song, Stein writes about how he started out in the music business as a teen before going on to sign groundbreaking artists like Talking Heads, Madonna, Ice-T and k.d. lang.

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Music & Culture

World Cafe Nashville: Liz Cooper And The Stampede

12:49pm August 13, 2018

by Ann Powers

Call it psychedelic, call it classic or call it the sound of new Nashville. Liz Cooper and The Stampede is leading the rock pack in Tennessee right now.

'Skate Kitchen' Follows Teenage Girls Skateboarding Their Way Through NYC

5:08pm August 12, 2018

Director Crystal Moselle's new film explores New York City through the eyes of a group of teen female skateboarders that she met on the subway. NPR's Lakshmi Singh talks with Moselle about the movie.

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"Every five years or so, there's just a transformation I kind of need to constantly be going under," Jake Shears says.

Music & Culture

Jake Shears Strikes Out On His Own

5:05pm August 10, 2018

Scissors Sisters won the hearts of Elton John, David Bowie and Bono before going on hiatus in 2012. Lead singer Jake Shears is back with a debut solo album, full of familiar quirks and dizzying fun.

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"When I am on stage, I finally feel like myself," Miski says. "I finally feel like I can be myself."

Music & Culture

Mitski's Many Lives

4:38pm August 10, 2018

Mitski's new album Be the Cowboy explores the singer's roles onstage, in relationships and as a woman in the world. The artist talked to NPR's Ailsa Chang about how there's no such thing as one identity.

Music & Culture

Nick Lowe And Los Straitjackets On World Cafe

1:43pm August 09, 2018

by Stephen Kallao

Los Straitjackets has been backing Lowe for the last few years of touring, so it was only natural that he and the band would record together for this session.

Music & Culture

The Band's Robbie Robertson Looks Back On 50 Years Of 'Music From Big Pink'

3:36pm August 08, 2018

by Bob Boilen

The Band's Robbie Robertson describes how The Band's unique, honest and eclectic sound evolved in the basement of a house they called Big Pink, and the process of creating Music from Big Pink.

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"I do feel like the nihilism that lives within me really reared its head on this record," Cursive's Tim Kasher (center) says of Vitriola.

Music & Culture

For A Wracked World, Cursive's 'Vitriola' Returns To A Reckless Sound

9:00am August 08, 2018

by Lars Gotrich

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.

Trine Dyrholm plays German singer and songwriter Nico in Nico, 1988.

Music & Culture

Nico Biopic Sheds Light On Her Life Before And After The Velvet Underground

5:54pm August 07, 2018

Nico, 1988 tells the story of the Velvet Underground singer who left for a solo career — one weighed down by her addiction to heroin — and depicts the last, tumultuous year of her life.

Music & Culture

Jim Lauderdale On World Cafe

10:00am August 07, 2018

by Stephen Kallao

One of the kings of Americana releases two new albums to bookend his career — one with new tunes and one that dusts off his recordings from 1979.