Music Interviews

Iraqi-born, New Mexico-based composer and oud player Rahim Alhaj.

Music & Culture

Stories Of Wartime, Transformed Through Music

8:55pm July 10, 2018

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Tortured and imprisoned under Saddam Hussein's regime, composer and oud player Rahim Alhaj — who resettled as a refugee in New Mexico — uses his work to tell true stories of Iraqis living through war.

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"I feel that the people who have the expression 'Make America Great Again' written on their hats have, in my humble, ignorant, English opinion, misidentified what is great about America," Frank Turner says.

Music & Culture

Frank Turner Breaks Down The 'Collective Problem' With Politics

1:40pm July 10, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

The message of Turner's new album Be More Kind applies both to the ways we treat the world around us and the way we treat ourselves.

Music & Culture

Dawes On World Cafe

2:43pm July 09, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

Songwriting and musicianship aside, one of the things fans latch on to is that this band feels like a good hang.

Catalan folk duo Maria i Marcel are not afraid to discuss the atrocities of Spain's Civil War through music. "There's a change of mentality," Marcel Bagés says.

Music & Culture

Folk Duo Maria i Marcel Shines Light On The 'Very Real Taboo' Of Spain's Civil War

12:53am July 08, 2018

The Catalan musicians use their culture's tradition to connect difficult memories of the Spanish Civil War to Spain's democracy today.

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Music & Culture

The Record Company On World Cafe

1:51pm July 06, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

The members of the trio talk about All of This Life, their relentless work ethic and the surprising similarities between touring in a rock and roll band and growing up on a dairy farm.

Music & Culture

'Fresh Air' Celebrates July 4 With The Late Flat-Picking Guitar Player Doc Watson

1:29pm July 04, 2018

by Terry Gross

Watson, who died in 2012, was a pioneering bluegrass, country and folk guitarist and singer who changed the way people thought about mountain music. Originally broadcast in 1988 and 1989.

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Music & Culture

Ray LaMontagne On World Cafe

3:44pm July 03, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

LaMontagne shares life stories, including how he met his wife at 8 years old, and performs songs from his latest album 'Part of the Light.'

Dave Alvin (left) and Jimmie Dale Gilmore (right) performing live in the World Cafe Performance Studio.

Music & Culture

Dave Alvin And Jimmie Dale Gilmore On World Cafe

2:07pm July 02, 2018

As the longtime acquaintances found out when they were thrown together as tour mates, Alvin and Gilmore have the blues, classic folk and the L.A. club The Ash Grove in common.

Award-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau authored the book for The Temptations musical, Ain't Too Proud, that tells the origin story of the iconic quintet discovered in her hometown of Detroit.

Music & Culture

'Ain't Too Proud' Playwright Dominique Morisseau Tackles The Temptations Origin Story

2:09am July 02, 2018

Award-winning Detroit native Morisseau authored a new musical that goes behind the scenes of the Motown quintet's signature smooth tunes, as told through the eyes of founding member, Otis Williams.

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Smash Mouth's hit single "All Star" has inspired countless Internet memes since its 1999 release.

Music & Culture

Yes, Smash Mouth Has Seen The 'All Star' Memes

8:14am July 01, 2018

Smash Mouth has recorded a new acoustic version of its 1997 debut album Fush Yu Mang. The 1990s ska-punk staples talk about songwriting, fan mail and all those "All Star" memes.