Vince Giordano: The Fresh Air Interview
Giordano has been obsessed with 1920s jazz since he first heard it on his grandparents' Victrola. His band the Nighthawks performs the music heard on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.
Music Interviews
'I Built The Platform Myself': M.I.A. On Being Heard
While making the new album Matangi, the singer-rapper discovered she had a divine counterpart: a Hindu goddess who shares both her birth name and her taste for self-expression. She speaks with NPR's David Greene about fame, war and controversy.
Luscious Jackson Is Ready For Its 'Magic Hour'
After a very long hiatus, the members of the infectious alternative rock crew are back with a new album. The musicians discuss how everyday life inspired the band's first new record in 14 years.
Jason Isbell Locates His Musical Compass On 'Southeastern'
The singer-songwriter earned a name for himself while playing with Drive-By Truckers and The 400 Unit, but on his new album — written after he got sober — Isbell finds a new level of emotional honesty. Here, he talks with Terry Gross about his life and plays songs from Southeastern.
In Memoir, Linda Ronstadt Describes Her 'Simple Dreams'
Last month, Ronstadt revealed that she has Parkinson's disease and can no longer sing. Her new memoir, Simple Dreams, reflects on a long career. In this conversation with Fresh Air's Terry Gross, she offers frank insights on sex, drugs, and why "competition was for horse races."
Biography Doesn't Hold Back On Darkest Years Of 'The Man In Black'
Through all the pain and redemption, "Johnny Cash was a good man," author Robert Hilburn tells NPR's David Greene. Hilburn's new biography of the late country singer is titled Johnny Cash: The Life.
!["[Lou Reed] really saw the beauty of life, and wanted to be a person who could live in that beauty as often as possible," longtime publicist Bill Bentley says.](http://wfdd-live.s3.amazonaws.com/images/slideshow/Never-Back-Down-Fresh-Air-Remembers-Lou-Reed-241445362-1445477722.jpg)
Never Back Down: Fresh Air Remembers Lou Reed
"In Lou Reed's world, when you were Lou's friend you knew it," his longtime publicist Bill Bentley tells Terry Gross. Fresh Air dedicates an entire hour to the transgressive and transcendent Velvet Underground co-founder, with music and commentary by original Velvets John Cale and Maureen Tucker.
Arcade Fire On Its Brand-New Beat
NPR's David Greene speaks with members Regine Chassagne and Win Butler about the band's new album, Reflektor, and how it was influenced by their cultural connections to Haiti.
Katy Perry On The 180 That Saved Her Career
Perry is among the world's biggest pop singers, but fans know her current career is actually a second take. She speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about failing to break out as a Christian artist, and how she rose again as the star we know today.
For 'All Is Lost,' A Songwriter Embraces Silence
Alexander Ebert is the singer and songwriter of the band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Now, he's also a film composer. He speaks with NPR about his work on All Is Lost, which stars Robert Redford as a solitary man lost at sea.